Tag: faith

Really?

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

God promises to use Gideon to save Israel and Gideon still has to test God by throwing out a fleece – not once but twice?March 19 2014

Why?  God always keeps his promises.  Did Gideon just not have enough faith to take God at his word?  He had to see God jump through some extra hoops before he would obey?

Yes, God responded BOTH times but I’ll bet he wasn’t smiling.  This an another example of just how much patience God has with us.

I believe in asking God for guidance when the next step isn’t clear.  I believe in asking him to give me the opportunity if I’m supposed to speak to someone about something God has revealed to me.

But, when he has clearly told me what he was going to do, he’s  looking for obedience, not tests.  There doesn’t need to be any fleece throwing in those situations.

The more we know about God, the easier it is to hear him.  As we grow closer we get to God,  his whispers are enough to get our attenion.  I’m so glad you’re on this journey with me because that is where we’re going – closer to the source of all Truth, closer to God.

Draw us nearer, dear Father.

Wow!

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Wow!  Wow!

That’s the best word I can find that describes my experience in the Holy Land last week.

Wow!

I was trying to think of how to describe what has happened to me and I realized that I have experienced this before in my life.  I grew up in northwest Iowa where we had snow 6-7 months a year and only about 6 weeks of summer.  I had heard of places that didn’t get snow and I believed they existed, but it wasn’t until I moved to South Carolina that I actually ‘experienced’ a winter with no snow.  It totally changed my perspective.  I had believed that there were places that didn’t get snow but now I felt it, I lived in it and I loved it!  That’s the reason I live in Phoenix today:)

This is exactly how I feel about the Holy Land now.  I always believed it was there but now I have felt it, I have lived in it, and I have experienced it.  And I have a totally different perspective.

One of our praise songs in worship this morning was asking God to grow our faith so we would ‘walk upon the water.”The Sea of Galilee(2)

I was there – at the beautiful Sea of Galilee (pictured).  I cooled my feet in its waters, I took a boat ride on it and felt the wind pick up as a small storm moved in….

as it often does on the sea of Galilee….

as it did the day that Jesus calmed storm.

I was actually there – the same sea that Jesus and then Peter walked on.

Wow!

I also walked down a steep path on the Mount of Olives.  I saw the Garden of Gethsemane and the Kidron valley.  I floated in the Dead Sea and visited Jericho.

Some of the sites actually had excavations of buildings dating back to Jesus’ time – where he lived and where he walked.

We visited the Upper Room.  We walked down the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering…. the path Jesus took as he dragged his own cross to his crucifixion.

We spent the afternoon at the Garden Tomb.  Descriptions in the Bible all point to it being Jesus’ tomb.  Of course, he’s not there because he is alive!  And he lives inside of us!  Hallelujah!

We visited Bethlehem which has a cave and a manger which, by descriptions in the Bible, is like the one Jesus was born in. 

We went to the Nazareth Village in Nazareth.  It’s an area the size of a small park that is set up like it would have been in Jesus’ time with people dressed like they would have been dressed and doing the things they would have been doing – shepherding sheep, carpentry and spinning wool.  The lunch we had there was food that was close to the things Jesus would have eaten at a feast.  Wow!

I dipped my feet in the Jordan River and climbed to the top of the Mount of Beatitudes.

We visited beautiful Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

And  much, much more.

I have felt it and experienced it and it has changed me.

Just like God planned.

Thank you, dear Father!

 

My Pilgrimage

On By Judy GlasserIn March2 Comments

My pilgrimage to the land of my Savior is about to begin. 

God has called me to this journey.  He has told me that this trip will forever change how I read and understand his Word.  So I am very excited as I anticipate what that means.

Those of you who have been on this journey with me for a while know that God gave me a check to cover the cost of this trip.  He has made it very clear that he wants me to scratch this off of my ‘bucket list’.

I can’t wait!

So you won’t be hearing from me for about 2 weeks.

But when I get back, you can expect some new insights from me as God continue to take us on this journey towards the truth.

Please include me and my friend, Angela, who is going with me in your prayers.

Here I come, dear God!

Tested

On By Judy GlasserIn March2 Comments

We all go through a lot of tests in our life.  God sometimes tests our faith just like he tested Israel’s faith in Judges 2.  I think Satan also tests us in some of our weakest moments to see if we’ll sin and make his smile.March 17 2014

Sometimes we test ourselves to see if we’re up for a challenge.  And we all have people in our lives who test our patience every time we’re with them.

Lots of tests.  There are times that we pass the test and others where we fail.  We read about how the Israelites failed some of their tests over and over and over again.  They would fall into sin but, fortunately, they would also repent.

Repenting is the key to keeping our relationship right with God.  God knows what we’ve done, we’re just agreeing with him that it’s a sin when we repent.  True repentance includes a genuine attempt at turning away from the sin – trying not to do it again.  If we don’t intend to try to stop the sin, we are not repenting no matter what words come out of our mouths.

And God is not pleased with empty promises to change.

They Can’t Do That!

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

The Eastern tribes of Israel had left to go back over the Jordan after completing their promise to help conquer theMarch 15 2014 Promised Land for the rest of the tribes.  They left with Joshua’s blessing and with large herds of livestock, great quantities of clothing along with silver, gold, bronze and iron.

They built a replica of the altar of the Lord near the Jordan before going over to the other side to their land.

March 15 2 2014The Western tribes were angered by this and gathered to go to war against their brothers.  They sent a priest along with the chief man of each tribe to go talk to the Eastern tribes.

They accused the Eastern tribe of breaking their faith with God of Israel and building an altar in their rebellion.

The Eastern tribes explained that this altar had a very different purpose.  They were worried that the Western tribes would someday forget that they all worshipped the same God so they built this altar as a witness to everyone that they shared the same God.March 15 4 2014

The Western tribes went home and happily reported to everyone the good news.

What could have been a deadly war between brothers turned into a celebration of unity. 

Because they talked about it.  Everyone listened to the other side before taking action.

True wisdom.

Finish the Race Well

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Moses ran the race well all the way to the end.  He was obedient and strong in the faith to his last day.MMMMMMMMArch 9 2014

I want that to be my story and my legacy.  One of my other goals as I grow older is to become more and more Christ-like.  Not more and more crabby 🙂

Moses was a great man of faith.  We have a great man of faith living today – Billy Graham who recently celebrated his 95th birthday.  He is getting frail like all 95 year-olds and he was quoted as saying:

“One day you will hear that I have died.  It won’t be true.  Because I will be more alive after I leave this earth than I ever was when I lived on it.”

Amen!  Hallelujah!

Leviticus 26, 2014

On By Judy GlasserIn March2 Comments

If you obey me, I will grow much fruit in your life.  Your work will produce harvest after harvest after harvest.

I will bring peace to you and you will not be afraid.  I will remove the things that scare you and I will keep you safe.

When you face your enemies, I will be with you and you will have victory.March 6 2014

I will look on you with favor and I will keep all of my promises to you.  I will abundantly provide for all of your needs and I will always be with you.

I will be your God and you will be my people.

I am the Lord your God who has conquered death for you so you are no longer slaves to sin.  I have removed the burden of your sin and have adopted you as my sons and daughters.  You are now Prince and Princesses of a King.

These are the blessings of Obedience.  Amen! Hallelujah!

Unpopular

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

At a time when women were considered more of an item of property than an equal person, it is refreshing to see God give Zelophehad’s daughters the right to inherit their father’s property.March 2 2014

This just wasn’t done in this culture.  The sons inherited or the brothers or the male cousins.  Not the daughters.  As we read further in this chapter, I can just hear the male contingent of the family saying, ” But!  But! But!” and so we see God put conditions on the inheritance so it stays within the clan.

It’s a revolutionary decision.  And it’s just like God.  God always treated women well even when men didn’t.  He always weighed in on the side of the oppressed.  We see continuous examples of this throughout the Bible.  Jesus was an awesome example of this – he always stood up for the weak, the poor, the unpopular.

When we are making decisions about supporting the poor, the oppressed or unpopular, we never have to question what God would have us do.  It’s extremely clear.

God calls us to stand for those that are less privileged than we are.  Every time.

A Theocracy

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

In a theocracy, God rules.  He decides the laws and provides guidance for the people in all areas – politically, personally, economically.  There is little need for legislative or administrative groups in this type of government.  God is in control.

As we are reading through God’s laws in Number and Leviticus, we are watching God turn a slave population into a community.  He is giving them directions on hygiene and how to deal with each other in all kinds of situations.

God establishes a court system and defines what a crime is as well as assigning the appropriate punishment.

He also sets up regulations on matters of personal rights and responsibilities. 

As slaves, the Israelites had been under Egyptian law.  Now they needed their own civil laws in order to regulate daily activities and set up a working society.

Through it all, God was teaching them  how to be a holy and separate nation.

“One Nation under God.’

Sound familiar?

When I visited the presidential memorials in Washington, DC several years ago, I was deeply impressed by all of the scriptures engraved on the walls.  I was also reminded of how George Washington refused to be King.  He said that God was King.  So our founding fathers developed the president role.

Our nation began with God in control.  That is our heritage. 

Our nation is gradually wandering away from that but each of us still has the freedom to decide who is in control of our life.  Is is God?  Do we personally live in a theocracy each day?

It’s our choice.

 

It’s a Party!

On By Judy GlasserIn February2 Comments

The Israelites had several different festivals – each celebrating different things. 

The Festival of the Booths sounds like quite an adventure.  They would all go live in tents for a week as a reminder of the time all of the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.

The Year of the Jubilee was especially interesting.  Every 50 years, they were supposed to take a whole year off – that sounds like a great idea.  The land was supposed to lie fallow as well so it got a year off.Feb 24 2014

The Year of Jubilee was about redemption.  Slave and servants were set free, property that had been sold was given back to the original owner, houses were given back and inheritances restored.

Every 50 years.

Does it surprise anyone that there is no historical evidence that the Year of Jubilee was ever observed?

I’m not surprised.  Not at all.  Most of us are just too self-centered and greedy for that.  Many of us have trouble giving away stuff  out in our garage that we haven’t used for 10 years.  Give back the stuff, the garage AND the house?

That’s not happening this side of heaven.

But maybe one step towards celebrating some sort of Jubilee is if we can soften our hold on ‘things’ and give more away.  Give it away so other people can actually use it.  Clean out our closets and make some room for our cars in our garages.

Let’s all call THIS the Year of Jubilee and start giving away the things that we’ve been piling up because we think we might need them ‘some day’.  Let’s celebrate as other people get to benefit from our generosity.

Dear Father, Please help us loosen our hold on our ‘stuff’ so that this can be a year of increased freedom for us – our Jubilee.