Tag: blessings

Blessings Come After Obedience

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

We obey,

and then we are blessed.

We read this in Deuteronomy 11 and we also see this same principle mentioned several more times through the scriptures.Feb 17 2015 Blessings come after obedience

God’s blessings come as a result of obedience.

It would be easier if it was the other way around, wouldn’t it?  “God, if you do this thing I want, then I will do what you want.”

We pray to God asking for his blessings on our life and on the lives of others.

But – are we obeying?

That’s the first step.  Then the blessings follow.

Moses told the Israelites to love the Lord with all of their heart and soul and strength.  If they did this,  THEN God would send the rain for their crops and their cattle.

Moses warns them against being enticed by other gods and disobeying.  In their time, these gods were wooden and metal statues.  In our time, it’s often money and possessions.  The god of More can often get more of our attention that the Master of Universe.

Moses told the Israelites that, if they worship other gods, the One True God would shut the heavens and they wouldn’t get rain.  They wouldn’t be blessed.

This leads to some very important self-evaluation for us today –

Are we experiencing the abundant raining down of God’s blessings as a result of our consistent obedience?

Or has God shut down the flow of blessings as a result of our disobedience?

Abba Father, please open our eyes to your truth.

A Legacy

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

As Christmas cards rolled into my house this year, I became more and more aware of the strong Christian legacy my grandparents created in my mother’s family.Happy birthday Jesus

My grandparents had 16 children in a farm-house in Iowa.  They came over from Holland as teenagers and became homesteaders in Iowa – the original “Little House on the Prairie”.   I’m the youngest of I-forget-how-many grandchildren.  One time I tried to count my first cousins and there were over 50 of them.  I’ve never really figured out how many 2nd cousins I have.

All of my aunts and uncles as well as my parents have passed away.  Hebrews 12 talks about them – they are part of the great cloud of witnesses that cheer us on from heaven.  The fact that they all created a Christian legacy in their families was very evident by the stream of Christmas cards we received celebrating Jesus’ birth and praising our Father God who sent Jesus as a gift of grace to us.

There was not one mention of Santa Claus anywhere.  Not that Santa is bad – he’s just not the focus of Christmas in our family.

A legacy of strong faith in God runs deep in my family.  It’s a blessing that is being handed down from generation to generation – each generation personally accepting salvation and passing it along.  This family skipped the ‘handing down’ of silverware, furniture or jewelry.  They chose to pass along a most important family heirloom – how to live a life faithful to God.

I have been richly blessed by this legacy and continue to pass it along to my children and grandchildren. (The picture is from this Christmas – my grandchildren and I singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.)

If you weren’t born into a family legacy of faith, you have the awesome opportunity of starting one for your family.  They all started with someone –  you are it.

And our cloud of witnesses in heaven cheer us on as we throw off everything that hinders us from running the race of faith with perseverance.

Thank you, dear Father, for the legacy of faith in my family.

Contentment

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Being content.

It’s an attribute rarely seen in our culture.

Paul says in Philippians 4 that he has learned to be content in whatever circumstance he is in.

Contentment is definitely a ‘learned’ feeling – it doesn’t come naturally to many of us.  We are surrounded by a gigantic marketing industry which constantly barrages us with ‘bigger, better & more’ messages.  We just lived through the largest marketing push of the year.  It’s very clear that we all need a new car, a new computer and a new cell phone.  And we need it now :)!Davey, Grandma and me at Christmas

Learning contentment is one of my goals and my mother was a great role model for me.  She didn’t have much worldly wealth but she was rich in happiness as she lived her life in close relationship with God. (The picture is one of my favorites – my son’s first Christmas.  He’s 33 years-old now.)

As I work on learning contentment, I remind myself that God has given me everything I have.  This is my portion and I need to be a great steward of it.  That’s how I can honor and delight my Father God.

When my thoughts are filled with counting my blessings, I feel that I have more than enough.  I have been abundantly blessed and I am content.

Unfortunately, I don’t always stay in the Land of Contentment…..but I know how to get back to it.  When I find myself straying down the ‘bigger, better, more’ aisle, I know I need to spend more time 1 – on – 1 with my Abba Father so he can get my desires lined up again with his.

And – poof!  I’m back in the Land of Contentment!

It’s supernatural!

It’s God!

Thank you, dear Father!

There is a Purpose

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

I bet you can relate to this – when something bad happens in my life, I often wonder why this is happening?  What’s the purpose?  I have learned to get very close to God during these times and ride out the storm – not knowing why this had to happen to me.  Then 2 years, 5 years, 15 years later, someone walks into my life who needs to hear about that specific time in my life and how God helped me through it.

It happens all the time.dec 4 2014 a purpose

Paul tells us this is going to happen in 2 Corinthians 1.  We receive comfort from God in our troubles so that we can comfort others.

God has a purpose for everything that he permits to happen to us.  Everything flows through his hands into our lives.

As we learn to trust him more, we can be confident in the knowledge that God is in total control.

God’s got this.

We know God.  He loves us.  He has a plan for us.  He wants the best for us.

All is well.

Thank you, dear Father.

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!

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!

How Far Are You….

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

from the kingdom of God?

In Mark 10, Jesus tells a man that he answered a question wisely when the man said that we need to love God first, with all of our soul, mind and strength.  Jesus said that the man was ‘not far from the kingdom of God.”Nov 11 2014 2 How Far are you

How far away from the kingdom of God are we?

Are we right in the middle of God’s kingdom – loving him with all of our soul, mind and strength?

Or are we picking a corner of God’s kingdom to hang out in – not ready to give him everything we’ve got?

Do we go to church each week but don’t make time to serve anywhere?

Do we read our Bible but not participate in any small group Bible Studies or classes at church?

What about the opposite?  Are we at church all of the time but we don’t make time to spend with God alone – just us two?

Do we tithe at church but are not willing to give anything above that when we’re asked to bring in toys for the community service project at Christmas?

Do we read God’s word but then forget it as we get on with the rest of our day?

Do we let the Truth of God soak into our souls and open up our hearts to the transforming power of the omnipotent King of the Universe?

Where are we in his kingdom?

Come to the Banquet

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Our Father God has prepared a lavish banquet.  His tables are piled high with the very best he has to offer –

* love.Nov 11 2014 1 Come to the Banquet

* grace.

* purpose for our lives.

* joy.

* peace.

* contentment.

* blessing for our families and friends.

*forgiveness.

* wholeness.

*hope.

* provisions for all of our needs.

Everything is ready.  We just need to go to the banquet and accept all of God’s blessings.

Many of us have accepted God’s invitation, have felt his grace, his acceptance and his love.

But sometimes we have problems staying at the banquet – we wander outside to the patio and start to worry and fret, instead of sitting at his table filled with trust that he’s got this.

We wander upstairs to plan and plot and try to control our world instead of relaxing in God’s presence, knowing he’s in charge.

Or we concentrate on the dessert table when we really need to be diving into the meat God has for us in his Word.

We may get distracted by wanting to know all of the ingredients of every dish when God’s desire is that we “Be still …… and know I am God.”

We might leave the party early because we are so busy, our calendars are over-flowing.  We only penciled in one hour for God.  So we miss the fun, we miss the deep relationship we could have had with God if we took the time.  If we made Him our priority.

It’s possible to go to the banquet and accept salvation but miss most of the blessings God has for us here on earth.

Dear Father, Please help us to stay at the banquet, bowed and blessed at your feet.  Today.  And everyday.

I want to be…

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

like the Samaritan Leper.

He came back to Jesus after Jesus healed him.  He came back praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

He was one of ten lepers that Jesus healed in Luke 17 as he travelled to Jerusalem.

Jesus healed them all.

This man was the only one that came back to say thank you.

Jesus had redeemed the leper’s life from pain and death.  And the leper came back to show his gratitude for what Jesus had done for him.

Jesus did the same thing for you and me.  He redeemed our lives from pain, death and eternal separation from the only source of good things in this universe – our Father God.

For the rest of our lives here on this planet, let our first response be gratitude to God.

Dear Jesus, We are very grateful for all of the things you are and for what you have done for us.  Help us live lives full of gratitude, counting the blessings we have received from you each day.  Thank you.  In your redeeming name we pray, Amen.