Tag: truth

He Loves to Dance!

On By Judy GlasserIn AprilLeave a comment

Now he loves to dance for God.  It’s a beautiful thing.handsome micah (2)

We have been handing over my little 2 ½ year-old grandson to the Toddler room volunteers at our church every Sunday morning for almost a year.  Every time we left there was a possibility of tears because all of the different big people and the loud noises struck a note of fear into his tiny heart.  He was not happy to be going there.

Now everything has changed- he’s excited about going to church. His big blue eyes light up and he gets a huge smile on his face as he says ‘ Dance’.  Have you ever seen a pack of toddlers dancing and singing to God?  It’s amazing.  It’s inspiring.  It’s a beautiful thing.

And there’s more.  One of the young dancing and singing volunteers is a daughter of someone we know.  My husband and I are privileged to teach one of the Fresh Start classes at our church and the young volunteer’s mother, Maria, was in our last class.

Maria was one of the most engaged and faithful members of that class.  She always had great questions and was very open about wanting to figure out how to become a better follower of Christ.  She clearly had found what she was looking for when she found God and she was doing everything she could to grow in her faith, even against some stiff opposition from her Catholic family.

So, while we were serving and teaching and encouraging Maria, her daughter was serving and teaching and encouraging our grandson.  This is one of the truly beautiful things about a church family when it is centered on God and his truth.  As we all love and serve God together, he blesses us through each other.  And he just keeps on blessing us.

And now Micah loves to dance for God.

Make a Choice

On By Judy GlasserIn March2 Comments

Whether we realize it or not, we all make a choice about who we serve.March 15 Joshua 24

A lot of us serve ourselves.  Looking out for #1.  Do I like it?  Does it benefit me?  Do I wanna do it?  Do I feel like it?  What’s in for me?  Oh, yeah.  These questions come pretty easy because we use them a lot.  Maybe not out loud….

Many of serve our debts.  We have to work extra hours or extra jobs to pay for all of the stuff we already have.  We’re upside down on cars and houses.  When we’re not working, we’re worrying about paying the bills.  The best line about our money I’ve ever heard is – “The secret is not in how much you make.  It’s in how much you spend.”  Oh, yeah.

Some of us serve our hobbies –  like sports or gambling or shopping.  While we’re shopping today we’re planning about the next time we can go shopping.  Before the game we’re watching is over, we’re flipping to the next channel for the next game and then the next game and then the next.

We all choose who or what we will serve.

Joshua makes this very clear to the Israelites in Joshua 24 as he throws down a challenge.  “Choose this day whom you will serve…  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

We also need to make a conscious choice.  If we’re serving something or someone else, we need to lay down our ‘idols’ at the feet of the One, True, Living God and begin a new chapter of our life by serving him only.

There’s no better time than right now to make this choice.

I’m a Caleb Fan

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

 Every time Caleb shows up in the Old Testament, he is being faithful, obedient and courageous.

When I get to heaven, I want to meet him.March 13 Caleb

He’s not a central character in the Bible – he doesn’t have a main story line.   He’s never the star but he does an awesome job in his supporting role.

Caleb shows up as Joshua’s sidekick a couple of times and every time he’s right on target.  He  is always choosing to believe what God has promised.  He is willing to take God’s word and act on it.  He’s brave.  He doesn’t forget what God has already done in his life.  He’s consistent.

Later in the Old Testament we see Caleb’s brother, Othniel, being chosen by God to be a judge who delivers the Israelites from oppression for over 40 years.

The parents of Caleb and Othniel really did a good job!  When their boys show up in Scripture, they are being noble and leading the way as they follow God.

I am encouraged and challenged by Caleb.  I’m encouraged because he was always faithful through many years in good times and bad.  I’m challenged by Caleb because I would like that same thing to be said, in some fashion, about my life.

I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

Surprised?

On By Judy GlasserIn MarchLeave a comment

God decreed a special yearlong Jubilee  every 50 years which was supposed to be a holy year.   Land and houses were given back to their original owners.   The land would lie fallow so that there was no laboring in the fields and it gave the land a year to replenish itself.Jubilee

The main idea behind the Year of Jubilee was redemption.   The original owners were to return to their family property and their own clan.  It had once been their inheritance so they were supposed to get it back.  Slaves and bond servants were set free.  Houses that weren’t in walled cities were given back.

God told them they he owned all of the land anyway- they were just using it.  So none of it should be permanently sold.

When they showed concern about what they would eat if they didn’t plant and harvest, God told them he would take care of them by giving them a bountiful year the year before so that they had plenty for their holy year.

All of this was a foretaste of the redemption that would happen when the Messiah came.

There is no evidence that the year of Jubilee was ever celebrated.

Are you surprised?  After working hard and ‘earning’ the right to own what we have, how interested would we be in giving it back?  It’s definitely not the democratic, free market way.

But it’s God’s way.  The Bible is one long story of his plan for our redemption.  We can’t earn it.  Jesus paid the price and we get it all for free.  For eternity.

Thank you, dear Father, for our redemption.  We can never earn it.  We’re so grateful that it’s free.

It’s a Festival!

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

Everyone goes to a designated place to celebrate, give their offerings and to remember what God has done for them.

What does that sound like?

I know what you’re thinking….but I just described the three major festivals the Israelites celebrated each year. 

Each year, all male Israelites were required to travel to a designated place for the Passover and Festival of Unleaven Bread, the Festival of the Harvest and the Festival of the Tabernacles. 

Celebrating Passover was a reminder of how God freed them from their slavery when the Angel of Death passed over their homes.  Then they celebrated the  Festival of Unleaven Bread the rest of the week to commemorate exodus and all God did for them during that time.

The Festival of the Harvest was a celebration where they gave freewill offering in proportion to the blessing the Lord had given them.

During the Festival of the Tabernacles they lived in tents as a reminder of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness.  They were told to celebrate and be joyful because God has blessed all the works of their hands.

Sounds like what we do every Sunday, doesn’t it?I was thinking about this last Sunday as we approached the location of our church and we saw all of the cars turning into the parking lot.

What a great blessing it is to be able to gather EVERY week to praise God, give him our offerings and remember what he has done for us!

And we don’t have stay in tents, either! 🙂

Thank you, dear Father, for giving us a place we can  go every week where we can celebrate you with other believers.