Category: October

For Such a Time as This

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Oct 3 2015 For such a time as thisWe wonder….

we get confused….

we worry……

we stumble down the wrong path and end up somewhere we don’t want to be.

Meanwhile, God has it all figured out.  He has promised that his master plan is to prosper us and give us a purpose.  He wants to shower us with his blessings.

If we ask.

If we seek his wisdom and insight for our lives.

If we listen and obey.

Queen Esther faced the possibility of being killed if she stood up for her people, the Jews.  Mordecai, her uncle, told her, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (vs 4:14)

I believe that we all have many moments every day where God has planned for us to intersect each other’s lives ‘for such a time as this”.  He has something specific he wants me to say when I go to lunch with a certain person.  He has something he wants me to do when I’m going through the check-out at the grocery store.  He has something else he wants me to text to a friend – right now.

He has a purpose for my day today.

He has a purpose for your day today.

To know that purpose, we need to be in line with him.  We need to be listening,

and ready,

and willing.

For such a time as this.

We love you, Abba Father.

Greater Glory

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

The new temple of the Lord was completed……

but the older Israelites were saddened by how much ‘less’ this temple was compared to the past glory of Solomon’s temple.Sept 26 2015 b greater glory

God told Haggai to assure them that this new temple would be greater than the old one.

Because Jesus, the Son of God, was going to walk through this temple one day.

The Lord Almighty told the Israelites that in a little while he was going to “shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry lands.  I will shake all the nations and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory.” (vs 2:6,7)

Yes, God definitely shook up the whole earth when he sent his son to save it. Thank you, Father.  Jesus turned the entire religious community upside down when he spoke of unconditional love, unearned grace and life forever with God in heaven.  Thank you, Father.

Jesus offers a peace that passes all understanding to those who believe.  Thank, Father.

And he brought a greater glory to the temple and into the whole world than we have ever seen before or will ever see again….

until he returns.

Come, Lord Jesus.

A Healing Place

On By Judy GlasserIn October2 Comments

 

Jesus went to a pool called Bethesda and healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years.  When the water of this pool stirred, the first person in the pool was healed.  This crippled man had no one to help him get into the water first, so he had waited…..and waited….and waited – for years.fDSC_0489

It may not be obvious on the outside, but we all have places in our hearts and minds where we need healing.  We need Jesus to touch those places and make us whole.  It may be an attitude, a lie we have believed all of our lives or a way that we think about a certain subject that needs to be healed.

I had the privilege of travelling to Israel this year and I saw the pool at Bethesda. (pictures).  There was something extremely calming and peaceful about this place.  And I knew I would be coming here in my mind for the rest of the my life when I needed healing from Jesus.

Jesus recently gave me a whole new perspective on food and what I should be eating through God’s Word to me in the Bible.  How I looked at food as it relates to what I believe about God has been incorrect my entire adult life and now I’m on the path of getting that part of my life lined up with what God wants for me.fDSC_0490

My mind has been renewed in this area.  I’ve been healed.  But I waited a long time.

Let’s not wait.  Let’s go to Jesus today and ask him for healing in our lives where we’re not in line with God’s Word.

Let’s go to the pool together.  I will help you get in. 🙂

Thank you, dear Father, for your Word to us.  We lift  up the confused, broken, rebellious parts of our hearts and minds where we need healing.  The places where we need to know the Truth.  As the Holy Spirit moves the waters of our spirit today, we step into the pool knowing it is your will to heal us.  We know that your desire for us is to continue to grow in becoming more and more like Jesus.

We commit to doing our part – reading your word, listening and obeying.  Obeying when it’s hard.  Obeying when we really, really don’t feel like it.  We will bow our knees, declare you Lord in this place in our lives, and we will obey.

For your glory, dear Father!

In the redeeming name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Blessed….

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.gdtDSC_0632

Poor in spirit – when we’ve tried everything else to make us happy, to make us whole, and we’re still empty – wondering if this is all there is. ( I’ve been there.)  So we turn to God and we find in him everything we’ve been looking for and more.  We are so very blessed!

Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.gdtDSC_0626

We mourn when we come to the realization of just how sinful we are.  We become aware of how we rebel against God’s direction to us every day and our soul grieves.  It’s a very bad feeling to really understand the truth about the sin within ourselves.  We have sin so deeply rooted within us that it takes a miracle to change it.

That miracle is Jesus, our redeemer!gdtDSC_0628

We are blessed when we face the truth about our sin which grows our desire for true transformation.

Jesus went up to a mountainside to teach the crowds about the blessings available for those who believe in him and obey.  When I visited Israel earlier this year, I felt the blessings of God flowing over me when we visited the Mount of Beatitudes.  It’s very beautiful and overlooks the Sea of Galilee.

Thank you for your abundant blessings, dear Father!

Knowing…but not Believing

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Satan and his team always knew exactly who Jesus was when they saw him.  They recognized Jesus right away and call him the Holy One of God when other people around Jesus were still asking him if he was Elijah or a great prophet.  The people in Nazareth tried to kill Jesus because he told them he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesies about a Messiah.October 24 2014 knowing but not believing

But Satan and his spirits never had any doubts about who Jesus was.

They knew… but they never believed in him.

We can do this, too.  We can know all about God in our heads but never accept his free gift of grace in our hearts.

My experience is that most non-believers I’ve talked with believe there is a God.  And they don’t have a problem with God…..until something bad happens and he becomes an easy target for their hurt and ager.

Just knowing God doesn’t make anyone a believer.  Just like saying a prayer doesn’t make us a believer, either.  There needs to be a change in our minds – a change in our hearts.  It may not be visible on the outside but God can see the condition of our heart.  He knows.

And just believing doesn’t make us a follower.  Following is an action.  To be a follower, our actions and behaviors and priorities need to be changing.  Yes, going to church and tithing are on the list….but not at the top.

Loving God with all of our hearts, minds and souls stands alone as our top priority.  With loving others is a close second.

Loving God and loving others.  These are the indicators of a true, growing follower of Christ.

So…….how are we doing?

The Great News!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

It’s all in John 3:16.  We should have this verse ready whenever we’re talking with someone who doesn’t believe because this verse includes all of the important parts of the Good News.

It’s an easy verse to memorize because the words reverberate around in our minds….

bouncing back and forth as we consider this astounding truth…..

God so loved us….October 23 2014 b The good news

so much….

God so love the world!  All of us….

even the unlovable….

and that’s very good because sometimes we are very unlovable.

He gave his Son…

for us……

he gave his Son for the unlovables…..

how much love does that take?

A perfect love……

an unconditional love….

a love we can’t find anywhere else…..

even though we look everywhere….

or hit bottom trying to do it all ourselves….

until we finally we open up our eyes and realize that God is what we’re looking for.

Whoever believes….

that’s me…

I believe….

I’m willing to stake my life on this truth.

My eternal life.

And whoever believes will not perish……

we were on the road to destruction…

we were going to hell for our rebellion…..

we all rebel, some more obvious than others, but it’s there…..

whenever we do something we want instead of what God wants…..

or whenever we don’t do something God wants……

even our thoughts count…..

so we deserved eternal separation from our Holy Father God.

But God intervened and sent Jesus to save the world!

And now believers are reconciled to God for eternity!

Our eternal life with our loving, gracious and perfect God has already started!

And the Best is Yet to Be!

This is the Very Best News anyone could hear!

Thank you for the truth of John 3:16, dear Father!

 

Pointing To Jesus

On By Judy GlasserIn October3 Comments

Oct 23 2014 a pointing to JesusIt’s all about Jesus.

Most of us are involved in Small Group Bible Studies or Discipleship groups or Spiritual Mentoring relationships.  Many of us are leading those groups so we have extra responsibilities and accountabilities for the other people who are involved.

God has made it very clear in his word to us that it’s our responsibility is to point people to Jesus.

It’s not about us, it’s not about how much we like the people in our group, it’s not about who is the best leader of the group.  It’s all about Jesus.

John the Baptist knew this.  In John 1 we read that he and 2 of his disciples saw Jesus passing by and John the Baptist said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” And then John’s disciples decided to go and follow Jesus.

One of these men was Andrew who would become one of Jesus’ inner group of Twelve disciples.  Andrew went to find his brother, Simon Peter, who would become the Rock upon whom Jesus would build his church.  The BIG church – for the whole world.

We can see God’s plan beginning to take shape – because John the Baptist pointed others to Jesus, not to himself.

Later, we will hear that John the Baptist says that Jesus must become more and John himself much become less.

Isn’t that what we’re all called to do?

We love you, dear Jesus!

The Light Shines in the Darkness

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Jesus is the Light of the World!

He truly is the answer to all of our questions.October 18 2014 Light of the World

He is the salve for all of our hurts.

He is the peace for all of our worries.

And he is the patience for everything that frustrates us.

He is our strength when we are weary.

Our haven for every storm.

Our Rock whenever a crisis blows through our life.

He is our joy when we have forgotten how to smile.

He loves us when we are most unlovable.

He is truth when the world hurls it’s clouds of lies at us.

He is bread for every hunger we have.

He is water when we are parched and dry.

He is the Way when we are lost and confused.

He is our best friend when we don’t feel like we have any friends at all.

He is our comfort as tears roll down our face and our heart is breaking.

He is our redeemer so we can be changed from the inside out.

He is our Savior – because of him we will not suffer eternal separation from our Perfect and Holy God.

His name is Jesus!

There is no other name!

God Never Changes

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

We’re doing great on our Journey towards the Truth!

It’s the middle of October and, chronologically, we move 400 years forward into the New Testament.

We have been reading and meditating on the Old Testament for 10 months.  So many new insights!  New thoughts!  New direction!

Now is a good time to look back and evaluate our journey.  Are we closer to God now than we were in January?  Have we opened up our hearts to his transforming power in new areas?  Are we different now?  More Christ-like?  Are we letting God change us as we soak in his truth?

Thank you, dear Father, for the Old Testament.  We have learned so much about you!  We see your relationship with the Jews and we recognize that you are the same God now that you were then.  You never change.  So we know you better every time we read and study the Old Testament.  We would be missing out on all of the things we’ve learned this last 10 months if we didn’t study the Old Testament.  We look forward to reading the New Testament – the account of your son’s time here on earth and what his disciples did after he went to heaven.

Thank you for the free gift of salvation you have given us through the sacrifice made by your son, Jesus.  We ask that you open up our eyes to the new truths you have ready for us in the New Testament.

In the redeeming name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Close Encounters of the Best Kind

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

I lost my book last week.  And I really wanted to find my book.October 13 2014 Close encounters

It’s Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst and the Holy Spirit has been opening up my eyes to some new-to-me truths about God’s directions to us about food.  I’m beginning to understand how much God cares about what we eat and this book as great lists of specific scriptures.  All of my notes about this journey so far are also in that book.

And I couldn’t find it.

I looked Everywhere!

And then the next day I looked Everywhere again!

I was just reading it last Sunday – it can’t have gone very far, could it?  Did it accidentally get thrown away?  Going through the trash was definitely my extreme last resort.

Very frustrating!

So…..finally…..I asked God to show me where my book was.

He immediately responded by reminding me that I had been reading books to my little granddaughter, Eden, last Sunday on the same couch where I had been reading my Made to Crave book.  When I went to look in my pile of grand darling books, what did I find?

You got it – my Crave book!

Why did I wait so long to ask God?  He’s helped me find things before – several times.  He proves over and over that he cares for the smallest details of my life.  He knew where my book was – I just needed to ask.   I’m continuing to learn more and more about how he really cares about the details of my life – even what I eat and how often I exercise.

He cares about it all.  And he’s there for me, every time.  I just need to remember this – and more quickly next time!

I love you, dear Father!