My family, I pray today you will seriously and honestly reflect on not the label of being a "Christian", but your true relationship with Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart to see You--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God--as I look and listen for Your leading today.
In the next couple weeks we will have 10 men and women attend a “Walk to Emmaus” weekend. The weekend is also called Cursillo, Paseo, or Chrysalis depending on church denomination and age. In praying this morning over the names of those who will be attending their weekends, I went back and read the story of the walk to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-32.
"Now on that day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.... So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:13-32).
The two disciples were on their walk back to Emmaus after all the events of the cross in Jerusalem. Jesus, they had known You and loved You, but in their grief and sorrow and disappointment, they couldn't see You. They "had hoped" that You were the Messiah, but now they thought all their hopes and dreams were shattered (v. 21). They had even heard stories of Your resurrection, but they were still "slow of heart to believe" (v. 22-25). Even when You came alongside them, they couldn't sense that it was You, they couldn't recognize Your voice, even though they had had such a personal relationship with You.
That may be a picture of many of us at times along our journey of faith. It has been mine at times in my life. We know You, we have a real and personal relationship with You, we know the stories of Your resurrection; but at the same time, down deep inside, we still find ourselves "slow of heart to believe." When our dreams and hopes are shattered, when tragedy strikes, when we find ourselves in those times of grief and sorrow and disappointment, we find it hard to see You and hear You. We can't even recognize and remember that You are with us--that You're with us "always," just like You promised (Matthew 28:24), that Your sheep "hear (Your) voice," just like You said (John 10:3).
But even in those times--maybe even especially in those times--You'll come near and go with us (Luke 24:15). You'll come in and dine with us in the communion of our hearts if we'll simply invite You in to come abide with us (v. 29). Just as You did with those two discouraged disciples who desperately needed an encounter with You, You're ready to come and commune with all who would "urge (You) strongly" to come and stay (v. 29).
In the breaking of the bread with them, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized (You)" (v. 30-31). In the breaking of the Bread of the Word of God with them, "(You) interpreted to them the things about (Yourself) in all the Scriptures" (v. 27). Then their hearts burned within them in fresh fire and faith, in renewed hope and excitement, from their personal encounter in Your Presence with Your Word (v. 32).
Thank You for walking with me on my journey with You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for opening up the Word of God to me, for revealing Yourself in Your Scriptures to me, "beginning with Moses and all the prophets" (v. 27). Thank You for coming to abide within me, for opening the eyes of my heart to see You, for making me more and more sensitive in my spirit to hear You. Thank You for the grace and faith to believe in my heart from my personal encounters in Your Presence with Your Word that "the Lord has risen indeed!" (v. 34) And thank You that every day You want walk with me and to arise in me! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you strongly urge Jesus to come enter the dwelling of your heart so your heart burns within you with fresh fire and faith, in renewed hope and excitement on your journey with Jesus. Encounter His Presence by spending time in His Word, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
If you have attended a Three-day weekend such as an Emmaus, Cursillo, or Paseo, please share your experiences and reflections from your weekend in the comment box below. Have questions about the weekend, contact me and I'd love to talk to you.
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. Arise in Your resurrection power in my life today.
"Then He breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22 NLT).
Breathe on me, O Breath of God. Let Your Spirit fill my lungs with praise. Let your Breath fill my mouth with Your words. Let Your Presence abide in my soul.
Breathe on me, Lord. Breathe new life, fresh passion, renewed vision and determination to seek Your face, to return to my first love, to follow Your ways, to be the child of God and disciple of Christ You created me and called me to be--not in my strength but in Your power, not in my goodness but in Your righteousness.
I desperately need You. I breathlessly await You. Increase my capacity to breathe You in as You breathe on me. Fill me afresh that You can overflow onto those around me, through me this day and this next season of my life in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you fall on your knees this morning and desperately desire to be filled afresh with the Breath of God to overflow anew with His life and love flowing out of 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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in my heart and shine through my life today.
"The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you" (Romans 8:11).
Resurrection Sunday was the first day of your resurrection life. You were raised from the dead and in you, so am I. On the day I welcomed You into my heart, Your Spirit came rushing in like a mighty wind to save me and raise me up into newness of life and my resurrection life began. "For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives" (Romans 8:4).
Father God, fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Come, Holy Spirit, move in resurrection power in my spirit and through my life. Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day. As You are, so am I to be in my world (1 John 4:17). So raise me up full of Your Holy Spirit and send me out in the fullness of the resurrection life You died for me to live. "Therefore it says, 'Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!'" (Ephesians 5:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you awaken and arise to shine with the light of the glory of God in the resurrection power of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, 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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and every moment of my day.
"Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, 'Have You no answer? What is it that they testify against You?' But He was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked Him, 'Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?' Jesus said, 'I AM; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven'" (Mark 14:60-62)
You are the Messiah, the Christ, the One who is both Son of Man and Son of God, the Word of God made human flesh like us, to walk among us and willingly lay down Your perfect and sinless life for us as the atoning sacrifice for all our sins that we might know You and live with You forever in the very presence of God. You are I AM (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).
At that divine declaration, the high priest tore his garments in fleshly anger because he didn't believe. But Your Holy Spirit compels all who would hear and believe to tear our hearts in holy desperation to welcome You into them as Lord and Savior. "Yet even now, says the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing" (Joel 2:12-13).
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I tear it open to You today. Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Remind me of Your sacrifice that draws me into Your love. "For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross.... As a result, He has brought (us) into His own presence, and (we) are holy and blameless as (we) stand before Him without a single fault. But (we) must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it" (Colossians 1:19-23).
By the grace of God, I'm a child of God, forgiven and free, through all You've done for me! "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). Thank You, thank You, thank You Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are moved by the Holy Spirit to continue in the faith, compelled by love and in holy desperation. I pray you tear open your heart in ever-deeper surrender to the One who loves you and laid down His life 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. Fill me with Your Spirit and make me more like You today.
"While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it He broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out fro many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom' " (Matthew 26:26-29).
As we prepare to celebrate the Hebrew feast of Passover, You are our Passover Lamb. You are "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" by the pouring out of Your precious blood upon the cross (John 1:29). You are the fulfillment of the prophetic act of the first Passover, when death passed over the Hebrew people who took the blood of the unblemished lamb and anointed the doorways of their home, just as You call us to anoint the doorways of our hearts with Your blood (Exodus 12:1-28).
The first Passover and every Festival of Passover, celebrated in remembrance of the provision of God, is a foreshadow of things to come, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16). So as I remember the Passover, I'm remembering the last Passover, the Last Supper, You celebrated with Your disciples during that Holy Week on the night You were betrayed and gave up Yourself for us.
Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your gift of Your Body and Your Blood, given and poured out for me. In You, death passes over me and the fullness of life forevermore floods my soul. "Those who believe in Me, even though they die, yet will they live" (John 11:25). Thank You for Your sacrifice of love that takes away the sins of the world, and even more personally, Your sacrifice of love that takes away my sins. Today I remember You and behold the Passover Lamb of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may behold the Passover Lamb of God and all the fullness of life God the Father has provided for you through God the Son. 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.communityFacebook: 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!
Last night I took some food to a family (granny, mom, and three children) who live in a HUD housing project. Their fridge went in their apartment and they called the manager. It took him three days to fix their fridge and so they lost all their food. The granny does not get money until the first of the month so they needed basic food items: eggs, milk, butter..ect to get them through this week until the grandmother get's her check next week.
I went to Walmart and eggs are 27 cents a dozen. Milk is 98 cents a gallon. I spent a $1.25 and brought it to them. When Carrie, the mom opened the fridge to put them in it, besides an almost empty quart of milk and a pitcher of water, they were the only things in the fridge. I only spent $1.25 and it took me less than an hour, however they were blessed and so was I.
I have encouraged you all to make this week, Holy Week, "different." Slow down, change your schedule to allow you to spend more time in prayer, in the Bible, and serving others. The above is a simple example. Did I really want to drive to bring them food, probably not. I could have sat and watched a hour show on TV. However, in less time than that show lasted, and only spending $1.25 I made this week "different," a family's life different, and my life different.
The dollar amount the food represented did not matter to the family, the amount of love it represented did. Just like those that deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly, its not the $2.00 lunch the elderly crave, its the care and companionship.
When I got to the house, Jaylee, the 12 year old daughter, and her grandmother Christine were not there. They had walked to the store. It is spring break for Jaylee, and her Carrie, her mom, said Jaylee and two friends wanted to have a picnic but they did not have any money or food. Neither of their families had money of food. So they each went to their apartments and into their rooms and got personal items of theirs they could sell. Carrie said they say outside today by the street from 10:00am-6:00pm for 8 hours and had a "yard sale" and sold their items. Carrie said they made $8.00. Just then Jaylee and her granny walked in from the store. Jaylee excitedly told me all about her yard sale. Then she showed me what she brought from the corner store: a store brand bag of Sour Cream and Onion Chips, a 2 liter bottle of generic Dr. Pepper, a small bag of gummy candy, and a 4 pack of generic chocolate pudding cups. She was so excited about the picnic she and her friends were now going to have tomorrow, and that she had $2 and change left over which she showed me. As I was smiling and saying, "That's great Jaylee!" I was thinking inside, "She sold her personal things to buy food."
My family, It does not take allot of time or money to make a day "different," it just takes being intentional. It is a few small people, doing a few small things, in a few small places that usher in a movement of God. I pray you will begin your day in prayer over, "So how are you going to make today different? Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Much love,
Gary
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. Fill me with Your Spirit and set my heart ablaze with Your Fire. Let me be a torchbearer and Fire-carrier everywhere You send me today.
"I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:15-18).
You never called us to huddle up and hide out. You never intended to tuck us away in some tower of tranquility. Your picture of “church” was never a “sanctuary” hidden inside a stationary building with a cross on top. Your image of church was never a location but a movement. You sent us, sent your church into the world. You sent us even knowing the challenges we'd face, the temptations we'd encounter and the persecutions we'd endure (v. 14). You sent us like You sent your Son, the One we are supposed to imitate.
You send us into the world because You love the world (v. 3:16). You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would have life in You. So You send us to be Your expression of Your love for them. Just as the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us in the power and love of the Spirit of God living in us (v. 20:21-23).
"Here I am, Lord. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with the Spirit of God today, as Jesus sends you into the world to express the Father's heart of love for everyone you encounter. I pray during Holy Week, today, in the morning, at lunch, or in the evening instead of sitting, you will step out into the world and do a simple act of service or sharing of Jesus’ love. 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. As I journey with You this Holy Week when we remember Your journey to the cross, help me listen and see all You're showing me, as I take up my cross and follow You.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Matthew 23:37-39).
Jesus, when You came into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey in deep humility, the crowds waived their palm branches and declared You were the Messiah, the Son of David, coming as King, declaring "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (v. 21:6-10). But You already knew in your heart that in a short week's time, those same crowds would be crying out for Your crucifixion on a cross, rejecting Your words and rejecting You as their Messiah (v. 27:20-23). And You knew in Your heart Jerusalem would be destroyed, as a city divided in her heart and denying her Savior (v. 24:1-2).
Yet, even so, You would continue to love her and seek to gather her together again in hope, fulfilling the ancient prophecies of the restoration of Israel and the salvation of Jerusalem at the end of the age (Zechariah 12:1-11). And on that day that will seem like all the nations of the earth are about to finally destroy Jerusalem and all she represents, the crowds of Jerusalem will look up to heaven, to the return of her Messiah, "the One whom they have pierced," in mourning and repentance to declare, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord" (Zechariah 12:10).
We are no better than the crowds who cried out for Your crucifixion because it was our sins as well as theirs that nailed You to the cross, You continue to cry out for us. And because of Your sacrifice of love, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for never giving up on us, for never giving up on me. You are the blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26). You are the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. Despite the sins of our souls and the unfaithfulness of our hearts, You never give up on us. Your steadfast love never comes to an end (Lamentations 3:22).
So let me be part of that crowd, from every generation, saved by Your grace, from the cross to the second coming of Christ, who cries out to You, "Blessed in the One who comes in the name of the Lord." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you begin this Monday of Holy Week by crying out in your heart to Jesus, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord." May you hear and see all the Lord desires to show you on this Holy Week journey to the cross. In Jesus’s 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 my family,
I post a weekday reflection blog and I normally do not post a blog on Saturday or Sunday, but with Holy Week beginning tomorrow my thoughts and prays this morning were on preparing our hearts for this time. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday andwill began the time called Holy Week in the church. It is my favorite week in the year. We remember the last week of Christ’s life before his resurrection. It contains so many powerful events, examples, and expressions of God’s love for us as demonstrated in the life of Christ. It starts tomorrow with Palm Sunday and Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jesus’s cleansing of the temple. The institution of the first Lord’s Supper. Jesus washing the disciples feet. Jesus’s final teaching to his disciples in the upper room. The betrayal by Judas. Jesus prayer and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. His trials before the Sanhedrin, Pilot and Herod. Jesus’ scourging, and crucifixion, and finally, resurrection.
I know I am preaching to myself with all I have to do with getting ready for all the upcoming events this week, but I want to encourage you to try to make this next week different. Try to slow down. Read through a passion narrative in one of the four Gospels each day. Commit yourself to Fast and pray as often as you can this week. Try to “Fast” as much as you can from social media, TV, video games and other Apps and spend that time in prayer. Serve and do acts of mercy at the Manna house, Downtown Rescue Mission, or other outreaches into your community. This is a reason why ODC holds and I invite you to participate in our Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services before Easter Sunday to help reinforce this week is different and set aside extra time for something we need to do more of, time in collective prayer together. I know many of you do not attend ODC, so please attend your churches or another in your communities Holy Week observation gatherings.
Pray over One Direction Community, (and your church and their vision) that we can press forward with our vision of Loving God, Loving Neighbors, and Making disciples through our House Churches. Share your testimony and the Gospel at least once a day with others. Prayer walk more this week seeking new people of peace to invite into existing, and start up new house churches. Invite people to our (your) Holy Week gatherings. If for some reason you are still not in a Band Group, (an accountability group) make it a priority to start one this week. Pray we can more deeply develop a heartbeat for those who are not yet here, rather than those who are here. That is why God sent His Son, that all may be saved by his suffering and resurrection of grace.
My family, I pray today you will intentionally commit to refocusing your heart, your free time, and dates on your calendar for next week and remove distractions and include Holy Week gatherings, times of service and sharing the Gospel, and time in Word and prayer. In Jesus’ name. PLEASE pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I love you all,
Gary Liederbach
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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd, let me hear Your voice in my spirit, as I begin my day in the deep communion of contemplative prayer with You--embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
"Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about Me?' Pilate replied, 'I am not a Jew, am I? You own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done? Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If My kingdom were from this world, My followers would be fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here.' Pilate asked Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice'" (John 18:33-37).
Lord Jesus, Your kingdom is not of this world. Yours is the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Your kingdom does not originate in this world, but your reign is over this world. All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to You (Matthew 28:18). And Your name is "the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). You are "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16). You reign forever and ever, "and of (Your) kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33 fulfilling Isaiah 9:7).
So King of kings, be King of my heart. Lord of lords, be Lord of my life. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here in me and my world, here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). I bend my knees before you and profess you as my Lord. King Jesus, come take Your throne of authority and power, of majesty and glory, in every area and every moment of my life. Come rule and reign, as I bow my knees and my heart, as I confess with my mouth and my acts that You are Lord to the glory of my Father. "Jesus Christ…He is Lord of all!" (Acts 10:36) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray at this moment you bend your knees and let your tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord so that you can experience all the authority and power, the majesty and glory, of the One who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who is the King of the kingdom of God and the Lord of all, in every area and every moment of your life, 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. Be at the center of all I am and all I do this day.
"This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of His call and will fulfill by His power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:5-12).
We must behold both the kindness and the severity of God. "So do not become proud, but stand in awe.... Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness toward you, provided you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off" (Romans 11:20-22). It's Your heart Jesus to be merciful and kind, full of mercy and love; yet it's our responsibility to respond and embrace the kindness of Your mercy and grace.
There are consequences--eternal consequences--for our choices. Jesus You are "not willing that any should perish, but all to come to repentance," yet we must be willing to humble ourselves to receive and embrace Your salvation through the means You've provided though Your sacrifice of love of the cross. (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved though Him. Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but hose who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:16-18).
Let me never take my salvation for granted. Our house church watched the movie “the Passion of Christ” together last night and it reminded me I've received my salvation at great cost. "For in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and though Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20). May I live each day in gratitude of Your grace, "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, dispised its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endure such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that (we) many not grow weary or lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3).
So many of my mornings in the intimacy of the communion of prayer with You, You give me a deep sense of Your presence and love. This morning, it seems You're also reminding me that that this intimacy with You came at great cost. It's honoring of Your sacrifice to see Your kindness in light of Your severity, Your mercy in light of Your judgment, and Your salvation of eternal life for all who believe in light the Your "punishment of eternal destruction" for all who do not. By the grace of God, may I honor You and Your sacrifice for me to never "neglect so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today you embrace with great joy the fullness of your salvation through God's sacrifice of love for you in Jesus Christ, never taking for granted and never neglecting so great a salvation provided for you out of deep love, in Jesus' name! May you share that good news today in every opportunity the Lord provides. 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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the ways that lead to life in You today.
"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.' And He said to them, 'What is it you want Me to do for you?' And they said to Him, 'Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your glory.' But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?'" (Mark 10:35-38)
James and John wanted the place of honor. They wanted to sit at Your right and Your left in Your glory. You had just told them about the gory--how You would soon be mocked and spit upon and tortured to death--but they did not want to hear about the suffering, they wanted to hear about the glory (v. 33-34). Specifically, they wanted to hear about their glory--their glory sharing in Your glory.
They wanted to know about the honor before knowing about the humility. But in the ways of Your kingdom, humility goes before honor: "Let this same mind by in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore god also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).
We look at these disciples and judge them for their arrogance, self-centerness and pride. But should we take the log out of our own eyes before trying to take the speck out of theirs? In these days of greater revelation of our son-ship and adoption as beloved children of God, do we also find ourselves insisting upon the place of honor without first taking the place of humility? Do we also presume upon our rights and privileges to bask in Your glory without also being willing to embrace our part to share in the fellowship of Your sufferings? Or do we forget the invitation of Your Word, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11)?
Come, Holy Spirit. Let this mind be in me that was in Christ Jesus. Lead me to the place of humility, that I many receive the place of honor chosen for me. By the power of the grace of God my Father, may I drink of the cup and embrace the baptism You've chosen for me on my spiritual journey to be conformed to the nature of Christ (Romans 8:29). You have blessed me-- along with all Your disciples, along with all the children of God--with glory and honor, with inheritance and favor; but You've also blessed me with the invitation to die to myself and surrender my life into the fullness of Your will by any means You choose to make me more like You every day (Luke 22:42; 1 John 4:17).
As You said to Your first disciples, You continue to say to me and to every disciple: "If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:34-38).
Before the place of honor comes the place of humility. Lord Jesus, slay my pride and crucify my flesh. Give me the grace to follow You in the place of humility that I may embrace You in the place of honor. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the fullness of every honor your Father has for you as a child of God, as you walk first in humility of heart to surrender your will to His on the path He’s chosen for you to walk to make you more like Jesus each day, 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. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and every moment of my day.
"As Jesus and the people with Him were on the road to Jerusalem, He was leading the way. His followers were amazed, but others in the crowd who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and began to tell them what was about to happen in Jerusalem. He said, 'Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and teachers of the law. They will say that He must die, and they will turn Him over to the non-Jewish people, who will laugh at Him and spit on Him. They will beat Him with whips and crucify Him. But on the third day, he will rise to life again" (Mark 10:32-34).
The road to Jerusalem is a hard road. "For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:14). The road may be hard, but You're the One who's "leading the way."
The road to Jerusalem was a road that promised suffering, rejection, and death. But it also promised resurrection life. It was a picture of a journey of obedience and faith for the sake of something so much better that would make every challenge and sacrifice worth it all for all that was to come. "For the sake of the joy that was set before (You), (You) endured the cross, disregarding its shame" (Hebrews 12:2). So the road to Jerusalem was not just the road to suffering and shame, it also became the road to joy. In Scriptures You never mentioned your death and crucifixion without also mentioning your resurrection.
Jesus, lead the way on my road to Jerusalem. Give me grace to endure and overcome all I'll encounter on the way, even as You give me the confidence of hope and assurance of faith that in the end will be my resurrection, You will raise me up to the fullness of life in you (John 11:25-26).
"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing (me) for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, (so I) look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). In the same way, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory about to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).
Just as Your joy was set before You on Your journey to the cross along the road to Jerusalem, so is mine. And in the power of Your grace, my road to Jerusalem is my road to joy. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you allow Jesus to lead the way on your road to Jerusalem, enduring and overcoming all your encounter along the way, looking to Jesus and the fullness of His joy He has set before 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 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've come to meet with You in our morning place in the deep communion of prayer--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).
Here on earth, here in this earthly dimension of time and space where time unfolds chronologically, day by day, here I am in my physical home in Alabama. But at the same time, I also live in another dimension, in the heavenly dimension of Your Presence, where I also already have a spiritual home in Christ. It's in that heavenly dimension, which is just as real as this earthly dimension, that Your Word is fulfilled that You have "made us alive together with Christ--by grace (we) have been saved--and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:5-6). I'm here on earth in one dimension, but I'm also up there seated with You in another dimension. It's in that heavenly dimension that Your Word is fulfilled that already God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3).
In that heavenly dimension, all of this is already done, it's already finished, it's already accomplished and completed. It's an eternal dimension, not limited by chronological time and space. And in Christ, I'm already a part of that heavenly dimension, as I abide in Christ and Christ abides in me (John 15:5). In that heavenly dimension, I already have a spiritual home, I'm already abiding forever in Your Presence, I'm already home.
So here on earth, in this earthly dimension from my physical home, You invite me to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). And the more I allow You to align my will with Your will, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my heart with Your heart, there more my prayer is being answered as Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, here on earth, here in me and my world, as it is in heaven.
Just as You promised Your first disciples long ago, You continue to promise me and every one of Your disciples today: "In My Father's house here are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). That's not a place to go when I die, that's a place in Christ that You've already prepared for me now by your saving works of the cross and resurrection--the place of Your Presence, where I'm already home.
Thank You, Jesus. You have "put eternity in (our) hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It's a deep longing to experience and live into the reality of what's already true in the heavenly realm forever here in the everyday lives or our earthly realm today. "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.... He who has prepared us for his very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Give me grace to live into this eternal reality more every day. Give me grace to embrace the truth that in You, I'm already home. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you grow in the grace of embracing God's truth that you are already home in Christ, and may you live into this reality more every day, where God already has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below
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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. All that I am and all that I have, I give to You in trusting surrender--as best as I can and all by Your grace.
"The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, 'Look, here is the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, He said to them, 'What are you looking for?' They said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which translated means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' He said to them 'Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day" (John 1:35-39).
Lord Jesus, I want to know where You're staying, so I can come be with You. I want to know where You're going, so I can come be with You. Where You are is where I want to be. You're the One I'm looking for. So give me the courage today to step out of my comfort zone and the routine of my day and seek out the One I love. If you were my spouse or one of my children, and I did not know where one of them was, my love for them would compel me to go and do anything to find them and embrace them. May my love for you compel me to go and do anything to find and embrace you today in silent reflection, the people and places you lead me.
So I accept Your invitation to 'Come and see,' so I can "Come and be"--come and be with You. Your desire for me to “come and be” with you flows out of your complete and deep unfathomable love for me. To me, that's one of Your greatest promises in all of Scripture: "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). In this you are saying, “Gary understand this, I will love you always, to the end of the age.” To which I say, "Praise God!"
My family, I pray today you “come and see” Jesus, that you “come and be” with Him and allow Him to embrace you in His ‘Love unto the ages,” and come and be with you in all you are and all you do, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
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 begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart on my journey with You today.
As part of my devotion time in Lent I am reading through the passion narratives in the four Gospels. Today I read in the Gospel of John.
"After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, 'Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.' ... Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.' So when He had dipped the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, 'Do quickly what you are going to do.' ... So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night" (John 13:21-30).
Judas made a choice. And in his choice to betray You, he opened the door of his soul for Satan to come in. No doubt there were many choices along the path that led him to this ultimate, fateful choice that "prepared the way of the lord" of darkness to have a place of authority and power in his soul (John 12:6). Did you ever think that all your choices “prepare the way of the Lord” to have power in your soul? Either the lord of Darkness or the Lord of Light, the prince of the air or the prince of peace, Satan or Jesus. Bob Dillon’s lyrcs come into my mind, “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
In the spiritual principle of freedom that a true relationship of love requires, God’s Word sets before each of us the choice of "life or death, blessings or curses," boldly declaring, "Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live. To choose life is to love the Lord your God, obey Him, and stay close to Him. He is your life... (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). "For freedom Christ has set us free.... Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.... If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:1-25).
So in the choice of Judas, we see the great tension of two great truths that are equally true at the same time: the freedom of our will and the sovereignty of God's wisdom and authority. Both are true. Judas had the freedom to make his choice; and it's his choice that allowed Satan to accomplish the desires of his evil plan, even if it was a foolish plan that played out into the eternal plans of God. "We speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:7-8).
Jesus, you made Your choice; Satan made his choice; and Judas made his. As You said on Your journey to the cross, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have the power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father" (John 10:17-18). You expressed the freedom of Your choice in the Garden, determining, "Not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).
Father God, You see every choice we will ever make. You're the God who sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end (Isaiah 46:10). "In Your book were written all the days that were formed for (us), when none of them as yet existed" (Psalm 139:16). And at the same time, You've given us the freedom to make our choices, knowing so many of those choices will have such drastic, dramatic effect for us and even for all humanity -- just like when You allowed Adam and Even to make their choices in the freedom of their will in response to the leading of Satan, even knowing how much Your heart would break and Your creation would suffer (Genesis 3:1-7). But even their choices have always been part of Your plan, just like the choices of Satan and Judas and Jesus have always been a part of Your plan -- a plan for our salvation and redemption that allows both our freedom and Your sovereignty, "destined before the foundation of the world, but revealed at the end of the ages for (our) sake" (1 Peter 1:20).
Come, Holy Spirit. In this season of Lent where I reflect on the choice that Jesus made to lay down His life for me, despite the choice Judas made to betray the Lord of glory, let me choose each day to entrust my life to God my Father through Jesus Christ my Lord. In the sovereignty of God, You've given me the freedom to choose. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
"In (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according the riches of His grace that He lavished on us.... In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to His counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:7-14). By the grace of God and in the sovereignty of God, I choose to live my life this day for the praise of Your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, Jesus made his choice, Satan made his, and Judas his as well. As you begin a new week, I pray you will choice well how you live your life each day this week, and all the days of every week, in honor of the choice Jesus made 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. Help me start my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
I have had many request for prayer this weak for various illnesses, anxieties, spousal issues, cancer and others. Jesus, whenever we feel sick, You are our Healer. Whenever we feel discouraged, You are our Encourager. Whenever we feel attacked, You are our Defender. Whenever we feel weary, You are our Strength. You're with us through it all and none of that will have the last word over us. The power of Your Presence dwelling in us is all we need to endure until we overcome in Your all-sufficient grace.
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:36). "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Lord, as You know, I and others have been praying for friends and loved ones who have not felt well in recent days. But You've been with them through it all, you have been standing by their side and abiding in their heart. I pray Lord You're already taken upon Yourself everything that would try to take hold of them, that they could be healed and whole and free (Isaiah 53:4-6 fulfilled by Christ in Matthew 8:17). So by the power of Your grace at work within them, I come into agreement and alignment with Your Word that will not return void and will accomplish Your good will for them. (Isaiah 55:11). Your will and Your plans for us are always good (Jeremiah 29:11). So I thank You now for what You've already done and all these good things of Your good will that we will see come to pass (Mark 11:24). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I earnestly pray this morning you are strengthened and encouraged, healed and free, thanking God now for all He has done and will help you to see and embrace in His good will 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 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 life in You today.
"And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him" (Mark 1:16-18).
Simon and Andrew knew what they were, fishermen. But You saw who they were created to be, fishers of men. They knew what they could do, cast out nets. But You wanted to show them what You could do through them, cast out demons. But You wouldn't make them become something they weren't willing to be. So You spoke to their ears, while you moved in their hearts. And everything inside of them that was created to long for the coming of that day burst forth and said, "Yes, Lord. Here I am. I will follow You."
And "immediately" they left their nets -- and all that meant about life as they had know it -- and followed You. They were willing to hear and willing to come. They were willing to follow You and willing to allow You to form them and make them become who You created them to be.
Lord Jesus, give me faith like that to follow You today. Give me the courage to let go of everything that's anything less than who You created me to be. As much as I may think that I know what I am, You know better, for "all things were created through (You) and for (You)" (Colossians 1:16).
You created me and You call me to come, follow You and be fulfilled, as You fulfill Your plans through my life. "For (I am Your) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that (I) should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you hear with your ears and be moved in your heart to come follow Jesus today, and let go of every thing and allow Him to make you into all He created you to be, 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 upport 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. Be my wisdom and my strength, as You lead my spirit and direct my path through the moments of my day.
“Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:50)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot" (Matthew 5:13).
In our year-long study through the Gospel of Mark we we looked last week at the passages on salt in Mark’s gospel at the end of chapter nine. I spent time reflecting on “salt.”
We say someone is "the salt of the earth" as a way of saying they are a good person, trustworthy, thoughtful, considerate, and kind. When they're around, life tastes a little better.
I want to be salty, Lord - salty for Jesus. Salt preserves what is good and keeps things from spoiling, melts what is cold, and adds a little flavor. I want to be found faithful, "worth my salt" because I'm secure in my identity as a son of God, destined to be alive and strategically positioned by my Creator in my generation for such a time as this. Make me saltier still, salt me and bring out the flavors in me of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).
You're my Savior so I can be Your salt. Give me grace to make life taste a little better today for everyone around me. Let them "taste and see that the Lord is good" because they taste a little bit of You in me (Psalm 34:8). "Christ in (me)" -- The Salt of the Earth in me. (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you'll be salty for Jesus today, the salt of the earth, worth your salt, full of the flavors of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; all by the power of the grace of God at work within 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