Category: May

Psalm 139, 2020

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

You know me well, LORD.

You know where I am and what I’m thinking about.  You know where I go and when I stay – you know all of my habits.   Before any words come out of my mouth, you know what I’m going to say.  You walk close beside me, with your hand guiding me.

I will never totally understand you – you are too awesome!

I know I am never alone – you are always with me.  Where ever I go – you are already there.  My life is in your hands.  You are constantly guiding me, protecting me and loving me.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I feel alone and everything seems very dark.  But you are there –

you are always there.

Darkness is not dark to you.  Your light shines through.

I know you created me, dear Father.  You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you for how unbelievably wonderful you are!

You create masterpieces!  I know – because I am one of them.  You knew me before anyone else.  You saw me.  You formed me.  And you made plans for my life before I was even born.

Your plans are precious to me, God.  Please show me the path you have designed just for me.

I want to spend all my days with you, Abba Father.

(I’m enjoying using the picture of my grandson in my blogs.   God is forming him right now and we will get to meet him in July.)

Psalm 103, 2020

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

I praise the Lord with all that I am.  I will never forget all he has done for me – he has forgiven all of my sins and healed my brokenness.  He has redeemed me from a life filled with darkness and emptiness.

He fills up my heart with his love and compassion.  He only gives me things that are good for me and renews my strength so I can face each day.

Have I mentioned how compassionate and gracious he is?  And he is so patient with me.  I feel his love pouring down over me and overflowing onto those around me.

He doesn’t treat me like a sinner.  His love for me is bigger than the sky.  He has made my sin disappear from his eyes through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus.

God is a compassionate father to all of us who love him.  He knew us before we were born.

We are like flowers in the field which bloom and  then are gone – blown over by the wind and gone.

But God’s love is never-ending for those who love him.  His promises extend out to the children of the faithful.

Thank you, Abba Father

(This picture is the profile of my little grandson whom God is forming inside of my daughter right now.  God knows all about him already.  We get to meet him in July.)

Psalm 19, 2020

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

The heavens declare your glory, Father!

Every time I look up into the brilliant sky, I see the work of your hands.  Day after day, the skies tell us how huge and magnificent you are.  Night after night, they reveal your power and glory.

The skies don’t talk, they make no sound.  But their voices go out to the ends of the world, telling us about you.

The sun rises every morning at your command – filled with joy and anticipation as it makes its way across the sky, spreading your gift of light and warmth.

Your law is perfect and it refreshes my soul, Father.  Your word is trustworthy, it is able to make me wise.  Your directions are always right for me – they bring joy to my heart.  Your commands give light and open up my eyes.  They are more precious to me than money, fame or success.

You speak through your Word to warn me and you reward me with many blessings when I walk closely with you.

Please forgive my sins – known and unknown – and keep me from willfully straying from your path.

May these words and the attitude of my heart be pleasing to you, Lord, my Rock and My Redeemer.

I love you, Abba Father.

How Often?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

How often do I kneel before God as I pray?

How often do you?

In 1 Kings, King Solomon – the wisest man who ever lived – kneeled in front of the altar of the newly built Temple of the Lord as he dedicated it to God.  Solomon did this in front of the entire Israelite community with his hands raised up to God.

What a sight!

What a statement of Solomon’s submission to God and worship of him!

I have to admit – I don’t kneel in prayer as much as I should.  For several years I was a part of a Bible study group which started every meeting praying on our knees.  I really liked it.  It put everything into a better perspective for me.  God created all things, he owns everything and he is in total control.  Humbling myself before my Eternal God makes sense and feels right.

I have precious memories of my mother kneeling beside her bed every night as she prayed.  Without fail – every night.

My mother had a series of clinical depressions the last 40 years of her life.  When she was depressed she was a sad and quiet person – so different from the happy, people-loving woman she really was.  After going through several long periods of depression, she realized that seeing a good doctor right away was the only way to deal with this issue positively and not lose years of her life to this problem.

Even through the darkest days of her depressions, I would see her kneel before her Father God every night.  It gave me hope.  God was working on this.  There would be an answer.

And there always was an answer.  Slowly, with God’s help and the doctor’s help, she would return to the amazing woman that I knew as my mother.

For me, I have discovered that laying face down on the floor before God is a good way to get an answer when I really need it.  After I lie down on the floor, I totally give my concern to him – “God, I have a decision to make and I need to know what you want me to do.  I don’t care which way this goes and I don’t need all the details – just tell me the direction I need to take with my next step.”  And he always answers.  Sometimes he opens up my mind so that I can see how he has already answered.  Other times, right after I say “Amen” something happens that tells me which way to go.

Either way, I know that showing humbleness and submission to the God of the Universe works.  God honors it.

I need to remember that.

Thank you for the reminders you give me in your Word, Abba Father.

They are Gone

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

I’m amazed.

As I read several of the Psalms David wrote, it is unbelievable how in tune he was with the Holy Spirit.  David writes about several topics that nobody else really understood at the time.

David wrote about salvation which would come from God.  David didn’t know how God was going to do it, but he was totally confident that God was going to make a way to save his children from eternal separation from God.  God was going to make a way for his children so he could take them home to live with him forever.

I also love the line in Psalm 103, “He has removed our sins as far from the us as the east is from the west.”

David lived in the time before anyone discovered that the earth was round.  He wrote those words probably looking from the east to the west, thinking that was a long way.  He didn’t realize the truth that you never go west if you keep going east.  East and west never meet.

David didn’t know that but the Holy Spirit knew that those words would make even more sense to us today.  He is telling us that our sins are forgiven.  They are gone – nonexistent.  And, if anybody tells you differently, that is not the truth.

When we accept the salvation God offers us through Jesus, all of our sins – past, present and future – are gone for all time.  There is nothing else to be done – Jesus did it all.  That’s what grace is all about.

Amazing!

Thank you, Father, for your Living Word which, through the Holy Spirit, made sense to David and also makes sense to us today.

How Does This End?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Wow!  God is talking loudly to me about his truth in Psalm 39.  First, he reminded me that life is short.  Got it!

Now – what is my legacy?

In this Psalm, David is talking to God and he says, “We are merely moving shadows, and all of my busy rushing ends in nothing.

Nothing?!  My busy rushing ends in nothing?

How worthless is that?  That’s not what I want my life to be about!

Do you?

I know – it’s all about priorities.  We all have 24 hours in each day – it’s the great equalizer.  So, when someone says they didn’t have time to do something or they don’t have time to something else, it really means it’s just not a high priority for them.  Because they have time – we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

How do I spend my time and treasures?  What am I busy with?

How about you?

God is very clear that my priorities need to be loving him and loving others.  I have written this truth in this blog probably hundreds of times and I will write it hundreds of more times – because it’s the truth.

And God’s truth does not change.  It doesn’t change over time and it doesn’t change for different people.

You have the same priorities.

And I am very confident if you and I spend our fleeting time on this earth loving God and loving others, God will bless our actions and our lives will have much more meaning than ‘busy rushing which ends in nothing’.  God has a purpose for our lives and, after we have walked into heaven, he wants to be able to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Dear Father, Please help me keep my priorities lined up with your’s.

Psalm 27, 2019

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

LORD, you are the light of my life.  You have saved me – so I am not afraid.

You protect me from danger.  There is no reason for me to tremble.  When the Evil One and his team attack me, trying to tempt me and distract me, they will not win.  Your mighty army of angels surround me and I am not afraid.  Even when my path gets tough, I will remain confident in you.

The one thing I desire most of all, LORD, is to spend my life with you, delighting in you and listening to your voice.

You hold me close when trouble comes.  I hold my head high even when trials come my way.

I praise you, LORD, with songs and shouts of joy!

I know you hear me, LORD.  You answer me, showing great mercy.  You say, “Come and talk with me”, and my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”

I know that you never turn your back on me in anger – you are always ready to help me.  You never leave me or abandon me, O God of my Salvation!  When everyone else leaves me behind you are here, holding me close.

Teach me the right way to live my life, LORD.  Lead me down the path you have prepared for me and do not let me wander.  Help me avoid the pain and consequences of rebellion.  Do let me give into the temptation to act as the evil ones act.

I am confident that you are walking beside me – loving and guiding me – here on earth.

Dear Father, I am waiting patiently for you to lead me.  I’m not going to take one more step without you.

Psalm 19, 2019

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Day after day your heavens speak to us, God, telling us how glorious you are.

Night after night, they teach us about our awesome Creator.  They speak without words or sounds – yet their message is seen throughout the entire world.

Your sun bursts from the skies with joy and radiance.  Each day the sun rises according to your plan and travels across the sky, providing warmth for us all.

The instructions you give us in your Word are perfect, Father.  They revive our spirits.  We can trust your commands – they are simple but wise.  They bring joy to our hearts while they show us the right way to live.

The respect we have for you, God, will last forever.  Your directions are true and fair.  They are more valuable to us than money.  They make our lives sweeter – we see you blessing our lives when we obey you.

Close my heart and mind to rebellion and sin, Father.  You are in control – help me submit to your will so I will be innocent and free of guilt.

May everything I say and do please you, O LORD, my Rock and Redeemer!

Psalm 16, 2019

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

You keep me safe, God.  You are my refuge.  You are my master!

Every good thing I have comes from you.

The faithful people around me encourage me and they are my true heroes.  I see so many others who spend their time and treasures chasing after things that aren’t you.  Their problems grow.  I will not join them in their worthless pursuits.

LORD, I only want you.  You guard my life and bless me.  Everything I have you have given to me.  You are a wonderful Father!

Thank you for guiding me through the darkest times of my life.  I know you are always beside me and, because that is true, I will not be shaken.

My heart is glad!  I praise you!  You have shown me the way to eternal life with you where I will have the joy of living with you forever.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Our Prayer of Praise, 2019

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

If King David was leading us today in the prayer of praise we read in 1 Chronicles, it would probably sound something like this –

Oh, LORD, our God, we will praise you forever and ever.  You are so great, God!  You have all power, glory, victory and majesty!

Everything in the heavens and earth is your’s Father.  This is your kingdom and we adore you.

All wealth and honor come from you – you are the King over everything.  You control all power and might.  You decide which of your people are made great and are given strength.

Thank you, God!  We praise your glorious name.

But who are we, God?  We can’t really give you anything because everything already belongs to you. 

We are here on this earth for merely a moment – this is not our home.  We are but a passing shadow on this earth – quickly gone without a trace.

Everything belongs to you, God.  We know that you see our hearts and rejoice when you find faithfulness and integrity in them.  You know if our motives are good and if we give willingly back to you with joy.

Oh, LORD, please help us obey you.  Help us love you.  Give us a hole-hearted desire to live as you want us to live.

When David was finished, the entire assembly praised God.

We join with King David today to praise you, Father.