Tag: blessings

Not A Spectator Sport

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

It takes an effort.

It takes action.

It takes committment and perseverance.

Living a life of faith is not a spectator sport.  God tells me in Proverbs 2 to turn my ear to wisdom, apply my heart to understanding, call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding.

I must look for wisdom and insight like it is silver and search for it as I would search for hidden treasure.

How would I look for hidden treasure?  I would research information about the person who hid it which would help me figure out where they would hide it.  I would look for a map or any guidance that might be available.  And I would search for the tiniest spark, the smallest glimmer which could lead me to the treasure itself.

This is how God wants me – and you – to pursue him.

Seriously.

On purpose.

Taking advantage of every opportunity.

When I do that, I will find him and will be filled with his wisdom and knowledge of him.

Then, I will understand the right and just and fair thing to do and I will find the right path he has prepared for me.

This filling will not happen one hour on Sunday morning.  It will not happen in a 5 minute morning devotion.

Living a committed life of faith is not a spectator sport.

Thank you for how clear your word is to us in this area, Abba Father.

 

Psalm 20, 2017 – Be Blessed

On By Judy GlasserIn May2 Comments

May the Lord always answer him when you call his name.

May he send help and support to you.

May he always remember your faithfulness and service.

May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

Then we will all shout for joy for you and give thanks to our Father!

For this I know – the Lord helps the faithful ones succeed.  He answers from his heavenly throne with his powerful hand.some trust in chariots

Some only trust in what they can see….and they will fail.

We trust in God so we will always stand firm.

You give us victory, Lord!

Thank you for answering our prayers, Abba Father.

Psalm 19, 2017

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

The heavens declare your glory, Father!

Every time I look up into the brilliant sky, I see the work of your hands.  Day after day, the skies tell us how huge and magnificent you are.  Night after night, they reveal your power and glory.

The skies don’t talk, they make no sound.  But their voices go out to the ends of the world, telling us about you.

The sun rises every morning at your command – filled with joy and anticipation as it makes its way across the sky, spreading your gift of light and warmth.

Your law is perfect and it refreshes my soul, Father.

Your word is trustworthy, it is able to make me wise.

Your directions are always right for me – they bring joy to my heart.

Your commands give light and open up my eyes.  They are more precious to me than money, fame or success.

You speak through your word to warn me and you reward me with many blessings when I walk closely with you.

Please forgive my sins – known and unknown – and keep me from willfully straying from your path.

May these words and the attitude of my heart be pleasing to you, Lord, my Rock and My Redeemer.

Psalm 5, 2017

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

I know you hear me, LORD.  You listen when I call to you.

You hear my cries for help, God.  Every morning, when I lay my concerns and requests at your feet, I know hear me.

And I watch – expecting your answer.

You hate evil.

You hate lies.

You hate deceit.

You do not welcome evil and proud people into your presence.

Because you love me, I can come near to you and bow before you.  Please guide me on the right path, LORD.

Keep me safe from those who do evil.  I can’t trust one word they say – their hearts are filled with hate.  They are liars.

You are the judge and my revenge, O God.  Declare them guilty.  Let their evil and rebellious ways become their punishment as they choose their own path – separate from you.

But draw all who love you close to you, God.  Give us joy as you spread your protection over us.

We know you show favor to those who walk closely with you, LORD.  You cover us with the umbrella of your blessing.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Before He Finished

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

I wonder what’s next.  What’s the next step?  Where do I go from here?

And I sometimes forget that God has a plan.  He has a map.  He knows the way.

I imagine a field stretched out in front of me that represents my life.  In that field, there are many landmines.  The land mines represent bad choices and wrong in my life.field-of-landmines

What if I knew someone who could guide me through my field so I could avoid these landmines?  Would I ask for their help and listen to them?

Definitely.

There is someone like that and he is God.

He knows where all of the landmines are and he wants to show me the way around them.  He doesn’t just want to guide me, he wants to walk through my field – the rest of my life – right next to me, giving me hope and love and joy.

In order to do that, I need to ask, listen, obey and trust.

In order to do that, you need to ask, listen, obey and trust.

God tells us in Genesis 24:15 that he answered the servant of Abraham’s prayer before he finished praying.

Before he finished.

I bet God does this all the time and we just don’t know it.  But has he ever done this for you and you knew it?

Last April, I was praying about whether or not to retire soon.  My company was reorganizing and I had a small window of time to take advantage of a ‘special offer’ and retire early.

Big decision.

I wasn’t sure.

I needed guidance from God.

On the last day before I had to decide, I was praying saying, “I need an answer” and, as I said Amen, the phone rang.

I knew it was my answer.  That conversation confirmed the direction I was leaning – to retire early.

And now I can clearly see God’s hand guiding me around a couple of landmines and onto the next step for his plan for me.

I wish it were always that clear.

I think it can be if we ask and listen, obey and trust.

What do you think?

Thank you for your guidance, Abba Father.

I’m Laying By The Healing Waters….

On By Judy GlasserIn November6 Comments

fDSC_0489waiting to be healed….

wondering when its going to happen…

wondering if its going to happen.

All of us have some part of our life that is bruised or broken.

It’s not always a physical thing.  Many times its emotional or spiritual.

And so we lay next to cripple at the Pool of Bethesda….hoping to be healed.

I had the privilege to visit this tranquil, beautiful place 2 years ago.  The peace I felt in that spot was magnified by the conflict and tension that defines the city of Jerusalem.  If felt like nobody living there liked anybody else.  The air was filled with ‘you don’t belong here’ hatred.

But not at this pool.

It was quiet.

Smaller than I had imagined from reading about it in John 5.fDSC_0490

I wish I could go back there now – to lay at the side of the pool, waiting for healing.  A tragedy in my life this last year has taken away a big chunk of my contentment and joy.

And I want it back.

I know I can’t go back to the pool right now – maybe some day.  But I know where to go to be made whole again.

My Abba Father is in the process of healing my brokenness.  It’s not easy and not something I thought I would ever experience.

I am thankful for my healer.

I am waiting by the pool, Abba Father.

We Are Free!

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Free from guilt.

Free from never being good enough.

Free from emptiness.

Free from wondering why we’re here.

Free from trying to be in control when we know we’re not. (Or are you still operating with the misconception that you’re in control?)

And the list of our freedoms goes on…

Jesus tells us in Luke that his Father sent him to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.

That’s us.

Without Jesus in our lives, we are held prisoners by our past, our present and our future.

But Jesus came to set us free!  We just need to accept his gift of redemption and follow him.we-are-set-free

Then we are truly free.

Yes, we still struggle.

Yes, we still do things and say things we wish we hadn’t.

Yes, we still have questions and issues in our lives.  We have pain and sorrow.

But we know who holds the key.  He knows the way.  He has already won!

He is walking right next to us in this world and he will be walking right next to us into the next.

We are free in Christ Jesus!

Truly free!

 

 

I’ve Got Your Back!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When we want to accomplish something big, it takes a team.

One person can only do what one person can get done.

But when a group of people join energy and brainpower to tackle a goal together, unexplainable synergy happens and their efforts are multiplied.

Success rolls in when a team of people are engaged, committed to working together and helping each other achieve a goal.

And when God’s involved – there is a supernatural factor that is truly astounding to witness.  Projects turn out much better than planned.  Blessings pile up.  We see our faith growing as, together, we experience the power of God in our lives.

Has this happened to you?

I’ve experienced this many times and its exciting every time it happens.

As a result, I love reading the historical account of Nehemiah leading the Israelites in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  The Jews were being attacked regularly by their enemies who didn’t want them to complete the wall.  They were very discouraged.

Nehemiah refused to stop building.  He knew that he had been sent back to Jerusalem to lead this project so he couldn’t stop.  He organized the men into teams – half of them did the work while the other half watched the worker’s backs with spears, shields, bows and armor.  They protected their brothers with everything they had.

Working together,

protecting each other,

they accomplished the goal together.

They could not have done it without each other.

Our Spiritual family is like this.  We need each other.  Each one of us needs to use our spiritual gifts in order to build each other up and fulfill our purpose of reaching others for Christ.

We watch each other’s backs – loving and forgiving each other in supernatural ways.

And we love those who don’t know Jesus yet…blue-blob-ive-got-your-back

while our Spiritual family supports us and cheers us on.

We can do this, because He first loved us…

and He has our backs.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Test Me

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

“Test me in this.” God says to us in Malachi 3.test-me-in-this

It’s the only place in the Bible where God challenges us to test him.

He wants us to check him out.

Because we will find that he is faithful.

He promises that – when we bring our whole tithe to him – he will ‘throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (3:12)

This is not about money.

The real question is – who is God of my life?

If possessions are my god, I will not have enough money to tithe.  If ‘stuff’ is too important to me, I will never have enough money to tithe.

But- if the One True God is the God of my life, I will have enough.  I will have more than enough.

Just ask anyone who has put God in the center of their finances and has made a habit of giving a tithe back to God from their first and their best.

They can tell you story after story about God’s faithfulness in return for their faithfulness.

Checks come in the mail from places where we weren’t expecting any checks.  Do you want to see strange ‘rebates’ and ‘overpayments’ coming to you in the mail?  Become faithful with your tithing and you’ll start seeing them.

Repairs on our houses or cars that should have been very expensive suddenly cost two digits.  Don’t ask me how.  God just makes it happen.

Other generous people who are following God’s leading will give us cars and money and possessions just when we need them.

When we are faithful in giving to him, God opens the floodgates.  And many of the blessings he gives us are things that no amount of money can buy – like peace and joy and purpose.

If you haven’t tried it,  go ahead! Test God!

Thank you for your many blessings, Abba Father.

 

Where Does It Come From?

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Sometimes its all just too much.

Our calendars are full.

Our bank account is empty.

The pile of stuff needing our attention keeps growing.

Where can we find the strength to face another day?

God is our strength.oct-2-2016-where-does-it-come-from

He has a huge storehouse of strength that he wants to give us.  We just need to ask and receive.

God desires to bless us, his children.  He wants us to have the strength for the things we need to do …… and for fun things, too!

He loves us.

He wants to care for us and help us and guide us.

We just need to plug into his power.

Could you use a little extra strength today?

He’s waiting

Thank you, Abba Father.