"Serve As A Priest"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. 

"Now this is what you should do to them to consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests.... You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. Then you shall take the vestments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece and gird him with the decorated band of the ephod; and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy diadem on the turban. You shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him" (Exodus 29:1-7).

Last night in our House Church we pressed and prayed into our identity as Christians.  There are photos from last night on our Facebook page One Direction Community-ODC.  In Christ, we are Your "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Together, we are Your "holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (v. 2:5). Embracing Your Good News of the Kingdom of God, as You save us and heal us and free us, we are now "called priests of the Lord" and "named ministers of our God" (Isaiah 61:6).

So here in this tent of meeting of my morning prayer, I deliberately dedicate and completely consecrate my heart and my life to You today. Anoint me with Your Holy Spirit and clothe me in Christ. Lead me and empower me to minister to You and hold Your people in my heart, throughout the moments of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, may the Holy Spirit anoint you and lead you and empower you as a priest of our God throughout the moments of your day. 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!

 

 

 

 

"The Spiritual Dimension"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

"But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:29).

Do we treasure our spiritual encounters and supernatural experiences? Do we “treasure” the words of God spoken into our spirits and confirmed by the witness of others? Do we ponder them and think on them? Do we allow ourselves to be aligned with them, expecting them to come to pass, all in Your time and all in Your way?

Or do we just say, "Oh, that was a nice moment" or "Hum, that was really interesting?" or “That was really weird.”

Do we take lightly the spiritual dimension of our lives or treat it as strange and hide it away, as if we're afraid someone will know that we really do believe in the unseen realm and supernatural things of God?

Your Word encourages us to take seriously this spiritual dimension, to seek out, treasure and ponder our supernatural experiences with trusting faith and expectant hope: "We 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 4:18). "Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 2:2-3). "Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12).

My family, I pray you will take a moment now to reflect on some recent Divine encounters you've had with God.  May you treasure them and ponder them in your heart in trusting faith and expectant hope that every good thing of God will come to pass in your life in His timing and His way. 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!

 

 

 

 

 

"Jesus Jacuzzi"

It’s your breath in my lungs, so I pour out my praise to you only Lord…

“so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (2 Chronicles 5:14)

Last night by human metrics, our House Church did not measure up.  People who attend started texting throughout the day and up to the time we start that they would not be there tonight.  Various good reasons: sickness, having to work late, traveling out of town, grand children, reaction to a medicine prescribed, and another event to attend.  During the day as I prepared for our gathering though I prayed on it, no clear focus for the night came to me.  I lead worship and no songs I was to lead came to me.   So when we gathered in my living room, instead of a house full of people there were only four of us.  And instead of my leading worship we  streamed worship music, and we simply became quiet before God.

And His presence fell on us.

We prayed as led, we read Scripture, we shared the Lord’s Supper, and we soaked in what I call a “Jesus Jacuzzi” of His presence.  All four of us gathered there are leaders of various ministries. We lead apostolically, Shepard, and pour out into others on a daily basis.  And for us to not have to lead anything, but just simply sit, worship and pray and be poured into by God for an hour and a half was amazing.  “It Is Well” by Bethel played, and it reminded us that it is well. “Still Believe” by Kim Walker Smith spoke into the faith we cling to.  The prayers The Holy Spirit led us to speak over each other and our ministries encouraged and re-centered us on Christ and Him alone, and enabled us to release things we were carrying not of  Him. So thankful.  And it reminded us all that a church gathering is not about “measuring up” to metrics man presents, but the “falling down” of the presence of God.

My family, I pray today you open your heart in prayer, seek God in His word, play Worship music and sing out loud, by yourself or with others, and enter into a “Jesus Jacuzzi” of His presence and simply soak in it.  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!

 

 

 

 

 

"Holy Conferencing"

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, 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. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16)

Yesterday I attended the Annual Conference of  the North Alabama Conference of the UMC.  Dr, Kevin Watson shared with us to began the day with a time of teaching.  He used the passages from 1 Corinthians I shared with you above.  My morning reflection today is a reflection on his teaching and this passage.

In his teaching, Dr. Watson said that renewal in the church always comes about out of a complete reliance to the Holy Spirit and preceded by repentance and prayer.  And our churches today are in a desperate need of revival.  The local church is desperate for spiritual leaders.  People who know the living God.  People who can give witness to what Jesus has done for them and our passionate about that they have a story that needs to be told. 

Leaders who faith and knowledge of the living God are forged and flow out of Holy Conferencing.   We at ODC call them Bands, some call them accountability or reunion groups.  Small, close groups of all men or all women, 3-5 in number, that form a safe and holy connection in which it is ok to say, “I am not fine.” Where members ask each other weekly, “How is it with your soul?”  Where this and other honest, searching, questions can be asked and answered and real transformation can take place. A group in which active sins can be confessed so that forgiveness of sin and removal of shame can take place. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:18)

A holy group in which by by talking about our present experiences of God we will grow and prosper in faith and healing of the soul and be transformed by God.  A group that is about real transformation, not more information.  To experience holiness that is only possible in a holy community.  Holy isolation is no more holy than holy adultery.  And adultery is not holy.  Holiness is social.  There is no holiness apart from social holiness.

My family, if you know me at all, you know these words spoken by Dr. Watson are from a shared heart with mine and are the same words I have spoken to you over and over.  I was so encouraged to hear them from him, and I pray that you are as well.  I pray if you are not in a Band group yet, today you will contact one or two people and set a date and time to begin.  Or if you are in a band group already, but Gos has placed it in your heart to mentor another person(s) you will contact them today. 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!

 

 

 

 

"Give Me Oil In My Lamp"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd, I'm listening.  ...

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps" (Matthew 25:1-4).

My Father God, I thank You for Your Word. "Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a Light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). And I thank You for the oil of Your Spirit, the Anointing of the Presence of God. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-2). With Your Word and Your Spirit in our hearts, we are the body of Christ here in our world. "It is God who establishes with (one another) in Christ and has anointed us, by putting His seal on us and giving us His Spirit in our hearts as a first installment" (2 Corinthians 1:21).

I want to be wise with all You've entrusted to me. I don't want to ever settle for the level of oil of Your Holy Spirit I have in my lamp in my heart.  I want more oil-- more of You, more of Your Spirit, more of Your Presence, more of Your heart, more of Your nature, more of Your anointing of Your power and Your love flowing more freely through my life. I want to be being filled with Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). I want "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over!" (Luke 6:38)

So keep making me hungry and thirsty for more.  Help me to make a priority in my day to go into your Word for more oil.   Thank You for the promise of Your Word: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). I want to be one who is filled -- filled up and ready for Your coming, ready to embrace You with my lamp full and my flame burning (Matthew 25:10). May You "fan into flame" the Gift of God within me (2 Timothy 1:6).

 My family, I pray you will hope for the one day Jesus will come again in glory in the clouds.  I pray at the same time, you will hunger and thirst for more oil of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus to come in glory in your heart, right here, right now and every moment between this day and that day to come. 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!

 

 

 

 

"Fire Of God"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- stir in my spirit with a passion for Your Presence, as I entrust my life and my day completely to You.  

"So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, 'How long will you go limping with two different opinions? ... Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the God who answers by fire is indeed God.' All the people answered, 'Well spoken!' ... As midday passed, (the prophets of Baal) raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.... At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, 'O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back!' Then the Fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord indeed is God! The Lord indeed is God!'" (1 Kings 18:20-39)

Holy Fire, fall on me! I offer afresh my life as my sacrifice (Romans 12:1).  I don't' want to be one limping between the ways of this world and the Word of God, between the gods of man and the God of the Word. I don't want to compromise or be complacent,  be double-minded to question the authority of Your Word or wavering to doubt the power of Your Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I renounce the "baals" that would seek to take Your place in my heart and Your authority over my life. And I command them, "Go now, away from me and out of my life, in the mighty name of Jesus and by the power of the Blood of the Lamb!" (Mark 16:17; James 4:7; Revelation 12:11) Come fill me afresh and overflowing with Your Presence and Your power! (Ephesians 5:18; Acts 1:4-8)

Come, Holy Spirit! Consume my offering in the Fire of Your Spirit! Burn out of me all that is not yet like You. Purify me and sanctify me--wholly, completely, entirely -- in my spirit and soul and body, that I may be sound and blameless at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Thessalonians 5:23) You indeed are God! You indeed are God! You are the God who answers by Fire! Let Your Holy Fire fall! Fall on me and everything around me!  

O Lord, my God, keep on consuming me so that the Fire down in my soul is forever fanned into flame and never burns out! (2 Timothy 1:6; Leviticus 6:12; Matthew 25:1-13) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray the Holy Fire of God falls afresh on you today and every day, fanning into flame the Fire of the Lord hat will never burn out, 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!

 

 

 

 

 

"You are Precious"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be in the midst of my heart and my thoughts and every moment of my day-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

"I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the Presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall not longer stubbornly follow their own evil will" (Jeremiah 3:15-17).

The ark of the covenant of the Lord was made of wood, covered with gold, and carried the law of the Lord and evidence of the power of the Lord in its chest (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4). But today the ark of the covenant of the Lord seems to be lost or hidden from view, though many have searched for it. Even the ark of the covenant of the Lord--carrying the ten commandments of Moses, the budded staff of Aaron, and the manna of the wilderness journey, sealed with the mercy seat and covered by the holy cherubim-was but "a shadow of things to come" pointing toward "the substance of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:5). 

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Presence of God. You are Immanuel, God with us, always with us, always within us, abiding in us as we abide in You, that we may carry the Word and the Spirit of God in our hearts and along our journey (Matthew 1:23). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, You are One and Your are holy and You are within us (John 14:18). We don't seek after or worship a box covered in gold; we seek after the One we were created to worship in spirit and truth-for "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24). That “hour” is today.

Thank You, Lord, that our bodies are Your temple and our hearts are Your ark of the covenant of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16). You surround us with Your holy angels and lift us up into Your holy Presence, where we are safe and secure, forgiven and free, in the fullness of Your salvation (Psalm 91:1-16). Thank You that in Your Presence there is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:11) Thank You for Your shepherds after Your own heart you have placed in our paths who lead us into Your truth to feed us with knowledge and understanding of Your Word and Your Spirit (Ephesians 4:11). "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" which is "the surpassing grace of God that He has given (us)" in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 9-14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

My family,I pray this morning through prayer to the Father you come to know just how precious you are to God.  As you look in the mirror this morning please see and understand that your body is His temple and your heart is the ark of His Presence! As He abides in you and you abide in Him simply, right where you are, worship the Lord our God in spirit and truth, 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!

 

 

 

 

"Pardon and Hope"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit-let this day be good day for Your glory through my life.   ...

"Behold I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.... Again there shall be heard in this place ... the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:  'Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever'-and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise in the house of the Lord!" (Jeremiah 33:6-11 NKJV)

Even in the days of great judgment against Israel for her sins and rebellion against You proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah, You were always pointing their hearts in faith and hope to the time of repentance and restoration. Though they experienced the darkness of the depths of their sin and all the consequences that followed, even then Your heart was to bring "health and healing," the "abundance of peace and truth," Your "pardon" and Your "goodness" and Your "prosperity." Your heart was to return to Your people "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness."

I pray that for all the people of the nations of the earth. I pray that for the people of my nation, I pray for my neighbors, I pray for you my family, and I pray for my own heart. Let repentance bring revival! Let our sadness and sorrow, our darkness and gloom, be turned to joy and praise!  Though we have sinned and experienced the consequences of it, I pray for pardon and healing.  I praise You, Lord, for You are good and Your mercy endures forever! I praise you here in my heart and I praise You and thank You for Your forgiveness and grace, Your mercies that are new every morning, and Your heart to heal and restore. 

Father God, You are "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Through Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, You "so loved the world that (You) gave (Your) only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For (You) did not send (Your) Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17 ) And when it's all be said and done, Your Word even says that "all Israel will be saved, as it is written:  'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27 NKJV).

With confidence in Your mercy and faith in Your Word, I look forward and pray for "the times of restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21). I join now with all who are moved by Your Spirit to pray Your will, may all who call upon Your name to be forgiven, free and receive hope through repentance and faith to be to You!" Let it be so here in my heart and here in my generation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray this morning you begin with repentance of your sins and seek restoration so God will forgive you of you transgressions and you can experience "health and healing," the "abundance of peace and truth," the Lord's "pardon" and "goodness" and "prosperity," with "the voice of joy and the voice of gladness" rising up in your spirit this day and every 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!

 

 

 

 

"Loving Our Neighbor In The Holy Spirit"

I begin my morning centering my thoughts and desires on you Father, Son and Spirit, 

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20"

In this popular passage of Scripture, Jesus commissions everyone there in hearing of his voice to go and make disciples of the nations, and he promises them through the presence of the Holy Spirit, that he will always be with them.  All who hear his voice today are called to the same commission, to go and make disciples of the nations by and in the same continuous power and presence of the same Holy Spirit.”

What does it mean to “Go and make disciples” in the power of the Holy Spirit?  For my main reflection today I am going to allow Fracis Chan to speak to you in short 9 minute video on experiencing, the calling and sending of the Holy Spirit.  Take some time now to watch it. Then read Acts 1:4-8, Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:21-22. 

My family, I pray today the Holy Spirit opens your ears to hear you call to “go” and opens your eyes to “see”those around you to whom you are sent.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!

 Please post your comments 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!

 

 

 

 

Expectancy of Power

Good morning Father, Son, and Spirit and begin my day asking you to lead, guide and direct me throughout my day today.

John Wesley,  the founder of Methodists states as he looked into the future of the growing denomination, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”

 This passage is one that haunts me,. Wesley’s quote applies not just to Methodism, but to all denominations, non-denominations, the church as a whole in America.  A Barnes study revealed that 70% of Protestant evangelical Christians do not encounter any form of the power of God through the Holy Spirit in their Sunday morning services.  It should challenge all who call themselves Christians.  I can’t read Wesley’s quote without asking myself the obvious question: Is the Church in America a dead sect, does it have the form or religion without the power? 

If I were to stand up in a church and ask, “How many people believe Jesus can raise dead?”  Many, hopefully all hands would raise up.  If I asked again, “How many people believe Jesus is raising the dead today?” How many hands would raise?  Believing that The Holy Spirit can raise the dead is different from expecting that the Holy Spirit is raising the dead.  The first belief contains past nostalgia and reminiscence, the second belief contains power for today.

In talking to and my experience with many churches and Christens there is a real lack of expectancy and power in their faith.  A lack of expectancy that the power of God is going to do very much at all.  Really.  Do you really think your prayers for somebody has the power to see the sick healed?  Or the whole time you are praying for their healing you are thinking in your head they better go see a doctor.  Now this is opening up a can of worms I know.  It is really not an either/ or.  But do we really believe we will see the power of God at work?  If someone who never stepped a foot in a church before however they read the Book of Acts and then walked into your church service.  Would they experience “church” and the power and presence of God like they read about?   Do we really believe we will see the kingdom come in the world around us?  Do I expect the most deprived neighborhood in Madison or Huntsville to come to Christ, become free of their addictions, have their lives be filled with love and turned around? Do you when you walk out your door in the morning really expect for God to do amazing things so that by the end of the day or the end of the week you will have amazing stories to tell about the power of God and what he is doing?  Because He Is!  And you have been invited to be part of it.  You have the indwelling of the power of the Holy Spirit to complete it.  What is ministry except a day by day, moment by moment invitation to step into something amazing and powerful that God wants to do in somebody’s life and have the privilege of seeing it happen.  However, to be able to expect the power of God to be present and happen in someone else you have to first embrace and expect the power of God in your own life. 

My family, Read Acts1:4-8, 4:29-33, Rom. 8:26-27; Eph. 3:14-21.  Then reflect on the power, confidence, and strength of your faith and ministry through the Holy Spirit.  Is your experience one of displays of the power of the Spirit or is it a “dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.” Pray for an expectancy of the power of God in your faith, in Jesus’ name.  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!!

Post as a comment below any prayers requests for power in your life or ministry so we can pray the power of the Holy Spirit over it.  Share an example to encourage us of how you have seen the power of the Holy Spirit recently in you ministry.

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Holy Spirit"

Good morning Jesus, breath in me again this morning your breath of the Holy Spirit.

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22)

This past Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and to all of us.  I was in a discussion with the Sunday morning worship leaders of a large church one Monday morning and the discussion turned to the worship services the day before.  The church they led worship in was a very large church.  It was blessed to have very talented and gifted musicians and singers leading its worship.  The church also had state of the art sound systems, lighting, video projectors, stage effects and stage backdrops.  They could put on a show!  In the discussion, one of the worship leaders commented on how smooth worship went yesterday. None of the musicians or singer missed a beat, the visual presentations were “spot-on” and the pastor, who is a good orator, presented his message well.  Everything “clicked” and fell together perfectly.  The worship leader then said something that stuck in my mind and troubled me.  He said, “That would have been a powerful worship service whether God showed up or not.”

             How do you know when the Holy Spirit is present at a church worship service?  In the midst of the audio and video effects on your senses of a contemporary service, or the ceremony and tradition of a traditional service, can you tell?  If “God did not show up” would you notice?  Do you intentionally seek the presence of the Holy Spirit in your personal prayer time?  How do you know when the Holy Spirit is present?  What signs of his presence and power are their in your daily lives?  Jesus tells us in John 4:23, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” God seeks out worshippers who worship him in and through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in John 20:23 that the hour is now, today, that true worship of the Father will revolve around two things: Spirit and Truth.  In Johannian writings, (the books in the Bible who’s authorship is accredited to the apostle John) “truth” is a word John uses that refers to Jesus (Jn.14:6) and the word or will of God (Jn. 8:40).  Worship in most churches focuses on Jesus and the truth of God in Scripture, but the focus and reliance on the Holy Spirit in a church’s worship is often lacking.  As a result, many of our personal prayer lives lack an understanding of and the focus on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  My goal is to use this study and time together to help instill in the DNA of our lives the absolute necessity of reliance and guidance by the Holy Spirit.  It needs to be manifested in all areas of our life including both our personal and corporate worship, so the power of the Holy Spirit can be manifested in our daily lives.

 My family, for the next few blogs I am going to reflect on the Holy Spirit and the absolute necessity of His presence in our individual lives and the corporate life of the church,  I pray for the rest of this week to be in intentional time of seeking the Holy Spirit and a refilling and realigning of your heart, mind and soul to His presence in Jesus' name!  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

We are seeking revelation of the Holy Spirit together.  So please post comments below  of your reflection and revelations to encourage us in this time together.

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!

Holy Spirit’s attributes from the Scriptures

In my time spent searching the Bible I looked at verses on the Holy Spirit and what attributes of the Spirit they reveal.  I came up with 23 attributes. This is my personal list I came up with and not presented as the “correct” or total list. I have included them here for you to read over in your own personal reflection time.

1.  Power, confidence, helper, strength: Acts1:4-8, 4:29-33, Rom. 8:26-27; Eph. 3:14-21
2. Call, commissioning: Acts 1:4-8, Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:21-22
3. Anointing: Acts 2:1-13, Joel 2:28-32
4. Guiding prayer, visions and speaking: Acts 2:1-13; Rom 8:26-27
5. Gifting: Joel 2:28-32
6. .Sign bearing: Joel 2:28-32, Acts 4:29-33
7.  Unity in the body: Acts 4:29-33, 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Ezekiel 11:17-20
8.  Healing: Acts 4:29-33
9.  Witnesses, convicts: Acts 5:29-32, Gal. 5:16-25; 1 John 4:13; Exodus 24:16
10. God is source: Acts 5:29-32, Rom. 8:26-27; 1 John 4:13; Exodus 24:16; Ezekiel 11:17-20
11. Jesus is source: 2 Cor. 3:17-18, John 4:14, 20:21-22
12. Source of belonging and adoption: Rom. 8:1-17
13. Indwelling in us, source of holiness: Rom 8:1-17, 15:13; 1 Cor. 3:16-17, 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 3:17-18; Eph. 3:14-21; 1 John 4:13
14. Opposes the flesh: Rom 8:17; Gal. 5:16-25
15. Fruits of the Spirit: Rom. 15:13, Gal. 5:16-25
16. Teacher, revealer, gives us knowledge of God, Jesus: 1 Cor. 2:9-16, Eph. 3:14-21
17. Washes, cleanses, sanctifies, baptizes, transforms: 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 12:12-14, 2 Cor. 3:17-18; Matt. 28:18-20
18.  Source of spiritual gifts: 1 Cor. 12:5-11
19. Source of eternal life, salvation: Romans 8:1-17, John 4:14, Joel 2:28-32
20. Freedom from the Law: Gal. 4:3-7
21. Adoption: Gal. 4:3-7; Rom. 8:1-17, Ezekiel 11:17-20
22. Part of the Triune of God: Matt. 28:18-20
23. Needed for true worship: John: 22:23

Here is a short 2 minutes video by Francis Chan on the Holy Spirit.  He uses the video to present his book "The Forgotten God" which is a great book to read on the Holy Spirit.  The video also helps set the tone for focus on the Holy Spirit.

"Doing Good"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day.  

"Then Peter began to speak to them:  'I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. You know the message He sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ-He is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how He want about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:34-38).

Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit to us and the birth of the church. Yesterday, I personally also celebrated the graduation of my youngest daughter from high school with a back yard full of family and friends.  In spite of a thunderstorm that rolled through, it was a day of joy and a good event for my daughter.  This morning I reflected on both these celebrations. 

Lord Jesus, as You walked this earth as the Son of Man-in the nature of man, in the likeness of human flesh and blood-You were anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. And in Your power, You went about "doing good." Going about "doing good" didn't just mean helping little old ladies across the street, being kind to the cashier, or making a donation to the inner city mission. I'm sure You did all those things and more in Your own way as You were led by the Spirit to see what the Father was doing.

But for You, "doing good" meant sharing your Gospel of good news with people,  healing the broken and casting out demons to deliver them from evil in the anointing and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what You said You would do and why God the Father had poured out the anointing of God the Holy Spirit upon You, declaring:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor!" (Luke 4:18-19)

Come, Holy Spirit. Anoint me with Your abiding presence to go about doing good today-not merely naturally in my own power, but also supernaturally. May I be an authentic ambassador and disciple to represent Your name with Your nature, with the authority of the name of Jesus on my lips and the character of the nature of Jesus in my heart. "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20). As You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17). Just as the Father sent You, so You send us (John 20:21).

I can't do any of that in my power, but only in Your power. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But I thank You that I'm never apart from You (Matthew 28:20). You are "Lord of all" and Lord of my heart (Acts 10:36). So You have empowered me with Your Spirit-"the Spirit of Christ" within me (Romans 8:9). And the same Spirit that raised You from the dead is the same Spirit who lives in me (Romans 8:11). Now by God's grace and Spirit of God, anointing me and empowering me, may I boldly and faithfully go about "doing good" for Your glory today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family,I pray you go about "doing good" both naturally and supernaturally today with the authority of the name of Jesus on your lips and the character of the nature of Jesus in your heart, 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!

 

 

 

"Go Treasure Hunting"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. O Lord, my God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--I worship You in spirit and truth; and I welcome You into my heart and every moment of my day.  

"I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3).

Lord Jesus, in You are hidden "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  As it turns out, it's all about You! Just as You revealed to Your two disciples walking to Emmaus right after Your resurrection, the law and the prophets all point to You; what's concealed in the Old Covenant is revealed in the Christ of the New Covenant:  "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:20). And just as You said to all Your disciples gathered near to You at the shore just before Your ascension back to heaven:  "These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about Me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). "Then (You) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45).

Lord Jesus, open my mind to understand the Scriptures! Open my spirit to embrace Your truth and experience Your Presence on my daily journey to grow in "the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ Himself." There's joy in this journey to seek out "all the treasures" You've hidden away for us to find. "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2).

As I search Your Word and seek Your Presence, I know the more I seek You, the more I find You. That's the Promise of Your Word as well:  "When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you will open your Bible and spend time “treasure hunting” today and seek out all the treasures of God hidden in Christ in the inspired words contained in that book, 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!

 

 

 

My True Identity"

Good morning, Lord Jesus.  Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and every moment of my day.  

"Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this:  when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).

Now Jesus, I am Your child--a child of God, a disciple of Jesus Christ, part of the bride and the body of Christ here on this earth and here in my generation. I don't have to wait until I get to heaven when I die or when You return at Your second coming. I am God's child now.

In the same way, You are already revealing who I am, what my true identity already is. I don't already see it all; I don't already see myself completely as You see me. But You are in the process of revealing my true identity to me more and more every day. And it happens as I see You as You are: "When (You are) revealed, (I) will be like (You), for (I) see (You) as (You are)" (v. 2).

Most teach this as an end time Scripture--something to be fulfilled when I stand in Your presence after I die and go to heaven or if I'm part of that generation on the earth when You return. This Scripture includes those events--whether it's the end time for the world or just the end time for me. "Just as we have borne the image of the son of dust, we will also bear the image of the Man of heaven.... we will all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:49-52). But I believe Your Spirit is revealing to me that this Scripture is also for today and every day between now and that day to come as well.  

Already You are at work in me, revealing to Me who You are and also who I am in You. Already this Word is being fulfilled: "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed in to the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Already You are pulling back the veil for me to see You and see myself as I truly am. And who I am is a child of God, being conformed into the image of the Son of God more and more every day, as I keep seeking You and You keep revealing Yourself to me (Romans 8:29).

Come, Holy Spirit. Keep opening the eyes of my heart--"so that, with the eyes of (my) heart enlightened, (I) may know what is the hope to which He has called (me), what are (my) riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power for us who believe, according to working of His great power" (Ephesians 1:18-19). More and more every day, may "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give (me) a spirit of wisdom and revelation as (I) come to know Him" (Ephesians 1:17).  This is what your Word says!

It has not yet been fully revealed to me just who I am and just who Christ is, but You are at work in me doing just that. By the power of Your grace, give me "a mind to understand, eyes to see, (and) ears to hear" along with the faith to believe it and receive it (Deuteronomy 29:2). I am God's child now (1 John 3:8). Let me see that in myself and let me see that in the children of God around me, being conformed into the image of Christ as we all see with greater revelation who Christ is, who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us. "Christ in (us), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). More and more every day, let me "see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are"--our true identity (1 John 2:28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you spend time today reading God’s Word for in it, it reveals who Christ is, it reveals who you true identity is in Christ and who Christ is in you!  I pray you will open your eyes and heart and see more clearly every day who Christ is, who you are in Christ, and who Christ is in you, knowing fully the revelation of your true identity as a child of God, 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!

 

"Lets All Get Fat"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your leading to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  

"'For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,' says the Lord of hosts, 'that will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,' says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 4:1-3 NKJV).

Finally! I knew there was a verse in the Bible somewhere that said "go out and grow fat!" Thank You, Lord for leading me to this verse today as I prepare to head out to the Waffle House!

All the advertisements I see and some of my friends and family say I'm supposed to go out to the gym and grow skinny. But no doubt, according to this verse, that would only lead me to be among "the proud" and find myself among the "stubble" instead of among the humble and hearty! Yes, Your ways are truly higher than our ways and Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts!

However, as I write my morning prayer today with a smile on my face, I know You are speaking something deeper. You're speaking of the blessings that come with obedience to You, flowing out of a trusting relationship with You. When we are among those with “fat faith,” "who fear (Your) name," who honor Your Word, who entrust their lives to the One who loves us and leads us in the paths of righteousness, "the Sun of Righteousness" arises in our lives. And even the enemy of our souls is trampled under our feet. 

So, Lord, please forgive me for taking a little liberty and having a little fun with my morning prayer today! But after all, You are the One who said, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17) and "in Your presence is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:11)  Forgiven and free, would You fill me afresh with Your Spirit today (Ephesians 5:18).  By the power of Your grace, may I go out and grow fat in faith and the security of my identity in You, living into the fullness of the destiny of my blessings in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family,I pray you are filled with the joy of the Lord today, going out and growing fat in faith and the fullness of all He has for you and desires to do through 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!

 

 

 

 

"Be Ready"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin this week and my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to Me, on the top of the mountain.... So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, 'The Lord (YHWH)'" (Exodus 34:1-5).

O Lord, my God—Yahweh,Great I AM, Abba Father--I want to "be ready in the morning," this morning, in my time spent in prayer to come up to the mountain of Your Presence. In the communion of my heart in worship and prayer,  please touch Your finger to the tablet of my heart and write Your will for my day I will journey along with you. 

When Moses came down from the mountain, "the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God" (Exodus 34:24). And now through Jesus resurrection and the giving of His Holy Spirit, I never have to come down from the mountain or out of Your Presence (2 Corinthians 3:6; Luke 22:20). By Your great mercy and loving grace, I can be always ready, always available, always waiting on You and welcoming You, always embracing You and Your Presence with me--here in communion with my spirit, shining with the light of Your glory through my heart and the smile on my face. "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray through prayer you intentionally open your heart so it is always ready for the Presence of God, always available for His presence to fill your soul and flow through your life every 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!

 

 

 

 

"Deep Hunger and Insatiable Yearning"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here in my heart, here in the communion of prayer to begin my day, let me be embraced in my Father's arms, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit to begin my day well and live my day well, all in the power of Your grace and the intimacy of Your Presence.  

"In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:25).

Lord, let there be less of the world in me and more of You in me. Let there be less of my will and more of Your will, less of my ways and more of Your ways. Instead of it being all about me, let it be all about You. Free me from myself and my selfishness so that I live and move and have my being in You rather than me. 

That is my desire but how do I do that?  By listening to your voice Jesus that tells me,  "Turn Your attention to Me. Take time to look to Me and listen to Me in prayer and my Word.  Sit silently before Me with your spirit actively worshipping Me and welcoming Me into union with you. Allow Me to put My thoughts in your mind and My desires in your heart so I can guide your steps in My ways as I walk with you on the journey of each day."  

Yes, Lord. Let it be so! "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). As I abide in You, You abide in me (John 15:4). May it become "not longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). 

Give me a deeper hunger, even an insatiable yearning in my spirit, to become one spirit with You. By the power of Your grace, may I live and move and have my being in You--more and more, every day. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with (us) all" (2 Corinthians 13:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family,I pray you pray this morning for a deeper hunger and insatiable yearning to live and move and be in the Lord.  Through prayer and time in Scripture desire to be embraced by your Father, centered in Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit, becoming more like Him and walking more closely with Him every 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.

Here is a link to the song "Yearn" by Shane and Shane that speaks into this morning's reflection.

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!

 

 

 

"Called to and sent out"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to start my day in the center of Your will and surrounded by Your presence--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  

"Whenever the unclean spirits saw (Jesus), they fell down before Him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' ... He went up the mountain and called to Him those whom He wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons" (Mark 3:11-15).

Your first followers called to You and were sent out by You. They were Your disciples, Your apostles, appointed and anointed to grow in the nature of Your character and to go in the authority of Your name. They were not "the Son of God," but they were sons of God. And so are we--the sons and daughters of God, coming to You and being sent out by You (Romans 8:16). We're led by the same Spirit (Romans 8:14). And the same Spirit and power that raised You from the dead lives in us and flows through us to proclaim Your message of forgiveness and freedom, healing and hope, by Your authority and in Your power, everywhere You send us (Romans 8:11).

Just as the Father sent You, so You send us--filling us with Your Spirit and grounding us in Your Word (John 20:21). Our names are written in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16). And in the authority and power of Your name, even the demons must submit to us and our position in You as disciples of Christ and children of God (Luke 10:19).

Thank You for the invitation to keep coming to You in the intimacy of prayer, Scriptures, and the communion of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Thank You for the assurance of Your presence, that You are always with me, abiding in me as I abide in You (Matthew 28:20; John 15:4). And thank You for appointing me and anointing me to go with joy and faith, as You send me to be Your ambassador as an extension of Your Word and Your Spirit, secure in my identity and fulfilling my destiny. This is Your will and Your plan for every one of Your sons and daughters. And even all "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God" (Romans 8:19).  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you go in joy and faith everywhere today with the understanding that Jesus sends you in His authority and power.  I pray you spend time in Scriptures and prayer growing in His nature and going in His name, appointed and anointed as a disciple of Christ and a child of God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends! 

Please share your 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!

 

 

 

 

"In His Steps"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King and Lord of my heart and my life this day and every day

You're our Savior. And You're also our Example.  You modeled for our us how to live and intimately disciple those around you.  Your life on earth is a model for our life in You. You teach the way by showing us the way--how to live well, how to love well, even how to suffer well and ultimately die well. "For this (we) have been called, because Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example, so that (we) should follow in His steps" (1 Peter 2:18). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). 

Let Your Word come alive in my thoughts. Let Your Spirit arise in my heart. Let Your example be a compass for my soul in every choice I make along the journey of my day. Remind me every moment that I'm never alone. You're with me "always" (Matthew 28:20). And remind me every moment that I'm never on my own to try to live out this life in my own power, my own wisdom, or my own righteousness, but by the power of Your grace at work with me, making me more like You each day. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what please Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

So I look forward to start each day with You--to intentionally, deliberately welcome Your Spirit and Your Word and Your Presence into me and every moment of my day. In daily trust and surrender, "(my) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1). You're showing me the way to live every day in You--every day with Jesus. In Jesus' name pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you walk with Jesus every day--in His steps, by His example, in His Spirit with your life hidden with Christ in God, 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!

 

 

 

 

"A Den of Robbers"

“Then they came to Jerusalem. Jesus entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Then he began to teach them and said, “Is it not written: ʻMy house will be called a house of prayer for all nationsʼ? But you have turned it into a den of robbers!” (Mark 11:15-17)

 Anyone who heard Jesus’ teaching who was fairly well read in the Scriptures, when they heard Jesus say, “But you have turned it into a den of robbers,” their mind would have instantly gone to Jeremiah 7.  That is where my mind is drawing me to.   That haunting, convicting, condemning cry of God through the lips of Jeremiah as he stands at the entrance of the Temple.  Replacing the word “Temple” for “church” I picture Jeremiah standing at the doors of my church crying out to those worshipping inside with arms raised singing “Mighty to Save”;

“This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you in this place. 4 Don’t trust in lies: “This is the Lord’s (church)! The Lord’s (church)! The Lord’s (church)!” 5 No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly; 6 if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, 7 only then will I dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.

8 And yet you trust in lies that will only hurt you. 9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don’t know, 10 and then come and stand before me in this (church) that bears my name, and say, “We are safe,” only to keep on doing all these detestable things?11 Do you regard this (church), which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord. 12 Just go to my sanctuary in Shiloh, where I let my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, because you haven’t listened when I spoke to you again and again or responded when I called you, 14 I will do to this (church) that bears my name and on which you rely, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just as I did to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out the rest of your family, all the people of Ephraim.” (Jeremiah 7:3-15)

God was not upset with them because of the way they worshipped inside a church building, He was upset with them because of the way they lived their lives outside of the church building.  He did not condemn us for raising our hands singing “Mighty To Save” in an hour church service, but for using our hands the rest of the hours in the week towards, “Mighty is Me”: hording “stuff” and wealth, selfishly taking care of our wants and needs, withholding  support and resources from the homeless, orphans and widows, patting ourselves on the back with pride.  He did not have a problem with their hour of worship, but their lack of a life of obedience.  The measure of a Christian is not how high he can raise his hands and shout “Alleluia!” in a church gathering, but how straight and true his daily walk is with Christ.  God is not dumb of blind. “I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord” (v.11). He sees right through your acts of worship on Sunday and at church gatherings and He knows your heart and your true level of obedience to Him, “because you have not listened when I spoke to you again and again or responded when I called you.” (v.13). Nothing, not church attendance records, programs attended, service hours, saying a sinners prayer long ago, Nothing; can substitute for actual obedience to, and a right relationship with God.
 God said it through Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 7, Jesus says it himself again in Matthew chapter 7. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ (Those worshipping in the Temple in Jeremiah 7) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will (obeys) of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23)

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)

My family, I pray you will reflect and allow the Holy Spirit to speak into you regarding your level of obedience to God.  Allow the Spirit to strip away your comfort and false assurance in the hour or two spent weekly in Sunday school and worship, or other weekday programs or classes, and see what is revealed about your true daily obedience and righteous relationship to God.  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!