Category: March

A Step of Faith

On By Judy GlasserIn March3 Comments

I often ask God to direct my steps.  My prayers regularly include requests for him to open my eyes to the opportunities he gives me to do what he wants me to do.

Because I’ll do it – I just want to know that its his direction and his timing.

And God responds.  Right before my eyes, he will give me an opportunity to do something he wants done or say something he wants said.  Every time one of these opportunities presents itself, I have to take the first step of faith forward, not knowing where my next step is and never knowing how this is all going to work out.

I just have to take that first step and obey.

So the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land has significant meaning for me.  God told the priests carrying the Ark of the LORD to go first.  God told them he would make a way for them but, first, they had to step into the Jordan which was running at flood stage.

The overflowing water of the Jordan river was roaring down its path…..

and God told them to step in.

An act of faith.  An act of obedience.

“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest.  Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water  from upstream stopped flowing.  It piled up in a heap a great distance away…” Joshua 3:15.  The priests had to take the first step of faith and then they saw God respond.  They watched as God opened up a path for them to the Promised Land.

It’s important for you and I to understand how this process works.  Too often we want to see God move in our lives but we haven’t stepped out in faith.  We want the blessing first and then we’ll move but that’s not how it works.  We want God to invite us to do great things but we haven’t stepped up to the plate on the things we already know God wants us to do.

For example, Jesus told us clearly, “Love God and love others.”  These are the two main things I need to be about – I already know that.  No question about it.  I don’t need to ask God if he wants me to do this – he’s already told me to do it.  I find that when I’m focused on doing these things God has already told me to do, I see God part the waters for me.  He blesses my steps – one at a time.

But the first step of obedience is mine.

Where is God asking you to take that first step of obedience?  Go ahead – step into the water and watch it part in front of you.  It will be worth it.

I believe, Abba Father, so I’m stepping in.

Are You Up For A Challenge?

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

What does courage look like in my life?  What does it look like for you?

What do I need courage for?  What is God asking me to do that’s scary and out of my comfort zone?

I know God is challenging both you and me – it’s his nature.  As our Good Father, he wants us to grow and develop a strong, courageous character.  So he provides opportunities for us to be stretched.

Where does he want to stretch you?  If you can’t think of any place he is trying to help you grow, I recommend spending several hours with him as you read and meditate and listen to him speak to you through his Word.  You will come away from that time challenged by something – I guarantee it.

God presented Joshua with a huge challenge by giving him leadership of the Israelite nation after Moses was ‘gathered to his people’.  The Israelites were finally ready to enter the Promised Land and they were facing the daunting task of conquering the land.

There seemed to be a lot of valid reasons for Joshua to be fearful and worried – except God was in control.  “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you where ever you go.”  Joshua 1:9.

Nothing is impossible for God – there was no reason to be afraid.

Have you ever had a situation that was big and challenging like this where you knew you didn’t need to be afraid because it was all in God’s hands? 

I have experienced this several times. Three years ago God told me to write a book about my journey of grief and faith after my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty on May 18, 2016. A book! I write two blogs – this one and a different one about my son and my experiences since his death. But I have never written a book. It’s a big project, lots of challenges. I was not worried – God told me to do it and I knew, if I did my part, he would make the rest happen.

And He did.

I published it on Amazon last year – “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love”. Check it out and let me know what you think!

While I was writing the book, I experienced another situation where I needed courage and faith. A little over 2 years ago my husband passed out at a pickle ball tournament and was rushed to the hospital where they called a ‘code’ on him in the emergency room.  Every available medical staff member came running.  They saved his life that day and he had emergency by-pass surgery two days later.  Surgery was successful but he continues to have different issues with his heart – there have been many more doctor’s visits and hospital stays.

I’ll never forget my trip to the emergency room that day after my husband called me to tell me where he was. God kept speaking into my mind that He was in control, that He loved my husband, and that he everything was going to work out according to His plan. So I was not worried, I was not anxious even when I walked into that emergency room and saw my husband hooked up to a bunch of machines.

God was in charge – there was no reason to be afraid.  My being worried or scared of what was happening would not have made the situation better- it would have made it worse.  After the doctor told me what happened and how serious the situation was, I still didn’t feel afraid. God has already decided when our last days are here on earth.  If this had been my husband’s last day, nothing the doctors could have done for him would have changed that.  God is in total control.

It was a truly amazing experience to watch – once again- the reality of God’s infinite power play out right before my  eyes. Nothing was going to happen that God did not want to happen.

So I have recent knowledge of how Joshua must have felt when God told him that he had to lead the way in conquering the Promised Land and God would give him victory.  Joshua was going to have to wake up every day and courageously show up to do his part, but God was going to be with him, making it all happen.

Where is God challenging you?  If he’s asking you to do something, he will be right there beside you helping you accomplish it.

Be strong and courageous.  Experience the power of God in your life today.

My People

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

He died.

She passed away.

He was killed.

Before Moses died, God told him, “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession.  There on the mountain you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.” Deut. 32: 48-49.

I like that.  It makes great sense when someone is a believer.  Moses was not going to die. After taking his last breath on earth, the next moment he would be in heaven – with his people. His Father was in heaven.  And his Savior was in heaven.

This makes me ask the question – where are my people?

God has blessed me by giving me a family with a very long lineage of Christ-followers.   Many generations of my people are in heaven.  My son who was a Phoenix Police Officer killed in the line of duty is already in heaven. I have published a book on Amazon, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love.” which tells the story of his death and my painful yet hopeful journey since then.

The people I identify with here on earth are also Christ-followers.  These are my people.  They will be with me when I am gathered to my Father – when I am gathered to my people. 

I’m thinking about starting to use this phrase with believers instead of ‘died’ or ‘passed away’.  Some people wouldn’t get it but that’s ok – some people don’t get a lot of things.

How about you?  Are your people in heaven?  Is your Savior in Heaven?  If so, then he has prepared a place for you.

Will you be with me when all believers are gathered to our Father in Heaven?

I hope and pray that you will.

On the day you have already determined, I will be there, Abba Father.

Different, But Equal

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

I love it.

God is not limited by cultural rules.  He created justice, he is just and he acts justly.

Whenever we see God’s actions and directions not lining up with current culture, we need to take note of it.  We know that God is right and our culture is wrong in every one of these instances.  Sometimes it takes our culture thousands of years to catch up to what is right.

The historical account of Zelophehad’s daughters in Numbers 27 is one of my favorite examples of this.  I’ll just call them Z’s daughters.

At that time in history, women were considered to be the property of men and most men had more than 1 wife.  When Z died without having any sons, Z’s five daughters asked to inherit his property.

What!?

That just wasn’t done.

Women didn’t inherit property.  They WERE property.

When Moses took this case to God, God said, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right.  You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.”  Numbers 27:7.  He stipulated that they had to marry within their tribal clad so that the land stayed with in the family.  If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense since the land was physically divided by clans.  This kept everything organized as God had designed.

I bet there were many long and heated discussions by the male leaders of the families as they gathered around the campfire at night!  This story is only 4 paragraphs in the Bible but I’ll bet the arguments against doing this could fill up several scrolls if they had all been written down.

I’m sure the same concern came up that was discussed with King Xerxes later in the book of Esther.  If these women received this request now, they are just going to ask for more and more.  A dangerous trend was starting!  But we read that they made the right decision and obeyed.

It took thousands of years but – yes, women inherit and own property now.  As recently as the 1950’s women were generally considered not capable of inheriting and running large properties and businesses.  But way back in ancient times, God knew he had created women equal to men.  Different, but equal.  He set a spiritual leadership hierarchy in place within marriages that has everything to do with order and process and nothing to do with intelligence and aptitude.

And our culture has finally caught up to God’s truth in this area ….. in most cases.

Please help us live by your truth, Abba Father.

Blessings of Obedience

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Our world can be so disappointing – people lying to get ahead, just telling you and I what they think we want to hear.  Often, never actually intending to do what they say they will do. They don’t even remember they said it!

Or other people intending to do what they said but never doing it. Too busy, no money, couldn’t figure it out, yada-yada-yada.

Frustrating.

God is just the opposite.

He always does what he says he is going to do.  He always keeps his promises.  He doesn’t always do things the way that we think He should but – then again –

He is God and we are not –

He is perfect and we are not –

we are limited by our 3 pound brains while His is infinite, all-knowing and eternal.

I just need to accept that His ways are better than mine – in every situation.  I need to stand firm each day on the fact that God loves me and wants the best for me.

God clearly tells what I’m supposed to be doing and how he will respond in Leviticus 26:3 – 13, ” If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will….. “

Okay, my part is to keep His commands and obey Him.  In response, God says his blessings will rain down on me from heaven –

He will bless my labor, what I do.

That sounds great!

He will provide food to eat and a safe place to live.

Thank you, Father.

He will give me peace – I will lie down at night without fear.

Exactly what I need.

He will remove danger and my enemies from my life.  I will have victory over  the evil that surrounds me.

Yes, Father!

God will look on me with favor and keep all of his promises.

You are always faithful, Father.

He will give me prosperity.  He will be my God and I will be his daughter.

Please help me prosper, Father, in the things that money can’t buy- like peace, joy and love.

I believe this and will do what He asks, moving forward with my eyes focused on Him.  Then I will receive these many blessings of obedience.

Amen.  May it be so, Abba Father.

Whatever Works for You

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us.   Then we’ll all be happy.

Or not.

“In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as they saw fit”. Judges 21:25. This is how the book of Judges ends.  It may sound good until we scan back a couple of chapters and realize what they thought was ‘fit’ to do. 

Family members were stealing from each other.  They obviously thought this was an ok thing to do.

Family members were kidnapping each other.  They thought this was ok as well.

Family members were killing each other to the point that they virtually annihilated one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  I wonder how they could possibly think this was ok but they did.  They could rationalize anything. Their moral judgement was quickly spirally into total chaos and confusion.

Because they had no compass.

Sounds familiar? Our current culture obviously has many of these same issues.

Why?

When I base what is right and wrong on what I think, I’m in trouble.  Then I’m just like these Israelites – doing what I see fit and letting my standards waiver in whatever direction the wind is blowing. When I do what I think is right, it can hurt you as well. My bad decisions have a lot of consequences.

God has been very clear to you and me on moral boundaries. His Word to us is full of direction and guidance. I might not like all of it. You may not agree with all of it. But that doesn’t change his Word to us.

The image of standing under an umbrella of God’s Blessing is stuck my head and reminds me that one of my main goals in life is to stay in line with God. When I obey God and follow the compass he has given me, I am placing my life under his umbrella of blessing. When I don’t obey God and just do what I want to do, I am stepping out from under his umbrella. I can’t expect God to bless my decisions and life when I’m not obeying him.

One example is tithing. If we have put our faith in God, we also want to give back to him a portion of all he has given us. This means being faithful with tithing. We can’t expect God to bless our finances if we don’t.

It’s my choice and I choose to obey so I stay under the umbrella – every hour of every day.

What do you choose?

My Story

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

It’s a story of redemption.  It’s my story because I needed a Redeemer, someone to fill up the hole that was deep within my soul.  I needed the Only One who could save me from eternal separation from God.

It’s clear to me that the story of Ruth in the Bible is the story of everyone who has put their faith in Jesus.  I can see God orchestrating his love and grace in every step of the story.  Without Jesus in our lives,  you and I would all exist in a famine, without hope – stuck in our past.

But in Jesus we have found our Redeemer!  Hallelujah!

Jesus paid the price of our sins for us so we could make him Lord of our lives and become part of his forever family.  When we admit that we need a Savior and turn away from our rebellion and sin while turning toward Jesus, we become filled with the power of the Holy Spirit under God’s umbrella of grace and blessing.

Have you made this decision?  It not, today is a great day to fill the emptiness inside your soul with the light of Jesus.

“Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsmen redeemer.” Ruth 4:14.

Thank you, Abba Father.

When It’s Big…

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

and bad…

and scary,

even people who don’t love God will turn to him, pray to him, cry to him.  This is because our souls know who he is even if our minds won’t acknowledge it.  He created us and the heart he molded inside of us cries out to its maker when we’re in significant trouble.

In Judges 10, the Israelites are on one of their downward spirals of sin.  They have stopped serving God and have started serving Baal…..again.  So God let the pagan kingdoms who also served Baal crush them and oppress them.

It was bad.

So the Israelites cried out to God and he replied, “Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen.  Let them save you when you are in trouble.” Judges 10:14.

Sometimes, as a Good Father who wants to teach us life lessons, God says this same thing to us today.  If we have placed things other than God as our top priority, they are our gods.  Why don’t we go to them to save us?

If we put money ahead of God in importance in our lives, there will be situations where God lets us learn the hard way that money is not our security.  It disappears, it turns into a nightmare when we use credit, and the stuff we buy with it only makes us happy for a little while.  Have you and I learned this yet?

Relationships – people are flawed.  Unconditional love only comes from God.  My spouse, my children, my relationships cannot be my first priority.  God didn’t create our lives to work that way.  When we put him first, he helps us with everything else and its much better than we could do on our own.  Have you and I learned this yet?

Careers – money, recognition, power, prestige often distract us from God.  Sadly, tragically, we can find that we were struggling so hard for so many years to climb up what looks like the ladder to success only to find that the ladder we are so desperately climbing is up against the wrong wall.  At the end, there’s a huge, disappointing fall.  Have you and I learned this yet?

Anything we put before the One True God in our lives becomes a false god as we serve it and love it and focus on it.   These false gods will be no help when the bottom falls out of our lives.  When tragedy blows our lives apart.  Then our hearts will cry out to our Creator God just like the Israelite’s hearts did.

The Israelites had been taught well and they knew exactly what to do to get back in line with God.  They repented and got rid of their false gods.  And God responded by helping to deliver them from their enemies.  They still had to fight and struggle (consequences for their bad decisions) but God gave them victory.

God has told us he is a jealous God and he will not tolerate his people serving other gods.  When its big and bad – and there are always times in our lives when its big and bad –  none of these false gods are going to be of any use to us.

Have you and I learned this yet?

He Always Responds

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

The next step I’m suppose to take is often not clear.  There are a lot of blind curves on this road I’m on – I can’t see what lies ahead.  I’m usually pretty sure about the final goal but the specific actions God wants me to take to get there are covered in a fog of options, questions, and unknowns.

When I’m in one of these ‘unclear’ spots on my road, I ask for a confirmation from God that I’m on the right path – or not.  And he always either gives me a confirmation or opens up my eyes to a change in direction.

So I know how Gideon is feeling in Judges when he is trying to figure out if he is doing the right thing – for the second time.  “Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me.  Let me make just one more request.  Allow me just one more test with the fleece.”   Judges 6:39.

You and I like to know we are on the right path.  Is this what God wants me to do?  Is this where he wants you to go?

For me, I have decided not to ask God to do a specific ‘sign’ for me.  It feels too much like telling God he has to jump through hoops before I will do something he is wants me to do. Too much like testing God.

I’ve developed my own process of asking God to give me clear guidance sometime today and I will be watching.  When I do this, I try to stay extra aware of anything that could be direction from God telling me to “keep going’ or something that opens up my eyes, helping me understand a different direction I should be taking. It works. One of the many ways God says ‘keep going’ is by encouragement other people give me. I feel like that is God patting me on the back, saying I’m on the right track, keep moving forward. One of the ways God changes my direction is when I’m sitting here reading his word every morning. He will Bold some words or phrases – you wouldn’t be able to see it, but I do. There’s my answer – in black and white.

I’m an action-oriented person so one of the ways God tells me I should stop or not do something is when I planned to get it done that day but it didn’t happen. I had a truly astounding situation with God several years ago when I thought I had to take care of a family issue by making a phone call that I knew would not go well. For two days, I just could not find time for that phone call. I’m the opposite of a procrastinator – is there a name for that? – so I knew this was God’s intervention. I dropped my plan and just prayed. A couple of weeks later I discovered God had taken care of the whole issue. Done. Better than I could have orchestrated in a hundred years.

I know God is always trying to guide me and show me the way.  I am amazed at how clearly God can interact with me when my focus is on him and what he wants. Don’t get me wrong, I am far from perfect in this. I forget. I get lost in the weeds. The only time this goes well is when I genuinely want what God wants. He knows my heart. He hears me.

He always responds.

And then I smile.   Of course he does.

With Me

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Every day…

Every situation…

Every trial…

Every joy…….

The Spirit of the LORD is with me.

In the Old Testament, there were times when God would give his Spirit to someone when he had a tough assignment for them.  We read in Judges that Caleb’s little brother, Othniel, became a judge for the Israelites.  God raised him up to deliver the Israelites from slavery to the King of Aram Naharaim.

“The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war.” Judges 3:10. God’s Spirit made Othniel strong and courageous.

As believers today, we live under the New Covenant with God.  Everything changed when God sent Jesus into the world to save us from eternal separation from God. Now, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of each of us when we accept the salvation Jesus freely offers to each of us and make him Lord of our lives.

Jesus is Lord of my life.  God’s Spirit is with me every minute of every day.  His Spirit wants to make me strong and courageous, too.

And loving,

joyful,

peaceful,

patient,

kind,

faithful,

gentle and self-controlled.

All of this is inside me – I just need to let God’s spirit have his way in my life.

If you are a believer, all of these great things are inside of you, too.  It’s time to nurture them and let the Spirit show.

Thank you for the awesome gift of your Spirit,  Abba Father.