Tag: trust

Living Our Faith Out Loud

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Think about the top official person of whatever you’re really interested in – the President of the United States, the Governor of your state, the Mayor of your city, the Commissioner of the National Football League :).  Imagine this person on TV announcing to everyone that ‘We are here today to give praise to the God of (your name).  (Your name) trusted in God and he came through for them.  So I am passing a new law that no one anywhere can say anything against this God.  For no other god can do what he did.”

This is bringing glory to God in a big way!  And this actually happened after Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego put their lives on the line in order to be faithful to God.Sept 7 2014 Because We Trust him

Very few of us get involved in a such a dramatic test of our faith.  But we have little tests all of the time.  Someone asks us a question where we could bring up God or not.  What to we do? Avoid the subject?  Not bring it up?  Or bring it up?  Let people who that we love God.

What do we choose?

As often happens when I write a blog like this, God challenged me 2 days ago about this same issue.  I was ordering a salad in the café in the office building where I work…I was in a hurry…lots of people I didn’t know standing around.  I often talk to the manager and he was taking my order.  When he was done, he asked me what plans I had for the weekend.

My plans this weekend were to be a group leader in an all-day discipleship training at church yesterday and go to church again today.   And fit in some time to get my hair done.  I was going to sound pretty ‘churchy’ if I shared my real plans, wasn’t I?  In front of all of these people?

I had already started this blog and I was immediately convicted about my second thoughts on sharing what I was really going to do.  So,  I told him the truth.  And he smiled and said he was planning to go to church Sunday, too.  How nice!  Now we have something more in common.

Little tests.  Small unexpected challenges to share what we’re REALLY doing or how we REALLY feel.

Please help us grow in being able to always live our Christian lives out loud, dear Father.

I Changed My Mind

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

King Zedekiah ordered his people to free all of their Hebrew slaves.  There were strict limitations defined in the Law of Moses which required the release of the Hebrew slaves after 7 years.

So the people let all of their Hebrews slaves go free and they went to the temple to renew their covenant with God.  They promised.

And then they changed their minds.August 14 2014 I changed my mind

They enslaved the Hebrews again causing God’s anger to burn.  As a result of their disobedience, God told them he would give them over to their enemies and that their towns would be abandoned….a wasteland.

They made a promise but then they changed their minds pretty quickly, didn’t they?  It sounds like they were barely back from the big ‘renewing our promise to God’ ceremony at the temple when they decided to break it.

Do you think it got a little difficult for them?  They lost all of their Hebrew slaves – who was going to do all of the work?

Do it themselves?

I don’t think so.

They had made a huge commitment to God without really thinking it through.  It looks like one of those ‘everybody is doing it’ scenarios which is followed by a ‘what have we done?’ reality.

Do we ever do this?  Make big promises or commitments to God only to change our mind when it gets real and it gets tough?

God promises that he will be there for us when it gets real and it gets tough.  He is our strength when we are weak.  We just need to ask.  We need to trust.

Nothing is impossible with God.

Thank you, dear Father.

Santa Claus is Not Coming to Town

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Many years ago, God opened my eyes to the fact that my relationship with him needed to improve – I was treating him a lot like Santa Claus.  I would create a long prayer list of things for myself and others.  Then I would metaphorically climb into his lap, fold my hands, shut my eyes and start down my list of ‘wants’.July 25 2014 Santa Claus

After I was done, I would jump down from his lap and go on my way – expecting that he’d give me what I asked for.  If he didn’t, I’d add it to my list again and repeat myself – telling God what I wanted to happen.  If it still didn’t happen, I would feel some frustration starting – why weren’t these things happening?

Jeremiah talks to us about Judah mistreating their relationship with God in his second chapter.  He tells Judah that they have turned their backs on God.  But, when they are in trouble, they call on him to save them.  Jeremiah asks them why they don’t call out for help to the gods they serve every day – the gods they obviously worship?

For us, these false gods could be a variety of things – money, success, relationships – whatever we spend most of our time and money on.  Jeremiah tells us that – if these are our gods, why don’t we go to them when we have a need?  And stop blaming the True God when we don’t get what we want.

I am so grateful that God opened my eyes to how I was treating him like Santa Claus.  I said I loved him – is this how I showed him that?  Is this how I wanted my relationship with him to be?

I decided to always start my prayers with thanking God and that has helped me grow a more loving relationship with him.  It reminds me of his years and years of faithfulness to me and I am reassured that everything in the future is also in his hands.  I can trust him.  Most of my requests now center around asking for God’s will in situations.  He wants the best for us and that’s what I want as well.  So that’s what I ask for.

Yes, God also tells us to pray specifically.  I love, love the example of the persistent widow and that’s my ‘go to’ process when something big is going down.  Even when I pray for specific things, I will add ‘your will be done’.  Because that’s what I really want.

And, when we pray for what is in God’s will, it always happens.

We can avoid all the worry and stress – God’s got this!

Thank you, dear Father!