Category: May

It Shows

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

As we read 1 Kings, we find out that King David is now old and his health is failing.  David has already announced that his son, Solomon, will be the next king.  But his other son, Adonijah, has decided that he is going to be king.  So he starts rounding up people who will support him in this effort.  Against the wishes of his father.  Why would he do this?

We read that “His father had never rebuked him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?”.May 11 2015 It Shows.

David had not disciplined Adonijah.  He had not corrected him when Adonijah’s behavior was out of line.

The result is behavior like this from David’s own son.  No obedience to his father’s wishes.  No respect for his father’s decisions.

We get an insight into another side of David. He was a great king but it looks like he wasn’t as good of a parent.  We have already read about a couple of other exploits of David’s children when they misbehaved.  Adonijah doesn’t appear to be the only child that was not disciplined.

And David paid the consequences for this lack of discipline as he now deals with his grown child’s bad choices.

Parental discipline – and the lack of it – shows.  It shows in our young children and it continues to show up in our grown children.

Dear Father, please help us be great parents who discipline our children well.

Psalm 27, 2015

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

The Lord shines his light on the path I’m supposed to take.

He has saved me.  I have nothing to fear.May 9 Psalm 27 2015

The Lord holds me in his strong, loving hands.

Why should I be afraid of anything?

When problems and situations arise on every side me, trying to overwhelm me, I know that God is here.  He helps me have victory in my life.  Even when everything seems to be stacked against me, I am confident that God will work all of this out for my good.  He has promised.

In spite of all the mess and frustrations and pain of this life, my eyes stay focused on God because I know the end of this story.  When my time is over here on earth, I will go to live with my Abba Father forever.

How is that for a ‘happily ever after’ ending?

He will keep me safe.  He will hold me close to him.

Forever.

My life in heaven is going to be one really long joyfest!

Lord, I know you hear my voice when I call out to you!

I want to know all about you, God.

You have always helped me….I know you won’t stop now.

When everyone else rejects me, you are always there.

I want to learn everything you teach me, Lord, so  I can avoid getting lost in sin and rebellion.  Please help me stay away from the snares and traps of the world that could draw me away from you.

I am confident of this – I will continue to experience your love, goodness, patience and grace here on earth.  And I will discover more of who you are when I come to live with you in heaven.

More of you.

I’m waiting and watching expectantly, Abba Father. 

Psalm 146, 2015

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Praise the Lord!

My praise comes from the bottom of my heart!May 9 2015 Psalm 146

I will praise you all of my life!

As long as I live, I will be singing praises to you, God!

I will not put my trust in human beings.  We will all die at some time and then all of our plans are worthless.

I know that you bless us when we put our hope and trust in you.

You, God, are the maker of all things.  And you will be faithful to us and all of your creation forever.

You care about the oppressed and you feed the hungry.  I should do that, too.

You free us from being prisoners to sin!

You open our eyes to the truth!

When we humble ourselves and bow our knees before you, you lift us up.  You make us whole.  You shine your light on us.

You love those who walk in obedience to your directions.

You watch over the lonely….the forgotten….those that don’t ‘fit in’.  I should do that, too.

You have a special place in your heart for orphans and widows.  I want that, too.

You, my God, make sure that those who are wicked and unrighteous pay the consequences for their choices.  You frustrate them.  Their plans are worthless because you are working against them.

But you are always on my side.  Thank you!

You are my God and you reign forever!  From generation to generation!

I praise you, dear Father!

He is More Grand

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

(Pictures taken on my recent trip to the Grand Canyon)GC red rocks

My eyes are filled with wonder, dear Father.

I look with breathless amazement at this Grand Canyon, the work of your hands.

The pinks, the reds, the blues, the purples and the greens!

I praise you for all of the colors of the rainbow!

Thank you for the extreme care you took in designing my eyes so I can enjoy the rest of your creation!

The canyon is so huge!

And reminds me of your love for me – how deep!  How wide! How high!

DSC_0196I feel so small….just a spot of dust that is here for a short time and then will blow away.

You are so significant! Who am I that you should care for even the hairs on my head?

But then I remember your words to me – I am your child.  You have adopted me for eternity and I matter to you.  You promise me that you have great plans for me and that you will not stop until those plans are complete.

Yes, dear Father!

I am not insignificant to you.  Thank you for the confidence that knowledge gives me!DSC_0178

As I watch a rain cloud float over the canyon, sending its rain down to the bottom of the canyon, I remember the storm clouds that regularly float into my life.  And I know that you are right beside me every time the rain falls…everytime the wind howls…everytime the storm tries to blow me away from you.  So I hold on even tighter and find my security in you.

I feel like I could look into this canyon forever and continue to see something new each time I looked.  I feel that same way about your precious Word to me.  Everytime I read it, opening my mind and heart, I read something new.

Something important.

Something very good.

Some new truth that I need to know.

Yes, this canyon is pretty grand.

But you are much more grand, Abba Father!  Your grandeur stretches out into infinity.  I get to see small bits and pieces of your awesomeness here on earth.  You are so much more!  Your creation is just a small reflection of your magnificence and beauty.

You are so much more!

 

 

Psalm 119 (aleph), 2015

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

You bless us when we make decisions and choices that are in line with your word, oh God.

You bless us when our actions are guided by your truth.May 3 Psalm 119 aleph 2015

You bless us when we seek you with all of our hearts.

When we follow your directions to us, we are right where you want us to be.

You have given us all the guidance we need.  Now its our turn to do our part – and that’s to obey.

I want to be obedient, dear Father!

Then I will have no regrets.  No shame.  No guilt when I read your word and realize the difference between my behavior and how you want me to behave.

I want to be able to praise you with a heart fully committed to living my life according to your plan.

Please help me live a life of obedience to you!

Amen, let it be so, Abba Father.

Psalm 67, 2015

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

May God be gracious to us and bless us.

As we look up to the sun and see the light, maybe we also look up to God and see his face full of love shining down on us.

We want to know you, dear God, here on earth.April 30 Psalm 67, 2015

May the Good News of your salvation spread through all of the nations!

We praise you, God!

May all people join us as we sing your praises, filled with joy and gladness!

You are a perfect father, guiding us and disciplining us.

We praise you, our God!

Let all people join in as we praise you!

You, our God, provide for all of our needs.  You have blessed us in the past and you continue to bless us today.

It is our prayers that everyone here on earth will come to know the blessings of putting their faith in you.

Amen, let it be so, dear Father.

Our Guardian Angels

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

Why do they do it?  Why do police officers put their lives on the lines every day?  Why do they agree to put this huge target on their backs?

Why?

Because God created them this way.  They care about having a safe community for you and me and their loved ones to live in.  To play in.  To not have to be afraid in.

And they are willing to do something about it.

Are there bad cops?  Sure.  Just like there are bad pastors, bad teachers and bad parents.

But the majority of them really care about right and wrong.  They really care about protecting and serving.  And they step up and put their life on the line to prove it.

Then why do Police Officers get such a huge amount of bad press?

This is a clear sign of how hard Satan and his team is working in our confused and ‘follow the crowd’ world.  Yes, we have a lot of information readily at our fingertips today – a lot of incorrect information.

Police officers are very easy targets for people who don’t have any idea of what really happens out there when they are face-to-face with murderers, drug dealers and psychopaths.  Police officers courageous face the danger of dealing with these criminals in an effort to stop them from hurting other people.

We read in God’s word about the guardian angels he sends to protect us and fight our battles for us.

The reality is that some of our guardian angels wear police uniforms.

Thank you, dear Father, for our guardian angels.

The Two-By-Four

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

You wanted it, so I’m letting you have it.

This is what happened to the people of Judah when they stopped following God.  They chose false gods, they set up shrines with male prostitutes and they did the opposite of what they knew to be right.June 2 2014 consequences

So God let them go and experience the consequences of these choices.  “You have abandoned me; therefore I now abandon you to Shiskak.” who was the King of Egypt.

The people then repented and admitted to God that they were wrong so God relented and didn’t let the Egyptians destroy Judah.  But they did become subject to Shishek so that they could learn from their mistake.

God deals with us in much the same way today.  He lets us experience the consequences of our decisions so we can learn.

If we’re honest with ourselves, when things aren’t going well for us, we can often trace our current situation back to bad choices we have made.

Yes, God forgives us of our sins.  And, because he is a great father, he also teaches us lessons we need to learn.

One of my goals in life is to learn God’s lessons the first time so that he doesn’t have to keep teaching me the same lesson over and over.  Whenever we have the same type of issue consistently coming up in our lives, it’s a clear sign that we just aren’t learning.  We aren’t changing our behavior.  It’s been my observation that the issue will just keep growing and growing and growing until it becomes a two-by-four which hits us over the head and now we have to deal with it.  We have to quit avoiding it.  The issue becomes so large that we can no longer look the other way. That’s the two-by-four.  Most of the time, we had opportunities to deal with the issue when it was much smaller.  But we waited..we avoided…we ignored.

Dear Father, please help us learn BEFORE you have to hit us over the head with a two-by-four to get us our attention.

 

 

Empty Words

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

May 29 2014 empty wordsHow often do we make promises to God?  When we pray, do we say, “if you do this, I’ll do that?”  How often do we sing praise songs that speak about our renewed committment to God or how much we will trust in God?  Are these words true?  Or are they empty?  Do we make sure we keep these promises and committments?

Solomon talks about false worship in Ecclesiastes 5.  The sacrifices of fools are empty, meaningless words.  Solomon tells us to let our words to God be few and then make sure we do what we say.

This makes me think of some churches who have traditions of reciting creeds or prayers together.  To avoid empty words, we need to really consider these words and make sure we mean them.

There are some very big committments and promises in the Lords prayer –

‘Your kingdom come, your will be done.”  What are we doing to bring God’s kingdom into our city?  Into our neighborhood?  Are we prioritizing our lives so God’s will is done?

“As it is in heaven”.  The angels in heaven automatically do God’s will – there is no checking of calendars or getting around to it when they have time.  Is that true of us?

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” – really?  Have we forgiven everyone of everything thats ever been done to us?  Do we really want God to forgive us in the same way we have forgiven others?  Or would we really like an extra measure of grace for ourselves?

Solomon tells us not to let our mouths lead us into sin.

Empty words – the sacrifice of fools.

Please help us be sincere, dear God.

It All Connects

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

The wisest man who ever lived made a bad decision which led to another bad decision which caused him to make another bad decision.  These choices took him far from where God wanted him to be.May 27 2014

Marriages to foreign women were forbidden by God because these wives often had great influence with their husbands and would encourage them to worship foreign, false gods.  The culture at that time was filled with false gods of every kind.  The Israelites were the only ones worshipping the True God.  God wanted them to stay separate so that they stayed true to him.

Solomon made a  series of very unwise decisions by marrying a foreign wife and then a another and then another.  And it happened to him – his wives lured him away from the True God.  He started following the detestable gods of his wives.  He even built temples for these various false gods.  The wisest man in the world made some very unwise choices that caused him to become a fool.

It all connects.  The first decision led to the next which caused the next.  Solomon needed to avoid that first bad choice…..but he didn’t.  As a result, God ended David’s kingdom with Solomon.May 27 2014

Proverbs 20:26 reads, “A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them.”  Solomon didn’t winnow out the wicked, he married it.

Proverbs 4 tells us to avoid the path of the wicked, turn from it.  Wise words.  Words Solomon – and us – should follow.  If Solomon had done what he told others to do, his legacy would not be marred by his foolishness at the end of his life.

Solomon’s choices led to his own self-destruction.  His story challenges us to stand firm and strong on the truth of God all the way to the end….which is really only the beginning.