Category: October

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.

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!