Tag: God’s Word

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!

 

Do Not Follow the Crowd

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

This is easier said than done.

We read these words of wisdom in Exodus 23 where God is directing us to tell the truth and give a fair testimony in a lawsuit.Feb 28 2016 do no followe the crowd

But these words are also a great description of how Jesus lived his life on earth hundreds of years later.

Counter-culture.

It didn’t matter to Jesus what the current religious cultural norms were.

He knew the truth.

He WAS the Truth.

He lived out the truth despite what ‘the crowd’ was doing.

And the crowd despised him for it.

Are we  willing to live our lives according to God’s truth without concern about what everyone else is doing?

It’s not easy.

Many years ago I was in a group of people who were all listening to one man explain how he ‘got over’ on his insurance company by falsifying information on a report and getting reimbursed for something that wasn’t covered by the insurance.

Really?  No wonder our insurance rates are so high!

I could tell that some of the people in the crowd were very interested in the details…….maybe they could get a ‘free check’ as well?  The peer pressure was significant so I didn’t speak up.

Later, I wasn’t happy about the fact that I didn’t say anything.  Some people understand silence as agreement.  And I didn’t agree.

Years later, a man I worked with shared how he ‘got over’ on the airlines by combining different tickets and ‘bending’ the rules.  He suggested this to our department’s leadership team as a tactic for saving money.

I realized that, if the crowd accepted this, I would be expected to do it.

So I explained that I would not be able to lie to the airlines in order to save money.

There was a moment of silence…….

and then we decided not to use this tactic.

It was uncomfortable.

And I had to deal with an ‘attitude’ from this on man whenever integrity topics came up and we disagreed.

But I was very glad I spoke up.  I’m very glad I didn’t go along with the crowd.

It’s not comfortable and there are consequences.

But Jesus role-modelled this for us.  He showed us how to do it.

Now its up to us to stand up to the crowd.  To speak the truth in love.  To offer a different perspective.  And then to handle the resulting awkward situation with confidence and maturity.

Because the crowd doesn’t like someone who puts truth over popular opinion.

But God does.

And his opinion is the only one that matters.

Thank you for showing us your Truth, Abba Father.

 

Blessed

On By Judy GlasserIn February1 Comment

We are blessed.

You, Oh God, watch over us.

You provide.feb 24 2016 blessed

You protect.

You teach.

And you show your love for us.

We feel you smiling down on our lives every day.

You shower your grace upon us.

We always have your attention – it never wanders.

You bless us with your peace.

And your peace is not like the fleeting feelings of peace we may experience here on earth.

Your peace quiets our souls and dispels our worry.

You remove our anxiety.

You place our feet once again on the Solid Rock of our Salvation.

And we are blessed.

Thank you, Abba Father, for the blessing of this benediction you gave to Aaron centuries ago.  

 

Who is Coming to Dinner?

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

One of my favorite hobbies is reading.

And I read a lot.feb 22 2016 fellowship with God

But I’ve never read a book more than once because, when I know the ending, there is no motivation for me to read the book.

The only exception to this is the Bible.  I am on my 6th time of completely reading the Bible, cover to cover and I am amazed at all of the new things God is still teaching me.  I love how God speaks so clearly through his Word.  The fact that I know the end of the Bible gives me peace and joy and confidence.  I love getting to the end where Jesus says he is coming again and then starting over “In the beginning”.

I am excited about the things God has to show me in 2016.  And I love sharing some of those thoughts with you.

Let’s face it.  If you’re like me, I like the historical accounts of the people in the Bible – Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and especially Joseph’s interesting relationship with God.

Numbers and Leviticus are much harder to read and try get something from.

But God always reveals tidbits about himself to me when I persevere through these chapters.

Like today – Leviticus tells us all about the various festivals the Israelites were supposed to celebrate and their required offerings.

Honestly, I used to skip a bunch of these chapters the first couple of times I read through the Bible because all the splashing of blood stuff and directions for animal parts turned me off.

Now, God points out to me pieces of his relationship with the Israelites that increase my understanding of him and what he desires from me.

Today, he pointed out the Fellowship offerings that the Israelites were to give him.  These offerings were given to praise God and to show their gratitude for what he had done for them.

They would all eat the meat and bread of their offering together like they were eating a meal with God.

A meal with God.

How would something like that work for us?

Instead of just praying grace over our food at the beginning of the meal, what would our meal be like if we dedicated the food to God in thankfulness for what he has done for us and then we eat the meal with him?

Maybe we should try it?

Dear Abba Father, Would you like to come to dinner?

 

Sword Fighting Class – For God So Loved the World

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are just starting the long trek of memorizing Romans 8.  I know God has some special things to reveal to us as we meditate on these words by saying them over and over and over.

‘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 me free from the law of sin and death.”

And this week we add the next verse,Romans 8; 1-9

“For 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 sinful man to be a sin offering.”

For God so loved the world…..

The law was never going to make us righteous.  It just pointed out how unrighteous we are.  How much we need a Savior.

There is a righteousness and a holiness and a justice part of God that demanded payment for our sins.  But we were never going to be able to pay that debt because of our rebellion and sin.

So God sent Jesus to die for us.

And God adopted us as his children.

For God so loved us.

Thank you, Abba Father.