Category: May

Psalm 100, 2016

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

All of the earth shouts because you bring us so much joy, LORD!

We worship you with smiles on our faces!May 2 psalm 100 2016

We sing praises to you because of the joy you give us!

We know you are God.  You made us.  We are yours.

We are your people.  We belong to you.

We are so grateful that we have the privilege of having a personal relationship with you, God!

When we come together in your house, we are filled with praise!

Thank you, Father!

You are so good to us!  Your love will never end.

We praise you for your faithfulness to us and to our parents and our grandparents and everyone that has lived before us.

And we praise you for your faithfulness to our children and our grandchildren and all of those who are yet to come.

We know we can always count on your faithfulness, dear God.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Psalm 93, 2016

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

The Lord is our King!

He is majestic and strong.May 1 psalm 93 2016

He created the world – firm and secure.

He is eternal – forever – no beginning and no end.

The seas shout your praise, LORD, as their waves pound on the rocks.  You are mightier than the thunder of the great waters!  The LORD in heaven is mighty!

Your commands are clear and unchanging, LORD.

You are our Holy God, set apart from everything else – forever.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

Setting My Heart on God

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

What does it mean to set our hearts on the Lord?

We set our hearts on the Lord by loving God with all of our heart, mind and soul.  June 2 2015 set my heart on the Lord

This isn’t a superficial relationship of going to church once a week.  This is a passionate quest for more of God, less of me.

More obedience, less independence.

More seeking God’s wisdom, less thinking that we know what’s good for us.

More prayer, less talking.

We read in 1 Kings that Rehoboam established his position as king and became strong.  Then he stopped following God.  Because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.  He was not committed to God.   He was not on a journey towards the truth of God.

He was like people we know who are religious because of the traditions they follow.  But their heart isn’t involved.

They are missing it!  A personal relationship with God.  A relationship which can give us strength and peace and power and love.  WHEN we set our hearts on seeking the Lord.

Thank you, Abba Father.

What is the Meaning of LIfe?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon tells us about the emptiness of human wisdom,

the emptiness of pleasure,

the emptiness of achievement,

the emptiness of labor,

the emptiness of our human condition,

the emptiness of accumulation,

the emptiness of unshared lives,

the emptiness of politics,

the emptiness of false worship,

the emptiness of wealth,

the emptiness of materialism,

the emptiness of prosperity,

the emptiness of strength.

We can easily get confused and distracted by our pursuit of the things on this list.  We think they will bring us happiness.

Solomon tells us they will not.  He has tried them all and none of them have given him what he was looking for.

Only one thing fills the emptiness that is inside of each one of us – a relationship with God.  This will make us happy.  Nothing and no one else will do that for us.

Solomon teaches us to strive for balance in our life as we find our purpose in knowing God and obeying him.

Everything else is meaningless.

Please help us always find our purpose in you, Abba Father.

Why?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Why does God tell us so often in his word to avoid wicked people and to keep away from those who would lead us away from him?  In the last verse of James 1, God tells us that true religion is to keep from being polluted by this world.

Why?May 27 2015 Why

Because it happens all of the time.  It happens before we realize it.  The rotten culture that surrounds us sucks us in and we end up somewhere we don’t want to go.

Far from God.

Focused on worthless things as we deal with all of the negative consequences that come with our disobedience.

We read King Solomon’s sad story in 1 Kings of turning away from the One True God in order to serve various detestable idols.

Why?

Where did all of that magnificent wisdom we read in Proverbs go?  We are memorizing Proverbs 2 where God tells us through King Solomon that wisdom will save us from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Why didn’t King Solomon follow his own directions?

I don’t know how you feel, but it’s a little frightening to see how far he wandered.  He had it all.  And he gave it up.  For idols made by men.

Why?

To make his wives happy.  He obviously thought that would make him happy.

How could he do this?  He knew the truth and yet, he turned away from it.

Why?

Because the lure of this world we live in has an extremely strong effect on us if we don’t keep our eyes focused on God.  Satan and his team work night and day to distract us from God in any way possible.  They know that if they can get us to wander even a little bit, they’ve got us.  Because everything of the world calls out to our sinful desires.  And we are enticed.  And our eyes shift off of God onto ourselves.  Onto what we want.  Onto what we think will make us happy.

That’s what happened to King Solomon.  The wisest man who ever lived.

Please hold us very close, dear Father and help us keep our eyes on you.

Proverbs 30, 2015

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Every word of God is flawless.

He has promised to be a shield to his faithful ones and he always keeps his promises.

We need know his truth so that we don’t become liars by adding or subtracting anything from his word.

Two things I ask of you, Lord;May 25 2015 flawless

keep me far away from the lies of the world around me.

And give me your perfect provision for each day.

I don’t want to be rich – then I might forget how much I need you each day.

And I don’t want to be poor because that could distract me from focusing on you as well.

Help me live my life in a way that honors you, my God.

The Search

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

She was searching for wisdom.  She was looking for the truth like it was silver and searching for it like it was hidden treasure.

The Queen of Sheba took a dangerous journey of 1200 miles on camels through a hot desert to check out the wisdom of King Solomon.  She came prepared with some hard questions.  And she was awed by the wisdom in his answers.

As we read and memorize Proverbs, we are being presented with this same wisdom.May 15 b The search 2015

Wisdom about:

dealing with fools,

patience,

the value of wise advice,

discipline,

love and compassion,

pride and humility,

selfishness,

jeolousy,

self-control,

patience,

wise and foolish talking,

flattery,

slander and gossip,

meddling,

wealth and poverty,

patience,

generosity

and more. (Did you notice one that I mentioned more than once? :))

We know that all of Solomon’s wisdom came from God.

And that wisdom is available to us as we cry aloud for it, as we store it up in our minds and as we apply it to our hearts.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Filled Up

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Solomon built a magnificent temple for the Lord and, as he was finishing the dedication of it, fire came down from heaven to consume the burnt offerings and sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

We are told several times in the New Testament that our body is the temple of God.May 15 2015 filled up

The redeeming grace of Jesus changed our relationship with God.

Now his spirit lives within us.

And God wants to fill us with his fire and with his passion – just like he filled Solomon’s temple.

God wants to fill us with his glory – so that his love and light can shine out of us.

God wants to fill us with his power, his goodness, his peace.

We just need to let him.

In Proverbs 2, God tells us to store up his truth within us.  He tells us to call out for insight and to search for his truth like it was hidden treasure.

When we do this, we will understand the knowledge of God and we will know every good path that God wants us to take.

We want to be filled with your spirit, dear Father.

 

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.