Tag: Bible

Under a Bush

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

It’s happened to me.  Has it happened to you?

I’ve gone to a great seminar or a camp or a retreat – feeling more and more motivated as the event progressed.  I’m on the mountaintop – very close to God!  Right on track!  Ready to tackle the world!  Fired up to make my dreams come true!

You get the point.

And then I come back to reality.  I have to face the real world – disappointments and distractions and disillusions.  The people and problems and various perspectives drain away my enthusiasm.  I am no longer on the mountaintop – now I’m in the valley.

If you’ve been there with me, we are all in good company.  In 1 Kings, Elijah the prophet orchestrated an epic confrontation on a mountaintop with 850 pagan prophets.  I can’t believe this story hasn’t been made into a major movie because it has tons of drama and great visuals.  God sent fire down from heaven to burn up Elijah’s sacrifice and even dry up all the water around the altar.  The pagan priests slashed themselves trying to get the attention of their gods and then they were all slaughtered.  All of this violence would fit right in with our ‘action movies’ today.

What a mountaintop experience for Elijah!

But then Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life and he crawled under a bush, praying that God would take his life.

Have you ever felt like crawling under a bush?  I have.  I have ‘crawled under a bush’ and wanted to stay there….. forever.

Instead of taking Elijah’s life, God sent an angel to feed him and care for him.  God still sends angels to us today when we’re in a valley – often human angels – to love us and care of us.

Then God told Elijah to go back up on the mountaintop so he could get close to God.  Because God does not often talk to us through the powerful wind or the earthquake or the fire.  God usually whispers.

When you and I come down off the mountain into a valley of disappointment and confusion, God says the same thing to us – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew11:28.

As I seek God when I’m in a valley and draw near to him, he wraps his arms around me and whispers his truth and love into my mind.  This is where I find peace.

I love you, Abba Father.

He Is Not Like Us

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

God is never tired, he is never impatient, he is never distracted, he is never busy.

We are made in God’s image – little glimpses of him show up in each of us.

But he is not like us.

This fact brings me a lot of peace and confidence. I desire to be more like Jesus. I am eternally grateful that he is not like me.  He has none of my weaknesses or failings.

Sometimes God tell us about his emotions in the Bible – anger, sadness, and joy.  All of his emotions are perfect – for the right reason.  They are not like our emotions which are self-centered and can often cause us to say and do wrong things.

When Elijah mocked the priests of Baal in 1 Kings, he was trying to point out the godlessness of their gods.   When Baal didn’t respond to their requests,  Elijah said, “Shout louder! Surely he is a god. Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18: 27. This kicked the Baal prophets into a frenzy of shouting louder and slashing themselves with swords and spears.  They often did this trying to get a response from Baal.

I grimace when I imagine this scene of four hundred and fifty bleeding prophets of Baal – crying out to a manmade statue.  Looking for answers. Looking for hope.

How futile!

How wrong!

How lost.

When I take a look at the world which surrounds me today with overwhelming violence and lies and confusion, I can say the same thing –

How futile!

How wrong!

How lost.

Jesus came to bring his light of truth, grace and salvation to everyone who would believe. He is the only answer.

He lives within each believer and he has commissioned each of us to be his light in our part of this dark and broken world.

Dear Father, Please help us shine your light brightly right where we live, work and play.

How Much More

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

How big is my God?  How much does he want to bless me?

God stopped me this week as I read the story in the Bible of the widow whose son was going be taken as a slave because her husband had debts he didn’t pay before he died.  She asked Elisha for help saying she had nothing left except a small jar of olive oil.

Elisha said, ” Go around and ask your neighbors for empty jars.  Don’t ask for just a few.  Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” 2 Kings 4: 3 – 4.   She did exactly what Elisha said and she just kept filling the jars until they were all full. The oil stopped flowing when her last jar was full.  Then she sold the oil to pay her debts and had enough money left over to live on.

Now that I know the end of the story, my automatic response is – too bad she didn’t get more jars! Then she could have blessed others as well through this miracle that happened to her.

Did you go there? It was great that she had enough money to live on but how much more did God have for her if she had had a bigger view of her God?

And then I wonder how many times God was willing to bless me abundantly but I didn’t bring enough jars?  I didn’t bring enough faith?  Enough trust?

How often do I short-cut God’s attempts to lavish love and care on my life because I don’t ask?

The message I’ve been consistently receiving lately from God is that there are some mountains he will move if I will boldly ask.  He’s stirring up a wind of his Spirit that he is inviting me to take part in if I will ‘bring enough jars’.

Have I shared with you that God has asked me to write a book and share my experiences of surviving the death of my son who was a Phoenix Police Officer killed in the line of duty 6 years ago? Writing a book is a new mountain for me to climb. In obedience, I have started it and I’m counting on God to guide me to the end.

Nothing is impossible for my Father God so I am boldly asking him to write this book through me – telling the story that he has been writing in my life these last 6 years – and I’m expecting to watch God-sized things happen.

I’ve got a lot of jars lined up, Abba Father.

Slaves

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

We all have things we are committed to – things we spend a lot of time and energy on along with a big chunk of our money.  Things like careers, houses, cars, sports, shopping, the latest gadgets and video games fill our hours, leaving little or no room for a relationship with God.

If we lived back in Biblical times, it would be said that we are a slave to these things.  We choose who we serve and when we put anything above God in our priorities, there are negative results.

King Rehoboam, the king of Judah, led his people in turning away from the One True God to serve idols – all kinds of idols.  Since the people were unfaithful to God, God let King Shishak of Egypt capture Judah.  The people then realized their sin and God saw.  As a good father, he let them pay the consequence of their sin which meant the King of Egypt became their king but God promised to give them deliverance soon.

In 2 Chronicles 12:8, God said, “They will, however, become subject to him (the King of Egypt), so they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

When we choose something other than God to be slaves to, we also pay consequences, such as – large debt, broken relationships and lack of purpose and meaning in our lives.  When we turn back to  God, he promises to deliver us from this misguided slavery.  It may take a while. We will pay some consequences.  It will probably take some real effort and work and commitment on our part.

But God, our good Father, is faithful.  He will deliver us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Doing My Own Thing

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Deciding for myself what is best for me.

Reacting – and sometimes over-reacting – to the situations around me.

Spending my money on me and what I want.

Determining my next step without consulting anyone.  And then quickly going down that path without stopping to evaluate whether it’s the right one for me.

Any of these describe your life?

I definitely find myself in these situations sometimes.

Do you know how God responds to us when we act like this?

“You have abandoned me; therefore I now abandon you.” 2 Chronicles 12:6.

I want to go my own way?  He let’s me.

Don’t get me wrong – he still loves me.

He hears.

He cares.

It breaks his heart when I wander away and abandon him in any part of my life.

God lets me have this freedom of choice because he wants my whole heart.  He wants me to choose him over myself.

If I don’t choose to line my life up with his truth, he lets me.  And then I pay the consequences for those bad choices.  Sometimes very long-term consequences.

We share this broken world together so I know you’ve been there.  You might be there right now.

Saying whatever you want to say when you’re angry – how well does that work?

Spending all of your time working.  Too busy to spend any time with God.  Where has that gotten you?

Spending all your money on ‘stuff’ and  finding yourself deeply in debt.  Yeah – the consequences of not being obedient with our money are nasty.  Stressful.  Depressing.   And can last a very long time.

And God lets us.

Because he wants us to learn to choose him over everything else.

Everything else.

How are we doing?  Are we choosing God and what he wants? Where do we need to improve?  Or maybe we need to start.

There is no better time than now.

Thank you for never really abandoning us, Abba Father.

Meaningless

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, ” completely meaningless.”  Ecclesiastes 12:8.

Do you ever feel that way?

Obviously this emotion is spreading rapidly through our culture today as we see the suicide rates drastically rising and mass shootings multiply.  To many people, tomorrow seems to be meaningless and not worth sticking around for.

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”  Eccl. 2:11

King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes.  He was uber rich and  the wisest man who ever lived and yet, this is what he wrote at the end of his life.

Pretty depressing, isn’t it?

The futility of pleasure – fleeting and never gives us lasting  contentment.

The meaninglessness of work –  we put so much effort into work to achieve recognition and so we can own things we want – then we leave it all behind when we die.

The injustices of life – evil is very real.

The futility of wealth – those who love money will never have enough.

The limits of human wisdom – “wisdom is difficult to find.”

Death comes to all – “the same destiny (of death) awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad.”

At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon finally gets to the good news.  Solomon’s final conclusions tell us what will bring true meaning to our lives.

He says to enjoy life while obeying God – real freedom and happiness come exclusively from God.  Evil and injustice will always in a part of life on earth.  We should live in faith knowing God wins in the end and will judge all things.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, tells us that meaning and purpose will only be found by being faithful to God.

That alone is not meaningless.

Thank you for giving my life meaning and purpose, Abba Father.

Too Easy

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

It’s just too easy to wander away from God.

I know because I wandered away for several years when I was a young adult.    I moved away from home and gradually filled my calendar with activities I knew were not the best for me.  The people I met while doing these activities weren’t interested in a relationship with God so we never talked about him.  My whole lifestyle changed to ‘looking for love (and fun) in all the wrong places.”

It was easy.

Several years later, I woke up (with a lot of nudging from the Holy Spirit) and realized I was not where I wanted to be.  Don’t get me wrong – I had worked hard and gotten everything I thought I wanted – everything I thought would make me happy.

But I wasn’t happy.  I was empty.  I had a huge hole in my life.  I needed a meaningful purpose for getting up every morning beyond feeding the kids, paying the bills and getting my ‘to-do’ lists done.

It took me awhile to figure out that the aching hole in my life was where God was supposed to be.  I’m sure the Holy Spirit had to work very hard on me to get me to see that.  My relationship with God at this point had melted into nonexistence.

I realized I missed God.  I missed my spiritual family.

I’m extremely grateful that the Holy Spirit helped me identify my real need and desire so I could get back on track.  My relationship with God has given me all the purpose and joy and success that I was looking for.

I’ve seen many Christians wander away –

  • their Bible starts gathering dust on a shelf.
  • social activities on Saturday nights make sleeping in on Sunday mornings more important than worshiping God with their spiritual families.
  • their week becomes too busy with other things so they drop out of small group Bible studies, leaving their Christian friends behind.
  • Christians stopped going to church during our pandemic and have never gone back.  It is just so easy to wander away from being a part of a church family like God directs us to be, so easy to watch church in our pajamas on Sunday and check it off the list, ignoring God’s words in Hebrews 10: 24 – 25. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I am reminded that this can happen to anyone when I read about the end of King Solomon’s life.  “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”  1 Kings 11:4.  He was the wisest man who ever lived and he lost it.   Unbelievable!

God had even told Solomon when he was younger not to marry foreign wives because this would happen.

Solomon was warned and he still wandered.

I feel like God is warning me – and you – today through his Word.   I must be diligent about keeping my priorities straight.  When attitudes and activities start to draw me away from God, I need to adjust my focus.

I wandered away once.  I’m determined not to do it again.

Please keep me close to your side, Abba Father.

Where Can I Find It?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Am I ever satisfied?

Are you?

We live in a culture where it’s very difficult to be content because there is always ‘bigger and better’.  There is always more.

How do I find this illusive thing called peace when I am surrounded by all of this?

God tells me through King Solomon in Proverbs 3 how to find peace, satisfaction and prosperity in my life.

  • Never forget what God has taught me.
  • Be loyal and loving.
  • Trust in God – be dependent on his power and strength and understanding, not my own.
  • Make fulfilling God’s will for my life my goal. “in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6.
  • Keep on the path God directs me to take.
  • Turn away from evil.  Respect God and give him the credit for all the good things in my life. Never get too impressed with myself.
  • Honor God with my time and treasures.
  • Accept my Father’s discipline.  He loves me and wants the best for me.
  • Ask God for wisdom – it is precious and nothing else will bring me satisfaction.
  • Hang on to my common sense and discernment – they will help keep me unafraid and I’ll be able to sleep at night.
  • Love and encourage others.
  • Don’t envy violent or wicked people.  At first, I would say that I would never envy violent or wicked people.  But then, I think about some people I know who have ‘gotten away’ with things that were not right but it brought them pleasure or financial gain.  Did I ever wish that was me? “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the house of the righteous.” Proverbs 3:33.

That’s a great list!  It’s interesting to me that things like ‘get an education so you can get a good job and make a lot of money’ aren’t on here. There’s nothing on this list that tells me that buying stuff and owning that boat or that cabin or that new car is going to bring me satisfaction.

How are you doing on this list? Have you found contentment? Peace?

This list is all about God working with us to grow our faith, grow our character and grow our wisdom.

Amen.  Let it be so, Abba Father.

Soaking it In

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Solomon gave us an enormous amount of wisdom in Proverbs but it’s in such small, short statements that I find it hard to make sure I’m absorbing it – not just reading it and moving on.  I want God’s Word to soak into my life – changing and transforming me.

One of the many things I like about the Chronological Daily Bible I read through every year is the proverbs are grouped by subject matter.  This helps me slow down and consider the overall message God is giving me about each topic.

For example, God talks to us often in Proverbs about the actions of fools versus the actions of the wise.  This list highlights the temperament of each.  As I read them and think about them, I see these comparisons:

The fool – 

*gets annoyed quickly.

*shows their insecurities through their quick temper.

*jumps in on mean and evil schemes.

*stirs up conflict and commits many sins.

*wants to control other people.

*hasn’t learned their lesson so don’t rescue them.  You’ll just have to rescue them again.

The wise –

*respects and honors God, avoiding thoughts and actions that aren’t consistent with God’s Word.

*does not encourage conflict, calms a quarrel.

*has self control.

*does not make friends with hot-tempered people.

*does not associate with those who are easily angered.

God is pointing out us that the wise are involved in the world around them while maintaining a focus on living out the word of God.  They are not quick-tempered because they have self control.  They don’t ignore quarrels, they calm them.  And they don’t regularly hangout with hotheads.

Wise.

Take an honest look – which list do you see yourself on?

Please help me be wise, Abba Father.

Proverbs 2 – Our Prayer

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Dear Father,

We thank you for the understanding you give us as we read your word – your direction feeds our souls. We open our ears to hear your wisdom, we seek understanding.

We call out to you – please give us insight!  We cry aloud for more understanding!

We search for wisdom – it is more precious to us than silver.  It is the hidden treasure of understanding and knowledge of you, dear God.

You are the key to all wisdom, Father.  You give success to us as we seek you.  You shield us as we walk closely with you.  You guard us when we act with integrity and you protect our way when we are faithful.

We desire to know what is right for us – the good path which you have planned out for each one of us.

We ask for wisdom to fill our hearts.  May our souls be complete with the knowledge of you. Please teach us to use discretion as protection and to use our understanding to guard our hearts.

Thank you, dear Father.