Category: July

I’m Passing Through, Isaiah 43

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

When I am passing through the waters of grief…

*of disappointment…

*of disillusionment…

*of pain….

God is with me.

When I am passing through a river of tears…

*pierced by the shattered pieces of my broken heart.

*trying to figure out how to live with a huge hole in my life…

the tears do not sweep over me.  God is with me.

When I am walking through the fire of anger…

* filled with ‘whys’…..

* trying to understand….

I am not burned.  God is with me.

I am passing through.  I’m not getting stuck in these places.  Everything that happens in my life has first gone through the hands of my Father God.  He has a purpose.

So I will trust him as I pass through the water, the river and the fire.

Thank you for walking closely beside me, Abba Father.

It Makes a Difference

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

My life is short.

My life is fragile.

My life is a tiny flicker of light that can be extinguished in an instant.

I was strongly reminded of this again two weeks ago when my husband had emergency open-heart bypass surgery after experiencing a ‘lethal event’ with his heart. It could have easily killed him. That could have been it. The end.

He’s still alive because it just wasn’t his day – the day God has already chosen for each of us as our last day here on earth.

That wasn’t ‘it’ – he’s still here – but it could have been.

Short.

Fragile.

God tells us through Isaiah that ‘Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40: 7 & 8.

Forever.

When I sit here with my Bible open on my lap, I am letting the only truth of all the ages soak into my mind. God’s Word has been the one thing that is right and good since time began. How amazing that this is so readily available to me every hour of every day!

It’s available to you, too.

How amazing that the Eternal Creator of the Universe speaks to me personally through these words!

He wants to speak to you, too.

How amazing that this entire book is a love story written to me by God. It’s God’s revelation of how much he loves me –

and how much he loves you.

My life is short and fragile and just a small flicker of light in the big picture. I’m so glad I know my Father God sees me as his precious daughter who is so important to him that he made a way that I could live with him in my forever home in heaven.

He made a way that you could live with him forever in heaven, too.

My life may be short and fragile but I’m important to God….

and that makes all the difference.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Lay It Down

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Spread it out.

Leave it there –

at the feet of the Creator of the Universe.

That’s what I visualize myself doing when I pray.  I take my praises, my concerns, my dreams and my questions….

and I raise them up before my loving Father in Heaven.

I lay them at his feet.

And I really try to leave my concerns and my worries there.  I try not to pick them back up.

Because he is in control…

and he wants the best for me.

I trust him.

I love reading King Hezekiah’s story in 2 Kings.   He received a letter telling him that the huge enemy army of Assyria had been destroying cities all around them and now the army was coming his way.

To crush him.

To kill all of his people.

Disaster.

And Hezekiah didn’t have enough fighting men or resources to stop them on his own.  So he went to God and he spread the letter out before him.  “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands.  They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood or stone, fashioned by human hands.  Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”  2 Kings 19: 17-19.

God heard Hezekiah and answered with ‘yes’.  He saved the city – the King of Assyria left in disgrace.

How hard that must have been for Hezekiah!  Facing annihilation, he gave it all to God and left it there – even as the huge army advanced towards him.

He knew that God was his only answer so he stayed focus, he remained faithful.

How good am I at staying focused?  Remaining faithful?

I’m pretty good at spreading my concerns out before God and I’m gradually getting better at leaving them there.  Not worrying.  Not anxious.  Not letting a million concerns roll around in my head in the middle of the night.

Two weeks ago today my husband had emergency open-heart bypass surgery after having a life-threatening event happen to his heart.  I just kept reminding myself that God is in control, that he loves me and my husband with a perfect love and that he wants the best for us.  I trusted God and I was not afraid.  The peace God gave me during this situation was the ‘peace that passes all understanding’.  It didn’t come from me – it came from God.

By the way – my husband is doing well, walking and active, getting started on his rehabilitation program.  Thank you, Father.

How good are you at giving your worries to God and leaving them, trusting that he’s taking care of them?  Or do you take them back?

Please help us grow our trust in you, Abba Father.

Don’t Be Afraid

On By Judy GlasserIn July2 Comments

Don’t be discouraged.

Don’t be afraid.

“There is a greater power with us than with him.” 2 Chronicles 32:7.

King Hezekiah said these words to his army thousands of years ago and today God is saying them again to you and to me through his Word.

God is telling us today to ‘be strong and courageous’  because he is the greater power.

Do you need to hear this?  With all the crud and issues swirling around in our culture, I know I need to be reminded.

You and I are being threatened in all areas of our lives – health, finances, spiritually, relationships.  My husband had emergency open-heart bypass surgery last week. He experienced a ‘lethal’ event with his heart and stayed in the hospital until he could have the surgery done.

Many people I talked to about it said how ‘scary’ this must have been. I wasn’t scared. I know God is in control. I know that God has determined each of our last days here on earth and, if last Wednesday had been my husband’s last day, the doctors couldn’t have done anything to help him.

I have put my faith in Jesus so I know that God is with me.

He is for me.

He is fighting my battles.

He is working all things out for my good.  He has a purpose for everything.

He has greater power,

greater love,

and greater forgiveness

than I can ever understand.

There is no reason to be afraid or discouraged.

Thank you, Abba Father.  I needed to be reminded of this again today.

This is the Way

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Have you ever wandered away from God?

It’s easy to do – there are so many distractions.  It’s difficult to keep God at the top of our priorities when long lists of other things clamor for our attention.

So we wander.

I have wandered.

I used to wander away from God pretty regularly.  I wouldn’t even it realize it until something bad happened and I would look up to God – surprised at how far I had drifted away from him.

I stopped wandering when my spiritual habits became the foundation of my life.  Reading and studying God’s word daily has moved from a ‘if I have time’ thing to something that is not optional.  Talking with God and listening to him as he helps me stay in line with him is not optional in my life.  Worshipping and serving God with my spiritual family is also not optional.  Tithing my time and treasures is not optional.   Others things have to be taken out of my schedule if my time with God is not happening.

When my life became grounded on my spiritual habits, the wandering stopped.  I am experiencing the blessings Isaiah told the people of Judah they would receive when they turned back to God –

God is gracious to me and always answers my call.  He has walked closely beside me in all of the tough times I have gone through here in this broken world.  He blesses me during these times – guiding me and teaching me. 

Whatever is happening, I hear his voice in my head saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21.

The key was making God my first priority.  That’s when everything changed.  That’s when I became rooted in his grace and mercy.  I became constantly aware of his perfect love for me.  I also became totally confident that he will be my loving and faithful Father all the way to the end of my days.

Are you looking for direction? Peace? Purpose? Joy?

This is the way,

Walk in it.


Who?

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Who are we imitating?

Who are we following?

‘Following’ has a different definition today because of social media.  But it still refers to our choice of people that we are letting have an influence on our lives.

These are the people we are giving permission to enter our minds and thoughts because we’re reading and listening to what they are sharing.  We are ‘following’ their lives.

Who are these people in your life? Are they the right people to help you grow where you want to grow?

Who are these people in my life? Are they leading me to places I should go? Are they helping me grow my integrity?  Are they helping me become more wise?  More caring?

The Israelites were not careful about who they followed. “They rejected his (God’s) decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statues he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. ” 2 Kings 17: 15 – 16.

Wow – worthless.

They picked the wrong things to follow. They imitated the wrong things and ended up on a very bad path.

That is not a path I want to be on.

Please give me wisdom in deciding who to follow, Abba Father

My Highway

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

I can visualize it.

Isaiah tells us that when God comes, “he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”  Isaiah 35:4.

“And a highway will be there.” vs 8.

This highway is called the Way of Holiness.  I can see it stretching all the way up to heaven.  Only those of us who walk in the Way of our Savior will use it.

Those who don’t believe will not be able to travel on it.  The wicked and the foolish will not go on it.

There will be no danger when we – the redeemed – walk home on this highway.  As we return to the LORD, we will be singing praises.  There will be no sorrow or sighing – only everlasting joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.

What’s the Goal?

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Where do I want to be next year?  What do I want to have achieved?

Where do I want to grow in my life?

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my years on this planet is that I need to feed what I want to grow.  I can’t just wish it.  I can’t sit frustrated because nothing is changing if I’m not doing something to change it.

I need to take action.  There must be forward movement – one step at a time – towards my goal.

I need to feed what I want to grow.

And I am encouraged as I read King Hezekiah’s story in 2 Chronicles of his vast and successful religious reformation of his nation.  One step at a time, working with the priests, he took his people who were far from God and led them back into obedience.  This is a great role model for us if our goal is to grow closer to God and grow in faithfulness.

Hezekiah’s first step was to cleanse the temple.  They purified everything in the temple and consecrated it.  What would this look like for you and I?  We need to stop habits that are not good for our minds and souls.  Stop reading articles, magazines, books that don’t feed what we want to grow.  Change our favorite channels on TV, our favorite music channels and our most visited websites.  Cleanse our minds and souls by using discernment in what we’re feeding them.

Then Hezekiah had the people gather together to use the temple as it was meant to be used – sacrificing to God and worshiping him.  For us, this means committing to meet with God’s people regularly – studying God’s word and growing together.  It also means making sure we are in line with God’s directions on tithing and giving of our time.  The Israelites gave so much back to God that they had plenty to share with their neighbors who needed help.

Next, Hezekiah invited Israel and Judah to come to the temple together to celebrate the Passover.  He invited his neighbors – just like God wants us to ask our neighbors to come with us to church or our small group or watch the worship on line together.

Then Hezekiah told his people, “Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the LORD…” 2 Chronicles 30: 7.

Do you and I have any people in our lives that aren’t good influences?  Do we need to pick different friends?  Different role models?

They attacked their idols – destroying them and getting rid of the distraction.  What are our idols?  What things in our lives make us too busy to spend time with God personally and with other believers?

We need to feed what we want to grow.

We read that God blessed Hezekiah and his people as they grew more and more obedient.  God gave them unity of mind as they all looked to him for wisdom and guidance.

I know I want God’s blessings in my life.  I want unity of mind, wisdom and guidance.  One of my main motivations for reading the entire Bible every year for these last 11 years is making sure I’m on a steady path of knowing and loving God more.

I know that I need to feed my relationship with God in order for those things to grow.  And God will be faithful in helping me – he always is.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Isaiah 9, 2022

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Dear Father,

We ask that the people who walk in darkness today would see your great light.  Shine your light of love and grace on all those who are now living in the land of deep darkness.

Enlarge your kingdom on earth, Father.  We rejoice before you for you have broken the yoke of our slavery to sin.  You have lifted the heavy burden of guilt and shame from our shoulders through the death and resurrection of your son.  You have removed the oppression brought into our lives by our disobedience and rebellion.

For a Child was born to us, you gave us your son, Jesus.

We call him Wonderful,

Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Those of us who have accepted your ‘saving grace’ have placed Jesus on the throne of our lives where he rules with justice and peace for all eternity.

Thank you for making all of this happen.