Tag: God’s Word

It Has Been Decided

On By Judy GlasserIn September31 Comments

As many of you know, our son, David, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty on May 19, 2016.  These last 4 months have been the most difficult and painful time of my life.

One of the ways God has comforted me is through this truth – ” A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Job 14:5.dave-and-grandma-at-northwestern

God has already decided which day will be the last day of your life here on earth and mine.

Knowing this helped me let go of my mother when she passed away 11 years ago.  We had a very close relationship and she was my role-model for how a Christian woman lives her life faithful to God – all the way to her last breath here on earth.  I realized, if God wanted her in heaven with him, then that’s what I wanted for her.

Ten years ago I found myself in ICU with twelve blood clots in my lungs – a life-threatening situation.  God told me clearly that I wasn’t going to die from that and I didn’t – even though 5 doctors told me the blood clots should have killed me.davey-and-grandma-rolls

It just wasn’t my day.

I know that God has reasons for picking May 19 as Davey’s final day here on earth. I may never understand those reasons but I trust God.   And, since God wants him in heaven, that’s what I want for him.

Knowing that this date was determined before Davey was born helps me avoid needless regrets…like –

  • I wish he hadn’t gone on that call.davey-and-mom
    • It wouldn’t have mattered.  This was his day.
  • I wish he hadn’t gone to work that day.
    • It would have happened no matter what he was doing.
  • I wish he hadn’t been a police officer.
    • He was born to be a police officer and he died honorably, serving his community and doing what he loved to do.  He wouldn’t have wanted to live or die any other way.

It was decided.  There is no ‘wishing’ something else had happened.  God decreed the number of Davey’s days here on earth and then he took Davey home.

Now, standing a foundation of God’s love and strength and grace, the rest of us are left on the earth to figure out how to move forward.  We need to figure out why we’re still here – what is God’s purpose for keeping us here?  And then we need to do it….until the day arrives that is already decided for us.

Meanwhile, through the tears, we focus on loving God and loving each other.

A bigger chunk of my heart is now in heaven with you, Abba Father.

He Is Roaming the Earth

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Why is there so much evil in the world?

sept-8-2016-he-is-roaming-the-earthWhy are our families being torn apart?

Why are addictions the plague of our century?

Why are innocent children being abused and killed?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Satan takes the credit for all of this in the first chapter of Job.

He tells God that he just got back from “roaming the earth, going back and forth on it.” (vs 7 )

And Satan leaves a wide path of destruction wherever he goes.

That’s what we’re seeing – the work of Satan.

Satan smiles whenever we lie.

He smiles when we do anything that wrecks a relationship or a marriage.

He smiles when we are impatient.  (Oww!  These all relate to me but this one hits the bullseye).

He smiles when we are self-centered and focus on #1 (ourselves).

Satan smiles when he can do anything to distract us from our relationship with God.  He’ll even bring good things into our lives if they will lure us away from God.

Satan is roaming……

today…..

everyday…..

going back and forth……

back and forth.

We need a full set of your spiritual armor each day, Abba Father.

 

Then There Were Four

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

It’s a well-known Biblical account.September 4 2016 then there were 4

Three men refused to worship the evil king’s golden idol so the king threw them into a blazing furnace.  The furnace was so hot that it killed the solders who got close enough to throw the men in.

Here’s a detail of the story that I missed until I started reading the entire Bible.   Not sure why I missed it – maybe it was left out of the children’s version of this story 🙂

The king looked into the furnace and saw 4 men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed.

4 men – not 3.

The king called the 4th person an angel.  I’ve heard others say it was Jesus.  Whoever it was, he was sent by God to protect Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in a personal way – they walked in the fire together.

There wasn’t a long magic wand waved in heaven.

The furnace didn’t break when they were thrown it.

The fire didn’t turn to ice.

God had an unimaginable number of ways he could have saved these 3 men.

And he chose to send his rescuer personally into the fire with them.

To walk with them- just like he walks with us when we are in the middle of a fire in our lives.

Our fires can look like failure….

grief……

disease……

disappointment….

betrayal…..

and so much more.

Our God walks in the fire with us – protecting us and guiding us.

We often don’t get right out of the fire.  We end up living in it and walking around in it for awhile.

When we remain faithful in the fire, God uses this time to grow our character, grow our perseverance and grow our faith.

In our lives, God doesn’t always take the fire away – but he gives us peace in the fire.  And he gives us opportunities to share with others what we are learning about God’s faithfulness as we walk together in the fire.

Great is your faithfulness, oh God, my Father.

Rebuilt and Replaced

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

The bright light of restoration regularly weaves itself through the bloodshed and violence of the Old Testament.

God’s restoration…..of us.Sept 2 2016 a new spirit - this one

Ezekiel’s words of condemnation  for idolatry and rebelliousness suddenly morph into a love story (Chapter 36) as God promises to sprinkle water on us to clean us from our impurities.

God promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit.  He promised the Israelites that he would put his spirit in them.   Today, he does that immediately when we accept salvation through Jesus Christ.  God’s Spirit lives in us, helping us to obey when we listen and respond to his directions.

God promises to rebuild the things that are ruined in our lives.  He promises that the desolation of our souls will be replaced by a fruitful, beautiful garden like the Garden of Eden.  The destroyed pieces of our lives will come back alive.sept 2 2016 a new spirit b

Then those around us will know “that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.  I, the LORD, have spoken and I will do it.” (vs 36).

The ruined rebuilt.

The desolation replaced.

Does any of this sound good to you?

Thank you for your restoring love and grace, Abba Father.

No Action

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

We hear the words,

and sing the songs,

and enjoy the beautiful music.

Do we put the message we hear into practice?

Do we just attend church?  Or are we participating in worship?  There is a big difference.

Have our hearts changed and shifted towards God when we leave our worship service?

If not…..why did we go?

God tells us in Ezekiel 33 that he expects us to hear his words and put them into practice. Sept 1 2016 no action

He tells Ezekiel that the Israelites didn’t care about what he had to say to them.  They just showed up to hear Ezekiel because he played his instrument well and he sang love songs with his beautiful voice.

God requires more than that from us.  His Word is designed to transform us into the people he created us to be.  When we open our hearts and actually put his word into action, God’s redeeming power moves in our lives and changes us.

Today is a good day for us to put God’s Word into action.

Please move us closer to you, Abba Father.

Great Faithfulness

On By Judy GlasserIn August, September2 Comments

We are not consumed by our sadness…

or our problems..

or the chaos in our world.

Because God is always loving and caring for us.

One of my special joys in reading through the Bible every year is when we read words that were used in the old famous hymns.  I was raised in a musical, conservative Christian home so these hymns bring back precious memories.

We read in Lamentations 3 that God promises to be faithful to us.  August 30 2016 Great Faithfulness

And, as the sun rises each morning, I am reminded of his promises.

His compassions never fail – we receive more grace and love every morning.

He is never late ( even though it can sometimes appear that way to us).

He is never tired.

He is never distracted.

Whenever doubts about God enter my mind, all I have to do is look back.

And I see God’s faithfulness to me day after day, year after year.

Even when I wandered, God never left me.

He never stopped loving me and caring for me.

Just like he cares for me today.

And I know I can count on him to love me and care for me all of the rest of the days I walk on this earth…and on into heaven.

Great is your faithfulness, oh God, my Father!

A Desolate Wasteland

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Empty…

Deserted…

Dark.

There are times when our souls feel like desolate wastelands.

The light is gone.

The joy is gone.

Why did I wake up this morning?

God promises in Jeremiah 33 and many other places in his Word that he can restore our joy and gladness.  He can make us prosper again… when we turn back to him and let him guide us where we should go.August 22 2016 a desolate wasteland

He has promised, so it will happen when we do our part.

And then we will add our voices to the voices of the Israelites thousands of years ago as they brought their thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying,

“Give thanks to the LORD Almighty,

for the LORD is good;

his love endures forever.”

Thank you for giving us your eternal love, Abba Father.

Our Heart Condition

On By Judy GlasserIn August3 Comments

What’s the condition of my heart?

Is it soft?

Is it big?

What’s the condition of your’s?

Writing about the size of our hearts reminds me of one of the Glasser Family’s Christmas traditions.  We watch ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” every year.  The Grinch was very concerned about the size of his heart so he often measured it.  He wanted a small heart so he wouldn’t feel anything or care about anybody else.

What about us?

Do we want a small heart?  A hard heart?August 16 c 2016 Heart Conditions.

God talks to us often about the condition of our hearts.  In Ezekiel 11, God promises restoration if we will repent –

  •  if we will turn from focusing on what we want,
  • if we will turn away from our need for control,
  • if we will turn away from the things that keep us so busy that we don’t have time for God,
  • if we will turn away from whatever is holding us back from loving God with all our heart, soul and mind.

When we turn to God, he promises he will give us an undivided heart – a heart centered on him and his love and his grace.  He promises he will bring a new wind of his spirit into our lives – giving us purpose and meaning.  He promises to replace our heart of stone which is rebellious and self-centered with a heart devoted to obeying God.

When we do this, we are his people and he is our God.

When we’re committed to God, our hearts are big and open to things God loves and cares about.

What is the condition of your heart?

Please grow our hearts, Abba Father.

Full of Radiance

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

We all like to hear good news.

A baby is born.

We got a raise.

Our child got an A in school.

Good news.

There is not better news than the Good News Jesus brought to us when he came to earth.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.” John 3:16.

Great news!  News that needs to be shared!

Jesus tells the disciples and us several times in the New Testament that he came to make us fishers of men.

That’s why we’re here.

Jesus’ last direction to us before he went home to heaven was to Go!

Go and make disciples.

Of people of all nations.

Teaching them everything he has taught us.

And he will be with us through the end of our life here on earth so he can walk with us into heaven.

Amen!

Towards the end of every service at my church, the Good News is shared. Everyone hearing this Good News is given the opportunity to accept God’s gift of salvation.

During this time, I can feel the cloud of God’s presence filling our church.

Yes, God is there all of the time.

But, as his plan for saving us from eternal death is explained, I can feel an extra sense of his presence.  I feel God’s blessings coming down, covering us with his approval as his Good News spreads out over my church family.

Ezekiel describes something much like this in his 10th chapter. “The cloud filled the temple and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.”August 16 2016 c filled with grace

The Good News of God’s grace radiates through my church family every service.

Redemption.

Salvation.

Love.

Purpose.

The glory of the LORD is never more evident than when we are doing what he has called us to do.

The Good News.

Who can we share it with today?

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

 

In the Darkness

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

What are the things we do in secret – when no one is around to see?

What do we do when we’re sure we won’t ‘get caught’?

How often do we lie to ‘cover-up’ something we did but we don’t want to held accountable for it?

These are the things – and there are many more – that we do in the darkness.

Always bad choices – that’s why we do them in the darkness, in secret.  We hope these things never come out into the light.

But God sees.

He knows everything that is done in the darkness.

God reminds us of this in the 8th chapter of Ezekiel as we read the account of how God supernaturally brought Ezekiel to Jerusalem to show him the elders of Israel who are standing in the darkness as they worship all of their small gods.August 17 2016 in the darkness

Who did they think they were fooling?

Then they say, “The LORD does not see us and the LORD as forsaken the land.” (vs 12)  )

They knew better.  Who were they trying to convince?

The LORD saw it all.

He had not forgotten about them.  He never forgot about them.

They were the ones who had turned away from God to worship these worthless idols made by man’s hands.

And they chose to do this in the darkness.

They knew it was wrong so they tried to blame God.

But blaming God just doesn’t work.

He is perfect.

He is God and we are not.

He sees all the things we do in secret – all the things we do in the darkness.

And he loves us in spite of all of it.

He has forgiven it all for all time through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are forgiven and we are redeemed from the darkness.  We still might wander sometimes, but God is always waiting and wanting us to turn back to him.

God has placed us on this planet to help him push back the darkness, not to be part of it.

God never leaves us.

And he sees everything.

What would our lives look like if we stopped tiptoeing into the darkness?

Thank you for the gift of your grace, Abba Father.