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10/9/2019 Proclaim FAITH in JesusWednesday Matters-October 9, 2019
Everyday Personal Faith Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t wear my religion on my sleeve or talk about it because it’s personal?” I get that we don’t want to be labeled or stereotyped but let’s not keep private the GOOD NEWS of God’s grace! The older I get the more I realize how much grace I need so I can’t afford to withhold from others. I share my relationship with a living God and not a religion of rules made by men. I may not have a theological background but I do have a personal relationship with Christ. I can share my testimony of how He’s changed my life. Millions throughout the centuries have suffered or died in order to get the message of God’s love and forgiveness out, the message of a personal relationship with Christ, not a religion. Romans 1:16 will soon be tattooed on my arm (for real), “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it’s the power of salvation to all who believe”…everyday.
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Wednesday Matters-October 2, 2019
Everyday Golden Rule How many kids, when asked, would know what the golden rule is? Do you? Two of my four sons knew the answer: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” We may know it but do we live it? There are broken marriages, churches, friends fighting, there’s brokenness. Taking this golden truth to heart is another matter. Jesus loves us….really loves us…as we are. And He says; “I give you a new commandment; it is My commandment; it is all I command you; Love one another as I have loved you.” Only compassion and forgiveness count. Love is the key to everything. I think most times we treat others how we think they deserve to be treated but think if Jesus did that with us and gave us what we deserved? I know right? We’d be toast. Not only do my kids need to be reminded of this. I do too. Love one another…everyday. 9/25/2019 You DO NOT have to Earn God’s LoveWednesday Matters-September 25, 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. 9/19/2019 Jesus loves you for who you areWednesday Matters-September 18, 2019
Everyday I am Debbie I am Debbie with a slight curve of scoliosis made less noticeable with the surgery I had as an adult. I am Debbie who needs to look everyday in the mirror and wonder what else I can do to my hair that will change my life. I don’t want to care about it so much and there are times I don’t and I walk out in my pajamas to get groceries or record my radio feature at the station. Everyday, I have to remember the way He sees me despite my moral failings and missteps and bad hair days. In life’s journey we all want to be known and loved and Jesus knows us better than anyone and still loves us. He knows me, my pain. HE IS here, waiting to make creative, redemptive use of what has happened. He is always on the move. He isn’t wasting time thinking about all the trouble He has with us or how awful we feel about where we are with ourselves and our troubles. God loves us unconditionally…everyday. 9/11/2019 God Uses PainWednesday Matters-September 11, 2019
Everyday God Shouts to us in Pain Do you think that emotional pain is harder than physical pain? I often think it is. I mean I get physical pain from my recovery with scoliosis back surgery and having mono and flu where I never thought I’d leave the bathroom floor. However broken relationships, the loss of a loved one, and the failure of a plan or dream, well … that kind of pain is so much harder for me. But it helps to remember God uses pain to get our attention. C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain.” Pain is God’s megaphone. We rarely change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat. But why does it get so hot? I hear ya. The answer is God’s love turns-up, it warms when it all seems so cold and hopeless. God always cares. Proverbs 20:30, “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.” Yes, God loves you, everyday. 9/4/2019 Love Your SpouseWednesday Matters-September 4, 2019
Everyday Unity in Marriage I was absent one summer, for an extended period of time, and even though I’m not a “flower person” I cried when I came home and saw this large bouquet greeting me on the kitchen table. It was special and apparently so for our teenage son Joey. He seemed to be continually asking me, “Mom, aren’t those flowers from Dad beautiful?” “Yes. Yes they are Joey.” And yes, the best thing we can do for our kids is to love our spouse. If our children see a crack in the foundation, they often find a way to slip through. Of course we have disagreements and we have had our share of fights but it is how and where we choose to handle conflict, especially with our spouse. It’s important for our children to see unity, not division and so we often have to “agree to disagree” while privately we try and work things out. Jesus tells us that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. When you’re marriage stands strong so does your family…everyday. 8/28/2019 There’s A PurposeWednesday Matters-August 28, 2019
Everyday His Thoughts Well what in the world are you up to God. I. Can’t. Even. We can’t know the mind of God. Isaiah 55:8 says; “His thoughts are nothing like our thoughts.” But we can know the heart of God. We can TRUST and hope in His promises. I know it should be obvious to us that His ways are past finding out. He wouldn't be a very big God if we could fully comprehend Him with our finite minds. Walter Wangerin wrote, "We chirp theories because we can't stand the silence." I guess that’s how it is when we try to fully understand the purposes of suffering. It’s better to admit, "We don't understand, but we believe that God loves us and, that 'our Redeemer Lives'." Someone has suggested that in the margins beside many of our life's experiences is simply written: "to be explained later." Success for each day is not waiting for an answer to our whys but walking in the hope that He is making a way and there’s a purpose for it all…everyday. 8/21/2019 What's on your mind?Wednesday Matters-August 21, 2019
Everyday Crazy Thoughts Do you have crazy thoughts? And by that, I mean the kind of crazy negative thoughts that swirl in your mind which come from past hurts or present crazy circumstances. When I have them, they seem to creep in when I’m traveling a long distance by myself. BUT I know we can choose what we think on. WE can release God’s plan for our lives by no longer thinking about the things of old and believing instead that God has a good plan for our future. Since what we think about eventually comes out of our thoughts, we will never get our mouths straightened out unless we do something about our thoughts. We need to stop mentally living in the past and begin to think in agreement with God. Then once we do that, we can begin to speak in agreement with Him. We can actually see our own future and think on truth from Isaiah 43:19; “God makes s a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He can make a way for you and me…everyday. 8/14/2019 Take the Narrow RoadWednesday Matters-August 14, 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. Wednesday Matters-August 7, 2019
Everyday Compassion 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 he walked into the plant that morning several of his colleagues used sign language to say; “Great to see you,” “Welcome back” 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. |
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