Matthew Gaither – Page 25

Do You Speak the Language of God?

October 2, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

I’ll never forget what the man said that day. It was an introduction to a church service quite unlike anything that I had ever heard before. This man told a story about a funeral he had recently attended that held very special meaning for him. This is what he said:

The deceased had been deaf and mute his entire life. Despite this particular challenge he had lived a full life that was full of love with a wife and two daughters. During the funeral one of this man’s daughters got up to speak. She said that she was several years old before she began to learn sign language and could begin to effectively communicate with her father. She knew she was loved from the time that she was a baby because of the way he treated her but she never heard him say a single word in his entire life. His type of speaking was completely different.

Imagine this man, this father, going three, four or even five years into the lives of his daughters before he could tell them how much he loved them. Imagine all of the things that he wanted to teach them and to show them but was unable to because they could not understand his language. But oh, what joy when the language barrier was finally broken and the children began to understand what their father had been trying to tell them all along. “I love you, you belong in my family. You belong to me”

We have a Heavenly Father who desperately wants to communicate to us how much he loves us. He created us. He knows us intimately and we are His children. But so many of us don’t speak his language.

The natural man cannot understand the holy, perfect language of God. (1 Corinthians 2:14) Without the regenerating power of the blood of Jesus Christ we are lost and without hope and are unable to see or understand all that God has prepared for us. When we accept the sacrifice of Jesus and admit and repent of our sinful state then the Spirit of God can begin the process of teaching us to understand that which is holy and perfect.

The more we seek that which is of the Spirit the more we will begin to understand His character and His great love and great grace as He draws near to us. (James 4:8) Learning to understand the language of God happens when we get to know Him as our creator, deliverer, savior and friend. I hope that you are learning the language of God even now so that you can hear him say, “I love you, you are my child and you are my treasure”.

I would love to hear how God has been speaking to you lately and telling you that He loves you!

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: Love, regeneration, salvation

New Beginnings – A Blessing and A Challenge

October 1, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

Sometimes, the Lord blesses us in the most unexpected ways. Such is the case with my new job. After having worked in retail for the past five years and in IT for the ten years before that, I now find myself using all of my accumulated knowledge in new ways and in a new place.

I was not looking for a new job. I had actually decided to continue in retail for at least the next year or so simply because my employer was a good one, my hours were regular and the wage was decent. Truth be told, I was not especially looking forward to another Christmas in retail; if you are a retail worker then I sympathize with you because you know what I’m talking about, but I was thankful to be employed and I counted my blessings.

And then one day a man walked in the door and I exchanged greetings and small talk with him because I knew him from when I did IT work those many years ago. He was a local business owner who had used our firm for various services and we remembered each other. He browsed around for a while and then as he was about to walk back out the door to leave he surprised me with a question. He said “Are you looking for any other opportunities?” That, of course, started the conversation that lead me to accept a position with his company.

Needless to say, the past week has been all about getting acclimated and settled in to my new position. This brings about a special set of challenges that you normally wouldn’t even consider except when starting a new position at a new place. For instance, learning the telephone number and address of your establishment so that you can give customers the correct information. Or, figuring out the most convenient place to buy fuel for your car because your route to and from work has been completely altered. Most days were fun and interesting but one or two were stressful and headache inducing as I struggled to come to grips with all of the new information that I needed to know.

Through it all I have been very aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit watching over, protecting and sustaining me. Even amid the stressful days this has been the smoothest new job transition that I’ve ever undertaken. Things have just gone well this week and I give all the credit and glory to my Heavenly Father who is the author of all good and perfect gifts. (James 1:17)

I acknowledge and appreciate God’s gifts and how abundantly He has blessed me and I will continue to do that as often as possible. One of my life’s goals is to cultivate a continuing attitude of thankfulness and to not forget how favored I am. I am here to do His will and my very life is contingent upon His great grace. Thank you, Lord, for new beginnings, new challenges and new blessings.

How about you? Have you had any new beginnings that you are thankful for recently? I appreciate your comments!

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: blessings, gifts, thankful

The Daniel Fast – What I Learned

September 30, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

My wife and I completed our Daniel Fast this past weekend. I was honored when she said she would undertake the fast with me and I truly could not have done it without her love and support. Having your spouse by our side as you make a major diet change for a period of time is a huge benefit in terms of moral support, encouragement and accountability. Although we struggled some days with cravings and feelings of being limited in our food choices we also learned a great deal and generally felt more energetic and excited to be undertaking this particular spiritual journey.

“In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.” (Daniel 10:2-3 NASB) This is the verse that the Daniel Fast is based on. It comes from a time in Daniel’s life when he was sincerely seeking to hear a word from the Lord and he decided to set himself apart by his dietary choices for three weeks. Daniel chose only the most healthy and most natural food choices he could and today we understand his choices to be centered around fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seeds, herbs, spices and water for drinking.

I believe wholeheartedly in living and eating in a healthy, wholesome manner. My wife and I try to stick to a low fat, low cholesterol diet on a daily basis. In terms of using a lot of fresh, natural ingredients the Daniel fast was not that much different from our normal diet, with a few exceptions.

1. We love breads and crackers, and especially bagels with cream cheese. Nothing leavened may be consumed on the Daniel fast and animal products like dairy and meat are also given up.

2. I’m a coffee lover and both of us frequently enjoy a cup of hot tea in the evenings. Only water or natural fruit juices may be consumed on the Daniel fast.

3. Sugar. Sweeteners. Honey. We both have a sweet tooth although we try to keep it reasonable. This was probably the biggest challenge of the Daniel fast, especially in finding items at the grocery story that did not have some form of sweetener added to it. It seems like sugar is in everything these days!

4. Additives and Preservatives. It must be completely natural to be consumed on the Daniel fast and the very great majority of packaged foods that you find in the grocery story have at least 1 (and sometimes many more) additive or preservative. Seriously, have you read the ingredient list on a taco or burrito shell recently? It’s a little bit frightening. Fortunately, Food for Life, the Ezekiel 4:9 company, came through for us there.

With all of that said, the benefits, both spiritual and physical, more than made up for what I gave up during our Daniel fast. I can’t remember a time in my life when I’ve ever been as grateful and as thankful for food as I was during those three weeks. Something about the process of pairing down our choices for sustenance to the bare essentials really made me think about and appreciate each ingredient and realize just how blessed we were.

God provides. We say it all the time. During the three weeks of the Daniel fast I felt it acutely. I perceived anew that it was only through God’s provision and His blessing that we ever have food to eat and water to drink. Man may recombine the basic ingredients and build on what God has already provided but he cannot create. It is God who really does the providing and I am so very thankful.

The last thing I’ll say, and I found this really surprising, is that I really don’t need any added sugar to be satisfied. Once I had been off of processed sugar for a few days I found myself naturally eating more sweet fruits like apples, bananas, grapes, raisins and watermelons. “Ice Cream” made out of blended frozen banana and blueberries is very good. Rice cakes with natural peanut butter and raisins sprinkled on top is delicious and I will keep right on eating them even now, when I could choose something with sugar. For a guy with a sweet tooth I found out that the sweet things that God provides us naturally really don’t need any additional help to be delicious!

Have you ever fasted or considered fasting? If so, I would like to hear about your experience!

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: fasting, grateful, The Daniel Fast

Save Saeed – The Story of an Atrocity

September 26, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

The following story is all true and is taken in part from savesaeed.org.

Saeed Abedini, a 33-year-old Pastor, father, and husband from Idaho, is currently imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. On 28 July 2012, during a visit to Tehran to visit family and to finalize the board members for an orphanage he was building in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard detained Saeed, asserting that he must face criminal charges for his Christian faith. After intense interrogations, Saeed was placed under house arrest and told to wait for a court summons. On 26 September 2012, instead of receiving a summons telling him where to appear, five members of the Revolutionary Guard raided Saeed’s parents’ home in Tehran, confiscated many of Saeed’s belongings, and took him to an unknown location. After four days the Revolutionary Guard informed the family that Saeed was in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin Prison.
Saeed remained in solitary confinement for approximately four weeks before he was moved to Evin Prison. During solitary confinement, Saeed was only brought out of his small, dark cell to be subjected to abusive interrogations.
Saeed has been beaten and threatened with death for his faith. In a letter Saeed penned from prison on 10 January 2013, Saeed said: I am “told I will hang for my faith in Jesus” and that he suffered “intense pains after beatings in interrogations.” He appeared before Judge Pir-Abassi on 21 January 2013, to present his defense. The lawyer confirmed in Iranian news that Saeed was on trial for intentionally undermining the national security of Iran through his leadership in Christian house churches. Saeed and his attorney argued that his intention in gathering with Christian believers was motivated solely by his faith and that he had no intent to undermine the government. Judge Pir-Abassi had requested Saeed’s lawyer go to the media and state that the trial was conducted fairly and that he would be let out on bail soon. Yet, the family had sought bail in the past, and was repeatedly denied.
One week after Saeed had presented his defense, he was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison. He has been in prison for more than 220 days.
Saeed had been denied medical treatment for infections that resulted from beatings. The ward doctor and nurse refused to treat him because, as a Christian, he was considered “unclean” and an infidel. Saeed’s family in Tehran may visit Saeed on Mondays, but he is not permitted to make phone calls, cutting him off from his wife and two young children in the U.S.
In late February it became known that Saeed was suffering from internal bleeding, an injury from beatings he endured during interrogations. Doctors examined Saeed in early March and determined that his injuries warranted immediate attention, and, in their medical opinion, he needed to be treated in a non-prison hospital. For a month, the Iranian regime ignored this advice. In an attempt to appease international pressure, on 8 April 2013, the Saeed was taken to a private hospital. Before doing so, guards forced Saeed to change his prison uniform to that of a murderer. Saeed resisted, the guards beat him, and forced him to wear the uniform. When Saeed arrived at the hospital he was never admitted or treated because, according to the guards, the doctor on staff was not present. Saeed has reported that several cellmates, who appear to be connected to the Iranian intelligence police, have threatened to suffocate Saeed while he sleeps.
Recently, Saeed’s condition became even more serious. Having been denied medical attention, he was thrown into solitary confinement. Beforehand, Saeed complained of kidney pain. He and the several other prisoners wrote a letter to prison officials in peaceful protest of lack of access to medical attention. In response, Iranian officials placed ten prisoners under solitary confinement, Saeed among them. Last time he was in solitary confinement, his medical condition substantially worsened. There is no reason to believe this time will be different. Saeed is now cut off from any visitation.

Today, September the 26th, marks the 1 year anniversary of Saeed’s imprisonment. Join me and thousands of other Christians in praying for Saeed, for his family and for his freedom. If you would like to sign the petition to release Saeed or learn more about the efforts to have him freed from prison please take a look here.

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: Saeed Abedini

What does “discipleship” really mean?

September 25, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

I recently attended a seminar called “D21”, short for “Discipleship for the 21st Century”. I really didn’t know what to expect but I decided it would be a good thing to go and learn all that I could.

There were 5 different classes offered. After a brief introduction in the main sanctuary we all chose a class to attend for the evening based on what was most relevant to us. I chose the “Simple Discipleship” course which was aimed at small group bible study and Sunday School teachers who were looking to learn more about discipleship.

Over the course of about 2 hours we discussed the state of discipleship in our modern churches (more on that in a minute) and then focused on a few very easy questions and methods that literally anyone can use to help someone else in their walk with Christ. Stories were shared. Ideas were verbalized. Real love and real prayer for one another occurred in that classroom before it was all said and done and it was a great experience that I hope I never forget.

But let’s back up for a second. What, in its purest form, is discipleship? Simply put, it is one individual sharing of themselves with another individual for the cause of Christ. We simply need to tell of God’s great mercy and provision in our own lives and then ask what God is doing in their life. It doesn’t require programs. It doesn’t require literature. It doesn’t even require education or training.

Don’t believe me? Go check out Mark 5: 1-20. This is the passage of scripture our teacher for the evening opened up with and it gives a powerful example. It tells the story of a demon possessed man who accosted Jesus almost as soon as he got out his boat in a region called the Gerasenes. If you know the story then you know that the man was in a bad way and no one could restrain him and he spent his days by wailing and shouting and hurting himself with stones. Jesus healed the man and set him free from his demonic possession and the man wanted to stay with Jesus and worship Him.

But Jesus didn’t let him. Jesus said in verse 19 “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” Jesus was asking him to become a disciple and a witness and to tell his story of redemption and freedom. The really important part is this: How much discipleship training had this man had? (zero) How many days had this man spent in church and Bible study?(zero) How much time had passed since he became a believer before the Lord asked him to go? (not very much)

What this man had was a powerful encounter with Lord Jesus Christ that forever changed his life.

Right now, today, we have even more than that man had. We have the living Holy Spirit who, if we allow Him, moves and works in our lives. We also have our own individual stories of how the Lord saved us and called us out of darkness and we need to share them with each other as a way of strengthening and encouraging other believers.

And to show you an example of how God works, I recorded Monday’s video blog that Thursday morning. At the close of that blog I talked about how we need to share what God is doing in our lives because it shows us a fuller picture of God’s great love and is so very encouraging. Thursday evening I went to the discipleship seminar and what did we end up talking about? We talked about sharpening each other spiritually by sharing what God was doing in our lives!

Do you think God is trying to tell me (and us) something?

Now ask yourself, how much of this type of simple discipleship is going on in your church. How much of this type of simple discipleship are you personally involved in? And, if the answer to either question is “not very much” or “not any” then where do you start?

What this type of simple discipleship requires is relationship, connection and trust. It requires getting to know someone a little bit by making an effort to be friendly, helpful and concerned. It requires us asking questions about another person’s well being and actually being interested in what they say. It also requires that we open up about what’s going on in our lives. And then, as we begin to forge connections with those around us we are given the opportunity to share Christ; with another believer for edification and with an unbeliever for salvation.

So, I have a challenge for you and for me. The challenge is this: Ask someone how it’s going with them spiritually. And then be ready to follow up if they don’t have an answer to that question or if their answer is not a good one. Start with someone you already know well, like your spouse or a close friend and work from there. Take small steps towards sharing the God that is alive in your life and and I guarantee that God will bless your effort.

So, are you ready to start practicing simple discipleship?

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: christian, discipleship, faith

Plastic Donuts: Giving that Delights the Heart of the Father Book Review

September 24, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

I’ve read a lot of great books in 2013 but Plastic Donuts is surely one of the neatest. Let’s start with its appearance: It’s a hardcover book but it’s not much bigger than my outstretched hand. It’s also brief and to the point, weighing in at only 128 pages. The price is also nice, at only $9.99. And of course there’s that title; Plastic Donuts. How can a book called Plastic Donuts be about giving? It just makes you want to pick it up and start reading, doesn’t it?

So goes the story that Jeff Anderson, the author, was sitting and working at his desk one day. His daughter, a toddler at the time, came up to his desk and with a smile and a giggle offered Jeff a pink, plastic donut out of her toy kitchen set. Jeff smiled back and gratefully accepted the plastic donut to the delight of his daughter. The exchange blessed Jeff because of the unexpected gift from his daughter and his daughter was delighted by the attention and praise of her father.

Jeff says God opened his eyes through that interaction. Just like that plastic donut that was given to him, God does not need our gifts to get by. God desires our gifts, given from the heart, because it blesses both the giver and the receiver. Likewise, God delights in giving His children gifts out of the pure joy of giving. And God has been giving gifts to us out of his great love and joy since the very beginning of the creation story. (Imagine what the Garden of Eden must have been like before the fall!)

In Plastic Donuts, Jeff looks at giving from a scriptural point of view and does a fantastic job of condensing a lot of information into a very natural, easy to understand guide that just about anyone should be able to pick up and read.

Jeff’s main points for the book are: What we give needs to matter to us and We determine the amount and he gives ample scriptural basis for both. What we give needs to matter to us because it needs to be given out of love and in honor of God and we determine the amount because there is no set amount for a gift.

I can hear some of you thinking “but what about the tithe!” and I can assure you that Jeff does a great job addressing the tithe. The long and short of it is this: the tithe is primarily for the maintenance of the local body (the church) and yes, God does expect his children to give of their time and finances to maintain his church. Tithing is important, but it isn’t all there is.

An interesting point about the tithe Jeff discovered from his research: mentions of the tithe in the Bible account for only 2 percent of the total of all that the Bible has to say about giving. In other words, by focusing on the tithe we are effectively ignoring 98% of what God has to say about giving. Let’s not make that mistake. Let’s read and understand all of what God’s Word has to say so that we can give Him the glory that He is due.

On a personal level, I really value this little book for the insight that Jeff shares through it and I learned some things about giving that really blessed me. I hope that you get an opportunity to read it, because I know that it will bless and instruct you also.

For more information on this topic, check out author Jeff Anderson’s website at acceptablegift.org and be sure to read his interview over at Beyond Evangelical.

Plastic Donuts: Giving that Delights the Heart of the Father is available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and other fine booksellers.

ISBN-13: 9781601425287
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Publication date: 5/21/2013
Pages 128

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: giving, Plastic Donuts, tithe

The very first video blog for Matthew515

September 23, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

Clearly, I still have much to learn. Watch the video, you will see what I mean. But, like the Chinese proverb says, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, this is only the beginning. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is where I’m starting. Thankfully, through Christ in me, it won’t be where I end.

I cover three brief points in the video that I think are so very important.

1. You are not alone. You are part of the family of God and a member of the body of Christ.

2. Be an encouragement and be a light, wherever you are.

3. Everyone has questions but that shouldn’t stop us from moving forward together in Faith.

Six short minutes for this first video. Short videos are easier to watch anywhere and frankly easier to digest. I sincerely hope that it blesses you.

I’m thankful for this life that God has given me and for this work that He is allowing me to be a part of. I continue to hope and pray that God can use Matthew515 for His glory and for our benefit.

Please let me know what you thought of this very first video blog and if you have any suggestions for the future. I would love to hear from you.

Filed Under: Daily, Video Tagged With: encouragement, faith, light

New Site is Live!

September 20, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

Lord, please bless this mess!

I pressed a few interesting looking buttons on the control panel and this is what came out. I hope you like it! Just kidding, of course. I’ve been working on the update to the site for several weeks now and today I finally got to the place where I was ready to make the change.

I’ve tried to test and make sure that everything is working as intended. However, there is always the possibility that I missed something so if you find a glitch, please let me know and I will take care of it right away. I hope that you find the new format more readable and more interesting to look at than the old format.

I’ve also added a couple of new features that I’m excited about. The “Popular Posts” area on the right side of the page allows me to feature posts that have gotten especially good feedback and allows a post to stay visible long after it’s left the front page, hopefully allowing more people to see it. Towards the middle of the right hand column is “Wisdom for your Week” where I will be featuring a quote from a Christian author or theologian each week. I’ll update it each Friday and I hope it provides some encouraging and thought provoking material for your week.

I am by no means an expert at any aspect of this so I am always open to suggestions for improvement. I’ve tested the new layout on my iPod Touch, my Desktop PC and my Laptop PC but I don’t currently have an iPad or an Android Phone so those of you viewing the site with those devices I would very much like your feedback.

Thanks and please let me know what you think!

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: matthew515

The God that Meets Us

September 18, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

Have you ever stopped to consider why God pursues us like He does? I have, and it amazes me more and more all the time. In fact, whenever I think I have gained a little bit of understanding about God’s great love He shows me something else that astounds me all over again.

God is love. We say it all the time. And we even think we know what it means. But we don’t; not really. We try to impose our idea of love and companionship on what God is doing with us and that of course leads us to a very imperfect understanding and a very distorted picture. I believe this is why Paul wrote “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Matthew Henry, the respected 17th Century theologian, said it like this: “All things are dark and confused now, compared with what they will be hereafter. They can only be seen as by the reflection in a mirror, or in the description of a riddle; but hereafter our knowledge will be free from all obscurity and error. It is the light of heaven only, that will remove all clouds and darkness that hide the face of God from us.”

One day we will understand that God is love. We will see Him face to face and I believe that first glimpse will far surpass the sum of every happiness and joy that we have ever experienced. It will be worth the wait. It will be worth all the work. And it will far surpass the world that we have forsaken.

Even so, God is drawing us to know Him now. Notice the last part of 1 Corinthians 13:12. “Just as I also am known.” God knows us. He knows us completely and totally. And yet He still loves and accepts us and invites us into a relationship with Him.

No matter how far we run, no matter what we do or what we become; God comes to meet us.

We see this illustrated in the parable of The Lost Sheep in the 15th Chapter of Luke. The shepherd, who represents Jesus, looses 1 sheep out of his flock of 100. He goes and searches for His lost sheep and when he finds it He picks it up, puts on His shoulders (can you imagine being in a better spot than carried on the mighty shoulders of our God?) and returns to the flock. When he arrives home, all of His friends and neighbors (the heavenly host) rejoice that the one lost sheep has been found.

There is joy in heaven and on earth when God comes to meet us and we let him carry us home. The desire of our Lord is to carry each and every one of His precious children home but he always gives us the choice. It is our decision to make. Just remember, the journey home starts when we allow God to meet us right where we are, just as we are.

Have you allowed God to meet with you? Are you already on the path that leads to a home eternal?

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: forgiveness, Love

Hidden Wisdom from 1987

September 17, 2013 by Matthew Gaither

Thanks, Dad!

During a recent visit by my parents, my Dad handed me a small piece of paper. He found this piece of paper while cleaning out his Bible recently and the date on the top of one side said “January 28, 1987”. On the back side are sermon notes from that night’s message.

Dad said he remembered taking these notes and deciding to keep them. They obviously meant something to him and reading the list he made I can see why. I doubt he had me in mind while he was taking these notes but I am grateful that he thought about me when he rediscovered them. Isn’t it amazing how God can use something we do to bless and encourage someone else even 26 years later?

Here is what Dad wrote all those years ago.

1. Love others just the way they are.

2. Love yourself just the way God made you.

3. Forgive yourself and free yourself from guilt.

4. Forgive any and every person that has wronged you.

5. Take the initiative in solving problems.

6. Seek to learn valuable lessons from conflict.

7. Develop a healthy sense of humor.

8. Refuse to accept defeat.

9. Set a limit on down time.

10. Be thankful, always.

11. Turn lemon frustration into lemonade opportunities.

12. Refuse to let little things ruin your day.

This is a list to live by. Reading it now, in 2013, just goes to show that wisdom and truth do not change with the times. What was true for God’s people then is still true for God’s people now; we just need to continue putting that truth into practice.

I hope that reading Dad’s list has blessed and encouraged you the same way that it blessed and encouraged me. Let’s continue to gain wisdom and understanding together and commit to living a life that pleases God.

Are you currently practicing all of the items on Dad’s list?

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: advice, Truth, wisdom