Growing Roots

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Awesome section of scripture in Ephesians 3!  Let’s pray this together…

Dear Father, we desire that Christ would make his home in our hearts as we learn to trust him more.

Please help our roots grown deep, down into your love so that we will be strong.

We want to know, dear God, how wide, how high, how long and how deep your love is.  

We would like to experience the love of Christ and be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that only comes from you.

We give you all the glory, God.  We know that you are able, through your mighty power, to work within us and accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Yours is the glory, dear Father, in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!  Amen.

Do I deserve this?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

We reap what we sow.  Sometimes its very good because we have sown the things that please our Father God and he lavishes a harvest of blessing on us.  Other times we have sown things that displease our Father God and we harvest the problems and consequences of those choices.

Paul is telling the Galatians and us today that we cannot mock the justice of God.  We get the harvest we deserve.

It’s our choice.  That’s always a hard one for me – I actually chose this.  I brought these consequences upon myself.

What is my problem!!!!!!?

Sin.  It always comes back to our mutual problem of sin.  We follow our own desires, we selfishly focus on ourselves first and sometimes we just give into the pressure from the culture around us.  Call it what you want, it’s all sin.

Rationalizing it away doesn’t work, acting like everything is ok doesn’t work, trying to be good and follow all the rules doesn’t work.

Nothing works except admitting we’re a sinner, then asking Jesus to save us and finally turning over our lives to his leadership.  The first part can happen in a few minutes.  The last step is a life-long process.

Dear Father, we praise you for the opportunity you have given us for salvation through your son.  Please help us each day to grow closer to you and to become more like Jesus.

A Revolutionary

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Jesus was a revolutionary.  He wasn’t conservative, he wasn’t quiet, he didn’t fit into the crowd, he didn’t follow the rules, he wasn’t intimidated by the religious leaders, and he preached a truth that was totally opposite of the culture that he was living in.

Jesus changed the world!

Paul tells us in Galatians 3 that we are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  We have become new people who have put on new clothes.  There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.  We are all one in Christ.

WHAT!!! 

Paul is saying this at a time that Jews looked down their noses at the Gentiles, they owned slaves who ‘slaved’ for them and the men also ‘owned’ the women – treating them like a piece of property.  Their culture was FAR from equal.

But it was true and IS true from God’s perspective.  We are all equally loved and cared for by God.  There are no boundaries and limits to God’s love and provision for us.  Jesus changed it all for all time.  He started a revolution that people are still trying to catch up with today.

Our Christian culture contiues to struggle with acknowledging that ALL people are equal in Christ.  Who do we look down our noses at?

Dear Father, we thank you for sending a revolutionary called Jesus to our world.  Please help us be part of his movement of love and truth.

Joy to the World!

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

As we’re reading through Isaiah, it amazes me once again how clearly and how many prophecies Isaiah gave us about Jesus.  And we haven’t even gotten to the awesome ones in Isaiah 53.

I was so inspired that I went Christmas shopping!  Those of you who know me well know that Christmas shopping in September is not unusual for me.  Christmas comes so fast that I like to prepare as much as I can ahead of time.  Reading the prophecies made me ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

We can do that everyday, can’t we?  Joy to the World, the Lord has come!

He has come to bring us peace!

He has come to bring us hope!

He has come to bring us love!

Glory to God in the Highest!  Peace on Earth!  Goodwill toward men!

In Disguise

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Satan disguises himself as the angel of light.

Paul is talking with the Corinthians about false apostles who are trying to draw them away from the truth.  He says he’s not surprised that these deceitful workers are trying to disguise themselves as apostles of Christ because Satan himself tries to make himself look like an angel of light.

Satan uses disguises to make himself look like something that is good.

Does he ever catch us unaware?

Do we sometimes do or say things that cause a -twang- in our conscience but we come up with a good rationalization in our mind so we do it or say it anyway?  …….and Satan smiles.

Do we sometimes tell ourselves that the end justifies the means?  The end result is good – so what if we have to lie or cut some corners to get there?…….and Satan smiles again.

How do we know when we’re being lied to?

When we know the Truth, we also know what is a lie.

Thank you, dear Father, for helping us know the Truth as we read the Bible.

A Gracious Act

On By Judy GlasserIn September2 Comments

Paul talks to us in 2 Corinthians about the ‘gracious act of giving’.

When I read the word ‘giving’ in the Bible, I most often think about money and that’s the context Paul is using in this part of his letter to the Corinthians.

We know that it’s important to our relationship with God that we can generously give our money back to him. Today I am reminded of some other gracious acts that can support God’s message of love to the people around us:

*giving smiles to people we don’t know when we’re doing errands.  Will anyone be surprised when you do this?

*cleaning out our drawers, closets and garages so we can give away things we’re not using to people who can really use them.

*freely giving words of encouragement throughout our day.  This will surprise some people, too.

*giving people the opportunity to go ahead of us in line at the store or  go ahead of us as we drive down the road.

Any other ideas?

Never Enough? Or Busy Enjoying Life?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Wise King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that  ‘those who love money will never have enough.  How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.”

Money sure LOOKS like it would bring us happiness, right?  We know we see rich people who aren’t happy but we wouldn’t be like that.  If we just had a little chunk more we would be happy.

But that’s what we said before we got that last raise or the last new job with a higher salary.  We just needed a little more.  We had more month than paycheck.

So – what happened?  We got a little more, so are we content now?

For most of us, the raise is quickly absorbed and easily forgotten while the quest for more money continues.

And King Solomon calls this meaningless.  That’s a good word for it.

Solomon goes on to tell us to enjoy our work and accept our lot in life – this is a gift from God.  “God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.”

Busy enjoying life – like it!

Thank you, dear Father, for Solomon’s wise words for us today.

A Letter not Written with Pen and Ink

On By Judy GlasserIn August2 Comments

“Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.”  Paul is telling the Corinthians that he doesn’t need letters of recommendation from them.  Their lives are evidence of the successful ministry Paul and his team had begun with them.

He tells them that “This letter is not written with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.  It is carved not on tablets but on human hearts.”

Paul continues to minister to us today.  As we read and meditate on Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, the Spirit of the living God carves His truth into our hearts.  It’s there forever.  It’s eternal.

For those of us reading through the Bible this year, we’re 3/4 of the way through.  I’m so proud of us keeping up or catching up as we let God word saturate our year 2012.  Has he revealed new things to you?  He has spoken just at the right time so you could have some wisdom for a situation in your life?

God has done all of those things for me this year and more!  I’m looking forward to these last 4 months of reading – what  has God been preparing us for?

Let’s keep going and find out!

The Reason

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

God comes right out and tells us that he comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we can give them the same comfort God has given us.

The reason – right here in 2 Corinthians 1.  There’s always a purpose for our problems. 

If you’ve walked on this earth for a while, you’ve had problems.  If you’ve walked on the earth a longer while, I know you’ve experience this – you had a problem, God took you through it and then God brought someone into your life who was experiencing that same problem and you were able to share your story with this person.  You were able to tell them about the comfort that God had given you – the assurance of his love, the knowledge of his strength, your personal experience of his rescue and restoration.  You were able to point them to God.

There’s always a reason.  I love how Paul goes on in Chapter 1 talking about how in the province of Asia they were crushed and overwhelmed  beyond their ability to endure – they expected to die.  So they stopped relying on themselves and learned to rely on God who rescued them.  And then Paul says, ” And he will rescue us again.”

Paul trusted that God would rescue him everytime he needed it.  God had always done it in the past and Paul was certain that he would continue to do it in the future.

God has rescued us in the past and he will rescue us again.  Amen, hallelujah!

Thank you, dear Father!

Is this Why?

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Why are we here?  Why did God create us at this time, in this place?

We sometimes wonder about the purpose of all of the trials, challenges and hardships we go through.

And then….sometimes……we get a really clear picture of what God is doing.  He makes it very obvious.  We can see him bringing the pieces of the puzzle together and placing them right where they need to be.

And then other times, he brings someone into our lives to speak the words we need to hear so that we can see the picture.  This is what God did in story of Esther.  He had Mordecai speak truth into Esther’s life and she listened.  As a Jew, she was extremely worried about the kings recent decree that all of the Jews be killed but she didn’t realize that she could possibly save them.  UNTIL Mordecai pointed out that it may be “for such a time as this” that she had become queen.

Could this be her purpose?  She wasn’t sure.  So she fasted and prayed for 3 days and asked Mordecai to ask others to fast and pray with her.  She must have gotten the answers and the strength she needed through the fasting and praying because she risked her life by going to the king to ask his favor.  The rest of the story is very interesting as God puts all of the puzzle pieces together to complete his will through Esther.

Her actions and her faith saved her people from a certain death.

For such a time as this…..

We don’t want to miss it, dear Father.  Help us open up our eyes and our hearts to your purpose for us.