Tag: faith

What Is Your Favorite?

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Is it the breastplate of righteousness?

The sandals of peace?Decem 15 2015 what's your favorite

The shield of faith?

God tells us in Ephesians to prepare each day for the spiritual battles that are raging around us by putting on his full armor.

Our struggles are not against the people and problems that we can see.  It seems like it is.  But God tells us that the battle is much bigger and much darker than what we can see.   The evil schemes of Satan fill the spiritual world swirling around us.

This makes a lot of sense to me.  When I see the addictions and sinful, painful choices people make everyday that blow up their families and their lives, it’s clear that Satan is working very hard and he is winning some of the battles.

Each of us are called to fight against this evil every day.  And the wise soldier comes prepared with a full set of armor:

The belt of truth.

The breastplate of righteousness.

The sandals of peace.

The shield of faith.

The helmet of salvation.

And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

My favorite piece of armor has always been the shield of faith.  I can sometimes see the flaming arrows of the evil one coming at me.  But my faith protects me.

As I’ve been more committed to memorizing God’s word this last year, I am discovering a new understanding of the immense power the Sword of the Spirit has when we are well-prepared.  When it’s etched on our minds and hearts, God’s word is powerful.  It’s transforming.

It is an extremely effective offensive weapon to use in pushing back the darkness.

To shine the light of truth where sin has extinguished all hope.

To get rid of the lies that confuse us.

To help us get our eyes off of ourselves and focus on the One who has all the answers.

And to remind us that God has already won the war.  In him, we have victory.  Today and everyday.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Sweet Sleep

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting Class1 Comment

We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together.  There is so much wisdom in this chapter and it’s empowering to get this all in our heart and mind.  God speaks often and clearly through these words –

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew.

My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck.”

Awesome!  Here are the next verses, finishing this thought –

“Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

Being safe as I go along my way – that is a huge promise to me.  I’m on the freeway for a 60-mile round trip every day to work and sometimes it feels like a war zone with cars piled up on both sides as people crash into each other.

And I really want to avoid stumbling.  Stumbling of any kind can often be painful, embarrassing and time-consuming.

I also want to avoid those fears in the middle of the night.  Fears about everything…anything….and nothing.

Sweet sleep – this promise is an awesome one!  How great it feels to sleep well all night!

God is telling us that the sound judgement and discernment that he gives us will bring all of these good things into our lives.  When we seek him first and obey, we are on the straight path which brings all of these great things our way.

That’s what wisdom and knowledge and understanding can do for us.

Thank you, Abba Father!

 

 

He Chose Us

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

We are loved by God.

And his desire is for us to be compassionate,

to be kind,December 14 2015 he chose us

to be humble,

and gentle,

and patient.

Paul tells us in Colossians 3 to bear with each other.

To forgive each other.

And, above all , to love one another in perfect unity.

We are called to be lovers of peace – to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

What does that look like for me?

What does that look like for you?

To be ruled by peace.

Just imagining it lowers my blood pressure 🙂

What would our lives be like if we lived each day filled with gratitude?

What thoughts would fill our minds if the message of Christ ‘richly dwelt’ in us?

What if we could say that everything we do is done out of thankfulness for  what Jesus has done for us?

This is what growing more like Jesus looks like.

How are we doing?

We thank you for the power of your spirit living within us, Abba Father.

Children of the Promise

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

We are Abraham’s offspring.

We are his children by faith.

We are children of the promise.dec 8 2015 children of the promise

Paul explains to us in Romans 9 that Abraham gave birth to the Jewish nation by the physical birth of Isaac.

But Abraham’s offspring are those who believe.  Those whose faith is in God.  These are his children.

As children of the promise, our roots go way back into ancient Biblical times.  When our new year starts in just a couple of weeks, we will be turning back to ‘In the beginning’ as we start with page 1 of the Bible again.  The Old Testament. Some people question why we study the Old Testament.  Why do we memorize it?  Why is it important to understand God’s words to us in the Old Testament?

Because that is where we come from.

Who we are was created in the Garden of Eden.

The sin and violence which fills our TV screens today is the same rebellion against God that fills the pages of the Old Testament.

We get the chance to know more about God as we read about his interactions with our biblical ancestors before the Light of Jesus full of truth and grace came into our world.

These are our roots.

Where we come from.

Children of the Promise.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class- Preserve Sound Judgement

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

It’s amazing to see what God can do when we review his scripture day after day.  He writes it on our hearts.  And he talks to us through it….constantly…..guiding our days through these words:

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew.

Great job!  God is so awesome!  Here are our next verses:

“My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck. “

Dear Father, we desire sound judgement based on your truth.  We want to be able to discern what is from you and what is a lie.  We ask you to remove anything in our minds that is not true and replace it with your words.  We want your words to guide us, your truth to be obvious in our lives – so obvious that it’s an ornament that graces our neck.

We pray these things knowing that we will receive them because they are in your will for  us.  Thank you, Father.  In the awesome name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

 

A Weapon Of Satan

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

Sometimes we are weighed down by guilt.

Guilt about things we have done.

More guilt about things we should have done but didn’t.Dec 4 2015 eagerness to do the right thing

This dark, depressing pressure of guilt should remind us that guilt is a weapon of Satan.  He uses it to keep us focused on our sins, tied to the past – held back from the joy that comes from grace of God.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that Godly sorrow comes when the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins.

Godly sorrow brings repentance and leaves no regrets.

Godly sorrow brings an earnestness and eagerness to get right with God.

It brings indignation that we have strayed – that’s not who we are anymore.

It brings alarm because we realize we’re doing things we don’t want to do and we’re anxious to change.  We’re longing to get back on the right path.

We evaluate the choices and decisions that brought us to this place so that we don’t make them again.

We are ready to make things right.  We want to make amends.  We have a strong desire to do the right thing.

The darkness and depression of guilt is not Godly sorrow.

When we are convicted of our sin, God wants us to move forward.

He wants us to eagerly repent and get back on the straight path.

Godly sorrow helps us turn toward the light and find our joy once again.

Because we repent.

We change.

And we are reconciled.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Grow Up!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

That’s the challenge.

To become mature in our faith.

To know God.

To understand his word to us and to apply it to our lives.

To discern the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives as he reveals truth to us.  As he convicts us of our sin and points out things we need to let him change in us.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that, when he became a man, he stopped talking like a child, thinking like a child and reasoning like a child.

How about us?

Have we made the decision to grow up?Dec 2 2015 grow up

To put away childish behavior and become an adult in our faith?

Have we stopped making excuses for not putting God first in our lives – his first and greatest commandment?

Just like Paul, we’ll never fully know God this side of heaven.

But we are fully known by him.

He sees any of the childish behavior left in us.

He hears all of the excuses.

The rationalizations.

He sees all of the time we waste on foolish things.

He knows our heart…our motivations.

And he loves us anyway.

He desires a personal, daily relationship with us anyway.

Now that’s REAL love!

Thank you, Abba Father!

Check it Out

On By Judy GlasserIn November2 Comments

The amount of lies we are told increased exponentially when the web became a major information source.  People quote things they read or heard from the web or TV like it is fact.November 27 2015 check it out

Without checking anything out, they believe this junk which causes incorrect, uninformed thinking which causes bad decisions.  Very bad decisions.  A lot of bad decisions.

Discernment is more important today than it ever has been.  We have to evaluate information before we believe it.  We need to consider the source and not emotionally connect to the sensationalism that initially catches our attention.

Let’s face it, it’s easier just to accept the stuff we hear when we agree with it and reject the things we don’t agree with.

We get lazy.

As a result, we end up believing a bunch of lies.

In Acts 10, we read that the Bereans were regarded as noble because they eagerly received Paul’s Good News and then examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  As a result of this examination, many of them believed.

Their belief was based on understanding and evaluation.  They were wise in their discernment of the truth.

They checked it out before they believed.

What a great example for us to follow!

Please open our eyes, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – The Foundations

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are having an amazing journey through Proverbs 3 as we memorize God’s word together.  God’s truth reverberates through our minds as we repeat these words over and over and over:Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Awesome!  Here are the next 3 verses – they go well together:

“By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew. ”

The words wisdom, understanding and knowledge are repeated over and over in Proverbs.  They are the basic foundation of knowing and living the truth – and it all comes from God.

These verses tell us how God used these basics to create the world we live in.   I was stuck on these sentences for a couple of weeks because, every time I got to this part, the sun was coming up as I drove into work.

And I would get lost in thinking about the majesty of God.

The omnipotence of God.

The glory of God.

The faithfulness of God …..as the sun rises again today and everyday.

I love the poetic picture of the clouds dropping their dew.

Thank you, awesome Father, for your creation!  I praise you for your faithfulness!

A Lot of Seeds

On By Judy GlasserIn November4 Comments

It’s why we’re still here.  Why God hasn’t taken us home yet.  We’re here to plant seeds of God’s truth where ever we go each day.  With each person we talk with.

Any chance we get.November 22 2015 Lots of seeds

As we read about the exciting, exponential growth of the number of Christ-followers in Acts, what we’re seeing is the seeds that Jesus planted starting to sprout.

Lots of seeds.

Jesus had committed 3 years of his life to planting seeds of grace and truth and love.

And the stories had spread.

The seeds were watered by God.

And now, we start reading about the results.

In Acts 6, we read that a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.  The religious community was also turning toward the light.  These were the same people who yelled, “Crucify him.”

But the Truth had changed them.  The Holy Spirit had opened their eyes.

And the seeds sprouted.

As believers, we are commissioned to plant seeds in our sphere of influence.  Today and everyday.

Lots of seeds.

Please help us obey, Abba Father.