Tag: christianity

Be Very Careful

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Who are we imitating? Who are we following?

‘Following’ has a different definition today because of social media.  But it still refers to our choice of people that we are letting have an influence on our lives.

These are the people we are giving permission to enter our minds and thoughts because we’re reading and listening to what they are sharing.  We are ‘following’ their lives.

Who are these people in my life? Are they leading me to places I should go?

Are they helping me grow my integrity?  Are they helping me become more wise?  More caring?

The Israelites were not careful about who they followed. “They rejected his (God’s) decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statues he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. ” 2 Kings 17: 15 – 16.

Wow – worthless.

They picked the wrong things to follow. They imitated the wrong things and ended up on a very bad path.

That is not a path I want to be on.

Please give me wisdom in deciding who to follow, Abba Father

Dedicated

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Purifying the temple

Consecrating the articles of the temple.

Sacrifices of sin offerings.

When we read about these things in the Old Testament, we can easily think “What does any of this have to do with me? How can God speak to me through these parts of the Bible?”

The fact is that God speaks to us through all parts of the Bible. The Holy Spirit can make it all relevant to our lives today ….. if we open our minds and listen.

I am reading 2 Chronicles about all the religious reforms King Hezekiah made when he became king. He purified the temple. He consecrated the articles of the temple and he led the people in all types of sacrifices and offerings. When they were done, he told them, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 29:31.

As I read, God talks to me about consecrating my life since Jesus’ death and resurrection has made me a temple of God’s Spirit. This means cleansing my life – taking anything out that is not helping me grow my relationship with God. This is one of my favorite phrases – ‘what we feed, grows.” This might mean changing channels on the TV or changing sites that we check out on our computers. It could mean stopping magazine subscriptions or avoiding the types of the books we used to read. Maybe we need to change the kind of music we listen to? There might be people in our lives that we should give less time and less influence.

Consecrating and dedicating my life to God also means to stop focusing on my own desires and and keep my eyes open to what God is doing and what he wants me to do.

I want to live my life your way from now on, Abba Father.

The Main Things

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Have you heard anyone say something like, ” I just can’t figure  out what God wants from me?” or “I really don’t know what God wants me to do?”

Statements like these confuse me because I think God is amazingly clear and to the point about the ‘main things’ that need to be the focus in my life.

The only two commandments Jesus gave us are to love God with our whole hearts and love others.  Jesus tells me that obeying these 2 commandments fulfills ‘all the law and the prophets’ which includes the original 10 commandments from the Old Testament.

There used to be 10 commandments – now it’s 2.  God knows we need simple and clear directions.

As I read the 6th chapter of Micah, I am again amazed at how direct God is as he tells me what he expects from me. ” And what does the LORD require from you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.

Which part of that is unclear?

Act justly – do the right things. God tells us what is right in his Word.

Love mercy – forgive others.  Give people a break especially when they don’t deserve it.  Help others.

Walk humbly with God – develop a close relationship with God understanding that he is a supernatural combination of Creator of the Universe, the Holy and Perfect One and my Abba Father.

Micah told us this thousands of years ago.  I have discovered that, if I am serious about doing the things God has already told me to do, he fills in the other details at the right time.

Do you think its time to stop asking God what he wants us to do and focus on the directions he has already given us?

Stop The Excuses

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

I’m surprised when I find myself doing it – rationalizing.  I start to make excuses for making not great choices. I find myself thinking it’s ‘not really bad’.

Do you do this, too?

Do you tell yourself “everyone’s doing it” or “no one will ever know” when you think about doing something that’s not quite right?

God’s words through Isaiah are very clear about our tendency to rationalize away bad decisions.  “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter”.  Isaiah5:20.

Woe to me when I call evil good…..or call evil okay.  These words echo through my head as I recommit to stop rationalizing things.

I need to be discerning – don’t accept evil as good, don’t call shades of darkness light.

I need to be wise.  This doesn’t mean I go around judging other people.  God is their judge.  I’m focusing on my behavior and my values and my choices.  I’m focusing on calling good good and calling evil evil in my life.

And stop the excuses, stop the rationalizing.

What If?

On By Judy GlasserIn June2 Comments

What if our sin and rebellion showed on the outside?

I’m reading in 2 Chronicles that King Uzziah became unfaithful to God and there was a visual consequence.  “King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died.  He lived in a separate house – leprous and banned from the temple of the Lord.” verse 21.  Everyone could see result of the king’s sin.

On second thought, I think many of our sins do show on the outside.  We don’t have leprosy but some of us have broken relationships that are easy to see.  Did these relationships break because of our lack of forgiveness and patience?

Others of us have very difficult financial situations on our lives that are no secret to those around us and are direct consequences of putting ‘things’ in front of God on our list of priorities.

Many of us struggle with very visible anger and frustration because of our selfishness and lack of self-control.

Those of us who ignore God and fail to live our life by faith, can be filled with fear because we trust other things like money, careers and relationships to give us security.  This stress is visible in our lives because we know – deep inside – that none of these things are secure.

Yep – all of this shows on the outside.

But it begins on the inside  – with our heart.  That’s why God starts his transformation on the inside.

God has brought his love and light and truth and grace into my heart – transforming me one step at a time.  And I’ve noticed that- gradually – the change happening on the inside starts to show on the outside.

God wants to do the same transformation for you –

will you let him?

Thank you for your transforming love and grace, Abba Father.

The Truth

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

I need to know the truth. You need to know the truth.

And we won’t know the truth by listening to our culture – it is full of lies and half-truths and rationalizations.

Where’s the only place we can find real truth?

God’s Word. The Bible.

I have a huge thirst to know the real truth. I don’t need to hear what he thinks or she thinks or they think or even what you think.

What God thinks – that’s what is important to me.

This thirst has taken me on an 14 year journey of reading through the Bible every year. Somewhere in the middle – like year 4 or 5 – I started saying things like “that’s not in the Bible’ when people quoted things that just aren’t there. One of these things you and I hear often is not true – “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle”. Not in there. That’s one of the most misquoted scriptures we hear.

I know if what someone is saying is in the Bible about 90% of the time. If anyone says something new, I always look it up. Sometimes I learn something new and other times I realize that what they were telling everyone was not true.

What’s also important is that I know what’s missing when listening to a preacher or teacher teach from the Bible. One of the reasons I read the entire Bible is to get a big picture of God, an overall understanding. So I can tell when someone is leaving something out because its too controversial or maybe they don’t agree with it.

I don’t care if its controversial or you don’t like it. It’s in the Bible. That’s the truth. God calls us to adjust our lives to his truth – not the other way around

Unfortunately, I’m hearing about more and more pastors who are adjusting God’s truth to make people happy. They leave out the tough parts because, well, maybe people won’t like it and they will leave the church.

I’ve talked to several good Christian people I know who have left their church because the pastor started veering away from the truth. A denomination that I was a part of for many years has decided to let their churches wander from the truth without recourse. Some of the churches have decided to do what they think is right, not what God has written in the Bible. What??

The prophet Amos predicated times like these. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Amos 8: 11&12.

We don’t have to stagger around searching for the Word of the Lord. His Word is in the Bible if we make sure we have a credible Bible. Some people and religions have actually changed words in the Bible to fit what they want to hear as well.

Any doubt that there is a famine?

Our Bible can be and should be in our hands and entering our minds every day as we read and apply God’s truth to our lives. You can’t count on anyone else to make sure you know the truth.

We are in a famine but we have what we need to feed ourselves – God’s Word.

Thank you for your truth in your Word, Abba Father.

Stumbling

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Who is wise and discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – But those who rebel stumble. Hosea 14:9.

How do they stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They put ‘stuff’ ahead of people and leave a trail of broken relationships. They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator and Savior will stumble.  And they will continue to stumble until they submit to God and get on his path.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise so they can walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple….yet profound.  When we do this, we are transformed, we make a difference.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.

A Whirlwind

On By Judy GlasserIn June1 Comment

It’s hard to understand.  Dying seems like such a permanent thing here on earth.

But it’s not permanent.  My death on earth is when my body stops functioning, but my soul – the core of who I am – does not die.   Your soul doesn’t die, either.  Our souls live on – eternally in heaven if we have accepted salvation through Jesus or eternally separated from God in hell if we aren’t saved.

As I reach the fall season of my life, my body reminds me daily that it has a specific shelf life and there will be an end.  I have already started my eternal life – this first part is on earth, the second part will be my forever home with my Father.  I’m amazed at how many people call these man-made shelters we live in here on earth their ‘forever home’.  Not me – my forever home is much, much better than this one and it’s waiting for me when this part of my journey ends.

The prophet Elijah is one of two people in the Bible whose bodies didn’t die. Elijah and Elisha were walking together when, “suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” 2 Kings 2:11.

I would love to go to heaven that way – now you see me, now you don’t!  But I believe my journey home is going to be a lot less dramatic.  When I breathe my last breath, Jesus will be holding my hand and he will walk my soul into heaven with him, leaving my body behind.

No chariots of fire.

No whirlwinds.

Just joy.

I will finally be in my forever home.

Thank you for preparing a place for me, 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, watching television, shopping, exercising, the latest gadgets and video games can 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.

It’s Not Working

On By Judy GlasserIn June1 Comment

I’m an achiever. I like to get things done. I’m also a planner and organizer so I can make sure they get done.

There have been situations in my life in the past where I have struggled and worked and persevered to make something happen only to discover that it wasn’t the right thing. It didn’t work out.

So disappointing. Have you been there?

As my faith in God has grown, I have realized that I want God’s plans for my life to become reality, not my own plans. The truth is he knows everything, he has the power to do anything and his plans are perfect.

Mine aren’t.

So now I talk to God about what he wants, watch to see where he is moving and then join him in what he is doing. Does it surprise you that great things happen when I do this?

I’m not surprised.

Does it surprise you that sometimes I forget to do this?

I’m not surprised.

As I’m reading King Jeroboam’s story in 1 Kings, I am reminded of some of the disappointments I had when I was trying to do things my own way. Jeroboam was setting up his own kingdom in Israel without asking God what he wanted and Jeroboam was making a lot of bad decisions. But he persevered and made everything happen just like he wanted it.

Then, one day, the king stretched out his hand to command his men to seize the prophet of God (another bad decision) and his hand shriveled up.

Wow! That got Jeroboam’s attention!

Jeroboam knew exactly who shriveled up his hand so he said to the prophet of God , “Intercede with the LORD our God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” 1 Kings 13: 6. This was a good decision – God instantly restored the king’s hand.

God doesn’t usually make hands shrivel up today but he is constantly trying to guide us down the right paths so we make good decisions. Since I’m a planner and organizer and doer, I have to be careful to listen to God and not just use my own skills to make stuff happen. Even when I’m sure I’m on the path where God wants me, if things just aren’t working, I’ve learned to stop and look to God – is he trying to redirect me? Did I misunderstand? – before I just push through to make it happen.

Years ago I decided that, before putting a big effort into climbing a wall, I’m going to make sure it’s the right wall.

When I am keeping my eyes on God, studying his Word and spending time with him, he shows me when I’m getting off track. I ask him to open doors or close doors – somehow show me if I’m going down the right path or not.

And he does. There are times when he opens my eyes to a different next step than I was planning. In other situations, he encourages me and I know I’m supposed to keep moving forward even when the going gets tough.

By focusing on what God wants – not what I want – God doesn’t have to try hard to get my attention. It’s a great way to avoid climbing the wrong wall and experiencing nasty consequences.

No shriveled hands here.

Thank you for your truth and guidance, Abba Father.