Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy, holy, holy, Lord -- God of power and might -- heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. Fill my heart with Your glory as I abide in Your presence, here in these first moments of my morning with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 3:6-7).
This world seems crazy. Things are constantly changing, Something else always seems to be “the new normal.” Yet You are the everlasting God, the never-changing God. Like the children of Jacob, we have not perished because You keep Your promises. We have not been utterly destroyed because You come to save us to the uttermost.
When we return to You, You return to us. When we humble ourselves to call on Your name, You lean in and You draw near to remind us You know us by name and we are still precious in Your sight, even when we, like sheep, have gone astray (Isaiah 43:1-7). When we draw near again to You, You draw near to us (James 4:8). When we abide again in You, You abide in us (John 15:4).
I seek to remind myself of Your unchangeable nature by turning to Your unchangeable Word. With the words of the Psalmists in Psalm 107 and all who have found themselves in desperate need of Your everlasting mercy and never-changing love, I turn to You and cry out to You for the help and hope only You can provide:
"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
for His steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble....
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress;
He led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town....
Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress;
He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder....
For He shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Some were sick through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress;
He sent out His word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction....
Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
His wondrous works in the deep.
For He commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits' end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and He brought them out from their distress;
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and He brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love,
for His wonderful works to humankind!"
(Psalm 107:1-31)
Everlasting, never-changing God, come change our hearts and heal our land!! Throughout the ages and even in these days, You still hear and answer our repentant cries.
Come remind us we're still loved and still precious in Your sight. Come revive us and reawaken us to know who we are in in You and who You are in us, that we may yet fulfill our calling and destiny in You. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be revived and reawakened in your heart and in our land, as you cry out in repentance and faith to our everlasting, never-changing God, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!s!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning Lord Jesus, this morning I begin my morning intentionally listening to you so I can hear your intentions for me to walk in throughout my day today.
“Why does no one respond when I call?” v.2
“Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness, without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” V. 10
As I stetted yesterday I am spending time reading that God spoke through His prophets into the injustices and chaos in their nation. God asks His followers why does no one respond to his invitation to believe in his grace and power? Instead of them trying to put the blame on God for their actions and resigning themselves to their hopeless situation,Hhis people should be committing themselves to the power, deliverance, and grace of their creator. He is more than ready to help them and restore them if they just admit their guilt and receive his deliverance.
God also asks, “Who fears the lord?” How does a person demonstrate that he or she “fears the Lord?” How do they show that they live in that place of reverence and awe for God that shapes their behavior? By listening to, and by obeying that which the Servant (Jesus) has been appointed by God to reveal in the world. I may be over simplifying it, but if you do not even bother to listen to Jesus by daily setting aside time reading the Bible and in prayer, then you have no fear, no real respect for Him. If you won't even take the time to listen to God, then you really don’t have a desire to follow Him, obey him and let him shape your life. How can He lead you daily when you aren’t even valuing any time daily to hear what He says to you? If you have no real desire to hear God, you have no real desire to respect and to obey God, no fear of God. How can you claim to be a follower of someone who you do not listen to? Isaiah declared the people were following the the words and listening to the stories of false prophets and ignoring God. Are you spending more time following the words and stories spoken on Facebook, TV and social media than reading the words and stories in God’s Word?
Isaiah goes on to reveal that to fear God and to obey the voice of His Servant would imply an abundance of light. But this is not necessarily the case. Those who follow the Servant may indeed walk with Him into the darkness of frustration, injustice, humiliation, and abuse in the world as He did. But this does not mean they should abandon following God! All throughout time the followers of God think that God’s blessing equals comfort, monetary gain, and their well being. But that was not the way the Servant of God led His life.. And he was the most blessed person to ever walk the face of this earth.
My family, God call’s you today. I pray you will take time today to listen to Him. Do you respect what He has to say to you enough to intentionally set aside time today to hear it? Will you care enough today to listen to God by spending time listening to Him in His Scriptures and in prayer to let him shape your day? I pray you will in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
I had a talk yesterday morning with a young man in his mid-to-late twenties. He had visible tattoos on his neck and arms and some piercing. He was sitting at the Waffle House (WH) counter eating breakfast when I walked in and I sat down beside him (one stool between us). We had talked for about 10 minutes when a WH regular walked in and saw me. He apologized to me for not coming yet to any church gathering I have invited him to, but said he would get there soon. I turned back to the young man and our conversation turned to church. The young man said he did not go to church. I asked why not? He said because the people their were fake and hypocrites. I asked him why he thought that.
He said he could remember going to church with his family and friends when he was young. (A 26 year old saying “when he was young” made me smile). He said we all would get in the car just like we were going anywhere else. Yet when the people he was with pulled into a church and stepped out of the car, they rearranged their facial muscles and make and wear their “church face.” When the service is over, they get back into their car, then rearrange their facial muscles again and remove their church face. And they pull out of the parking lot complaining that church went 10 minutes longer than it was supposed to, and criticizing other aspects of the service, excited to repeat gossip they heard in church about someone not the preacher’s message, that they are glad "church" is over, and they watched "church" disappear in their review mirror and were pretty happy about it and that part of their day was over. He said he had a friend that was the pastor’s son. He remembered riding home from church with them, and most of the time these were the same thoughts and actions of the pastor and his family as well.
Ouch. This hit home. I can remember back to some of the conversations that were said when I was growing up going to church and coming home from church. Being told before “We Have To” go to church, and afterwards “We Get To” go out and eat like going to eat in a restaurant was a reward for going to church, and what we looked forward to the most. Which we as children would echo, “Do we “Have To” go to church? and “Do we “Get To” go out and eat afterwards?” The first is done in duty, the second is done in joy. Comments on the way to church to behave and “act right” in church. (rearranged their facial muscles and make and wear their church face) Comments of “that service was long” on the way home. These comments I regret I have made as well. Comments I regret I have made as a pastor driving home. We have segmented “church” into a time slot in a week. And one we “have to” participate in.
Church is mobile, it is a movement. It is not a time slot, simply a place or building you go to or participate in. We are the living sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit, the living breathing church. We are the chosen bride of Christ, full of life and beauty. Our “church face” is not something we wear for an hour a week but we should wear the face of Christ and see “church” through our windshield as being everyplace and every where we go.
I could say we need to watch how we act and what we say about church because those around us are watching and listening. What we need to do though is watch our heart toward church. Are we going to church out of a heart of duty or joy? Are we a bride that reluctantly enters the groom’s embrace lout of obligation ike an arranged marriage? Have we forgotten our first love? (Rev. 2:4)
My family, read this morning Rev 22:16-17, 4:9-11; Heb. 12:28-29; Phil 4:6-7; Col 2:6-8, 3:15-17. Then I pray you take a moment to pray and read the young man’s answer to why he does not go to church. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any attitudes of your heart that hits home with the story.. Ask yourself do you feel you “have to go” or “get to go” to church? Ask yourself if you have compartmentalized church from a movement to a building and an hour on Sunday mornings? Ask for a renewing of your first love for Christ, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I look to You and listen for Your leading, help me begin this day grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
"On that day the Lord with His cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will kill the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
On a day when it seems our world is swimming in a sea of confusion, struggling for stability, crying out for security against wave after wave of anarchy, we find ourselves finally turning to You. You alone are our Strength and Strong Tower, our Wisdom and the One who leads us in the ways of life, grounded in Your truth and guarded in Your love.
While it may look like cultural wars and political battles and social turmoil, the deeper truth is that we're in the midst of an epic spiritual battle. We're in the midst of days where good is called evil and evil is called good, where what is true is called a lie and what is a lie is called the truth. And without the grounding of Your Word and the guidance of Your Spirit, we are doomed to lose our discernment to know the difference.
"Ah, you who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,
and shrewd in your own sight!" (Isaiah 5:20-21).
While the twisting serpent wants to twist our sense of what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil, what's of the Spirit and what's of the flesh, what will stand the test of time and what will be consumed in the Fire of the Lord like wood and hay and stubble, we turn to the One who defeats the twisted lies with the truth. We cry out to the One who cuts off the head of the serpent with the Sword of the Lord, the very Word of God, wielded in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
Come, Holy Spirit! Set the twisted things straight. Make our paths straight. Set us free from this twisting serpent of our times! Set our hearts right on the path that is straight and true, even though it's the way that's more difficult to walk against the headwinds of our world. "For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many go by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
Lord, let us find it! Lord, let us live into it! Lord, let us see in our day Your mighty defeat and manifestation of Your eternal victory over this ancient and twisted serpent! As we stand firm in You and walk in Your ways, You will crush his head under our feet (Roman 16:20) and You will cut off his head with Your strong sword in Your mighty name! (Isaiah 27:1) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be strengthened and encouraged, filled with the Holy Spirit to stand firm in the Lord and walk in His ways, as He sets twisted things straight and cuts off the head of the twisting serpent in your world, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord, and I listen for Your leading to begin my day seeking to follow You and even become more like You today -- all by Your grace at work within me and within all who open their hearts to trust in You. ...
What I hear in my heart this morning is this bold declaration -- "He who sits in the heavens laughs!" ...
Immediately Your Word comes to mind from Psalm 2:
"Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and His Anointed, saying,
'Let us burst their bonds asunder
And cast their cords from us.'
He who sits in the heavens laughs!
The Lord has them in derision.
Then He will speak to them in His wrath,
and terrify them in His fury, saying,
'I have set My King on Zion, My holy hill'"
(Psalm 2:1-6).
The question comes to mind, "Lord, why are You laughing? Right now our world is full of poverty, injustice, sickness, fear, hatred, and greed. Right now there are millions of souls bound in spiritual darkness and given over to hopeless despair. I know You are good and the very essence of love. I know righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne. I know You hate evil in every form and Your heart breaks at the brokenness of our broken and fallen world. So Lord, why are You laughing?" ...
And what comes immediately to mind is the rest of the Psalm....
"I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, 'You are My Son;
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage,
and the ends of the earth Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling kiss His feet,
or He will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in Him!"
(Psalm 2:7-11).
Yes, Lord! You're not laughing at our misery; You're laughing at Your victory! You're not laughing at all we're going through; You're laughing at all You're bringing us through! You already see the day when Your Word will be fulfilled here on earth as it in heaven: "The kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ!" (Revelation 11:15)
You're the God who sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. You're the God who already knows how it all turns out, how You turn it all around for our good and Your glory. You're the God of whom it is said "For the sake of the joy that was set before Him (He) endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
That's the joy that fills Your heart! That's the joy that flows out of Your belly laugh from the heavens like Rivers of Living Water washing over our world. Wicked people and evil kings of this world may laugh now. The wicked and evil "ruler of this world" and so-called "god of this age" who "knows his time is short" and goes about our world "like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" may think he's winning, as he's defying the will and breaking the heart of the Most High God. "But He who sits in the heavens laughs!" He who sits in the heavens already sees the day when all will be well and all will be right and all will be just and all will even say, "It was worth it all to receive what we have and become who we are, forever and ever and ever!"
Yes, Lord! As You said long ago through Your prophet Nehemiah to Your people so troubled by all they were going through in their world, "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" (Nehemiah 8:10) And in the strength of Your joy we declare: "The Lord is my Strength and my Shield; in Him my heart trusts and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him!" (Psalm 28:7) And now "May the God of hope fill (us) with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit (we) may abound in hope!" (Romans 15:13) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be comforted and filled with hope, strengthened in the joy of the Lord and laughter be heard in your heart as you believe and trust in the One who is at work in our world and in our hearts in the power of His love and joy even in the midst of all we're going through, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!s!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my heart with Your words of spirit and life as I begin my day centered and grounded in You and Your Word. ...
It saddens me when I see the hate and lack of respect, civility, and compassion of people that is dividing our nation. It saddens me more when I experience these things amongst Christians in The Church. As peoples emotions rise, the malicious attacks on each other at gatherings, in face to face encounters, social media posts, text and emails also are rising. I have experienced several of these attacks from people in the church who don’t even know my heart. I read another one directed at me last night from a church member that disturbed me and I rose this morning with a troubled heart, crying out to the Father for unity as I begin my devotion time in Word and prayer.
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. They will be My people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:19-20).
When our hearts are divided from one another, they are divided from You. And when our hearts are divided from You, they are divided from one another.
How we need Your Spirit to fill our spirits! How we need Your Heart to change our hearts! The spirit of division would seek to harden our hearts like stone against one another and against You. But there is a Spirit who unites us and aligns us, that gives us grace for one another in our differences and that we may even see great value in our differences that strengthen us instead of separate us.
There's power in agreement. "How can two walk together unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3) "Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:19-20).
No wonder our enemy would seek to divide us! No wonder Your Holy Spirit is so determined to unite us! "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ... For there the Lord commanded the blessing -- Life forevermore!" (Psalm 133:1-3)
Give us Your Life, Lord. We're desperate for Your blessing, Lord. Soften our stony, hardened hearts and attitudes toward one another and give us a tender heart toward each other -- even if we disagree about direction or decisions, even if we hold firm opinions and stick up for our values, even if we will not compromise on truth or appease the ways of the world, the flesh, and the devil, give us Your Spirit and Your Heart for one another. For "whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar" (1 John 4:20). Instead, You said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).
Father, fill our hearts with Your Holy Spirit. Unite us as one with Your heart and with the hearts of one another. "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as (we) were called to one hope when (we) were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all!" (Ephesians 4:1-6) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with the Holy Spirit, undivided in your heart for God and for your brothers and sisters in Christ in the bond of peace and power of God's love. in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift.
The past Sunday Ms. Fran from The Manna House cam and shared helot and compassion for people. I have beed meditating and praying on Christian compassion this week.
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." So He told them this parable, saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost! I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The Lost Coin "Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!' In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" Luke15:1-10
Becoming a disciple means imitating, conforming ourselves to the complete image of Jesus Christ. This includes our heart. To have a heart that beats in rhythm with Christ. God has a heart of compassion for the lost as John 3:16 declares His compassion and love for the lost, including you, is why He sent Jesus to save the world. Jesus had a heart of compassion and love for the lost, including you, that is why He willingly embraced the cross to save you. Do you have a heart of love and compassion that breaks for the lost? Have you ever been brought to tears over a person or people who do not know Christ? Do you begin your day praying over those outside of a saving relationship with Christ, and make it you heartfelt goal to do something about it? Have you ever laid in bed at night troubled by those who don’t know Christ? Do the lost have value to you? They did to Jesus. He had, has, and always have a heart that breaks for those who do not know Him.
When we read passages like the one above from Luke, we see that here, and all throughout the Scriptures, and when we look at the early church, the lost had extreme value, They are a lost treasure that is desperately searched for and angels rejoice over when they are found. Paul’s whole life journey and martyrdom after his conversion was driven by reaching people with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I do not see that same value on the lost in the church today. I do not see hearts in Sunday gatherings that break for the lost. People leaving its doors compassionately compelled to seek and find those who don’t know Christ like a lost treasure of extreme value. The “lost” have become a derogatory term. We use the word “lost” frequently to cast a negative view on someone, “Oh that Steve, he is lost.” Followed by, “Bless his heart.”
In Luke 16:19-31 we find the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man, after he finds himself in hell cries out to Abraham, “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him (Lazarus) to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment”(v.27”). I read here that those in hell have something that I believe many of those in church do not have, compassion for the lost. They are desperate not to have their loved ones and neighbors enter the eternal torment they are in. They cry out in prayer over the lost. They beg for someone to go and share the Gospel with those who have not heard it. Today’s church is missing something hell has. True compassion that cries out to God for those who don’t know Christ. If we in the church cannot have the heart of Jesus for the lost, at least let us have the compassion of hell for them! Read Luke 15:1-10, 11-32, 16:19-31.
My family, I pray you will spend time with God today reflecting on my same questions from above; Do you have a heart that breaks for the lost? Have you ever been brought to tears over a person or people who do not know Christ? Do you begin your day praying over those outside of a saving relationship with Christ, and make it your heartfelt goal to do something about it? Have you ever laid in bed at night troubled by those who don’t know Christ? Do the lost have value to you? Ask God to give you a heart that breaks for the lost, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share any thoughts, questions, or prayers over persons who are lost in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Merciful and Mighty, Faithful and True, my Strength and Shield, my Lord and King, O Lord my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- I bow before You and look up to You, to begin my day intentionally and intimately embracing Your Presence. ...
When we're wavering and wondering, You're always here reminding us to turn to You. And as I turn to You today, You're Word comes to mind from the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke into the hearts of Your people through troubled times:
"Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, 'Now I have put My words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:9-10).
It's Your word that's anointed "to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow" just as it's Your word that's anointed "to "build and to plant." And all that's truly of You and Your word will always be counterfeited by the enemy of all that is right and true, "the thief who comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy" (John 10:10).
There's a right way and wrong way. There's Your way and the enemy's way. There's Your word and Your way; and there's his words and his way. And we desperately need Your discernment to know the difference.
Give us humility to see and to allow what needs to be plucked up or pulled down, what needs to be destroyed or overthrown. And at the same time, give us courage to embrace what is of You and to stand against what's not of You. May we stand up and speak up for what You've build and planted, what You've sown and grown, what You've established to stand through the tests of time.
We'll stand on the right side of history when we kneel by the side of our beds and at the foot of Your cross to hear Your words, to receive Your guidance, and to obey Your commands as we seek to walk in Your ways.
We need the same Holy Spirit who anointed Jeremiah to hear and to speak, to respond and to act, to anoint us with Your words and Your power, with the wisdom of Your ways in our generation. Let nothing be plucked up or pulled down, be destroyed or overthrown that You have not marked for destruction, even as You uproot and remove all that is. Give us the God-given sense to know the difference.
Just as a tree is known by its fruit, so are our motives and actions. Let each of our motives and actions bear the fruit that comes from obedience and courage to hear and obey Your words is spirit and truth. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be anointed to know when to pluck up and pull down to destroy and overthrow, to build and plan, by the discernment and the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God who abides in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you prayers and reflections with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift.
https://www.onedirection.community
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation
19:16). You are "Lord of All" (Acts 10:36). ...
As I look to You in prayer today, in the midst of a world that looks so dark and
divided, I also see light and hope in the midst of it all. For wherever there's
darkness, there will also be light (Isaiah 60:1). Wherever there's wickedness,
there will also be righteousness (Matthew 13:30). Wherever there's evil, there will
also be good (Romans 12:21). And wherever there's despair, there will also be hope
(Romans 5:5). For You have not left Yourself without a witness in any place in our
world (Acts 14:17).
Racism must be uprooted and replaced with respect. Violent destruction must be opposed
with mutual honor and respect. Evil must be overcome with good, hate overcome with
love, and darkness overcome with light. For as Your Word declares, we are all "one
blood" in You:
"(God) has made form one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their
dwellings, so that they should (all) seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope
for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live
and move and have our being ... 'For we are also His offspring'" (Acts 17:26-28).
It's the enemy of our souls that seeks to divide us, while You seek to unite us.
It's the enemy of our souls that seeks to stir up division and strife with hatred
and fear, pitting life and against life and race against race. It's the enemy of
our souls who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" but You "came that (we)
may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
In You, there is no division, no racism, no prejudice, no violence, no murder, no
injustice, no shame. "The Scripture says, 'No one who believes in (You) will be
put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the Lord is
Lord of all and generous to all who call on Him. For, 'Everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord shall be saved'" (Romans 10:11-13). And the Scripture says, "If
anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does
not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John
4:20).
So I join with the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ around this world
to pray that our hearts and our land be covered and cleansed in the "one Blood"
that can make us see one another, respect one another, honor one another, love
one another, stand up and speak out for one another as "one blood" together with
one another. "For He Himself is our Peace, who has made the two one and has torn
down the dividing wall of hostility" -- between Jew and Gentile, between one race
and another, between all hearts divided by sin from our God (Ephesians 2:14). "For
in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him
God was pleased to reconciled to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace by the Blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20).
By His One Blood, there is "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one
body and one Spirit, just as (we) were called in one hope of (our) calling; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is above all, and through
all and in (us) all" (Ephesians 4:3-6). One Blood, One Love, One God and Father
of All. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may you be an ambassador of Christ, His light in the darkness
through the One Blood of of the only One who can make us one in His Love and Light
in our world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you prayers and reflections with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift.
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https://www.onedirection.community
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, here at the beginning of my day. .
This morning I read and meditated on Psalm 59. Psalm 59 is a psalm of deliverance where David cries out to you to be delivered from his attackers. I see it was a very challenging time of transition in David's life. He had many mixed emotions, surrounded by both friends and foes on his journey into his destiny. But through it all and in spite of it all, he turned his eyes and lifted his spirit to You, as his finished his Psalm with a flourish of heart-felt words of worship from a heart full of faith and trust and praise:
“But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness." (Psalm 59:16-17).”
I like how he begins his final declaration of his trust in Your goodness and grace with the word "But." All that David wrote before that "But" was his reality and the reality of the world he faced in his day. He didn't have his head buried in the sand. He wasn't afraid of reading the news. He wasn't detached from the challenges of local politics and the national turmoil of his time. "But" at the same time, he kept his eyes on You with his heart full of songs of praise.
In his songs, You strengthened him. In his prayers, You empowered him. And even to this day in what we now call "The Psalms" we're all encouraged by his heart of faith, despite all he went through -- both by all he brought upon himself and by all that was brought down upon him -- "But" as a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). "When (God) had removed (Saul), He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will" (Acts 13:22).
By the power of Your grace, I want to be a man after Your own heart like that, like David. One who will be found faithful to do all Your will no matter what. Fully aware of all that's going on in my day, in my world, and not detached from all I've been through -- no matter the source of my struggles, whether my own or otherwise. "But as for me” remind me I am always accountable to you how I live my day as a child of God. May I walk out my door trusting in You with a song in my spirit, full of faith in my heart, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be found faithful as one after God's own heart, with your eyes on the Lord and your heart full of praise, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. Thank you for being my friend and joining with me on this journey of faith and prayer! God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"When (Jesus) entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, 'Who is this?' The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee'" (Matthew 21:10-11).
Our cities may be in turmoil, but the City of God is never in turmoil. The kings and kingdoms of this world may be shaken, but the Kingdom of God is never shaken.
All the turmoil, all the shaking, is all an invitation to turn to You. And in the midst of the crowds and the clamoring, in the midst of the turmoil and the shaking, we're all invited to look to the One who is steady and firm in the midst of it all.
"I AM. I AM He. I AM the Everlasting One, the Unfailing One, and I AM here with you to be Your Stability and Strength. I AM here with you that you may stand firm in Me with all who call upon My name." ...
Let all troubled hearts find refuge within the walls of the City of God. As You said long ago, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me" (John 14:1).
Trusting in You, You will steady our troubled hearts. You will even use the turmoil to turn it all around to good (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20). Even the turmoil in our cities, across our land, and throughout our world, You will use to shake what needs to be shaken, to change what needs to be changed, to establish what needs to be established (Hebrews 12:27). And through it all -- You will draw all people closer to You than ever before (John 12:32).
We stand on the promise of Your Word: "My Spirit abides among you; do not fear. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the Treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts..." (Haggai 2:5-7).
Treasure of all nations, Treasure of Heaven, come fill our hearts and our land with Your glory! As our cities and our hearts turn to You and ask, "Who is this?" we will hear from Heaven and hear in our hearts, "This is the King of Glory! Lift up your heads and open up your gates, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, He is the King of Glory!" (from Psalm 24:7-10) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you seek to stand steady and firm in One who is unshakable, steadfast, and true through it all, secure in the Treasure of Heaven, in the King of Glory, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. May we join together in our prayers for America and the nations of our world to experience God's Spirit and power and love, in His righteousness and justice, and even in great revival and awakening in these days. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:3). Father, Your children are led by Your Spirit (Romans 8:14). I'm listening and waiting for Your leading, as I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
I join with my brothers and sisters across our country to stand up and speak out in protest against cruelty and injustice, against authoritarian abuse and societal neglect of foundational principles of equality and justice in our times. We're to be a nation under God, where all men are created equal, where there's liberty and justice for all. In the words of David, both shepherd and king, humbled by Your conviction of sin in his heart and exposed need of correction in his ways, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
As a nation, convict us and correct us, O God. Open our eyes to see, open our ears to hear the cries for justice and the demands for change. Give us the courage to act with clarity of vision and determination of spirit. Let us set our faces like flint toward making America a city on a hill and a light to the nations, where we honor our heritage and fulfill our calling with equality and justice for all.
Take away our heart of stony indifference and callous disregard of the injustice we see or pretend not to see. Give us a new heart, renewed by Your Spirit, awakened and alive in a revival of honor and respect, of righteousness and justice, of unity and equality as one nation under God.
As You spoke through the prophet Ezekiel to the heart of the nation of Israel to remember her destiny and fulfill her calling as a people of God and a light to the nations: "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you, and make you follow My statues and be careful to observe My ordinances. Then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be My people, and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:26-28).
Come, Holy Spirit of the Living God. Come change us and revive us. As we stand up and speak out in the power and authority of Your Spirit and Your name throughout our land -- speaking the truth in love and standing up for one another in unity and solidarity of commitment to what is right and what is just -- there will be no need nor tolerance of criminal violence and self-destruction. There will be no need nor tolerance of professional mobs, opportunistic crime, or murderous rage. The fires that burn will not be businesses, synagogues, churches, or cities but the fire of the Holy Spirit burning in the hearts of every American who boldly, fearlessly, faithfully stands up and speaks out for all Americans -- regardless of whatever.
Evil will be confronted in every form. Righteousness and justice will be demanded and exalted and finally received in the hearts of a people and of a nation who has turned again to God. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12). Healed is the land who humbles her heart to pray and repent and then acts in persistent determination, obedient faith, and unrelenting pursuit until the job is done and the victory is won (2 Chronicles 7:14). Not by our own might, not by our own power, but all by Your Spirit, O Lord our God (Zechariah 4:6). Lord, let it be so -- here in my heart and here in our land. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family. I pray you may be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit of the Living God to stand up and speak out, to turn to God in prayer and step out with God in faith until the job is done and the victory is won in our hearts and in this land, May we join together in our prayers for America and the nations of our world to experience God's Spirit and power and love, in His righteousness and justice, and even in great revival and awakening in these days. In Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. First things first. And the first thing I want to do today is look to You and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
What I believe I hear in my heart this morning is You saying, "Not that way, but My way." ...
Yes, Lord. If we're willing to wait and listen for You, You will show us the right way. "Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:20-21).
The death of George Floyd, a black man caused by the hand of a white police officer was a tragic event that revealed the racial injustice that still exists in our country. Protests and rally’s for change are needed to help bring reforms where needed and we all need to participate in seeking these reforms. . However, there's a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Even when we seek to do the right thing, we can do it in the wrong way. Then even what was right becomes wrong. The ends do not justify the means. Both the ends of what we desire and the means of how we get there must be right. And You're the One who determines what is right -- both the right ends and the right means.
You're our Teacher and our Leader. Teach us Your ways that lead to life. Teach us Your ways that are right and true.
I'm remembering the scene of Peter taking up the sword in the Garden of Gethsemane to protect You from being arrested on the night You were betrayed. He cut off an ear of the temple guard. His heart was to protect You. He loved You. He wanted to stand up and speak out and take action on behalf of You. He was willing to fight and die for You (John 18:10).
But You rebuked him. The ends did not justify the means. Peter's way was the wrong way, even though his heart was in the right place to want to love You and protect You and stand up for You against all that was wrong coming against You and the injustice that awaited You.
You were teaching him, "Not that way. There's a better way. Trust God to teach you and lead you in His way." You told him, "No more of this!" (Luke 22:15) You commanded him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword!" (Matthew 26:52)
Then You healed the guard's ear and also rebuked the actions of the authorities, scolding them as well, "Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!" (Luke 22:52-53)
Lord Jesus, in this hour of the power of darkness seeking to cover our land, our hearts, and our minds, let there be Light. You are the Light in our world (John 8:12); and at the same time, You call us to be Your light in our world with the nature of Your character and Your Spirit in our hearts, our words, and our actions (Matthew 5:14).
Teach us the right way. Not the ways of our flesh, not the ways of our world, but the ways of God. Empower us in Your ways to stand up, to speak up, to love and to lead in the ways that honor Your name and draw all people to You. For as You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be led by our Teacher and empowered His Spirit love and lead in His ways in the midst of this hour and power of darkness seeking to come upon our land and our world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. May we join together in our prayers for America and the nations of our world to experience God's Spirit and power and love, in His righteousness and justice, and even in great revival and awakening in these days. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, my Shepherd and Advocate, my Master and Miracle-Maker, and yet my Best Friend.
As You said to Your first disciples, You continue to speak to all of Your disciples who would lay down their lives and take up their cross to follow You: "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. You did not choose Me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last..." (John 15:15:16).
Yesterday evening I went to Campus 805 and Yellow Hammer Brewery to meet for a couple hours with a group of men for B3 @ 805 ( Brothers, Bibles and Beer). We meet every Thursday evening and spend time reflecting and discussing passages in the Bible and how they impact us as men who love Jesus. Yesterday we looked at Ephesians chapter 1, that amazing chapter of deep theological waters on God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our identity that is founded and formed by our relationship with this triune of God. This morning I spent time reading John 15 which also speaks into our abiding and identity in Christ.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we live out our lives in both the fear of the Lord and the friendship of the Lord. We fear You and at the same time, we love You. We serve You as Master and at the same time, we serve alongside You as Friend. We are both bondservants and also bonded together, heart to Heart and spirit to Spirit.
We fear You and honor You. We worship You and serve You. And yet, You invite us into a much deeper, much more intimate, much more humbling and honoring personal relationship with You. We're not merely servants, we're friends. We're not merely defined by what we do for You and Your Kingdom in our service and servanthood, because You desire so much more -- not merely our service but our complete surrender of all that we have and all that we are.
That's the friendship that's closer than blood (Proverbs 18:24). That's the friendship we have with You in both the fear of the Lord and the friendship of the Lord that's only possible through Your Sacrifice of Your blood and the powerful, unfailing, never-ending, steadfast bond of Your love.
To say You no longer call us Your servants but Your friends is to say our identity is no longer grounded primarily in what we do for You but in who we are to You. And when we get that settled in our hearts, we can't wait to go and serve You, to go and bear much fruit in the glory and honor of Your name -- in the name of our Master and in the name of our Best Friend! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be free to fully embrace the friendship of the Lord as You honor Him and serve Him with all that you are in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord., And may you go and bear much fruit that comes forth out of knowing His great love for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Next week I will be on vacation with my family so my posts may not be consistent. I encourage you to continue starting your mornings with your own reflection time in the Word and even sharing them with others!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
“When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they began making fun of him” (Matthew 9:23-24)
Curtis Sergeant is an amazing man who has planed thousands of churches around the world, and consults with NGOs (Non Government Organizations and CPMs (Church Planting Movement) leaders around the world. He told me the story of when he was over in Asia in a secret location, where CPM leaders had gathered from around the world to pray, train and equip each other. Curtis said they had just gathered, when news came to one of the leaders that two of his church planting operatives in a city had just been put to death. The leader told Jesus he had to go back immediately. Curtis told him he was so sorry for what had happened, however he said all who had gathered had traveled great distances to get here, and great security and secrecy had been in place to allow this meeting to happen, could the leader just stay for a few hours of a day and fly back tomorrow. The leader looked at Curtis and said, I need to go back now to pray and see if Jesus will raise these dead men. Curtis thought to himself what he would do if a couple of his operatives were martyred and put to death. He would notify their family of the incident. Inform his board and discuss who they would send in to replace them. Contact the media to control and get a media story out. However, flying out immediately to go see if Jesus would raise his dead operatives back to life would not be on his list. The leaders faith and expectancy of the poser and ability of God both amazed and convicted him.
If I were to ask you, ask those in the church the question, How many believe that God can raise the dead?” I think most if not all hands would go up. If I asked the question, “How many expect to see God raise the dead today?” Many fewer, if not all hands would remain at people’s sides. Having a belief that God can raise the dead and expecting that God will and is raising the dead are two very different things.
Our simple, maybe even strong belief for many in the church that God can raise the dead comes out of our cognitive brain. It is a fact or data we hold to be true. It is like our belief in the fact that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the USA. What impact does your belief in the fact that Abaraham Lincoln was the 19th president have on your live today? None. What does your simple belief that God can raise the dead have on your life today? None. The churches simple belief in the fact or truth that God can raise the dead has not and cannot impact on our daily life today without an expectancy that God will and is raising the dead today.
In Matthew 9:18-26 is the story of Jesus raising a young girl back to life. When Jesus tells them he was going to raise her back to life the crowd around him did not believe or support him but they laughed at him. If someone told you after the death of someone that they were going to pray and see if God could raise them from the dead, and if they asked you to come pray as well, would your thoughts be similar to those of the crowds?
The church is the place that professes Jesus is Lord, but it does not do “Jesus is Lord” well. Can I say that? We say Jesus is Lord the same way we say Lincoln was the 19th president. We say it absent for the most part of any expectancy of power and presence in our lives.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in which I am an ordained clergy said before he died looking into the future of the church, “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. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
Your church building doors have been shut for over two months, but Jesus still has been Lord. If you believe this, then during this time how many people have you laid hands on and prayed over in the power of Jesus for healing and restoration? As your church building begins opening its doors and allow its members to come together again in worship to collectively declare “Jesus is Lord” what power do you believe that declaration has to heal cancer, restore broken marriages, end addictions and raise the dead? Will it have the form and look of a religious gathering without the power?
My family. Read Matthew chapters 8 and 9 and see the expectancy and power of Jesus. I pray you will push into the Holy Spirit as Pentecost Sunday approaches and re-claim the presence and power of the Lordship of Jesus over your life, in Jesus’ name. God bless you my friends!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"Then (Jesus) lead them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up His hands, He blessed them. While He was blessing them, He withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God!" (Luke 24:50-53)
On the day of Your ascension into heaven after Your resurrection from the dead, You gave them Your blessing, as You stretched Your hands over them and spoke out Your words into them. They worshipped You and welcomed Your blessing "with great joy!"
Your last words to them were weighty words. They were words full of significance for their identity in You and their calling and destiny in You, as Your witnesses and disciples. They were Your famous last words to them before the great day of Pentecost soon to come.
howTo a trial lawyer it is so important and significant the last words would be that they would speak to the jury before they went to their chamber to deliberate a client's case and reach their verdict. They would be perhaps the most weighty words of the trial. They were the words the lawyer wanted to fill their thoughts, to stir their hearts, and to set in motion their determination to do what was right.
With Your last words, Your weighty words to Your disciples on that day of ascension, You spoke words to fill their thoughts, to stir their hearts, and to set in motion their determination to do what was right --to be Your witnesses, to go make disciples, to go in the power of Your Spirit after they were endued with power from on high:
"And (Jesus) said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are My witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what My Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:46-49).
These are our days between the day of Ascension and the day of Pentecost on the Biblical calendar of this prophetic year of 2020 vision, as we linger and long to be clothed with power from on high, to be endued with power from on high, in a great outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, the great Promise of the Father.
Give us a deep hunger, an insatiable thirst, for more of You, more of Your Spirit, more of Your boldness to be Your witnesses and go make disciples of all nations--not in our power, but Yours'. As You said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). As we watch and wait with expectant faith, to be filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit and power (Ephesians 5:18), we worship You with great joy and we yearn to honor You and Your name in all nations with Your passion.
Holy Spirit, Promise of our Father, give us ears to hear the weighty words of Jesus in our hearts and minds to go and do what is right, to fulfill the final verdict of the victory of the cross, that all righteousness may be fulfilled! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be yearning and longing with deep hunger and insatiable thirst for a fresh outpouring and infilling of God's Holy Spirit, to be endued with power from on high as a witness of Jesus to go and make disciples, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open wide my heart to You because You've opened wide Your heart, Your mercy, and Your love to me -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
As I listen and wait for Your leading, I hear in my heart, "Emerge!"
Yes, Lord. What comes to mind is it's time to emerge! It's time to come out, to spring forth, to emerge!
I know much of the world is still on "lock down" but our hearts are not locked down, our spirits cannot be shut down, our dreams will not be pushed down. We are sons and daughters of God! We are children of the King! We are ambassadors for Jesus Christ! And we will not be locked down, shut down, pushed down or put down in any way that's anything less than all You've intended us and called us to be!
So whether it's time or not to come out into the open of our neighborhoods or marketplaces, You'll be speaking to us with Your wisdom and empowering us with Your faith, as we pray for our leaders around the world to be listening for Your leading and to lead us by Your Spirit. But no matter what the governments of man may choose for the wellbeing of our bodies and health, I believe You are calling forth Your people in our hearts and our spirits to emerge! Whether at home or at work or working from home, it's time to emerge!
Your Word comes to mind from the story of Job. What a season of challenge and testing and humbling and spiritual attacking he went through! Yet even in all he was enduring and all he was learning, You gave him hope of the day to come when he would emerge from that hard season and boldly take hold of the next season. Even in the midst of his questions and expressions of all his emotions and thoughts, he knew his time would come to emerge from the fiery furnace he was going through:
"But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tested me, I shall come out like gold"
(Job 23:10).
You dealt with his pride. You dealt with his doubts. You dealt with his enemies. You dealt his friends. But in the end, You called him forth, out of the fire, refined like gold, ready to shine with the light of Your glory, full of thanksgiving and praise to You! You called him to emerge!
Lord, let us emerge! Refined by Your Fire -- wiser than before, more humble than before, more faithful than before, more obedient than before, more like You than before -- but never the same as before!
I pray this for myself. I pray this for my world. And most of all, I pray this for the body and the bride of Christ to emerge and to be all You've called us and created us to be!
The prophet Isaiah spoke of these days and said it like this:
"Arise, shine! For your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and His glory will appear over you!
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.er to
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice! ..."
(Isaiah 60:1-5)
Lord, let it be so -- all according to Your Word and Your will for me and for each one of us, all in Your time and in Your way! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you emerge! Refined by the Holy Fire of God-wiser than before, more humble than before, more faithful than before, more obedient than before, more like Jesus than before -- but never the same as before! in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I speak out Your name, I open up my spirit to listen for Your voice and hear what's on Your heart. ...
"'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scripture say, 'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:13-15).
I was thinking the other day about the old Amy Grant song that You bring to my heart at times to give me comfort in hard times. It's goes something like this -- "We believe in God. And we all need Jesus. Because life is hard and it may not get easier. But don't be afraid to show it... If you believe in God, if you say you need Jesus, He's be where you are and He never will leave you...."
We believe in You, God. We all come to know sooner or later that there's Something much greater than ourselves and that we can't really control much of anything in our lives, at least not for very long. Sooner or later, we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to You to hear us and help us.
And there You are. You've been with us all along, You're never far from any of us--no matter our culture, our language, our economic status, our belief system, our world view, or even our parents' religion (Acts 17:27). In Your mercy and love for us You've come to reveal Yourself to us in the Person of Jesus--fully God as One with You, Father and One with Your Holy Spirit, yet choosing to humble Himself as fully man to be One with us, that we would know the true nature of the invisible God (Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-18).
We believe in God and we all need Jesus. We all need the mercy and grace of God that forgives us from our sins and removes from us our walls so that we can all know we're loved and forgiven and free, welcomed into the embrace of Your Presence, where nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God, revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
Lord Jesus, because You came and You died on the cross for our sins and You rose again, we can call on Your name and be saved. "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, 'No one who believes in Him will be put to shame' ... For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:9-13).
Lord, open the eyes of my heart to see You as You are and put my whole trust in You alone for my salvation, every moment of every day. And open they eyes of my sight to see the heart of my neighbors and their struggles, their questions, and their desperate need to believe God and come to the end of themselves and acknowledge they need Jesus.
And there You will be, so ready to come into their heart, as their Lord and their Savior. You'll be so ready to embrace them in Your love, forgive them of their sins, to take away their fears, to begin to answer their questions, and to fill them with Your Spirit and all Your love and peace and joy like they never really known.
But how will they believe, unless they hear? And how will they hear unless I tell them? And I will I tell them unless You send me? ... Oh, that's right... You did send me--all in the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love to share the hope You've poured into my heart and made so real in my life (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 3:15). We're Your messengers of hope to share the mercy and love of Your good news. Here I am, Lord. Send me today! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be filled afresh with the hope and love of God, as you share the hope that is within you of His mercy and love with your neighbors and everywhere the Lord sends you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
