Tag: christianity

Psalm 40, 2025

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

When I became faithful in seeking you, God, you lifted me out of the slimy pit of my rebellion and sin.  You rescued me from the deep mud of my bad choices.  You pulled me out of the mire I created by trying to do things ‘my way’.

I am now solidly planted on you, my Rock.  I have a new song of  love and praise to sing to you.

I pray that many others will also decide to put their trust in you, God.

Father, you bless those who trust in you.  We are wise when we put you first in our lives and don’t follow the example of others who are only focused on themselves.

You have great things planned for us, the faithful.  You have done many awesome things – there is nothing and no one to compare you to.

You don’t want me to just read the Bible and go to church.  You want my eyes to be open to your truth.  You want my obedience.

You don’t want me to just give my money to the church – you want me to passionately care about the things you care about.

You don’t want me to close my eyes to pray and start down my list of requests.  You want a relationship with me.  You want a conversation.  Most of all, you desire listening ears and a softened heart.

Here I am , Lord.

I desire to do your will.

Please write your words upon my heart.

Who Am I?

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Isn’t this one of the big questions we try to figure out as we travel this road of life?

Who am I?

Who are you?

If we don’t find the right answer to that, it can really sidetrack us and distract us. We can end up in places we never wanted to be. We can follow roads we really don’t want to go down.

As you look around the world today, do you see any of this action? I know I do. I see a lot of people who are lost in a mire of pain and bad decisions and grief.

God knows that we need an anchor. We need a light – his light – of truth in our lives. That’s what the Bible – God’s Word – is meant to do for us. If we let it. God gives us a foundation to stand on when the waves of this world try to roll over us, when the pain of living in a broken world takes all the joy out of our lives, when getting out of bed in the morning and facing the day seems futile and useless.

There are way too many dark pits we can fall into if we don’t have the right guide. These pits have names like selfishness, hate, unforgiveness, cheating, lying, unfaithfulness, and the list goes on.

I agree with King David as I read the words he wrote in Psalm 8: 3 – 9 –

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all the flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim in the paths of the sea.

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

This is what God created us to be. This is how he looks at those who believe in him. He knows our potential to be great people who love him and love others.

But it’s impossible to live right and become the people God created us to be by ourselves. It’s only when we put God in the center of it all that it works. Because that’s how he created us. That’s how he created everything – with him right in the middle.

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What My Soul is Longing For

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

What does it mean to be ‘like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and who leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers.”? Psalm 1: 3.

This sounds really good.

I want to be like a tree planted by a stream – constantly being fed, never feeling empty,

I want to yield my fruit in season – do all the good things God has planned for me to do, always feeling right on target with the purpose God has for me here.

I want to avoid having my leaves wither – how can I live this marathon of faith well all the way to the end? No burnout, no wandering for me?

And I want to prosper – only in God’s eyes. I don’t need money, fame or people’s acceptance. I’ve got an audience of One. He’s the only one who counts.

God is very clear about how to make this happen in my life. Blessed are those “whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night.” Psalm 1: 2.

When God translates this in my brain I hear his encouragement, telling me to continue to read, study and memorize his Word. I’m in my 15 consecutive year of reading the entire Bible and he’s telling me to keep it up, I’m on the right track. I just don’t read the Bible, I blog about it so I have to think about what I read and apply it to my life. I find his truth as it applies to my life truly ‘delightful’. It’s just what my soul is looking for.

I also participate in 2 to 3 different Bible studies every week so I’m meditating on his word on my own in the morning and several times ‘day and night’ with other people during the week.

God has given me a life-long goal of memorizing scripture. It took me over 6 years because I have a really terrible memory, but God and I partnered up and he has written 2 entire chapters of the book of James on my heart. He uses these words constantly to guide me and let me know he is right beside me.

No wonder I have lost that ’empty’ feeling I used to have! I’m blessed as I watch God grow his fruit in my life. I plan to be reading the entire Bible each year for the rest of my time here on earth so I can end this journey well.

And today, I can feel my Father God cheering me on.

No Hiding

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

No faking it.

You and I see the outside of people – what they look like, what they wear, where they live and how they act.

God has an entirely different perspective of us – he looks on the inside.  He knows my intentions, my motivations and desires.  He knows what I’m thinking – I don’t have to say anything.

When Samuel was picking who would be king after Saul, God said to him, “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16: 7.  Knowing this is true challenges me as well as gives me confidence.  I’m glad God sees below my surface – he understands my true feelings.  He knows me better than any human being ever could.

But the fact that God knows my thoughts also challenges me.  Like many of us who have been on this road of faith for a long time, I have gotten better at not saying things I shouldn’t say.  But have I trained my mind to not think them?  Have I let God renew my mind so it doesn’t go where it shouldn’t go?  The honest answer is – sometimes.  There are areas of my life where it is difficult to control my thinking.  There are other situations where I find it pretty easy to leave it all with God.

For example, I found it very easy to ‘let go and let God’ in our pandemic a couple of years ago.   I was obviously NOT in control of anything about that situation so I simply turned any concerns or fears I had about that craziness over to God.  Meanwhile, I did my part of trusting God and obeying him – confident that he was in control of everything.

A woman in one of my Bible study groups recently shared about how much she worries.  She wakes up worrying and goes to sleep worrying – when she can sleep –  and she doesn’t stop worrying in between.  Wow!  I realized that I rarely worry.  When I do, I’ve gotten good at stopping my thoughts and turning the things I’m worried about over to God.  I have learned that my worrying is useless, it simply creates anxiety over things I can’t control.  My prayers, however, are very effective, giving my concerns to God who can actually do something about them.

I’m continuing to trust God with whatever is coming next and it’s comforting to know that God sees this  when he looks into my heart today.

I filter everything that happens to me through the facts that God is good all the time, he loves me with a perfect love and is working everything out for my good.

God has promised and he always keeps his promises.

Whatever I Want

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Sounds good – let’s all do whatever works for us.   Then we’ll all be happy.

Or not.

“In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as they saw fit”. Judges 21:25. This is how the book of Judges ends.  It may sound good until we scan back a couple of chapters and realize what they thought was ‘fit’ to do. 

Family members were stealing from each other.  They obviously thought this was an ok thing to do.

Family members were kidnapping each other.  They thought this was ok as well.

Family members were killing each other to the point that they virtually annihilated one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  I wonder how they could possibly think this was ok but they did.  They could rationalize anything. Their moral judgement was quickly spirally into total chaos and confusion.

Because they had no compass.

Sounds familiar? Our current culture has many of these same issues. Why?

When I base what is right and wrong on what I think, I’m in trouble.  Then I’m just like these Israelites – doing what I see fit and letting my standards waiver in whatever direction the wind is blowing.

God has been very clear to you and me on moral boundaries. His Word to us is full of direction and guidance. I might not like all of it. You may not agree with all of it. But that doesn’t change his Word to us.

This picture of the Umbrella of God’s Blessing is stuck my head and reminds me that one of my main goals in life is to stay in line with God. When I obey God and follow the compass he has given me, I am placing my life under his umbrella of blessing. When I don’t obey God and just do what I want to do, I am stepping out from under his umbrella. I can’t expect God to bless my decisions and life when I’m not obeying him.

One example is tithing. If we have put our faith in God, we also want to put our money in his hands. This means tithing. We can’t expect God to bless our finances if we steal for ourselves his portion of all he gives us.

It’s my choice and I choose to stay under the umbrella – every hour of every day.

What do you choose?

Dear Father, I desire to walk in your path of truth.  Please guide me so that your moral standards are what ‘fits’ me best.

I Need To Know

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Make it black and white.  Can I hear a voice?  I need to know.

There are so many decisions to make and I want to make the right choices.  What should I do?

How do you know what to do?

A good Christian friend once told me to ‘throw out a fleece’ like Gideon did when I have decisions to make. I thought about it.   In God’s word, I read that God sent an angel to tell Gideon that “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior”,  ” Am I not sending you?”, and  ” I will be with you”. Judges 6: 12-16.  But Gideon still wanted a sign to prove that it really was the LORD speaking to him.  So God proceeded to ‘pass’ Gideon’s tests.

When my friend suggested I throw out a fleece, it just didn’t feel right to me.  I’m pretty sure that I would be instantly convinced if an angel came and gave me a message from God.  You know the angels God sent were so big and impressive that usually the first thing they said was “Fear not”, right?  This is not a normal-sized average-looking person.  I think I’m tuned in to God well enough that I would automatically believe what this huge, supernatural creature said.

It doesn’t feel right to ask God to jump through a bunch of hoops before I obey him. It makes more sense that Gideon did this because he  lived under the Old Testament covenant – he was not ‘redeemed’. Christ had not come yet and he didn’t have God’s Spirit living inside of him. 

But I do.

The Holy Spirit speaks to me and guides me into truth – if I’m listening.  God’s Word is alive and the Holy Spirit uses it to help me make decisions.  I have God’s Spirit inside of me every moment of every day – why do I need a sign?  I have found that I don’t need to throw out any fleeces if I’m regularly listening to God’s voice and spending time with him.

In my experience, God not only speaks directly to me, he also lines up circumstances around me to confirm what the Holy Spirit and God’s Word are saying to me.  There are no ‘coincidences’ in my life – that’s God guiding me. I don’t have to ask for something more – I just need to keep my eyes and ears open.  His answer is there.

Every once in a while, I hit a deadline on making a decision and I haven’t discerned God’s answer yet.  I have found that when I totally submit whatever the situation is to God – meaning I don’t care what the answer is, I just need to know what he wants me to do – he helps me organize my thoughts and I realize he’s been trying to guide me in the right direction, trying to show me the way.  I’ve just been distracted and clueless.

No fleeces involved.

Black and white.

No more questions.

Thank you, Abba Father.

What Do You Choose?

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Time is the great leveler – we all have 24 hours in a day.  You and I choose how we’re going to spend these 24 hours.  What are we going to do?  How are we spending the majority of our time?  Using a Biblical term, I would say that you and I are ‘serving’ whatever or whomever takes up the most of each of our 24 hours.

A lot of us serve ourselves.  Looking out for #1.  Do I like it?  Does it benefit me?  Do I wanna do it?  Do I feel like doing it?  What’s in for me?  Oh, yeah.  These questions come pretty easy because we use them a lot.  We may not say them out loud but we use them in our decision-making.

Many of serve our debts.  We have to work extra hours or extra jobs to pay for all of the stuff we already have.  We’re upside down on cars and houses.  When we’re not working, we’re worrying about paying the bills.  The best line about our money I’ve ever heard is – “The secret in managing your money correctly is not in how much you make.  The secret is in how much you spend.”  Truth.

Some of us serve our hobbies –  like sports or exercising or shopping.  While we’re shopping today we’re planning about the next time we can go shopping.  Or we’re not happy unless we’re biking or walking or running or working out.  Or before the game we’re watching on TV is over, we’re flipping to the next channel for the next game and then the next game and then the next.

We all choose who or what we will serve.

Joshua makes this very clear to the Israelites as he throws down a challenge.  “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

You and I need to make a conscious choice, not just roll through our lives spending our precious time on things or people who will never give us joy, peace and a guaranteed future.  We don’t want to get to the end of our lives with hearts full of regrets and emptiness, realizing we never made a choice – we just let the world push us to a place we never wanted to be.

I have made my choice.  I have laid down any ‘idols’ I was serving at the feet of the One, True, Living God and now it’s all about him.

What’s your choice?  There’s no better time than right now to start a new chapter in your life labelled, “My love relationship with my Father God”.  You won’t regret it.

I choose you, Abba Father.

What are You Choosing?

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

What are you selling your life for? What or who is your top priority?

It’s a great question because sometimes we dedicate our lives to things that just aren’t worth it.  We can sell our lives to making money and spending it.  But everything we buy gets old, breaks and requires more money to fix it up or replace it. They come out with a new model and now the one we have just doesn’t look that great anymore.

Our ‘stuff’ will always disappoint us.

We can sell our lives to work and accomplishments.  We may love it but, someday, that all goes away.  We get fired, laid off or we just get old.  I retired 8 years ago which meant giving up a really nice paycheck and a lot of rewards and recognition.  But retiring also meant getting my life back.  I loved working and now I love being retired.  I’m glad I worked long and hard for over 34 years at something I loved to do.  Now I’m very happy to reclaim all of those hours in my week and enjoy doing what I want to do. One of the things I always wanted to do is write a book and I recently published a book available on Amazon, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love.”

We can sell our lives to relationships with our spouse, our children, our family and friends.  They are very important but they will also disappoint us at times.  It’s a fact.  These relationships can roller coaster up and down, depending on emotions – not something I can always count on.

Achan’s story in God’s Word is a warning to all of us. “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them” Joshua 7:21.  Achan sold his life for a robe and some gold and silver.  It looked too good to pass up.  So he took it and hid it, probably believing he would never get caught. Not smart. He couldn’t hide from God.  After getting caught, he admitted his disobedience but that didn’t change the consequences. He lost his life for that ‘stuff’ – his entire family and all he owned literally ended up under a pile of rocks.

I hear you, God.  I’m getting it.  I don’t want to end up like that.

So I choose the path of obedience and faithfulness to God.  I know that there is no other path on earth that is going to give me the joy and peace and love that God gives me.

I choose to be ‘sold out’ to God.  And I’m 100% confident that it’s the right choice.

What is your choice?  Are you confident that it’s the right one?

A Step of Faith

On By Judy GlasserIn March3 Comments

I often ask God to direct my steps.  My prayers regularly include requests for him to open my eyes to the opportunities he gives me to do what he wants me to do.

Because I’ll do it – I just want to know that its his direction and his timing.

And God responds.  Right before my eyes, he will give me an opportunity to do something he wants done or say something he wants said.  Every time one of these opportunities presents itself, I have to take the first step of faith forward, not knowing where my next step is and never knowing how this is all going to work out.

I just have to take that first step and obey.

So the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land has significant meaning for me.  God told the priests carrying the Ark of the LORD to go first.  God told them he would make a way for them but, first, they had to step into the Jordan which was running at flood stage.

The overflowing water of the Jordan river was roaring down its path…..

and God told them to step in.

An act of faith.  An act of obedience.

“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest.  Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water  from upstream stopped flowing.  It piled up in a heap a great distance away…” Joshua 3:15.  The priests had to take the first step of faith and then they saw God respond.  They watched as God opened up a path for them to the Promised Land.

It’s important for you and I to understand how this process works.  Too often we want to see God move in our lives but we haven’t stepped out in faith.  We want the blessing first and then we’ll move but that’s not how it works.  We want God to invite us to do great things but we haven’t stepped up to the plate on the things we already know God wants us to do.

For example, Jesus told us clearly, “Love God and love others.”  These are the two main things I need to be about – I already know that.  No question about it.  I don’t need to ask God if he wants me to do this – he’s already told me to do it.  I find that when I’m focused on doing these things God has already told me to do, I see God part the waters for me.  He blesses my steps – one at a time.

But the first step of obedience is mine.

Where is God asking you to take that first step of obedience?  Go ahead – step into the water and watch it part in front of you.  It will be worth it.

I believe, Abba Father, so I’m stepping in.

Different, But Equal

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

I love it.

God is not limited by cultural rules.  He created justice, he is just and he acts justly.

Whenever we see God’s actions and directions not lining up with current culture, we need to take note of it.  We know that God is right and our culture is wrong in every one of these instances.  Sometimes it takes our culture thousands of years to catch up to what is right.

The historical account of Zelophehad’s daughters in Numbers 27 is one of my favorite examples of this.  I’ll just call them Z’s daughters.

At that time in history, women were considered to be the property of men and most men had more than 1 wife.  When Z died without having any sons, Z’s five daughters asked to inherit his property.

What!?

That just wasn’t done.

Women didn’t inherit property.  They WERE property.

When Moses took this case to God, God said, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right.  You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.”  Numbers 27:7.  He stipulated that they had to marry within their tribal clad so that the land stayed with in the family.  If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense since the land was physically divided by clans.  This kept everything organized as God had designed.

I bet there were many long and heated discussions by the male leaders of the families as they gathered around the campfire at night!  This story is only 4 paragraphs in the Bible but I’ll bet the arguments against doing this could fill up several scrolls if they had all been written down.

I’m sure the same concern came up that was discussed with King Xerxes later in the book of Esther.  If these women received this request now, they are just going to ask for more and more.  A dangerous trend was starting!  But we read that they made the right decision and obeyed.

It took thousands of years but – yes, women inherit and own property now.  As recently as the 1950’s women were generally considered not capable of inheriting and running large properties and businesses.  But way back in ancient times, God knew he had created women equal to men.  Different, but equal.  He set a spiritual leadership hierarchy in place within marriages that has everything to do with order and process and nothing to do with intelligence and aptitude.

And our culture has finally caught up to God’s truth in this area ….. in most cases.

Please help us live by your truth, Abba Father.