Tag: Jesus

What Makes Him Happy?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Being ‘good enough’ is not my goal.  Getting my act together is not my goal.  Checking all the boxes – keeping busy with ‘God’ stuff – is not my goal.

The historical account of Jesus’ baptism tells me what pleases God, what makes him happy.

I do.

If you have put your faith in Jesus, then you do, too.

When I trusted in Jesus and was redeemed by his sacrifice on the cross, I was adopted by God and became one of his precious daughters.  ‘Joint heirs with Jesus’ – as an old hymn describes it.  What Jesus did for me makes me ‘good enough’.

While reading about Jesus’ baptism, I realize a very important fact. Jesus hadn’t started his ministry yet.  He hadn’t DONE anything huge for God.  “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17.

Let’s take a moment to let that soak in, my brothers and sisters.  Jesus was God’s son and God was pleased with him – before his ministry began.  Before Jesus did any miracles.  Before he did any teaching. During this spectacular moment when all three parts of our Triune God met on earth, the only thing our Father God wanted to say was how much he loved his son, Jesus.

Accepting salvation through Jesus makes you and I children of God and, as with his son, Jesus, God is pleased with us. It’s not what anything we do, it’s all about who we are.

Feel his smile shining down on you.

Feel his unconditional love.

Feel his forgiveness for any guilt that is weighing heavy on your shoulders.

Feel his peace flow over you in a supernatural way.

Feel his strength flow through you as he walks right beside you each day.

Let his joy fill your heart today.

Don’t DO anything.  Just feel the pleasure he has as he looks at you.  He sees himself in you.  We are all created in his image, yet each one of us reflects different aspects of him – making us all uniquely his.

I am important to God.  He has made me special.

You are very important to him.  He has made you special.

And he is pleased.

Thank you, Abba Father.

What Do I Really Believe?

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Do I really believe God loves me unconditionally?

Do I really believe God is all-powerful and that nothing is impossible for him?

Do I really believe that God wants the best for me and is working everything out for my good?

I bet some of these same thoughts and questions must have been going through Mary’s mind as the Angel Gabriel told her she was going to give birth to a son who would be a great king and whose kingdom would never end.

Mary was a virgin.  She was unmarried.

What did she really believe?  Was she willing to accept this immense, supernatural assignment for her life with the calm assurance that God would keep all of his promises to her?

Mary’s faith was strong and sure.  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered, “May your word to me be fulfilled.”  Luke 1:38.

Right answer, Mary!

Does Mary’s response to God challenge you?  It definitely challenges me.

God has given me an extremely painful road to travel following the death of my son, David Glasser, a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty May 18, 2016.

It’s a very dark, grief-filled road with lots of hazards.

Do I believe that God can work even this evil and horrible event out for my good?  That’s a tough question.

After many conversations with God,  my answer is yes.

But the good that will come from this will be based on God’s point of view, not mine.   You can probably imagine my perspective – I want my son, Davey, to still be here on earth, living less than 2 miles from me, dropping by later with his son to pick up my husband so they can all go to Home Depot like they used to do at least once a week.

That will never happen again.

God’s perspective is focused on eternity and he is teaching me some lessons I never wanted to learn about focusing myself on eternity as well.  I am realizing that people getting the chance to hear the messages of Davey’s legacy of love is a win for God because Davey loved God and shared his faith regularly.  The opportunities we are getting to share God’s love with others because of what happened to us is a win for God.  Any chance I get to tell my story of God’s faithfulness to me and to my family through this tragedy is a win for God.  A book I published a book on Amazon with the rest of this story, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love”, is a win for God.

As long as God is winning – I’m good.  I’ll submit.  I’ll trust.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Luke 1: 46 – 47.

Dark Is Not the Opposite of Light

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

Wow, this is a dark time in our country, isn’t it?

Disrespect, discord, distrust, disgruntled, discrimination, discontented, discouraged. The ‘dis-es’ are one of the biggest pandemics infecting our culture today.

Do you find it hard not to get sucked into the darkness?

I do.

Until…

I look to the Light.

Love, peace, forgiveness and strength come from the Light and his name is Jesus. When I focus on Jesus, the darkness fades away. Have you tried focusing on Jesus when the darkness overwhelms you?

There are times that I forget darkness is not the opposite of light, it is the absence of light. When I let the Light of the World fill my mind and heart, the darkness is pushed away. Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

It can be very hard to focus on Jesus in the blackest part of the night when worries and fear creep in.  I have learned to fill my mind with praise songs when the worrying starts and the darkness threatens. Remember – darkness is the absence of light. When I let the words and the melodies of some of my favorite praise songs repeat over and over in my mind, my thoughts become filled with the Light. It doesn’t take very long before my fears and concerns are replaced by reminders of Jesus’ love and care for me. He brings peace and security…..

and sleep.

Go ahead and try it.

His Light shines in the darkness.

He is Here

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

I recently watched the first episode of ‘The Chosen’ again. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch it because I usually don’t like the movie if I’ve read the book. And I read the entire Bible every year.

So I started streaming it with critical eyes and my hand ready to turn it off if it was wrong and not representing my Father well. The first episode was about Mary who was possessed by many demons. I don’t know about you, but Satan turns my stomach. The Evil One is so real to me that it was very hard to watch Mary struggle with the demons on the screen. The characters in the show were trying to help her and I kept saying in my head with my stomach churning while watching this, “When is Jesus going to show up?”

I just finished reading the Old Testament in the Chronological Bible for the 15th time. It ended at a time that the Israelites had turned back to God and recommitted to following him. But the last 9 1/2 months of reading have been full of stories of people turning their back on God, disobeying him, and worshipping weird, worthless idols. The Old Testament ends with the faithful people saying, “When is the Messiah going to show up?”

The good news for us is that Jesus has already ‘showed up’. Over 2 thousand years ago he came to earth and sacrificed his life so we can have a personal relationship with God that starts here and continues on into eternity in heaven. After Jesus died for us and raised himself back to life before going back to heaven, he send his Spirit here to live inside all those who put their faith in him.

Jesus is here. His Spirit is alive here.

As I write that, I feel such a relief! Because when Jesus showed up for Mary in the “The Chosen”, he sent all the demons away and she transformed in a beautiful, happy woman who committed her life to serving Jesus. Jesus made all the difference. As I’ve continued to watch this program, I saw Mary wander away, back to her demons. Do we ever wander? But Jesus pursued her again and she turned back to him, just like we need to do when we get lost.

Knowing Jesus is here and he never leaves me gives me relief as I finish reading the Old Testament which is filled with stories of the Israelite’s lack of faith and hundreds of years of wavering commitment. When we choose to put our faith in him, his Spirit can help us remain faithful and committed. Jesus makes all the difference.

I even feel relieved when I look around at all the issues in our current culture. What a mess! Evil is revered and rampant. Important values like respect and integrity are disappearing from our culture. Ignoring God and his truth is at an all time high – even in our churches.

We know Jesus is here. He is in control.

Jesus makes all the difference today and every day.

This is the Good Part

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When we want something to happen,

and it’s going to be good,

and today isn’t that great,

but we have to wait.  It’s hard.

The Old Testament of the Bible ended on a high point of the Israelites turning back to God, listening to him and trying to obey.  Then came a 400-year break in God’s Word to us.

We know the Israelites continued on with their lives during that time. They were waiting….

expecting the Messiah to show up. How long were they going to have to wait?

I’m reading and blogging through the Daily Chronological Bible which is re-organized so it follows the actual timeline that things happened.  I started reading “In the beginning” in Genesis on January 1. I’m just now starting to read the New Testament and its October.  So 3/4 of the Bible is the Old Testament.  If three-quarters of what God wants to reveal to us is in the Old Testament, then I’m very glad I’ve been reading and studying the Old Testament every year for the last 15 years. 

After spending 3/4 of the year reading the Old Testament, I have a better understanding of how badly the world at that time needed Jesus.  My anticipation of the coming Messiah rises as I read over and over again of the Israelites turning away from God, getting lost in idol worship, paying the consequences and repenting.  Then they get their spiritual act together – but just for a short time until they start wandering again.

Oh, they had a serious need for a savior!

It was hard to wait.

You and I live under the New Covenant with God.  The Messiah has come.  There is no more waiting.  Jesus was sent to earth to offer free salvation to everyone who would put their faith in him.  His arms are wide open to everyone. And it’s really clear right now that our culture needs saving just as badly as the Israelites did. So many people around us are choosing the dark, the disrespect, the dishonesty, the disturbing lack of personal accountability.

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The last 1/4 of the Bible is so much easier to read than the Old Testament because Jesus’ love, grace, truth and light shines brightly out of the New Testament.  Jesus is our role-model for how God wants us to live our lives here on earth. He lived his life full of grace and truth – a perfect balance of both which is a huge challenge for the rest of us.

Hope arrives in the form of a little baby who grows up to save us all from the condemnation we have earned by our self-centeredness, lack of forgiveness, need for control and judgement of others – just to list a few of our issues.

A smile spreads across my face as I begin to read the New Testament – the rest of the story – for the 15th time.

No more waiting.   The Messiah has come.  This is the really good part.

I love you, Jesus.

Test Me

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

I would normally tell you from experience that it’s not a good idea to test God. God wants us to have faith in him and trust him, not test him.

With one exception.

There is one place in the Bible where God says, “Test me”.

He knows all the issues we have with money – it quickly becomes our god, we always want more, we’re willing to sacrifice time with him and our families to get it, we have trouble giving generously, we get in such deep debt that we think we can’t give and the list goes on. 

God says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10.

I have attended a couple of different churches who sponsor a 90 day challenge for giving to God.  People tithe for 90 days – no cheating because nothing is hidden from God – and they watch God move in their finances.  If they don’t see God taking care of their finances and blessing them, they get their money back.

Nobody has ever asked for their money back because God always moves.  I love it!  Test him!

And you will find out what those of us that have committed to tithing have found out – the refunds, checks for overpayment and unexpected credit to our accounts start rolling in.   Regular stories like this –

Several years ago, I was told that my dental insurance wasn’t going to cover a big portion of my bill so I paid it. On my next visit, the medical assistant looked at me with surprise when she handed me back a check for $900. She told that insurance NEVER covers this part of the procedure but they did for me. It was Christmas time and that check helped us give a special blessing to some of the ministries we support. Thank you, God!

Last year, the air conditioner in our home started making a very loud and worrying noise. Our house is over 17 years old and the air conditioner is original to the house so you know what we thought – time for a new air conditioner. Nope! It was fixed for the cost of a service call. I always give God the credit for anything like this that happens to us because I know he’s watching over us.

We just had another example. We sent in our tax return this year and didn’t see our check come in the mail with a smallish refund. So we contacted the IRS- our return had been mutilated on its journey. We faxed another copy in. We just got a notice that there was an ‘error’ on the addition and our refund tripled. My husband worked in taxes for 20 years. We’re confident that there was no error in what we sent in. This is just another example of unexpected blessings from God.

You would hear these kinds of stories from anyone who has committed to tithe.  God is faithful and we can count on him to respond when we are generous givers. I also believe God moves in how often our cars break down and how quickly appliances stop working. If we are stingy with God, don’t be surprised with high car repair bills and appliances that keep having problems. I talked to a couple who told me something they owned broke every Monday, absolutely every Monday, for several months – until they started tithing. Then nothing broke again for a very long time, and never on a Monday.

Through the years, my husband and I have given two of our older cars to charity because we know God will bless us more for that than what we could sell them for.  We donated a 2 year-old refrigerator to a church mission for the same reason.  When we give something away to bless others that is ‘worth something’, God knows.

When you and I faithfully tithe, we are putting our finances under the umbrella of God’s blessing.  When we do that, he not only blesses our finances, he pours other blessings into our lives as well.  These are things that money can’t buy – like joy, love and purpose.  And more.

So much more pours out that it fills us up and starts to spill over to the people around us.  The windows of heaven open up for us when we get our money in line with God.  The more we give, the more we have.  That’s God’s math.  We cannot outgive God.

If you don’t have any of these stories, go ahead and test God!  I know what will happen.

It’s Time

On By Judy GlasserIn October, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“For such a time as this”.  God challenges me with these words as I read the story of Esther in the Bible.

Now.  My next step.  Today.

Esther’s story is a very good example to me of how God orchestrates opportunities and invites me to be a part of what he is already doing.  Queen Esther faced the possibility of being killed if she stood up for her people, the Jews.  Mordecai, her uncle, told her, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (vs 4:14)  So Esther asked all of the Jews to pray and fast with her for three days before going to the king.  God gave her the wisdom and courage to risk her life and save her people.

For such a time as this.

I would be missing an important point if I thought this is the only opportunity God ever gave Esther.  There were many more, this is just the one he told us about because it’s a significant example of how he worked to complete his will through her.

And how he wants to complete his will through me.

And through you.

Today.

For such a time as this.

Today I will be given opportunities to partner with God in what he is accomplishing in this world.  He has made it clear to me that this blog is one of my assignments.  So I continue reading the Bible every year, listening to him and sharing with you what he has said to me.  And I’ll do that until he tells me to stop.

I encourage you to read the Bible yourself because God may have different things to tell you.  Before you start, ask God to open your eyes and heart to what he has to say to you.  Then listen as you read and stop when something interests you.  Meditate on that scripture to determine how that applies to your life.  Is God telling you to do something, say something, or change something?  You will see God move in your life when you obey.

There is a reason I’m still breathing today.

There’s a reason you’re still breathing.

For such a time as this.

Open our eyes, Abba Father.

Do You See It?

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

There’s a light.

When you are talking with a person who you know has a close relationship with God, can you see the light of Jesus shining out of them? I have some people in my life that regularly shine His light in their lives. I see it, I feel it.

That’s one of my goals – to let the light of Jesus and the love of Jesus shine out of my life. Sometimes when I’m talking with someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus yet, I can see in their eyes that they are wondering what’s different about me. They are feeling something, seeing something that they don’t understand.

They are seeing the light.

Don’t get me wrong, the light and love of Jesus is not always shining out of my life. I have a ways to go on making this a daily reality. But – there are times when I get out of the way and let Jesus shine.

I am amazed as I read Daniel’s story about getting thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel did not obey the decree King Darius made regarding not praying to anyone or anything but the King for 30 days. Daniel prayed to the One True God, Maker of Heaven and Earth every day and refused to stop. King Darius was forced to throw Daniel into lion’s den. The King didn’t want to. He knew there was something special about Daniel. But the king had to keep his word and Daniel was thrown in. Darius was unable to sleep so he got up early the next morning and hurried to the lion’s den.

“When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, be able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight.” Dan 6:19 – 22.

The king was overjoyed. He was also impressed with Daniel’s God. God’s light was shining out of Daniel and the king could see it. So the king send a decree to his entire kingdom telling his people to have fear and reverence for the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God and he endures forever;

his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.

He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:25-27.

How awesome!

May your light shine out of us, Abba Father, so others may know you and praise your name.

My Special Possession – The Story Continues

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Do you have a special possession?

If someone asked me that, I would have to think awhile because I’m not very attached to “things”.   I’d probably say the ring that my mother left to me when she went home to heaven is special to me. It became invaluable to me after she was gone.

My own wedding ring is also important to me. It symbolizes over 44 years of love and commitment between my husband and I. Every five years we changed or added to my ring so when I look at it, I see the history of us building a marriage that has lasted through many storms. After our son who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty, I added some blue sapphires onto my wedding ring in honor and remembrance of a great son and the awesome man he grew up to be.

Precious.

My eyes were opened to my real answer to that question several years ago as I was reading what God says in Ezekiel 44, ” I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I will be their possession.” God was all they needed.  God took care of them and he didn’t want them to be distracted by other possessions.

Wow!  This applies to me!  God takes care of me and provides for me.  He doesn’t want me to be distracted by possessions. My relationship with God is my most prized possession.  I can’t imagine life without him.  There is nothing I own –  my mother’s ring and my ring included – that gives me the love, joy and strength that God gives me.  Nothing else gives me the forgiveness and freedom that only comes from God.

Yes, God is my special possession.  My relationship with him is so much more precious and perfect than anything I could ever buy or own.

Many of you read this blog several years ago when I initially wrote it. It amazes me to look back and see how God was preparing me through his Word for something that was going to happen.

Four years ago my wedding ring was stolen. One of the stones on the ring was loose so the jeweler sent the ring in to fix the stone before I lost it. The ring disappeared on the way.

I lost the whole ring. Gone. Over 40 years of building this ring with my husband stolen from me. Over 40 years of never taking the ring off except at night because I didn’t want to lose it. I had one spot and one spot only I put it if it wasn’t on my finger. I never put it in my pocket, I never put it by the sink. I knew the easiest way to lose it was to take it off so I didn’t, I just cleaned it regularly.

I would have been devastated when I got the call that it was stolen if I had not already worked through this truth about my most special possession. God reminded me that he was still walking beside me and would never leave me. His love and care and grace can never be stolen away like my ring was.

The jeweler replaced my ring with a very nice ring that looks just like my original one.

The story doesn’t end there. Two years ago my ring disappeared. I woke up one morning and it wasn’t where it was supposed to be! It wasn’t in the one place where I always put it at night. I really had no where else to look so I looked everywhere – 3 or 4 times. I was sad but I had already decided it wasn’t my most precious possession. I had a feeling it was somewhere – it wasn’t gone. So every time I thought about it, I would ask God to bring it back to me. I knew he knew exactly where it was.

Four months later, my ring showed up in one of the places where I had looked 3 or 4 times. I don’t know where it was for 4 months and I don’t know how it got into the place I found it because it wasn’t there before. I’ll probably never know. But I know WHO brought it back to me and I am forever grateful.

Now my ring not only symbolizes 44 years of marriage to me, it also symbolizes a whole lifetime of God’s faithfulness. My ring reminds me every day that my relationship with God is my most precious possession

and that relationship can never be taken away from me.

Exiled

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

You may heard this famous verse from Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, ” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 29:11.

What an awesome promise!  We love to print it on plaques and hang it on our walls.

But did you realize that this promise was originally made to the Israelites who had been exiled by God to Babylon?  God let the King of Babylon capture Jerusalem and take the Israelites away from their homes.  Right before his promise concerning his good plans for them, God told Israel through Jeremiah that they would be in exile for 70 years.

70 years.

This meant that many of them would die in Babylon – never going back to Jerusalem. The Israelites had been ripped away from the homes they had expected to live in for the rest of their lives.  They were now living in a foreign land – exiled – and many of them would die far from their home in Jerusalem.

Do you ever feel like you have been exiled?

I have.

I do.

The life I expected to live was suddenly snatched away from me when my son, David Glasser who was a Phoenix Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty 9 1/2 years ago.  My world has changed so drastically that sometimes it feels like I am now living in a foreign land.  I’m exiled far from what I thought the rest of my life was going to look like before Davey died.

And today, God is saying to me – and maybe to you – that I will continue to live in this foreign place until he comes to take me home.  While I’m here, he has plans for me.  He is giving me hope and a purpose.

After his initial famous promise in Jeremiah, God gives us more promises.  He tells us that when we pray, he will listen.  When we diligently look for him, we will find him.

I know God always keeps his promises – that’s a fact.  I have discovered that reading his Word, absorbing what he is saying to me and growing my trust in him gives me the strength and peace I need for each day as I live out the rest of my days…

here in exile.