Tag: Joy

The Rebellious

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Who is wise and discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – ‘But those who rebel stumble.’  Hosea 14:9.

How do the rebellious stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise as they walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple….yet profound.  When we do this, we are transformed.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Stumbling

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Who is wise and discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – But those who rebel stumble. Hosea 14:9.

How do they stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They put ‘stuff’ ahead of people and leave a trail of broken relationships. They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator and Savior will stumble.  And they will continue to stumble until they submit to God and get on his path.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise so they can walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple….yet profound.  When we do this, we are transformed, we make a difference.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.

With Me

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Every day…

Every situation…

Every trial…

Every joy…….

The Spirit of the LORD is with me.

In the Old Testament, there were times when God would give his Spirit to someone when he had a tough assignment for them.  We read in Judges that Caleb’s little brother, Othniel, became a judge for the Israelites.  God raised him up to deliver the Israelites from slavery to the King of Aram Naharaim.

“The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war.” Judges 3:10. God’s Spirit made Othniel strong and courageous.

As believers today, we live under the New Covenant with God.  Everything changed when God sent Jesus into the world to save us from eternal separation from God. Now, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of each of us when we accept the salvation Jesus freely offers to each of us and make him Lord of our lives.

Jesus is Lord of my life.  God’s Spirit is with me every minute of every day.  His Spirit wants to make me strong and courageous, too.

And loving,

joyful,

peaceful,

patient,

kind,

faithful,

gentle and self-controlled.

All of this is inside me – I just need to let God’s spirit have his way in my life.

If you are a believer, all of these great things are inside of you, too.  It’s time to nurture them and let the Spirit show.

Thank you for the awesome gift of your Spirit,  Abba Father.

The Rebellious

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Who is wise and discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – ‘But those who rebel stumble.’  Hosea 14:9.

How do the rebellious stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise as they walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple….yet profound.  When we do this, we are transformed.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.

He’s Cheering Me On

On By Judy GlasserIn April2 Comments

What does it mean to be ‘like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and who leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers.”? Psalm 1: 3.

This sounds really good.

I want to be like a tree planted by a stream – constantly being fed, never feeling empty. I had a time in my life when I was consumed by emptiness. Have you been there?

Would you like to see the fruit of a close relationship with Christ grow in your life every season? More peace, more joy, more patience, more self-control. In our lives, whatever we feed, grows. It’s our choice.

I want to avoid having my leaves wither – how can I live this marathon of faith well all the way to the end? No burnout, no wandering for me? If you’ve ever wandered you know why I’m trying to avoid it.

I don’t have to ask, I know you want to prosper. Are you looking to God for your prosperity? Or are you looking to money, fame or people’s acceptance? My definition of prosperity changed when I put God first in my life. Now I have an audience of One and my prosperity comes from things that money can’t buy.

God is very clear about how to become this tree planted planted by streams of water. Blessed are those “whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night.” Psalm 1: 2.

When God translates this in my brain I hear his encouragement, telling me to continue to read, study and memorize his Word. I’m in my 13th consecutive year of reading the entire Chronological Daily Bible and he’s telling me to keep it up, I’m on the right track. I just don’t read the Bible, I blog about it so I have to think about what I read and apply it to my life. I find his truth as it applies to my life truly ‘delightful’. It’s just what my soul is looking for. You are welcome to join me in reading the Bible every year and applying it to your life.

I also participate in a couple of different Bible studies every week so I’m meditating on his word on my own in the morning and several times ‘day and night’ with other people during the week.

God has given me a life-long goal of memorizing scripture. It’s took me over 6 years because I have a really terrible memory, but God and I partnered up and he has written 2 entire chapters of the book of James on my heart. He uses these words constantly to guide me and let me know he is right beside me. If you think you can’t memorize scripture, ask God to help you and he will prove you wrong.

No wonder I have lost that ’empty’ feeling I used to have! I’m blessed as I watch God grow his fruit in my life. I plan to be reading the entire Bible each year for the rest of my time here on earth so I can end this journey well.

And today, I can feel my Father God cheering me on. Can you hear his cheers, too?

Stumbling

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

Who is wise and discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – But those who rebel stumble.

How do they stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator and Savior will stumble.  And they will continue to stumble until they submit to God and get on his path.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise so they can walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple….yet profound.  When we do this, we are transformed, we make a difference.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.

With Me

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

Every day…

Every situation…

Every trial…

The Spirit of the LORD is with me.

In the Old Testament, there were times when God would give his Spirit to someone when he had a tough assignment for them.  We read in Judges that Caleb’s little brother, Othniel, became a judge for the Israelites.  God raised him up to deliver the Israelites from slavery to the King of Aram Naharaim.

“The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war.” Judges 3:10. God’s Spirit made Othniel strong and courageous.

As believers today, we live under the New Covenant with God.  Everything changed when God sent Jesus into the world to save us from eternal separation from God. Now, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of each of us when we accept the salvation Jesus freely offers to each of us and make him Lord of our lives.

Jesus is Lord of my life.  God’s Spirit is with me every minute of every day.  His Spirit wants to make me strong and courageous, too.

And loving,

joyful,

peaceful,

patient,

kind,

faithful,

gentle and self-controlled.

All of this is inside me – I just need to let God’s spirit have his way in my life.

If you are a believer, all of these great things are inside of you, too.  It’s time to nurture them and let the Spirit show.

Thank you for the awesome gift of your Spirit,  Abba Father.

It was loud!

On By Judy GlasserIn OctoberLeave a comment

When the wall around their city was finally finished, the people of Jerusalem rejoiced because ‘God had given them great joy.” Nehemiah 12:43.

Everyone celebrated!  All the men, all the women and all of the children were happy and they showed it.  We read in the Bible that the sound of Jerusalem’s celebration could be heard far away.

That’s really loud!!  They were so filled with joy that they couldn’t keep quiet.

And this is not unusual in the Bible – God’s people celebrated a lot!  They had joy!  They worshipped God!  They were loud!  When thousands of angels filled the heavens, singing for joy and praising God, they were very loud!

So where do we sometimes get the idea that our weekly church family celebrations and worship should be quiet?  There is certainly a time and place for reverence and meditation when we get together.

But there are also many reasons for joy and excitement and celebration as we worship together and are blessed.  Our traditions should enhance our worship, not restrain it.

Thousands of years ago, God’s people showed us how to express our joy, celebrate and worship God.

And it was loud!

Please give us joy, Abba Father!

His Breath

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Tired.

Dried out.

Lifeless.

Ever feel that way?

Do you feel that way now?

Good news!  God tells us through Ezekiel that he can bring us back to life.  He is able to breathe life back into our souls so that we can become alive in him again.

I know this is true because I’ve experienced it.

In my late 20’s I was what I call a ‘cultural Christian’.  I had loved God and believed in Jesus my whole life but my personal relationship with God was pretty non-existent at that time.  My family went to church and I sang in the choir.  I sat in the congregation on Sunday and commented on what a great sermon it was but I rarely remembered it past the parking lot.   I prayed – but I never listened.  I never watched for God’s answer.

I was too busy with all the other things I thought I wanted.  I had a great husband, two awesome kids, a good start on career, nice cars and our first house.  Everything was great, right?

Then why did I feel so anxious and lost and stressed all the time?  I had everything I thought I needed but my life still felt very empty.  If this is all there was, I didn’t want it.  It was all wayyyyyyy too much work.

My husband was going through a similar angst and he began to be discipled by a very Godly man.  As I watched, I was amazed to see my husband gradually find the joy and fulfillment that I was looking for.

Wow!  I never even considered that a relationship with God could be the answer to my emptiness.

So I opened up my heart and mind to God.  One of the pivotal steps I took was to become a member of a small group who was studying the Bible and getting serious about their relationships with God.

Through studying God’s word and experiencing the power of small group Bible studies, I started to hear God.  I began to know his voice.  And he challenged me to seriously put him first in my life.

No Way!  That was a crazy idea!  I already had a husband, kids, career, family, friends and church on my plate.  I was struggling every day not lose ‘me’ in all of that.

But I knew I had to try something.  I realized that my lack of purpose and joy wasn’t going to work long term.  The cracks that were starting to show up in my life were going to break wide open if I kept running on empty.

So I gradually started to put God first.

As I read and listened and opened up my heart to God, I began to feel the hole in my life start to fill up.  He breathed a fresh wind of his love and grace and strength into my soul.

I discovered that God wanted me to put him first in my life so he could help me with all the rest.  He has made me a better wife, a better mother, a better boss, a better sister and a better friend.  That’s what he does when we put him first.

God’s love has filled my life to the point that it overflows onto the people around me.  The two greatest commandments – loving God and loving others – are accomplished in our lives by doing the first one.   When we really love God with all our hearts, we experience so much of his love that it naturally runs over into the lives of the people around us.

All orchestrated by God as he breathes life deep into our souls.

There are no dry bones here.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Stumbling

On By Judy GlasserIn June4 Comments

Who is wise?  They will realize these things.

Who is discerning?  They will understand that God’s path is the right path and they will walk in it.

The book of Hosea ends with this truth – But those who rebel stumble.

How do they stumble?  They spend many hours on things with little or no ultimate value.  They spend a lot of money on things that provide little or no satisfaction.  They spend much energy looking for something that will complete them and give them a purpose when the Provider of these does not live on this earth.

Those who refuse to acknowledge God as Creator and Savior will stumble.  And they will continue to stumble until they submit to God and get on his path.

Meanwhile, God opens the eyes of the wise so they can walk with him.  There are still small stumbles but they know how to get back on the right path.

How do we walk right with God?  By loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul and loving others.  Simple……..yet profound.

When we walk with God, he completes us and gives us a purpose.

He also gives us joy.

Thank you, Abba Father.