Tag: God’s Word

Will I Step Out?

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

We want to see God move in our lives.

We pray.

We know he is on our side.

He walks with us and talks with us, and he tells us that we are his own – words from a great old hymn.

We ask him for his intervention in our lives and in the lives of others.

But how much do we trust him?

How far will we go to show that trust?

Often, in order for us to see God move in our lives, he leads us to a place where we need to step out in faith.

One of my favorite biblical illustrations of this truth is when the Israelites were finally ready to cross the Jordan river into the Promised Land for the first time.March 10 b 2016 step pout in faith

They had been waiting and planning for this for a very long time.

Joshua received these instructions from God, “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you’ (Joshua 3:11).

And, as soon as the priests who were carrying the ark set foot into the Jordan, ‘it’s waters flowing downstream will cut off and stand up like a heap.” (13).

The Bible also tells us that the Jordan was at flood stage.  It was not the quiet river it was when I was there 2 years ago (picture).gDSC_0585

The water was raging out of its banks.

And – notice – the priests holding the ark were going to have to set their feet into the Jordan before it would stop and part for them.

How much trust did this take?

They obviously trusted God enough because they stepped into the flooding river and had front-row seats in witnessing God perform a miracle.

God often asks the same thing of us today.

Yes, we want to see him move in our lives and in the lives of others.

Yes, we are often asking for a miracle.

Do we have enough trust to step out in faith before we see him move?  Before we witness a miracle?

Even when its scary?  Messy?  Different?

Please grow our trust in you, Abba Father.

Always on My Lips

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Do you want to be prosperous?

Successful?

God tells us exactly how to do this as we begin reading the book of Joshua.March 10 2016 I forget the name.

Here is our one direction for achieving success and prosperity:

Be careful to obey God –

  •  do not turn from him to the right or the left.
  • keep God’s words always on our lips, meditate on them day and night so we are careful to do them.

What does it look like in my life when I obey God?

It has to be about what God wants, not what I want.

When I do what God wants and it’s not something I want, then I am submitting.

As we grow closer to God, we become more aligned with what God wants and obeying becomes a little easier because we start to want more and more of the things God wants.

Meditating on God’s word has become easier for me as I memorize it.  We have to be thinking about it, repeating it and going over it several times daily in order for it to stick.  Lots of meditating on it going on!

And with God’s truth stuck in our minds – renewing our thoughts – we are well on our journey of increasing our obedience.

As we memorize God’s scripture, his words are always on our lips – transforming the things we say with those lips.

This is success.

This is prosperity.

Thank you, Abba Father.

A Warped and Crooked Generation

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Warped.

Crooked.

Moses used these words in Deuteronomy 32 to describe the Israelites thousands of years ago.

These are great words to use in describing our culture today.March 8 2016 a warped and crooked generation

Crooked – our culture doesn’t think anything is wrong unless it hurts someone….and then its only wrong if you get caught.

Warped – how many of the TV shows we have recorded on our DVRs would we watch if Jesus walked into our living room to watch it with us?

Crooked – we run up our credit cards to buy stuff we pile into our garages so the new car we bought with the $600 a month payment sits in the rain out on our driveway.

Warped – our culture is addicted to everything.  We’re looking to fill the holes in our heart with drugs, alcohol, shopping, TV, food, sports, exercising….you name it, we’re addicted to it.

We are a warped and crooked generation which desperately needs a Savior.

The great news is that our Savior has come!

He has paid the price.

And he wants to redeem us from our emptiness and get rid of the lies that fill our minds.

He came to find those who were lost….and make them whole.

And when we believe, when we ask Jesus to save us and lead us, our eternal relationship with him begins.

This is the Great News of Jesus Christ who came to save this warped and crooked generation.

Thank you, Jesus!

Sword Fighting Class – Garbage in, Garbage Out

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

God is doing a great job of helping us memorize Romans 8!

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set us free from the law of sin and death.  Because what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of man to be a sin sacrifice.   And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law be met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

The next verse is:

“ Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what nature desires but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires.”Romans 8; 1-9

What are we focused on?

What do we fill our minds with?

Garbage in, garbage out.

If we fill our minds with the garbage so prevalent in our culture, our thoughts will not be pleasing to God.  Our thoughts become our attitudes and our attitudes become our actions.

That’s just the way it is.

So, if we want to change our actions, we have to change what we’re thinking about.  We have to fill our minds with God’s truth – every day.

This is exactly the reason why God commands us to memorize his word.  Because it fills our minds – renewing our thinking, changing our attitude and transforming our actions.

We’re on the right path when we’re spending time and effort on memorizing God’s word.

It’s a great thing to remember as we struggle through some of these long, complicated verses.

God is pleased and he blesses our efforts.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

Do Not Be Afraid

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

What keeps you up at night?

What are you afraid of?

Some of us have a long list of things we are afraid of.  Some of us often find our minds filled with fear.  This world can be a scary place if that’s what we focus on.

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. ‘Do not be afraid’.  Moses said this to Joshua twice and God said it again in the first several verses of Deuteronomy 31.March 8 2016 a do not be afraid

Why repeat these same words so many times right in a row?

It’s pretty obvious that Joshua had a lot to be afraid of.

He was taking over leadership of the Israelite nation from Moses.  Moses!  This is the man who personally talked with God many times.   That’s a hard act to follow!

Joshua was being commanded to lead the Israelites into taking over land which was full of fortified cities and over-sized warriors.  Scary.

And we all know how fickle the Israelites were – they were bound to create all kinds of issues a long the way.  Have you heard the phrase, “herding cats?”

A large amount of courage was needed.

So this command – this message – acknowledged the challenges ahead for Joshua.  It also encouraged him because God promised he would be with Joshua.  God would go before him.  God would do this, Joshua just needed to be strong and courageous as he obeyed.

God gives us this same promise to us today.

What are you afraid of?

God tells us he will fight our battles.  He will never leave us.

We just need to be strong and courageous while we obey.

Thank you for taking away our fear,  Abba Father.

 

 

Choose Life

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Choose to be filled with joy.

Choose to be unafraid.March 7 2016 choose life

Choose to be content.

Choose to love God.

Choose to listen to His voice.

Choose to hold onto God’s promises.

Choose to obey Him so that he can shower his blessings upon you.

God tells us in Deuteronomy 30 that doing this is not too difficult or out of our reach.

It is not beyond our capability.

The Word is near us.  The Holy Spirit helps us put the truth in our hearts and minds so we may obey it.

God wants us to obey because, through our obedience, he is able to bless us.

He desires to be delighted by us.

It’s our choice.

We choose you, Abba Father.

I Will Send the Rain

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

If we were farmers, the right amount of rain for our crops would be critical to the amount of our harvest.

I grew up in rural Iowa and we would have standing-room-only extra prayer meetings in church if we needed rain for the crops.  We had no irrigation.

God provided the rain.March 6 I will send the rain

Today, we may not be farmers but we still depend on God to provide what we need.  He provides the jobs we have in order to buy food to eat and a place to sleep.  He provides his Word to us so he can guide us in making choices and decisions.

God provides the air we breath.  If he stopped, we would…….stop.

In Leviticus 26, God reminds us that, if we obey him, we will experience his blessings of obedience.  Notice this very important thing – obedience comes BEFORE the blessing.

After we obey, the rain (God’s blessing) will come down making our crops grow (our work and efforts will be successful).  The harvest (joy,  love, meaning) will be plentiful.

We will live safely in our land.

He will fight our enemies for us and bring peace to our lives.

When we obey, God will look upon us with favor.

And he will walk beside us every day.

He has promised and he always keeps his promises, so it will happen – after we obey.

Thank you for your blessing on our obedience, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class- Grace

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We’ve begun the long journey of memorizing Romans 8.  We know God is going with us on this trek and he will make this possible.Romans 8; 1-9

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the power the spirit set me free from the power of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by sinful man, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin sacrifice.”

And the next verse:

“And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit.”

Jesus paid the price.

The requirements of the law were met.

We don’t fully understand the righteousness of God so its hard for us to grasp the need for this sacrifice.  I was once told this ‘parable’ that helped me –

A man murdered another man so he was brought in front of the judge.  The judge found him guilty and gave him the death penalty.  The requirements of the law needed to be met.  But then the judge took off his robe and went down to stand next to the man.   The judge told the man he was free.  The judge was going to take the punishment for man’s crime.

This is grace.  Unmerited.  Given to a guilty person.  A person who should be paying the price doesn’t have to.  Because they have a Savior.

This is me.

This is you.

Thank you, Jesus.

 

 

His Daughters

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

This was a time when women were ‘sold’ to men in marriage.  Women did not own land or livestock  – they were considered part of a man’s belongings and wealth.

But God breaks through all of this false thinking thousands of years ago in Numbers 27 by letting Zelophehad’s daughters inherit their father’s land.March 2 2016 his daughters

God revealed what he really thought about the current cultural norms of treating women less than men.  That wasn’t how he saw these things.

Sure, the head of the family clan (male) didn’t like it.

So the women were instructed to marry within their clan so that the land would stay within their group.

Just imagine this – 5 young unmarried women who would normally lack any kind of position in the community are now land owners.  God’s love for his daughters is  shining through – challenging this old culture.

And, I’m sure, as landowners, these young women had no trouble finding husbands.  I wonder if these marriages were a little different because they began in a more equal position?

The culture did not treat women equally, but God did.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

My Perfect Father

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

He’s my Heavenly Father.

He takes care of me perfectly.

He wants only the best for me – he has promised this and he always keeps his promises.

Absolutely nothing is impossible for him to do.

He has proven this to me many times – especially in the area of parenting.

Being good parents is the most impossible thing my husband and I have ever done.  It’s only God’s power and grace and intervention in our lives that caused us to now have 2 mature, educated and successful adult kids.birthday

I was reminded of all the ways God is my perfect parent recently as my husband and I cared for my 5 year-old grandson and almost 2 year-old grand-daughter for 8 days while their parents cruised through the Caribbean.

It’s been almost 30 years since our kids were this age.

As I placed several bandages on my grandson’s knee after he fell off his new bike, I remembered all the times in my adult life when my Heavenly Father had comforted my hurts and my emotional bruises.

Oh, how He loves me!grandma loves me

Whenever my granddaughter gave me ‘the look’ and shrieked ‘no!’, I was reminded of my own rebellious No’s to my Heavenly Father.  But he never turned away.  His patience with me was longer than my rebellion.

Oh, how He loves me!

We struggled to keep up with feeding their hungry bellies.  They are growing very fast and we continually failed to understand the half-formed words behind the pointing fingers of our 2 year-old grand-daughter.  What did she want?  I was reminded of my Father’s perfect provision for me all of my life.   He knows exactly what I need.

Oh, how He loves me!eating

As I looked into the blue eyes of my granddaughter which look hauntingly like my own, I am reminded of how God has uniquely shaped each one of us and yet he has attached us to each other in beautiful ways.  Sometimes he connects us by the color of our eyes – creating a bond which goes straight to my heart.

Oh, how He loves me!

We were reminded that our Perfect Father does not grow tired of caring for us.  As our week of taking care of our grand darlings rolled on, we had less and less energy.   There was a lot of sighing going on at my house after our kids came back from their trip and we dragged our bodies home – so thankful for a quiet place to rest.eden with stroller

Oh, how He loves us!

We were rewarded many times every day during that week with happy smiles that came our way and even tiny ‘thank you’s’ from the little one who has such a big personality but only knows a couple of words.

Oh, how He loves us!

Our Perfect Father.

He has showered his blessing on us with precious memories of extra moments spent with our awesome granddarlings.

Oh, how He loves us!