Category: October

Freedom!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

The Spirit of the Lord was upon him.

God had annointed him to share the Good News of salvation with the poor.  Those who are poor because they lacked resources. And to those who are poor because they lack the truth.  They lack meaning in their lives.Oct 24 2015 freedom

God sent Jesus to set the prisoners free!

We were all slaves to sin.

We were all stuck in the bondage of hopelessnes and darkness.

Until Jesus came.

Until he opened our blind eyes.

Until he lifted the oppression of sin from us, delivering us and giving us a life filled with love and grace.

Today we proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!

We proclaim a lifetime of the Lord’s favor!

Jesus came.

Jesus loved.

Jesus saved us!

And his spirit lives within all believers today!

Amen!  Hallelujah!

Well Pleased

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Jesus was just getting ready to start his ministry.

He hadn’t done any miracles yet.Oct 22 2015 Well pleased

He hadn’t talked about what he was going to do on earth.

He hadn’t shared any good news of love and forgiveness yet.

That didn’t matter.

When John baptized Jeus, the heaven opened up and God’s voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ( Matthew 3:17)

Jesus was God’s son and God was pleased with him!

Jesus hadn’t ‘done’ anything yet.

He was God’s son and God was pleased with him.

Let’s rest on that fact for a moment…..

take a deep breath……

and feel the love of God pouring over us……..

hear the voice of God in our souls saying, “This is my child whom I love.  In them, I am well pleased.”

It’s not about what we’re doing for God.

Its about his love for us.

When we accept the salvation offered by Jesus, we are adopted by God.

He loves us not because of what we do for him.  He loves us in spite of our sin and rebellion and disobedience.

For God so loved the world.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Great Joy!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

The angels had such good news to tell the world on the night Baby Jesus was born!

They told the shepherds to not be afraid – their news as going to create great joy for all people.Oct 20 2015 great joy

Great Joy!

For all people!

For all time!

The shepherds found Baby Jesus in the stable right where the angels said he would be.  And they praised God!

Simeon realized that his wait for a Messiah was over when he saw the Baby Jesus in the temple.  And he praised God!

Anna also recognized the Baby Jesus as the one who would redeem Jerusalem.  And she praised God!

We have great joy today because the Baby Jesus was born!

The Messiah!

He came to save all of us from our sin!

He brought peace into our world of chaos and anger.

He brought grace so he could replace our guilt and shame with his love.

He brought wholeness for our broken and empty souls.

He brought light into our dark and lost lives!

Today we join with the shepherds and Simeon and Anna in praising God for sending his son for us!

Thank you, Abba Father, for such Great Joy!

The Rising Sun……

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

has come to us from heaven.Oct 20 2015 the rising sun

He came because of God’s tender mercy toward us.

He came to shine on us –

  • because we were lost in darkness.
  • we were in the shadows of death.

He came to guide our feet onto the path of peace.

The question for us today is –

Are we walking in the light of the Rising Sun?

Are we listening?

Are we obeying?

Are we following the paths of peace as we live out the truth and grace Jesus brought with him from heaven?

Please help us, dear Father.

The Darkness

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

The darkness can seem overwhelming.

Just when we think we’ve ‘heard it all’, another atrocity comes to light.

It’s nothing new.

The darkness has been a part of this life on earth ever since sin entered the garden.

But the darkness appears to be growing….

Is that because we are so ‘in touch’ that we know all of the bad things going on in the world?  And the media is always looking for something shocking and riveting to talk about so we hear the horrible details over and over?

Thank you, Abba Father, that we know the one who is the Light that shines in this darkness.Oct 15 2015 the darkness

And the darkness will not overcome it.

We are witnesses to that Light.

We believe in the Light.

We have experienced the Light that has come into our lives.  Into our hearts.

Because of the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we have the Light.

We belong to the Light.

Thank you, Abba Father.

HIS Story

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

It’s significant, as we read the Chronological Bible, that we don’t reach the New Testament until the middle of October.

Three-quarters of our year is spent reading, studying, and meditating on the Old Testament.Oct 17 2015 HIS Story

This is HIS Story.  And the Old Testament is a very big part of HIS Story.

God wants us know him.  He is the same as he was 2000+ years ago.  He will always be the same.

His love.

His provision.

His grace – even before he sent his son, Jesus.

His direction and guidance.

His righteousness.

His promises.

We know our Father God more intimately when we know and understand the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is vital to our ‘knowing’ God – that’s why we just spent 9 months reading and meditating on it.

9 months!  How appropriate!

With a smile on our faces, we now turn the page to the New Testament.

The most important event in human history is about to take place.

“For God so loved the world…”

Thank you, Abba Father!

Real Love

On By Judy GlasserIn October1 Comment

We humans don’t know how to really love each other. We love each other if the other person is being lovable.  We love each other when the other person looks right, acts right and smells good.  Our love quickly fades – proven by our divorce rates.  Our love quickly gives up when the going gets tough – proven by the number of one-parent families in our culture.

It’s too little, too late, too conditional.

Even at the best of times, our love is just a tiny drop of moisture compared to the ocean of love that God has for us.

We can never understand the depth and the width and the height of God’s love.

But we can believe.

And when we believe, we find the most important love relationship of our lives.Sept 15 2015 climbing a tall ladder

Here is an excerpt from the Experiencing God bible study that I’m going through with my small group right now.  Understanding and believing this truth forever changed how I look at God’s commands. How I read his Word to me.  It blew up my previous perception of God’s love and changed how I lived my life from that day on:

“God loves you deeply and profoundly.  Because he loves you, He has given you guidelines for living so you will not miss the full dimensions of the love relationship.  Life also has some land mines that can destroy you or harm your life.  God does not want to see you miss His best, and He does not want your life destroyed by foolish choices.

Suppose you had to cross a field full of land mines and a person who knew exactly where each one was buried offered to take you through it.  Would you say to him, “I don’t want you to tell me what to do.  I have free will!  I don’t want you to impose your ways on me”?

I don’t know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could.  I certainly would not wander off.  His directions to me would preserve my life.  He would say, ‘Don’t go that way, because that way will kill you.  Go this way, and you will live.’

That is the purpose of God’s commands.  He wants you to receive life and have it abundantly.  When the Lord gives you a command, He is trying to protect and preserve the best He has for you.  He does not want you to lose it.  When God gives a command, He is not restricting you.  He is freeing you.”

Thank you, Abba Father!

Hard to Wait

On By Judy GlasserIn October1 Comment

When we want something to happen,

when it’s going to be good,

when today isn’t that great.

But we have to wait.

The Old Testament ended on a high point of the Israelites turning back to God, listening to his Word and trying to obey.

Then came a 400-year break in God’s Word to us.Oct 14 2015 Hard to Wait.

We know the Israelites continued on with their lives during that time.

They were waiting….

expecting the Messiah to show up.

How long were they going to have to wait?

The historical record of the Old Testament ends but there are many other historical documents written during these 400 years.  Several of these have been grouped together in the Apocrypha.  I’m especially interested in the book of Judith ( I wonder why?).  It reads a lot like the book of Esther without the awesome “for such a time as this” part.

400 years of waiting.

That’s a long time.

A very long time of anticipating the coming of the Messiah who will save them from their enemies.

A glorious time was coming……

But when?

The Battle

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

We are under constant attack.

Satan and his army are always on the offense – looking for any weakness in our armor.Oct 9 2015 the battle

Plotting against us.

We read about Nehemiah’s strategy for dealing with the attacks of those who were opposed to rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall and we see how this strategy can work for us today as well.

While half of the men worked on the rebuilding the wall, the other half guarded the workers with shields, spears and armor.  Those who carried the materials worked with one hand and held their weapon ready in the other.

They protected each other.

They provided a shield for those doing the main work – those who were working with 2 hands.

They carried their weapons with them while they worked.

This same strategy will work for us today.  God has given us his armor of truth and righteousness.  He has given us the mighty sword of his Word.  He gives us the awesome privilege of interceding for others through prayer.

All of these weapons are available to us as we battle Satan’s evil attacks on us and other workers of God.

Providing a shield for others.

Strengthening each other’s armor.

Joining together in battle.

And diligently carrying our own sword.  Maintaining our own armor.

So Satan doesn’t get a toehold.

We know Satan is already defeated.  He has lost the war.

It’s time that we all help him realize that 🙂

In your name and by your power, Abba Father.

 

 

Flooded With Blessings

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

“Test me in this.”

God only says this once in his Word to us.Oct 5 2015 floodgates of blessing

He tells us to bring the whole tithe into his house.  When we do this, he promises to “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10).

Wow!  Such a great promise!

Don’t we want that to be true in all of our lives?

Those of us who have tested God in this have experienced these blessings.  When we are faithful with our wealth, God truly does throw open the floodgate of blessings upon our lives.

Sometimes these blessings take the shape of actual money with raises, promotions or even unexpected checks showing up in the mail. (This just happened again to me).

But the greatest blessings God pours abundantly upon our lives are from the things that money can’t buy.  Like joy.  Purpose.

Peace.

Oh, the peace that comes from knowing that God is providing exactly what I need is priceless.  The peace that comes from knowing that God is in charge of our bank account is supernatural.  The prosperity that comes from God is perfect – the right kind, the right time.

God wants us to be faithful with our wealth…

because it’s good for us.  It’s right for us.

And he will open the floodgates.

He has promised.

Thank you, Abba Father.