Everyday MattersThere's a reason for everyday.
Despite the bad and the good, everyday matters. |
6/16/2020
Jesus & Woman at the WellTuesday Matters- June 16, 2020
Everyday Come and Drink “Where are you looking to satisfy your deepest desires and longings?” Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. John 4 tells of the women at the well with whom Jesus spoke. She had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband, yet Jesus doesn't give her a lecture on immorality. He spoke to her about her thirst. Someone shared this quote referring to John 7; "Christ enters the ‘Tuckered Towns’ of the world, stands at the intersection of ‘Worn-Out Avenue’ and ‘Done-In Street’ and compels, ‘If you are thirsty, come to Me! If you believe in Me, come and drink!’ For the scriptures declare that rivers of living waters will flow out from within." Only Jesus can satisfy that ache in your heart. If you're eating the junk food of the self-centered life, you'll never be satisfied. God is in the filling business and He wants to satisfy your deepest desires. He can fill your emptiness. Look to Him. He will bring you fulfillment and hope…everyday 6/15/2020
Living & Loving OthersMonday Matters-June 15, 2020
Everyday Feet Washing Nancy felt she had forgiven her friend but every time she drove past her girlfriend’s home, the resentment and pangs of hurt would surround her. She prayed. God answered. He told her He wanted her to picture Him washing her feet everyday thus showing her how much He loves and forgives her. She spent this time with Jesus and then the day came when He said, “Now I want you to wash your friend’s feet, “Okay but make sure the water is scalding,” she thought. It startled her that this was where her heart was but she obeyed. She prayed and let the Holy Spirit change her as she mentally washed the feet of her friend. Nancy still not in a restored friendship but she no longer has deep hurt when driving by her friend’s home. I am not there either with letting go of some deeper hurts but I know God knows and His love continues to work in and through me…everyday. 6/12/2020
Get up & Go StrengthFriday Matters- June 12, 2020
Everyday Backbone I don’t sew, bake or volunteer for craft projects at school. I could feel like a lousy mom because don’t the good moms have all of those skills? But let’s try and remember that God doesn’t make mistakes and He created us uniquely and for a specific purpose. Sure we get stuck wishing we were someone else or had their skills but how productive is that? How about we try this: If you experience a setback or failure don’t fall apart but believe God will use the experience to train you for the next step. Look at Ephesians 3:12 and we read that through faith in God we can approach Him with freedom and confidence. He loves us. “Plenty of people have wishbone but there are too few with not enough backbone.” Once we’re rooted and established in His love, we can have the backbone to step out and be the very best of who He created use to be…everyday. 6/11/2020
Jesus Love YouThursday Matters- June 11, 2020
Everyday All of Us Isn’t it easy to sit back and find the faults of everyone else and build excuses about our own junk that we need to clean up? We’re all sinners. We need to confess our sins, receive God’s grace and walk forward with Christ. We cannot do anything to merit grace, and yet we look at someone like Mother Teresa and think surely she entered into heaven because of what she did. If we emulate her sacrificial love in some small fashion, we are lulled into a false sense of security that persuades us that we have no need of repentance today. When the little saint humbly confessed her brokenness and her desperate need for God, either we were uncomprehending or we secretly suspected her of false modesty. Yet she got it, and by the love she received, she gave in great amounts to others. Serve up love to the one God puts in front of you…everyday. 6/10/2020
Faith on your SleeveWednesday Matters- June 10, 2020
Everyday Personal I’ve lost weight and I’m overall toned and fit. I feel healthy too. I’ve no more debt and even an excess of money (after donating to special relief funds) so I was able to buy some adorable new outfits. My marriage is perfectly perfect and our four sons know exactly God’s call on their lives. Don’t you feel better knowing how great I’m doing? Probably not, so here’s the truth; I can’t fit into my everyday jeans, it’s a hard road getting out of debt, my marriage takes work and our sons are all in places making decisions about their future. NOW I bet you feel better because you can probably relate on some level. God’s real and He wants us to keep it real too. Pain is personal and Jesus is personal so sharing our pain is a way to help others know they’re not alone. When we enter into community we can find the one who needs to know Jesus personally too. Ya know, others may fail you but Jesus never will…everyday. 6/9/2020
Love OthersTuesday Matters- June 9, 2020
Everyday Hurt When we’ve been hurt AND the person who has hurt us isn’t even sorry our flesh wants nothing to do with this person but to reject them. But what does Jesus do?” Jesus never rejects us but He does reject our sinful behavior. The two greatest commandments tell us to love God passionately and then to LOVE OTHERS as He does. So when someone has sinned against us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we must actively choose to forgive them and then choose NOT to remember their sins against us. Actively choosing not to remember is different than forgetting. In Jeremiah 31:34 God says He will “remember no more” the sins of His people. This is not memory failure. This is God’s choice to no longer hold our sins against us. God will vindicate us as He promises. I know it’s hard but do what you know is right rather than what you FEEL is fair…everyday. 6/8/2020
ForgivenessMonday Matters-June 8, 2020
Everyday Real Forgiveness Love is kind. Love forgives despite what the other person does. Yeah, I know the part about setting needed boundaries with the person who is still operating in dysfunctional behavior. But I’m talking about really forgiving someone who’s hurt you and not rehearsing the hurt by dragging the memory around in your head. I understand. It’s hard. There are those days where you know you should stop recalling the past hurts but then you see the person in the grocery store or hear someone talking about an event and something triggers a past hurt and all kindness goes out the door as swiftly as it came in. I think of the woman prostitute who anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume and what Jesus said about her; “She loves much because she’s been forgiven much.” Thank God for His grace in your own life and give that to the other who’s hurt you. You need to take the person off your hurt list and let God’s love do His healing work…everyday. 6/5/2020
Faith is not a FeelingFriday Matters- June 5, 2020
Everyday Feelings It’s so important to remember; feelings are indicators, but don’t let them be dictators. Get it? Feelings are valid and they indicate good and bad things happening in our lives but we shouldn’t let them lead us, especially when we feel afraid. I read this post on Instagram which said; “And then I realized that to be more alive I had to be less afraid so I did it, I lost my fear and gained my whole life.” We may feel fear but the way to lose “it” is to go forward in courage despite what we feel which I know is insanely difficult but always worth it. The only way we can do that and leave our fears behind is by leaning into the grace and hope God gives us. Think about what God says in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous.” Don’t give up because of feelings. Don’t let fear immobilize you because God will be the one who keeps on walking with you and He won’t abandon you EVER…everyday. 6/4/2020
Jesus Rescues YouThursday Matters- June 4, 2020
Everyday Jesus Did It 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. 6/3/2020
Prayers Make a DifferenceWednesday Matters- June 3, 2020
Everyday Prayers Working Something happens when we pray that doesn’t happen when we don’t. Let me say that again, “Something happens when we pray that doesn’t happen when we don’t.” BUT if we don’t feel or see an answer to what we were asking for then we may start to think that God isn’t listening. BUT He always hears. Sometimes the answer is “no” and sometimes the answer is “yes.” I think the hardest reply is to hear, “wait.” “I don’t get it. It’s not fair and God I’m starting to wonder if You care or even exist.” We all may have had those thoughts at one time or another but don’t give up. God is always on the move. He’s on “it” whatever “it” may be. Psalm 27:13 I know, “I would’ve despaired unless I’d believed that I’d see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” There is goodness while on earth even though it’s not our final destination. Waiting is hard but with God it’s worth it…everyday. |
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