Tag: truth

Branded

On By Judy GlasserIn August2 Comments

The truth is etched onto my brain,

it’s written on my heart.

God’s truth has forever changed me.

You and I are the ‘created ones’.  God is the ‘Uncreated One’. He was here before the beginning and he will be here forever.  He created us to live in a relationship with him but that was broken by our rebellion and sin. That’s one of the reasons why the Old Testament is filled with so much violence and gore.  That’s why there was continual conflict and strife between God and humans in the Old Testament.

Sin was in the middle of everything – messing it up.

But before the beginning of time, God already had a plan to deal with our relationship problem.  He was sending Jesus, his Son, to pay the price of all our sins for all time.  Because of what Jesus did through his death and resurrection, those of us who accept salvation through him can now have a personal relationship with God which begins here on earth and extends into eternity.

In Jeremiah, God describes the New Testament relationship that is coming – the New Testament relationship with him that we now have the privilege to choose.  “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31: 33.

When I put my faith in Jesus, his Spirit came to live inside of me. I hear the Holy Spirit talking to me, guiding me, correcting me. When the Holy Spirit challenged me to get serious about memorizing scripture, I told him I would try but he was going to have to do the main work because I have a terrible memory.

I saw the Spirit move in my life every day as I got out my index cards with the whole first chapter of James written on them. Yes, I have a terrible memory – except when it comes to God’s Word. It took a couple of years but I eventually memorized James 1 and 2 and now have begun to work on James 3.

I never understood why memorizing scripture was so important to God – until I got serious about it. Now I understand. He talks to me all the time using his words that I have etched upon my heart. This has been especially important when a crisis happens and I need guidance ‘right now’! There are other times when I’m having an important conversation with someone who is seeking God and I don’t have a Bible handy or time to look something up. God speaks in my brain – reminding me of scriptures I have memorized.

I’ve had Christians tell me they don’t tell other people about their relationship with Jesus because they are worried that they won’t have the words. I can tell you for a fact, if you memorized scripture you would have the words. The Holy Spirit highlights the words I need in my head so I can share them.

My life is branded by God’s truth.

I am God’s.

Thank you, Abba Father.

After, Not Before

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

How often do I decide to make a positive change in my life- and then I don’t follow-through?  I change my mind.  It gets too hard.

How often does this happen?

More often than I like.  What about you?

How often are we convicted by the Holy Spirit to make an adjustment in order to better line our lives up with God’s will?  And, after we try, we give up.  When it gets tough, we go back to our old habits.

We are very fickle.  When it gets hard, we opt out of the difficult changes that are needed and decide to go back to being comfortable.

In Jeremiah 34, we read about the Israelites doing this same thing.  The Law of Moses had restricted how long Hebrews could be slaves.  When Jeremiah pointed out that fact that the Israelites had not been following this law,  they saw that they were doing this wrong thing.  And they let their slaves go free.

“But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.” (vs 11)

God doesn’t tell us the details of why the Israelites changed their minds – but we can read between the lines.

Life got hard.  The Israelites had to get their own water and cook their own food.  They had to clean and do all of the dirty work the slaves had been doing.

Obeying the law was just too difficult so they decided to disobey and go back to the comfortable life they had before they were convicted of their sin.

And they missed the blessings that come after we obey.

God blesses obedience.  He has blessings lined up, waiting for us……if we’ll go through the tough part of obeying.

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When I do the things that the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do, I feel the satisfaction that comes with partnering with God in his plan.  I feel the contentment and satisfaction of living my life in line with God.  I also experience with wonder of God’s supernatural love and strength and peace.  These are blessings from God.

The blessings that only come after I obey.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Maybe

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

Maybe we will all understand.

Maybe we will turn away from our next bad choice and turn back to him.

This is what God wants for us. This is what God wanted for the people of Judah when he had Baruch write down all of the words he had given to Jeremiah.  “Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”

God wants to forgive us.

He wants us to know him

– to feel his love.

– experience his peace.

– live in his joy.

– rely on his strength for each day.

– and anticipate all of the good things he has planned for us tomorrow.

God wants all of this to happen in our lives.  That’s why he had his wisdom and guidance for us written down in the Bible.

I believe that God does not ‘inflicts disaster’ on those that have put their faith in Jesus. But God does let us pay the consequences for our bad decisions hoping that we will learn to turn away from bad behavior. He also lets us experience the negative things that happen from living in a broken, sin-filled world. It’s a great reminder that this is not our home. God walks beside us through all of our negative consequences and situations, loving us, teaching us and helping us mature in our faith.

As my Bible lies open on my lap with my mind actively seeking God, his truth is soaking into my soul, changing me, renewing me. He is helping me make make better choices. He is guiding me through the mess and the lies of the culture around me. His Spirit is alive inside of me, filling the ‘God spot’ within my soul and making me whole.

God hoped that the people of Judah would understand. Maybe this would help them decide to turn away from their sin and turn back to him.

God wants this same thing to happen today.

Right now.

For you and I.

As we read and respond to his Word.

Please open our eyes, Abba Father.

Revealer of Mysteries

On By Judy GlasserIn AugustLeave a comment

I don’t understand everything I read in the Bible.  I know 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 is usually an answer to a question I have asked him.

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.

He Found 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 the second book of 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.” 2 Chronicles 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 renewing their covenant with God.   The king cleared out all of the idols from the temple and destroyed all of the places for idol worship and altars. He also had to get rid of the priests who were leading the people in their worship of idols.  He did away with all 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?  Is it true that some of us 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 at sources other than God for our guidance and direction?   How often to we check with Google on important things rather than checking with God?   These other sources are our mediums and spiritists.

Is our Bible sitting on the shelf more than its been sitting open on our lap?  We need to read it and know it.

And let God transform our lives through it.

I cannot think of a time in my lifetime that it was more important for me – and you – to know the Word of God for ourselves. Almost daily I hear stories of pastors and religious leaders who are not teaching the whole truth found in the Bible. We must know the Word ourselves so we can compare what we are being taught to what we know is the truth.

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.

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

Maybe its time to REALLY find the Book.

Thank you for revealing your truth to us in your Word, Abba Father.

Not Like Me

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

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.

It Makes a Difference

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

My life is short.

My life is fragile.

My life is a tiny flicker of light that can be extinguished in an instant.

This fact is more real to me since I hit an antelope while driving on a rural road in Wyoming last week. I had this exact thought when I realized I was going to hit him- “This could be it.” The end.

It wasn’t ‘it’ because the antelope bounced off and ran into the bush after poking a big hole in my car – which was still drivable.

It wasn’t ‘it’ but it could have been.

God tells us through Isaiah that ‘Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40: 7 & 8.

Forever.

When I sit here with my Bible open on my lap, I am letting the only truth of all the ages soak into my mind. God’s Word has been the one thing that is right and good since time began. How amazing that this is so readily available to me every hour of every day!

How amazing that the Eternal Creator of the Universe speaks to me personally through these words!

How amazing that this entire book is a love story written to me by God. It’s God’s revelation of how much he loves me and you.

My life is short and fragile and just a small flicker of light in the big picture. I’m so glad that I know that my Father God sees me as his precious daughter who is so important to him that he made a way that I could live with him in my forever home in heaven.

My life may be short and fragile but I’m important to God….

and that makes all the difference.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Dedicated

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Purifying the temple

Consecrating the articles of the temple.

Sacrifices of sin offerings.

When we read about these things in the Old Testament, we can easily think “What does any of this have to do with me? How can God speak to me through these parts of the Bible?”

The fact is that God speaks to us through all parts of the Bible. The Holy Spirit can make it all relevant to our lives today ….. if we open our minds and listen.

I am reading 2 Chronicles about all the religious reforms King Hezekiah made when he became king. He purified the temple. He consecrated the articles of the temple and he led the people in all types of sacrifices and offerings. When they were done, he told them, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 29:31.

As I read, God talks to me about consecrating my life since Jesus’ death and resurrection has made me a temple of God’s Spirit. This means cleansing my life – taking anything out that is not helping me grow my relationship with God. One of my favorite phrases – ‘what we feed, grows.” This might mean changing channels on the TV or changing sites that we check out on our computers. It could mean stopping magazine subscriptions or avoiding the types of the books we used to read. Maybe we need to change the kind of music we listen to? There might be people in our lives that we should give less time and less influence.

Consecrating and dedicating my life to God also means laying my desires and dreams down before my Eternal King and letting him take control.

I want to live my life your way from now on, Abba Father.

He Loves Us This Much

On By Judy GlasserIn JulyLeave a comment

Seven hundred years before he was born, Isaiah spoke a stunningly accurate prophesy about Jesus.

Here’s my 2021 response to parts of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 53: 2-6 –

Jesus was not a good-looking man.  The pictures we have of him where he looks like a movie star are totally inaccurate.

People despised him but he was used to pain and sorrow – that was his life.  A lot of people ignored him and avoided him when possible.

Yet he took on more pain – the pain that was meant for us.  He paid the price for our rebellion and selfishness and anger – all the sins of all the world.

Some people were confused when they saw all the problems Jesus had – they thought God was punishing him.  Their eyes just weren’t open to the truth.

The truth is that Jesus loves us so much that he took all of the punishment that we deserved…

so he could be our Savior…

so we could have peace…..

so we could be healed.

You and I have sinned.  And we keep sinning.

Have I said anything out of frustration or lack of patience today?  Not yet – but it’s early.

Have you thought of anything unkind or unforgiving today?  God also knows our thoughts – that’s a tough one.

Jesus paid the price for all of our sins for all time….

so he could offer us salvation.  For free.  For eternity.

Thank you, Jesus!

He is the Light

On By Judy GlasserIn JuneLeave a comment

I love how accurate Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah were even though he spoke them 700 years before Jesus was born.  This shouldn’t surprise me – God knows everything and is in control of everything – including my future.

Isaiah’s prophecy in the 9th chapter of his book was fulfilled when Jesus came to earth, died on the cross for our sins and rose again in victory over death.

Isaiah’s prophecy came true –

People who were walking in darkness saw a Great Light.  Lost in deep darkness, they saw the Light as it dawned.  This Light gave them success and joy.  They celebrated the Light just like they celebrated a great harvest.  They celebrated just like warriors who are dividing the plunder after a victorious battle.

This Light’s name is Jesus.

He forever shattered the yoke of sin and shame in our lives.  There is no need for war in his kingdom.

For he came to us as a child, the Son of God.  And we call him –

Wonderful,

Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

He is reigning forever victorious and there is no end to the peace he gives to those who put their faith in him.

He reigns in justice and righteousness –

now and forever.

The LORD Almighty has done it all for us.

Thank you, Abba Father