Where’s the Fire?!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

As the final Revelation of God’s Word begins, the Spirit is writing to the 7 churches through John.  The message that reverberates through my mind are his words to the church of Laodicea –

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  Rev. 3: 15 – 16.

The Spirit sounds pretty disgusted with this church.  They were rich and they were acting like they had everything they needed.  But the Spirit calls them pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

And then he offers them the truth – “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.  So be earnest and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.”  Rev 3: 19-20.

 The Spirit tells the church of Laodicea to repent and reminds them that Jesus is always ready to forgive them and redeem them.

Lukewarm is not a good place to be.  Jesus came to earth to save us and transform us into beacons of light in a lost and broken world.  ‘Okay’ is not what we are called to be.  ‘Comfortable’ is not our goal. The Holy Spirit wants to set a fire burning within each of us as we seek to know and love our Abba Father.   As our love for God grows, he transforms our hearts so we can truly start to love other people like he does.

There is a fire burning in my heart.  It burns hotter the closer I get to God.  This fire keeps me passionate about following Jesus on this journey towards the truth.

What’s the temperature of your heart for God?  Is there anything or anyone you care about more than God? 

Are you lukewarm?  Or sold out?  

Turn up the heat, dear Father!

He Always Says Yes

On By Judy GlasserIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Did you know that there are some prayers that God always says ‘Yes” to?

John tells us in 1 John 5:14-17, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that is we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”

When we ask for what he wants to give us, his answer is always ‘yes’. This is so great!

Maybe you’re wondering if this is a trick question – how do we know what God wants to give us? 

His Word has many promises of things he wants to give us. In the first chapter of James, God promises to give us wisdom whenever we ask for it. Not just a little wisdom, either. God specifically states that he will give us a generous amount of wisdom. Get this – he also added, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6&7.

Claim it! Believe it! Don’t ask God for wisdom and then walk away saying you don’t know what to do. If you’re not sure, spend more time with God. Get closer to him so you can hear him more clearly. He is trying to give us wisdom but we need to listen and we need to believe and we need to look for confirmations. (Confirmations are what some people call coincidences). I’ve had many days when I asked God to guide me and then told him, “I am going to keep my eyes open for your direction all day today. I’m not going to be distracted. Today is all about watching for your answer as I go about my daily life.” And he answers. He moves. He creates ‘coincidences’ that tell me which way to go. Or there are times when these ‘coincidences’ let me know that its not the right time – yet.

God always says yes when we ask for more of the gift of the Spirit. ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” Galatians 5:22 & 23. I will say a word of warning here – I found that my Perfect Father often put me in situations where I needed to practice being patient when I was praying for patience. Lines got longer. Traffic got slower. The food delivery in restaurants took forever. It makes sense. That’s how we grow these attributes in our lives – by practicing them. Don’t be surprised.

I think the best thing to pray for is that God does his will in my life. This prayer gets a big ‘yes’.  I’m not God, I don’t know what’s best for me. He does. I pray this for other people as well for the same reason – I’m not God, I don’t know what is best for them.

Don’t get me wrong, God tells us we can pray to him about anything and everything. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6: 18. We can follow King David’s example of talking to God when we’re mad, when we’re scared, when we’re happy, when we’re lost. Anytime. Everything.

The answer to those prayers just isn’t always ‘yes’.

There are more prayers that God always says ‘Yes’ to other than the three I pointed out in this blog. 

Why don’t you read the entire Bible with me next year and find out what they are?

He Lavishes His Love On Us

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Do you feel it?

I do.

I see it in the gorgeous sunrise as God once again declares his faithfulness to me with the start of a new day.  I feel it in my 3 1/2 year-old grandson’s hug.  I see it in the smiles of my friends.  I feel it in the ‘love you’ from my husband of over 42 years.

It’s the great love God has lavished upon me.

God tells me that I am a precious child and he proves that by showing his love for me in a multitude of ways, every day.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.”  1 John 3:1a

It’s very encouraging to realize that the closer I get to God, the more of his love I feel pouring out over me.  As I’ve been consistently memorizing God’s scripture these last 8 years, I also feel his wisdom pouring out from his Word.  More knowledge.  More understanding.

I am his child!  How much more love and wisdom and knowledge and understanding does he have available for me?

There is no limit!

As 2024 quickly approaches, I am looking forward to seeing what God has planned for this next year.  New challenges.  More love.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Making a Plan

On By Judy GlasserIn December2 Comments

It is coming very quickly – 2024.

New Year’s resolutions have gotten a bad rep because so many of us break them within a day or two of making them.  I’m a goal-oriented person so I like them as long as I limit them to things I REALLY want to do.  I try to stay away from making resolutions that sound good but I’m not really committed to making them happen.

Here’s one that I’m totally committed to making happen in 2024 –

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” 2 Peter 3:18.

These are the words Peter uses to close out his second letter.  There are several other things I would like to accomplish in 2024 but I’m not as committed to them as I am to this.  And I have a plan.  Please feel free to join me in any or all of these –

*I’m going to read the entire Bible again – for the 14th year in a row.  I have found that reading the entire revelation of God feeds my soul much more than skipping around in various chapters or verses.  I love the chronological Bible because the natural progression through history makes more sense to me and helps me understand what God is saying to me.  It’s not a Study Bible because things that are mentioned more than once in the regular Bible are condensed into one spot. The changes in the Chronological Bible make it much easier to read the entire book but I always keep a Study Bible handy if I want to know specifics. I also use a Daily Chronological Bible which has dates on the top of the pages. I get ahead and I get behind but the dates give me enough structure to be able to finish Revelations at the end of December, ready for “In the Beginning” on January 1st.

*I’m going to continue to memorize scripture.  My long-term goal is to memorize the entire book of James.  Yep, all of it.  Yep, it will take years, especially since I don’t have a good memory. It’s a God-sized task and I know he’s up for it.  So far, God has helped me memorize the entire first and second chapters of James and I’ve begun to work on the 3rd chapter.  He constantly blesses me by speaking to me through these words that he has etched on my heart and mind.

*I have couple of people in my life that I am spiritually mentoring. I’m praying that God will open my eyes to anyone else he is bringing into my life who I can walk beside on this journey of growing our faith.

*My husband and I are on the leadership team for a new Community Fellowship that has been started in our 55+ neighborhood. I see God’s spirit moving through our community – there has been a sudden spike in the number of people joining our neighborhood Bible studies. God is doing something good here and its going to be fun to be a part of what he has planned in 2024.

I’m committed to this plan. I know that I need to consistently put myself in God’s presence and he will grow my faith in 2024.

What are your spiritual goals for 2024?

Do you have a plan?

Please help us be intentional in growing our faith, Abba Father. 

My Forever Home

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

I don’t own anything.  When I die, nothing is coming with me.

I know – I check the box ‘own’ when I’m asked about my house but I should really be marking ‘rent’ because my house is not coming with me when I leave this earth.

The Apostle Peter says it like it is, “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” 1Peter 1: 17.

Do you ever feel like a foreigner here?  I certainly do.  

Living in this world is often disappointing and difficult.  It’s confusing and full of conflicts.  The moments of joy seem fleeting compared to the problems that hang on forever.  When I hear people talk about their ‘forever homes’ here on earth, I’m really glad to know that my ‘forever home’ is not here – it’s in a much better place.

The hole left in my life by the death of my son will only be filled in heaven. A big part of my heart went to heaven with him when he was killed. My feeling like an alien here, especially in our current culture which is moving farther away from God, continues to grow each year.

So I’m good with my foreigner, renting status here on earth.  When my lease is up, I’m going home, where I belong…..forever.

I know you already have a place prepared for me, Abba Father.  Thank you.

It’s a Difficult Thing to Do

On By Judy GlasserIn December2 Comments

The world is crazy.  Bad things just keep happening.  I’m disappointed so often.  I’ve lost so many people I love – one person in particular who should still be here.

God tells us through James to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ James 1: 2 & 3.

How I can I consider it all joy?  I’m not happy about any of it.

Ok, I know that happiness is not the same as joy.  Happiness depends on my circumstances and joy comes from the condition of my soul.  But persevering is a difficult thing to do.  It’s easier to give up when the going gets tough – get frustrated, get angry, get bitter, blame someone else.  Our culture teaches us to choose the ‘easy’ way, the fast way – where can I get immediate gratification?

God says to you and to me today that these choices don’t lead to maturity and completeness.

As I look back on my ‘trials of many kinds’, I can see God working through each of them.  The rear view mirror often shows these things most clearly. He guided me, he comforted me and, probably most directly affecting my faith, he taught me many things about myself and about him.

One of the major lessons he gave me was the need for me to trust him in all of it.  That was difficult to do when my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police officer, was killed in the line of duty over 7  years ago.  As I leaned on God through this tragedy, I gradually learned to filter everything through these facts I know are true about God:

God is good, all the time.

God loves me with a perfect love and nothing is impossible for him.

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

He is God, I am not.

I have persevered through this tragedy, standing on these truths about God with a huge hole in my life and a heart broken into a million pieces.  Somehow this is the best for me.  Somehow God is working this all out for good for me.  I have learned a lot about trusting God on a whole new level – even when it doesn’t make sense.

God has been seriously working on maturing my faith.  Trusting him with all of this has deepened my love for him and helped me have a better understanding of how dependent I am on him.  I’ve been changed.  My eyes are refocused on God and my ‘forever home’ with him.

Trusting God, I have decided to persevere and grow my faith through my trials with him by my side. 

He knows what’s best.

Holding Onto Faith

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

2023 is almost over.  It has been a tough and rewarding year for me.

How would you describe your 2023?

In March of 2022 I started writing my book about watching God put the broken pieces of my life back together after my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty. Losing a child is the most difficult thing a parent can experience.  Writing it all down was an extremely hard and yet cleansing experience.   I have been blogging about Davey’s death for over 7 years…but writing the whole experience was much different. This is the story God had been writing in my life since the awful day in 2016 when Davey was killed – “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love”

I published my book on Amazon in February of 2023. This has been a year of great conversations with people who have read my book and wanted to tell me how my story helped them process grief and loss in their own lives. It also has been a year of constant interactions about other people’s tragedies. I’m glad God waited 6 years to tell me to write the book because I would not have been ready before for all of the stories of pain and grief I heard this year. I am reminded each time of how many people around me have experienced deep tragedy in their lives. I am so grateful to God for his comfort, wisdom and strength for my tough journey of surviving the death of my child.

My husband experienced a life-threatening heart issue at the end of June 2022 and he has had continuing health problems since then. He had another life-threatening issue in October of 2023 and so the doctor’s visits and procedures still fill his calendar.  I am thankful that the issue in June 2022 did not end his time on earth. I am thankful that the issue in October 2023 also didn’t end his time on earth. It’s evident that the day God has determined would be his last day here has not come yet and I’m grateful.  Again I am reminded how short our lives are and how quickly someone we love can be gone.  We need to love each other well today, it may be all we the time we have.

Now God is speaking to me about 2024.  He has plans.  Call them resolutions, call them goals, call them my ‘words’ for 2023, it’s obvious that God is using these last several days of 2023 to tell me what he wants me to focus on next year.

So God stopped me as Paul talks to Timothy in his first letter to him – “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience..”  1 Timothy 1: 18 & 19.

How do I fight the battle well 2024?  When I’m connected to God through his Word and through his people, he fights my battles with me – guiding me, encouraging me and giving me victory.

How do you plan to fight the battle well next year?

How do I hold onto the faith in 2024?  I have a hunger that growls in my soul with the desire to grow in my love for and knowledge of God.  I am confident that turning off the TV and putting down my phone so I have more time to read and study God’s Word is the right thing for me to do.   My favorite thing about retirement – other than not having to set an alarm – is having all the time I want to spend with God.

How will you hold onto the faith in 2024?

How do I hold on to a good conscience in 2024?  When I’m in line with God, I know down to the depths of my heart and mind that I’m in the right place.  I feel God’s approval and blessing when I focus on him and what he is calling me to do.

How will you hold onto a good conscience next year?

With God by my side, I’m ready. I’m prepared to do God has planned for me.   So bring on 2024 with all its challenges and opportunities and blessings. 

Thank you, Abba Father.

Prepared

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

to fight the enemy.

Ready.

Equipped.

Satan is plotting against me every day – watching for the weaknesses in my defense.  Satan is whispering in your ear – do you hear him?  Telling you you’re a loser or encouraging you to make decisions that are going to create negative consequences for you.

It’s a battle.

God has given you and I real armor in order to fight this battle.  He teaches us about how to use it through what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:

The Belt of Truth needs to be buckled around our waist.  This is what we’re working on right now as we read God’s word – knowing and living the truth.  All the lies swirling around me are not going to change my thinking when I know the Truth.

The Breastplate of Righteousness needs to be in place – protecting our hearts.  I know the right thing to do because I know the Truth. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living within me, I can live in a close relationship with God, never wandering, always feeling his presence.

We must put on the the sandals of peace – always ready to share the Good News of Salvation.  The only real peace any of us will ever find here on earth is in a relationship with Jesus.

We carry our Shield of Faith with us everyday so we can deflect the flaming arrows coming at us from Satan and his army.  He’ll try to  distract me or harm me but my faith will keep me safe and steady.

We put on the Helmet of Salvation to protect our minds from the confusion, anger and evil which surround us.  My perspective is very different from the culture around me because the Spirit of God lives within me.

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.  When we know God’s Word, it is a supernatural weapon for good in our world. Satan has already lost the war.  And when I know and use God’s Word in my thinking, decisions, actions and speech, Satan is reminded of his defeat and he retreats.  Every time.

I used to think that the Sword of the Spirit was my only offensive weapon. I thought the rest were defensive. Now I consider the sandals of peace to be offensive. The Good News of Salvation has power in itself. When I speak or write the message of salvation, the Holy Spirit is unleashed in those words, attacking the schemes of the evil one in the lives of the people who hear it. 

I also consider my Shield of Faith to be offensive. When I pray for others, my shield stretches out to cover them from the flaming arrows of the evil one that are coming their way. When I share my faith story of walking closely with God for a long time, my Shield of Faith reaches out to cover the hearts of those who listen.

We must equip ourselves and be ready to fight the battle each day.

Thank you for your perfect armor, Abba Father.

Paul’s Prayer … and Mine

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Paul prays for us in Ephesians 3 and I respond –

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name.” vs 14.

You are awesome, Father.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he will strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,.. ” vs 16.

Please give us your strength, Father.

“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” vs 17.

Make your home in our hearts, Jesus, and teach us how to trust you more.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the Lord’s holy people to grasp how wide, and long and deep is the love of Christ…” vs 18.

Grow our roots deep in your awesome love, Jesus.

“and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.” vs 19

Please help us feel and understand the perfect love you pour out on us each day.  Only you can make us complete, Abba.  The power to live a full life comes from you.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,…” vs 20.

We believe, Father, that you can do anything – things beyond what we can imagine –  and that you want to accomplish your plans through us.  We are your hands and feet here on earth.

“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” vs 20.

Amen.  Love you, Father.