Tag: Bible

I Have the Right….

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

to do anything – but not everything is beneficial,” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians. dec 1 2014 i have the right He goes on to tell us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  We were bought with a price and God wants us to honor him with our bodies.  These verses also mention food.

Recently, the Holy Spirit convicted me that this is true for me.  Don’t you love how you can read these verses for years and then, suddenly, the Spirit uses one of them to rock your world?

This is true for me and food.  I needed to start using food for the right purpose – to nourish me.  Not to comfort me or make me happy or to ‘treat’ myself.  That’s not the way God wants me to take care of the temple of the Holy Spirit which is my body.

When God made this a matter of obedience for me, it was a game-changer.

We have the right to do a lot of things, but some of these things are not beneficial.  So God tells us avoid things that are not beneficial – even if we have the right.

This fits in with God’s direction to us that we will have to deny ourselves – what we want – when we pick our cross and follow him.

It’s not easy, but it’s the truth.  And lining up our lives with what God wants for us is always the right thing to do.

Thank you, dear Father, for the truth.

Don’t Forget

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

As part of a church family, we can sometimes forget how we should act.  Paul exhorts the people in the Thessalonian churches to encourage one another – build each other up:Nov 29 2014 don't forget

* Always acknowledge those who work hard for the Lord, who care for us and correct us.  Hold them in highest regard with love.

* Live in peace with each other, warning those who are disruptive and idle.

* Encourage those who are down and depressed.

* Help the weak.

* Be patient with everyone.

* Always strive to do what is good for others.

* Rejoice always.

* Pray continually.

*Give thanks in all circumstances.

Thank you, dear Father, for this reminder of how we should treat our brothers and sisters in Christ.

You Foolish Galatians!

On By Judy GlasserIn November2 Comments

Paul calls it like he sees it.Nov 26 2014 you foolish Galatians

The Galatians were wandering from the truth of the gospel of grace back to acting like their righteousness came from trying to follow all of the laws.  They were acting like they could earn salvation by doing good things – the right things.

Do we ever get caught up in that lie?

Do we ever check off our list of Christian responsibilities and think we’re doing a great job?

Church – check!

Pray – well, we say grace at every meal – check!

Read my Bible – I really need to find it. I know it’s around somewhere. Here, I’ll sign up for a Daily Devotional email – check!

Give money to God – I put $20 in the offering every week – check!

Serve – we always bring food in whenever the church asks for it – check!

Paul is reminding us today that Christ lives within us.  We live by faith in Jesus who gave his life for us.

We are all lucky that salvation is not about being good enough – because we will never be good enough.

Christ redeemed us from having to complete any checklist.

We are all children of God through faith.  God has sent his spirit into our hearts, redeeming us, adopting us and setting us free!

Nothing we can do will ever make our Father God love us more.

Nothing we can do will every make our Father God love us less.

Accepting Jesus as our Savior enables us to call God our ‘Abba’ Father.

Thank you, dear Abba.

We Know the Answer

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Gamaliel was a smart man.  As a member of the Sanhedrin, he took part in their debate about how to get rid of Peter and the other Apostles.  They were creating a growing threat to the Sanhedrin the established religious authority.Nov 21 2014 We know the answer

In Acts 5, Gamaliel advised the Sanhedrin, “Leave these men alone!  Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

It is now over 2000 years later.

And we know the answer to his question, don’t we.

Thank you, dear Father.

Sword Fighting Class- Expect His Next Move

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“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, lacking nothing.

If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Great job on memorizing James 1!  We’re up to verse 7:James 1

“That man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.”

And that thinking is so wrong.  We receive everything we have from the Lord.  We’re believing the lies when we get sucked into our culture’s view – that we earn what we have and we deserve what we have and it’s all about us.

It’s all about God.  He owns everything and he decides what to give to us.

When we have this correct in our head, it’s not hard to give back at least 10%.  We get to keep the rest!

And God always answers our prayers and requests.  Sometimes its ‘yes’, sometimes its ‘no’ and sometimes it’s ‘wait, my child.  I have something better coming for you.”  That’s a hard one but it’s very cool later, when we see God revealing what he’s been working on in this area of our lives.  This perseverance thing really works.

So we live our lives expecting answers from God.  Watching for them.  Anticipating the best he has for us.  Listening to the Holy Spirit within us and responding in faith.  With trust.

With Joy!

They Had Been With Jesus

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

When the Sanhedrin saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.Nov 21 2014 a they had been with Jesus

The Sanhedrin was astonished.

Because Peter and John had been with Jesus and Jesus had changed them.

* He had redeemed them.

* He had given them the power of the Holy Spirit who was now living inside of them.

* They now spoke with knowledge and authority.

* They had courage beyond that of a normal person.

The Sanhedrin didn’t know what to say or do….

so they let Peter and John go with a warning not to speak of Jesus again.

Peter and John replied that they were not going to stop talking about what they had seen and heard.

Brave.

Convicted.

Not intimidated by the top dudes.

Committed.

Nothing was going to stop them from sharing what they knew about Jesus.

Dear Father, Please help us be as brave and committed as Peter and John was about sharing what we know about Jesus.

The Way of Suffering

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

The Via Dolorosa.ftdDSC_0523

Our perfect Messiah carried his cross through Jerusalem down the Via Dolorosa.

Beaten and bleeding.

Wrongly accused by crowds of liars.

Despised by the world around him.

Denied by some of the people closest to him.ftdDSC_0512

I had the opportunity to walk down the Via Dolarosa this year.  I saw a piece of the road (pictures) that is old enough and in the right place to be where a bleeding Jesus actually dragged his cross.

On his way to a gruesome death.

For me.

For you.

I have no words that can express what if felt like that day to walk down the Via Doloroasa.

Where the worst of humanity had showed  itself.ftdDSC_0511

Where Satan laughed and applauded his team for work well done.

We all own a part of it.

Because our sins were piled on top of Jesus along with everyone else’s.

When Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” he was expressing the despair that our sin gave him as it separated him from his Father God.  He was in agony for hours on the cross as the sins of all the world were heaped upon him.

Then he gave up his spirit and he found peace.

Just like we find peace today because of his sacrifice for us.

Amen!  Hallelujah!

 

 

Watch and Pray

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane (pictures) praying in anguish over what was going to happen to him and, not far away, his disciples were sleeping.eeeeeddgarden of gethsemane

When Jesus found them sleeping, he told them to, ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’

Well, that explains a lot.

That explains why we are sometimes so wimpy – so weak.

Why we want to love God with all of our hearts but suddenly find ourselves – once again – totally concentrated on our will, not God’s will.

It’s a constant struggle.  Our conversations are filled with ‘ I think’, ‘I want’, ‘I feel’.eeeeeddgardem of g

We’re weak.

And Jesus gives us a solution to this problem – watch and pray.

Watch our behavior and compare it to the role model Jesus set for us.

And pray.

When we seek God, we will always find him.  He has promised us that.

And he has all the answers.

Not us.

We’re weak.  We know it.  Jesus knows it.eeeeeDSC_0422

We need to watch and pray.

Thank you, dear Jesus.

Sword Fighting Class – Cut out the Doubting

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

“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.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We are doing a great job of memorizing James 1!  Keep it up!James 1 2-5

As the verses grow, my prayers to God asking for his help have also grown 🙂

This is a God thing.  We know it’s his will for us to write his word upon our hearts and minds.  We know he’ll help.

Asking for his help is a wise thing.

And listen to our next verse- verse 6:

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he would doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Love that verse!  We must believe and not doubt.

When we ask for something that is in God’s will for us, we always receive it.  Always. He has promised us.  We should have no doubt about that.

And when we’re not sure if something is in God’s will for us, this verse tells us we should be praying expecting an answer.

Watching for an answer.  Not doubting that God will answer.

Praying expectantly.

This verse changed how I pray.  After I really understood this, I started praying and immediately watching – expecting an answer.

And God always answers.

Sometimes its ‘no’, other times its ‘yes’ and he often uses the ‘wait’ answer with me. That’s a hard one.  But a very cool one.  Because when I see God move and answer those requests at the right time, it’s a glorious thing.  Worth the wait.

Doubt causes us to be blown and tossed by the winds of life.  The winds of emotion.  The winds of confusion.  The winds of disappointment and anger.  The winds of despair.

We’ve all been caught in those winds.  It’s not a fun place to be.

Dear Father God, Please help us remove all doubt we have about you.  We want to be anchored securely in you..today…always.  When the winds of life blow at us and tug at our spirit, draw us closer to you.  Thank you for helping us to memorize your word, hiding it deep within our hearts, renewing our minds and setting us free.  In the redeeming name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

If You Love Me……

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

keep my commands.Nov 14 2014 If you love me

God rocked my world through this verse in John over 25 years ago.

I always said I loved Jesus.  I had loved Jesus my entire life.

But was I keeping his commands?

Jesus wasn’t talking to me about all of the laws in the Old Testament or the 10 commandments.  He was pointing out his first and greatest command – to love God with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength.  And the second great command – to love others as I love myself.

I wasn’t doing great at putting God first in my life at that time.  Two active kids, a husband, a career that involved significant travel, a house, 2 cars, family, friends, going to church where I was a member of the choir – my calendar was stretched to a superhuman level already.  I didn’t see any slot where I could fit in more time with God.

But the Holy Spirit was persistent, convicting me BIG TIME that I needed to stop just saying I loved Jesus and start showing it by obeying his first and greatest command.

So I gave up some things, lowered my expectations of other things (like how clean my house was) and re-prioritized.  I got serious about Bible study – both on my own and with a small group – and started to put God first in my life.  One baby step at a time.

And a miracle happened!  Everything started to go better, run smoother, be more fun!  I realized that God wanted me to put him first so he could help me with everything else!  He wanted to help me be a better wife, a better mother ( he gets the credit for my 2 intelligent, mature and responsible grown children), a better employee, a better everything!

He put the pieces of my life together so that they made a great picture.   Before, the pieces just seemed to pile on top of each other – making me crazy……making me feel empty……making me unhappy.  God made sense of it and brought real joy back into my life.

Loving him first made me whole.

The a whole me was much better prepared to deal positively with the rest of my life – as long as I kept God at the center.

Six words changed it all!

Amazing!

I love you, dear Father!