Everyday Matters by Debbie Griffith

8/31/2021

God is with you

Tuesday Matters- August 31, 2021
Everyday 365 Days of Fear Not

It’s painful enough when someone we love sins, but it’s made extra difficult when their choices result in us experiencing pain and grief too. It’s hard. I’d say now too that the consequences of your own sin affecting others are even more painful. I’m sorry if you’re there in that place right now. But it’s often in times of conflict that we’re drawn closer to God. His promises are ones of absolute hope, and He promises that “all things will work for the good” if we trust in Him. It’s also in the Bible that the words “fear not” are written 365 times. There is grace for each day of the year.

Hebrews 13:5 in the Amplified Bible is emphatic in God’s love for us; “He says, I will not in any way fail you or leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not ever leave you or let you down.” God is real. He is the comfort you need from all your fears…everyday.

8/30/2021

Walk in Courage despite Fear

Monday Matters-August 30, 2021
Everyday Feeling Fear or Hope?

I don’t like feeling afraid but what’s worse is letting fear make my decisions for me. Going into mediation with someone you have a conflict with can give you the worst feelings but the way to conquer fear is to press on through it and get to the other side where there’s freedom. Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that fear is not from God and that God gives us power, love, a calm mind, and self-control. You may FEEL the fear, but you can go forward despite it. When God told Joshua repeatedly to fear not, He let him know that fear was going to attack him but that he must walk in obedience to do what God asked.

You are not a coward if you feel fear. We are cowards only if we let fear rule our decisions. Fear produces physical and emotional symptoms. For me, when I feel fearful, I get dizzy and sick to my stomach. It’s hard to go forward. But the other side is freedom which is the side of power…everyday.

8/27/2021

Sinners but Saved

Friday Matters-August 27, 2021
Everyday We are the Poor Sinners

I mean honestly, when I began to really grasp what Jesus was offering me with complete forgiveness and no condemnation I could stop pretending and performing. I need Him desperately. It is not the “they” who are poor, sinful and lost. It’s awareness that we ourselves are the primary target.

Unless we acknowledge that we are the sinners, the sick ones and the lost sheep for whom Jesus came, we do not belong to the “blessed” who know that they are poor and inherit the Kingdom. Let’s stop trying to appear righteous before God and others. It’s a dangerous zone when get our assurance from wealth or our status. “I’m good. I have all I want.” We must realize that we’re wretchedly and pitiably poor and we’re blind and naked too. Isaiah 64 often comes to me when I think, “I’m doing really well here.” “We’re all unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. It’s His blood shed for us which cleans and covers us…everyday.

8/26/2021

God’s Plan is Perfect

Thursday Matters- August 26, 2021
Everyday God has a Plan

I imagine when the future King David is dodging Saul, who’s hot on his trail to destroy him; he’s just like, “Really, can I just get a break here God?” God is on David’s side and no longer on Saul’s because Saul has walked away from God. David gets wind of Saul’s plans to kill him, his men and others in a town if David plans on going there. And I’m thinking as I read the story in 1 Samuel that David can certainly go to the town and then ask God for protection. BUT instead David FIRST prays and asks God; “Will Saul destroy the town and will the people hand me over to Saul?” The Lord simply replies; “He will and they will,” so David goes back into hiding.
I was really struck by this thinking how often I do the opposite. I decide on my plans and then ask God to bless me rather than asking for God’s direction first. Wisdom is going to God first because He always knows the best plan…everyday.

8/25/2021

God Knows Best

Wednesday Matters- August 25, 2021
Everyday What Does God Say?

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. Our personal relationship with Christ enables us to walk in freedom and to be loved right where we are at and not how others think we “should” be…everyday.

8/24/2021

Feeding with Good Food

Tuesday Matters- August 24, 2021
Everyday Eating Well

About ten years ago I never really ate breakfast, unless you counted the Diet Coke and chips. I ate what I wanted when I wanted. I even remember standing in my kitchen one morning at age 41; eating chips and drinking my Coke thinking, “I feel so great! I wonder how long I will be able to keep this diet going?!” And I thought because I was healthy in my relationship with God, reading the Bible and doing Pilates occasionally I’d be just fine. “Who needs green leafy vegetables?” But five months after having these thoughts I started getting sick with a lot of different infections and then came emotional anxiety and… well…I kinda crashed.

There were other factors that played into my “crash”, but I heard God clearly speak to me. Yes, He had great plans for me, but I needed to take care of my diet. 1 Corinthians 16:20; I don’t just belong to myself; I’m God’s girl and I honor Him by the way I live my life and take care of myself…. everyday.

8/23/2021

You Are Not Alone

Monday Matters-August 23, 2021
Everyday You Are Not Alone

There’s someone hurting who needs healing, someone unloved who needs our touch; elderly, needing to feel that we care; and someone who is weak and needs the support of our shared weakness. I get it. Late author and speaker Brennan Manning gets it. He shared; “One of the most healing words I ever spoke as a confessor was to an old priest with a drinking problem. “Just a few years ago,” I said, “I was a hopeless alcoholic in the gutter in Fort Lauderdale.” “You?” he cried. “O Thank God!”

When we bring a smile to the face of someone in pain, we have brought Christ to them. I know hurt, ache and pain. What helps me? It’s NOT to hear more of what I should and should not do. I need to hear; “There’s hope. I’m sorry for this ache in your heart.” God fully knows and loves us and He’s not disappointed in us. He’s disappointed when we don’t change our sinful ways. Come alongside the one who needs God’s grace and mercy just as much as you do…everyday.

8/20/2021

Holy Spirit Power

Friday Matters-August 20, 2021
Everyday God’s Home in Us

Life is hard. Can we do the hard stuff like forgiving those who never apologize or a health report that is terminal? We can live free. The moment you receive Christ you are filled with the Holy Spirit and so you have the potential to live a life of victory over fear, over sin. This potential is released by faith as you surrender control of your life. 2 Timothy 1:14 we read how the Holy Spirit makes His home in us! The Holy Spirit will lead you and become involved in every decision you make—both major and minor. He leads you by peace and wisdom and He speaks to your heart.

So now go to the Old Testament and read in Ezekiel, God’s promise when the day would come when He would give people a new heart and put His Sprit within them. Under the old covenant, the Holy Spirit only came upon people for special purposes, but He did not live inside them as He does with us who know Him. THAT is crazy amazing…everyday.

8/19/2021

Thirsty? Come and Drink

Thursday Matters- August 19, 2021
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.

8/18/2021

Pride Stinks

Wednesday Matters- August 18, 2021
Everyday Pride

Pride is a difficult sin us to deal with because we don’t think we have it. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. The only way I can have the patience with someone who’s difficult or who hurt me is when I’m able to ask God to let me see the person as He sees them. That’s humbling. I think about James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

The signs of pride include an unwillingness to admit fault or a reluctance to take responsibility for one’s actions. Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking of someone who needs to hear this, but that person may be you! Pride wants to do all the talking and none of the listening. And pride doesn’t want to make peace because it’s so stubborn and doesn’t want to be instructed. It only wants to instruct others. Remember we are all of equal value in God’s eyes so let’s not esteem ourselves above the value of another but really LOVE one another. Stop screaming and begin to listen to connect to the heart of someone else…everyday.