Tag: Bible

Who are We?

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Dec 26Who are we?

David raises this question to God in Psalm 144.

He asks God why he even notices us.

Why does God think about us at all?

We are like passing shadows and yet God loves us.

He created us in love and he gave us the choice whether to love him back or not.

He didn’t need us when he created us and he doesn’t need us now……

But he loves us and he wants us to love him back.

We have no significance at all – except the significance God gives us by adopting us and making us his children…….

When we believe.  When we choose him and love him back.

Thank you, dear Father, for giving us significance.

It’s Never Enough

On By Judy GlasserIn December, Uncategorized2 Comments

“You eat but aren’t satisfied.

You drink but are still thirsty.

You put on clothes but cannot keep warm.

Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes.”

Sounds like Haggai could be talking to us today, doesn’t it?Dec 20

Our culture is definitely anti-contentment.  There’s always something bigger.  There’s always something better.  There’s always something newer.  There’s always ……….more.

If one word could define the motivation of our culture today, ‘more’ might be it.

We don’t stop to consider how much stress and unhappiness ‘more’ actually gives us.

How many divorces are because of  ‘more’?  Sometimes it’s from wanting more and sometimes it’s from the consequences of having more.

How many sleepless nights are the result of ‘more’?

How many broken lives are the result of ‘more’?

God tells us over and over in his word that he is all that we need.  Every desire we have is really a desire to have ‘more’ of God. 

And having more of him actually satisfies us.

Dear Father, Please help us correctly identify our desires as wanting more of you in our lives.  Thank you for the contentment you bring.

Prayer for the New Year

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Dec 16Dear Father,

You have told us what is good.

You have told us what is required of us….

to do what is right,

to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with you.

It is our prayer, as we roll very quickly into the new year,

*that your spirit will live in us more boldly. 

*that your truth will be our daily compass.

*that we will love the things that you love

*and hate the things that you hate.

Please help us walk very humbly

and very closely

with you, our God, in 2013.

Not Hot or Cold

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

John’s letter to the church in Laodicea accuses them of being  just lukewarm.

Neither hot or cold.Dec 12

And he tells them he wishes they were one or the other….not just lukewarm.

Lukewarm is comfortable.

It seems like a safe place to be, doesn’t it?

But then John goes on to tell them that they think they have everything they want but they are in fact miserable and poor and wretched and naked….

and blind.  Which is probably why they don’t realize what bad shape they are in.

Blindness.  We all have blind spots.  John is telling us that being lukewarm and ‘comfortable’ is one of those blindspots.

He challenges them to turn from their indifference.

And he challenges us today as we read this.  Where are the areas of our faith where we are lukewarm?

Dear Father, please open our eyes to our blind spots and grow our passion for you until it becomes very uncomfortable to be anywhere but in the center of your will.

It’s Proof

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

“And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.”

God has given us proof.Dec 4

We know this is true because we read it in the Bible.

And we feel his presence…

when he whispers.

when he wraps us in the shelter of his arms.

when he works things out for us and it’s better than what we had planned.

when he gives us the right words to say at just the right time.

or he helps us keep our mouth shut at just the right time 🙂

Thank you, dear Father!

Don’t Fool Yourself….

On By Judy GlasserIn November, Uncategorized1 Comment

reading the Bible and not obeying what you read will not bring God’s blessings.

That’s what James tells us at the end of his first chapter.

If we read God’s word and obey it, it will set us free and we will receive God’s blessings.

Anything less is foolishness.

He writes this sort of strange analogy about looking at your face in the mirror and then walking away only to forget what you look like.

The other day this made more sense to me.  I was finishing up getting ready for work when I looked in the mirror and saw that I didn’t have any earrings on yet.  I intended to go pick some out but then I got distracted by something else as I walked away.

When I got to work, I happened to glance at the mirror and was kind of shocked to see that I didn’t have any earrings on.  I had intended to put some on but it never happened so now I went all day without earrings.

This experience helped me relate to the mirror analogy.   When I read God’s truth in the Bible, I need to obey it and act upon it.  I can’t let other things distract me.  The best intentions in the world are worthless without action and follow-through.

If I want God’s blessings in my life, obedience comes first. 

Dear Father, please help me grow in obedience.

Most Prized Possession

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

What is your most prized possession?

For me, it would be my family, of course.   Nothing else other than my relationship with God is precious to me. 

If we were talking material items, then it would probably be my camera.  I wanted a camera like it for 25 years and finally got one.  I really like it but, if I lost it or it broke, I’d be fine.  It’s not THAT important to me.  Some of my pictures are pretty precious to me but it’s really the memories that are precious – the pictures are just reminders.

I can’t really think of anything else I own that would be a prized possession. Some Christians might say their Bible is one of theirs but I have several that I used for various reasons.  My current favorite one is a large print version 🙂

I love the scripture in James 1  where God tells us that, out of all his creation, we are his prized possessions.

Don’t you love being called a prized possession by God?  I do.

I don’t always act like his prized possession and I don’t always feel like his prized possession but his word is here to remind me that I am.  I really am.  And so are you!

So let’s walk around today with that thought slowly revolving around in our brains.  Let’s dwell on the love that God shows us as his prized possessions.  His grace…his patience…..his strength.  Let this truth permeate the air that we breathe and let this reality change our thinking today.  And tomorrow.  And each day.

Thank  you, dear Father.  For all that you are.  From one of your prized possessions.

Who is Responsible?

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

When a city is going to be attacked,  the people of that city choose a watchman to sound the alarm.  If those who hear the alarm choose to ignore it, it’s their own fault if they die.

But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm, he is responsible for their captivity.  They will die and God tells us in Ezekiel 33, that he will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.

Then God makes Ezekiel the watchman for the people of Israel.  God tells Ezekiel that he must warn the Israelites to repent and to turn from their wicked ways or they will die in their sins.   They are their own worst enemy.  They aren’t listening to God.  God says that, if Ezekiel doesn’t warn them, he will be responsible for their deaths.

Why? Because Ezekiel knew the truth.  God had told him the truth and had given him the responsibility to tell others.

Did we receive this same responsibility when Jesus gave us the great commission of going into all the world to make disciples and teach them everything that we have been taught?  Are we the watchmen for our generation because God has spoken to us and we know the truth?  

If so, how are we sounding the alarm?

Surrounded

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

  I read this passage I think about the long line of my ancestors who were believers and are now are in heaven cheering me on as I run this race of faith.  I know they did a good job of passing along their faith to their children because I’m one of them.  I was given the best start possible for this race because I was brought up in a Christian home with 2 faithful parents.  They weren’t perfect but they were faithful all the way to the end of their lives.  They ran with endurance, passing their faith on to the next generation.

If you weren’t brought up in a Christian home, you have the opportunity to be the start of a legacy just like the one that was given to me.  We all have our place in the chain and we each just need to be faithful in passing it along.  With God’s spirit alive within us, there never has to be an end to the chain.

I plan to keep my eyes on Jesus as I run this race with endurance .  One day I will have the honor of  joining the cloud of witnesses to cheer on the generations that come after me.

Are you with me?

I Need An Anchor

On By Judy GlasserIn November, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Life can really be stormy sometimes.  The waves of issues and problems seem to grow larger and hit harder…….and all in a row.  They keep pounding on us.

The author of  Hebrews shares some very encouraging insights about God in chapter 6.   God has given us his promise of his love and eternal life and he never lies.  He can’t lie.

So we can run to him for refuge with great confidence because he has given his oath.  We know the truth and his name is Jesus.

Our faith in God is the anchor for our souls- keeping us steady as the waves of life tumble around us. The waves can tumble right on top of us and we may feel like we’re drowning.  But we’re not.

Because we’re anchored.