Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me hear Your heart and live into it today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).
With You in my heart and my heart in You, there are pleasures "forevermore." There is fullness of joy, fullness of peace, fullness of the abundance of life, just as You said, "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). In You, there is "forevermore" and in You, there is "forever more."
I ask for more. More of You, more of Your Spirit, more of Your joy, more of Your peace, more of Your love, more of Your power, more of the fullness and abundance of Your life in me. "How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him" (Luke 11:13). All of Your "more" is all by the extravagant gift of Your grace. And You are the God who always "gives all the more grace" (James 4:6). Your gifts are always "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over" (Luke 6:38).
So give me a holy hunger for more -- an unquenchable thirst and insatiable desire for more of all You desire for me. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). Your kingdom is within me; and of Your kingdom, there shall be "no end" (Luke 17:21 and 1:33).
Let me settle for nothing less than the "forever more" of all You have for me. "As it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor human heart conceived, what God has prepare for those who love Him!" (1 Corinthians 2:9). "Forevermore," You're always giving "forever more!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you forevermore experience your heavenly Father's forever more in all He desires and has prepared for you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Join us in our hunger for more! Starting this Monday September 17th we are beginning the journey of reading through the New Testament in a year. This plan has only one chapter to read each weekday. There are no assigned readings on the weekend. Use that time for other studies or to catch back up on chapters you may have missed during the week. The plan we will use is from Bibleplan.org. The website address for it is https://bibleplan.org/plans/new-testament-in-a-year/ or you can get to it by clicking the button below. Go to the site, enter the starting date Sept. 17. 2018, enter your email, and a time you want to receive an email reminder, then click subscribe. Every weekday then you will receive an email reminder of the chapter reading for that day.
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!
Write here…
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. …And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2: 42-47)
Last night we had a church service where we worshipped, prayed, Baptized 3 people, shared the Lord’s Supper, and shared a pot-luck agape feast afterward. This gathering did not take place in a church sanctuary and fellowship hall, but my back yard. The amazing image given above of the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in the early life and birth of Christianity gives us this description of “church.” “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,”(v.46)
The gathering of believers did include periodic times spent in a public place of worship, “attending the temple together”. This was for a gathering of corporate worship. To share and hear stories of how God was working in other peoples lives , to receive teaching, and to be encouraged in their sharing of the Gospel of Jesus to their neighbors. The gathering of believers also included meeting in peoples homes, “breaking bread in their homes.” It was here, around a dinner table and in a living in the intimate and real sharing of their love and struggles of living life for Christ where their faith was forged and they were formed into disciples of Jesus.
Discipleship does not take place in an hour Sunday morning service. I am going to be be bold enough to speak the truth that you cannot become a disciple of Christ if all you do is attend a Sunday morning church service The intimate sharing, modeling, and pressing into our calling that is required in forming disciples cannot take place in a lecture-type setting with 40, 200, 500, 1,000 or more people. As the Scriptures tell us, public worship is an important part of the discipleship process, however it is only one part of the process. A part that has become the complete image of what “church” is for most Christians today.
As believers we tithe a portion of our resources to be used for the spreading of the Gospel and “adding to the number those saved.” However tithing a percentage of your resources does not just apply to what you put in a basket passed around, it applies to your major resource, your home. We are all called to tithe a portion of our home, to open it up and give it to God to use for his glory. How are you using your home for spreading the Gospel? Who are you inviting into your home to share the love of Jesus and make disciples? There are neighborhood kids, and youth you can invite in to start mentoring. A co-worker, classmate, gym member to ask over to read the Bible together. Invite a couple or two from your church over your house to share Christ in your life together. Church gatherings are not just something you find in a church calendar, but in your home or apartment.
My family, I pray this morning as you read this, many of you in your home or apartment, you will offer that space up to God to use for his kingdom, and pray for the Holy Spirit to place the names or faces of those you are to invite into you home, then act on it. 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.
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. I seek to humble my heart in worship and prayer to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"The Lord says, 'Come away! Flee from Babylon in the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds. Come away, people of Zion, you who are exiled in Babylon! ... The Lord says, 'Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you!" (Zechariah 2:6-10 NLT)
We live out our faith every day in the midst of the Babylonian world around us. It's a world that encourages pride rather than humility, self-promotion rather than preferring one another, building our own kingdoms instead of seeking first Your kingdom. Like in the days of the tower of Babel, the mindset of our world is to exalt ourselves in our own power and wisdom, insisting on our own ways in rebellion to Yours (Genesis 11:1-9). And so we are scattered -- scared and insecure even as we outwardly project our false confidence in the allusion of our control apart from trusting submission to the Lordship of Christ.
But You say, "Come away with Me! Come trust in Me; come yield to Me! My ways are good; My yoke is easy; My burden in light. Come find rest for your souls. As you humble yourselves in My sight, I will lift you up!" ...
Bring us out of Babylon! Deliver us from the spirit of Babylon and fill us with the Spirit of the Bride! (Revelation 21:9) "Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the Word, so as to present the church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind -- yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). "Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself!" (Revelation 19:7 NLT
Father God, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to prepare the bride of Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. Call us out and fill us up! Come, Lord Jesus! "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!" (Revelation 22:17) And we embrace the hope and promise of Your Word, "He who is the faithful witness to all these things say 'Yes, I Am coming soon!" (Revelation 22:20) So in faith we respond with the final words of Your Word: "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's holy people!" (Revelation 22:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are filled afresh with the Holy Spirit of the living God this morning and set free from the spirit of Babylon that surrounds you. Through the Holy Spirit may you be made ready and prepared as the bride of Christ in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and 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
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!
"Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, so that those who love Your name may exult in You. For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You cover them with favor as with a shield" (Psalm 5:11-12).
When I was at the Waffle House bar the other morning, the lady sitting next to me turned to me and asked me what I do for a living. I told her I am in Community Development. I don’t tell anyone I am a pastor in the beginning, as when I do, They will, put out their cigarettes, pour out their beer, change the way they talk, and just act weird! The lady said, "Well, you just seem like a genuinely happy person." I thanked her and smiled and told her that was really nice to hear.
I know, I probably should have invited her to church or led her to Jesus or offered to minister healing and deliverance or something; but honestly, at that moment, I was just thinking about what a great blessing You've given me. I thank You, Lord, because You're the One who gave me that joy. Despite everything I've ever been through, and You know I have been through allot, You've never let my joy be taken from me. I'm genuinely joyful because You've put that joy in me. It's like the Sunday School song says: "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay." I like that other verse too -- "And if the devil doesn't like it, like it, like it, like it, he can sit on a tack today!" --or something like that.
Even when I was a general contractor, I loved to joke and laugh." I've still got my old jokes and I've still got my laugh! But Your joy has always been my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). And Your joy has always been at the heart of my experience of You and the growing fulfillment of Your kingdom in my life. "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
You've allowed me to see one of the great purposes of Your words of Spirit and life are "so that (Your) joy may be in (me), and that (my) joy may be complete" as I learn to obey You and abide in You (John 15:10-11). And even though on our daily, spiritual journey through this broken and fallen world "(we) have pain now ... (but at the same time, our) hearts will rejoice, and no one will take (our) joy from (us)" as we live out our days in the conscious awareness of Your Presence (John 16:22-24). "You show me the path of life. In Your Presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11)
You're the God who makes us genuinely joyful! You take all our sins, what can be more Joyous than that? You remove our sorrows to give us freedom and joy to display Your glory through our lives. "(You) give (us) beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that (we) may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified!" (Isaiah 61:3 NKJV) In You, You fulfill in us the promise of Your Word: "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!" (Isaiah 35:10) Thank You, Jesus! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this Monday, you begin your weekday genuinely joyful, that the joy of the Lord may be your strength, and that no one can take your joy from you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections on joy 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 at the center of my thoughts and desires, of all I say and do, and of every moment of my day. ...
"Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" (Psalm 24:7-10)
I lift up my head to You in worship. I open up the gates of my heart to You in praise. I welcome You in, King of glory.
Strong and mighty One, come fill my spirit with Your Spirit. "You, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head" (Psalm 3:3). You are mighty in battle and majestic in Your glory. You've already defeated any enemy I will face today and You've already given me the victory through the deliverance of Your cross. "Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may Your blessing be on Your people!" (Psalm 3:8)
Your Word says, "The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet!" (Romans 16:20). I claim this promise over my life this morning. I claim this promise over anything that will try to rise up against me today. I claim my enemy is under my feet because I'm standing in You and You are standing in me -- "Christ in (me), the hope of glory!" (Colossians 1:27) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you see the glory of the One who is mighty in battle defeating your enemies before you today, as you welcome the King of glory into your heart this morning and every moment of your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers God battling for you 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
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. I speak out Your name and listen for Your leading, for Your sheep hear Your voice and the children of God are led by the Spirit of God. ...
"Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called: I am He; I am the First, and I am the Last.... Assemble, all of you, and hear! ... Draw near to Me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go" (Isaiah 48:12-17).
Lord, teach me how to listen. Teach me how to humble my heart to watch for Your coming and listen for Your leading. Don't let my words get in Your way. Instead, let Your words of spirit and life enter me and effect me; let them transform me and renew me; let them teach me and lead me. ...
As I listen this morning, it seem I hear You saying: "Listen, My beloved one. I form My thoughts in your mind and My desires in your heart, as you invite Me and embrace Me. This is how I form in you the mind of Christ. This is how I remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. This is how I make you more like Me every day. Give yourself completely over to Me and I am free to form My nature in you and express My nature through you." ...
Yes, Lord. I am transformed by the renewing of my mind and the softening of my heart by the moving of Your Spirit within me (Romans 12:2; Ezekiel 36:26). As I behold You in the worship of surrendering my soul and entrusting my heart to You and Your will and Your ways, You are changing me into Your "same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18 ).
In listening, I can hear. In yielding, I can follow. In surrendering, I am strengthened to become all You've created me to be, secure in my identity and fulfilling my destiny in You. So give me the grace to keep listening, to keep drawing near, to keep surrendering my soul and entrusting my heart -- morning by morning and moment by moment. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you draw near and listen to the Lord, surrounding your soul and entrusting your heart, be changed into His image from glory to glory -- morning by morning and moment by moment, 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.
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!
“Now Jesus went up the mountain and called for those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach and to have authority to cast out demons. He appointed twelve: To Simon he gave the name Peter; to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”); and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” (Mark 6:13-19)
Jesus called twelve people to be follow him, to be his disciples, to be members of his “church.” What was the first and most important thing Jesus required of them? To spend time with him. At the core of being a disciple, at being a follower of Jesus is the necessity of spending time with Jesus and developing a deep relationship with Him.
Jesus’ call of his disciples reveals three things. First, Jesus “called those he wanted” (v.13). Jesus’ wanted and desired a close, personal friendship with his followers. Jesus did not call them as a marketing plan or to hire workers. He did not call them with a “human resource model” like most churches of getting them to sign up to be greeters, ushers, parking lot greeters, childcare workers…and the list goes on. He simply wanted to spend time with them. Second, “they came to him.” (v.13) The disciples attraction was simply Jesus. It was not a program, building, or ministry. They came and desired to spend time with Jesus. Third, “So that they could be with him.” Like Jesus’s desire for a close relationship with them, they desired a close relationship with Him.
The whole point of Jesus calling those to follow him was so that they could be with him. Yes, he wanted to “send them out to preach and cast out demons,” however all authority and power for them to be able to do this has its source and is only possible from a deep abiding relationship with Jesus.
What is the whole goal and purpose of being a follower of Jesus today? Why did he Jesus call you to follow him? Because He wants you to spend time with Him. At the core of Jesus calling of you is His desires to personally and intimately to spend time with you. At the core of your Christian walk needs to be a desire to personally and intimately spend time with Jesus. I have found as a Christian leader that if I do a service project of some sort people willingly show up to serve and work even though the tasks may be difficult and outside in hot conditions. I have found that people willingly get up on Sunday mornings and get dressed, get in cars, and drive off to a church to attend a service. However, I have found that getting people to spend time daily with Jesus: to sit comfortably on a couch in their pajamas with a cup of coffee or tea in their own home and read the Bible and pray, to desire to simply spend time with Jesus, is a struggle for them.
Yet “doing” things: attending church services, serving in a church or in a ministry, and teaching or leading a church event is not at the core of Jesus call of you, just as “doing” things was not at the core of the first group He called to follow Him. It is “being” with Him. You must first desire to be with Jesus before you can go out and do things for Jesus. The great commandment, to love God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength ( Mark 12:30) comes before and is a pre-requisite to fulfilling the great commission, “Go and make disciples.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Hear these haunting words from Jesus. “On the Judgment Day, many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and do lots of miracles in your name?’23 Then I’ll tell them, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you people who do wrong.’ (Matt. 7:22-23)
There is nothing myself or any other leader can do to get you to desire to spend time with Jesus. There is nothing a spouse or parent can do to get their spouse or child to desire to spend time with Jesus. There is nothing Jesus can do to make you desire to spend time with him. As much as Jesus desires to be with you, he can’t make you spend time daily with Him in Scriptures and prayer. All he can do is call out to you, and expectantly await your response.
My family, I pray today as you begin your day you will come to realize that answering your call to follow Jesus is not centered on “doing” things for Jesus, but “being” with Jesus. May you desire to be with the one who desires to be with you, Jesus Christ. Please pray the same for me! God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with me 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. Let Your Word and Your Spirit have Their way in my life today.
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).
This morning I continue my reflection this week on our identity in Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. Fall afresh on me. Rise up within me. Renew me and revive me. Awaken me and anoint me. Flow into me and out of me. Inspire me and empower me and give me life -- the fullness of the abundance of life in Christ (John 10:10).
You are "the Spirit of Christ," making me more like Christ (Romans 8:9). You are "the Spirit of Jesus," making me more like Jesus (Acts 16:17; Philippians 1:19). You are "the Spirit of truth," making me desire to be one with the One who is the Truth -- "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 15:26; John 14:6). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (me) free from the law of sin and death.... To set (my) mind on the flesh is death, but to set (my) mind on the Spirit is life and peace.... But (I am) not in the flesh; (I am) in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:2-11).
Words of spirit and life, change me today. "The word of God abides in (me).... (I) have been anointed by the Holy One.... Let what (I) heard from the beginning abide in (me). If what (I) heard from the beginning abides in (me), then (I) will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He has promised (me), eternal life" (1 John 2:14-20). Lord, let me live my life that way today and throughout my eternity. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray God's words of spirit and life abide in you and flow out of you to change who you are and the world around you today, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections with me 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life. ...
"Truly, the one who touches you touches the apple of My eye" (Zechariah 2:8).
Last night at our house church we reflected on our identity and how we are to view ourselves and others in Christ. Help me see myself as the apple of Your eye -- chosen, beloved, one in whom You delight. I'm created in Your image and called according to Your purpose. I am a child of God. And my Father is the Creator of heaven and earth, the sovereign Lord of my life, and the Lover of my soul.
You correct me and discipline me because You love me. You teach me and lead me because You want me to become all You created me to be, fully alive in You. And You are not pleased with anything that would harm me or hinder me from seeing and knowing the truth of my identity and the fulfillment of my destiny in You.
Help me see myself as You see me. Help me honor and respect myself as You honor and respect me. Help me love myself as You love me. You say to me each day, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you" (Jeremiah 31:2). "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). If You love me so much, so should I. If You see me that way -- even as the apple of Your eye -- so should I. And so I will -- as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you see yourself as the apple of our Father's eye. I pray you honor and respect yourself, and love yourself, just as your Father does, 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are welcome here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory" (Colossians 3:1-4 NLT).
"Real life" is in You. "Real life" is when I allow You to be my life -- when I'm abiding in You and allowing You to abide in me, when I'm trusting You to know what's best, when I'm following You into the fullness of my destiny in You, secure in my identity in You (John 15:4). "Real life" is when I wholeheartedly embrace the One who is "the way, the truth, and the life" -- holding nothing back from You and fully taking hold of You (John 14:6).
So as I begin my day, I can either set my sights on the things above or the things below. I can choose to see with the kingdom eyes of heaven or the eyes of earth. I can chose the lens I filter things through as either Your perspective or the world's perspective. I can seek You first and Your kingdom and Your righteousness or I can seek to just go with the flow of the ways of the world around me or the ways of my flesh that are not yet crucified with Christ within me (Matthew 6:33; Galatians 2:20).
I choose You! Holy Spirit help me choose you! I choose my "new life with Christ." I choose Your perspective, to live into my day with Your vision and Your heart, to walk in Your ways and Your will, as best as I can and all by Your grace. I choose "real life" in You. And in the amazing mystery of faith and grace, You choose to live Your life through me. "This is the secret: Christ lives in (me). This gives (me) assurance of sharing His glory" (Colossians 1:27 NLT). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today you keep it real, choosing your real life in Christ and allowing Christ to live His life through you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections on "Real Life" 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. By the moving of Your Holy Spirit, I come to You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus the Son, and give You the glory for all the great things You've done and for the great God You are. ...
"With my whole heart I seek You.... Let Your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your promise.... Remember Your word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope.... I implore Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise.... Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.... Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your custom toward those who love Your name.... You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are true.... Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your word.... My lips will pour forth praise, because You teach me Your statutes. My tongue will sing of Your promise, for all your commandments are right" (Psalm 119:10-172).
O Lord, give me a love for Your ways, just as You've given me a trust in Your nature. Give me faith to believe You know what's best and give me courage to act according to the faith You give. "O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes" (v. 5). "Happy are those who keep (Your) decrees, who seek (You) with their whole heart" (v. 2).
I admit I don't always follow Your ways from a faithful heart or honor Your statutes with a willing spirit or keep Your commandments in the way that expresses my trust in You as my wisest Father, loving Savior, and constant Companion. I admit I don't always seek You "with my whole heart." And those are the very places where I lose my peace and let go of my hope and allow my joy to fade away. That's no way to be; that's no way to live, when there's so much more of life and peace and joy in You and the wisdom of Your ways. "O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes! (v. 5)
But by the power of Your grace at work within me, my part is not to do this in my power and strength or strong will and self-determination, trying to try harder and praying to pray harder. No, my part is to humble my heart and ask for Your help, to willingly choose to be desperately dependent on You alone. Then like a mighty rushing wind, You move in my heart to give me the desire and the power to seek You and trust You, to desire to obey You and then act in obedience to You (Philippians 2:13).
My part is call on Your name, as I choose to trust in Your nature. "For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on You" (Psalm 86:5). My part is set my mind and my heart on the things of Your Spirit, rather than the things of my flesh. "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind of the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:5-6).
Come, Holy Spirit. Help me set my mind right, as You get my heart right. Give me the desire and the power to seek You with all my heart, "with my whole heart," so I can obey Your leading from my heart. I, of course, can't do it alone. And You never intended me to. That's why You are my Helper, just as God is my Father and Jesus is my Savior. How I need You today and every day. And O, how You're faithful to help me day after day -- especially on the days I deserve it the least.
As I finish this prayer this morning -- not even knowing where this came from or where this is going -- I hear in my heart Your reminder of one of my favorite promises of Your Word: "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" (Lamentations 3:21-25). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you'll empowered with the desire to seek the Lord with your whole heart, holding nothing back, going all-in, and embracing His steadfast love and tender mercies to live your life today filled with His joy and peace and favor, 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. First of all, I seek You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. I look to You, to worship and pray, to watch and wait, to listen as You lead, to begin my day fully surrendered to You, as best as I can and all by Your grace. ...
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of His glory, He may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).
Yes, Lord. I receive this prayer from the apostle Paul, inspired by Your Holy Spirit and imparted into my human spirit. Every dimension of the trinity of God, the tri-unity of God, is mentioned and moving in this flow of power and love from heaven to earth and from Your heart to mine -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
O Lord, my God, I gladly receive this prayer, because I desperately need this prayer. I desperately need to bow my knees in humble surrender and trusting faith before You, my Father. I desperately need to be strengthened in my inner being with Your power through Your Spirit. I desperately need You, Lord Jesus the Christ, to be Lord of my life, as You dwell in my heart through faith in You. I desperately need to be rooted and grounded in Your love, so I can love You with an undivided heart -- with all my heart and mind and soul and strength, loving You and loving others, as an unhindered expression of Your nature through my life. I desperately need to comprehend with my mind what You're doing in my heart, as You're teaching me and empowering me to experience and know the love of Christ, more and more every day. And in all these ways, I desperately need to be filled with all the fullness of God.
What more could I pray? What more could You desire? This may be a perfect prayer that perfectly expresses Your heart for my heart and Your will for my life. Lord, let it be so. "Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray Paul’s prayer over each of you this morning. I pray the Holy Spirit opens your ears to hear it and receive it. Read the prayer again. I pray you are filled with all the fullness of God, embracing and experiencing all the Lord has for you, 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
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!
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).
The first word of the 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" or even "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 part 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). But all these powerful commands and worthy aspirations are not first.
The first word of the gospel of the kingdom of God is simply "Repent."
Before anything else, we must repent. We must make a choice to turn to You -- 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.
And it's not just a one-time choice, a one-time prayer, a one-time mark on a past day on our spiritual calendar. It's choosing a lifestyle of repentance -- choosing to continue to turn our hearts over to You, 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 You 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. But 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 to repent. Reveal to me now the sin in my life I need to repent of this morning as I begin my week. Keep my heart humble to continue 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. 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. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning as you begin your work week you will first do some personal work and seek the Holy Spirit and repent. I pray 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, so 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!
Please share your thoughts and reflections 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the way that leads to the fullness of life in You today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, 'See, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.' ... (John, the messenger) proclaimed, 'The One who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:2-8).
Lord Jesus, baptize me with the Holy Spirit -- this day and every day. Fill me afresh, saturate and soak me anew, through and through, overflowing with "rivers of living water" (John 7:38).
Come, Holy Spirit. Prepare the way of the Lord in my heart. Make the crooked places of sin straight; bring down the high places of my pride; and lift up the low places of seeing myself as anything less than the child of God I am in Christ. Fulfill Your Word in my heart: "Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed" (Isaiah 40:3; Luke 3:5).
Father God, what can I do to position myself to prepare the way of the Lord in my heart? ...
It seems I hear You saying in my spirit: "My son, I am the One who leads you to desire this and to pray this. Allow My Holy Spirit in your heart to move you to an ever-increasing hunger and thirst for Me and My Presence, so that you settle for nothing less than the fullness of My Presence in every area of your heart and life."
Yes, Lord. Let it be so. I now claim the promises of Your words in Scripture over me. Let me abide in You, as You abide in me (John 15:4). Let me "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Let me "be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). Let me be "conformed to the image of (Your) Son" (Romans 8:29). Let me embrace Your will and yield to Your ways in trusting surrender to "become (one of Your) participants of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Let me "grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ," growing up "to maturity, the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-16). Let me "live to God" because "I have been crucified with Christ (so that) it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:19-20). Let Your Spirit "sanctify (me) entirely; and may (my) spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). I choose to believe the promise of Your Word, "The One who calls (me) is faithful, and He will do this!" (1 Thessalonians 5:24). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you are baptized in the Holy Spirit this day and every day, as You allow Him to prepare the way of the Lord in your heart. Claim these “let me“ passages over your life this morning, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice.
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.... I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father" (John 10:2-15).
I open the gate of my heart to You today. You know me and I know You. I want to hear Your voice and sense Your leading, as You go ahead of me into every moment of my day. And at the same time, You not only go ahead of me, You also go with me because You're abiding in me and I in You. "Christ in (me)" (Colossians 1:27). By "the Spirit of Christ" abiding in me, You're "with (me) always" (Romans 8:9; Matthew 28:20).
Help me test and discern every word I believe I hear in my heart. I want to follow the voice of my Savior, not the voice of the stranger. Sharpen my discernment. Sensitize my spirit. Anoint me and empower me to "test everything" and "hold fast to what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Your Word invites me to listen attentively for Your words and also commands me to test carefully the words I believe I hear. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.... By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:1-3). ...
As I wait on You to listen for Your voice this morning, it seems I hear You saying: "My son, know My voice that always aligns with My Word, that reflects My nature, that bears good fruit, that leads you to Me. As you listen and hear, as you test and see, you grow in discernment and trust so that I can lead your heart by My Spirit."
Yes, Lord. The stranger doesn't lead me to Your Word, doesn't reflect Your nature, doesn't bear good fruit, and doesn't lead me to You. Let this test of discernment of the thoughts that come to my mind and the impulses that come to my heart be a plumb line of truth, so I can hold fast to what is true and reject what is not. Following You as we hear Your voice is one of the great blessings of the children of God. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray the Holy Spirit anoints you and empowers you to hear and discern the voice of God, holding fast to what is true in your journey with Him every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I wait in the silence of surrender before You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- I'm asking You to put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me in the way of life in You today.
"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.... and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised! ... So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed!" (Acts 19:11-20)
As I begin my work week, Lord, release Your power through my life today. Every way You would display Your glory flowing through my words and actions, let the name of the Lord Jesus be praised. You said "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" -- so let Your kingdom go forth through my hands and my heart (Matthew 10:7). You said, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). Lord, let it be so in every way You would express "the word of the Lord" through me into my world to see Your word grow mightily and prevail today.
Thank You for the extraordinary miracles of Your power and love. Thank You for the extraordinary miracles that move mountains in the authority of Your name (Mark 11:22-24). Thank You for the extraordinary miracles when we pray for those who persecute us, bless those who curse us, and love those who hate us (Matthew 5:44). Thank You for the extraordinary miracles that changes us and changes our world when we speak and act with "love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). And thank You for the joy of allowing us to be a part of all Your doing in our world every day. "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
As we make ourselves available to You -- called and anointed according to Your purpose, which flows out of the intimacy of Your abiding Presence -- not only is the kingdom of heaven at hand, "the kingdom of God is within (us)" (Luke 17:21). So we carry Your kingdom everywhere we go! That's how Your word continues to grow mightily and prevail, through every generation and to every nation until "the earth (is) filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea!" (Habakkuk 2:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you see the extraordinary miracles of God released in the power of His love through your life today in every way He expresses His heart though you as His ambassador for Christ, 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day focused on You -- embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit.
"Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field of everyone" (Zechariah 10:1 ).
Yes, Lord. Let it rain! Let showers of rain come down -- everywhere we are weary and dry, thirsting for more, yearning for You. Let there be an outpouring of Your Presence -- here in my heart and here in our land!
"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory! Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You! Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips!" (Psalm 63:1-5 )
You're awakening a fresh hunger in my soul, a fresh thirst in my spirit. It's a fresh hunger and thirst that won't be contained or restrained, that won't be silenced or shut away or hidden out of sight. And it won't ever be fully satisfied because You are making me hungrier and thirstier still. In the mystery of my passionate pursuit for Your Presence, the more You let it rain, the dryer I become. And the dryer I become, the more my heart cries out, "Let it rain!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you keep growing hungrier and thirstier in your passionate pursuit for the Presence of the Lord. I pray you cry out to Him this morning in your heart, "Let it rain!", in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You, as I still my soul and listen for Your voice. ...
I believe I hear You saying in my heart: "Think on these things" (Philippians 4:8 KJV).
Yes, Lord. I can't choose the certainty of all my circumstances or predetermine the difficulty of all my challenges, but I can choose, by the power of Your grace, the focus of my thoughts. And Your Word encourages me to think on the good things, to focus a little more on the best things, on the things that help me look up instead of down, to look forward instead of backward, and to start off my day on the right path, with my best foot forward, with a good attitude and a healthy perspective: "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.... Then the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8 NLT).
There will be plenty of time all to soon to deal with the daily stuff, but right now at the start of my day, I'm going to take a little time with the Holy Spirit. I can gird up and go out into battle in a few minutes, but right now I'm going to settle in for some quiet time in the communion of prayer, centered in You, and surrounded in Your Presence. I'm going to open up my spirit and lift up my heart and welcome You into every thought in my mind, every desire in my heart, and every moment in my day.
I'm going to think on You and all You've done for me. I'm going to think on Your love for me, Your power within me, Your plans before me, and Your grace to sustain me through whatever comes. And then, when I have to start thinking about all the other things that will become a part of my life today, I'll not forget these good and precious things that You've sealed in my heart, here at the start of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will set aside some time now to rest in the Spirit, and allow the Lord to fill your mind and your heart with the good things of God in your life, as you begin your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections 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
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!
