Everyday MattersThere's a reason for everyday.
Despite the bad and the good, everyday matters. |
|
1/24/2020 Accepting YourselfFriday Matters- January 24, 2020
Everyday Honest Acceptance of Self When I honestly accepted who God said I was, loved, redeemed and not a mistake, I felt 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. Do you ever try and appear righteous before God and others with your performance. I have and it’s exhausting. It’s a dangerous zone when get our assurance from wealth or our status. Oh my goodness…”they” is me, wretched, pitiably poor and so often blind. When I begin to think, “I’m doing really well here,” Isaiah 64 keeps me on track, “We’re all unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy garbage. It’s what Jesus did on the cross that cleans us up and sets us free…everyday.
0 Comments
1/17/2020 God’s grace for your misstepsFriday Matters- January 17, 2020
Everyday Mercy “Dan, c’mon, please pay the bill. My allowance won’t cover it.” I was at my husband’s office asking for grace as I handed him the bill from spending too much at J. Crew Catalog. Whew…he forgave and paid the bill. I was relieved. But when I went home I discovered that a stick of butter, my special cake plate and a container of frosting was missing. I knew my nephew had baked a cake while I was away so I called and scolded him for not replacing my supplies. When I hung up the phone I realized I was acting like the ungrateful servant in Matthew 18. A king was about to punish this servant for a debt of millions but instead had pity and forgave. But was this servant grateful? No, he instantly found his friend who owed him a few thousand and when instant payment wasn’t given he had the man thrown in prison. Okay, so I got the memo. God gives fresh mercy to us each day so how can we afford to withhold mercy from others who need it too…everyday. 1/10/2020 The TRUTH of ChristFriday Matters- January 10, 2020
Everyday Faith in JESUS ALONE 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. Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. I love to talk about Jesus and how He is love but He is holy too. And now I realize that not everyone who agrees Jesus is love understands that He is holy. 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 only through faith in Him can we have eternal life…everyday. 1/3/2020 The Holiness of GodFriday Matters-January 3, 2019
Everyday Holy God The earth experience is hard but it’s not our home. And while we are here in hard places let’s be honesty and real with one another. It’s only by admitting our weakness and humbly changing direction toward God that we are repaired by God’s generous love. In his holiness He must punish sin because sin separates us from God but in His love He cannot punish us. Christ proclaims our infinite worth and His eternal love for us aside from any human standard, even our own. Remember Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Our temporary imperfection is a quality which actually connects us to others rather than a secret shame which sets us apart. Becoming transparent and vulnerable will set you free and change you as well as other lives around you…everyday. 12/27/2019 Medication in ChristianityFriday Matters-December 27, 2019
Everyday Meds “Lisa,” I wrote; “I know exactly where you’re at. You’re not a “bad Christian” because you went on medication for your depression. God doesn’t think that. He loves you where you’re at.” I went on meds for anxiety. It was hard. I felt; “Maybe I wasn't reading the right scripture, praying right or maybe I didn't have enough faith. We live in a fallen world with sickness and disease. The enemy wants us to believe we’re a failure when our sickness is mental but it’s a lie. We’re sick. We need healing and stability and we limit God when we say He can only work on way. It was pride that kept me from wanting to take meds. I wanted to say; “God healed me without medication." Instead He provided a way through meds. It’s a mind battle. It helped me to hear National Speaker Chonda Pierce dealt with meds and depression. She taped a message to her prescription bottle which read; “God loves you Chonda. Take your medicine.” Don’t lose hope. You will get better…everyday. 12/20/2019 AcceptanceFriday Matters-December 20, 2019
Everyday Accepting Who You Are Sometimes I get disgusted with myself. It’s when I’m in this place of self-pity and I feel stuck. The way to peace begins with accepting the truth of myself—the whole truth. My struggle to cope with certain people has a simple explanation: they represent to me precisely those things that I have refused to acknowledge and accept in myself. To accept the truth of my brokenness is unbearable if not impossible, without turning to Jesus. If my vision of myself is not purified by the mercy and compassion of Jesus, I have to get dishonest, camouflage my warts, and present to you a self that is mostly admirable, fault free, and superficially happy. When I accept the truth of me, shipwrecked and saved, and give it over to the person of Jesus, I am at peace even if I don’t feel it. The peace that comes from God and surpasses all understanding, (Philippians 4:7) was provided by Christ on the cross and doesn’t depend on our shifting feelings …everyday. 12/13/2019 Love God-Love OthersFriday Matters-December 13, 2019
Everyday Get in the Van “Mom, why do we have to go to church? I don’t want to. Jesus loves us. Can’t we skip?” Years ago, getting four boys to Church on time with my husband and all buckled into the family van, was not on my “Favorite List.” I had similar complaining thoughts too. Church is people and people can be super irritating. And often when we get to church we begin judging; “Is the music good, the sermon effective, is Sunday school taught right, and what about the format in general, is it inviting and engaging? Yea, sure maybe those are good questions but the point is, thank God that He loves us right where we’re at and not where we should be. We need to remember we’re all gathering as sinners in need of a Savior and His grace. So when church complaints began on a Sunday morning I came up with this simple mantra, “Love God, Love others, and Get in the Van.” Church is not about you. It’s about God’s grace which we all need to receive and give…everyday. 12/2/2019 Believe the TruthFriday Matters-December 6, 2019
Everyday Believe Truth Who are you? Do you believe who others say you are or who Jesus says you are? So many of us hurt with this brokenness because we believe the lies the enemy shouts, telling us we’re not good enough. And guess what? We’ll never be good enough but GOD IS good and more than enough. HIS grace IS available for every situation, feeling and circumstance we go through. Romans 8:37 tells us; “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Shame has no place in our lives. Travel one day at a time and know that you’re not alone. You’re not a mistake and your past doesn’t define you. My life has been turned upside down and inside out. It has taken sharp turns that I never envisioned or planned for and that may be true for you too. But no matter how life tries to shake you, shame you or shock you, the unconditional love of God, with no condemnation, will do the same and make all things new and beautiful…everyday. 11/29/2019 Honestly & TransparencyFriday Matters-November 29, 2019
Everyday Sharing Our Hurt Believe me I know what it means to hurt. The recovery from my scoliosis back surgery was horrendous both physically and emotionally. And I was surprised at how the issues resulting in my parent’s divorce of 44 years affected me emotionally and physically too. Hurt from someone you love is pure pain. But I’ve noticed that the more I open up and share my heart of pain the more people respond to share their own hurts of an unfaithful spouse, abuse, absent love from a parent and the pain from their own children. Oh, the sins of others have such painful consequences for so many of us. So more than ever I’ve been holding on to Zechariah 9:12 by returning to Jesus my stronghold of security and prosperity as a prisoner of hope; believing that God will restore double for my trouble. Real hope is a constant positive attitude that in trusting my Redeemer, and despite what may happen, things will change for the better…everyday. 11/15/2019 CourageFriday Matters-November 15, 2019
Everyday Carry Burdens “Debbie, how do you apply scripture to your life and live it out?” This was a questions asked by a teenage friend who wanted to know how to live out God’s Word. Anna had shared how she was feeling so exhausted all the time but then it dawned on her she was trying to do and fix everything on her own strength. So she decided to surrender all her burdens to God. It was only a matter of days before a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. So I said, “Anna you’re applying God’s Word from Matthew 11:28. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." God won't give you more than you can bear although it can sure feel like it. You were carrying more than you needed. But you released the load that you weren’t meant to carry. Christ truly gives the right amount of grace every morning for what He calls us to carry…everyday. |
Archives
December 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
