We All Have a Story to Share

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

I have a story. You have a story.

How did we get here? Tell me about the mountains you climbed and I’ll tell you about the valleys I’ve struggled through.

God tells us in Psalm 107 that we all need to tell our stories.  “Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story.” Psalm 107: 2.

Each of us has a unique tale to share.

Some of us have wandered, looking for a place to belong. We were hungry for love, starving for a purpose. When we cried out to God, he drew us closer to himself – to the place he made just for us. God gave us a purpose to get up every morning.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Others of us lived in darkness, bound by chains of rebellion, stumbling through life with no help in sight. But we cried out to the LORD and he brought us out of the utter darkness, breaking all of our chains.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Some of us made very foolish decisions and were suffering through the consequences of those to the point of thinking that death might be an option.  But, instead, we turned to God for help and he healed us, rescuing us from the living death we found ourselves in.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Others of us have experienced violent storms in our lives as huge waves of pain and grief washed over us. When our courage and strength were gone, we finally cried out to the LORD and he “stilled the storm with a whisper”, calmed the waves and guided us home to him.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

My story is that I have known Jesus as my Savior my entire life but I decided to wander in my young adulthood – trying out all the ‘fun’ things the world had to offer. It seemed great at first but gradually my life became very empty and filled with darkness. So I called out to God who made it very clear to me that he had never left me. When I turned back to him, I found him waiting for me with open arms.

God has been gradually drawing me closer to him as I travel this Journey towards the Truth each day of every year. I have left the emptiness and darkness behind, finding meaning and light as I put God first in my life. 

I will continue to tell my story for the rest of my life, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Is It Possible?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Where can I find satisfaction? Is contentment even a possibility for you?

God speaks to you and me in Haggai about the negative consequences that happen when we have our priorities wrong –

We work hard but have little to show for it…except for a lot of bills.

We eat but there is still a hunger in our souls.

We drink but we are still thirsty….for something.

We put on clothes but then we need to buy more because the last thing we bought didn’t satisfy us.

Our money disappears like we’re putting it in pockets filled with holes.

Can you relate to any of these?

I can.  I have experienced all of those at different times of my life when my eyes were focused on something other than God.

“Now this is what the Lord Almighty says; ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1: 5 -6.

I love how God uses the picture of a purse – or into today’s world – pockets full of holes.  Before I put God first in my finances, it felt like all of my pockets, my purse and my bank account had holes in them.  And was I satisfied?  No!

I learned that if my life is about money or possessions or anything of this world, I will never have enough.  And that is what God is telling you and I today in Haggai.  God was talking to the Israelites because they were busy building their own houses while ignoring the rebuilding of God’s house, the Temple.

What is keeping you and I too busy to put God first in our lives?

God is telling us to get our priorities straight and THEN we will find satisfaction.

Thank you for your truth, Abba Father.

Do You See It?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

There’s a light.

When you are talking with a person who you know has a close relationship with God, can you see the light of Jesus shining out of them? I have some people in my life that regularly shine His light in their lives. I see it, I feel it.

That’s one of my goals – to let the light of Jesus and the love of Jesus shine out of my life. Sometimes when I’m talking with someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus yet, I can see in their eyes that they are wondering what’s different about me. They are feeling something, seeing something that they don’t understand.

They are seeing the light.

Don’t get me wrong, the light and love of Jesus is not always shining out of my life. I have a ways to go on making this a daily reality. But – there are times when I get out of the way and let Jesus shine.

I am amazed as I read Daniel’s story about getting thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel did not obey the decree King Darius made regarding not praying to anyone or anything but the King for 30 days. Daniel prayed to the One True God, Maker of Heaven and Earth every day and refused to stop. King Darius was forced to throw Daniel into lion’s den. The King didn’t want to. He knew there was something special about Daniel. But the king had to keep his word and Daniel was thrown in. Darius was unable to sleep so he got up early the next morning and hurried to the lion’s den.

“When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, be able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight.” Dan 6:19 – 22.

The king was overjoyed. He was also impressed with Daniel’s God. God’s light was shining out of Daniel and the king could see it. So the king send a decree to his entire kingdom telling his people to have fear and reverence for the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God and he endures forever;

his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.

He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:25-27.

How awesome!

May your light shine out of us, Abba Father, so others may know you and praise your name.

What Was Happening?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

A human hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall.

What?!

Daniel tells us this actually happened in the middle of King Belshazzar’s huge banquet!  If I saw something like that today, it would definitely get my attention.

This is where we get the saying, ‘I can read the writing on the wall’.  Many of us don’t know this comes from. I know I didn’t until I started reading the whole Bible.

King Belshazzar could not understand the handwriting on the wall so he consulted with Daniel who was well-known for being able to interpret things when no one else could.  Daniel read the writing and told the king that God was bringing his reign to an end because the king had not acknowledged God as sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth.

That very night, the message on the wall was fulfilled and Belshazzar was killed.

One part of the message on the wall was ‘Tekel’ which means you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

The bad news for all of us is – our scales don’t look any better.  Our rebellion.  Our need for control.  Our self-centeredness.  Our busyness which causes us to ignore God.

The writing on our wall would have the same message…..

except for the fact that God loved us so much that he gave us an ‘out’.

He sent his perfect son, Jesus, to save us from the eternal separation from God.  The entire Bible is a love story about how God created us in his image and desires to have a close, personal relationship with us.

Jesus offers a gift of grace to each one of us – that’s his part.  Our part is accepting his free gift which makes the scales flip in our favor.

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we can become precious children of God who are never ‘found wanting’ because Jesus did it all for us….

for all time,

for all who will believe and receive.

It is finished.

Thank you, Jesus.

The Rest of My Life

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Do you have a plan for your life?

I know what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.

As I read Psalm 89, my plan jumps right off the page- “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever.” vs 1.  I will tell everyone I know about how I have experienced your faithfulness all my life, Abba Father. I will talk about your perfect love for me and the abundant blessings you have showered down on my life.

I will walk with you all of the days I have left on this earth, Father, until the day we walk into heaven together, hand in hand.

I will find my peace in your strength.  I will find my joy in your love and faithfulness.  I will find my strength in your righteousness and truth.

I will walk in the light of your presence each day, Father. 

And I will continue to sing of your great love forever.

Amen and Amen.

So Many Mysteries

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

I read the entire Bible every year but I will never understand it all.  You will never understand it all.

How do we live our lives with these mysteries?

For me, one of the keys to having peace and contentment is realizing that there are aspects of God’s complex creation and plan that I will never understand.  There are “things too wonderful for me to know” Job 42: 3.

You figured it out thousands of years ago, Job!

Remembering and focusing on the truth God gives us in his Word that is very clear and have been etched into my soul by the Holy Spirit helps me be okay about the mysteries that are beyond the ability of my 3 pound brain to comprehend.

Here are some of the bedrock truths that I review in my mind when I start to worry or doubt or question –

God is good, all the time. My circumstances don’t change any of these facts.

God is all-powerful – nothing is impossible for him.

God is a perfect Father who loves me with a perfect love.  He is always walking beside me.

God is working all things out for my good.  He wants the best for me.

God’s timing is perfect.

Being confident of these truths, I know the best response to whatever happens to me is to trust God.  I can ask ‘Why?’ and God is patient with me, but there is wisdom in making trust my first response, not questions.

I have discovered that my life stays more closely aligned with God when I automatically and genuinely trust him with everything – because there is so much that I will never understand.

I trust you, Abba Father.

I See His Work

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

What do you do in a thunderstorm? Check out the clouds? Watch the wind rip through the trees? Count the seconds between the flash of the lightening and the roll of thunder?

Every summer, I spend some time staying by Lake Okoboji in Iowa which is near where I grew up. It’s a beautiful lake surrounded by lots of vacation homes, condos and hotels. Every year I go, there’s at least one rain storm and it always reminds me of one of my favorite things about this part of the country. It’s farmland as far as you can see but there is no irrigation here – God himself waters this land. I remember several times as a kid when the farmers needed more rain. So we had a prayer meeting. And when we had a prayer meeting for rain, the large church I grew up in was full – wall to wall people, standing room only. Everyone around my hometown knew who watered their crops and our town’s economy depended on those crops.

As I read God’s Word in the book of Job I am remembering what it felt like sitting in my cabin by the lake, listening to it rain and thunderstorm, saying ‘wow’ when the thunder clapped very loudly right over us and watching the bright show of lightening cracking across the lake.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;

he does great things beyond our understanding.

He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’

and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour”.

So that everyone he has made may know his work,

he stops all people from their labor.

The animals take cover;

They remain in their dens.

The tempest come out from it’s chamber,

the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice,

and broad waters become frozen.

He loads the clouds with moisture;

he scatters his lightening through them.

At his direction they swirl around

over the face of the earth

to do whatever he commands them.” Job 37: 5-12.

God definitely gets the attention of everyone around the lake when it storms. It was impossible to ignore his work.

Do you know the benefits that God has packed into a rainstorm like that?

  • the obvious one is the rainfall – growing the crops and providing grass to feed the animals.
  • rainstorms are natural air-conditioners – cooling the air and the land.
  • lightening provides nitrogen which fertilizes the soil and provides protein for the animals.
  • rainstorms remove pollution in the air, cleaning it.

I may not understand a lot of things God does, but when I feel the rain, hear the thunder and see the lightening, I know that God is providing for us and taking care of us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

It Has Been Decided

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

These last 8 1/2 years have been the most difficult and painful time of my life.  My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police officer who was killed in the line of duty on May 18, 2016.  My world blew up on that day.

dave-and-grandma-at-northwestern

One of the ways God has comforted me is through this truth – ” A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Job 14:5.

God has already decided which day will be the last day of your life here on earth and mine.

Knowing this helped me let go of my mother when she passed away 21 years ago.  We had a very close relationship and she was my role-model for how a Christian woman lives her life faithful to God – all the way to her last breath here on earth.  I realized, if God wanted her in heaven with him, then that’s what I wanted for her.

davey-and-grandma-rolls

Nineteen years ago I found myself in ICU with twelve blood clots in my lungs – a life-threatening situation.  God told me clearly that I wasn’t going to die from that and I didn’t – even though 5 doctors told me the blood clots should have killed me.

It just wasn’t my day.

I know that God has reasons for picking May 18 as Davey’s final day here on earth. I may never understand those reasons but I trust God.   And, since God wants him in heaven, that’s what I want for him.

Knowing that this date was determined before Davey was born helps me avoid needless regrets…like –

  • I wish he hadn’t gone on that call.davey-and-mom
    • It wouldn’t have mattered.  This was his day.
  • I wish he hadn’t gone to work that day.
    • It would have happened no matter what he was doing.
  • I wish he hadn’t been a police officer.
    • He was born to be a police officer and he died honorably, serving his community and doing what he loved to do.  He wouldn’t have wanted to live or die any other way.

It was decided.  There is no ‘wishing’ something else had happened.  God decreed the number of Davey’s days here on earth and then he took Davey home.

Now, standing a foundation of God’s love and strength and grace, I know I have been left on this earth for a purpose.  God has a plan.  I am committed to following where he leads….until the day arrives that is already decided for me.

Meanwhile, through the tears, I am focusing on loving God and loving people.

A bigger chunk of my heart is now in heaven with you, Abba Father.

This Explains It All

On By Judy GlasserIn September2 Comments

Why is there so much evil in the world?

Why are our families being torn apart?

Why is there so much anger and hatred in our country?

Why are addictions the plague of our century?

Why are innocent children being abused and killed?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Satan takes the credit for all of this in the first chapter of Job.  He tells God that he just got back from “roaming the earth, going back and forth on it.” (vs 7 )

And Satan leaves a wide path of destruction wherever he goes.  That’s what we’re seeing – the work of Satan.  He has convinced a whole lot of people to ignore the truth, forget about being kind and forgiving, and just focus on yourself – that’s all that matters.

Satan smiles whenever we believe the lies swirling all around us in our culture.  He loves it when we consult Google instead of God when deciding what’s right and wrong, good or bad.

He enjoys watching us wreck our relationships and our marriages with our selfishness.  He encourages us to be impatient, impulsive and immature.

Wow!  He is really getting a kick out of the lack of respect for authority that is growing in our country.  It’s a win-win for him because everyone else loses.

Satan smiles when he can do anything to distract us from our relationship with God.  He’ll even bring good things into our lives if they will lure us away from God.

Satan is roaming……

today…..

everyday…..

going back and forth……

back and forth.

Please use us to overcome evil with good,  Abba Father.

My Special Possession – The Story Continues

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Do you have a special possession?

If someone asked me that, I would have to think awhile because I’m not very attached to “things”.   I’d probably say the ring that my mother left to me when she went home to heaven is special to me. It became invaluable to me after she was gone.

My own wedding ring is also important to me. It symbolizes over 43 years of love and commitment between my husband and I. Every five years we changed or added to my ring so when I look at it, I see the history of us building a marriage that has lasted through many storms. After our son who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty, I added some blue sapphires onto my wedding ring in honor and remembrance of a great son and the awesome man he grew up to be. Precious.

My eyes were opened to my real answer to that question several years ago as I was reading what God says in Ezekiel 44, ” I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I will be their possession.” God was all they needed.  God took care of them and he didn’t want them to be distracted by other possessions.

Wow!  This applies to me!  God takes care of me and provides for me.  He doesn’t want me to be distracted by possessions. My relationship with God is my most prized possession.  I can’t imagine life without him.  There is nothing I own –  my mother’s ring and my ring included – that gives me the love, joy and strength that God gives me.  Nothing else gives me the forgiveness and freedom that only comes from God.

Yes, God is my special possession.  My relationship with him is so much more precious and perfect than anything I could ever buy or own.

Many of you read this blog several years ago when I initially wrote it. It amazes me to look back and see how God was preparing me through his Word for something that was going to happen.

Three years ago my wedding ring was stolen. One of the stones on the ring was loose so the jeweler sent the ring in to fix the stone before I lost it. The ring disappeared on the way.

I lost the whole ring. Gone. Over 40 years of building this ring with my husband stolen from me. Over 40 years of never taking the ring off except at night because I didn’t want to lose it. I had one spot and one spot only I put it if it wasn’t on my finger. I never put it in my pocket, I never put it by the sink. I knew the easiest way to lose it was to take it off so I didn’t, I just cleaned it regularly.

I would have been devastated when I got the call that it was stolen if I had not already worked through this truth about my most special possession. God reminded me that he was still walking beside me and would never leave me. His love and care and grace can never be stolen away like my ring was.

The jeweler replaced my ring with a very nice ring that looks just like my original one.

The story doesn’t end there. Last year my ring disappeared. I woke up one morning and it wasn’t where it was supposed to be! It wasn’t in the one place where I always put it at night. I really had no where else to look so I looked everywhere – 3 or 4 times. I was sad but I had already decided it wasn’t my most precious possession. I had a feeling it was somewhere – it wasn’t gone. So every time I thought about it, I would ask God to bring it back to me. I knew he knew exactly where it was.

Four months later, my ring showed up in one of the places where I had looked 3 or 4 times. I don’t know where it was for 4 months and I don’t know how it got into the place I found it because it wasn’t there before. I’ll probably never know. But I know WHO brought it back to me and I am forever grateful.

Now my ring not only symbolizes 43 years of marriage to me, it also symbolizes a whole lifetime of God’s faithfulness. My ring reminds me every day that my relationship with God is my most precious possession

and that relationship can never be taken away from me.