Tag: faith

It was loud!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When the wall around their city was finally finished, the people of Jerusalem rejoiced because ‘God had given them great joy.” Nehemiah 12:43.

Everyone celebrated!  All the men, all the women and all of the children were happy and they showed it.  We read in the Bible that the sound of Jerusalem’s celebration could be heard far away.

That’s really loud!!  They were so filled with joy that they couldn’t keep quiet.

And this is not unusual in the Bible – God’s people celebrated a lot!  They had joy!  They worshipped God!  They were loud!  When thousands of angels filled the heavens, singing for joy and praising God, they were very loud!

So where do we sometimes get the idea that our weekly church family celebrations and worship should be quiet?  There is certainly a time and place for reverence and meditation when we get together.

But there are also many reasons for joy and excitement and celebration as we worship together and are blessed.  Our traditions should enhance our worship, not restrain it.

Thousands of years ago, God’s people showed us how to express our joy, celebrate and worship God.

And it was loud!

Please give us joy, Abba Father!

I’ve Got Your Back!

On By Judy GlasserIn October2 Comments

When we want to accomplish something big, it takes a team.  One person can only do what one person can get done.

But when a group of people join energy and brainpower to tackle a goal together, unexplainable synergy happens and their efforts are multiplied.  Success rolls in when a team of people are engaged, committed to working together and helping each other achieve a goal.

And when God’s involved – there is a supernatural factor that is truly astounding to witness.  Projects turn out much better than planned.  Blessings pile up.  We see our faith growing as, together, we experience the power of God in our lives.

Has this happened to you?

I’ve experienced this many times and its exciting every time it happens.

As a result, I love reading the historical account of Nehemiah leading the Israelites in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  The Jews were being attacked regularly by their enemies who didn’t want them to complete the wall.  They were very discouraged.

Nehemiah refused to stop building.  He knew that he had been sent back to Jerusalem to lead this project so he couldn’t stop.  He organized the men into teams – half of them did the work while the other half watched the worker’s backs with spears, shields, bows and armor.  They protected their brothers with everything they had.

Working together,

protecting each other,

they accomplished the goal together.

They could not have done it without each other.

Our Spiritual family is like this.  We need each other.  Each one of us needs to use our spiritual gifts in order to build each other up and fulfill our purpose of reaching others for Christ.

We watch each other’s backs – loving and forgiving each other in supernatural ways.

And we love those who don’t know Jesus yet…blue-blob-ive-got-your-back

while our Spiritual family supports us and cheers us on.

We can do this, because He first loved us…

and He has our backs.

Thank you, Abba Father.

It’s Impossible!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When  the path right in front of us looks like its straight up hill.

When the issues confronting us are big

and confusing

and heart-breaking.

When we are threatened on all sides by more problems, more sadness, more darkness.

please-strengthen-my-handsThe answer is to turn to God and pray Nehemiah’s prayer, “Now strengthen my hands.”(6:9)

Nehemiah had groups of powerful people plotting against him as he led the Jews in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  His enemies were trying to frighten the Jews so their hands would become too weak to continue to work on the wall.  But God answered Nehemiah’s prayers and the wall was eventually finished.

Is there something in your life that looks like its impossible to accomplish?  Impossible to fix?

Give it to God.  Ask him to strengthen your hands and then trust that he is answering.  He may use you like he did Nehemiah to actually orchestrate the answer.  Or  he may have a very different plan which he has already put into place where your role is to pray and wait and trust.

Either way,  God’s got this.

Please strengthen my hands, Abba Father.

 

The Time is Now

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave 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.  This 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 works 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 says.  And I’ll do that until he tells me to stop.

Recently, God has started sharing with me insights into how he is pursuing some of the people in my life who haven’t chosen to accept his free gift of salvation yet.  It’s very interesting to watch him work.  I know he’s opening my eyes so I am more aware of my role and better prepared to plant a seed of God’s truth when the ‘time’ comes.

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.

Telling My Story

On By Judy GlasserIn October2 Comments

I have so much to be thankful for!  God is good and he loves me with a never-ending love.  God tells me in Psalm 107 that I need to tell my story.  And you need to tell your story.

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story.” We all have a unique story to share.

Some of us have wandered, looking for a place to belong. We were hungry for love, starving for a purpose. When we cried out to God, he drew us closer to himself – to the place where we belong. He gave us a purpose to get up every morning.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Others of us lived in darkness, bound by chains of rebellion, stumbling through life with no help in sight. But we cried out to the LORD and he brought us out of the utter darkness, breaking all of our chains.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Some of us made very foolish decisions and were suffering through the consequences of those to the point of thinking that death might be an option.  But, instead, we turned to God for help and he healed us, rescuing us from the living death we found ourselves in.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Others of us have experienced violent storms in our lives as huge waves of pain and grief washed over us. When our courage and strength were gone, we finally cried out to the LORD and he “stilled the storm with a whisper”, calmed the waves and guiding us home to him.

Let us tell our story, giving thanks to God for he is good.

My story is that I have known Jesus as my Savior my entire life but I decided to wander in my young adulthood – trying out all the ‘fun’ things the world had to offer. It seemed great at first but gradually my life because very empty and filled with darkness. So I called out to God who made it very clear to me that he had never left me. When I turned back to him, I found him waiting for me with open arms.

God has been gradually drawing me closer to him as I daily travel this Journey towards the Truth. I have left the emptiness and darkness behind, finding meaning and light as I put God first in my life. 

I will continue to tell my story for the rest of my life, giving thanks to God for he is good.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Nothing is Impossible

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

I have to smile.

God tells us in the beginning of Ezra that he ‘moved the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia.’  I love this because Cyrus was not a believer.  He was a pagan king.  But he moved when God moved his heart.

Cyrus released the Israelites to go back to Jerusalem so they could rebuild the temple of God.  The king was also gave back 5400 articles of gold and silver that had been taken from the temple of God before it was destroyed.

God moved the heart of a pagan king who then orchestrated and sponsored the rebuilding of God’s temple.

That’s my God.  He uses everyone and everything to accomplish his will.  Even those who don’t believe in him are under his authority and direction.

His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And I want to make sure I’m right in the middle of that – don’t you?

Nothing is impossible for you, Abba Father.

Do You Feel It?

On By Judy GlasserIn October2 Comments

What does it feel like when God ‘moves’ my heart?

When I understand something I never knew before as I read his Word, I can feel God moving my heart.  When I have an idea or motivation I have never felt before as I read his Word, I know God is moving my heart.  When I see a situation more clearly today as I read his Word, I realize God is moving my heart and giving me insights I never had before.

All of these and more describe experiences I have had as God moves my heart to more closely align with his.

While reading the story of the people of Israel  in the book of Ezra as they prepare to end their exile and go back to resettle Israel, the words, “everyone whose heart God had moved” jump out at me.

God had chosen those who he wanted to go back to rebuild his temple in Jerusalem.  And they knew it.

They felt it.

And they obeyed.

It wasn’t going to be an easy task but they had been picked by God to do something big for him.  So they went.

Because they were listening and watching, they knew when God moved their hearts.  That’s what it takes to hear God and be a part of what he’s doing in our world.

God has a purpose for me today.

He has a purpose for you today.

Please move our hearts, Abba Father.

Right Away

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

I’ve never seen this before.

I’m on my 9th time reading through the entire Chronological Bible and I don’t remember noticing this detail.  God is obviously stopping me here today to bring this to my (and your) attention.

God is telling me through the book of Daniel that he heard Daniel’s prayer and sent the angel Gabriel to earth to give a message to him while Daniel was still praying.

“As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have to tell you.” Gabriel told Daniel.

Wow!  As soon as Daniel began to pray, God was responding.  Right away.  Daniel hadn’t even finished praying before God was taking action on his request.

Love it!

God is telling you and me that this is still happening today when we pray.  Before I have finished praying, God is moving, responding, orchestrating things for my good – every day, all day.

When I turn to God and pray, recognizing my dependence on him, he takes action.  I might not see him moving, but I trust that he is.  I don’t need an angel to tell me that God is listening, I have his Word on it.

Thank you for always listening and responding, Abba Father.

 

What?!

On By Judy GlasserIn September3 Comments

A human hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall.

What?!

Daniel tells us this actually happened in the middle of King Belshazzar’s huge banquet!  If I saw it today, it would definitely get my attention.

This is where we get the saying, ‘I can read the writing on the wall’.  Many of us don’t know that this comes from the Bible.

King Belshazzar could not understand the handwriting on the wall so he consulted with Daniel who was well-known for being able to interpret things when no one else could.  Daniel read the writing and told the king that God was bringing his reign to an end because the king had not acknowledged God as sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth.

That very night, the message on the wall was fulfilled and Belshazzar was killed.

One part of the message on the wall was ‘Tekel’ which means you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

The bad news for all of us is – our scales don’t look any better.  Our rebellion.  Our need for control.  Our self-centeredness.  Our busyness which causes us to ignore God.

The writing on our wall would have the same message…..

except for the fact that God loved us so much that he gave us an ‘out’.

He sent his perfect son, Jesus, to save us from the eternal separation from God.  The entire Bible is a love story about how God created us in his image and desires to have a close, personal relationship with us.

Jesus offers a gift of grace to each one of us – that’s his part.  Our part is accepting his free gift which makes the scales move in our favor.

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we can become precious children of God who are never ‘found wanting’ because Jesus did it all for us….

for all time,

for all who will believe and receive.

It is finished.

Thank you, Jesus.

 

My Heart’s Response

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

As I read the beginning of Psalm 106, this is my heart’s response –

I’m giving thanks to the LORD today for how good he is!  It’s impossible to describe with words the magnitude of his greatness!

I feel his blessing and his smile of encouragement when I do what is right.

You constantly show me how much you love me, Father, by giving me your guidance and help.  I find joy in knowing I am your adopted child – a daughter of the King!

Please help me make the right choices and avoid straying into rebellion.  Touch my mind, Father, when I need to remember your goodness and kindness.  Help me to always remember how you have saved me and are walking beside me.

I believe all of your promises, Father.  Your Word resonates with the core of my soul and I know what you tell me is true.

I am staking my life on it.

Thank you, Abba Father.