Category: March

Compromise

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Compromise is often a good thing.  You and I have to be good at compromising in our relationships so that we don’t always need to have things go our way.  A big skill in having a good marriage is knowing when to compromise and when to stand your ground.

I don’t have to read much of the Old Testament to know that the Israelites were not wise about when to compromise.  As they intermingled with the pagan people living around them, we regularly see them compromise on things like their values and their commitment to God.  Those are exactly the areas that should have no compromise.

God told them repeatedly to totally demolish the people who were living  in the Promised Land as they took over their inheritance …..but they didn’t.  God knew the Israelites would be attracted to the pagan gods and the pagan way of life which would lead them away from him – the One True God.

The Israelites compromised and, of course, it happened.  They intermarried with the pagans and started worshipping worthless idols.  Their values got lost in the evil and empty pagan culture they lived in.  They foolishly forfeited the faithful heritage handed down to them from Abraham and Moses.  They traded all that in for man-made wooden idols.

They compromised.

And they lost.

As I read this, God is reminding me not to compromise when it comes to my faith and what I believe.  God’s Word is my compass.  The values and idols of our current culture should have no influence on my commitment to my relationship with God.

Everything can and will change around me, but God stays constant, true and faithful.

No compromise.

Thank you, Abba Father.

I’m Stepping In

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Stepping up.

Making the first move.

I often ask God to direct my steps.  My prayers regularly include requests for him to show me an opportunity 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 what the 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 is significant to 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 they had to step in.

An act of faith.  An act of obedience.

As soon as the priest’s feet touched the water’s edge, the water stopped flowing.  They had to commit and then they saw God respond.  In the middle of a rushing river, 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 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 find that when I’m focused on doing these things I already know I need to be doing, I see God part the waters for me.  He blesses my last step and reveals my next step.

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.

The Cost of Disobedience

On By Judy GlasserIn March1 Comment

It’s hard not to draw some kind of parallel between what’s happening with the Coronavirus and what we read in Deuteronomy 28.

It’s difficult to read in the Bible about the curses of disobedience – plagues, ruin, captivity and disease.  Then there is the most horrible curse where they were eating their children so they wouldn’t starve.  Unbelievable!

We think that this couldn’t happen today except – it is.  We continue to hear of current situations where parents are cruel and unfeeling – and their children suffer and die.  Babies are legally killed every day.   Nastiness, violence and slavery are not things of the past.  It’s happening today in the communities where we live.

And now we have the Coronavirus.  Is it a modern-day plague?  God often used plagues in the Old Testament as a form of punishment for disobedience and he also used them to get the attention of his people when they had wandered too far away from him.

Have we wandered too far away?

God knows that each step we take away from him leaves Satan more room to move.  As our distance from God grows, so does evil.   Satan whispers in our ears the same lie he told the Israelites, “You’ll be okay, go ahead and do whatever you want to do.”

The truth that God tells us is we are not okay when we rebel and disregard God.

Have you seen the movie, “The Shack”?   Awesome movie – just make sure you have a bunch of tissues handy when you watch it.  It was really interesting to see that God was portrayed as female at the beginning of the movie and later he was a male because he said the main character of the movie needed a father at that time.  One conversation the main character  had with God is now seared into my brain.  The main character asked God why she  punished people.  And she said, ” I don’t need to punish anyone.  The consequences of your sins are punishment enough.”

As believers, we live under the New Covenant of grace so I don’t believe God punishes us for our sins any longer.  But as our perfect Father, he lets us pay the consequences of our sins and the sins of others while he walks with us through those experiences, teaching us and guiding us.

We punish ourselves when we disobey and wander away from God.  The consequences of our bad choices are often painful and long lasting.

Do you and I think we can do whatever we want and still be okay?

It’s a lie.

Please fill our minds with your truth, Abba Father.

Choose to Obey

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

God asks you and I, “Do you want to be blessed?”  He tells us how in Leviticus 29.

If you are careful to obey my commands, I will shower my blessings upon you.

You will be fruitful and prosperous.

I will keep you safe.

I will bless you with peace.  You will sleep well – not fearful of anything.

I will remove all threat to your safety from your life.  Your enemies will fail.

Don’t worry about being outnumbered by the evil ones – I am on your side.  I will look upon you as my favorite child – providing for you and always being faithful.

My blessings will overflow in your life – one on top of another.

I will walk with you and live with you.  I will be your God and you will be my child.

I am the Lord your God who sent my only son to die for you so you might believe and live with me forever.

I gave you freedom so you can choose to stand faultless before me.  You can choose to walk closely beside me everyday.  You can choose to love me and listen to me.

You can choose to obey.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Never Forgotten

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

It makes sense.  I see the connections and consistent messages.

One of the main reasons I love reading the entire Bible every year is the fact that I can clearly see the topics that regularly show up and this tells me what is important to God.

One of the topics that is a main theme throughout God’s word is how much God loves and cares for poor people.  From the beginning of time to the end, the poor in our midst are close to God’s heart.

In Leviticus 19 we read how God directs the Israelites not to clear their fields again after their first harvest.  They needed to leave the remaining grain, olives and grapes for the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows.

At this time in history, showing any care for the poor was not normal behavior.  Usually the fields were picked a second time to make sure the landowner got every single grape or olive or stalk of grain.  They wanted it all for themselves – there was no thought of people less fortunate.

Sound familiar?  Our culture is not very different, is it?  We have houses and sheds and garages and storage units full of stuff we’re not using.  Many of these are things that other people could use and would really benefit from.  But we would have to be willing to give it away.

I recently saw a post on Facebook suggesting that, instead of giving up chocolate or TV or anything else that doesn’t benefit others for lent, maybe each day we could take one thing we own but don’t use and put it into a bag.  Then at Easter we could give this bag away to a charity or thrift store.

What do you think?

This is the idea God was introducing to the Israelites in Leviticus – don’t keep it all for yourself.  Give some away.

God speaks often and loudly in the Bible about how much he cares for the less fortunate people around us.  Do you think he is happy about how you and I care for them?

Please our eyes and our hearts, Abba Father.

He Breaks Through the Lies

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Always fair.

Always right.

These are some of the characteristics of God that I use to filter everything through as I read his Word.  I may not understand everything God does but I know he is always fair and right.

As I read Numbers 27,  I can see how God breaks through the false thinking of that time when women were considered part of a man’s belongings and wealth.  Women didn’t own anything – they were ‘sold’ to men in marriage.

But God is always right and fair so he let  Zelophehad’s daughters inherit their father’s land.  By doing this, God revealed what he really thought about the current cultural norms of treating women less than men.  That isn’t how he sees things.

Sure, the head of the family clan (male) didn’t like it.  But he obeyed God and let the daughters inherit their father’s land.  The women were instructed to marry within their clan so that the land would stay within their group.

Just imagine this – 5 young unmarried women who would normally lack any kind of position in the community are now land-owners!  God’s love and care for his daughters is  shining through – challenging this male-dominated culture.

And, I’m sure, as landowners, these young women had no trouble finding husbands.  I wonder if these marriages were a little different because they began in a more equal position?

This culture did not treat women equally, but God did.  He always does.

Thank you, Abba Father.

This is the Key

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Some people spend their whole lives searching for the key to life.  And many of them never find it.

It’s extremely sad that a growing number of people are choosing suicide as an alternative to living an empty and hopeless life.

And yet the key to having a full and meaningful life is readily available.

It’s soooo awesome that Moses said it thousands of years ago and it’s still the answer today.

“Oh, that you would choose life…  You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him and committing yourself firmly to him.  This is the key to your life.”

This is the key to my life.  I know that.  I have tried filling my life with other stuff as I moved through different phases of my life.  I know the lack of contentment that comes from chasing after material belongings like cars and houses.

I know how it feels to being consumed by meaningless rounds of parties and partying friends, trying to fill the void.

I also know the ache that comes from putting my career first before everything else in my life.  When I achieved success and recognition at work, my reaction was, “Is this all there is?  Why do I feel so empty when my career is going so well?”

All of these worthless, meaningless, empty feelings went away when I committed to put God first in my life.  My experience matches up 100% with the advice Moses gives us – God is the key.

I’m so glad I found the key.

I hope you have, too.

I choose you, Abba Father.

I’ll Never Know

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

I’ll never know all of the things God has done for me.

I’ll never know all of the ways he has protected me and guided me.

I don’t see it all and I don’t always recognize what he is doing.  Much of what he does is subtle – a whisper here and there in my ear…

I try to stay aware of his movements but the cacophony of the world around me so easily drowns God out.

While preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land without him, Moses said, “For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out and your feet didn’t blister or swell.”

Looking back on their last forty years, the Israelites could see how faithful God had been.  Forty years and their clothes didn’t wear out?  What an obvious act of God – and very practical.  As they continued to move across the desert, replacing clothes would have been difficult.  So God took care of their clothes as well as their feet.  A massive crowd of people walked through the dry, hot desert for 40 years and didn’t have problems with their feet?  Only God could do that.

As I read this, I am comforted to know that God is taking care of issues like this in my life as well.   Every once in while, God gives me a glimpse of a potential problem that he has taken care of in my life and it reminds me of how much more he blesses me and watches over me each day.

When I look back, the distractions of today drop away and I can clearly see God’s faithfulness in my life from before I was born.  I can come up with a very long list of  little problems and huge issues that God has handled – caring for me and loving me through it all.

And he hasn’t stopped.

Thank you, Abba Father.

It’s Amazing!

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Hard to explain,

but easy to see.

I’m talking about the supernatural power of God.

Moses was forbidden to enter the Promised Land with the Israelites so, before his death, he spoke to all of them to remind them of everything God had already done for them.  (This reminds me of how easily I forget all the things God has already done for me.)

Moses say to his people, “Do not be afraid of the nations there (in the Promised Land), for the LORD your God will fight for you.”

God was fighting for them –

and he is fighting for you and me right now.

Today God has my back.  He is orchestrating good things for me.  He is arranging circumstances to help me move in the right direction.  God is fulfilling his purposes on earth through me – today.

The same can be said of you if you are a Christ-follower.

Right now, God is saying to us,

___________, (fill in the blank with your name) ‘ Do not be afraid of __________(fill in the blank with what keeps you awake at night) for I, the LORD your God am fighting for you.’

Thank you, Father God.

Blow Your Trumpet!

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

I don’t know how to blow a trumpet….do you?

So what is God trying to say to me as I read ‘blow the trumpets” in Numbers 10?  Thousands of years ago, God was directing the Israelites to blow their trumpets when they went to war to let their enemies know they were coming.

Then God said, “Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too.”

And ‘blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings.”

The Israelites didn’t have God’s Spirit living inside of them like we, as believers, do today.  Blowing their trumpets was a loud, obvious way to acknowledge God’s presence and participation in what they were doing.

I don’t need to blow my trumpet but I do need to acknowledge God’s presence and participation in my life – every day.  I have found the best way to do this is talking with him.  You might call it praying – I consider it more of a conversation because he talks back.

I talk to God about the fears and worries that can fill my head when it’s dark.  Just the other night, my little grand darling, Eden, was staying overnight and she had a cough left over from a cold.  I gave her cough medicine before she went to bed and then woke up at 3 am hearing her coughing again.  After giving her some more medicine, I continue to hear her cough.  Poor baby!  It’s really hard to listen to little ones coughing in the night.  So I talked to God about it, asking him if I should get up with her?  Was there something else I should do?  And he assured me he had it covered.   A short time later the coughing stopped and she slept peacefully until the morning.  And I went back to sleep knowing ‘God’s got this’.  Thank you, Father.

I ask God to join me in the battle when I’m feeling the flaming arrows of the Evil one begin flying at me. (BTW, Satan really hates this blog.)  Please keep me on the path you have prepared for me, Father.

I share my glad times with God who is the Father of Light for all the good things he sends down to me from heaven.  ‘Every good and perfect gift’ is from you, Father. 

I praise God with my offerings of my time, talents and treasure.  You have blessed me with all of them, Father God.  Thank you. 

Many of us have the tradition of asking blessings over our food as we gather together to eat.  I love this moment of gratitude for God’s provision for us as we look at a table full of food.  It’s a great time to acknowledge God in our day – even when we’re in public.  Why not?

It’s time to blow our trumpets!

Thank you, Abba Father.