Tag: its a journey

He Whispers

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

God often whispers to us.  And we don’t hear him because we fail to quiet our minds and quiet our hearts and quiet our lives so we can hear.June 5 2014

We wonder why he’s not answering our prayers.  We wonder why we feel like we’re confused – with no direction.  We feel a little lost.  Sometimes we feel a lot lost.

All of this time, God is whispering his guidance and his love into our ears.

If we are listening.

If we are still and can open up our ears with faith and trust that God is speaking.

Because he is.

Thank you, dear God.

 

Not An Option

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

King Jehoshaphat of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  He removed all evidence of false gods from the land.  He got rid of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes and he removed the high places and Asherah poles which were used to worship false gods.June 4 2014

Jehoshaphat sought the God of his father and followed God’s commands.  As a result, God made him very prosperous.

King Jehoshaphat didn’t stop there.  He sent officials and priests out to teach the people the commands of God.  It was not enough that the king was a good leader and that he followed God himself.  He understood that God’s word was for all of the people.  They all needed to know God and follow him.

Because of Jehoshaphat’s faithfulness, he became very wealthy and powerful.  God gave his kingdom a time of peace.

I have talked to some parents who have told we that they don’t want to force their beliefs upon their children.   They want their children to choose for themselves what to believe.

This is a very dangerous idea.  What they are really doing is handing Satan and his team an empty mind to play with and influence.  And they are not following the directions God gave to us over and over in his word to teach our children.

I was talking with a woman in church many years ago who was sad because her 10 year-old son wouldn’t come to church with her.  I told her that not going to church was not an option for my children.  I’m the parent, right?  So I decide what a 10 year-old does or does not do.  It’s different when they become adults – it becomes their decision.  And they make their decisions based on the truth that they were taught when they were kids.

Teaching our children and our grandchildren about God is not an option for those of us who believe.

 

 

 

The Two-By-Four

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

You wanted it, so I’m letting you have it.

This is what happened to the people of Judah when they stopped following God.  They chose false gods, they set up shrines with male prostitutes and they did the opposite of what they knew to be right.June 2 2014 consequences

So God let them go and experience the consequences of these choices.  “You have abandoned me; therefore I now abandon you to Shiskak.” who was the King of Egypt.

The people then repented and admitted to God that they were wrong so God relented and didn’t let the Egyptians destroy Judah.  But they did become subject to Shishek so that they could learn from their mistake.

God deals with us in much the same way today.  He lets us experience the consequences of our decisions so we can learn.

If we’re honest with ourselves, when things aren’t going well for us, we can often trace our current situation back to bad choices we have made.

Yes, God forgives us of our sins.  And, because he is a great father, he also teaches us lessons we need to learn.

One of my goals in life is to learn God’s lessons the first time so that he doesn’t have to keep teaching me the same lesson over and over.  Whenever we have the same type of issue consistently coming up in our lives, it’s a clear sign that we just aren’t learning.  We aren’t changing our behavior.  It’s been my observation that the issue will just keep growing and growing and growing until it becomes a two-by-four which hits us over the head and now we have to deal with it.  We have to quit avoiding it.  The issue becomes so large that we can no longer look the other way. That’s the two-by-four.  Most of the time, we had opportunities to deal with the issue when it was much smaller.  But we waited..we avoided…we ignored.

Dear Father, please help us learn BEFORE you have to hit us over the head with a two-by-four to get us our attention.

 

 

It All Connects

On By Judy GlasserIn May1 Comment

The wisest man who ever lived made a bad decision which led to another bad decision which caused him to make another bad decision.  These choices took him far from where God wanted him to be.May 27 2014

Marriages to foreign women were forbidden by God because these wives often had great influence with their husbands and would encourage them to worship foreign, false gods.  The culture at that time was filled with false gods of every kind.  The Israelites were the only ones worshipping the True God.  God wanted them to stay separate so that they stayed true to him.

Solomon made a  series of very unwise decisions by marrying a foreign wife and then a another and then another.  And it happened to him – his wives lured him away from the True God.  He started following the detestable gods of his wives.  He even built temples for these various false gods.  The wisest man in the world made some very unwise choices that caused him to become a fool.

It all connects.  The first decision led to the next which caused the next.  Solomon needed to avoid that first bad choice…..but he didn’t.  As a result, God ended David’s kingdom with Solomon.May 27 2014

Proverbs 20:26 reads, “A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them.”  Solomon didn’t winnow out the wicked, he married it.

Proverbs 4 tells us to avoid the path of the wicked, turn from it.  Wise words.  Words Solomon – and us – should follow.  If Solomon had done what he told others to do, his legacy would not be marred by his foolishness at the end of his life.

Solomon’s choices led to his own self-destruction.  His story challenges us to stand firm and strong on the truth of God all the way to the end….which is really only the beginning.

 

 

 

How Happy!

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

The Queen of Sheba travelled over 1200 miles on camels through a hot desert that was inhabited by roving groups of bandits just to check out King Solomon.  She had heard about his enormous wisdom and wealth.  Now she need to see it for herself.May 15b 2014

After spending a considerable amount of time with Solomon, she told him that he was even more wise than the reports she had heard.  ‘How happy your people must be!” she exclaimed and then she praised the God of Israel who had delighted in Solomon and made him king.

Whenever I read in the Bible about people who are wise, I am reminded of James 1 where God tells us that we only need to ask for wisdom and he will give it to us.

That’s what Solomon did – he asked for wisdom and God gave it to him.  God gave his so much wisdom that King Solomon is still acknowledged as the wisest man who ever lived.

Our Dear Heavenly Father.  Thank you for your word to us.  When we seek you, we always find you. 

Today we ask for wisdom, dear God. 

Wisdom to make the right choices.

Wisdom to say the right things.

Wisdom to set our priorities right so that our lives are about the things that you care about.

And we ask for an extra measure of your wisdom.  We ask that the people around us be positively affected by our wisdom.  We’d like them to be happy because of our influence in their lives just like the people who lived with Solomon and experienced his wisdom.

You have promised you will give us wisdom if we ask, so we are asking expectantly today. 

We know that you train us when you give us gifts like wisdom.  We are anticipating that you will put us in more situations where we need wisdom so that we can turn to you and learn. 

Please help us always to turn to you and learn, dear Father!

Thank you for your transforming power in our lives!

In the awesome name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

The Temple of God

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

King Solomon was very diligent in building the Temple of the Lord just like God has asked him to.  Much of what we read in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles is about all of the hard work and dedication it took to fulfill Solomon’s obligation.

During the dedication of the temple, Solomon knelt down before the altar in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands, and prayed for his people.  He prayed that, in every situation –

when anyone wronged their neighbor,May 15 2014

were in defeat,

in drought,

in famine,

in captivity,

in battle.

a stranger in a strange land,

that they would turn to God and that God would hear them.

Then Solomon asked God to arrive and come to his resting place.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven to consume the offerings and sacrifices laid on the altar in front of Solomon.  And the Glory of the Lord filled the Temple.

When Jesus came to earth, he told us that the temple was being moved.  The temple is now the heart of every believer.  Our body is the Temple of the Lord.  God dwells within us.

When we ask God to come and dwell inside of us, he does.  And his glory can fill our hearts as we learn to give him more and more room, more and more control.  All we need to do is ask.  We need to seek him.

Whenever we ask, he answers.  Whenever we seek him, we find him.

Come fill our hearts today with your glory, dear God!

He Wasn’t There

On By Judy GlasserIn May2 Comments

eeeeeecDSC_0443On my recent trip to Israel, we visited King David’s Tomb.

There were women there, praying as they leaned on the cover of his tomb.  The atmosphere was very quiet and respectful.  It was a dark, somber place.

Men covered their heads aseeeeeecDSC_0446 they went down the other side of the hall which led to the tomb and the women walked down the other side behind the divider.

Whatever remains of King David after these thousands of years was there.

ftdDSC_0558What a sharp contrast our visit to the Garden Tomb which is believed to be where Jesus was buried.  We saw the beautiful garden which is mentioned in John 19 and we saw the empty tomb.

The garden was sunny. The flowers bloomed. It was an oasis of peace and calm in the center of noisy, crowded, tension-filled Jerusalem.

And there were no remains of Jesus there – because he didn’t stay there.  He arose!  And he lives today!  He lives in the heart of each believer.

ftdDSC_0564There was no tomb that could hold him.  He had final victory over sin and death – forever – for each one of us!

Hallelujah!

 

 

Psalm 146, 2014

On By Judy GlasserIn May, UncategorizedLeave a comment

May 9 2014I praise the Lord!

I praise him with all that I am!

I will praise the Lord until the day I die.

I’ll be singing praises to him for as long as I live….here and in heaven.

We can’t put our trust in people – they can’t save us.  When they die, their lives are over, all of their plans are done.

When we trust in God, we are blessed.  He is our only hope.

God is the creator of everything and he will be faithful to us forever.

He cares about those who are held down and held back by others.  He feeds the hungry.

The Lord sets us free.

He helps us to recognize what is true.

The Lord helps those who are weighed down by problems and sadness.

The Lord loves those who live their lives according to his directions.

The Lord cares for those who don’t belong anywhere.  He is a father to the fatherless and a husband to widows.

He purposely messes up the plans of those who listen to the whispers of the Evil One.

The Lord will be our King forever!  For all generations!

I praise the Lord!

 

 

 

Psalm 42, 2014

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

May 7 a 2014I need you, dear God.

I am so empty when don’t feel you near me.

How can I get closer to you?

I am blinded by tears running down my face – day and night.

People say to me, ” What good is your God now?”

I remember how I used to run to you so easily and feel your protection.

I had so much joy!  I felt very blessed!  I loved being surrounded by people who love you!

Why am I so depressed?May 7b

I know what to do.  I need to turn back to you.  I need to revive the hope that I have because you have saved me and you are my God!

When I am most miserable, I need to remind myself of how you have always taken care of me.  You have always been faithful to me.

I need to feel your deep, endless love sweeping over me and through me again.

I know you love me.  I feel you near me at night.  When it’s dark…..and I’m praying.

But I still lose focus and I start complaining and whining.

When I focus on negative things, I start thinking that you have forgotten me.

I feel like the entire world is against me.  I am so sick and tired.  So helpless.  So useless……..

The taunts of the Evil One echo in my head – where is your God now?

I need to stop letting my mind take me there.  I need to focus on you, God, and spend as much time as possible with you.

You are my hope and salvation.

You will deliver me again!

Psalm 20, 2014

On By Judy GlasserIn MayLeave a comment

May the Lord always answer you when you call on him.May 6 2014

May he protect you.

May he send his mighty army of angels down from heaven to help you and support you.

May he remember all of the things you have done in his name and to his glory.

May he give you what you desire and make all of your plans succeed.

We all want to celebrate with you as God helps you succeed and have victory in the most important areas of your life.

May the Lord answer your prayers.

And this I know:

The Lord gives success to those who love him.

He answers them by using the mighty power in his hands.

Some people trust in themselves or in their bank account or in the stuff they own.

Not us!  We trust in God alone.

Others may fail, but not us.  Because God lives inside of us and we can stand firm!

Lord, give us victory in you when we call!  We’re watching for your answer!