Wednesday Matters

Everyday Follow Jesus

Let me tell you I don’t follow Jesus because He was a good person prophet-man. I follow Him because He IS alive in my life. He’s God. God who became a man, who died for all my garbage sins and then rose again so I could have an excellent LIFE here on earth and then a perfect forever one in heaven!

All we have to do is accept God’s great gift, accept HIM and we’re free. Now of course just because there’s freedom in Jesus doesn’t mean there’s freedom from problems. But after Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave us the Holy Spirit, who is there to help us with everything. The reason I know this truth is because I have a relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I follow Him because I trust Him and not because I always feel or understand Him or the Bible. But I trust He wants what’s best for us. Jesus did not come for us to follow religion. John 8:32; Knowing Jesus will set you free…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Compliment

“It’s not fair. They don’t deserve my kindness and I’m certainly not going to compliment them on anything because they already tell me how great they are anyway.” Very often those difficult people in our lives are family members. We think; “How can they be so clueless to their own junk and continue to point out mine?” But here’s the deal; we may not think they deserve our love or kindness but neither do we deserve God’s grace and kindness toward us.

The advice given me was “Debbie, just lavish them with love. Compliment and see what happens in your heart and in theirs.” Guess what it works. Love someone with simply acts of kindness by praising the good of who they are, and you’ll be amazed at how God changes your heart and theirs. Truth from God in John 13:34; “Love one another as I have loved you.” It’s hard at first…really hard. But the change, the blessing, the beginning of healing in a broken relationship…oh you’ll be thinking; “Why didn’t I do this sooner…everyday.”

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Rachel and Leah

I’ve always felt so bad for Leah from the Old Testament because Jacob loved Rachel best, she was the more attractive sister, but he’s tricked into marrying Leah first. Oh, the insignificance Leah must have felt based on her looks. It’s a battle girls face from the earliest of ages—the message that beauty is what the world tells you it is—instead of what God says it is.

In the Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones I am drawn to the story of Leah. She thought no one wanted her, only to find that God indeed loved her. He gave her the ultimate fairytale come true story: He made her a princess—one of her children’s children’s children would be a prince; the Prince of Heaven and Earth. The final redemption for eternity is Jesus who came from the lineage of Leah. The fairy tale really does come true. The Hero comes back for His lost treasure; the Prince comes back for the one He loves. And “the ending of our Story is Joy …everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Waves

My friend, Michelle, shared; “These waves of trials and circumstances are very real and overwhelming to me right now. But Debbie, the question is not whether or not I see them; the question is whether or not I see ONLY them. I know it's not about the waves; it's about walking forward toward Him because He says ‘Come!’”

What honesty Michelle has, and I can’t say, I’m that mature in a storm situation. In the Bible we can read in Mark 4: where Jesus says to the disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake” but a furious storm of hurricane proportions arises with waves crashing into the boat. Where’s Jesus? He’s asleep inside the boat. “Master, don’t You care that we’re dying,” the disciples ask. Without answering Jesus rises and rebukes the wind and sea, “Be still,” He says and a great calm comes. When Jesus says, “You’re gonna get to the other side,” believe Him. You’ll get to the other side no matter what stormy trial you’re facing. Go forward with Him…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday God: I AM

Think about how crazy it was for Moses to hear God speaking from a burning bush. It seems a little weird too. God speaks in love but He’s direct when He tells Moses, “Get to Egypt, get my people and GO!” And when Moses asks “What should I say to the people when they ask me your name?” it seems that God didn’t want to spend a lot of time telling Moses all the things He was, so He simply said in Exodus 3:14, “Tell My people I AM has sent Me to you!” “Okay, whatever that means”, Moses must have thought but upon knowing who God is then Moses must have realized that I AM meant everything!

God IS saying, “What you need… I AM! I AM your navigator, speaker, provider, comforter, and strength …I AM EVERYTHING YOU NEED when you need it…everyday!”

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Return Home

Jesus welcomes ALL of us to Him. He is our Home. He pursues us, loves us. The prodigal son returned home, and the father ran to Him, unconditional love with no condemnation. What the father didn't do was go and join his son in his sin. We can turn to God and receive His grace or reject Him. It seems more often that we read of Christians deconstructing their faith and what I see is people moving away from the church and religion. It's hard to imagine anyone turning away from Christ and His loving kindness.

God’s mercy is new every morning and great is His faithfulness. I’m thankful because I used my allotted grace amount yesterday. Everyday it will get better and yes, even on those days you get kicked in the pants with the news you were dreading but you can move on and move forward because noting is wasted with God. It may be that God is training and testing you in this trial and in time you may thank Him for it. God loves you. He sees and knows and is right beside you…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Questions

I remember the season in life when I had four sons under the age of 7 years old and it was constantly busy and constant questions. I love my boys, don’t get me wrong but some days I thought I might explode if they asked me one more question with the sentence beginning with the word, “MOM……. I remind young moms now, “The days are long, but the years are short.”

But no matter how many questions they asked I always wanted them to be sure that they knew one important answer and that is, I would never stop loving them. The same is true with the love of Christ. There isn't anything about us, with our past or present or our questions that would cause Him to withdraw from us. He welcomes our questions and He’s okay with where we’re at. But never forget the life changing answer He gives us in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday God View

Have you ever found yourself reading the Bible entirely through the lens of what you want and what you feel? That is likely a trap and danger we've all faced. The statement, "I'm living own truth," is one I hear often and for me it translates as, "I'm doing what I feel is right regardless of what anyone else thinks, especially God."

St Augustine said, "If you believe in the Gospel what you like, and leave out what you don’t like, it’s not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”

Living truthfully, for me, means to trust that God is good even when my circumstances and I are not. Do I trust that God is a Redeemer and that all things that happen to me will work into the good because He loves me and has called me for a purpose? (Romans 8:28) Honestly, it’s hard to wrap my mind around the truth that God doesn't love me because I'm good, but He loves me because He is good…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Need Grace

Okay there’s this kind of Christians who is “stuck” outside the tension between law and grace – and specifically I’m talking about those who don’t know they need grace. I have been that girl at various times myself.

When you don’t know you need grace you come to the counseling room in righteous indignation. You come with your “rights” and “it’s not fair because there’s a sinner worse than you. This may include the spouse who drags their partner along to get fixed, the partner who doesn’t think they need fixing, the person angry with God for failing to fulfill their dreams and the one who simply cannot forgive. Accepting Christ means acknowledging our sin with the only cure being His grace. Jesus desires to confront the blackness of our hearts and change us. PRAY for yourself and others who need to KNOW and SEE how much we need His grace, because without it we can’t really love others…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Red Sea

The same God that parted the Red Sea for Moses is the same God for you and me. He never changes. He can make a way when there seems to be no way. His Word is comforting but when life’s hard it sometimes doesn’t seem as living and active as we’d like it to be. Because we can’t always “see” God working we sometimes question; “Is He doing anything?” When we’re feeling bruised and beat up and all we can see are more “Egyptians” coming it’s then that the, “We of little faith” rears its head. But God’s Word is living and active. And as Psalm 18: 30 says, “His way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.”

When life is hard it’s especially important to lean into God in faith, to trust in a never changing God who can make a way through all the Red Seas of our lives. Giving up control to God and living in His grace of love and kindness will see you through…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Kissing

“Debbie, do you think God is okay with a couple just kissing without anything physical going on? I need to know the difference between something being culturally prohibited, and something that God is angered by? This was asked by a young woman in another country. I thought of what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6; "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. Everything that God asks us to do, or not to do, is because He wants what’s best for us.

Unfortunately, the “world” leads us to believe that if two people mutually agree to be physically imitate then it’s fine, and the only caution is, “to be safe.” But there’s no such thing as “safe sin.” God calls us to dedicate ourselves to the most thorough purity. As far as kissing goes well that’s something between you and God. Some people wait and some don’t. Sometimes the danger in kissing is that it can lead to other activities that aren’t honoring to God. God is not a killjoy. He’s a “give-joy” and it’s out of His great love for you. He knows best…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Buzz Cut

It's not my husband’s fault. I should have taken our long-haired teen Joey to get a haircut before swimming practice, myself. My instructions were "Tell them long bangs and number three clippers on back and sides. Dan repeated several times; "Long bangs, number three clippers" in a singing voice so that it was practically a song.

Joey came home right before practice looking like he was headed to military boot camp. I lost it. And who knows what was going on with me personally, but I called Dan yelled at him and then the hair salon. This is so silly to me now. But I think what I was projecting about how I looked and felt onto how my son looked. What was the point of getting upset and making phone calls? The heart is what counts and hair grows. My best days are when I make it about loving and serving others with encouragement and kindness. God very clearly tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is kind.” Kindness is the most attractive quality you can have…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Out of Bed

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning (again) so I pulled the covers over my head, like I often do when life seems so heavy. I've tried to make it a habit to go to "The Throne" before "The Phone," which means I take my big hard copy Bible and open it up and read.

I came Psalm 18:6,” In my distress, when seemingly closed in, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple and my cry came before Him, into His very ears.” Isn’t that comforting? God sees, knows and understands us. He is not surprised by what we're going through or what has happened, and He is always on the move with a plan of redemption. The relationship we can have with God, can be so personal and so intimate.

God's never condemning of our feelings or heartaches. He understands all of who we are, spiritually, mentally and physically. He understands and cares about everything we care about and hears our every cry and complaint. It all "comes to His very ears…. everyday."

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Love Journey

I am Debbie with a slight curve of scoliosis made less noticeable with the surgery I had as an adult. I am Debbie who needs to look everyday in the mirror and wonder what else I can do to my hair that will change my life. I don’t want to care about it so much and there are times I don’t, and I walk out in my pajamas to get groceries or record my radio feature at the station. Everyday, I have to remember the way He sees me despite my moral failings and missteps and bad hair days.

In life’s journey we all want to be known and loved, and Jesus knows us better than anyone and still loves us. He knows me, my pain. HE IS here, waiting to make creative, redemptive use of what has happened. He is always on the move. He isn’t wasting time thinking about all the trouble He has with us or how awful we feel about where we are with ourselves and our troubles. God loves us unconditionally. Walk forward knowing how much God loves you…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Blood of Christ

We’ve all made mistakes because we’re all sinners. Our sins hurt us and others on some level. God loves us and will use our messes to help ministry to others, but Satan will always try and condemn us, and he also works in others with his lies. You may have someone trying to convince you that your past can’t be forgiven unless you follow their rules of forgiveness. Or maybe it’s you are thinking, God couldn’t possible forgive “that” sin. Listen to 1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” Okay so think about how our kidneys work in our bodies, continuously cleansing us from impurities.

Well, there IS POWER IN THE BLOOD of Jesus Christ which cleanses us, not just in the body, but in the spirit, continuously. Our responsibility is to admit we’ve sinned and CONFESS. We don’t ever want a sin blockage so our prayer life is polluted, and we can’t hear His voice of truth and healing…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday God Bless Work

Jan wrote, “I try to be compassionate and kind with a sense of humor but today I was feeling small-minded, hurt and mean spirited. Jan had commented on my Facebook post about loving others, “When people are less than kind it’s then that I have a hard time 'loving' them.... mostly at work. The office can bring out the worst in people…including me.” Oh my, I so get it. Sooooo, when someone hurts me I try and pretend their “nasty” aimed at me was only a sneeze and I respond (mostly under my breath) with “Bless you!” and guess what? It works!

Because God tells us in Luke 6:28 to bless those who curse us. Because if Satan works through a person to hurt us and we end up hating that person back because we’re hurt than the enemy’s job has been accomplished two times over. But if we respond to another’s curse with a blessing then we’ve gotten Satan back and he’ll wish he never laid a finger on us. God bless you…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Sacrifice

How do you know when you’ve given enough to get to God? You don’t. Yet many people believe that there are many roads to God and that true spirituality is just to love your neighbor and help the poor. What about the people that have been taught to hate? Are the poor just virtuous? That sounds right, but it is not what Jesus said.

Jesus said you cannot earn salvation by taking the executioner's cross yourself. We instinctively know this. If a soldier drapes his body over a grenade to save his friends, we recognize it as a sacrifice. Something we honor, but not something we can pay him back for. In fact to suggest we could pay Him back is an insult to His sacrifice. The same is true with Jesus. He loves us for who we are and not for what we do. The good things we do, like soup kitchens for the poor, are out of our love for Him but no matter what He loves right where we’re at by His grace…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Life Changing

When I’m travelling alone at a hotel, I often surf the channels on TV. Inevitably I will come upon a shopping network or paid product advertisement where I sit mesmerized and convinced that if I order in the next ten minutes this product will change my life.

One of our sons walked into the room when I was using this wand laser thing and zapping my face to get rid of the wrinkles. He tried it on his face but couldn’t stand the sting. “Mom, you’re crazy. Why do this?” “I feel it’s working,” I said. Honestly, my attitude was better because I believed this wand was making a difference by erasing years off my face. (Did I mention the whole commercial was in Spanish?). After my son left, I thought; “What really transforms me is renewing my mind from what God has to say about me. If I approach others with the love and grace God gives me, that truly is a game changer. There’s nothing wrong with primping and prep so we feel and look our best but, God sees the heart and that’s what I want Him to work on…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Billy Poetry

I’ve never met Billy, but he subscribes to the email of Everyday Matters and often sends poems from the verses I share. He is confined to a wheelchair and has a head injury. There are things he can’t do but he sure can write a poem to make you smile and reflect. Billy wrote, “This poem is dedicated to all my friends who love me without seeing me.”

When men look at us

Immediately they judge.

From the color of our skin

To the sweet taste of our fudge

And seldom do they ever

Make judgments right and pure!

For in their hearts is not

The reason or its cure

But Our Father up in Heaven

Judges all His children well

For He knows what’s in their hearts

What else is there to tell

And when He looks, He knows.

If Jesus lives in there

And He can see if love is home.

In your heart beyond compare

So please, just open up.

Your heart to God’s own Son

And then you’ll have everything

For then the victory’s won.

Thanks Billy…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Susan Prayer

Susan was the coordinator of speakers for a conference in New York City. I was one of them. We developed a friendship of email praying, and this was way back in the day, in 2006, before texting and the smart phone took over our lives. I’m glad this memory is written down. I sensed God wanted me to pray for her husband, so I wrote, “I’m praying for a husband for you.” I then proceeded to pray for a godly and good man to enter Susan’s life. Susan was very thankful for my emails but with my husband prayer she wrote, “Actually I’ve been married for 17 years but since my husband is a pastor and he’s preparing a message for this Sunday, I know he’ll appreciate your prayer.” Embarrassing.

God did ask me to pray for her husband but not for a husband. God wants my obedience not my analysis or theories as to why He asks me to pray. It’s like the classic joke; “What’s the difference between you and God? Answer: God never thinks He’s you….” everyday.