Tag: Bible

Climbing a Tall Ladder

On By Judy GlasserIn September2 Comments

“Picture in your mind a tall ladder leaning against a wall.  Now think about your life as a process of climbing that ladder.  Wouldn’t it be a tragedy to ascend to the top and find you had placed the ladder against the wrong wall?  One life to live, and you missed it!”

When I first read this paragraph from Experiencing God many years ago, it startled me.  I’m a very goal oriented person so I was definitely climbing a ladder.  The thought that I could be climbing the wrong ladder caused me a lot of concern.  The fact that I could work so hard to get somewhere I didn’t want to be caused me to stop.  And seriously reconsider my priorities.Sept 15 2015 climbing a tall ladder

“Your walk with God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is the single most important aspect of your life.  If it is not as it should be, nothing else will function properly.”

“Scripture leads us to understand that God is saying, ‘ I want you to love Me above everything else.   When you are in a relationship of love with Me, you have everything there is.’  To be loved by God is the highest relationship, the greatest achievement,and the noblest position in life.”

God used these words from Experiencing God to help redirect my life onto the right ladder.  At that time I thought my success was going to come from my career.  God helped me understand that any success I would ever have – then and now –  would come through my relationship with him.

With him, everything else happens as it should, according to his will and his plan.

Without him, I was just working very hard and sacrificing too much as I climbed up the wrong ladder.

I am going through the Experiencing God study again – for the 4th time, many years later –  with my small group and I am filled with gratitude to my Father God.  He got my attention and brought his truth into my life at just the right time so I could switch ladders.  I am 100% confident that I’m now on the right ladder, the right path.

And this path going to take me all the way home, where my heart is.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Roaming Throughout the Earth

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Satan told God in the beginning of the book of Job that he had come to heaven after roaming throughout the earth. (vs 7).

He is still roaming the earth today.Sept 8 2015 roaming throughout the earth

He is very real.

He is totally consumed with evil.

He has an enormous team  of evil spirits working for him.

And they are watching us.

Figuring out our weak points and then tempting us in those areas.

They take the truth and twist it….just a little bit.  Just enough so it’s not true anymore.  Then they whisper it in our ears….if we’re listening….when our guard is down….when we’re angry….when we haven’t spent much time with God so we’re not grounded…we’re wandering…..down the paths of sin as we listen to their prodding.

And Satan smiles.

When a believer gives into temptation, Satan is delighted.

He won that battle.

He is very real.

His army of evil is very real.

We see evidence of this everyday.

We see Satan’s work in our churches as well when people are critical instead of encouraging, causing dissension rather than praying, more interested in their own comfort and agenda than God’s purpose and agenda.  I know you’ve seen this happen because it happens all the time.

Satan is very real.  He is roaming the earth today.

Please protect us and give us wisdom, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – First Chapter Completed!

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are finishing our memorizing Proverbs 2 today!  What a cool thing God has done!  There is sooooo much wisdom in this chapter and we really get to soak this in as we memorize each word.

My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will know the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair, every good path.   For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. 

Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,  whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.  For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.  None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.

Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Great job!  Yeah, God!  Here are our last two verses:

‘For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the unfaithful will be torn from it.’

When we live our lives in sync with God, we find peace and purpose and joy here on earth and on into eternity.

Those who don’t choose God will find themselves eternally cut off from him.  The only little piece of heaven they will experience is here…..right now.  Because where they are going, there is nothing of God.  Nothing good.

Proverbs 2 ends with this sobering message about why we need God’s wisdom.

Thank you for your word, dear Father.

 

Audio file of Proverbs 2:

 

 

Walking Through the Fire

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

We are never alone.

As believers, the Spirit of God lives within us.

God walks with us every step of our lives….even through the fire.Sept 4 2015 our God is able

God reminds us of this as we read the historical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace because of their faith in God.

As King Nebuchadnezzar watched the furnace expecting to see all 3 of them burn, he witnessed a miracle.  There were actually 4 men in the furnace and they were walking around, unharmed. Nebuchadnezzar described the 4th person as a ‘son of the gods.’  An angel.  And this angel was walking around inside of the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, waiting until it was God’s time for the door to open so they could come out.

God protected them.  He sent an angel as a visible symbol of his care and concern for them.

God still sends angels today.  In our lives, angels most often take the form of another believer whom God sends to be a visible symbol of his love and care for us.  The Holy Spirit lives inside of every believer.  As a result, when we do his will, our hands become his hands.  Our words become messages from God.

Or sometimes God still sends angels from heaven.  Maybe you’ve met one?  And maybe you’ve met one but you didn’t know it.

And there are other times when we may be physically alone but God’s spirit within us makes us very aware than we are not spiritually alone.

God is very alive within us.

And he walks with us through the fire…

through the pain…

through the uncertainty.

Great is your faithfulness, Abba Father!

Our God is Able

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

“Our God is able to deliver us.” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told King Nebuchadnezzar as they faced being thrown in the fiery furnace, “But even if he does not, we want you to know, your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel  3: 17&18. )Sept 4 2015 our God is able

God is telling us today as we read this that he able to deliver us from any fiery furnace we are facing.  It was true for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and it is true now.  Our God does not change.  He will not change.

Every time I read this story,  I am struck by the words ‘But even if he does not’.  It’s one thing to put your life on the line if you don’t think you are going to die from it.

‘Even if he does not’ meant that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were totally trusting God with their lives and their deaths.  Either way, they were good.  They were committed.

They were willing to die rather than to be unfaithful to God.

Is our faith that strong?

Help us to grow our faith, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Keep to the Good Path

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

God is doing this amazing thing of writing whole chapters of his word on our hearts and minds!  Do you feel it?  Do you feel God’s wisdom soaking down into your thoughts, saturating them with what is true?  As we remain faithful in going over and over these words every day, God is also being faithful in making them stick.  I have a really bad memory so this is truly a miracle that I know and feel and repeat every day whole chapters of God’s word.  Unbelievable!  We’re almost to the end of Proverbs 2!Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God. 

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Thank you, Lord!)  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

It will save you also from the adulteress, the wayward wife with her seductive words who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.  For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.  None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.’

Yeah!  We’re through that section and on to encouraging words:

“Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.”

Yes we will!  Because the wisdom and understanding and discernment and knowledge we get from keeping God’s commands in our heart will help us to avoid the wicked path, the perverse path, the crooked path and the paths that lead down to sin and death.

With God’s words firmly and forever planted in our minds, we will be able to keep to the path of goodness and stay in a right relationship with God.

Thank you, Abba Father!

Audio file of me repeating Proverbs 2:

No More Dry Bones

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

You have breathed life into us, dear Father.Sept 2 2015 no more dry bones

Your breath of love has filled our empty and hurting hearts.

Your breath of forgiveness has removed our burden of guilt and shame.

Your breath of redemption has given us a new hope…a new purpose.

You give us strength.  Your power lives in us through the gift of your Holy Spirit who guides us and speaks truth into our hearts and minds.

You have clothed us in new robes of righteousness which we did not earn.

You have released us from our slavery to sin.  We celebrate our freedom to gladly serve you!

You have given us joy.  You have given us peace.

Through you, we have been reborn!  Thank you, Abba Father!

We are no longer dry bones.

We Are Not Consumed

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

We are tugged in a hundred different directions.

Our ‘to do’ lists go on and on and on.  They keep getting longer, not shorter.

So many obligations.

Too many responsibilities.

Sometimes it feels like we’re literally being torn apart by it all……….

but because of the Lord’s great love for us, we are not consumed.August 30 2015 we are not consumed

Take a deep breath…..

and now, another one.

Feel the peace of our Father God seeping into your soul….

slowing your mind down…..

God knows everything about us.

And he cares about each detail.

We are reminded of his promises of renewal and forgiveness and joy each morning as the sun rises on his command.

Great is your faithfulness, Abba Father.

You are all I need.

You are my portion.

I will wait for you.  I will watch for your direction.

I will listen and obey.

Thank you, Father God.

Under Seige

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

Do we ever feel like we’re under siege?  Lots of things going wrong?  New problems piled on top of old problems with no end in sight?

In Jeremiah 32 we read that the siege ramps were built up around the walls of Jerusalem and the Babylonians were coming up over the city walls on these ramps attacking the Israelites on all sides.cropped-eedsc_03962.jpg

God said to Jeremiah,” I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me?” (vs 27 )

In the middle of the battles, God promised restoration and healing to the Israelites.  Just like he promises restoration and healing to us today.eeeeeecDSC_0452

God told the Israelites that their joy would return.  And he is telling us that today.

As we look at our own situations, these promises of God might be hard to believe.  We just can’t see how God will heal our situations.  We don’t feel like our joy is ever going to return.  How can it?  Look at what’s happening in our lives!

God is asking us today – “Is anything too hard for me?”

Our answer to that can change our whole perspective on our situation.

God is in total control of it all.  He can do anything.  He loves us and wants the best for us.

If we believe this, then we need to live like it.  We can face today because God is here and he will be faithful to his promise of healing and restoration.  We can face tomorrow because we trust that God is there and he has promised that our joy will return.

Nothing is too hard for God!

Thank you, Abba Father.

(Pictures are from my visit to Jerusalem last year.  The second picture is of a model of what Jerusalem looked like when Jesus was there)

Sword Fighting Class – Tangled Webs

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

What an awesome thing God is doing!  We are reviewing our scriptures every day, several times a day…..and God is etching it on our minds so we can remember it.  So we can live it!Proverbs 2 1st page

My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God. 

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair- every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perseverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive ways who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.  For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

Thank you, God for helping us memorize your words!  Here is the next verse:

None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we go down the path of sin.  We get confused.  We lose sight of what is most important.  We get lost……

The joy we’re looking for will not be found on the path of sin.

The peace we’re looking for will not be experienced on the path of sin.

The purpose and fulfillment we desire will not happen on the path of sin.

The love and forgiveness and wholeness that only comes from God will not be a part of our lives when turn away from him and we choose to go down the paths of sin.

Thank you, Abba Father, for lighting our paths with your word of truth so we don’t have to wander.

Audio file of me saying Proverbs 2 from memory: