Tag: christianity

This is the Way

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Have you ever wandered away from God?

It’s easy to do – there are so many distractions.  It’s difficult to keep God at the top of our priorities when long lists of other things clamor for our attention.

So we wander. I have wandered.

I used to wander away from God pretty regularly.  I wouldn’t even it realize it until something bad happened and I would look up to God – surprised at how far I had drifted away from him.

I stopped wandering when my spiritual habits became the foundation of my life.  Reading and studying God’s word daily has moved from a ‘if I have time’ thing to something that is not optional.  Talking with God and listening to him as he helps me stay in line with him is not optional in my life.  Worshipping and serving God with my spiritual family is also not optional.  Tithing my time and treasures is not optional.   Others things have to be taken out of my schedule if my time with God is not happening.

When my life became grounded on my spiritual habits, the wandering stopped.  I am experiencing the blessings Isaiah told the people of Judah they would receive when they turned back to God –

God is gracious to me and always answers my call.  He has walked closely beside me in all of the tough times I have gone through here in this broken world.  He blesses me during these times – guiding me and teaching me. 

Whatever is happening, I hear his voice in my head saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21.

The key was making God my first priority.  That’s when everything changed.  That’s when I became rooted in his grace and mercy.  I became constantly aware of his perfect love for me.  I also became totally confident that he will be my loving and faithful Father all the way to the end of my days.

Are you looking for direction? Peace? Purpose? Joy?

This is the way,

Walk in it.


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? Do you cut corners and make excuses for yourself?

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”.  Isaiah 5:20.

Woe to me when I call evil good…..or call evil okay.  These words echo through my head reminding me that I never want to rationalize things. The culture around us is growing in its ability to say evil is okay, isn’t it? This makes me glad that this place is not my forever home.

I need to be discerning – don’t accept evil as good, don’t think that shades of darkness is 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’s on the Inside?

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

We can make ourselves look good and nice and religious on the outside.

But that doesn’t count unless we are letting God mold us and change us on the inside.

When we submit our hearts and minds to God, he will transform them.  Eventually, his redeeming power working in our lives will start to show on the outside.  What people see will be different.

Because we’re becoming more like Him on the inside.

June 13 2016 on the inside

This is why, in Joel 2, the Prophet Joel told the lukewarm people of Judah to ‘rend your heart and not your garments.’

They needed to genuinely give their hearts back to God – not just make a big show of tearing their clothes and weeping loudly in the temple.

God called them to rend their hearts – break open their hearts – and let him back in.

Then the transformation can happen.

God asks us to do the same today.  He wants us to open up our hearts to him and let his light shine in our lives.  To mold us.  To change us.

And we can choose to do this.

Today.

What are you going to choose?

Living Right

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Doing the right things. Making the right decisions. Saying the right things.

God uses an old fashioned term – righteousness – to describe these actions. It’s ‘living right”.

How do I know what is right?  The answer to that question is God’s Word is right.  It’s the truth. There are large sections of the book of Proverbs where God spells out what living right means. Here are a few –

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.” Proverbs 11:23.

“The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.” Proverbs 12:5″

“The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.” Proverbs 29:27.

God speaks to me through the words, explaining them and helping me apply them to my life.  The Holy Spirit convicts me when my thinking gets off and my actions don’t reflect what I believe.

I’m so glad I have the role-model of Jesus.  I don’t have to try to look around me and try to find someone I want to imitate in order to ‘live right’.  I have Jesus.  This truth has often helped me move past major disappointments with people – especially people in the church.  I used to expect people who went to church to be a lot more ‘righteous’ than others until I realized that we’re all just people, struggling with our weaknesses.  If we are believers, God is gradually redeeming our lives but it’s often very clear that he still has a lot of work left to do.

So watching people – especially people who say they are Christians – I got confused and disillusioned.  Then I looked to Jesus.  Focused on him.  And the issues about imperfect Christians went away.

When Jesus was on earth, he gave imperfect people grace and love and spoke truth at the right time into their lives.  This makes me glad because I am imperfect – I need grace, love and truth. And I need to give other imperfect people grace, love and speak truth when God prompts me.

Jesus is my role-model. If he did it, it’s the right thing to do.

Fill It UP!

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

I used to feel an emptiness deep inside of my soul. There was a space in my heart and mind that a college degree, marriage to a great guy, two awesome kids, a big house, 2 nice cars and my dream career could not fill. I was looking for something to complete me and I couldn’t find it.

Have you ever been there? It’s a weird place filled with all the ‘stuff’ I ever wanted but haunted by a dark cloud of unhappiness.

I pause when I read about King Solomon dedicating the magnificent temple he built for the Lord in 1 Kings 8:11, and “The glory of the Lord filled the temple. “

I know what it feels like to have the glory of the Lord fill the temple. God tells me in the New Testament that the redeeming grace of Jesus changed my relationship with God and now my body is the temple of God. When I put my trust in Jesus, his Spirit came into my life and changed it forever. God’s love for me filled to overflowing the empty spot in my soul.

God has filled my life with his passion – just like he filled Solomon’s temple.

God has filled me with his glory – so that his love and light can shine out of me.

God has filled me with his power and joy. God gives me peace in spite of my circumstances. He opens my eyes and heart to his truth.

Are you looking for any of these things for your life? God’s arms are wide open for everyone who will accept his gift of grace and salvation. We can’t earn it. God gives it for free because it’s been paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

God is the only thing that can fill the empty spot in our soul.

Need Directions?

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

Ever feel like you need arrows pointing to the right decisions to make? How about a guide to light your path on this journey of life that we’re on?

I would be very surprised if any of us said no to either one of these questions.  I know I would like a personal guide for each day.  What would it be like to get ‘Judy’s agenda for today’ from God on my phone?  It would give me a plan for the whole day so I could do exactly what God wants me to do today and make all the right decisions.

The reality is that God has already given you and me a guidebook for our lives. The Bible.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” Psalm 119: 105.

The Bible doesn’t have directions like ‘do laundry today’ or ‘buy groceries’. We can figure out those easy things on our own.

God’s Word tells me the important stuff like what my top 2 priorities are for each day – to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as much as I love myself.

When we put our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. One of his purposes is to guide us into truth and show us what is false. When we read and study the Bible with our eyes and our hearts wide open, the Holy Spirit highlights the sections of God’s Word that we need for guidance today and he draws our attention to the truth that we need to know to make the right decisions for tomorrow..

God wants you and me to plug into his guidebook each day so we know what direction to go. Through his word he provides a lamp for our feet.

This is my 15th consecutive year of reading the entire Bible and I don’t know how I would take my next step without it.

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.