Tag: God is our priority

No Turning Back

On By Judy GlasserIn November2 Comments

Have you experienced a time in your life when you realized there was no turning back? You were on a path that you were going to be on for the rest of your life?

Did it feel like you were driving a stake into the ground declaring your commitment to this journey – no matter what?

I have felt that way three times in my life.

The first was when I got married, the second time was when I became a mom and the third was when I put God at the top of the list of priorities for my life.

The first time was marked by a wedding celebration with friends and family. The second included baby showers, a highly anticipated trip to the hospital, and the unbelievable joy of bringing our tiny son home for the first time.

The third time happened about 30 years ago when I was floating on an air mattress in my backyard pool all by myself listening to praise songs. As I sang along to words of the praise songs, I realized there was no turning back from giving my whole life to Christ. I had been a believer all my life but I had never committed to the narrow road of making Jesus Lord of my life. Floating in the pool that day, I knew Jesus was the only answer – he was everything I was looking for. There was nothing in life that was more important. There was nowhere else for me to go.

This memory echoes in my mind as I read the conversation Jesus had with Peter when some of his disciples were turning back and leaving him. “You do not want to leave, too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:67-69.

Good answer, Peter!

Once I knew the Truth and made him my top priority, the Truth set me free from looking any farther.

I’ve found the Light.

I’ve found the Way.

I’ve found the Life.

This relationship extends into eternity. There is nothing else I need. There is no turning back.

Amen and Amen

 

No Turning Back

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Have you experienced a time in your life when you realized there was no turning back? You were on a path that you were going to be on for the rest of your life?

Did it feel like you were driving a stake into the ground declaring your commitment to this journey – no matter what?

I have felt that way three times in my life.

Once when I got married, the second time was when I became a mom and the third was when I put God at the top of the list of priorities for my life.

The first time was marked by a wedding celebration with friends and family. The second one included baby showers, a highly anticipated trip to the hospital, and the unbelievable joy of bringing our tiny son home for the first time.

The third time happened about 30 years ago when I was floating on an air mattress in my backyard pool all by myself listening to praise songs. As I sang along to words of the praise songs, I realized there was no turning back from giving my whole life to Christ. I had been a believer all my life but had never fully committed to following Jesus. But now I knew that Jesus was the only answer – he was everything I was looking for. There was nothing in life that was more important. There was nowhere else for me to go.

This memory echoes in my mind as I read the conversation Jesus had with Peter when some of his disciples were turning back and leaving him. “You do not want to leave, too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:67-69.

Good answer, Peter!

There is no turning back. Once I knew the Truth, the Truth set me free from looking any farther.

I’ve found the Light.

I’ve found the Way.

I’ve found the Life.

This relationship extends into eternity. There is nothing else I need.

Amen and Amen

 

Get Lost!

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Wow!

Keeping my focus is a very tough thing to do.

So many priorities.  So many different ways to spend my time.  I have always been a significantly goal-oriented and focused person but it’s not easy.

There are just so many distractions in our current culture!

Do you feel that way?

So hard to focus!

And I think there are more distractions now than ever before……until I’m reading through the Old Testament and I realize how inconsistent the Israelites were.  When they had a good, faithful leader, they were on target with God.  When the faithful leader died, they went right back to their old distractions – worshiping all kinds of pagan gods – just like everyone around them.

So many choices.

In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to focus our eyes on him.

Fix our eyes.

Don’t let them wander.

I regularly have to turn away from the distractions in my life in order to clear my focus and get centered on Jesus.  It’s the only way I can avoid getting lost in all of the noise and confusion that defines our culture.

Fixing my eyes means making God a priority in my life.  He needs to come before work, before hobbies, before family, before money, before TV and all the ‘screens’ in my life.  If he’s not up front in my life, I get distracted….

unfocused….

confused….

and I wander.

Please help me keep my eyes fixed on you, dear Jesus.