Everyday MattersThere's a reason for everyday.
Despite the bad and the good, everyday matters. |
|
8/22/2019 Do it for the ChildrenThursday Matters-August 22, 2019
Everyday Protecting Your Children 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. 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.
0 Comments
8/15/2019 God IS the JudgeThursday Matters-August 15, 2019
Everyday Judge Not It’s so easy to judge others, isn’t it? We often do it when we feel crummy about something inside of us so we find someone else’s problems to judge. When we begin to sinfully judge others it is characterized by a feeling of superiority or resentment. Sinful judging often involves deciding what others’ motives may be. It reveals the absence of a genuine love. We get together with others to discuss someone’s problems when instead we should be praying for them. A listener wrote me about this problem with, "The sad truth is that when we judge someone’s heart, perhaps cuz we’re angry and hurt, there is often gossip involved. The one judged, becomes what I call, ‘boxed and labeled’ by the accuser and the gossip-hearers.” Exactly. God promises us vindication. Isaiah 54:17 reads; “No weapon turned against you will succeed.” Wait on God and He we will silence those voices who stand to accuse you unjustly. God promises redemption and vindication…everyday. 8/8/2019 Love Others as God Loves YOUThursday Matters-August 8, 2019
Everyday Catch Em' It’s hard when you see a mess in someone’s life and you know exactly how they should clean-up their act. But it’s not our job. It’s our job to give people genuine love, and prayer and then ask God how He wants us to intervene. I believe the best way to live a life of love is to find a connection with others and love them right where they’re at. The Bible has all the answers for getting cleaned up but if you don’t trust the God of the Bible, who has all the answers, you’re not gonna be interested in following what He says. I love this cliché’, “Be ye fishers of men. You catch em’--He’ll clean em.” Once someone trusts and receives God’s unconditional love they’ll want to know what He has to say. Hearts open with an attitude of, “I get to read the Bible” and not, “I have to.” The “I love others” fishing program really works. God knows us fully as we are and loves us fully too… everyday. 8/1/2019 Know God & Know PeaceThursday Matters-August 1, 2019
Everyday God is Peace What is the peace of God? Can it be explained? I’ve discovered this: Peace is a knowing and not a feeling. One evening a few years after my scoliosis back surgery in 2003 the rods along my spine seemed to wake-up and pinch certain nerves so I was in excruciating pain. Plus, I was on the bathroom floor vomiting into the toilet from the flu. After hours of this, fear crept in. I wanted to feel better but more than that I wanted my fear and anxiousness to leave. John 14:27 popped into my head reminding me that God gives peace no matter what’s happening to me, no matter how awful it is. So I said aloud; “Jesus, I choose to receive the peace You give.” Something happened. I didn’t instantly feel better but I KNEW better. I knew in my heart that God was with me and my pain and sickness would pass. There was hope. Knowing the peace of God rather depending on your feelings is a game changer…everyday. 7/25/2019 Choose your thought lifeThursday Matters-July 25, 2019
Everyday Choose Your Thought Life I just stared at my journal looking at the verse I had written down from Psalm 139:5, “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” I didn’t believe it. I was feeling sorry for myself and God felt far away so I slammed my journal shut. We have a choice on what we think on and I was making bad thought choices. I felt my circumstances weren’t fair and I was tired of waiting. I know where the “Poor Me” road leads so out of obedience I put on fun music and said the verse aloud, “God I trust that You. Your hand of blessing is on my head. It wasn’t an immediate shift in my attitude but the choice to think on what I knew was true and then names things aloud that I was thankful for, made a difference. The truth is, God loves you right where you’re at, no matter how you’re feeling …everyday. 7/18/2019 The enemy has NO power over youThursday Matters-July 18, 2019
Everyday Enemy Alert There’s evil in the world but often we don’t really think it’s something we have to be mindful of in our everyday lives. Oh but we do. The Garden of Eden was a perfect paradise God created for Adam and Eve until Satan got them to doubt and distrust God. The devil is still on the move working because he knows that the only way he can overcome a believer is through deception and intimidation. In the Bible in 1 Peter we’re told to be alert because the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour. Notice the verse doesn’t say “irritate” or “frustrate” but “DEVOUR!” A lion often scares up its dinner by roaring. Its prey freezes in fear simply due to fear thus becoming an easy meal for Mr. or Mrs. Lion. That is what we face. God is the king. The devil is an impostor. We have the power from God to tell him to get out of our face…everyday. 7/11/2019 What Does God Think?Thursday Matters-July 11, 2019
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? Hey this is Debbie Griffith with Everyday Matters. 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 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 bummed. Caring what God thinks makes a huge difference in how we respond to things…everyday. 7/4/2019 There’s Always HopeThursday Matters-July 4, 2019
Everyday Hope Ahead Life is hard. An unexpected death of someone you love is hard. Yep. I’m a Christian because I am convinced that only in Jesus Himself is there any adequate, calming useful, clear explanation of any of life’s tragedies. When a friend loses the life of a loved one, what can we offer? I’ve found simply sitting beside them to grieve the loss, the shortness of life or perhaps how it all feels unfair, is best. But surely our Savior can say to us in our loss, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” The Savior who has been there and back safely, who died and rose again and now can fully assure us. To say a loved one died because of some sin in our lives is not only unrealistic, distorted thinking for a Christian, in whom “the light of the world” lives, but is an insult to the forgiving heart of the Father. Love others as He does. Share the hope…everyday. 6/27/2019 God’s Gift of GraceThursday Matters-June 27, 2019
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 6/20/2019 Forgive as God ForgivesThursday Matters-June 20, 2019
Everyday Offense Taken We can say we trust in God to avenge or defend us but when we take matters into our own hands we aren’t putting a lot of trust in God taking care of our hurt. A big challenge is not to pick up the offense of a friend or family member who’s been hurt. I’m guilty there. But when we take on someone else’s offense we’re sucking the poison of their sin and we become bitter along with them. I’ve seen this happen when a parent’s anger towards someone passes on to their children. Remember if only one side of the story is presented you don’t have the whole truth and may have a cocktail of lies. It’s the enemy’s plan to ruin relationships. God’s plan is to restore. Follow Deuteronomy 30:19 which tells us to make the choices which bring life so that we and generations to come may live meaningful lives. More is caught than taught and the way your children trust God will have a lot to do with the way you trusted God in relationship conflicts…everyday. |
Archives
April 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
