Tag: God’s Word

He Has All the Answers

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

I don’t understand everything I read in the Bible. I will never understand everything I read in the Bible. It’s very interesting to watch God reveal different truths to me each time I read it. Was that always in there? How did I miss that before? When God does this, I have discovered that he is usually giving me an answer to something I have prayed about.

Daniel called God the Revealer of Mysteries.  As Daniel started to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream for him, he said , “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.” Daniel 2:29.

There are many mysteries in our lives that we would like to have answers for, aren’t there?

Why am I here?

Why is this happening?

What am I supposed to do?

Should I go through this door?

I have discovered that God has all the answers to these mysteries. When I trust him, he reveals what I need to know when I need to know it. If I’m feeling like I need an answer right now and I don’t have it, I focus all of my attention on God and he always responds. Often I realize that God was trying to give me direction but it was so different than what I expected that I had overlooked it.

I know I’m moving down the right path when I’m heading towards God.  I’m on the right road when I’m trusting that he will explain what I need to know when I need to know it.

As my trust in God grows, I have found that the number of mysteries in my life shrinks.  He is always speaking to me – loving me, guiding me and pointing out my next step just at the right time – not a day early.

The Revealer of Mysteries proves over and over that he has it all under control.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Find the Book

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

The Book of the Law. Moses’ book.

God’s words.

God tells us an encouraging story about King Josiah in 2 Chronicles.  King Josiah knew it was time to repair the temple of the Lord so he made it happen. While they were cleaning and fixing the temple, they discovered “the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses”.(34:14)  The book was read to the king who immediately tore his robes and asked the prophetess Huldah to tell him what God wanted to say to him.  Her message from God could be boiled down to three words, ‘disaster is coming’.

The king reacted immediately by having the Book read to all of the people and then leading them in recommitting to their relationship with God.   The king cleared out all of the idols from the temple along with the idolatrous priests.  He destroyed all of the places for idol worship and altars.  He got rid of the mediums and spiritists along with all other ‘detestable’ things.

When everything was done, they celebrated the Passover which had not been celebrated properly for hundreds of years.  Great job, King Josiah!

So what about me?  What about you?  Do we need to ‘find’ the book of the Lord?

Are there ‘things’ in our lives that we put a higher priority on than our relationship with God?  These are our idols.

Do we look to sources other than God for our guidance and direction?   How often to we check with Google on important things rather than checking with God?

Is our Bible sitting on the shelf more than its been sitting open on our lap?  Are we letting God transform our lives as we soak in his truth, not the lies that swirl around us?

King Josiah’s cleansing of the land of Judah was a high point in their history.  He heard God’s word, he listened and he obeyed.

King Josiah found the Book.  The book led him to God.  God led him to renewal and celebration.

I am in my 14th consecutive year of reading the entire Bible and I continue to experience this renewal and celebration as, each day, I let God’s truth guide me and fill my heart with peace, love and strength.

Is it time for some renewal and celebration in your life?

Maybe its time for you to find the Book.

Let Him In

On By Judy GlasserIn August2 Comments

“You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” says Jeremiah (12:2) as he talks to God.

He was talking about the people of Judah…..

but is he also describing you and me?

Do you talk about loving God while keeping your heart safely out of his reach?

Do I read God’s Word without letting his truth soak into my heart and mind so he can change me?

Have you experienced God touching your spirit and renewing your mind recently?  Today?  This week? This month?  This year?

Are you and I stuck on giving God lip service when what he really wants to do is totally transform our lives?

What will it take for us to open up our hearts…

take that next step…

stop just talking about God but sincerely turn over our lives to him,

and then watch him do something amazing with them?

Today is the day, dear Father.

Do What Needs to Be Done!

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Be prepared!  Get ready!

Stand up and do what needs to be done!

God gave these directions to Jeremiah thousands of years ago as he began his prophetic ministry.  God also gives these directions to you and me each day as we go about our lives.  Always be prepared to love God and love others.  Be ready to share our experiences with the living God with whoever will listen.  Be ready to speak the truth when we get an opportunity.  Stand up against the lies of our culture.    

God tells us that he will give us strength for the things he asks us to do.

I can’t do it on my own.  You can’t do it on your own.  Do you ever feel powerless?  I know I do.

Then I realize I feel that way because I am forgetting to plug into my power source –  God.  I forget to ask for and receive his help.  No wonder I feel powerless!

I need to remember each day to ask for God’s strength..

for his wisdom….

for his peace.

“For I am with you and will rescue you.” declares my LORD.  Jeremiah 1:19.

Please help me remember to ask, Abba Father.

The Work of His Hand

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

I am ‘becoming’ something.

We are all on the path to ‘somewhere’. I decide what I am becoming and where I’m going by my choices each day. I am going one way or another – I’m not standing still.  If I’m not doing anything new – not growing – then I am moving backward as the world moves forward around me.

When I put my life in my Father God’s hands, he is able to mold me into the person he created me to be.

When you put your life in our Father’s hands, he is able to mold you, too, into the person he created you to be.

Isaiah is very clear about this, ” Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are the work of your hand.” 64: 8.

Potter-at-Work1

When I let God change me and transform me, my life becomes a beautiful work of his hands.

I have watched God work in my life for many years – gradually changing my thinking and perspective so it more closely lines up with his.  I have been reading the entire Bible each year for the last 13 years and I continue to reap the rewards of committing this time and effort to my relationship with God.  The better I know his Word, the easier it is to hear God and let him mold me.  I look forward to many more years of God continuing to refine me – I am confident that his goal is to create a unique masterpiece of my life that brings glory to him.

My life – created by God.

Your life – created by God.

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

Our choice.

I choose you, Abba Father.

A Planting of the Lord

On By Judy GlasserIn July2 Comments

“They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,

a planting of the Lord,

a display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61: 3.

I want to be an Oak of Righteousness.  A planting of the Lord.

May my life display even a tiny portion of his splendor!

God points out to us in Isaiah 61 what it means to be an Oak of Righteousness.  As I read the beginning of this chapter, it relates directly to our culture today.

Today, God’s Oaks of Righteousness are leading the way in their own spheres of influence in helping to reverse the tide of moral decay of our culture. They are working to strengthen our families and are sharing the love and truth of God to the people around them. They are so dedicated to God’s work that they refuse to get distracted by the mess and confusion of the world around us.

God is calling each one of us who are serious about our faith to rise up and be an Oak of Righteousness where he has planted us.

Yes – I can point fingers at politicians and lawmakers.  That’s the easy way out – the blame game.

Sure – I can get upset.  I can say all kinds of things about how bad our culture has become – complain, complain.

But what part of this do I own? And what am I doing about it? One of the things I own is the story God has been writing in my life these last 7 years since my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty. When God told me to write a book last year, I did. And I published it on Amazon at the beginning of this year – “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love. This is the story of my son’s life, his death and my journey to find hope and a purpose after losing a child.

What are you doing about the part God has given you?

How often are you talking to God about it, asking him to point out your next step in making a difference?

As we obey, we become a solid planting of the Lord with our roots sunk deep into His truth.  God hates wrong-doing and injustice.  He righteously fights these battles using us when we are in line with him.

God promises that our obedience will bring us double portions of his blessing and everlasting joy.    He extends these blessings to our children (awesome) and tells us that we will be acknowledged as ‘the people the Lord has blessed’. (vs 9).

Amen, let it be so, Abba Father.

Valuable Time

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Sometimes I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of time today – or last week – or last year.

How much time did I waste watching TV? How much time did I waste worrying about tomorrow? Worrying about things that never happened? How much time have I wasted looking at my phone or IPad?

What about you? How much time have you wasted lately?

I am glad to know that there is one place in my life where no time is wasted. I know this for fact. When I sit with my Bible open on my lap reading God’s word, studying God’s Word, and listening to God as he helps me figure out how to apply his word to my life, not one second is wasted.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater; so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55: 10-11.

This is great news for all of us and especially ‘achievers’ like me. It is so awesome to know when God’s word goes into my mind, it achieves the purpose God has for it. Of course, I have freedom of choice so I have to choose to listen and I have to choose to obey.

It’s a huge confidence-builder for me to know that when I choose to open my eyes and heart to the word of God, he promises that he will accomplish his desires through me.

I love knowing that I’m not wasting a second of my time when I spend it with God.

I Am Like Him

On By Judy GlasserIn July2 Comments

I am created in the image of God,  I am like him.

But he is not like me.

I have found this to be a crucial truth to get straight in my brain so that I have the correct expectations of God. I have to apply this every day to my relationship with God so I can avoid frustrations and confusion.

God tells me through Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Isaiah 55:8.

God is perfectly holy, perfectly just, perfectly loving and always right.

I am farrrrrrrr from perfect.  I cannot judge God’s actions – whether they are right or wrong – based on what I think.  My thinking is very flawed.  It is self-centered, self-seeking and severely limited.  I don’t think like God.  I will never think like God.

So I submit to his will, his plan, his purpose.

I am totally confident in God’s goodness and his perfect love for me.  I know to the depths of my spirit that God wants the best for me.  Even though I will never understand how he thinks and why he has permitted a painful tragedy to happen in my life when my son was killed, I will trust God.  His ways are not my ways – his ways are perfect.

In response to this truth, I have decided that my way is to walk in trust and faithfulness to God for the rest of my days on this planet.  I have decided to live in gratitude for his free gift of redemption through Jesus.  I don’t question what God does or doesn’t do.  I don’t try to determine if he is right or wrong – I know he is right.  He is always walking beside me, loving me and caring for me, even when he is not doing what I think is best.  He knows better.

I trust you, Abba Father.

He is With Me

On By Judy GlasserIn July2 Comments

God has spoken very clearly to me through Isaiah 43:2 these last 7 years since my son, David Glasser, a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty. Here is my response –

When I am passing through the waters of grief...

*of disappointment…

*of disillusionment…

*of pain….

God is with me.

When I am passing through a river of tears…

*pierced by the shattered pieces of my broken heart.

*trying to figure out how to live with a huge hole in my life…

the river does not sweep over me.  God is with me.

When I am walking through the fire of anger…

* not happy with my reality…..

* trying to understand….

I am not burned.  God is with me.

I am passing through.  I’m not getting stuck in these places.  Everything that happens in my life has first gone through the hands of my Father God.  He has a purpose.

So I will trust him as I pass through the water, the river and the fire.

Thank you for walking closely beside me, Abba Father.

It Is Constant

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

I don’t understand people who tell me they don’t like change. Change has been constant in my life. How about you? Anything change lately?

I realized that change was going to be one of the continuous things in life pretty early on in this journey so I decided I was going to learn to like it. I adopted a perspective that change is good. Maybe not all good, but there would be parts of it that I was going to like.

When things changed, I also realized that I usually got rid of some of my least favorite things in my past situation. Nice!

I remember reading Isaiah 42:10 about 12 years ago when I was facing a big change. ” Sing to the LORD a new song,” God spoke to me, telling me he was giving me a new song to sing through this upcoming transition. My daughter had just announced her engagement so my family was changing – again. After their wedding, she and her new husband were moving to Sydney, Australia for a job opportunity.

So my new song was filled with gratefulness to God for her happiness, asking for blessings on their marriage and requesting help in growing my trust in His care for her as she moved so far way.

Then, before the wedding, my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and my new song to God was full of concern and questions along with words of confidence that He is always in control and nothing is impossible for him.

Since then, God has given me many ‘new songs’ as the seasons of my life have changed.

Seven years ago, my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty. My new song was full of grief and pain. But God helped me find hope in the journey and he has given the pain a purpose. A new song filled with a deeper understanding of God and his love and his truth has come out of the worst nightmare a parent can experience.

Just over 3 years ago, my husband and I moved out of Arizona to Denver. God gave me a new song filled with gratitude for being able to live close to my daughter and her family, praises to God for the beauty of the mountains and thankfulness for new friends.

Last year my husband was rushed to the hospital in the ambulance and the staff in the emergency room saved his life. My new song was filled with praise for God’s faithfulness and requests for strength as the next 6 months were a whirlwind of doctor’s visits and more procedures.

Most recently, God told me to write a book and he guided me through this new experience, stretching me and giving me the opportunity to tell the story He had given me. “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love” was published on Amazon this last February and has been a blessing to my life. So glad I did it.

As my life continues to change, I can count on my Father God to be there, giving me new songs.