Tag: God

The Best-Selling Book of all Time in the Entire World

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

“If it’s from God, you will not be able to stop these men.”

Gamaliel was a smart man.  As a religious leader, he took part in the debate about how to get rid of Peter and the other apostles after Jesus left earth and returned to heaven.  The apostles were creating a growing threat to the established religious authority.  They had be ‘dealt with’.

I can see Gamaliel now.  Frustrated by the lack of insight into what has really been going on with Jesus, he stops the debate, “Leave these men alone!  Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39)

It is now over 2000 years later.

And we know the answer to Gamaliel’s question, don’t we?  Christians make up over thirty percent of the global population.  It is estimated that almost 7 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.  It’s the best-selling book of all time in the entire world.  No other book is even close.

No one has been able to stop the spread of the Gospel because it comes from God.  It is not ‘from human origin’  like all the other religions.

The Truth has come from God and his name is Jesus.

It’s The Way

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

The Way we should begin our day.

The Way we should end our day.

The Way we should live our lives.

In Acts 19 we are told that people were starting to call Christianity ‘The Way’.

our-treasure-map

I like it!

The Way to love.

The Way to joy.

The Way to find purpose, our path, the direction we should go.

The Way to what we’re all looking for.

Unfortunately, we can be easily distracted and lose our Way.  Do you ever get distracted?  Probably a better question is – when was the last time you got distracted and lost your way?

Have you found yourself thinking that ‘stuff’ will make you happy?  And you became obsessed with ‘more’?  There are times that I have.

Or we start thinking that a person will make us happy – a new boyfriend because the current one doesn’t know how to make us happy, a new wife because the current one isn’t making us happy, a new church because the pastor in our current one isn’t making us happy.

We can get lost in thinking our job or career should be making us happy so we spend too much time there trying to be successful and ‘happy’.  Maybe one more raise or promotion will do it?

It’s easy to get lost in all the ways we see others searching for happiness.  I have made a bunch of mistakes myself going down the wrong roads, looking in all the wrong places but never finding ‘The Way”.

Until I focused on my personal relationship with God.

Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

It’s The Way.

With Jesus

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

They were unschooled, ordinary men.

But the religious leaders were astonished as Peter and John stood in front of them, telling them what they knew about Jesus.  These fishermen were eloquent and compelling.  They were passionate and knowledgeable.

It was clear to those listening to Peter and John that these men had been with Jesus  –

and Jesus had transformed them.  Something was significantly different about Peter and John.

* Jesus had redeemed their lives from sin and death and given them the power of the Holy Spirit who was now living inside of them.

* They spoke with authority about their personal experiences with Jesus.

* They had courage beyond that of a normal person.

The religious leaders didn’t know what to say or do so they let Peter and John go with a warning not to speak of Jesus again.

“But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or to him?  You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  Acts 4: 19-20.

Brave.

Committed.

Not intimidated by the those in positions of power.

Nothing was going to stop Peter and John from sharing their personal experience with Jesus.  We know the truth about Jesus today because they did not stop talking about what they had seen and heard.

Dear Father, Please help us be as brave and committed as Peter and John with sharing what we know about Jesus.

He Prayed for Me

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

And he prayed for you.

One of my favorite things about the Chronological Bible is we are reading about Jesus’ last days before his crucifixion in the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

It’s so appropriate!

The holiday reminds me to be thankful and God’s Word reminds me the most important thing to be thankful for – Christ’s sacrifice for me.

For God so loved the world…

Life everlasting with my Abba Father.

I love reading the prayer of Jesus in John 17.  He included us as he prayed to his Father for his disciples. “My prayers is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (vs 20-23)

We know Jesus because the disciples faithfully shared with others the Truth they had seen and heard.   And we pay it forward by sharing what we have seen and heard about the Jesus with others…

in gratitude for what Christ did for us.

May we be found faithful witnesses to your love and grace, Abba Father.

What’s My Top Priority?

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Do you wonder about what God wants you to do?

Do you have various options but you aren’t sure which one is the most important?

A huge benefit of reading God’s Word every day is how clearly God answers these questions for me. God is constantly pointing out my priorities.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mathew 22: 36-39.

These are the top two. I need to do these – all day, every day.

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus has some more clear directions to those of us who have put our faith in him.

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13.

“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14.

Our dark world needs a lot of light, doesn’t it? How am I supposed to be light? I know I am Christ’s hands and feet on this earth. When I share his love and truth, I am spreading his light. When my life and attitude are different in a positive way from the darkness that continues to spread across our country, my life shines for Christ.

How am I supposed to be salt? I need to be engaged in my culture, sprinkling God’s love over the people around me. When I’m living my faith out loud I bring the flavor of Christ – his caring, forgiveness and truth – with me where ever I go.

When I have options and choices, these scriptures help me decide. Which option helps me show my love for God and love other’s the most? What choice is the best in making my life salt and light in my corner of this earth?

What about you? What does it mean to you when Jesus says you are the salt and light of the world?

He challenging us – are we accepting that challenge?

There is no time better than today to do it!

Please light up our paths, Abba Father, and guide our steps.

All In

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

Have you been keeping your distance from Jesus? Do you believe he is the Son of God but you just don’t want to get too close? You don’t want to go ‘all in’? You don’t want to have to give up things you enjoy?

Many of us are like Zacchaeus. When he found out that Jesus was coming, he really wanted to see Jesus so he ran ahead and climbed into a tree to get over the heads of the crowd. He didn’t fight through the crowd so he could get close to Jesus. He kept his distance.

But Zacchaeus found out that’s not how it works with Jesus. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, he looked right at him and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly, ” Luke 19:5 Getting close to Jesus changed Zacchaeus’ life forever.

And that is what we need to do if we want to experience the love and joy of a relationship with Jesus. We need to get up front and personal with him. Get out of our ‘trees’ – out of our old habits and traditions.

The only way to genuinely know Jesus is to go ‘all in’.

That’s my story. I had a close relationship with Jesus as a child but wandered as a young adult. Then I came back to church but stayed on the sidelines – enjoying the benefits of a spiritual family but not taking my relationship with God too seriously.

I was doing all the right things but inside I was miserable and empty. When God challenged me to put him first in my life, I felt I had nothing to lose so I went for it. That’s when I found the love, grace, joy peace and purpose I was looking for. God made me feel complete. It was almost immediate.

I didn’t have to give up things I liked. I took some things out of my life because I didn’t want them anymore. What I like and enjoy has gradually changed the closer I’ve gotten to God.

And the closer to God I get, the easier it is to hear him speak and see him move. It just keeps getting better.

If you’ve been been keeping your distance from Jesus,

you have no idea what you are missing.

God is challenging you today to go ‘all in’.

Surrounded

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

“I have a problem with anxiety.”

“I’m going to need to take an extra anxiety pill”

“I get so anxious”

“My whole family has issues with anxiety.”

I’m hearing these statements from people in the world around me and I feel like I’m surrounded by anxiousness.

Don’t get me wrong – I have moments of anxiety. Who doesn’t in our crazy culture?

But then I remember what Jesus says to me in Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

‘Burdened’ means ‘anxious’ to me. You and I are burdened when we start to worry about all the things we’re not in control of. We are burdened when we focus on all the negatives in our lives. We are burdened when we become afraid of the unknowns – all those terrible things that could happen to us and the people we love.

Jesus gives me rest for my soul when I listen to his voice and lay at his feet all the things that make me anxious. His yoke is easy and his burden is light because he can be trusted. He loves you and me and has promised to work it all out for our good. This includes the multitude of things that you and I worry about.

Nothing is impossible for him.

As I keep my eyes focused on Jesus each day, anxiety fades.

It Breaks Through

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

So much noise.

Too much information.

Bombarded by distractions….

and then God’s voice breaks through.

Clear.

Strong…..

making more sense than all the chaos around me.

One of my favorite images of God comes from the story that Jesus tells us in the 10th chapter of John about the Good Shepherd.  “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them on.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”  John 10:3-4.

I know his voice.  How?

It’s simple but not easy.  After reading the entire Bible every year for the last 15 years, I know when God is speaking to me because he is often speaking his words – the words I have read over and over.  I recognize his truth because I have seriously studied the Bible for over 30 years.  I’m not a pastor or a theologian.  I’m just an average person who really wants to hear God and know the truth.

I have been asked, “How do you know it’s God and not just your own voice telling you what you want to hear?”  When what I hear lines up with what I’ve read and studied in God’s word, I have no doubt that it’s his voice.  He often brings scripture into my mind that answer questions I have.  Many times God tells me something I’ve never thought of or even wanted – then I definitely know it’s him.

Important point – messages from God will be consistent with more than just one verse in the Bible.  The only way to really know it is from God is that it lines up with what God says about this topic over the entire Bible.

One verse can steer me in the wrong direction.  One or two verses taken out of context can tell us lies – nothing close to what God really meant.

Be very careful with the ‘life verse’ concept.  The only way that works is if you understand what God says regarding the topics in that verse through the entire Bible.  Otherwise, it can be a shortcut that takes you down a dark path – a path where you hear what you want to hear because you are not recognizing his voice.

The closer I get to God, the easier it is to hear his voice.

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 35 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 putting Jesus first in my life. I had never made him Lord of my life before. 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

 

My Fears

On By Judy GlasserIn NovemberLeave a comment

What am I afraid of?

What are you afraid of?

This world can be a very scary place with evil lurking around every corner.  The worst can happen in an instant –

I’ve been there.  It’s indescribably shocking and painful.

So it seems logical that you and I would be afraid….. until we read what Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 8, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” vs 26.

Wow!  Jesus directly correlates the fact that they are afraid to how much faith they have.  He is saying the same thing to you and I today.  Through his Word, God is telling us that our fears mean we’re not trusting him.

After thinking about this for a while, I have accepted that this is very true for me.  When I am worried, I am not trusting God.  The amount of my fear is a clear indication of the lack of my faith because I know God is in control.  He has a plan and purpose.  There is nothing that happens to me that has not gone through his hands.

So what am I afraid of?

My worst fear – that something bad would happen to one of my children – has already come true for both of them.  My daughter got cancer and my son was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty 9 1/2 years ago.

What a huge waste of time and effort fear is!  It didn’t change anything that has happened to them or to me.

God has used these difficult experiences to teach me many things.  One of them is to lay my worries and fears at God’s feet and leave them there.  He is the only one who can do anything about them.  The question is not ‘if’ something bad is going to happen to me again, the question is ‘when’.  My faith in God’s goodness has grown to the point that I’m prepared for the next struggle, not fearful.

It’s a fact that God loves me and wants the best for me.  He is faithful to walk beside me when bad things happen, giving me strength and helping me grow my trust in him.

Jesus said it thousands of years ago and it’s still true today – fear comes from a lack of faith.