Tag: Bible

How much more…….

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

Solomon didn’t ask God for wealth or a long life.  He didn’t ask God to kill his enemies.

Solomon asked for wisdom.  And God was very pleased by his request so he gave him a wise and discerning heart.

AND he made Solomon the richest man on earth.

So I wonder if God is pleased with my requests?  Or are my requests self-centered?  Are they based more on worry than trust?  Do I sound like I’m sitting on Santa’s lap sometimes with my long list of wishes?

I know God tells us again and again in the Bible to pray to him about everything and anything.  And I have learned to do that – it’s where I find peace.

But is he pleased with the tone and character of my requests like he was with Solomon’s?

Do I want the same things for others that God wants for them?  Am I asking for things that God wants to give them?

How much more is God wanting to give me…….if I would just ask?

How much wider and deeper could the flow of blessings from heaven flow down into my life if I asked for the right things?

How much more love, joy and peace is waiting……stored…..ready for me when I ask for it?

Dear Father, please give me a wise and discerning heart.

 

 

Psalm 4, 2013

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

I know you answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.

You give me peace when I am stressed;

You have mercy on me and you always hear my prayers.

Why do we, your people, turn away from having a glorious relationship with you?

May 6 Psalm 4Why do we constantly try to control the world ourselves when we’re obviously so terrible at it?

How long will we love the delusion that we can know the truth apart from you?  How long will we love the delusion that we’ll ever be happy doing what we want while disregarding what you want?  How long will we seek happiness through money and possessions?

We have been set apart for you – you always hear when we call to you.

When we lay down at night and review the day, help us confess our sins

and make a commitment to walk closer to you……tomorrow and every day.

We trust you, dear Father.

Let your light shine on us, dear God!  You bring prosperity!  You bring joy!

Because of you I have peace.

Because of you, I can lie down at night at sleep.

I am safe within your arms.

Thank you, dear Father.

Psalm 136, 2013

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

                                                                                                               His love endures forever.

He alone deserves our worship and our praise.

                                                                                                               His love endures forever.

Because of his will, the sun rises every morning.

Because of his will, I will take my next breathe.

                                                                                                               His love endures forever.

He planned a life of faithfulness for me when he gifted me with a family rich with generations of believers.

                                                                                                                 His love endures forever.

He formed a long-lasting union when he blessed me with my husband

He created my son’s tall, strong body and my daughter’s beautiful smile.

                                                                                                                 His love endures forever.

I continue to be showered with his blessings as I look into the big blue eyes of my grandson who loves to dance for God.

                                                                                                                 His love endures forever.

He has been my rock and my salvation for all of my life.

                                                                                                                  He love endures forever.

I give thanks to the God of Heaven.

                                                                                                                  His love endures forever.

Psalm 91, 2013

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

He is my refuge, my God, in whom I trust.

Surely he will save me from believing the lies that swirl around me every day.April 24 Psalm 91

Surely he will save me from the guilt and pain that comes from remembering and reliving old mistakes.

Surely he will save me from the terror of nights filled with worry and wanting to be in control.

Surely he will save me from problems that fly at me like arrows all through the day.

Surely he will save me from the things that take bites out of me in the darkness – jealousy, malice, and anger.

Surely he will save me from the disease of negativity in my brain – failures, regrets and unforgiveness.

People all around me will become victims of these things, but not me.

Because I know God and he loves me.

He is my refuge, my God, in whom I trust.

We’ll Never Know……

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

how often God protects us.

But I caught a glimpse of God’s protection recently as I was driving to work after my regular 6 am Bible study group April 19 2013meeting every Thursday morning.  We had been discussing the topic of how often God protects us but we never know it.

As I drove down Thunderbird road, I saw a car just like mine – same color, same model, looked like the same year.  We just bought this car and I’m still really enjoying how different it looks from my last car.  So I kept peeking over to the next lane to see how it looked.

I was stopped by a red light and the other car zipped through on the yellow so I didn’t see it anymore.  As soon as the light turned green, I realized that the traffic was suddenly going a lot slower.  Great!!  That’s all I needed.  I still had a long drive to work.

We were inching our way up to the freeway when I saw what the hold up was.  The car that looked just like mine had been rear-ended in the middle of the road and it looked like more than just a little fender bender.

That could have easily have been me.  And maybe it would have been if God had not protected me.

I’m not saying that God protects me from all car accidents – I’ve had a few.  I believe that God protects me from some bad things while permitting other bad things to happen.  There is a comfort in that for me.  When bad things happen, I know that God has let them happen for a purpose.  He wants to use this situation for my good and for his glory. 

Just like David says in Psalms 5, I find refuge in my Father God and rejoice.

All of It

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

David stands surrounded by huge piles of gold and silver and bronze that have been donated to build the temple for God.  He lifts his hands to God, saying:

“Yours, Lord is the kingdom, you are exalted as head over all.April 19 2 Sam

Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.”

This is one of my favorite visuals in the Bible.  Every time I read it, David reminds me of something that is extremely important.  I need to remember it, believe it and act like it every day of my life.

It’s all God’s.

Everything. 

He gives me things to take care of for him but it’s still all his.

Really believing this and acting like it has been a gradual process in my life.  The toughest but most precious change was when I realized my children weren’t mine – they were his.  He gave them to me to love and nurture but they were always his.  Really believing this is actually a relief – especially now that they are grown and have their own lives.  God is always with them – loving and protecting them.  They are his. 

I’m just grateful that he let me be their mom.

Thank you, dear Father!

His Hair Became a Snare

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

David’s son, Absolom, had beautiful hair.  We read in 2 Samual that it was heavy and long and gorgeous.  He cut it once a year and weighed it.

April 14 2113I wonder how often Absolom stopped to look in the mirror to admire his hair?  (Did they have mirrors back then?  Maybe shiny pieces of metal that reflected back their image?)

If he made this big deal about his yearly hair cutting, I would image that he was extremely proud of his hair, don’t you?

I’m sure it was a constant source of compliments for him.

And then we read in 2 Samuel 18 that Absolom was riding his donkey under a tree in the midst of battle when his hair got caught in the tree.  He was pulled from his donkey and was left handing in midair while his donkey just kept on going.

Only really thick hair would be able to do that, right?

While Absolom was hanging there,  Joab plunged his sword into his heart and killed him.

If Absolom had thin hair or even regular hair, this wouldn’t have happened to him.

The thing he was so very proud of became a snare that caused his death.

So the question to us today is – what is the thing in our life that we are most proud of?

Do we need an attitude adjustment  before we find ourselves in a snare?

Are we already caught in a snare?

Dear Father, we are so blessed to have you in our lives lavishing us with your mercy and your love.  We confess our pridefullness.  We need you.  Please help us only be proud of you and what you have done for us.

The Battle Rages On

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

We all have them – issues that we battle over and over in our lives.

The same  problem rears its ugly head again and again.  It may start out looking like it’s something different this time but it’s really not.  The core of it is that same old problem.April 10 2 sam

In 2 Samuel 21, the Israelites had the Philistines that they were battling with over and over.  And over and over.

We have our own Philistines, don’t we.  These are areas of our lives where we just aren’t winning the battle.  We can’t seem to conquer this issue.

I thought it was really interesting to hear about the Israelites battling a huge Philistine in Gath who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

Some of the things we battle can also feel like they have extra fingers.  They reach out these extra fingers to mess with other aspects of our lives creating more consequences and more issues.

God promises that he can give us victory in these battles.  Nothing is beyond the power of God.  Our role in this is to trust him and let him fight the battle for us as we obey him.  It’s tough to do but that’s what it’s going to take to find the victory that we’re looking for.

We forget.  We try to win the battle ourselves.  And we fail.  As long as we turn to God when we fail, we’ll keep moving closer to One who has the power to win these battles for us.  One step at a time.

Dear Father, please keep drawing us nearer to you.  We trust you to bring us victory over our personal Philistines.

Holy, Holy, Holy

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

We’re singing along with the angels in heaven as they surround the throne of God – that’s what I think about whenever we sing ‘Holy, Holy, Holy” in a worship song.April 9 this one 1 chron

Our voices rising to heaven in perfect harmonies with the multitude of angels who sing praises to God 24/7/365.

We need more songs with those words in them 🙂

As I read 1 Chronicles, I realize that King David organized the first worship services and we follow his directions every time we join with our family of Christ to worship God.

David told the priests to minister regularly, doing what was needed.

He told Obed-Edom, Hosah and the sons of Jeduthum that they were greeters at the gates.

He asked others to present the offerings regularly.

Heman and Jeduthun ( whose sons were also serving as greeters) were responsible for the band – the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments.  David told them they were to give thanks to the Lord whose goodness endures forever.

We re-enact David’s plans for worshipping together every week.

We join with our faithful ancestors from throughout the ages in worshipping our awesome God.

Love it!  Thank you, God!

Whatever Works for You

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us.   Then we’ll be happy.March 26 Judges 21

Or not.

Everyone did as they saw fit – this is how the book of Judges ends.  It may sound good until we scan back a couple of chapters and realize what they thought was fit to do. 

Family members were stealing from each other.  They obviously thought this was an ok thing to do.

Family members were kidnapping each other.  They thought this was ok as well.

Family members were killing each other to the point that they virtually annihilated one of the tribes.  I wonder how they could think this was ok but they did.  They could rationalize anything!

Their moral judgement was quickly spirally into total chaos and confusion.

Because they had no compass.

When we base what is right and wrong on what we think, we’re in trouble.  Then we’re just like these Israelites – doing what we see fit and letting our standards waiver in whatever direction the wind is blowing.

God has been very clear to us on moral boundaries.  We may not like them all or agree with them but that doesn’t make them untrue.  He has given us the choice to follow his compass or not.  What are we choosing?

Dear Father, we desire to walk in your path of truth.  Please guide us so that your moral standards become what ‘fits’ us best.