Tag: christianity

He is Here

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

I recently watched the first episode of ‘The Chosen’ again. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch it because I usually don’t like the movie if I’ve read the book. And I read the entire Bible every year.

So I started streaming it with critical eyes and my hand ready to turn it off if it was wrong and not representing my Father well. The first episode was about Mary who was possessed by many demons. I don’t know about you, but Satan turns my stomach. The Evil One is so real to me that it was very hard to watch Mary struggle with the demons on the screen. The characters in the show were trying to help her and I kept saying in my head with my stomach churning while watching this, “When is Jesus going to show up?”

I just finished reading the Old Testament in the Chronological Bible for the 15th time. It ended at a time that the Israelites had turned back to God and recommitted to following him. But the last 9 1/2 months of reading have been full of stories of people turning their back on God, disobeying him, and worshipping weird, worthless idols. The Old Testament ends with the faithful people saying, “When is the Messiah going to show up?”

The good news for us is that Jesus has already ‘showed up’. Over 2 thousand years ago he came to earth and sacrificed his life so we can have a personal relationship with God that starts here and continues on into eternity in heaven. After Jesus died for us and raised himself back to life before going back to heaven, he send his Spirit here to live inside all those who put their faith in him.

Jesus is here. His Spirit is alive here.

As I write that, I feel such a relief! Because when Jesus showed up for Mary in the “The Chosen”, he sent all the demons away and she transformed in a beautiful, happy woman who committed her life to serving Jesus. Jesus made all the difference. As I’ve continued to watch this program, I saw Mary wander away, back to her demons. Do we ever wander? But Jesus pursued her again and she turned back to him, just like we need to do when we get lost.

Knowing Jesus is here and he never leaves me gives me relief as I finish reading the Old Testament which is filled with stories of the Israelite’s lack of faith and hundreds of years of wavering commitment. When we choose to put our faith in him, his Spirit can help us remain faithful and committed. Jesus makes all the difference.

I even feel relieved when I look around at all the issues in our current culture. What a mess! Evil is revered and rampant. Important values like respect and integrity are disappearing from our culture. Ignoring God and his truth is at an all time high – even in our churches.

We know Jesus is here. He is in control.

Jesus makes all the difference today and every day.

This is the Good Part

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When we want something to happen,

and it’s going to be good,

and today isn’t that great,

but we have to wait.  It’s hard.

The Old Testament of the Bible ended on a high point of the Israelites turning back to God, listening to him and trying to obey.  Then came a 400-year break in God’s Word to us.

We know the Israelites continued on with their lives during that time. They were waiting….

expecting the Messiah to show up. How long were they going to have to wait?

I’m reading and blogging through the Daily Chronological Bible which is re-organized so it follows the actual timeline that things happened.  I started reading “In the beginning” in Genesis on January 1. I’m just now starting to read the New Testament and its October.  So 3/4 of the Bible is the Old Testament.  If three-quarters of what God wants to reveal to us is in the Old Testament, then I’m very glad I’ve been reading and studying the Old Testament every year for the last 15 years. 

After spending 3/4 of the year reading the Old Testament, I have a better understanding of how badly the world at that time needed Jesus.  My anticipation of the coming Messiah rises as I read over and over again of the Israelites turning away from God, getting lost in idol worship, paying the consequences and repenting.  Then they get their spiritual act together – but just for a short time until they start wandering again.

Oh, they had a serious need for a savior!

It was hard to wait.

You and I live under the New Covenant with God.  The Messiah has come.  There is no more waiting.  Jesus was sent to earth to offer free salvation to everyone who would put their faith in him.  His arms are wide open to everyone. And it’s really clear right now that our culture needs saving just as badly as the Israelites did. So many people around us are choosing the dark, the disrespect, the dishonesty, the disturbing lack of personal accountability.

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The last 1/4 of the Bible is so much easier to read than the Old Testament because Jesus’ love, grace, truth and light shines brightly out of the New Testament.  Jesus is our role-model for how God wants us to live our lives here on earth. He lived his life full of grace and truth – a perfect balance of both which is a huge challenge for the rest of us.

Hope arrives in the form of a little baby who grows up to save us all from the condemnation we have earned by our self-centeredness, lack of forgiveness, need for control and judgement of others – just to list a few of our issues.

A smile spreads across my face as I begin to read the New Testament – the rest of the story – for the 15th time.

No more waiting.   The Messiah has come.  This is the really good part.

I love you, Jesus.

Test Me

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

I would normally tell you from experience that it’s not a good idea to test God. God wants us to have faith in him and trust him, not test him.

With one exception.

There is one place in the Bible where God says, “Test me”.

He knows all the issues we have with money – it quickly becomes our god, we always want more, we’re willing to sacrifice time with him and our families to get it, we have trouble giving generously, we get in such deep debt that we think we can’t give and the list goes on. 

God says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10.

I have attended a couple of different churches who sponsor a 90 day challenge for giving to God.  People tithe for 90 days – no cheating because nothing is hidden from God – and they watch God move in their finances.  If they don’t see God taking care of their finances and blessing them, they get their money back.

Nobody has ever asked for their money back because God always moves.  I love it!  Test him!

And you will find out what those of us that have committed to tithing have found out – the refunds, checks for overpayment and unexpected credit to our accounts start rolling in.   Regular stories like this –

Several years ago, I was told that my dental insurance wasn’t going to cover a big portion of my bill so I paid it. On my next visit, the medical assistant looked at me with surprise when she handed me back a check for $900. She told that insurance NEVER covers this part of the procedure but they did for me. It was Christmas time and that check helped us give a special blessing to some of the ministries we support. Thank you, God!

Last year, the air conditioner in our home started making a very loud and worrying noise. Our house is over 17 years old and the air conditioner is original to the house so you know what we thought – time for a new air conditioner. Nope! It was fixed for the cost of a service call. I always give God the credit for anything like this that happens to us because I know he’s watching over us.

We just had another example. We sent in our tax return this year and didn’t see our check come in the mail with a smallish refund. So we contacted the IRS- our return had been mutilated on its journey. We faxed another copy in. We just got a notice that there was an ‘error’ on the addition and our refund tripled. My husband worked in taxes for 20 years. We’re confident that there was no error in what we sent in. This is just another example of unexpected blessings from God.

You would hear these kinds of stories from anyone who has committed to tithe.  God is faithful and we can count on him to respond when we are generous givers. I also believe God moves in how often our cars break down and how quickly appliances stop working. If we are stingy with God, don’t be surprised with high car repair bills and appliances that keep having problems. I talked to a couple who told me something they owned broke every Monday, absolutely every Monday, for several months – until they started tithing. Then nothing broke again for a very long time, and never on a Monday.

Through the years, my husband and I have given two of our older cars to charity because we know God will bless us more for that than what we could sell them for.  We donated a 2 year-old refrigerator to a church mission for the same reason.  When we give something away to bless others that is ‘worth something’, God knows.

When you and I faithfully tithe, we are putting our finances under the umbrella of God’s blessing.  When we do that, he not only blesses our finances, he pours other blessings into our lives as well.  These are things that money can’t buy – like joy, love and purpose.  And more.

So much more pours out that it fills us up and starts to spill over to the people around us.  The windows of heaven open up for us when we get our money in line with God.  The more we give, the more we have.  That’s God’s math.  We cannot outgive God.

If you don’t have any of these stories, go ahead and test God!  I know what will happen.

It’s Time

On By Judy GlasserIn October, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“For such a time as this”.  God challenges me with these words as I read the story of Esther in the Bible.

Now.  My next step.  Today.

Esther’s story is a very good example to me of how God orchestrates opportunities and invites me to be a part of what he is already doing.  Queen Esther faced the possibility of being killed if she stood up for her people, the Jews.  Mordecai, her uncle, told her, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (vs 4:14)  So Esther asked all of the Jews to pray and fast with her for three days before going to the king.  God gave her the wisdom and courage to risk her life and save her people.

For such a time as this.

I would be missing an important point if I thought this is the only opportunity God ever gave Esther.  There were many more, this is just the one he told us about because it’s a significant example of how he worked to complete his will through her.

And how he wants to complete his will through me.

And through you.

Today.

For such a time as this.

Today I will be given opportunities to partner with God in what he is accomplishing in this world.  He has made it clear to me that this blog is one of my assignments.  So I continue reading the Bible every year, listening to him and sharing with you what he has said to me.  And I’ll do that until he tells me to stop.

I encourage you to read the Bible yourself because God may have different things to tell you.  Before you start, ask God to open your eyes and heart to what he has to say to you.  Then listen as you read and stop when something interests you.  Meditate on that scripture to determine how that applies to your life.  Is God telling you to do something, say something, or change something?  You will see God move in your life when you obey.

There is a reason I’m still breathing today.

There’s a reason you’re still breathing.

For such a time as this.

Open our eyes, Abba Father.

Exiled

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

You may heard this famous verse from Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, ” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 29:11.

What an awesome promise!  We love to print it on plaques and hang it on our walls.

But did you realize that this promise was originally made to the Israelites who had been exiled by God to Babylon?  God let the King of Babylon capture Jerusalem and take the Israelites away from their homes.  Right before his promise concerning his good plans for them, God told Israel through Jeremiah that they would be in exile for 70 years.

70 years.

This meant that many of them would die in Babylon – never going back to Jerusalem. The Israelites had been ripped away from the homes they had expected to live in for the rest of their lives.  They were now living in a foreign land – exiled – and many of them would die far from their home in Jerusalem.

Do you ever feel like you have been exiled?

I have.

I do.

The life I expected to live was suddenly snatched away from me when my son, David Glasser who was a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty 9 1/2 years ago.  My world has changed so drastically that sometimes it feels like I am now living in a foreign land.  I’m exiled far from what I thought the rest of my life was going to look like before Davey died.

And today, God is saying to me – and maybe to you – that I will continue to live in this foreign place until he comes to take me home.  While I’m here, he has plans for me.  He is giving me hope and a purpose.

After his initial famous promise in Jeremiah, God gives us more promises.  He tells us that when we pray, he will listen.  When we diligently look for him, we will find him.

I know God always keeps his promises – that’s a fact.  I have discovered that reading his Word, absorbing what he is saying to me and growing my trust in him gives me the strength and peace I need for each day as I live out the rest of my days…

here in exile.

Growing My Roots

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

“They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,

a planting of the Lord,

a display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61: 3.

I want to be an Oak of Righteousness.  A planting of the Lord.

May my life display even a tiny portion of his splendor!

God points out to us in Isaiah 61 what it means to be an Oak of Righteousness.  As I read the beginning of this chapter, it relates directly to our culture today.

Today, God’s Oaks of Righteousness are leading the way in their own spheres of influence in helping to reverse the tide of moral decay of our culture. They are working to strengthen our families and are sharing the love and truth of God to the people around them. They are so dedicated to God’s work that they refuse to get distracted by the mess and confusion of the world around us.

God is calling each one of us who are serious about our faith to rise up and be an Oak of Righteousness where he has planted us.

Yes – I can point fingers at politicians and lawmakers.  That’s the easy way out – the blame game.

Sure – I can get upset.  I can say all kinds of things about how bad our culture has become – complain, complain.

But what part of this do I own? And what am I doing about it?

What are you doing about the part God has given you?

How often am I talking to God about it, asking him to point out my next step in making a difference?

As we obey, we become a solid planting of the Lord with our roots sunk deep into His truth.  God hates wrong-doing and injustice.  He righteously fights these battles using us when we are in line with him.

God promises that our obedience will bring us double portions of his blessing and everlasting joy.    He extends these blessings to our children (awesome) and tells us that we will be acknowledged as ‘the people the Lord has blessed’. (vs 9).

Amen, let it be so, Abba Father.

A Tiny Flicker

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

My life is short.

My life is fragile.

My life is a tiny flicker of light that can be extinguished in an instant.

Several years ago, I was driving through Wyoming on the way back to Denver from visiting Yellowstone Park when an antelope suddenly ran in between cars on the other side of the road and ran right into my car. I saw him a millisecond before I was going to hit him. I thought about how this could be the end. I heard about deer coming through the windshield and killing everyone. There were four of us in the car and it could be ‘that day’ for all of us. I closed my eyes and he jumped, coming down on the outside fender of my car creating a big hole before he bounced off and ran away. It wasn’t ‘that day’ for any of us – including the antelope.

I was strongly reminded of this again a year later when my husband had emergency open-heart bypass surgery after experiencing a ‘lethal event’ with his heart. It could have easily killed him. That could have been it. The end.

He’s still alive because it just wasn’t his day – the day God has already chosen for each of us as our last day here on earth.

That wasn’t ‘it’ – he’s still here – but it could have been.

Short.

Fragile.

Easily extinquished.

God tells us through Isaiah that ‘Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40: 7 & 8.

Forever.

When I sit here with my Bible open on my lap, I am letting the only truth of all the ages soak into my mind. God’s Word has been the one thing that is right and good since time began. How amazing that this is so readily available to me every hour of every day!

It’s available to you, too.

How amazing that the Eternal Creator of the Universe speaks to me personally through these words!

He wants to speak to you, too.

How amazing that this entire book is a love story written to me by God. It’s God’s revelation of how much he loves me –

and how much he loves you.

My life is short and fragile and just a small flicker of light in the big picture. I’m so glad I know my Father God sees me as his precious daughter who is so important to him that he made a way that I could live with him in my forever home in heaven.

He made a way that you could live with him forever in heaven, too.

My life may be short and fragile but I’m important to God….

and that makes all the difference.

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?