Friday Matters

Everyday Sins Forgiven

Think how amazing it is that God chooses not to remember our sins. He chooses never to bring them up again. In Isaiah 43:25 God tells us; “I am the One who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins."

When you read Hebrews 11, you see a list of the great men of faith; Abraham, Moses, David, etc. yet none of their sins are listed even though they were sinners. This is because God chooses not to recall the sins that He’s already erased. Now travel to Ephesians 4where Jesus tells us to forgive as the Father has forgiven us. I know…right? That means when we choose to forgive someone, we also must choose not to bring up that offense again; to them, others or to ourselves… ever! Probably the hardest thing is to not allow our minds to rehearse the hurt. ONLY through His Holy Spirit strength is this possible and nothing is impossible with God…everyday.

Thursday Matters

Everyday Sign Language

It was his first day back on the job after more than a year on disability leave due to a freak explosion in the plant that, among other injuries, left him legally deaf in both ears. But when John walked into the plant that morning several of his colleagues used sign language to say; “Great to see you,” “Welcome back, John” and “We missed you.” It turns out that nine of his colleagues got together and took a sign language course, just like he did, over the several months he was absent. They did this so they could easily communicate with him when he returned.

This kind of compassion truly shows that people are what life is all about. Only people last forever and the way we treat others is the legacy we leave behind. I can’t help but think of that verse in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that says that with the compassion and love God’s shown to us; we too can show that to others…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Ark of Love

The Old Testament Bible story of Noah and the Ark which many of us know is where God told Noah and his family to build and come into the ark to be saved from the flood. Those who didn’t enter into the ark died for their unwillingness to know the one true God. Okay so think about this, Christ is the “New Ark”; the "Ark of Salvation.” Choosing Christ is also choosing to follow Him and choosing to follow Him means choosing to love those who are difficult, the ones who didn’t want to get on board.

Okay, so in the New Testament 2 Peter says: The person who lacks genuine love is blind and has forgotten they were cleansed from all their old sins. While we were yet sinners Christ loved us and then He erased our sins by paying with His blood. Once we’ve received grace, we don’t deserve, we can give grace. NOW, the question is, “HOW in the world can we ever really love difficult people?” Our job is to love. Christ’s job is to judge…everyday.

Tuesday Matters

Everyday Be the Church

I love people. I love traveling and meeting new people in random places everywhere, like gas stations. You can have church anywhere, a gathering of others and sharing the grace of God. Cuz when church stops being about us, it can be about God again.

Church is meant to crush our selfishness and church without God does none of that. Often our evangelism becomes winning people to our doctrine or our denomination instead of reaching the people next door who have no direct access to freedom in Jesus. As I travel speaking, I get a reality check every “church person” would benefit from. Our job is to get people to know Jesus personally. People need God desperately and not in a Pollyanna, “it’s all for a reason” sort of way. Jesus came to save the lost by letting them know they are loved right where they are at and not where they should be. Don’t just go to church, be the church…love without conditions…everyday.

Monday Matters

Everyday Job Explanation

Maybe the reason God doesn’t explain to Job why terrible things happen is that because He knows that Job really doesn’t need an explanation. Frederick Buechner’s shares this insight from his book; “Wishful thinking.” “Suppose that God did explain. Suppose that God were to say to Job that the reason the cattle were stolen, the crops ruined, and the children killed was thus and so, spelling everything out right down to and including the case of boils. Job would have his explanation.

But Job would still have to face his kid’s empty chairs at breakfast every morning. Having a complete theological justification of his boils, he would still have to scratch and burn. God doesn’t reveal His grand design. He reveals Himself. He doesn’t show why things are as they are. He shows His face. And Job says, I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” And this is the same God we too can see…everyday.

Friday Matters

Everyday Forgiven Offender

God is bigger. We may know this in our heart but it’s acting it out like we believe it that makes the difference. One of the hardest things to do is to forgive someone who isn’t’ sorry for what they’ve done because “it’s so not fair!” And because it’s not fair we want them to know how wrong they are. What does God want? Go to 1 Peter 3:9 and read; “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That’s what God asks, and He’ll bless you for it.”

Do you think God tells us to be good to those who’ve hurt us just because He wants to watch us suffer? No. The enemy works through people to hurt us and if we end up hating that person because they’ve hurt us then Satan’s job has been accomplished two times over. But if we respond with love then we’ve gotten Satan back and he’ll wish he never laid a finger on our lives…everyday.

Thursday Matters

Everyday Job Bedtime Story

I still remember years ago returning home from my son’s skating class and thinking it probably wasn’t a good time to tell my husband Dan that our "check engine soon" light was on again even though the next day I had to make a trip which was 200 miles away. I didn’t tell Dan about the engine light because he was in the basement shop-vacing water due to a plug in our sewer line. My journal indicates that Joey was 7 and he asked again for The Book of Job for his bedtime story. “Irony,” I wrote. But I was immediately struck by Job's response after all his belongings and children are taken away; "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD."

Eventually, I had all four boys in bed and while I was folding laundry, I had a peace wash over me as I repeated over and over, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” No matter what happens there is peace… not because all that happens is good, but because God always is good…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday False Christian

Okay so you’re talking to a person who says they know and love Jesus. Great. But the more you talk the more you realize that you’re kinda saying the same thing but you’re not. I love to talk about Jesus and His character, promises and the Good News. And now I realize that not everyone who agrees Jesus is love understands that He is holy and what that means.

I’m on the same page as pastor and theologian Warren Wiersbe. “False teachers deny the inspiration of the Bible, the sinfulness of man, the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross, salvation by faith alone, and even the reality of eternal judgment. They deny the deity of Jesus Christ, for they know that if they do away with His deity, they can ignore the entire body of Christian truth.

Christianity is Christ, and if He is not who He claims to be, there is no Christian faith.” Christ is our Savior and through Him dying in our place to cover our dept of sin are we free. It’s respecting His holiness and Love to understand why He came and how deeply He loves us…everyday.

Tuesday Matters

Everyday Underdog

God often chooses the underdog. Think of David in the Bible who is the youngest of his brothers, a shepherd boy and was made King. And then there’s Gideon, who was threshing wheat at night and God tapped him and said, “Gideon you mighty warrior.” He was used to conquer the fierce and large group of Midianites. Jesus chose everyday people for most of his apostles and hung out with “sinners” more than the upper class.

We most often look on the outside and judge a person’s success based on what we see on earth. Our real success is not here. It’s in eternity. Matthew 19:30 says, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” One of the simplest instructions from God is one of the most challenging from Mark 10; “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you’ll have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me” …everyday.

Monday Matters

Everyday Treatment of Others

How we treat others, including family members, from day to day, or how we react to the alcoholic who just can’t seem to get their act together or the people we don’t like, says a lot about us. How we respond to interruptions from people and how we deal with the frustrations of everyday life will speak the truth of who we are more clearly than a Christian bumper sticker on our car.

Life is not all about us but about God and His love of us and others. So, as children of God we need to reach out in love to others by listening and responding in love with our actions and words. We are all of equal value with a need for affirmation and real love and acceptance. Jesus tells us in Ephesians 5:15; “Make the most your time on earth with taking advantage of each opportunity and using wisdom because the days are filled with evil. But God is good and He’s love is unconditional. Show others real love by the way you live your everyday…everyday.

Friday Matters

Everyday God is Bigger

God is bigger. We may know this in our heart but it’s acting it out like we believe it that makes the difference. One of the hardest things to do is to forgive someone who isn’t’ sorry for what they’ve done because “it’s so not fair!” And because it’s not fair we want them to know how wrong they are. What does God want? Go to 1 Peter 3:9 and read; “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That’s what God asks, and He’ll bless you for it.”

Do you think God tells us to be good to those who’ve hurt us just because He wants to watch us suffer? No. The enemy works through people to hurt us and if we end up hating that person because they’ve hurt us then Satan’s job has been accomplished two times over. But if we respond with love then we’ve gotten Satan back and he’ll wish he never laid a finger on our lives…everyday.

Thursday Matters

Everyday Drunk Righteousness

What does it mean to be righteous? Well, it means we are in right standing with God and that means we know who we are in Him…. loved, redeemed, not a mistake. Greater self-effort and determination will never liberate you. Shifting your focus will. This means letting God lead you and not your flesh.

Again, in the Bible, Ephesians 5, tells us not to be drunk with wine but instead to be drunk with the Holy Spirit. When a person is drunk on alcohol, they feel, think and act differently. I’ve been there, done that. But the exact same is true when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we feel think and act differently. The Christian life is not the result of trying to act like a Christian; that’s only frustrating. The secret is developing our relationship with God empowered by the Holy Spirit. As God's Spirit fills us, we better understand who God really is. Our lives are changed from the inside out and good behavior is the end product…everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Pride

I was stinky. Oh, I had taken a shower, but I had pride and pride stinks. Pride is difficult to deal with because we don’t think we have it. I notice my stink most when I have zero patience with someone who’s hurt me. In the Bible in James 4:10 I read to ask God to humble me so I can see the other as He does. He then promises to lift me in hope. The signs of pride include an unwillingness to admit fault or take responsibility for our actions.

Pride wants to do all the talking and none of the listening. Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking of someone who needs to hear this, but perhaps it’s you! God gets you. He sees the hurt. I get you because I’ve been there. Are you still screaming? Maybe it’s time to stop and listen.” Humility and your surrender to God will set you free and you’ll be a sweet fragrance for everyone to be around…everyday.

Tuesday Matters

Everyday Gentle Answer

Sometimes I talk too much. Even if I’m talking about good things, it’s still better if I follow the advice of Proverbs 10:19; “Don’t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!” I know that the mouth that blesses, praises and prays can also irritate, hurt and harm.

I remember a time when I was home from college and having a heated argument with my dad, who’s an unbeliever. I was so frustrated, and I wanted to lash out and say something to prove my point but from experience I knew my brilliant but angry words would not change a thing. It’s crazy but I actually said aloud Proverbs 15:1; “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” It was weird but the argument stopped immediately, as soon as I spoke the Proverb. God had the last Word. My prayer is Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to God in every way...everyday.

Monday Matters

Everyday “I Should”

Today I want to encourage you to ask God to help you take the “should” out of your life. Think how often you say, “I should read the Bible, I should memorize scripture, I should attend a Bible study, I should lead one.” But remember what Paul says in 2 Corinthians; “The code of the Law kills but the Holy Spirit makes alive.”

When we start thinking “I should” is when we get stuck in being religious. Some religious circles want you to believe that God can only be reached through rule keeping and good behavior. This “religious spirit” was alive when Jesus walked the earth, but He died so we could have a close personal relationship with Him and not a religion. Today, that same religious spirit still trips people up if they don’t know the truth. Remember the Law was given to show people their need for a Savior. A relationship with Christ enables us to walk in freedom and to be loved by grace and not by the law of, “I should,” …everyday.

Friday Matters

Everyday Loving Christians

Ya know, that song that goes; “They will know we are Christians by our love.” We all know people who profess to be Christians, attend church, they know the rules. However, we know an authentic Christian by way they live their lives, by the fruit they bear. God’s not asking us to trust someone who doesn’t take responsibility for their part in a big mess, but He does command us to LOVE “that someone.”

In Mark 21:21 God says that we have the ability to move mountains by putting our faith in Him. Usually, we talk ABOUT our mountains, but God tells us to talk TO our mountains. Here’s the application to talk to your mountain as an authentic Christian by following the Bible; “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them and let it drop, and your Father will also forgive your failings and let them drop. True Christians really love by really forgiving…everyday.

Thursday Matters

Everyday Step in Faith

In the Old Testament as the Israelites were soon to enter into the Promised Land they were faced with crossing the Jordan River during flood season with the Ark of the Covenant. God told them to go forward right into the middle of the river before the water would go down and because of the faith the people had in God they obeyed and trusted God. We read in Joshua 3:17 that; “All Israel passed through until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”

I know I would’ve first wanted to test the water with my big toe to see some evidence of God’s promise of the water going down before I stepped into the middle of the river. But often God provides no solution to my problems until I trust Him and move ahead with what I know I should do. Sometimes God wants me to step forward into the unknown because it’s an opportunity for me to know Him better and trust Him with my faith and not my feelings...everyday.

Wednesday Matters

Everyday Oxygen

When I first heard the flight attendants say, “In the event of an emergency, where an oxygen mask is needed, please first secure the mask to your own mouth before placing it on any of your children,” I thought it seemed selfish. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. I’d risk my life for my children so shouldn’t I help them first? But here’s the point; if I really want to help my children survive then I first better get my own mask on so I can think more clearly to save both our lives.

Raising kids is not for wimps. I’m not a wimp. If you’re a parent, you aren’t either. We need to dive into the Bible and follow God first before expecting our kids to do the same. Proverbs 6:20 works; “Children don’t forsake the teaching of your mother,” and with that comes the jingle, “More is caught then taught.” The most effective way for our kids to trust and follow God is for them to see us following Him no matter what’s going on…everyday.

Tuesday Matters

Everyday Acknowledge God

Wouldn’t it be nice if every time we asked God a question, we could just randomly open our Bibles and there’d be our answer? But the thing is, our answers are in the Bible and when we spend time there everyday, we begin to learn the ways of God. We also begin to trust God knowing from Proverbs 3:6 that if we acknowledge God in all of our ways, He will direct our paths. Acknowledging God really means to care about what He thinks.

In the Bible in I Chronicles, the Prophet Nathan, told David that he could go ahead and build a house for God. But the next day Nathan got word that one of David’s sons would build instead. What’s cool is that because David had a heart for God, he could praise God for this answer even though he might have been a little disappointed. Acknowledging and caring what God thinks makes a huge difference in how we respond to things and what the outcome is…everyday.

Monday Matters

Everyday Open Eyes

Jesus meets a man who’s been blind since birth. I don’t know how brief their encounter was but, in that time, Jesus bent down took some mud and rubbed the man’s eyes with it and when he opened them, he could see. Immediately the Pharisees-the Religious Leaders, questioned the man wanted him to proclaim Jesus a sinner…. WHAT? But the blind’s response is brilliant in John 9:25, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see!” He didn’t know how or why he had been healed but he knew a miracle had taken place and he wasn’t afraid to tell the truth.

We don’t have to all the answers in order to share Christ with others. What’s important is that we tell people the truth of how God’s love and forgiveness has changed our lives. Use your experiences and share your testimonies, to help others see Him too …everyday.