Good morning Jesus, As deep cries out to deep, I lobg for your presence as I sit and wait on you.
“Then I heard the altar reply, “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments are true and just!” (Revelation 16:7)
Most of us in a church and individually know what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer” by heart. In that prayer we confess and claim that God the Father is “Our Father” and that “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That includes your will for each one of us. We claim you are omnipresent, omniscience. Ominpowerful; that you are present everywhere, you know everything and you have power and control over everything, including our lives.
Your presence and the impact and effect of your presence is constant and never changing on all of creation. Most of what we call your “judgments” or “wrath” are the results of us going against or trying to change what is unchanging. Sort of like gravity. It is unchanging and constant throughout the earth. Its presence affects and has a form of control over almost every thing we do on this earth. Say a person climbs up and goes on top of the roof of a 20 story building. They defiantly state “Gravity does not exist and has no control on me!” The person then jumps off the roof and falls the 20 stories and smacks into the pavement below to their death. You could say the gravity killed them and their death was caused by the judgment of the unchanging law of gravity. When in actuality it was the individuals choosing to deny and defy the existence of gravity that caused its death. Gravity is not going to be altered by our will.
This is similar to God’s unchanging presence, holiness presence and impact on all of creation. Our pain, hurt and struggles result from our times of defiance of God’s holy presence and existence, when we go against His laws and “jump in our flesh desires,” challenge an try to change His unchangeable nature to conform to our mature, and pain and struggles result. We deny and defy God’s existence and “jump” in rebellion and sin and smack into the consequences of or deliberate sin. We could blame our consequences on the “Wrath of God” when the cause was really caused by our stepping out against His constant, holy, presence. God’s holy presence is not going to be altered by our will.
My family, I pray this morning you say the Lord’s Prayer again out loud. And When you say, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” you let those words soak into your heart, and ask the Holy Spirit to conform your life to His will, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by alsosharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s reading in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to align my steps with Your path for my life.
I went to the Waffle House to meet a person who wanted to talk but they did not show up. So I sat at the bar next to a senior-aged man who is a regular at the WH. Dave shared with me that in a few months he will be married to his wife Martha for 53 years. They married right after high school. The first 13 years of their marriage was great and normal. What he thought marriage would be like, what “he signed up for.” Then Martha was impacted by a degenerative nerve disease that ran in her family. She became depressed, suicidal, emotional and moody. She has been hospitalized 70 times in the 37 years since she was effected by the disease for various periods of a week to 2 months. Dave said Martha will be one moment engaged and joyful, and then the next depressed and saying she does not want to live anymore. In this state she takes things out on Dave and says hurtful things to him because of her condition. Dave says it hurts him inside but he knows it is the disease and depression speaking, not his wife. Martha has gone through all types of different medicines and doses with only brief or sporadic help.
Dave said the 40 years of marriage since Martha’s disease changed everything has been a challenge. Sometimes a deep struggle. He has had to forgo allot of travel, and normal activities couples do together like going to a dinner and a movie because since the disease hit his wife hardly leaves the house. Yet for the past 53 years, with 40 of them being difficult, he has remained faithful to his wife. He has a strong faith in Christ, and he said he made a covenant before God and Martha that he will not break. He said, “Do I have moments and days I thinks this is not fair? Yes. That I got a raw deal of more years of the “worse” out my vow of “for better or for worse?” Yes. That I miss going out and enjoying my wife’s company? Yes. Have I had occasional thoughts of leaving my wife? Yes. But he loves Martha. Loves God. And remains faithful to both. I told him he was a good man. He said I hear that allot however I am not. Most days I do not know what I am. He told me thanks for listening. Most people can't tell the difference between listening and loving. And we listen because we love.
We prayed together at the bar before we left.
I then went to a house to repair a plumbing issue for a couple. As God would have it, while working on the issue the the man began to share with me about his wife and marriage. Larry told me that he and his wife retired 1 1/2 ago and about the same time his was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. And it has progressively gotten worse. He said she loved to garden and landscape and he showed me all the flower beds and garden in his front and back yard. They were looking rough and he said it is because his wife now is not able to take care of them. Larry said his wife is an amazing cook, however she rarely cooks for them any more because she will begin cooking something, not be able to remember the complete recipie, and get frustrated and angry, and quit. He said his misses her cooking and meal time around the table so they order out allot now. LArry said they stopped going out because when his wife goes out she gets nervous and anxiety because she does not know where she is. Larry said he he worked all his life to save up and enjoy retirement with his wife spending time together and traveling, and now that has been taken away from him. His retirement and the rest of his years together with his wife would not be what he had planned or signed up for. After I finished the plumbing repair, I realized that had not sent me to Larry’s house to work, but to listen. I prayed with Larry before I left and told him to call me if he ever wanted to talk.
In my truck while driving away I thought I have no reason to complain about any of the struggles I have had in my marriage or my life. Any percieved bitterness in my marriage was now brought into perspective and sweetened by my morning interuption listening to Dave, Larry and God.
"Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?' He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet" (Exodus 15:22-25).
We are all on a spiritual journey out of the bondage of Egpyt, through the wilderness, and into the promised land of our destiny. And along the way we can grow weary and worn. We can give in to the negative attitudes of murmuring and complaining and criticizing. We can let our faith waiver as we begin to forget Your faithfulness for salvation and deliverance so many times before and start to lose our vision and hope for the destiny You've set before us. We focus on the cup of bitter waters we may be drinking from in the present.
But You are the God who makes our bitter waters sweet. Just like You showed Moses a piece of wood, you remind us of a piece of wood. You remind us of Your cross. The power of Your cross and Your sacrifice of love for every one of us is the power of God for our salvation, for our healing, for our deliverance that refreshes us and renews us to continue the journey. Just as You showed the children of Israel that day, You show us every day You are "the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may drink deeply from the Living Waters every day, from the One who makes your bitter waters sweet, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Help Me Share The Gospel!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Weekday morning Devotions are also published daily on my “ODC Daily Message” Facebook page.
I was in the Waffle House this morning sitting at the low bar talking with waitresses, cooks and customers. I was wearing a “One Direction Community” T shirt. One of the customers asked me where my church was located. When I told them my living room, they gave me a weird look. He said to me, “So you are trying to start something new, a new form of church. They went on to tell me about their church, that it was not something new, that is was non-denomination and that they just followed Jesus. I told them that was great. However, no church is is really non-denominational. Once a church states it vision, mission, and belief statements that are putting in place an eccciastical structure that conforms to Baptist or another traditions beliefs and structure. No one births a church free from the tracks the saints have laid before them. We ended up talking for 45 minutes on various church aspects.
It reminded me and I shared with them about a trip I took my family on several years ago to Great Britain, France and Italy. we visited and spent time in several cathedrals and famous churches. St. Paul and Westminster Abbey in London; Bath Abby in Bath; Notre Dame, Sacre Coure, and St. Chappelle in Paris; and the Doumo and Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
The picture above is part of a marble plaque that is inside the Duomo in Milan. The Duomo is the largest Catholic Church in in Italy, the third largest in the world. It lists the Bishops of the church. When I read it, it made me stop and reflect. The first bishop was Saint Antalone and he became bishop in 51 AD (“Anno Elez”- year elected). In 51AD!!! Jesus was crucified in 32AD so this is only 19 years after his death! This is before most of the books of the New Testament were written and those that were written, copies were not yet made by hand and distributed. This church was planted and grew without any New Testament Bibles. John 3:16 would not be written until 25-30 years after this church was planted! And actually, Antalone died before John 3:16 was written. When we talk about a church based simply on Jesus, the “early church”, this was the early church.
History states that Barnabas brought the Gospel to Milan and that Saint Antalone was converted by and then discipled by Barnabas. This church then was birthed out of one thing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Trying to form a community that simply conformed to and imitated the life of Jesus.
As a planter of missional churches I am aware that church plants tend to be of a different culture. In their attempt to create a “new” form of church, a “Cowboy” or anti-established church attitude can take shape. As I read this plaque I am reminded and reaffirmed that though I may take issue with some of the current models of church structure, I am not trying to distance my self from the established church.
I am not smart enough nor do I want to try to create from scratch a new denomination. (And saying you are non-denomination basically means this). Nor do I want to disconnect myself and our church from those like Antalone. Those early saints and martyrs whose blood and sacrifice first joined in the Missio Deo, the Mission of God to establish his Kingdom on earth and laid the prayers and ground worked my church today flows out of.
The more my heart was opened to “new church” the more my heart and my understanding was exposed to the “old church.” As I understood, embraced and began to imitate not what the church has currently morphed into, but what the current church morphed out of. The early church illustrated in Acts of the Apostles and the explanation and implementation teachings on the church contained in the Letters of Paul and James. And since we are a church committed to discipleship, I have spent much time in close examination of the life and teachings of Jesus found in the Gospels. The life and teachings on which Antalone founded the church in Milan
I came to the greater realization that Christianity and discipleship is not about imitating a religion, but imitating a person, namely Jesus Christ. So my plant is not called to try to conform to and imitate current church models, but it is called to conform to and imitate Christ.
A deeper study of John Wesley, the early Methodist movement based on band and class meetings, the reading of Wesley’s sermons, and reading through the journals containing the stories of the lives of early Methodist preachers exposed me to the “old” of our denominations roots. What "new" form of church was used to birth the Methodist movement and caused it to spread like fire. Added to this, I spent much time honestly assessing the state of the church today, which is not good. Through all this my heart was not just opened to, but convicted and compelled to doing the what some people call “something new.” However, "new" basically means returning to the “old,” forming and returning to simple churches that Love God, Love Neighbor, and Make Disciples.
Starting a church is not the goal, the goal is starting a community imitating Jesus. If you start with the goal of a church, you do not always end up with community. But start with forming a community and a church will be formed. And lives will be transformed.
My family, I pray today you will reflect and pray “old School.” Paul states in 1Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” The ultimate price was paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. However, the Church today through which you receive grace from God was paid for by the dedication, suffering, prayers, and lives of the millions of saints who have gone before you. You are part of a community of faith, a communion of saints, which includes Saint Antalone. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
“And the king will answer them, ʻI tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Yesterday, heard the news that after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that Haiti no longer met the conditions for designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and terminated TPS Status for Haiti. And I am sorry, and I do not cuss to often, but when I heard the news I but I actually yelled out loud at the TV “What the F#ck are we doing?” I was so mad! I was so sad and disheartened. And that feeling continues this morning.
Because of this termination of TPS for Haiti, now the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made plans to ramp up operations to arrest and deport Haitian migrants, as more than 300,000 Haitians brace for the termination of their legal status and prepare to lose deportation protections and work permits under the TPS.
The plans include arresting migrants in Ohio — where large Haitian communities in cities like Springfield have been targeted by President Trump and conservative politicians and commentators — and quickly putting them on deportation flights to back to crisis-stricken Haiti. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump amplified baseless claims that Haitians in Springfield were eating cats and dogs.
Yet when you go to the US State Department’s website on tourism, the website gives everyone these strong warnings on travel to Haiti:
Do Not Travel to Haiti due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care.
Violent crime is rampant in Haiti..There has been an increase in gangs, organized crime, and terrorist activities.
• Crimes involving firearms are common.
• Crimes include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom.
• The escalation of fighting between armed groups has led to a rise in random gunfire incidents. There is risk of being struck by stray bullets, even for people not directly involved in the violence.
• Local law enforcement has an extremely limited ability to respond to serious crimes.
Kidnapping is widespread. U.S. citizen victims of kidnapping have been hurt or killed.
Terrorist violence, including attacks on citizens and other violent gang activity, happens frequently in Haiti.
• Armed, anti-gang vigilante groups attack and, in many cases, kill U.S. citizens. This is when they suspect someone of being a gang member based only on rumors or incorrect information.
• “Watch groups” often harass or detain people who are not known to be residents of their neighborhoods.
• Hospitals and clinics in Haiti have limited trained staff and lack basic resources.
Medical providers almost alw ays require payment in cash before treatment.
So our government is strongly warning it’s US citizens because of the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, gang activity, killings, and unrest, that under no circumstances are we to travel to Haiti, or allow our spouses, parents, or children to travel to Haiti. Yet at the same time it is saying it is ok to forcefully arrest, deport the black, poorest of the poor Haitian spouses, parents, and children who somehow managed to successfully flee Haiti, back to the living hell that is Haiti. That hypocrisy is so racially motivated, so anti- humanitarian, so anti- Biblical it saddens me and makes me sick! And our government is doing this on the celebration of our countries 250th anniversary of the land of the free! A country that declares in its Declaration of Independence, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all persons are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unaliable rights, of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Last fall I watched the videos of Hurricane Melissa when it slammed into Jamaica and Haiti. It showed many slums of people forced by the violence and unrest in Haiti to live in make shift homes made out of cardboard boxes and plastic. The hurricane just obliterated these people. One video interviewed a man who lived in a slum that survived. He was desolated. He said he wanted to die. He said he has no food, no place to live, no help, no safety and living is just to hard. My heart broke for him and the thousands like him. I prayed for them and wished there was a way I could rescue him and his family and bring them here into my home. And now our country is forcefully returning those who made it out of that hell.
I believe in and know we need to protect our borders. ICE was supposedly created to arrest and deport criminals and murders that entered our country. So why are we now going to waist and spend millions of dollars on operations to arrest, transport, airline flights, and deport the poorest of the poor, the least of these?
In Jesus’ most famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 he tells us:
“When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them by saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”
We live in a country and a time now that is perverting this teaching
Exploited are the poor, because they are poor.
Neglected are the elderly because they are old.
Marginalized are the widows and children, because they are weak.
Exported are the least of these, because we can.
Lord Have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
My family, I pray you will join me in prayer as my heart mourns and struggles with our government’s decision to exploit and deport the least of these from Haiti. Pray for a reversal of our leaders hearts. Pray for the people and the country of Haiti, In Jesus’ name.
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
In Last Friday morning’s devotion I reflected on one of the core identities of all Christians is to be “sent ones”. This morning as we begin another week the Holy Spirit wanted to remind me and you again of our calling to be sent ones and witnesses to the Gospel of love, grace and forgiveness we have all received. I turned my Bible to john 1:1-18 and read and reflected.
“A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him.” (John 1:6-7)
“Witness” is one of the major themes of John's Gospel. The Greek verb for “witness” is “μαρτυρέω” (martyr). It occurs 33 times in John’s Gospel. When compared to the other three Gospels we have read, it appeared only once in Matthew, once in Luke, and zero times in the Gospel of Mark we are reading through now. And the noun for “witness”, μαρτυρία (marturia), occurs 14 times in John as compared to zero in Matthew, once in Luke, and 3 times in Mark. So “witness” occurs 47 times in John’s gospel as compared to 6 times in all of the three other Gospels combined.
The witness of John’s gospel testifies to the deity of Jesus and that "He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world." This witness has a world view in mind. As we will read later in John 3:16, “God so loved the world”
“He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.” (v.11) His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the “Word” came into the world, he came to his own, literally "his own things" and his own people, who should have received him, but they did not. John does not say that "his own" did not know him, but that they did not receive him. The idea is one not of mere recognition, the people recognized Him, witnessed who he was in his teachings and miracles, but they did not acceptance and welcome that witness into their life.
“The Word became flesh” (v.14). This verse constitutes the most concise statement of the incarnation in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it clear that the Logos was fully God, but 1:14 makes it clear that he was also fully human so that Jesus could witness to us in person.
Now it is time to witness to others what we received.
“On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(v.29) This is now are calling if we are truly a people of a resurrected savior,; to go and witness to others through sharing our testimonies, our witness, and the Gospel of grace and open up to others and invite them into the living scriptures and testimonies of our and say, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” “Look at what He has done in my life!”
The one time in Luke’s Gospel that the noun “Witness” is used is at the very end of the chapter right before John’s Gospel where it states,“and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”(Luke 24:47-47)
My family, if you are reading this devotion this morning you need to understand and admit to yourself the “You” in Jesus’ words, “You” are witnesses to these things” is YOU! The person’s reflection you see in the mirror! As you begin a new week I pray you will embrace your call to be a witness today! I pray before the sun sets tonight you will seek out at least one person and share with them “The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to start my day in the center of Your will and surrounded by Your presence--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"Whenever the unclean spirits saw (Jesus), they fell down before Him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' ... He went up the mountain and called to Him those whom He wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons" (Mark 3:11-15).
Your first followers to came to You and were sent out by You. They were Your disciples, Your apostles--appointed and anointed to grow in the nature of Your character and to go in the authority of Your name. They were not "the Son of God," but they were sons of God. And so are we--the sons and daughters of God, coming to You and being sent out by You (Romans 8:16). We're led by the same Spirit (Romans 8:14). And the same Spirit and power that raised You from the dead lives in us and flows through us to proclaim Your message of forgiveness and freedom, healing and hope, by Your authority and in Your power, everywhere You send us (Romans 8:11)
Just as the Father sent You, so You send us--filling us with Your Spirit and grounding us in Your Word (John 20:21). Our names are written in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16). And in the authority and power of Your name, even the demons must submit to us and our position in You as disciples of Christ and children of God (Luke 10:19).
Thank You for the invitation to keep coming to You in the intimacy of prayer and the communion of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Thank You for the assurance of Your presence, that You are always with me, abiding in me as I abide in You (Matthew 28:20; John 15:4). And thank You for appointing me, equipping me and anointing me to go with joy and faith, as You send me to be Your ambassador as an extension of Your Word and Your Spirit, secure in my identity and fulfilling my destiny. This is Your will, You calling, and Your plan for every one of Your sons and daughters. We are all to be “sent ones”. And even all "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God" (Romans 8:19). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you go in joy and faith everywhere Jesus sends you in His authority and power, growing in His nature and going in His name, appointed and anointed as a disciple of Christ and a child of God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support reaching with the Gospel those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
I place my life in your hand God to mold into the image of your Son.
“It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles…I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.” (1Corinthians 5:1, 9-13)
Why do heathens, non-Christians, those who do not know Jesus and seek to conform their lives to Him act and do some of the immoral things they do? Because they are heathens. You would not expect those who don’t know Jesus that their values, morals and lifestyles would be conformed to Him. However, you would and should expect Christians who claim Jesus as their Lord and should be pressing into deeper Christian perfection and sanctification, trying to imitate the life of Jesus to resist and abstain from these things that are obviously behaviors not in Jesus. So Paul tells us we are not to stop associating, seeking out, becoming friends, and trying to mentor immoral people who do not know Christ. It is these places and people we are called to visit, hang out with, and offer our love and friendship to them to introduce them to Jesus and change their indentation by others and in their own hearts from that of a “Heathen” to that of a son or daughter of the King and a fellow heir with Christ. Who we are supposed to stop associating with is those who profess to be Christians, to be sons and daughters of the king who live immoral lives imitating sons and daughters of Satan, and give Christians a bad name. People who by our association with them and remaining silent to their immoral actions are actually approving of them. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:19-22)
Paul’s message today is directed towards all who claim to be Christians and he pulls no punches. He is “meddling” and very direct in addressing and calling out the personal morals and behaviors of those in the church, including me.
Holy Spirit, as I meditate on this passage, reveal to to me and in me immorality, bad attitudes and behaviors in me that I am still doing in my flesh that have no business being in someone who claims Jesus as His Lord. Convict me where my lifestyle is a bad witness to my neighbor. I want to be a person who’s association with my wife, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and church members bears good fruit in them and not bad, builds them up and not tears them down, brings them joy and not pain. Someone of character who can say to a brother or sister, “I encourage you, then, be imitators of me.” (1Corinthians 4:16). Holy Spirit, also reveal to me the relationships I am maintaining with immoral believers and “silently approving” of their attitudes and behaviors out of “political correctness”, “tolerance”, or lack of courage to speak truth in love into their sin, In Jesus’ name.
My family, I pray today you will allow the Holy Spirit to “meddle” in you in a personal way and reveal morals, attitudes, and behaviors in your life you are continuing to practice that have no business being in a child of God. Then name them, repent of them, and release them to Jesus to lay at the foot of His cross. I also pray you will ask the Holy Spirit to reveal relationships you have with immoral Christians and are “silently approving” of their behaviors that you need to speak truth into and release yourself from them, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38).
Yesterday the Holy Spirit drew me to reflect on any sources of pride, judgement or hypocrisy that were in my life. To reflect on how am I actually imitating and how closely am I living out my life following Christ. In the same thought stream I was led to read the passage in Luke 6 above. I guess the Holy Spirit wants to make sure I am understanding what he is saying! LOL!
Jesus, In the ways of Your Spirit, I reap what I sow. The harvest of our lives reveals the seeds that were sown in our hearts. And every seed bears fruit after its own kind. "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7-9).
You've given me good seed -- Your Scriptures, Your Holy Spirit, Prayer, Christian Fellowship, Your Life to sow into my soul. There are also seeds of my flesh- selfishness, pride, hate, envy…ect. Let me choose today to plant the seeds from you in my heart. Let my words and my actions today be an expression of what your seeds have done and are doing in me. You've sown so much of Your grace into me -- a "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over." Give me the wisdom and the desire to sow Your grace into every encounter I'll have today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the good measure of God's grace in your life today -- a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning Lord Jesus, I set aside tie with You, to allow you to set me aside for your glory today.
I read this morning in Mark 2:13-17 the story of Jesus sharing a meal with Levi’s home with tax collectors and sinners. And the snobbish replies of the “church” people who witnessed this. I thought to myself, what a bunch of hypocrites! Then thoughts of a similar reply from a “church” person in Luke came to my mind and I turned to it.
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ʻGod, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.ʼ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ʻGod, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!ʼ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee.” (Luke 18:10-14)
This passage speaks to me, and it speaks to I would say most in the church in America. and it haunts me. Putting myself in the place of the Pharisee on my knees before God I would say, “I tithe consistently”. (But do I? Do I give God my first fruits or just my left overs after my personal purchases, vacation spending, and then give what is convenient to give. I need to look at my bank statements. Then an my knees I would say, “I attend church faithfully”. (But do I? or is it when there is nothing better going on that day, when I feel like it, or maybe I will sit and drink coffee and watch on line.) “I fast regularly in prayer.” ( But do I? If I look at my calendar and schedule, does it show I prioritize times I consistently and intentionally set aside regular scheduled days to fast? Hour slots set aside weekly to si,ply pray? (Look at your calendar and schedule where are they?) “I am a Christians.” A follower and imitator of Jesus. Yet how am I consistently imitating Jesus in picking up my cross and living a life of sacrificial love for my neighbors? Look in your heart.)
The Pharisee was not justified before God because he relied on his acts of righteousness instead of humility before God and used them to separate himself from his neighbors instead of serving his neighbors. However, at least he was honest, honorable, obeyed his covenant with God, obeyed God, and actually did what God required, though out of the wrong heart posture. At least he was actually faithful to his religion. If God did not justify the Pharisee, what does he think of me? As myself and most in the American church are even worse than the Pharisee! We have the same wrong heart posture, and we are faking our way of obeying God and posers as true practicers of our religion.
We do not have at least the integrity of the Pharisee or the broken humility of the tax collector. So where are we in this story when we come before God with our prayers?
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
My family, I pray you read this passage of the words of Jesus. I pray you may not think this reflection applies to “someone else.” I pray you will join me with an honest heart and meditate what it would look like if Jesus spoke about you in these two stories, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using the comment box below.
My wife Nancy and I are our tryin in our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I've come to meet with You in our morning place in the deep communion of prayer--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).
Here on earth, here in this earthly dimension of time and space where time unfolds chronologically, day by day. Here I am in my physical home in Alabama. But at the same time, I also live in another dimension, in the heavenly dimension of Your Presence, where I also already have a spiritual home in Christ. It's in that heavenly dimension, which is just as real as this earthly dimension, that Your Word is fulfilled that You have "made us alive together with Christ--by grace (we) have been saved--and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:5-6). I'm here on earth in one dimension, but I'm also up there seated with You in another dimension. It's in that heavenly dimension that Your Word is fulfilled that already God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3).
In that heavenly dimension, all of this is already done, it's already finished, it's already accomplished and completed. It's an eternal dimension, not limited by chronological time and space. And in Christ, I'm already a part of that heavenly dimension, as I abide in Christ and Christ abides in me (John 15:5). In that heavenly dimension, I already have a spiritual home, I'm already abiding forever in Your Presence, I'm already home.
So here on earth, in this earthly dimension from my physical home, You invite me to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). And the more I allow You to align my will with Your will, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my heart with Your heart, there more my prayer is being answered as Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, here on earth, here in me and my world, as it is in heaven.
Just as You promised Your first disciples long ago, You continue to promise me and every one of Your disciples today: "In My Father's house here are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). That's not a place to go when I die, that's a place in Christ that You've already prepared for me now by your saving works of the cross and resurrection--the place of Your Presence, where I'm already home.
Thank You, Jesus. You have "put eternity in (our) hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It's a deep longing to experience and live into the reality of what's already true in the heavenly realm forever here in the everyday lives or our earthly realm today. "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.... He who has prepared us for his very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Give me grace to live into this eternal reality more every day. Give me grace to embrace the truth that in You, I'm already home. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you grow in the grace of embracing God's truth that you are already home in Christ, and may you live into this reality more every day, where God already has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
As I reflect on prayer, for about 14 years, I've spoken those words “Good morning Lord Jesus” in my morning prayer and written those words that flow from my encounter with you as I begin my day. July of 2012 is when You moved myself and my family to Madison, Al, a place we had never lived before and know little about to begin loving and serving our neighbors in in this area. Those are the words that came to me first that first morning I awoke in this new place and began praying into the How, what, where and why of the ministry you called my family here to begin.
It became my way of beginning my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It became my way of seeking You first and Your Kingdom and Your righteousness, before anything else, so that You would have First Place in my day and First Place in my life. And the journey has continued -- morning by morning, day by day, season by season -- through this increasingly intimate and deeply personal season of my life.
Some call it contemplative prayer or centering prayer or listening prayer or prayer of silence and surrender to watch and wait for the leading of the Lord. Whatever it's called, it's been such a tender way of Your Holy Spirit moving in my human spirit to come awake and come away with You, to come up higher with You into this high and holy place of Your Presence -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
You gave me the inspiration for my daily prayer devotion blog from the words You spoke through the prophet Jeremiah in the midst of a difficult and challenging season of his life and in the lives of those he was called to serve and to love, as he shared Your words of encouragement and hope:
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord"
(Lamentations 3:21-26).
As I reflect back on the 14 years I have been in Madison, I thank You, Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- that Your mercies are new every morning and never come to an end. That Your love is steadfast and never ceases. That You are good to those who wait for You, who seek You, who wait quietly before You in the silence of surrender to let You speak what's on Your heart and let You lead them down the path You've chosen into the fullness of our salvation and the depths of Your Presence.
Then sometime soon along the way, whether exactly the first day or not I don't really remember now, I believe I sensed the prompting of Your Spirit to share these morning prayers from my journal. The thought was that my prayer could come into agreement with others who were praying, and that together we could begin our day embraced by our Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. And also to encourage others to begin their own morning conversations with You. And though it's not been for everyone, and for some just for a season, I've had great joy in knowing that many have been encouraged and comforted, even awaked into a deeper desire for intimacy with You in every dimension of Your Being as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as we surrender every dimension our being to You from our "spirit and soul and body" in worship and prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
"The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning He wakens -- wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught"
(Isaiah 50:4).
But no matter how this journey began or how it has grown and developed along the way, I do thank You that this has been a deeply honest and intimate journey with You. I feel like I could face just about anything I may have to endure on my journey to maturity in You as You seek to make me more like You each day, as long as I have a lifeline of prayer and deep communion of personal relationship with You, where deep calls to Deep, heart to Heart, and spirit to Spirit, morning by morning.
In Ezekiel's vision of the spiritual temple where the living waters would flow, he spoke of the sacrifice to be made morning by morning:
"He shall provide a lamb, a yearling, without blemish, for a burnt offering to the Lord daily; morning by morning he shall provide it. And he shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning regularly, one-sixth of an ephah, and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the choice flour, as a grain offering to the Lord; this is the ordinance for all time. Thus the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, as a regular burnt offering" (Ezekiel 46:13-15).
You are the Lamb. And You are the High Priest who has made the offering of Your life for each one of us, that we could draw near to You, that we could embrace the gift of Your steadfast love and Your tender mercies that never come to end, that are new for us every morning. So I offer these morning prayers to You as my spiritual act of worship in trusting surrender of my life to Yours, of every dimension of my being to every Dimension of Your Being (Romans 12:1). Lord, let Your Living Waters flow into me and flow out of me -- along with all Your children who seek You and wait upon You and offer their lives as a living sacrifice to You -- to bring Your life into our world "morning by morning" every day and every way You desire (Ezekiel 47:1-12). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be encouraged to begin every morning with a conversation that begins with you saying “Good morning Lord Jesus.” To allow you to live into every day embraced by our Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit, to let the love and life of God flow through you and make a difference in your world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and prayers with us in the comments box below. Thank You!
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Father, Son and Spirit, I thank you that you delight in this time I shre with you this morning.
“As Jesus was having a meal in Leviʼs home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy donʼt need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:13-17)
Jesus, as I read this passage I see that to you the lost, those that are caught up in sinful lifestyles and don’t know you as Lord, have extreme value to you. They are a treasure so great to you that you leave behind all that you have and the safety of your church friends to go seek them and find them. You went and hung out at places they hung out, invited them to share meals at your table, and proclaiming the good news of deliverance to them was at the heart of your ministry. You loved them. You even said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
I do not see that value for the lost as a treasure to be sought out in the church today. Most of the attitude of those in churches today is the same as the attitude of “the church people” in the passage above, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” The “lost” are something to avoid and stay away from and people use the term “lost” towards others in a derogatory way or gossip about them in parking lots or small groups. We desire to be in a “Sanctuary”apart from the lost. Yet a church-going Christian’s personal knowledge that they “saved” and their attending a Sunday morning church services has absolutely no impact on those who do not know Christ around them.
Jesus, if you had one day to physically come back to earth, you would not visit my church, or any church, you would visit prisoners in jail. You would not want to hear a church choir practice, but the hear stories of the homeless and addicted in the streets. You would not share a meal at a Wednesday night church gathering, but at the happy hour of a bar with those who have no church family. We in the church, we read the stories of your life Jesus like these in Mark 2, we know that is what you did, we know you hung out with prostitutes and sinners, we know we are called to imitate our lives after yours, so why don’t we value and seek out the lost like you did? When was the last time you planned a day or activity, and put it in your calendar that was centered around seeking, finding, and sharing the Gospel with your brothers and sisters that have not been set free in Christ? When was the last time you valued a co-worker, neighbor, classmate, or anyone who does not love Jesus enough to invite them over to your house to share a meal and have a conversation about Jesus with them? When was the last time your heart truly broke and mourned for the lost, that you spent time on your knees praying for them? When was the last time you shouted with joy and rejoiced because you had led someone into the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Can you remember? Was it last week? Last month? Last Year? 5 Years ago?
I would truly rather no one show up at a service on Sunday and instead; they go out intentionally to share their faith and visit their local jail, hang out and pray with people in the Emergency waiting room of a hospital, go into a bar, walk the street with the homeless, walks the mall praying over and with people and workers, invite people into their home for a Sunday brunch, or in some other way actively seek “lost” treasure. And so would Jesus!
My family, I pray today your heart will break and mourn in prayer over your brothers and sisters who are perishing without Christ. I pray today as you begin a new week you will intentionally and actively plan out, set a date, time, and place when you will leave your (your church family, routine and comfort and imitate Jesus and go out seeking lost treasure or invite “tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners” to a meal in your home, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning Lord Jesus, Help me be present and rest in your love.
Jesus came for the forgiveness of sins. My sins, your sins, the removal of shame and the restoration of life. I read this morning a familiar story in the Gospel of Mark in chapter 2, Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic man:
“And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” (Mark 2:4-5)
When I read this passage this morning, for some reason the Holy Spirit wanted to reveal another aspect of this passage and led me to turn my Bible to another passage of Scripture that is familiar to most Christians:
“So pray this way:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,
may your kingdom come,
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
“For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
When Jesus forgives someone’s sins, like those of the paralytic man, he does not just forgive the sins the paralytic man committed against Himself, but the also the sins the man committed against others. He forgives all sins. The paralytic man may have wronged another person in that house with him and Jesus. He may have lied to them, cheated them, or hurt them in some other sinful act. And that person the man did a sinful act may still be hurt, mad at him, and refusing to forgive him, but when Jesus forgave the paralytic man, he forgave him for the sins he committed against others. When Jesus forgives the sins of your neighbors, he forgives not only the sins they committed before God, but also the sins they committed against you. Whether you forgave them or not. Think about that.
We wrestle with and think it is hard to forgive others who hurt us or our family. Think about standing in for and forgiving a person for hurting another person. That is what Jesus does. When we say the Lord’s prayer we claim, “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus forgives a person with a penitent heart that ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness is God’s will, so that forgiveness is completed in heaven. Jesus then looks at us and asks us to act on what we preach and pray, and to forgive as well and to do on earth as He dd on earth, and in heaven. One of the greatest Christ like abilities and characteristics that is given to Christians, is the ability to forgive.
My family, I pray over you the words you pray many times over yourself, “Jesus, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I pray you do on earth what has already been done in heaven, and forgive those who have sinned against you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using the comment box below.
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. From the rising of the sun, through every moment of my day, I give You praise -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that (Jesus) was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and He was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 'Whey does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' At once Jesus perceived in His spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and He said to them, 'Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' -- He said to the paralytic -- 'I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" (Mark 2:1-12).
This man was paralyzed in his body. But You didn't speak first to his body, You spoke first to his soul. You said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." He needed healing in his body, but first he needed the healing of his soul. His body was paralyzed, but so was his soul. His soul was as paralyzed and lifeless and dead as his legs. But You came that he would have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). You came to set him free from his paralyze and death, that You might raise him up to walk in newness of life -- "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life!" (Romans 6:4)
You called this man "Son" because You are from the Father. You are the Savior that knows each of us so intimately that you know each of our intimate, hidden, personal struggles and afflictions. You are the Father of all who believe in You to forgive us from our sins that only You know and free us from death and free our souls from all that would keep us bound up and crippled from embracing the fullness of life You have for us all. "To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God, who were born not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12). "For in Christ Jesus (we) are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26).
As You spoke Your words of spirit and life into his spirit, You forgave him of his sins and freed him of his bondage. And he responded in faith. He stood up and took up his mat and walked out his faith in front of them all with great joy! The salvation of his soul began to manifest in the salvation of his body! And al lwho saw it -- even the Your critics -- were amazed and glorified God! (Mark 2:12)
Lord Jesus, Your words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). As I prepare to walk out my door again and begin another day, speak Your words of spirit and life into my spirit this morning. Let me hear Your words as well, “Son, Your sins are forgiven” so I may be free me from any bondage. Raise me up into newness of life to “pick up my mat” and walk in Your ways -- leaping in my soul and shouting Your praises and glorifying my God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you spend time with the Holy Spirit and embrace by faith the fullness of life our Father has for you, forgiven and free from bondage and sin, in the innermost. intimate parts of your soul. Then “pick up your mat and walk” and get about doing God’s work he created you to do. In Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support re;atone;;y reaching out with the Gospel to those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In my prayers and worship, in these offerings of the first fruits of day, I draw near to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God and welcome You to draw near to me.
"Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.... Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men' " (Mark 1:14-17).
At One Direction Community we are spending 32 weeks together going through the Gospel of Mark. Each week in my home after we share a meal, a time of worship and prayer, and celebrate the Lord’s supper, we discuss discern and reflecting on the Bible passages we are reading for that week and their application on us as disciples of Jesus trying to imitate Jesus. I read through the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel tagain his morning and the first word spoken by Jesus in this Gospel stood out to me.
The first words of Jesus in this Gospel of the Kingdom of God is not "Believe in Me" or "Follow Me" or "Go into all the world and make disciples of Me." His word’s are not "Go, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, pursue the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit, save souls, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, storm the gates of hell, preach with power, teach with authority, grow up into the maturity of Christlikeness, as you are being transformed and conformed into the image of the Son of God." Without question, these are all important parts of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 6:7; Matthew 10:8 and 28:18-20; John 14:12 and 20:21; Luke 9:1-2; Acts 1:4-8). However, all these powerful commands and worthy aspirations are not first.
Jesus' first word of the gospel of the kingdom of God is simply "Repent."
Before we do anything else, we must repent. We must make a choice to turn to Jesus: to change our mind, to have a change of heart, to trust You and entrust our lives to You, as best as we can and all by Your grace, just as we are. We must simply repent. Repentance is the first thing required to enter the Kingdom of God.
And it's not just a one-time choice, a one-time prayer, a one-time “X” we put on a day of our spiritual calendar. Something we check off once as completed on a check list. It's choosing a lifestyle of repentance -- choosing to continue to turn our hearts over to Christ, every moment of every day. It's the on-going attitude of a heart of being transformed by the renewing of minds, being conformed to the image of the Son of God, being filled with Your Spirit, and being empowered to be more like Christ every day.
We can't do any of that in our own power. We can't even desire any of that in our own will. Apart from You, we can do nothing that would ever bring any good or lasting fruit for ourselves or for others. You have to give us the desire and the power. However You're always so ready to do just that. Our part is to make that choice and keep on making that choice. Our part is to repent.
We repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. And as we repent, the kingdom of God begins to live and grow in our heart -- for "the kingdom of God is within (us)" (Luke 17:21). "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
So come, Holy Spirit. Move in my heart, remove any pride and move me to repent and keep on repenting in a lifestyle of repentance, allowing You to keep changing my mind, my heart, and my soul into who I'm created me to be, a reflection of Jesus. Abba Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done, here on earth and here in my heart, as I continue to turn and entrust my heart to You.
As Your Word proclaims and promises, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Come, Lord Jesus. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'" (Revelation 22:17) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today you will take time to simply, yet deeply repent. That you will daily choose to repent and embrace the kingdom of God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength as best as you can and all by God's grace, that the King of the kingdom may advance His kingdom in you and in the world around you every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
I ask you to please share your reflections and prayers on your reflections from this mornings reading with us in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support as I seek to relationally reach with the Gospel those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning Lord Jesus, with all that I am and all that I have I seek youths morning.
“And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.” (Mark 1:19-20)
The Bible does not contain the dates James and John, Peter, or any of the Apostles were “saved.” It does contain the day they became his disciples and began their “Hero’s journey”, a journey of following Jesus. Discipleship is a journey. And central to this discipleship journey is following Jesus and hearing from the Father. As I stated in my previous post Jesus’ whole journey with his disciples was to mentor them into forming a relationship with the Father in which they heard his voice. “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)
You are on a “Hero’s Journey.” It is the journey of your life. And Central to your journey needs to be your relationship with God. What is central is not the church you attend now, or your present small group you are in. Though these may be a great source of help to you presently in deepening your relationship with God and where your journey is located now, your journey will continue on after your season with there is over. And your participation in them though important, is not the destination where your “Hero’s Journey” with God is leading you to go. They are stops along the way for encouragement to continue on your journey in life. If you take these things like church, small group attendance and Bible studies out of the central place and simply look at your life’s “Hero’s Journey”, your journey and adventure with God, your relationship with God, what do you see? Where are you going?
Please take 10 minutes to watch this Ted Talk video on “What is the Hero’s Journey.”
My family, When you finish watching the video, say a prayer for honest revelation from the Holy Spirit and then reflect on your Hero’s journey with Jesus. Where are you on your journey? Have you answered your call? Are you doing what make’s you happy? Have you entered the unknown? Have your returned and are you sharing the experience of your journey with your neighbors? In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
If you have been reading my morning reflection blog posts this week you know because of the 4th of July holiday and the 250th birthday of our country I have focused all my posts on the USA and the birth of our Country. If you read my post yesterday you know how blessed I feel to be born in America and that I have “hit the lottery" with my USA citizenship. Wednesday night I had a watch party over at my house. I sang our national anthem with the TV and we cheered USA to our victory in the World Cup. The picture of the flag in this post is in front of my house I put up the next morning to celebrate both that victory and July 4th. So this morning, do not to take this post out of the context of my reflections and feelings I have for our country. This morning I simply reflect on another aspect of this July 4th holiday. I am starting off my blog post today with a blog from one of my favorite missionologist, Michael Frost. My comments will follow.
“I don’t love my country.
There, I said it.
I’m a citizen of Australia. It is a relatively peaceful, prosperous, liberal democracy with a pleasant climate, kangaroos, beautiful beaches and an impressive opera house.
I’m grateful for the considerable benefits my citizenship brings. I’d rather be Australian than Syrian or North Korean or South Sudanese. I cheer enthusiastically for our national rugby team and politely explain to Americans how Australia and New Zealand are different countries and why being Australian is better.
But I don’t love my country.
(I don’t even really think it’s better to be an Australian than a New Zealander).
In fact, whenever I allow myself to give into those tribal inclinations to defend my country as better than any other I can’t sense the Holy Spirit behind that at all.
It’s tribalism. It’s factionalism. It’s divisiveness and superiority. It deceives me into overlooking the racism and injustice perpetrated in my country’s name and to focus on flimsy and ill-defined definitions of my national “character”.
And yet so many Christians appear to equate national loyalty with faithfulness to God.
Billy Sunday, the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century, once wrote, “Christianity and Patriotism are synonymous terms, and hell and traitors are synonymous.”
It’s a trap, surely, to confuse the Christian faith with the religion of American patriotism.
Remember, the term patriotism derives from the root word, patris, meaning “fatherland”. Surely, those of us who put our faith in Christ accept that our Father is God, not our nation.
And before you go saying the Bible teaches we should be patriotic, it doesn’t!
Sure, in Romans 13 Paul calls on the church to be subject to political authority. And when writing to Titus, he explains that the Roman Empire is a strange blessing in that it keeps the peace and allows the church to flourish: “…remind them (the believers at Crete) to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.” (Titus 3:1)
Moreover, Paul not only commends obedience to authorities, but also that we pray for them. I Timothy 2:1-2 states,
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quite life in all godliness and dignity.”
It could be argued that to pray for someone is to love them, but note that Paul’s motivations in Romans 13, Titus 3 and 1 Tim 2 are all somewhat self-serving. He doesn’t want Christians to become enemies of the state because it will impede the spread of the gospel.
I can’t distil from any of these passages the least inclination in Paul that the early Christians should love the empire and feel patriotic about their citizenship in it.
In fact, Paul’s injunctions to live at peace in the empire sound more like the prophet Jeremiah’s advice to the Babylonian exiles. When the Israelites were conquered by their mortal enemy and forcibly repatriated as hostage-slaves to Babylon, God encouraged them to live at peace on foreign soil:
“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters …. Increase in number there; do not decrease” (Jer. 29:5-6).
But more than that, God tells them to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7).
Far from promoting patriotism, both Paul and Jeremiah appear to be liberating the people of God from it, telling them they can make our home anywhere. In other words, it is the duty of the people of God to seek stability, peace, and prosperity wherever they go. This includes supporting the nation in which we live, but not loving it.
Polycarp, a 2nd Century bishop, was martyred for his faith around AD156. He was aged in his mid 80s by then and much loved by all who knew him. Even the soldiers tasked with his execution wanted to offer him a way out. They told him all he had to do to avoid being burned at the stake was to light incense to the Emperor and declare, “Caesar is lord.” But Polycarp refused: “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
That was awfully unpatriotic of him.
I take David Gushee’s point that because gratitude is an important Christian quality, we do well to show our thankfulness to God for the opportunity to live in free and prosperous nations (for him, the US, and me, Australia). Okay, but is that the same a loving my country?
For those of us in Christ, our citizenship is in the kingdom of God. Any nationality we adopt is only provisional. This is Paul’s view, as best I can figure it out. He drew heavily on the benefits of Roman citizenship without ever investing his identity in it.
Likewise, we can’t focus our identities around being American or Australian, British or South African, as if this means anything in the eternal scheme of things. Otherwise we fall into the idolatry of patriotism, believing that any one nation’s or people’s cause is more worthy than another’s. That kind of thing only leads to bloodshed and suffering.
I think it’s fun when on national holidays we eat provincial cuisine and watch local sports and recall our nation’s history and give thanks for the advantages our citizenship affords us. And I think it’s beautiful when the followers of Jesus can bow their heads on such days and recall they have been set free from parochialism and condescension, racism and militarism, and can thank God their citizenship is in a coming kingdom of justice, reconciliation, wholeness and peace.” (Michael Frost)
Here now are my comments:
The first church I pastored was a small country church and the majority of the parishioners were senior citizens. When I walked in the church I noticed they had pictures of church members and family members of the church who were veterans, all decked out wearing their uniforms hanging on the walls along the back and side of the church. They had hung them there for a Memorial Day service several years ago and they were never taken down. In the front of the church behind the prayer rail and behind the altar, just to the right of the cross that hung in the center of the front wall, stood a large American flag on a pole in a brass stand. I was appointed to the church in June and I was only there a few weeks when I led my first service during the July 4th holiday. I can still remember the opening hymn for that service that Sunday was “Amazing Grace.” A powerful and a popular hymn, and the congregation sat in their pews as they sung it, most from memory, looking around at their neighbors and the woman leading the singing. Because it was the July Fourth Sunday, the next hymn they sang was “God Bless America.” As soon as the sweet lady behind the piano began playing the melody of the song, the whole atmosphere in the church changed! I hate to say it, but to one of deeper reverence and importance. The whole congregation left their pew seats and stood up. They placed their hands over their hearts, stopped glancing around the church at their neighbors or the woman leading the singing, and their eyes focused forward on the American Flag up front. With pride they sang louder and with more passion to this song than they did to the great hymn of the faith before it. And I remember thinking to myself, if somehow it was possible for someone to walk into that church who knew nothing about Christianity or the USA; maybe someone from outer space who had no idea what the cross or the American flag meant. And they simply observed the church service, the congregation and its worship; Who or what would they perceive as the reason the church was gathered and the main focus their worship was directed towards? It would not be the cross and what ever it stood for, but the American Flag and what it stood for.
Or if a person from another country attended that church with the veteran’s pictures in military uniforms on the walls and flag up front, how comfortable would they be in that service?
This troubled me. Now being a new pastor and only at that church a few weeks, I knew that If I pointed this out to them and asked for the removal of the American Flag from up front net to the cross and the taking down of the pictures of the veterans from the walls, it would be suicidal to my ministry there. So I Prayed, I Loved the congregations, and waited until I had enough ethos and a relationship with them to make a point. When Christmas came, the ladies of the church set up a large and beautiful nativity scene in the front of the church near the altar. One Sunday morning before the service, I took a small American flag, and I stood it up in the nativity scene right behind the manger that baby Jesus was laying in surrounded by Mary and Joseph. As the ladies who set up the nativity scene and the congregations came in that morning, they saw the nativity scene and the flag stuck in it and they complained to me and said, “Why did you put that American flag there? Jesus was not American. The flag does not belong there.” I said, ”Exactly!” And motioned with my head to the flag at the front of the church.
As I stated in the beginning of my reflection the flag hanging in the picture is in front of my house. When I look down my street, the are several other houses with American flags hanging in front of them. This was similar to Memorial Day and other national holidays. However, I have never looked down my street, no matter what the holiday of our faith was; Easter, All Saints Day, Pentecost…etc and seen more than half the house in my neighborhood with crosses or Christian banners hanging in front of their homes. Why are we so bold to proudly declare to everyone without reservation our patriotism and love for our country, however not our love for Jesus?
"Then God spoke all these words, saying,“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:1-5)
Please share your thoughts and reflections to my blog in the comment box below.
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
Help Me Share The Gospel!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
Good morning Lord Jesus, I prioritize you as I begin my days that I may prioritize serving others throughout my day.
I am continuing reflecting this morning on this weekend’s celebration of July 4th and the 250th anniversary of the birth of our country. I believe that as Christians we are called to claim are citizenship as citizens of God’s kingdom and to view the whole world as our neighbors. We are to imitate Jesus and have a world view of salvation, “God so loved the World” (John 3:16). Yet though we are most importantly citizens of heaven first, those of us who live in this world in the USA are truly blessed and need to be exceedingly grateful and exceedingly generous. It is far from perfect and has it’s flaws however, The USA is truly an amazing country of opportunity. We who live in America, most of the time can’t see how blessed we are to live in the USA, as illustrated by these stories of people I have encountered who have hit the lottery.
A while back I went of a mission trip for over three weeks to Southern Darfur in South Sudan, Africa. I was part of a team that worked with the children and people ravaged by the war and genocide by the Muslims of North Sudan. We dug five water wells to provide drinking water to those affected by the poisoning of their wells by the North. At the completion of one well a Sudanese woman and her three small children came to the well to drink and bath. I had brought bars of soap with me and I gave one to the woman. She took the bar of soap and cried out in a high shrill cry that is typical of African woman, “Aiy yi yi yi yi yiy yiyi !!!! She moved her naked children to the well and started pumping water and soaping them down, continually crying out full of joy! To her she had just hit the lotto! God knows if she had if ever had a whole bar of soap in her life and she treated it like gold as she washed herself and her family.
My wife Nancy and I for years were part of a group that walked “The Hill,” a, poor, high crime, high drug use area of Guntersville handing out flyers inviting the families to a free community Thanksgiving Day meal hosted by Guntersville FUMC. Every year, as Nancy would say, my heart would be impacted by a couple families I came in contact with and I would “adopt” them. I would bring their names to the small group I belonged to and we would buy them food, cloths and other items for them for Christmas. One Christmas Nancy and I brought these items to a poor family I met. The mom had a small son around kindergarten age. I remember the boy going up to the box of food and his eyes got big as he saw a large jar of peanut butter. He grabbed it and came up to me and Nancy and asked if he could have it, if it was really his? We said yes. The boy hugged the jar of peanut butter and shouted and danced anround the small living room of his HUD apartment! To him he had hit the lotto! Then he sat down on his barely furnished living room on the concrete floor, took the lid off the jar, and with the biggest grin and joy started eating the peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon. I remember thinking, if I had given my young daughters a jar of peanut butter for Christmas they would have pouted and looked at me “like really?” Yet to this poor boy, this jar of peanut butter was an unimaginable gift, he had hit the lottery and treated it like gold.
A couple years ago I served on a Chrysalis team that served and shared the Gospel for 4 days with a group of teenage boys. One of the boys I got to know asked me to talk. He told me about some family abuse and neglect he lived in. Tears came to his eyes as he talked about his grandma that passed away that he loved. He said she was the one that loved and was always there for him. He told me how she lived in this huge house. “It was like a mansion!” he said. It had a big kitchen and lots of rooms. He and his brothers and sisters would go over there often and she would cook them grilled cheese and help them with their homework. Then the teenage boy said they would run around and play in her large house and yard. He pulled out his cell phone and showed me a picture of him and his grandma in front of a home. I asked if that was his grandmother’s house behind him. He smiled and said “Yes”as he showed me the picture, “Yes! It is a double-wide trailer with a built on front porch!” Honestly, I must confess when I think of a “huge house”, “a mansion”, a double-wide trailer with a porch does not come to my mind. But to this boy, because of the poverty he came from, in his mind he hit the lottery when he got a grandma who lived in that double-wide that he could escape into and his memory of it was priceless, like gold to him.
Each of us who were born in the USA have hit the biggest lottery we could ever imagine for which we rarely give thanks to God; That is the lottery of Being born I the USA. When each of our heads came out of our mother’s womb it could have been anywhere in the world. It could have been in the bush in a grass hut in war torn Khartoum Sudan, Africa. A slum of half a million people in India. In a tent behind a barbed wire fence in a Syrian refuge camp. However, by some miraculous chance our heads came out in a hospital bed in the USA. We did not earn it or deserve it or were entitled to it as too many Americans think. We simply got lucky and hit the lottery. We won an ultimate prize that billions of people in the world dream and long for, and many desperately try to gain everyday, the prize of US citizenship.
Because of this all of us need to be more generous and none of us have a right to complain. I was doing that the other day with my wife as talked to her about our ministry. We raise our own support ad I was telling her how if we just had one person of all the “rich” in Madison give $50k donation we would be set for a year. I was complaining about our financial situation. And then God brought to my mind the stories I shared above and many others, and I shut up and repented.
If I ever feel like complaining, that I am “owed something,” or that “ I’m entitled to to something” or that “life’s not fair,” I need to go pull out my birth certificate. Then look at the line of “Nation of Birth” that is stamped USA, and remind myself ”USA” means Ultimate Sweepstake Award. And then shut up, fall on my knees and thank God, and go ou and be extremely generous.
My family, I do not know what struggles or hardships you are going through, and I am not at all trying to make light of them, as they are real and I am praying for you. However, I pray you fall to you knees and thank God that you are going through them in America. I pray today as the greatest way to celebrate the birth of our country, you simply shut up and go out and be extremely generous today and this weekend, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice as I worship and wait in the communion of prayer. ...
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
I looked at a coin on my coffee table and I read the words “In God We Trust”. Like a “pocket cross” or some other prayer reminder people carry in their pockets, do you realize that the coins you carry in your pocket are a reminder of who and where your faith and trust lies?
As we begin the month of July and move closer to July 4th and the remembrance of the birth of our nation, may we not forget the motto of our nation and may it become an authentic expression of the people of our land, in humility and honor, in faithfulness and obedience before You, O God. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their heart individually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You" (Psalm 33:12-22).
And Lord, let the motto of our nation be the motto of my heart. By grace and in faith, may I trust in You and Your holy name. Forgive me for when I'm tempted to trust in myself or anything less than Your will as my destiny and Your Word as my authority. Give me a holy fear of the Lord to honor You and a holy love of the Lord to trust You. For me and for my nation, may You always be "our help and our shield," for in God we trust. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray that you pick up a coin and read the motto “In God We Trust.” I pray it reminds you who your faith is set in, and you trust in the Lord with all your heart, leaning not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledging Him and trusting Him to direct your paths--for you and for our nation, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
This weekend we will celebrate the July 4th holiday and the birth of out Country. I prayed over our country this morning. The statistic is given that there are over 188 million secular functioning people that do not know any basics of the Bible in America. This makes America the third largest mission field in the world.
Those 188 million people are members of your family, co-workers, classmates, fellow gym members, waitresses, and your neighbors. I watched the movie “The Insanity of God.” It iss a movie on persecution of Christians and the sharing of the Gospel in dangerous places in the world. One scene of the movie looked at China. In China, even though there is horrific persecution of Christians taking place in that country, millions of people are coming into the saving faith in Christ Jesus and the church is booming. The interviewer asked them why that is? They answered their persecutors who are atheists attack those who the share the Gospel and will not share it today or any day with anyone. So we share the gospel daily. If we go through the day and do not share the Gospel with anyone, who’s side are we on, Jesus’ or our persecutors? If we do not share the Gospel today, we choose to side with them. As how is our silence in sharing the Gospel any different than there’s is? There is the sin of omission. Failing to do what the gift of your salvation compels you to do.
You can’t do it wrong. You do not have to be a theological expert. Most of those who are sharing the Gospel in China have not read much of the Bible. Some of their underground churches have just got a copy of a book of the Bible or two passed on to them.
Read Ephesians 3:7-13; Acts 4:12
My family, I would ask you then to take time, yes time, to write out the Gospel. Have you ever wrote out the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Write it out to enforce and remind you of it, so you will have more clarity and comfort in sharing it. Then pray over what you wrote, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an unavoidable opportunity to share it today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you for my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading my friends email with me and others in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
