Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm at my post, positioned in my morning place of prayer, listening for Your leading, as I begin my day deliberately seeking and embracing You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
“But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Then Jesus said to him, “ʻIf you are able?ʼ All things are possible for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”" (John 9:22-24)
I want to believe bigger. I want to see Your glory more. I want to trust in Your words with faith in Your heart to display Your glory in the power of Your love all around me today. Open my eyes to see it and stir in my spirit to expect it. "What was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (will) be given to those who believe" (Galatians 3:22).
As the father said, just before You set his son free from the spiritual attack trying to destroy his son's spirit, soul, and body, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). You told that father, just as you tell every one of us, "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). It's just as You told Mary, who was heart-broken and disappointed over her brother's death, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40)
Set me free from any doubts or disappointments that would try to dampen my faith. Let me begin my prayers with fresh faith, grounded in Your Word, led by Your Spirit, rather than any unfulfilled experiences of the past. There's much mystery on this journey of faith, but let my expectations be firmly established in Your promises, rather than my problems, and in Your Word, rather than the ways of my world. Help me when I walk out my door in the morning to really expect for God to do amazing things so that by the end of the day or the end of the week I will have amazing stories to tell of what God is doing? Because He Is! And I have been invited to be part of it.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). By the power of Your grace, I'm seeking You and I'm believing You. Help me seek more expectantly and believe bigger. I'm believing Your Word -- "As it is written, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'" (1 Corinthians 2:9 from Isaiah 64:4 NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
My family, I pray the Lord will empower you to believe bigger, be expectant bigger, through trusting in His Word and His Spirit, to be at work mightily in the the things on your heart that you bring to Him in prayer, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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. Be Lord of my heart and all my desires, Lord of my mind and all my thoughts, Lord of my will and all my choices. ...
"Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters His voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for His people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
So you shall know that I, the Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.
In that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the stream beds of Judah
shall flow with water;
a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
and water the Wadi Shittim" (Joel 3:14-18).
Election Day in America is just around the corner. Multitudes will go down to "the valley of decision" to cast their vote and speak their voice and make their choice.
Come, Holy Spirit. May the decisions made by the multitudes be decisions led by Your Spirit, informed by Your Word, guided by Your principles of the Kingdom of God and the authority of Your Scripture. May every decision we make today as we begin our week and every day be viewed as important and be decisions for life and not death, for blessing and not cursing, exalting Your ways in our land as one nation under God.
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne" (Psalm 89:14). And "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).
If our choices are right and our decisions are true, the mountains and hills, the streams and plains, will flow with the blessings of God. "A fountain shall come forth!"
Lord, let Your Fountain of Living Water come forth in our land. Let there be revival, awakening, and harvest as never before, as the heart of our nation continues to return to You. Move in Your power. Move by Your grace.
Against all odds, move in impossible and mighty ways that only You can do, so that all will see and know that only You have done this. For "Nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37) and "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). As we await decisions of elections, may Your multitudes remember as we pray in faith for our land that "All things are possible for those who believe" (Mark 9:23). And no matter what will happen at the close of this day and through the days to come, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love (You), who are called according to Your purpose" (Romans 8:28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you make your decisions this day and every day led by the Holy Spirit, informed by God's Word, guided by His principles and the authority of His Scripture, receiving an overflowing fountain of God's blessings in your life, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you and so many in continued prayer over the elections and for all we're facing in our world. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us n the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
“Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:1)
I love the passage above. There is a whole world of blessings, experiences, and new ways God wants to bless each of us if we just step out of our safe circle of familiarity and structured life and step into something strange, foreign and unfamiliar. Taking time to say “hello” to a stranger, someone new, and invite them into a conversation opens the door to God’s grace. Jesus was “strange”, “foreign” and way outside the life structure and comfort circle of the people he lived with. However, those who dared to step “just outside the bubble they lived in” to meet Jesus experienced amazing love and grace. And stepping “Just outside the bubble we live in” does not take going on a mission trip, it just takes taking your blinders off and entering into the mission field God has placed you in; your neighborhood, classroom, and work place. This weekend is Halloween. It is a pre-made day to walk over and meet your neighbors so plan on using it as great opportunity to love and entertain the strangers that God leads to their door or them to your door.
Watch this beautiful 2 minute video below in Oxford, Al. This real encounter in life reveals that loving and entertaining strangers is as simple as sitting down in a booth in a restaurant.
My family,
I pray as we all plan to for the new week, you plan to remove your blinders and see ways to encounter Jesus just outside the bubble you live in, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
As The Year Draws To An End, PLEASE Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a 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 us and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation now for next year, 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!
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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC.
Good morning Lord Jesus, I rest in your love so I can give out your love.
Halloween is coming upon us. This past weekend I got my Halloween decorations out of my attic and back storage building and I am decorating my yard for our 13th annual Halloween Neighborhood yard party. It’s interesting to me that for many Christians that Halloween is a “hot button” topic to discuss. A neighborhood kid who lives down our street came by on his bike as I was setting up the yard. He asked if I was having the Halloween party this year. I told him yes we are. He asked me if he could help decorate my yard. I told him “sure” and the next thing I knew I had 5 or 6 neighborhood kids pitching in “helping”. The boy said I love your yard and the party you have, but my parents hate it. They drive the other way out of the neighborhood so they don’t have to drive past your house and see it. But I love it! I posted an event for our Halloween Gathering to invite our neighbors on our Nextdoor App. A lady who claimed she was a Christian posted a comment that was really long and really antagonistic and un-Christian that basically said that I am a devil worshipper and all who celebrate Halloween worship Satan and are going to hell!
So as I did last year, I want to address the question: “Should we as Christians engage in Halloween or should we abstain?” In actuality if you start reading about Halloween’s roots, it’s hard to find an answer of where it came from. But, regardless of where it comes from, the question at hand should be: Why is Halloween celebrated today? For most of us, Halloween isn’t a time where we celebrate the dead, go and skin a goat and sacrifice it to Satan. For most of us, it’s a time to dress up our kids as a super hero and send them to strangers’ houses to get free candy.
It has become just part of our culture in the West and has very little to do with the “darkness”…it’s not good, it’s not evil…it’s just something we celebrate, like the 4th of July. I know we might have stories of darkness, but there are also many stories of overdrinking and evil happening on our other holidays as well.
The whole of the Bible talks of God bringing reconciliation and redemption to all things back to himself. That Jesus is Lord of everything and everyday. He bring peace to all things. Not only that but Paul speaks (1 Cor 8) to us about pagan festivals and says that there is nothing in them that is powerful, because there is only one God and everything and everyone comes through Him and have their being because of him.
Paul then talks about eating food sacrificed to idols…saying…it’s no big deal, unless you have a brother who would be deeply hurt by it because they struggle with the idol and eating of that meat because they actually used to worship that idol and eat those things.
Here’s how to contextualize Halloween: If you have a brother who used to worship Satan and they used to sacrifice goats and drink its blood, then it might be a good idea to walk through Halloween with them, guiding them so it would make that brother stumble. This does NOT mean, if you have a brother who merely thinks as his opinion it is wrong to celebrate Halloween that you should put it to the side. That’s never the intent with any of the passages of making a brother stumble…if that was the case, many of us would be in sin because of all the things we do that make other Christians merely uncomfortable. Jesus was not about making people comfortable.
And Jesus would have been in sin and made many people stumble with the life that he led around sinners as he ate and drank (yep wine) with them. Again…making a brother stumble and making a brother uncomfortable are completely separate issues.
With all that said, what are we to do with Halloween? If we are to look to redeem Halloween, what does that mean? If we are to do all things to the glory of God, what does that look for Halloween?
First, a few things Christians should probably STOP doing:
1. Dressing your kid up as St. Paul or Moses to try to prove a point.
2. Calling the Halloween Party at your church building a “Harvest Festival.” It is like an atheist calling a “Christmas Party” a “Holiday Party” and instead of saying “Merry Christmas saying “Happy Holidays” which seams to upset so many Christians. It’s just calling the elephant in the room a squirrel and it’s weird and disconnects The Church from the society around it.
3. Taking all your people away from being out in their neighborhoods and putting them into your building.
4. Wrapping a tract around an apple and handing it out to the kids who are trick or treating and calling it “evangelizing”
None of these things redeem anything, but just add to the notion that Christians want to be apart from the world and create their own subculture. Instead, let’s be like Jesus and celebrate it like he would have.
When we look at the life of Jesus and our God, we see that they always pursued the sinner and the world. They loved us right where we were and engaged us in the ways that we’d understand who God is and what He has done.
Not only that, but Jesus used the everyday celebrations as a way to build relationships so he could speak into the lives of those around him. He was continually at parties. So much so, that when Matthew was called to follow Jesus, it seemed normal to Matthew to invite Jesus and all the apostles back to his house to party with all his “sinner” friends. (Matthew 9:9,10; Mark 2:14-17) People knew that Jesus was about celebrating, he was about truth, he was also about pursuing and about building relationships with people. With that in mind, how can we then show people THAT Jesus to our communities during Halloween?
1. Be THAT House
You know “that” house. When you were a kid and you went to a house and said “trick or treat” and the person came to the door in a costume and smiled at you, complemented your costume, and they handed you a full size candy bar; it was like winning the lottery. You’d walk away from the house telling your friends, “They were really nice.” It was such good news, you’d tell strangers dressed up like a clown zombie where to find the goods. Everyone knew that house in the neighborhood and if you didn’t have one in your neighborhood, you’d travel what seemed to be miles to get to that house. Be THAT house. We have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. Think about how this shows people the Father. Everyone is expecting to get a small fun size bar. It’s what they’ve earned by dressing up and having the courage to knock on your door and say “trick or treat.” What they know they haven’t earned is a full size candy bar…it speaks to this idea of grace and blessing.
You don’t need to tell the kids this, but it starts to tell the story of what your house is about to the neighborhood. Like the neighborhood kid ridding his bike past our house that stopped. It tells a different story than what they expect or are used to and this is exactly the story of the gospel. Spend the extra cash to make that happen. If you can’t afford it, get your neighbors or small group to all pitch in. Ask your church to put it in the budget for next year. As weird as that sounds your churches goal should be to reach it’s neighbors. Do whatever you gotta do…be that house! You’ll be amazed at what doors that opens with your neighbors to share The Gospel.
2. Be a Welcoming Presence
If our God is about pursuit, blessing and welcoming then what would it look like to be about pursuit on Halloween? How about instead of staying inside your house, be in the driveway or front porch. I know this isn’t available for everyone because of weather, but what would it look like in your neighborhood for people to feel welcomed to come to your house and feel blessed by it?
For The Liederbach's, we are have our 13th annual neighborhood Halloween gathering. We are going to have fire pit in our front yard where our neighbors will be cooking hundreds of hot dogs over the fire and making hundreds of s’mores. We halso ave coolers of drinks, bags of chips and snack cakes; and of course, LOTS of candy! For our 13th annual party I even rented a mechanical bull for trick or treaters to ride. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, we will prayer walk our neighborhoods and personally invite or put invitations in 450 of our neighbor’s mailboxes. Every year though we have 300 plus kids trick or treat our house plus I don’t know how many adults that accompanied them come and hang out and cook a hot dog or s’more and drink a beer. It’s a way for us to come together and hang out and bless our neighborhood. It shows that we are more than about handing out candy, but we are here to bless their entire family and in a sense, welcome you into our lives.
Again, it shows something quite different than every other house. Last year a father with three young kids came up with them to our front porch to get candy. The father said, “The kids all discussed before we headed out they wanted to go to this house last. Save the best for last! Plus once we come here we always hang out awhile.” I put candy in his kids bags then they headed towards the fire pit and fun. We have been doing this for 10 years and the neighborhood now expects it and people come and hang out and have a great time meeting their neighbors.
If you can’t be outside, how can you bless the families that are walking around your neighborhood? Maybe offer coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. to the parents and trick or treaters that come to your door. Again…think, “How can I be a blessing and show that we are a welcoming and pursuing people like our Dad?”
And this is a fact: Every year we have reached more non-Christians and have baptized more people we connected with who attended our neighbor Halloween Party than who attended any other of our other gatherings throughout the year including our Easter and Christmas gatherings!
3. Celebrate
It is not secret that Jesus loved to party. So much so, that people kept inviting him to parties. Pretty amazing to think about. If we have a Dad in heaven that loves us and accepts us, not for what we do or have done, but because of what his Son has done for us and now we are heirs to the throne of heaven…don’t we have the most to celebrate?
We should be defined as Jesus was defined: a glutton and drunkard. He was celebrating so much that the religious saw him as a glutton and drunkard but the sinners and the world saw him as a dude that they’d like to hang with. Where have we gone wrong here? Christians shouldn’t be the ones avoided for parties, but should be the ones that people are most excited to have come around because they bring the “better wine.”
We made it almost a rule in our house that if we are invited to a party…we are going and we are going to think through how we can bless that party as much as possible. We are always invited to parties because of this. People know what Nancy and I are about, they know we love Jesus. But they also know that when we enter a party we won’t make it weird, but we hopefully make the party more enjoyable by us being there. We have literally had people say, “if Jesus is like this…he was a lot different than we’ve ever been told.”
If you aren’t invited to parties…this Halloween is a great time to throw one. Throw a costume party, a pumpkin carving party, a cookie decorating party, have a photo booth at the party, have a party with games for kids. You can do all kinds of things for Halloween…it’s a party holiday. By doing this, meaning throwing an awesome party, you start to show off something different about you as a follower of Jesus and showing off who Jesus was and what he was about. And do this at your home in your neighborhood, don’t simply rely on your church to do this for you.
He was about parties because that’s where people were and that’s where people connect and share stories and start and continue relationships. Halloween is a really funny holiday when we think about it. But, it’s a holiday that is so easy to build relationships and bless the community and start (or continue) to show off what our Dad is like.
If instead, to “protest” against Halloween we turn off our front porch lights, lock our front doors, go to our church buildings and have a “harvest festival” on Halloween, we show the world exactly what they’ve always seen about our God. He is closed off, judgmental, disconnected and waits for us to come to him. This isn’t our Dad…he is quite different. He is welcoming, he is gracious and merciful and he pursues us and can’t wait to celebrate with us. Don’t use this holiday to make a point. Use this holiday to point to the true reason we all get to celebrate and bless…Jesus.
If Jesus was still walking the earth in the flesh this Halloween evening he would not be attending a “Harvest Festival” in a church. He would be out in the neighborhood streets interacting with his neighbors and looking for the lost sheep. This is what we read of about Jesus in the Gospels. Deep inside we know as His followers and His church this is true, so why do we behave the opposite? My guess is that if Jesus lived in our neighborhood, everyone couldn’t wait to go to his house to see what he was going to hand out this year. Everyone would be excited to go to Jesus’ Halloween party and couldn’t wait to invite him over to their party. My only question I wonder is “Who would Jesus dress up as for Halloween?” Who knows…but you know it’d be a killer costume.
My daily prayer is, “Lord send us the ones no one else wants.”
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using the comment box below.
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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!!
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Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my heart and guide my thoughts, as I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.
"Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!' Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus" (Mark 9:2-8).
Father God, Your cloud overshadowed the disciples who were called apart to come away and be with Jesus. And from the cloud of Your Presence, You spoke to their hearts to listen to Jesus. Then their eyes were opened to see Your glory manifested in Your Beloved, Your only begotten Son, Jesus. And in that moment, they saw nothing else, "but only Jesus."
God, that is a picture of these morning times of contemplative, centering prayer, as I seek to begin my day with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You call me apart from everything else. And before I descend into my daily responsibilities, You lead me up on the mountain of prayer to come away with Jesus. You overshadow me in the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit and lead me to listen for the voice of Jesus, encouraging me, "Listen to Him!" You open the eyes of my heart in these first moments of my morning to see nothing else, "but only Jesus."
As my Beloved Jesus is transfigured before me, my spirit is transformed within me. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
Lord “it is good for me to be here.” Let me live on this Mountain of Transfiguration. Let me daily embrace -- morning by morning, moment by moment, Your Spirit of Transformation, embraced by my Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May you prioritize to make time today to set yourself apart from everything else and through time spent in contemplative and centering prayer encounter Jesus. May you be transformed from glory to glory, morning by morning and moment by moment, beholding the Lord in His ever-abiding Presence, embraced by Your Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
Father, I bow before you this morning to receive strength to stand for you throughout my day.
“… Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.…Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. (Mark 9:2-8)
Jesus took his disciples up on a mountain. And Moses and Elijah, two great men, leaders of the faith appeared along with Jesus. These two men represented all the freedom from bondage of their nation, all the traditions, Laws, prophecy, and founders of their religion. Yet God overshadowed both of them, so all the disciples could see was Jesus, and God said, “This Is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”
In a similar way, after Jesus rose from the dead in Jerusalem, He did not tell His disciples to meet Him in their church building, The Temple, he told them to go and meet Him in Galilee. “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him.” (Matthew 28:16)
Galilee is a three day walk from Jerusalem! Yet again, God led them up a mountain where all they could see and all their focus was on Jesus. Jesus led them away from the Temple with its gold chalices and altars, familiar traditions, religious practices, rituals festival days, and practicing their faith “the way it always has been done” and declared “church” is now simply about me, following and imitating me.
Jesus, last week weekend in prison you revealed this to me. Inside the prison there are no gold chalices, or other church or religious icons, there is just concrete and steel. And the team of men that went into the prison attend over 20 different churches so no denominational or religious traditions are part of the weekend. The only message was Jesus. So Jesus, help me today make a radical break from any form of religion I rely on and simply rely on you. Remind me that I am not called to imitate a religion, but a person, Jesus the Christ.
My family, I pray today through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, in the reading of the Gospels and prayer, your eyes will be fixed only on Jesus, and you will hear God’s voice speaking directly to you heart saying, “This is my Son, listen to Him!”
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up -- here in my heart and every moment of my day (John 12:32). ...
Sometimes I find myself thinking of the regrets of my past. And probably “regret” is just a manifestation of past sins, past failures, past mistakes. But You’re always so kind to come to my rescue. You’re always so loving to remind me of Your mercy, Your forgiveness and Your grace.
In those moments, I often think of the words of David in his Psalm of repentance and prayer, seeking to be restored to his relationship of joy with You. He cried out:
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from Thy Presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit” (Psalm 51:7-12 KJV).
You “renew a right spirit within me” when I come to You like David, in confession and repentance, to embrace the grace of Your forgiveness.
And You are so ready to forgive, to cleanse our hearts, and to restore us to the joy of our salvation in You. You love to bring us back out of the darkness and lift up back up into the high place of Your Presence, when we turn to You with the gift of repentance to embrace the beauty of holiness of heart and life in You. As You said in Your Word through the Apostle John Your early Church:
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
So why do we hide in our sins or get stuck in regret or squander the gift of repentance? As You also said in Your Word to Your early Church, when we “Humble (ourselves) in the sight of the Lord, and (You) will lift you up” (James 4:10 NKJV). So Your Word invites us to “Cleanse (our) hands, (as) sinners; and purify (our) hearts, (as) double-minded” so that we can once again “Draw near to God and He will draw near to (us)” (James 4:8).
When You spoke through Your Revelation to John to the seven churches of Your early Church, You called them to repentance so that they could overcome their sins and fulfill their calling, secure in their identity and fulfilling their destiny in You (Revelation 2:1 to 3:22). You reminded them that they had already been forgiven through the finished work of Your Cross, as the One “who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to (our) God and Father” (Revelation 1:4-6). And at the same time, You called them to repentance, so they could walk in the light and be Your light in their world.
You said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.... To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:19-22).
Thank You for the gift of repentance and beauty of holiness. Thank You for restoring unto us the joy of our salvation when we turn our hearts over to You and return to the high place of Your Presence where You set us free from all regret. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be free from regret and restored in the joy of your salvation in Jesus through all He has done for yo, 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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My wife Nancy and I are in a 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!
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Lord God, I thank you for your love, grace and mercy.
“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
I woke up reflecting on my experiences from serving on the Kairos Prison Ministry Team inside Limestone Prison this past Thur-Sun. I have been blessed to serve on many Kairos weekends of going into prisons for four days. During this time we spend in the prison it includes sharing meals, our life stories, listening to those of the inmates, sharing our love for them and sharing the love of Jesus. The men in the prison are suffering the consequences of bad decisions they made in their life.
In the sharing with the inmates, one theme is always the most prevalent in the inmates stories; love, or the lack of love. Almost all of the men, have had to harden their hearts and have built up walls of strength around them as required to survive in prison. They end up with tears in their eyes saying they have never experienced love like this that is shown to them during the weekend before in their life. Or they said they have forgotten for a long time ago what real love felt like. They also said they wish they had a person show them this kind of love when they were growing up, a mentor, someone to look up to who showed them love and taught them how to model love and Christian values. They probably would not be in prison now if they did.
Unfortunately, there are so many children, young men and women, single mom’s, children of single parents, and single men in our communities that have not experienced love or have a mentor in their life. You could be that person that “if only someone had shown me love and taught me how to love” that changes the direction of a person’s life. We may not all be called to write letters like Paul, launch a church planting network or lead a church congregation, however we are all called and capable to open our hearts, our homes, and invest margins of time to love and mentor one or two men or women who need role models. The only way we will stop having to spend weekends going inside prisons to reach men or women imprisoned inside them and share with them love and the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ, is to start spending time on weekends to reach men or women outside in our neighborhood and community and make time to embrace them, mentor them, and share the Gospel with them, and change the direction of their lives.
My family, I pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you to the one or more persons you can simply love, listen to, share life, mentor and intentionally invest time in their life as a tangible presence of the grace and hope of of Jesus Christ, 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.
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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!!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me…. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life? (Mark 8:34-36)
“For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)
What happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden? When they ate that apple. What happened? Adam said to God, “I heard you in the garden, and I was naked and I was afraid so I hid.” You know what this is the story of ? The beginning not of just self-awareness but self-centeredness. The beginning of narcissism. The primal sin is not pride, but narcissism. And America is one of the top 5 narcissism counties in all of human history.
It is all about me, myself and I. All about me. Americans believe they are entitled to two chickens in every pot, two cars in every garage, a brick house, granite countertops, a pension plan, a retirement account and a week or two vacation a year in paradise with people serving them. I have news for you, none of us our entitled to any of this. It is all grace.
If narcissism is the most primal of sin, then what is salvation?
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)
If anyone wished to follow me he must deny HIMSELF. and follow me. Not deny themselves of something, give up something, like we do during lent. But deny yourself, your selfish self. Jesus did not come so we could become more self-centered. Jesus did not come so we could focus more on our individual success and comfort in life. He did not come so we could feel we earned or are entitled to anything. He did not preach a prosperity, a health and wealth Gospel, He did not come for that, he was never about that, and that was never part of his identity. (Reflecting back to “Who do you say I am?) But that will preach well in America and post well on social media. If anyone wants to follow me, they must deny themselves, conform themselves to the image of the Son, Jesus. Salvation is the beginning of your true self.
Paul Says, If anyone comes to Christ, they are a new creature. Behold the old has passed away. This morning I ask, “Do you believe that?” That God has enough power to change you from a self-centered, entitled, narcissist person to a selfless, other- directed and other-loving person?
My family, I pray this morning you reflect on and understand that when you were “saved,” you were actually saved from something to something. From being condemned living life as a self-centered, narcissist person; to living a life as your true self was created to be, a selfless, other-directed, other loving person. 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
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.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
“Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life? (Mark 8:34-37)
For the past three days I have been looking at Mark 8 and reflecting about Jesus’ model of discipleship which is based on two things: invitation and challenge. In these verses Jesus distills this down to its core essence. His invitation: follow me. His challenge: the cross.
Jesus’ invitation: Follow me. Christianity and discipleship is not an invitation into following and imitating a religion, but following and imitating a person, namely Jesus Christ. Your life is not called to try to conform to and imitate current church models, but it is called to conform to and imitate the life of Jesus Christ.
Jesus challenge: The cross. To bear the cross means rejection of the world’s narcissism, pride and self reliance and turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion. The point of the saying "whoever wants to save his life will lose it" is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.
Jesus’s message today is short and simple, so is my reflection.
My family, I pray you will also read: Matthew 16:13-26; Galatians 6:12-18; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Hebrews 12:1-2 Then take time a look at who and what are you following. Is it Jesus plus nothing? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything you added and to help you remove it. What is challenging you? Is it simply the cross? Have you added any unnecessary challenges and are trying to conform to things based on religion, tradition, habit, or culture? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal these to you and help you remove them, 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.
Tomorrow (Thurs) through Sunday I will be serving on the Kairos Prison Ministry Team going into Limestone Prison to share the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ that I have received with the inmates inside the prison. Friends of mine are serving on the Kairos team going into St. Clair Prison this weekend as well. I may not be able to post a reflection the rest of this week. Please pray of our teams and the men we will be ministering to inside the prison.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
We read in The Gospel of Mark in 8:29 where Jesus asks his disciples a question about his identity. “He (Jesus) asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Peter responded correctly, declaring Jesus was the anointed one, The Christ, The Messiah. However, in declaring that, Peter had his own understanding, description, metrics, and rules defining “The Christ” and how he was supposed to operate and act. Peter had constructed his own “little “box” the Messiah is supposed to fit into.
Just two verses later Peter’s “little Box” was exposed when Jesus operated and acted outside of Peter’s rules and expectation of Him.
“Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke openly about this. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on Godʼs interests, but on manʼs.”
“Satan” means adversary. Peter in just a matter of a few minutes went from being a disciple of Jesus following him, to an adversary of Jesus rebuking, defying and trying to change and control the plans of Jesus. Peter was trying to force Jesus back into his “little box.”
As I read this, thoughts condemnation against Peter should not come to my mind, but thoughts of correction on my own understanding, description, metrics, and rules defining “The Christ” and how he is supposed to operate and act. How have I constructed my own “little “box” the Messiah is supposed to fit into.
If someone were to ask me, “Who is Jesus?” I would answer correctly as Peter did. “He is Jesus Christ, the Messiah.” But does my declaration of who he is really line up in my heart, my obedience, my lifestyle, the way I love, the way I forgive…ect, with who he really is?
In what areas of my life of following and understanding of Jesus would he praise me for? In what areas of my life supposedly following him and wrongly understanding of him would he openly rebuke me? In what ways if Jesus revealing himself to me that I do not like or want to deny is true and try to push back into my nice “little box” so I can comfortably believe in Jesus and pretend I am actually following Him.
Jesus is so for outside any box we can try to put him inside. Jesus and the cross can never be domesticated, in Jesus name.
My family, I pray as you read these passages in Mark that you will have the courage to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the “little box” you have put Jesus in and pray for a newer, truer, awakening and insight into who Jesus really is. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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Good morning Lord Jesus, through your Holy Spirit I place myself in the throne room of the Father and bow and worship you.
“Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke openly about this. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on Godʼs interests, but on manʼs.” Jesus’ model of discipleship of invitation and challenge repeats again here. Jesus gives Peter a new kingdom name and invites him into the same intimate relationship and covenant he had with Abraham. Peter in Greek means “Little Rock.” He is now a co-heir in the kingdom, he has the power of those in the kingdom. (Mark 8:31-33)
On one side of this covenant relationship is invitation, where we get the cupboards of heaven. On the other side is Challenge. We need to take on ownership of these gifts and power in a more and more responsible manner.
The challenge begins in the reality of the cross that is at the center of our covenant relationship. with Jesus v.21:
Peter struggles with the reality and challenge of the cross and rebukes Jesus v.22
Jesus name for Peter changes from Peter, “Little Rock”, to Satan “Adversary”. v.23 Jesus tells him earlier you had your mind on the will of the Father, now you have your mind on your will. That change in mindset changes our identity.
We were called to be fruitful and multiply, but also to rule. To take responsibility. Jesus is saying, I am inviting, entrusting you with all my power and authority, but I am challenging you, I need you to become the kind of person who can wield that type of power in obdeience. You don’t give your child the keys to your car if they are not capable and will obey traffic laws.
What feels like a harsh rebuke is a kind action. Jesus is telling him, and telling us, your place of power is not in front of me trying to lead me but walking behind me.(get behind me), I need you walking behind me, follow me in everything:
The way you talk to your children.
The way you talk to your spouse.
The way you treat your co-workers
The way you manage your finances.
The way you prioritize your time.
The way you take care of your health.
The way you___________________ (Fill in the blank with what the Holy Spirit brings to your mind).
Read: Matthew 16:13-26, Genesis 17:1-9
My family, I pray you take some time in prayer with the Holy Spirit. Jesus has a kingdom name for you, reflect on what it may be. In what areas of your life do you find it easy to accept the invitation of Jesus to pick up your cross and walk behind him in the strength of that name? In what areas of your life do you struggle with his challenge and step out in front of Jesus? 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
When I read this a question comes into my mind, “Why did Jesus take them across the Sea of Galilee and into a Gentile city to reveal who he was?”
Caesarea Philippi wss named after Caesar Augusta, Phillip II. It was a city that was built to honor Caesar, It is the city where many scholars believe was the birthplace of the emperors cult: the worship of Caesar as God, of being divine.
Before the city’s name was changed to the name of the city to Caesarea Philippi, it was originally named Panias. It was named after the god Pan. When Phillip renovated the city he changed the name.
In a cliff in Panias, (Caesarea Philippi) was a cave with a spring running out of it. The cave was called “The Gate to Hell.” It was believed to be the entrance or access or gate to the underworld. The access to the gods. Pan was the Fertility god and you could access him and others at this cave. So the city and especially the area around the cave was a brothel of worship to various gods. Statues and idols of all the gods were found here. There were many stores and stands all around selling trinkets, small idols, potions, images and other religious items honoring these gods, They did despicable religious acts and sacrifices here in around the cave. Temple prostitutes were purchased, sex with goats, sacrificing babies and other vial acts were committed. It was the red light district of idols and Gods.
When Jesus actually brought his disciples there they would have been shocked! No jew would ever go there! They would absolutely avoid it. Being there would make them un-clean, It was a city where people were eagerly knocking on the door to hell.
Yet Jesus took them there, and middle of all these despicable things, in front of this “Gate To Hell”with all these tall statues of gods around the cave and them as a backdrop, and he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Jesus took them there, in the middle of all these false gods and their worshipers to declare to them I am not just another god. I am not simply the Jewish messiah and deliver, Lord of the Jewish people. I am the Lord over all the world, over all these gods. And none of these Gods or these gates of hell will prevail against me. I am the way, the truth, and the life of not just the Jews, but of the world.
And that truth still remains today as walk walk through life with all the gods and false idols that surround us and ask for our devotion. We live in a pluralistic society and when Jesus states I alone am the way, we do not like that. We want options. We lives in a world of options. What do you mean the only side that comes with that dish is asparagus? What do you mean there is only one model of car to choose from? What do you mean there is only one way of doing something? My way of the highway. We live in a world we created of options and choices. Options and choices of right behaviors, right lifestyles, right spirituality, and saviors.
And Jesus pushes back into the lives of those who want to be his disciples, both past nd present, and says “No!” There is only one option. I am the only option. ” I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
My family, I pray today in the middle of all the false gods and idols tht surround you asking for your devotion, you will fall on your knees and declare that Jesus you are the only way, the only truth, and the only source of life. Please pray the same for me.. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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." Mathew 16:13-17
I believe Jesus' main goal with walking with his disciples, mentoring them, discipling them was to get them to a place where they could hear from the Father. Hear God's voice speak to them so the could listen to his voice and obey what he is saying to them. The simplest definition of a disciple is someone who listens to what God is saying to them, and the does it. Hearing and then obeying.
Can you hear from God? And as importantly, if our goal is to make disciples who make disciples; Are you comfortable training others to hear from God? I want to introduce you to a tool called "the Learning Circle." It is a tool that can help you here from God
Above is a diagram of a learning circle . I will break it down to you.
Kairos event: you are traveling in life and a kairos moment happens. This can be a blessing or a speed bump. A dream at night. A change in a job. An argument with your wife. An unexplained blessing. A family or personal situation. Or something that happens to a friend they come asking you for advice.
If Someone comes to me with a kairos event and I want them to hear what God says to them about the event.
Observe: Spend time observing what actually happened, who was involved, what was said, what was done. Where it occurred. Look event from all angles
Reflect: on Their observations: Why do you think it happened? What did that mean to you? How did you feel? What were your motives?
Discuss: For the first two I am mainly listening. I then discuss with them. I use the Three "Ts"
Testimony: a personal story of something similar that happened in my life or one that I know of.
Teaching: Is there a teaching from a book, video, article that relates.
Testament: Is there a passage of Scripture that relates or addresses aspects of the event.
These three steps: Observe, Reflect, and Discuss all occur on the repent and hear side of the circle. This is where we observe and reflect on what happened. We repent where needed on our participation in the event. And through the discussion, three "Ts" and prayer we listen and try to discern what God is saying to us. What is God saying?
Next we move to the believe and obey side of the circle. One this side is where we believe in what God has spoken to us and how we are called to obey it.
Plan: We Observed, Reflected and Discussed the Kairos moment. We have discerned God's voice. Next then is forming a plan. Depending on the Kairos event, it could be: If a negative event. “How am I going to prevent this from happening again?” If a positive event, “How am I going allow this to happen more often?” And “How am I going to obey what I heard God telling me to do?”
Accountability: What form of accountability, metrics, or other means is going to be put in place to make sure that the plan is carried out.
Act: Set starting time for plan and begin acting on it.
Allot of this we do intuitively. This tool simply puts it down in an outline form. So often we in the church when asked about something we reply with "generic" responses. "Just spend time in the word", "Pray on it." "Spend time hearing what God is saying to you." If the person heard that last reply, they probable walked away saying to themselves. "Ok, but how do I go about hearing from God?" Also, if someone comes up to you and says a kairos moment has happened to them and asks for you to help them determine what God is saying to them, you have this tool to help you.
My family, I pray you think about a recent Kairos event in your life. Spend time going through it using the Learning Circle. Get together with your spouse a good friend, your Band Group, and tell them about the learning circle. Have each of you think of a kairos moment and take turns leading each other through the learning circle, In Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comments box below.
As we read through the Gospel of Mark, I can not post a reflection on an entire chapter, but what verses stood out to me. I would love for you to post what stood out to you or your thoughts/reflections from the days chapter reading with myself or others using the comment box below. Thank you!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning Lord Jesus, I want to be with you, so I am beginning my day intentionally setting aside time to be with you.
“Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said, “John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.“ (Mark 8:27-30)
With all the invitations and challenges that are being presented in the messages we hear on the news and social media, I have been wrestling for some time now in these verses in Mark. This same story is given in Mathew with more details given. My morning reflections will be coming from the words of Jesus and His encounter with the disciples in this passage and His invitation and challenges to them.
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.”
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:13-26
Jesus was always calibrating invitation and challenge with all those He encountered.. He was open and inviting to all who honestly sought him, but once they were in his presence, he then challenged them with himself, His life, His love, and His truth. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus invited the disciples into a discussion with him by asking them the simple question, “Who do people say that I am?” He then challenged them by exposing their own motives and agenda which were a hinderance to His agenda to which He replied, “get behind me Satan”, As His agenda was “Pick up you cross and follow me.” Jesus was always safe place with barriers or prejudices to enter, however He was always a place where you heard a dangerous message.
In my ministry and churches I am called to lead I try to model it after this example of Jesus as being a safe place with dangerous message. To set this as an example to be modeled by those who come so they individually are a safe place with a dangerous message. To honor both grace and truth.
Some churches are a dangerous place with a dangerous message. They have an extreme fundamentalism culture (dangerous) where if you don not look like them or act like them or believe like them your are not welcomed, but they have a dangerous message, that is usually laced with their bias and prejudice. Some churches are safe place with a safe message. They are inviting and open, and anyone is welcomed to come as you are. However, their message is safe as well. Everyone is free and welcomed to remain as you are: no transformation, all life styles, all behaviors, all saviors, all love is all right.
I try to model Jesus and be a safe place, with a dangerous message. To be inviting and open, and anyone is welcomed to come as you are, and to enter just as a child with no fear. However, one where you hear the dangerous, challenging message of Jesus. All are welcome to come as they are, but no one is allowed to stay as they are. That was the message of Jesus. That is the message of the cross. To die to yourself. Before the Holy Spirit is the “Holy Comforter”, He is the Holy Critiquer”. The Holy Spirit is an equal opportunity critiquer of all persons and all sin. To be “saved” requires change, it requires you to be saved from something that you were-to something else, or you would not need saving.
In this cultural climate of tolerance, fairness, and political correctness (of which Jesus was neither) and social agendas, what are presented as publicly correct are often not Biblically correct.
My family, I pray you will pick up your Bible and read the Gospels and encounters Jesus had with people: Matthew 19:16-21; Luke 9:1-10; John 4:1-42, 6:60-68, 8:1-11. Then spend time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit two personal questions about your life as compared to Jesus’ life and reflect on them. Ask yourself:
Am I safe? Am I welcoming and inviting to all people of all colors, cultures, and life styles with out prejudice or pre-requirements?
Do I have a dangerous message? To those that I do form relationships with and gain influence with them, do I with grace challenge them in the areas of sin in their lives or do I keep my message on a safe, superficial, comfort level? In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
As we read through the Gospel of Mark, I can not post a reflection on an entire chapter, but what verses stood out to me. I would love for you to post what stood out to you or your thoughts/reflections from the days chapter reading with myself or others using the comment box below. Thank you!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning Lord Jesus, with all that I am I seek all that you are.
Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said, “John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. ( Mark 8:27-30)
Jesus’ method of making disciples was one of invitation and challenge. Jesus invited his disciple into His life, exposed them to it, and challenged them by it. He then walked with them through the challenge. Jesus was always looking for an indication of growth in them. Then He would invite them deeper into Him, expose more of himself and his ways to them. It would challenge them, He would help them through it, then looked for indications of growth, and then repeated this process. A constant process of challenging them to die more to themselves, so they could live more in Him.
Jesus challenged his disciples and asked them “Who do the people say I am?” (v.13) His challenge went deeper still when he then asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (v.15) In Peter’s response Jesus saw real spiritual growth and real growth as a disciple. Jesus praised Peter because his response is not something you can discern from reading a book, from listening to a sermon, or attending seminary. This is only something that is revealed from the Father. Before it could be revealed to Peter by the Father, Peter had to first develop and come to the place where he could hear and discern the Fathers voice. This was developed in Peter through the hours, days, years of watching Jesus, being invited into His life, His rhythms of prayer, and the challenges Jesus presented Peter and allowed him to go through. Jesus was mentoring and discipling Peter and the other the disciples to hear from the Father and be lead by the Father just like He is before he leaves the earth. In Peter’s affirmation that “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus probably said to himself, “Yes! You are hearing the revelations of the Father!” His is the voice Jesus had been patiently, discipling these men to hear! I believe this was one of the reasons why earlier in the Gospels when people tried to seize him and kill and they failed. The reason why was said, “Because his time had not yet come.” Jesus had not yet mentored and discipled His disciples to the point that they heard from the Father, to the point they were being led by Him. He needed to accomplish this before the cross.
Jesus spent years discipling 12 men to get them to a place and level of spiritual maturity that they could hear the revelation of the Father, be lead by him and obey Him. He wanted them to become imitators of Him, disciples that are conformed to His image. And at the central core of being a disciple of Christ, is the ability hear the revelations of the father. To be one with the Father. “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21)
If someone asked you, “Are you a Christian?” You would answer “Yes.” What defines you as a Christian is not what church you attend, your church attendance, whether your parents where Christians, the traditions or religious acts you practice or religion you follow. What defines you as a Christian is if you are a follower, a disciple of Jesus. If someone asked. “Are you a disciple of Jesus?, would you answer “Yes?” You want to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus invited and challenged His disciples, and He also invites and challenges you to achieve real spiritual growth and real growth as a disciple. His goal for you is also something you can not discern in your flesh, from reading a book, from listening to a sermon, or attending seminary. This goal is for you o be able to hear and receive revelations from the Father and to be lead and obedient to that revelation.
If you are able to hear the revelations of the Father and allow Him to lead you, ask the Holy Spirit who are those you need to be discipling in this area? Who do you need to invite into and give real access to your life, your day, your rhythms, and let your life challenge them to achieve growth? They don’t need you to simply give them a book to read, invite them to your church to meet your pastor and and listen to a sermon, or attend a class. They need you to give them access to your life and disciple them like Jesus did, and like His disciples did, and you are called to do. If Peter and the other disciples after their time together, their “church gathering”, where they declared and came to the decision and conclusion that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, afterwards went out to lunch and simply went home and did not share, mentor, or disciple anyone, like most people who attend church do today, there would be no churches today, none of you would know of Jesus, and I would not be writing this post.
My family, I pray you spend time in prayer with the Holy Spirit and ask to hear and receive from the Father. It is impossible to become a disciple of Jesus if you can’t. What is hindering, distracting, clouding, or stopping you from His revelation in your life? What invitation and challenge of Jesus are you resisting? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those people, processes, and tools you need to intentionally and actively seek out that will assist in discipling and can walk with you in this challenge. Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you to the persons you need to start discipling and to connect you with them to begin before the end of this week, 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, as I watch and wait for Your leading in deep communion with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8)..
I spent last Wednesday-Friday attending the New Room Conference. It was a wonderful and much needed time of soaking in prayer and worship, and seeking renewal and revival in my life and the life of the church, We all have such great expectancy to see what Your Spirit will do in these days, as You continue to lead Your people to humble themselves and pray for our nation and our world. We desperately need You to move in our hearts and in our days, for only You can save us from our destruction, forgive us of our sins, heal us of our wounds, free us from our bondage, and restore us to our identity and destiny as one nation under God. But we believe. And we pray. According to Your Promises and great Covenant of Revival: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Your Word to the Prophet Ezekiel comes to my mind as he looked out on the valley of dry bones about to be filled with the Breath of Your Spirit, as You invited him to believe what was hard to imagine: "Son of man, can these bones live?" (Ezekiel 37:3)
Come, Holy Spirit. Come, like a Mighty Rushing Wind (Acts 2:2). Come breath Your Spirit and Your Life into our hearts and our land in a great awakening and rejuvenating revival for the great harvest of You've promised in Your Word at the end of the age (Matthew 13:29). Lord, let these bones live! Lord, let the bones of this nation arise and come alive to be all You've created us and called us to be for the glory of Your name, for You alone are the Hope for our nation and the Savior of our world!
Like the moving of Your Spirit, we don't know the details -- when it comes, where it comes from, where it goes from here. But we're ready! We're hungry! We're thirsty! And we're desperately, passionately, fervently praying for You to come and pour out Your power and Your mercy upon our land! The sooner the better and just in time! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the winds of revival blow in your spirit this morning and through your family and our churches in a great awakening and revival, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you in repentance and prayer for our nation and the people of the earth to turn to God, that He may pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in this new day. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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.
“If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:34-36)
This morning I got up and began to look at my schedule. I am leaving this afternoon at 3:00pm to attend The New Room Conference for 3 days. I began thinking of all the things I needed to get done before I leave and the things I need to get lined up before I leave. As I was looking all this over, I began to feel anxious, my stomach tightened, the wheels in my mind began to turn as it started to put in place the “hows” and “whens” of my week. I can become over whelmed when we look at the challenges, struggles, tasks, appointments, and choices facing us when we wake up in the morning. All this, all of these things diminish, my stomach stops churning and my head stops spinning when I breath and remember that there is only one priority today. There is only thing I really need to do today. And that is to follow Jesus.
When I let my life challenges become my focus, I become the choking person in Jesus’ parable. “The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.” (Mark 13:22)
When I remember that all I have to do is follow Jesus and pray that over myself and make priorities that align my day and my heart to simply following Jesus, I experience peace, that peace that passes all understanding. I can hear Jesus speaking “Be Still” and the calming of the storms in my life. And I remember as psalm 23 speaks over me, that “Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for Jesus you are with me;” and Jesus restores my soul.
My family, I pray as you walk out your door and enter into the challenges of the week and all that is on your schedule, you take a minute to breath and remember that there is only one thing you need to do, one thing you need to priorities, and that is following Jesus, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
As i mentioned above, I will be attending The New Room Conference in Montgomery, Al Wednesday-Friday. So this will be my last post this week. Please pray over my time as I go to spend time to be renewed in Christ.
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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.
Thank You!
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