Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours'" (Mark 11:22-23).
You invite me to pray and say in faith. And the main focus of my faith is to be in You. You said "Have faith in God." So the main focus of my faith, my prayers, and my words is to be in You and who You are. Yes, I am to have faith in what I asking for and speaking to, because You said "believe that what you say will come to pass," but the main focus of my faith is not to be in what I'm seeking to come to pass but in the One I'm seeking. I'm to seek You first, and then these things I'm praying for and speaking to (Matthew 6:33).
Relationship first.
It's like when You sent out Your disciples to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God in Your name, praying for people and speaking to whatever held them bound and held them back from the fullness of Your mercy and love (Luke 10:1-12). When they returned, they were excited that even the demons submitted to their words
spoken in faith and the authority of Your name (Luke 10:17). But even as You rejoiced with them and thanked our Father for them, You reminded them that the main focus of their faith was to be in God and their personal relationship with You (Luke 10:21). You said, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that yhe spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke10:18-20).
Lord, increase my faith in You. Help me grow in my focus on You first -- on who You are, on Your nature and on the nature of Your relationship with me. It's out of this intimacy and communion of our relationship that I can pray and say in faith what's on Your heart and what's in line with Your will, because You're aligning my heart and my will with Yours. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
This is how I keep growing to the place in my relationship with You where I pray and say and "do not doubt in (my) heart, but believe that what (I) say will come to pass;" and this is how I keep growing to the the place in my relationship with You where I can "believe that (I) have received it, and it will be (mine)" (Mark 11:22-24). It's not by what I have done or will do, but all by You and what You have done -- the One who's written my name in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Luke 10:20; Ephesians 2:8; Isaiah 49:16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are growing in your faith in God and your intimacy with Him that you can pray and say in faith what on His heart through 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call on Your name and listen for Your voice to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.
"I, I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.... Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:11-20).
Jesus You are my Savior. And I thank You for everything You have saved me from and saved me through -- from hell and through some hellish seasons, from myself and through all my selfishness, from a life focused on things that will have no lasting significance and through so many temptations to shrink back or settle for less than the fullness of all You've intended for me.
Thank You for saving me -- not just in that moment when I first gave You my heart, but also in every moment of every day that You keep on saving me. I needed Your saving works on the cross and the power of Your Spirit to initially be saved from myself, and I need Your same works and power of Your Spirit to be saved from myself this morning. I am forever in need of Your love and grace. And praise God I'll always have it, through every saving moment to come, for "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! ... The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.... Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to the God in heaven.... I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea.... You came near when I called on You; You said, 'Do not fear!' You have taken up my cause, O Lord, You have redeemed my life!" (Lamentations 3:22-58)
This morning I claim that promise in Your Word! And while You have done so much for me, You are always "about to do a new thing" because Your mercies are "new every morning." In Your mercy and grace, in Your power and love, in Your good plans of "a future with hope" for me, Your salvation is about to "spring forth" for me again today! (Jeremiah 29:11) Give me eyes to perceive it! Give me faith to expect it! Give me the wisdom to wait for it! Give me courage to embrace it!
As I wait on You in these first moments of my morning, in the deep communion of worship and prayer, I can't wait to see what You will do today! I'm excited to see how You'll "make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" to display Your glory in and through my life today, mighty Savior of my soul! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you perceive and embrace the new thing the Lord your Savior is causing to spring forth in your life 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak Your words of spirit and life into my heart and mind. Give me ears to hear and courage to follow in faithfulness and trust.
"He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame" (Proverbs 10:5).
Holy Spirit, awaken me! Stir in my heart and open my eyes to see the harvest at hand. Give me words to speak and hope to share, whether across the street or across the hall; around the world or around my neighborhood. Please wake up my heart and send me out into the fields of my family, friends, work and school places, my neighbors and unto the nations!
Lord Jesus, You explained that "the harvest is the end of the age" (Matthew 13:39). And You encouraged us that "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). So I am asking You, my Lord, I am your laborer, send me out!
My Father God, Lord of the harvest, send out Your laborers into Your harvest. It's Your harvest, not ours. But we are Your laborers who go and lead and love, just as we are Your intercessors who watch and pray and ask, all in in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us not sleep through Your harvest! "Sleeper, awake!" (Ephesians 5:14)
There will be "a great harvest" (2 Corinthians 9:10). And I want to be a part. I want to do my part. I want to be one of Your servants and sons "found faithful" and wise, not "shameful" and "sleeping" (1 Corinthians 4:2; Proverbs 10:5). Whether I'm one of Your intercessors praying or one of Your laborers going, I want to be one who hears Your voice and obeys Your command to "look around (me), and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting!" (John 4:35) The harvest is at hand; the harvest is here! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you awake and arise to watch and pray and ask, to go and lead and love as the Holy Spirit leads into the FAther's harvest in the mighty name of Jesus! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Master, Savior, Lord and King, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I yield my will to Your will to begin my day walking with You.
"Kind words are like honey -- sweet to the soul and healthy for the body" (Proverbs 16:24 NLT).
As I begin another week I ask you Jesus to anoint my words with kindness today. I desire to speak Your words through my mouth to everyone I encounter this week, words of spirit and life, powerful words to encourage and comfort and edify (1 Corinthians 14:3). Sanctify my tongue to "sustain the weary with a word" (Isaiah 50:4).
Kindness is part of Your nature, for "the Lord is just in all His ways and kind in all His doings" (Psalm 145:17). And it's a part of Your nature that You desire to express through my nature. You desire that we "show kindness and mercy to one another" as an extension of Your heart and Your words through our lives every day -- especially on the days and with the people where it's hardest to be kind and merciful (Zechariah 7:9). As you said as You walked this earth in the flesh as our example, "Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36).
"The fruit of the Spirit is ... kindness.... If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25). So I need You to guide me by Your Spirit to be kind and merciful, to speak kind words, even as I am "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). "Love is patient; love kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4). If I speak kind words, it will be sweet to the soul and healthy to the body -- for theirs and for mine. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are anointed and guided by the Holy Spirit to speak kind and powerful words today as you begin the week, words that encourage and comfort and build up all those you encounter, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my heart, Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- as I listen for the leading of Your voice to begin my day in the communion of prayer with You. ...
"In accordance with His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by Him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.... Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now to the day of eternity" (2 Peter 3:13-18).
One day -- at "the day of eternity" -- righteousness will be "at home" on this earth and throughout the heavens. You will set things right -- right with God, right with one another, right within ourselves. At the time You have ordained since before the foundation of the world, there will come a day of "the final restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21 NLT).
Between this day and that day, I want to have a heart that welcomes Your righteousness to be at home here in my heart. I want to grow in grace, grow in peace, grow in the knowledge and the nature of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I thank You for Your patience with me.
In my own nature, apart from Your nature at work within me, righteousness is not yet "at home." That part of my heart not yet sanctified and softened by Your Spirit, that part of my heart that still remains hardened to Your will and Your ways would like to tell righteousness to "Go take a hike." Like even the Apostle Paul confessed of the inner conflict in his own soul, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.... For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.... For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (Romans 7:15-23).
But in humility, Paul acknowledged his daily condition; and in faith, Paul acknowledged his daily need of his Savior. "Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25). That's a prayer and proclamation that You answered in the power of Your grace for him every day. Living in the power of the grace of God every day, he encouraged us to rely upon You and Your righteousness to be at work in us: "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For it is God working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.... Hold firmly to the word of life" (Philippians 2:12-16 NLT).
Come, Holy Spirit. Every day, I need the mercy of my Father and the power of the blood of my Savior. Keep crucifying my flesh. Keep softening and sanctifying the hardness of my heart. Keep giving me the desire and the power to let You be at work within me until I come to the place "where righteousness is at home" in my heart. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray that ask God this morning for righteousness to be at home in your heart, and allow the Holy Spirit to keep softening and sanctifying your heart today and every day in the power of the blood of Jesus, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done -- here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
When You rule as King in my heart, there is righteousness in the Holy Spirit. You're setting things right -- right between me and my God, right between me and others, and right within myself.
When You rule as King in my heart, there is peace in the Holy Spirit. It's Your peace, not the world's peace -- peace between me and my God, peace with others, and peace within myself.
When You rule as King in my heart, there is joy in the Holy Spirit. It's the fullness of joy You desire me to have when my joy is made complete and the joy of the Lord is my strength -- joy between me and my God, joy with others, and joy within myself.
You said, "The kingdom of God is within (me)" (Luke 17:21). I need more of Your kingdom within me. I need more of Your righteousness, more of Your peace, more of Your joy. I need more of Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). I need more of You ruling and reigning as King in my heart.
So come, Holy Spirit. You are the One who moves in my heart to manifest and advance the fullness of the kingdom of God within me the kingdom of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit within me. The more I yield and surrender, embracing Your Presence and Your plan, entrusting my heart to You and Your will, the more the kingdom of God advances in me. That's how Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, on earth (and right here in me) as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
Father God, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done. Fill me afresh with Your Spirit, with Your righteousness and peace and joy. I open my spirit and bow my heart before You, " Let the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of my heart "become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the fullness of the kingdom of God comes in you in a fresh filling of the Presence of God with His righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! May the King of glory come into you and every area of your life! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
Time flies! Hard to believe it was a year ago that I posted this blog. I still hang out in this Waffle House and see "Chuck" every week.
My morning office is the Waffle House. About 3 months ago I went into the Waffle House (WH) and I sat down in a chair at the “low bar,” the bar you can sit at that is at normal chair height. I did not notice the used coffee cup that was on the bar in the back next to the menu rack in front of the chair I sat in. It belonged to a man I will call Chuck., who happened to have gone outside to smoke a morning cigarette. Chuck is a man who comes frequently to the WH. He is a “rough” and crude man in his late 60’s. He cusses allot and gives the waitresses and customers a hard time and is sharp with them when he is “in that mood.” Chuck walked back into the WH, saw me sitting in “his chair,” walked up to me and said coldly “Hey mother F*%ker you are in my seat!” I turned to him and before I could say a word the two waitresses who were standing there almost jumped over the bar and verbally attacked Chuck. One said, “Now you listen here you mother F&%ker this man here is a f*#king man of God and if you ever talk to him like that again I will kick your f*cking @ss!!“ The other waitress jumped in, “ Ya you d#ck, he is my f*cking pastor! What the f@ck is wrong with you.!” Show some f@cking repect! The waitresses high fived each other and one said to the other. “Sword of the spirit b#tch!” And Chuck turned and walked out.
I sat there and processed what had just happened! First, the waitresses have never come to an ODC gathering, though I have invited them many times. And I never told the waitresses I was their pastor. But because of my coming into the WH four or five mornings a week and talking, listening, and praying with them it appears that is how they saw me. The other day the waitresses were talking about how life seemed to be attacking them. I took out my phone and I read to them from Ephesians 6 about the armor of God and explained it to them. And the one waitresses shouting “Sword of the spirit b#tch” shows they were listening and retaining what I told them, I just need to work a little more on their application of that verse!
Fast forward to a month ago. I was walking in the WH and Chuck was outside in the front smoking. I said good morning to him as I was walking by and Chuck kind of quietly and nicely (especially for Chuck!) asked if I had a moment. I told him sure and stopped by him. He said quietly as he looked at the ground, “I know you are kind of a religious guy and it’s not that big of a deal but I was wondering if you would pray for me for something. “I said, “Sure what’s up?” And he went on to say that the Doctors think he may have prostrate cancer and he had a test today to confirm it. I said, “of course,” but before I could say anything else he opened up and told me a story for about 10 minutes. The short summary of it was that he used to go to church a long time ago and was kind of close to God. Then he was drafted to Vietnam to fight in the war. He said he did some things there he was not proud of, things God could not forgive him for. He said in attacks on villages he shot and killed enemy soldiers who were just kids, also women, and elderly. He saw children killed and witnessed and participated in other atrocities of war. He stopped praying after the war and has never gone back to church since he came back to the states. When I asked to pray with him there he said no, he had to leave, but for me to pray as you feel God will listen.
As he walked away my heart both mourned for him and was convicted for me. I had joined in with others at the WH at times commenting on Chuck and his behavior. However, the reason Chuck was an angry, and hurtful man is he was filled with guilt that separated him from God. Guilt from things he did he thought were not forgivable. And I thought, I know and preach that God can forgive anything, I have never put him to “the test” of his forgiveness like Chuck has to. If I was the one looking down an M-16 and watching bullets splatter bodies of kids and women from my gun and trigger I was pulling, the event might make me an even bigger, hateful, guilt filled ass than Chuck. It reminded me that people are never the enemy.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. I was in the WH at the bar talking with customers and the waitresses when Chuck walked in. He walked over to a side bar he never sits in by himself and sat down. No cussing, no loud comments to people as he came in the restaurant. He looked devastated. One of the waitresses said they heard his son had died the previous night. My spirit told me to go sit in the chair next to him and I did. I said good morning to him and he said hey, and his eyes began to fill with tears. I told him I had heard that his son had died and if it was true, and if so I was so sorry. We talked again for 20 minutes. Summary, he told me his son who was 31 years old and some of his friends, Chuck, and Chucks wife, (his son’s mother) were out on the front porch talking. His son told his friends how he had bought a new pistol. They asked to see it. He went into his truck and got it out, removed the clip, and thought the gun was empty. It was not. He came back to the porch and in handing the gun to his friend when somehow it went off and the bullet hit is son in the head from less then 2 feet away. They rushed him to the hospital but he died a few hours after he arrived. Chuck said he and his wife witnessed it. He could not get the sight out of his mind. It reminded him of the war. He had to come home from the hospital and clean his son’s blood, hair, and other parts from the side of his house and porch. Tears were flowing down his face. He asked me if this was God’s punishment for the kids he killed in Vietnam. I said of course not and we talked awhile. His son had a wife and two kids 8 and 10 years old.
After we finished, I went home and my wife and I took the chicken I had grilled for dinner, along with sides, bread and a dessert, and I put it in a box and took it up to the WH. I also wrote a note to the family stating I was praying for them and asking to let me know if I could help in anyway with my phone number on it and put it in the box as well. I pulled into the WH just in time as Chuck was walking to his car to leave. I parked, got the box and gave it to him. Chuck teared up again as he took it. He said I did not have to, but I insisted, told him I was praying for him, and I left.
Fast forward to today. I received a call today from Chuck. He thanked me for the food. He then said he and his family do not have any money. They are getting the cheapest cremation they can, and just going to do a remembrance service at their home. Their family does not attend a church, they do not know many church people, let alone preachers, and he asked if I would be willing to come to their house and share from the Bible and some words over their son and their family. I told him I would be honored to.
“I have been going to the WH regularly for over 3 years now. Sometimes I wondered if I needed to continue going. Only one or two people, employees or customers, have ever came to an ODC gathering. So if you go by traditional church metrics, my time investment has not led to “church” growth or increased “numbers in the pews.” It has not resulted in one penny going into our offertory plate or pastor support. Yet God reminded me of my prayer I say to him every morning, which is, “God, please send me today the ones that no one else wants.” No one wanted Chuck, even I found it hard to be around him. But God through just being faithful has given me an amazing opportunity; to be welcomed into his house; a house, a circle of family and friends that no other pastor has ever been invited into, and share the love of God with them. And that is my hearts desire, not to see them as an “evangelists projector opportunity” but a family in pain that simply needs the love of God, and to love them. I pray I may honor this.
My family, I pray today you will be led by the Holy Spirit not to seek and enter into some structured ministry with people, but just simply enter into life and the lives of people. That in your daily set schedule you will allow and come to expect, even long for interruptions from two things: God and people. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family as we minister to and with those on the margins God has placed in our path we refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're welcome here in my heart and in the moments of my day. ...
"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How an you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? ... I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you" (John 14:9-17)
Lord Jesus, when I see You, I see my Father. When I abide in You, Your Spirit abides in me. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, help me see and abide; help me abide and see. I become like the One I see -- "being transformed in the same image (2 Corinthians 3:18). And I become one with the One I allow to abide within me -- "anyone united with the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
I read the passage in John’s Gospel and I can picture Jesus standing in front of me like He did with Phillip and saying, “Gary, you claim to be a Christian and I have been with you since the day you were born, and still you do not truly know me.” So I fall on my knees this morning and cry out to you, Jesus, open my eyes to see you!!! Open my heart to abide in you!!! Let me see You more clearly each day and let it begin this morning!! Let me abide in You more deeply each day and let it begin this morning!!! Make me more like You each day -- "because as (You are), so are we in this world" (1 John 4:18).
"God is faithful; by Him (we) were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). So by the power of Your grace at work within me, may I see and abide; may I abide and see; I in You and You in me. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of (us)" (2 Corinthians 13:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you earnestly cry out to Jesus this morning to see Him more clearly and abide in Him more deeply each day, starting today. So that you can become like the One you see and allow to Him abide in 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.
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.
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest…Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him…Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9)
Last night Rodger and Pete, a couple members of ODC, and I prayer walked a neighborhood in Huntsville that has seen better days. We have been prayer walking this neighborhood for a month now. We gathered one evening over a month ago, and prayed where did God want us to go. His Spirit directed us to this neighborhood none of us live in. We walk the neighborhood and pray. We talk to and pray with people we see, knock on doors we feel led to knock on, and look for a “son of peace” (v.6) in the neighborhood. Last night Pete and Rodger introduced me to Ben, (not his real name) a man they met last week who was in his yard as they walked by. Ben was a man who had struggled with alcoholism and spent time in prison. However, he has fallen in love with Jesus, gone on an Emmaus Walk, They entered into a conversation with him that was Spirit led. They discovered Ben’s love for God, his desire to give back to God who has given so much to him, an he wants to transform his neighborhood and start a house church in his home. We all shared testimonies from our lives, prayed, and had church in his front yard. Couples taking a walk in the evening in front of the house looked on as they walked by. Bem is coming to my house Wednesday night for our house church gathering.
The first night we went prayer walking a few weeks ago we met a young man named Conner, (not his real name) who was working on a car outside in an apartment parking lot. He said he is an auto mechanic and he goes to people's homes/businesses and works on their cars at their locations for a living. He lived in a small one bedroom apartment with his wife and step-daughter. We spent time talking then praying with Conner. I have stayed connected with him. Yesterday, he came to my house and put new rear brakes on my truck. It is something I can do, however I figured it would give me a chance to talk with him more while he worked, connect with him more,and help him financially. He actually did a real good job. I bought the parts and he charged me $40 to install them which is very cheap. Tonight when we prayer walked we stopped by his apartment. We talked with him for awhile. He asked if we would pray for him. He called his wife outside, and in front of his apartment, with people in other apartments looking on, and a Mexican roofing crew 10 feet from us, Conner and his wife Ashley held hands with us in the open and prayed. I was so proud of them and I felt the Spirits presence. As we prayed, the roofing crew got quiet and listened. Who knows when the last time, if ever the name of Jesus was lifted up in that apartment parking lot. Hopefully Conner and Ashley will also come to HC Wednesday.
We also stopped by and prayed with Matt, who Pete prayed with and made friends with a couple weeks ago.
Building relationships and connecting with people and being a presence of Christ in a neighborhood, your neighborhood is simple and just takes getting out of the house and doing it. In a few short weeks we have made a presence in this neighborhood. What neighborhood have you made a presence in? Have you walked, reached out, and prayed with the neighbors in the neighborhood you live in? Jesus did send out people and tell them to go attend services in their synagogues (churches) on the Sabbath, he sent them out into the streets. Jesus is not sending you out telling you to attend a church service on Sunday morning, he is sending you out into the streets as well. You are to be a tangible example of The Church among your neighbors and “Heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (v.9)
My family, I pray this morning you pray into “to whom an I sent?” You are not sent to a church. That is where you receive encouragement and are equipped to be sent out. I pray you listen to who and where the Spirit is leading you, then obey what you hear and go. In Jesus’ name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, be Lord of my life and every moment of my day.
"When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.' Simon answered, 'Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if You say so, I will let down the nets.' When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.... Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.' When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Him" (Luke 5:4-11).
It takes some effort to "put out into deep water." You don't get there by accident and it's never easy -- especially when you're tired or discouraged or disappointed. Even when you're tired and weary from the exhaustion of fruitfulness and success, it's hard to say, "Let's do it again! Let's go deeper still! Let's go further than last time and beyond our expectations!"
But to "put out into (the) deep water" of Your Spirit, is to seek to hear Your voice, to call You "Master," and obey the nudges of Your guidance in trusting faith, no matter the circumstances of how things appear at the moment. We need not be afraid. And we need not hold back, because there is always an abundance that follows obedience. Peter obeyed Jesus' nudge, and his obedience resulted in abundance.
Part of living life in the "deep water" is being willing to not always see the abundance that follows obedience at the time. So often, we have to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). If we insisted on only believing what we see and trusting only what we feel and always playing it safe to never take a risk on our sense of Your leading in the still, small voice we'd never get past the shallow water. And we'd never know the abundant treasures that wait for us in the deep water. Lack of obedience always results lack of abundance.
You've prepared a treasure of abundance for us in the "deep water" of Your Spirit. There's a great catch if we're just willing to be caught up in the arms of Your embrace to live in trusting faith. That's the place where "Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him ... God has reveled them to us through His Spirit ... yes, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). That's the place where we hear and respond to Your Word: "Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known" (Jeremiah 33:3).
So when "Deep calls to deep," we can respond and put out to the deep water -- no matter how tired we are or how the circumstances appear -- or we can just settle for what we have and just stay where we are, content to live out our lives in the shallow water (Psalm 42:7). It's safer for sure. We have a lot more control when the water is only up to our ankles instead of over our heads (Ezekiel 47:3-5). But my, what great treasures we would miss. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray this morning you take time to position your spirit to hear the Master call and sense the nudging of His Holy Spirit to put out into the deep waters of all the He has for you and desires to do through you. There is an abundance God has created you to bring forth but it will only come about by your obedience, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice.
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.... Very truly, I tell you, I am the good shepherd" (John 10:2-11).
As I look to You in worship and listen for You in prayer this morning, Your Holy Spirit opens the gate of my spirit to welcome You into every moment of my day. You call me by name; You know my nature and my needs; and You speak into my spirit what You want me to hear and to know.
I'm both a sheep and I'm a son -- a sheep of Your fold and a son of my Father. Help me listen and hear, so I can rise and follow You into Your will for my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
As I look and listen to begin this day, it seems I hear You saying: "My son, you always have the freedom to open the gate of your heart to Me or close it, to watch and wait and worship or not, to take time to listen and trust and obey or choose to do your own will. Choose well Gary. Seek Me first and My righteousness and My kingdom. Then all you need will be added unto you; and all I desire for you will be fulfilled through you."
Yes, Lord. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to seek You first (Matthew 6:33). As a sheep of my Good Shepherd, I seek to hear Your voice and open my heart (Hebrews 3:7). As a son of God, I seek to be led by Your Spirit. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.... For (we) have received the spirit of sonship (Romans 8:14 RSV).
O Lord, my God, put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Guide my steps by the leading of Your Spirit into the path of life You have for me today (Psalm 23:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you hear God speak to you now by name, “_______ choose well.” I pray you open the gate of your heart to Jesus, and seek God first, that you may hear His voice and be led by His Spirit in the path of life He has chosen for you this 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.... Then the devil took Him to the holy city.... Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain.... Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.'' Then the devil left Him, and suddenly angels came and waited on Him" (Matthew 4:1-11)
Lord,. Even You, holy and without sin, were both led by the Spirit to places at times and taken by the devil to places at times, according to the Word of God. You were "in all ways tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). You always knew how to respond. You always embraced all the Spirit had for You and always rejected all the devil had for You. By the power of Your grace, may I learn to do the same.
Thank You for the promise of Your Word, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). And for Your promise, "When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide (me) into all the truth" (John 16:13). I am Your child and You are my Father. Come lead me by Your Spirit into Your truth. Empower me to discern and resist every temptation of the devil. "No temptation has overtaken (me) except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow (me) to be tempted beyond what (I) am able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that (I) may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let Your Word be hidden in my heart so that I can declare what is written; and let Your Spirit guide my spirit so that I'm certain where I am and who led me there or took me there. Then -- no matter whether it was You or the devil -- You'll cause it all to work together for good in the fulfillment of Your plans and purposes (Romans 8:28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray spend time in prayer and reading God’s Word this morning to help you learn to discern when your in a place where the Spirit has led you or where the devil has taken you. I pray this so you will be led by the Spirit through every temptation with God's Word hidden in your heart and God's Spirit guiding your spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (Mark 5:18-20)
I can imagine what a testimony the man who used to be possessed would have when he returned to his village. He would take off his shirt and point to the raw skin on his wrists and say, “See these marks on my wrists?” I used to be a mad man out of my mind chained like an animal but Jesus set me free. See these scars all over my arms and body, I used to be a cutter, mutilating my body until Jesus made me whole. I used to be possessed and haunted by thousands of demons until released me from their control. Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me and what a difference it makes in my life today that I am saved by Jesus."
Yesterday I shared my testimony as part of my message at Toney UMC. In front of the congregation I told them of the demons of my past that controlled my flesh. The addictions, attitudes, lies, and behaviors that had me living a death like existence “among the tombs.” (v.3). “Martha said of her dead brother Lazarus, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead for 4 days.” (John 11:39) For a time in my life I had been spiritually dead for years, and there was a stench coming from my life and I was a rotten person. But like Lazarus, I heard the voice of Jesus calling me in my darkness, and he raised me back to life. And yesterday, like the demon possessed man in Mark’s Gospel, I went and stood before those gathered, and I showed them my scars, and I told them how much the Lord has done for me, and how he has had mercy on me. I told them what difference it makes in my life today that I am in Christ Jesus.
All of us who have been saved in Christ Jesus have a testimony to share. To be “saved” means you have had to be saved from something to something else: death to life, darkness to light, pain to comfort, sadness to joy, bondage to freedom, selfishness to giver...ect. All of you have a testimony of all that the Lord has done for you and the mercy he has shown you. You were “saved” for the mission of sharing your testimony with others. All of us, no matter what your proficiency in Scriptures or gifting of evangelism, are called to simply go home, to work, to our friends and tell them what Jesus has done for you.
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” (Revelation 12:10)
My family, I pray starting today, you tell at least one person each day this week what is the difference in your life today that you are in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. When I'm centered in You, I'm confident in You. You are my Security and Strength, my Conscience and Companion, my Father and Friend, my "All in All" (1 Corinthians 5:28).
"Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation" (Psalm 35:3).
O, Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- You are my Salvation. You bring me out of darkness and into Your light. You bring me out of death and into Your life. You break every chain and heal every wound. You are the God who saves and heals and delivers, as You say to my soul, "I AM your Salvation."
You alone, O Lord, are my Salvation. "There is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). But what a powerful name You have! And what a mighty God You are!
So I humble my heart to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. I turn to You and cry out in faith to the God of my salvation.
I speak out the name of Jesus. I proclaim the power of Your name over every battle I'll fight, every enemy I'll face, and every challenge I'll overcome by the power of Your grace and to the glory of Your name. All must bow before the One who forever proclaims, "I AM" (John 8:58). Yours is "the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11 NKJV).
You are my Lord and Savior, my Healer and Deliverer, my All in All. And as my soul embraces You and the fullness of Your salvation for me, I will "shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, 'Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of His servant!' Then my tongue shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your praise all day long" (Psalm 35:27-28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you experience the power of the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior over all you encounter today 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, my Good Shepherd.
"As we work together with Him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For He says, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
Teach me how to live more fully into the "now" of my salvation and into the "now" of time. Help me "see" and believe and embrace that "now is the acceptable time" and "now is the day of salvation."
If I'm focusing too much on my past -- whether my past failures or my past successes -- I'm not fully living into the "now" of my salvation. If I'm focusing too much on my future -- whether the fears of what is to come or the anticipation of what I hope to come -- I'm not fully living into the "now" of my salvation.
Of course, there of things of my past that make me who I am and give me a testimony of Your grace in my life, but I'm not to overly dwellon my past. And of course, there are things yet to come where I do need to plan and anticipate and even dream about with expectant faith, but I'm not to overly dwellon my future either. If I do, I'm in danger of missing out on all that You have for me "now" and all that You have for those to be influenced by You through my life "now."
Yes, Your promises are Yes and Amen today and every day forever (2 Corinthians 1:20). And Yes, You provide all that I need by the power of Your grace for me to fully live into all You've ordained for me each day, while it is still called "Today" in the "now" of my salvation. "Today (I) have obtained the Lord's agreement: to be (my) God; and for (me) to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and to obey Him. Today the Lord has obtained (my) agreement: to be (part of) His treasured people, as He promised (me), and to keep His commandments: for Him to set (me) high above all nations that He has made in praise and in fame and in honor; and for (me) to be (part of) a people holy to the Lord (my) God, as He promised" (Deuteronomy 26:17-19).
Lord, I thank You for my past and for my future, for all You've done and all You're going to do. And at the same time, I thank You for the power of Your grace to more fully live into the "now" of my salvation today -- not missing out on anything You have for me by overly dwelling on the my past or my future, but living fully "alive in Christ" each day (1 Corinthians 15:22). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you live more fully into the "now" of your salvation each day, including today, in the power God's grace at work and alive in 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You and welcome You, here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"When it was evening, He took His place with the twelve; and while they were eating, He said, 'Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.' And they became greatly distressed and began to say to Him one after another, 'Sure not I, Lord?' He answered, 'The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.' Judas, who betrayed Him, said, 'Surely not I, Rabbi?' He replied, 'You have said so'" (Matthew 26:20-25).
Sometimes I wonder what happened to Judas. Did he get too close to the money? (John 6:29) As he dipped his hand in Your bowl, did he become presumptuous of his access to Your greatness or begin to take his invitation to Your intimacy and his acceptance of Your grace for granted? Did being one of the Big Twelve give him the big head and in his heart it started becoming more about me? Or did the seeds of sin and self-seeking sown into his fallen soul finally grow to full harvest in his heart of betrayal? In any event, somehow Satan himself entered his soul to consume his thoughts and influence his choices (Luke 22:3).
You know every choice we will ever make, seeing the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end (Isaiah 46:10). You know every heart and every motive of every choice (Acts 1:24; Jeremiah 17:10). Yet, the choices are ours in the freedom of will that a true relationship of love requires (Joshua 14:15; Deuteronomy 30:14-15; John 7:17).
And what if Judas had made better choices with all that was entrusted to him? Surely Your Word was true of him as It is with us all: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). "As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live" (Ezekiel 33:11).
Judas was not born a traitor, but he "became a traitor" (Luke 6:16). And by the time it was time for Judas to choose blessing or curse, life or death, "the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray (You)" (John 13:2). In the end, "Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place" (Acts 1:25).
But what if instead of becoming "the one destined to be lost," Judas would have humbled himself in repentance and faith, seeking You healing and freedom of all that would hold him back of being a faithful follower instead of a condemned traitor (John 17:12)? His confession and repentance came too late when finally acknowledged, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!" (Matthew 27:3) What if he could have become a son of God instead of the "son of perdition" (John 17:12)? What if he was to spill out his heart to lead others to Christ instead of spilling out his guts after hanging himself on a tree (Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18)? What if even the Book of Jude (Judas) could have been his book, sharing words of encouragement and exhortation from a life that was changed and surrendered to God to fulfill a destiny to honor Christ (Jude 1)?
You are "longsuffering toward us (all), not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). So before I judge Judas for the speck in his eye, give me a humble and teachable heart to see the log in my own eye (Matthew 7:5). The ways, if I look honestly into my heart, that I m more like Judas than Jesus. Let me "judge not," so that by the measure I judge I will not also be judged and that very thing come up me (Matthew 7:1). Let me never take my grace for granted or presume upon my place of intimacy with You. Convict me of my sins and keep me sensitive in my heart to the leading of Your Spirit, so that it's never too late to choose well and live well in the destiny You desire for me (Ephesians 1:11). By the power of Your grace, may I grow to be much more like Jesus than Judas (Romans 8:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you grow in the grace of God to become more like Jesus every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Friends, thank you for joing with me on this daily journey of prayer each day. Thank you for allowing me to share them with you! And thank you for praying them back over me!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit; and I welcome You to be One within me, now and throughout the moments of my day.
"Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Prayer is the way we send out and connect our roots to the stream of Your living water of Your Holy Spirit. Through prayer Your living water rises up into the roots of my human spirit and we bear Your good fruit through our lives. Prayer keeps us connected with You, in deep, intimate relationship with You. It refreshes us and renews us. It's life to us. We pray or we dry up and die spiritually.
Even in the seasons of doubt and drought in my life, through prayer, You just cause my roots to grow that much deeper, so that I'm always connected with You through the communion of prayer. You keep my heart green and full of life, even when the heat of hurts and hardships comes.
And Jesus, You help me keep my roots grounded in Your Word, it is the good soil of Your promises that give me encouragement, inspiration, vision, guidance, and hope. By Your Spirit and Your Word, You keep me "rooted and grounded in love" so that I "may be strengthened in (my) inner being with power through (Your) Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in (my) heart through faith" (Ephesians 3:16-17). Like a tree planted by the water, I'm "filled with all the fullness of God" so that I can grow and flourish in the ways of life in You (Ephesians 3:19; Psalm 1:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, You can be parched and dry, you can find yourself in a drought of anxiety, fear, addiction, and pain. You can be dry, while all the while there is a stream of refreshing living water all around you that can quench you and fill you till you overflow, and all it takes to enter the stream is to bend your knees in prayer and open your Bible. I pray you do both this morning so you flourish and bear God's good fruit through your life, rooted and grounded in His love through the intimate communion of prayer, to keep growing in His grace by His Spirit and His Word 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord, raised from the dead and raising me up to live my life in You this day.
"He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:5-8).
It's Your "good pleasure" to pour out Your grace into my life. You don't do this with any conditions, but freely; and not in scarcity, but in abundance. Out of the riches of Your grace, You lavish me with Your goodness -- all in Your joy and "good pleasure." "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 136:1)
Thank You, Thank you, Thank you Lord! That You are a good God, in a good mood! 'He who sits in the heavens laughs!" (Psalm 2:4). It was "for the sake of the joy that was set before (You that You) endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). And despite what's going on around us -- even in the things that break Your heart and ours -- You're always inviting us to know the truth of Your Word: "In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11).
O Lord, my God, "restore unto me the joy of Your salvation" every day (Psalm 51:12). Speak Your words of spirit and life into my heart that "(Your) joy may be in (me), and that (my) joy may be complete" (John 15:11). Though every moment and challenge of today and every day, help me see You and see myself in the light of Your truth and Your amazing grace and the "good pleasure" of Your will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you take a moment of reflection and open your spiritual eyes to see God as He is and see yourself as He sees you, that His joy may. be in you and your joy made be complete in Him, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day.
"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.... For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them" (2 Corinthians 5:11-15).
We are "well known to God." And You know well the plans You have for me and each one of Your children (Jeremiah 29:11). ...
My Father, You know all about me. You've created me and saved me. You've loved me and corrected me. You've called me and anointed me, encouraged me and inspired me, equipped me and empowered me. You always go before me and You're always with me. You know every hair on my head and every hurt in my heart. You know every step that I'll take and every misstep I've taken. And yet You love me with "an everlasting love" (Isaiah 54:8).
The Father says, I chose to create you and never forsake you, even as I have chosen each one of My children. You are created in My image, but you will to struggle through your issues on your spiritual journey to maturity in Me. When you stumble and fall, when you falter or fail, I still love you and help you and even cause you to become more desperately dependent upon Me so that I can display My glory more completely through you. This is My way. This is My will -- that My children learn to trust Me and love Me and know My love for them on their journey to learn to love in the time they have on this earth."
Yes, Lord. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). You desire that I would "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (my) mind, so that (I) may discern what is the will of God -- what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
We are Your children who find favor in Your sight, despite all our sins and failures and all that grieves Your heart with us. "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given us this ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us" (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). In Christ, we are the message -- through our changes hearts and changed lives by the power of the grace of God at work within us! "
My family, I pray you know how much God loves you and longs to live through you, making you more like Jesus as you learn to love more like Him 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.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- I draw near to You in my prayers as You draw to me in Your presence.
"And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.... Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.... Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant is listening'" (1 Samuel 2:21-3:10).
Samuel's mother dedicated him and all the days of his life to You. And dedication grew into dependence and discernment. As he grew in stature, he grew in favor. As he grew in favor, he grew in the intimacy of his relationship with You and his dependence upon You until he was able to discern Your voice beyond anyone else's. Then from that place of intimacy and discernment and dependence, You empowered him for ministry. "As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Fan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord" (1 Samuel 3:19-20).
Father God, I thank You for parents who dedicated me to You and raised me in the church. I thank you for my wife who encourages me in my faith. I thank You for all who have loved me and prayed for me to grow in spiritual stature from dedication to dependence and discernment and favor and intimacy and ministry. Help me keep growing. Help me "grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). Help me never stop growing in "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
As best as I can and all by Your grace, in humility and faith, I willingly choose to dedicate my life completely to You, in desperate dependence upon You alone. I surrender all. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But in the intimacy and favor of God growing in me -- as I daily abide in You and You abide in me -- I embrace the promise of Your Word that my life will "bear much fruit" (John 15:1-5). Thank You for the promise of Your Word: "I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you will take a moment, as long as necessary, and rededicate your life and surrender all to Jesus. That you seek a deeper intimacy with Him to keep you growing in spiritual stature by the grace of God at work in you in dedication, dependence, and discernment, that your life will bear much fruit to the glory of God so that your joy may be made complete. If you have never dedicated your life to Jesus, or find yourself in a place now where you are struggling to surrender all or an area of your life to Him, please reach out to me, or reach out to your pastor, friend, family member, or whoever God has placed in your life for spiritual guidance, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
