Tag: God’s Word

How Did I Get Here?

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Calamity upon calamity.

Rumor upon rumor.

Wealth that does not satisfy the owner’s hunger.

Lost crowds of people seeking peace in vain.

Cities filled with violence.

Are these today’s headlines?

Yes.  And they are also the headlines that Ezekiel prophesied for the people of Israel as they faced destruction and exile.August 16 2016 then they will know

The plans and schemes of men had brought them to this place and now they were experiencing the consequences of their decisions.

Just like we do

  • when we choose to do things our way.
  • when we rebel and disobey.
  • when we are too stubborn to repent and turn back to God.

But then we don’t like the results.

The calamity.

The lack of fulfillment.

The absence of peace in our lives.

If we’re wise, we figure out the absence of peace in our lives is a result of the absence of a real relationship with God.

When our choices have taken us to a place we don’t want to be, there is only one good choice left.

To choose God.

To turn away from ourselves and turn to him.

Then we will find him.  And know him.

And we’ll like the consequences of this choice – real peace and real love and real forgiveness.

We just have to make the choice.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Trusting in Lies

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Our culture is full of lies.

We are constantly barraged with wrong information, manipulated ‘facts’ and skewed perspectives.

We truly can’t just believe what anybody tells us.

This is why I am so determined to build my life on the truth of God….and not what people/the media tells me.

I need to read and hear the truth from God through his Word myself.

As we read through Jeremiah, we see him dealing with many false prophets.  These prophets are saying they have heard a word from God but God tells Jeremiah that he didn’t send them.August 2016 trusting the lies

The reality is that our pastors and religious teachers can do the same thing.  They can tell us ‘truth’ in the name of God but it isn’t from God.

This is a scary thought.   How do I know if my pastors and teachers are speaking God’s truth?

I’ll know if its God’s truth when I know what God has said in his word.

Everything we hear – even from our pastors and teachers – needs to be put through the filter of what we know to be God’s truth.

We know it because we read it, we study it, we memorize it, we meditate on it and we pray in line with it.

I need to know the truth so I don’t believe the lies.

What about you?

Please open our eyes to your truth, Abba Father.

 

We Stop Too Soon

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

We love reading God’s promise that he has a plan for us – plans to prosper us, to give us hope and a future.

Awesome!  We’re feeling great as we read this in Jeremiah 29.August 11 a 2016 we stop too soon

But, if we stop there, we stop too soon.

Because God goes on in the next verses to tell us HOW he is going to do this.  He goes on to tell us our part of this plan.

He tells us that, when we call on him, when we come and pray to him, he will listen.

When we seek him with all of our hearts, we will find him and he will fulfill his plans to prosper us.

He will give us hope.

He will give us a future.

God has a part in this plan and we have a part.

Too often we focus on God’s part and fail to do our part.

Or we can just become lukewarm about doing our part……and then wonder why we have such a unfulfilling relationship with God.

Let’s ask ourselves a tough question today – are we faithfully doing our part of God’s plan?

What would our lives look like if we were seeking God with all of our hearts?

Are there changes that need to be made?

Please open our eyes, Abba Father.

 

So Many Mysteries

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

We are surrounded by mysteries –

things we don’t understand.

Some of them we can figure out…..

and others we will forever remain a mystery to us.August 8 2016 mysteries a

Daniel calls God the ‘revealer of mysteries’.August 8 2016 mysteries b

How appropriate!

God knows everything.  Nothing is a mystery to him.

As we grow our relationship with God by studying his word and talking with him, he begins to reveal some of the simpler mysteries to us.  We can begin to understand more of why he created us.  His purpose for putting us here on earth becomes more clear.

And – a big one – we gradually figure out who is really in control.

Not us – no matter how hard we try.

God is so huge and unfathomable that we will never understand all of his mysteries.

Its comforting to know that God knows and he’s in charge.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Not Everybody

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

It may seem like everybody’s morals and ethics are disintegrating today.  It may seem like nobody has any respect for anyone anymore.

If you feel that way, you are probably watching too much “news” on TV and on-line.

What you are hearing about and seeing is not ‘everybody’.

There is a solid core of people in our country that still have morals.

And respect for others.

And integrity.

In Jeremiah 35, God tells us about the Rebakites who were obeying all of the commands of their ancestors while, all around them, the general culture of the Israelites was rapidly decaying into idol worship and disobedience.August 7 2016 not everybody

The Rebakites were standing their ground and refusing to jump on the popular band wagon of rebellion and selfishness.

The unfaithful.

The faithful.

Which group are you in?

Please give us wisdom, Abba Father.

Knowing God

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Sometimes we can be pretty proud of ourselves when we reach a goal, get a promotion, or get special recognition.

We worked hard.

We persevered.

And we like to make sure people know about it.  We might  get a little boastful.

In Jeremiah 9, God tells that the one thing we should boast about is our knowledge of God.  July 29 2016 knowing God

I find this interesting because, the more I know about God, the more I realize how much more there is to know about him.  My 3.5 pound brain just can’t handle the reality of an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the Universe.

Don’t ask me to explain the Trinity – my definition will fall very short of how it actually works.  Don’t ask me how Jesus could be fully God and fully human while he was here on earth – I will have to say that I don’t know.  Don’t ask me about the end times.  I’m hoping either I’m in heaven by then or that there is such a thing as the Rapture and it happens before any tribulation.

But I can boast about how awesome God is.  How faithful he is to me.  How gracious and loving.

God goes on to say in Jeremiah that he is the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness here on earth.

“For in these I delight.” (vs 24)

How does God exercise kindness, justice and righteousness here?

Through us…his children.

We are his hands and feet.

Our reason for living is fulfilling God’s purpose for us here on earth.

His will be done.

And he accomplishes his will through us…

  • when we’re tuned in and listening.
  • when we obey.

When we tell other people about God’s love and grace, we are boasting about the right things.  We are helping to push back the darkness when we spread the light of Jesus.

So let’s get serious about our assignment!

It’s why we’re still here.

We love you, Abba Father.

Which Way?

On By Judy GlasserIn August1 Comment

Which way are we going – forward or backward?

Some of us are stuck in the past and we’re going backwards.

Others of us don’t want to change and, as the world changes around us, we are automatically going backwards.

Many of us would like to be going forward but we’re often not sure what that means.  What does going forward look like for me?  For you?  How do we make that happen?

Jeremiah tells us in his 7th chapter that obeying God is moving forward.July 28 2016 which way

When we stop focusing on ourselves and ignore our stubborn inclinations of rebellion to God, we can start moving forward.

Paying attention to God and his truth + applying his truth to our lives + letting God transform us = moving forward.

When we stay in line with God, we can’t go backwards.  God changes us.  He renews our minds.  He continues to redeem more and more of our thoughts and our actions as we walk closely with him.

When we obey God, we are moving forward.

Into his light.

Into his love.

Thank you, Abba Father. 

Where do we go?

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Where do we go when we’re in trouble?

Who do we turn to when something bad happens to us?

Most of us will turn to God at these times.  Even if we’ve never prayed before, we will often give it a try when the situation is bad enough.

When we’re in big trouble, we find it’s worth a couple of minutes to float up a prayer or 2, asking God to save us.

God tells us in Jeremiah 2 that the Israelites were doing the same thing.  The people had turned their backs on God – until they got into trouble.  Then they would ask God to save them from their terrible situation.July 25 2016 who do we go to

Why do people do this?

Because underneath all the lies that have been fed into our brains, we recognize our Creator.

We sense his power and activity in our world.

Even when we know nothing else about him, we hear his voice in our heads.  We call it our ‘conscience’.  But our conscience has a name – God.

And, it’s true that his voice gets more and more faint the farther we get from God.

Even so, when we’re in trouble, when we’re in a situation where we have no control, we know who does.

And we naturally turn to him.

If that’s the only time we go to God, we are really missing it!

We are missing the strength he can give us to live our lives with purpose everyday.

We miss the love God can shower on us each day as he walks closely beside us.

We miss the grace God has for us as we make mistakes, learn from them and grow.

We miss the joy God can give us as he fills our lives with his truth and light.

We miss the wisdom God can give us so can make good decisions – choosing the best path for our lives.

If you are missing any of these things in your life, today is a good day to turn your face towards God and grow your daily personal relationship with him.

He will still be there when you’re in trouble.  He will actually be closer and you’ll be able to hear him better.

And you won’t be missing all of the blessings he has for you each day.

Today is a great day to make that decision.

You have nothing to lose.

We love you, Abba Father.

 

We Are Becoming

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

We are all ‘becoming’ something.

We are all on the path to ‘somewhere’.

We are deciding what to become and where to go by our choices each day.

We are going one way or another – we aren’t standing still.  If we’re not doing anything new, not making any changes, then we are becoming ‘more’ of what we have been.

Isaiah compares us to clay in his 64th chapter.Potter-at-Work1

When we put our lives in God’s hands, he becomes our potter – molding us into the people he created us to be.

When we let God change us and transform us, we become the work of his hands.

If we let him, he continues to refine us throughout our lives – creating a unique masterpiece.

Our life.

Created by God.

Will we be molded  and shaped by the master’s hands?

Our choice.

We choose you, Abba Father.

What are we doing?

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

It’s hard to avoid all of the craziness going on in our world today.

Hatred, greed and immorality are plagues sweeping across our country.

As a culture, we are busy doing the total opposite of what God tells us to do in Isaiah 58.July 19 aa 2016 what are we doing

God tells us our days should be filled with:

– feeding the hungry.

– providing shelter for those who don’t have any.

– clothing the naked.

– taking care of our families.

– righteously fighting injustice and oppression.

When we do these things, God promises that our light will shine and we will be healed.  He promises to bless us and hear us when we call.July 19 2016 this one b

God tells us to stop finger-pointing and malicious talk.  When we ‘spend ourselves’ on the needs of the hungry and oppressed, our light will shine out of the darkness around us.  When we line up our lives with God’s purposes, he satisfies our needs and gives us strength.

” You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (vs 11 ).

I want to be one of God’s well-watered gardens.

Do you?

Please guide our actions so we are in line with you, Abba Father.