Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the heart and lead me in the way that leads to life in You today.
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law--indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:5-9).
Come, Holy Spirit. You've "set (me) free from the law of sin and death" (v. 8:2). You've set me free to choose "life and peace," to choose to set my mind on the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh (v. 8:6). To embrace the grace and power of Your Spirit at work within me is the spiritual key to life and peace. "For it is God who works in (me) both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
I have the freedom to choose sin and death or life and peace. You set before us all "life and death, blessings and curses" with Your free invitation to "choose life so that (we) may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). I have the freedom to obey the desires of my flesh or seek to obey the will of God. And in the freedom I have, I choose to seek You today, to set my mind on the things of Your Spirit, on the ways of Your Spirit. As I do, You fill me with Your Spirit and lead me in the ways that lead to Your blessings of life and peace (Ephesians 5:18).
Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). Apart from You, nothing eternally good dwells in me -- "for I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right but I cannot do it" (Romans 7:18). But I'm not apart from You. I never have to try to will what is right or do what is right in my own strength and the sheer will power of my own flesh. In the power of Your grace, I can call upon Your name; I can welcome You into my heart; I can embrace Your Spirit to fill me up and empower my will to willingly choose to live each day in the ways of Your Spirit rather than the ways of my flesh. And by the power of the grace of God, that's what I "choose this day" (Joshua 24:15). In the freedom I have and by the power of Your Spirit, I choose to "set (my) mind on the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today you will set aside time tol embrace the spiritual key to life and peace, that you will set Your mind on the things of the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit of the Living God to empower you both to will what is right and to do what is right, pleasing our God by to choosing to live this day in His life and peace, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us n 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
Please begin 2020 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, come rule and reign in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"For thus says the Lord: 'Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children!'" (Isaiah 49:25)
There are battles being fought in the spiritual realm all around all the time. Battles for my health and hope, for my faith and finances, for my security and sense of peace, for my children and their children and their children and their children. But mighty are You, Lord! And powerful is Your name!
Though the battles are intense and the spiritual war is real, the victory was already won the very moment I welcomed You into my heart! You're my Mighty Warrior. You're my Dread Champion! You're the Mighty and Victorious One who contends with those who contend with me, who overcomes all that would try to overwhelm me!
"The Lord is a Warrior; the Lord is His name!" (Exodus 15:3)
"The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies!" (Isaiah 42:13)
"The Lord is with me like a dread champion;
Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed,
With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten!" (Jeremiah 20:11)
"The Lord (my) God is in (my) midst,
A Victorious Warrior.
He will exult over (me) with joy,
He will quiet me in His love,
He will rejoice over (me) with shouts of joy!" (Zephaniah 3:17)
Mighty Warrior, I trust in You, knowing You're contending with those who contend with me, knowing that victory is mine because You've already prevailed through the power of Your blood and the victory of Your cross! "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, (You) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross!" (Colossians 2:15)
Now I have victory in You in every battle I face. Let Your victory and my faith live loud in me today! "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. This is He who came by water and blood -- Jesus Christ!" (1 John 5:4-6) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family may your faith live loud in you today, knowing the victory is won is Jesus Christ, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please begin 2020 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock…the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior…” 2 Samuel 22:3.
This past Friday I was at The Well Night of Worship and one of the persons praying used the word Yeshuah for the name of Jesus. Yeshuah is the Hebrew word for “salvation” which means savior, deliverer, avenger. It is also the Hebrew name for Jesus. It was one of David’s favorite words to describe the LORD in the Psalms, which may have been why God said that he was a man after His own heart! Listen how he uses this word in a few of his songs; “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 25:5. And finally, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12.
David found his identity and greatest strengths in the presence of the LORD. A thousand years before Jesus Christ, David sang about Him, looking forward and hoping for the day of His coming. The question is, do you? So many see their identity in the pain of condemnation and ridicule from others who know nothing but pain and blame. Hurt people, hurt people, even those closest to them. The image they see in the mirror is one of guilt and shame. All they can do is pass it on to others. But you have a choice as to which mirror you will look into for your identity. God has given you His word so that you can see what He sees. And He sees you in His Son, Jesus Christ; and so can you, if you are willing to look.
Today as you begin your morning, look into the Word of God and behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. You were created after His likeness. This is who God has called you to be like. He is your true identity and in Him you are loved, changed, and highly favored; with a future and great hope! Today you can sing like David, The Lord is my light and my salvation; Jesus Christ!
In Jesus’ name I pray amen!
My family, I pray this morning as you begin your day in front of a mirror readying yourself for work, the gym, or what ever is on your agenda, you will see and claim your identity as a son or daughter of the Lord God, an heir to the throne with Christ, and a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!
My family, May the Holy Spirit come upon you and the power of the Most High overshadow you to know your identity and fulfill your destiny to the praise of God's glory through your life today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please begin 2020 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My heart is open to hear Your heart, as I begin my day embraced by my Father's love, centered in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and filled the Holy Spirit of the living God.
"Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:34-35).
Mary asked "How?" But the angel answered her "How?" with "Who." The Holy Spirit would come upon her and empower her to fulfill her destiny as the mother of the Son of God. As the angel Gabriel assured her, "Nothing will be impossible with God" (v. 37).
Then believing by faith in her heart Who it was that chose her and Who it was that would empower her, she was able to say in obedience and trust, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (v. 38). All her questions of "How?" were suddenly consumed in Your assurance of "Who."
Just as You chose Mary, You've chosen me. Just as You empowered Mary, You will empower me. As the children of God in Christ, "(we) are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:6). You "chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless before (You) in love. (You) destined us for adoption as (Your) children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of (Your) will, to the praise of (Your) glorious grace that (You) freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.... In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to (Your) purpose Who accomplishes all things according to (Your) counsel and will.... (We) were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit... to the praise of (Your) glory" (Ephesians 1:4-13).
Like Mary, may Your Holy Spirit come upon me today. May the power of the Most High overshadow me. And may I faithfully embrace my chosen identity and fulfill my chosen destiny to the praise of Your glory. Take every one of my "How?s" and turn my faith to "Who" - the One Who will be faithful to bring to completion every good work You have begun in me (Philippians 1:6). Like Mary, let me say in my heart each day, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to Your word" (Luke 1:38). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May the Holy Spirit come upon you and the power of the Most High overshadow you to know your identity and fulfill your destiny to the praise of God's glory through your life today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please begin 2020 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
"Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load." (Galatians 6:2-5)
We all need to be in close Christian accountability with two or three the same-gender persons that meet together once a week. We call these accountability groups "Bands." Bands was the name given to accountability groups by John Wesley. John's requirement of every early Methodists to be in an accountability helped fuel won of the greatest spiritual revivals in the history of our country and the world. Our requirement of God to be in close Christian accountability is one that most people are reluctant to obey. Committing to a Band weekly requires stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching out to one or two people and inviting them into accountability with you. However, It is one of the most important commitments you can make that will build up and strengthen your Christian walk. This is especially true now in this season of the corona pandemic and the social isolation we can find ourselves in. We need close accountability and this can be done in person or on line.
Bands and spiritual accountability are at the core of discipleship and Methodism. The early Methodists were susceptible to deep friendship. They liked it. They sought after it. They knew they could not live a holy life on their own. They could not hunger and thirst for God by themselves. They could not maintain the Spirituality of the means of grace by themselves. They wanted and accepted friendship because they needed it.
But it is a risky endeavor. Even Jesus experienced this when his friends in his Band betrayed him. Will you get betrayed by friends as well? I guarantee it. By members of a small group, probably. But we can’t throw away the baby with the bath water. Personal accountability was what Jesus demonstrated as plan A for forming disciples in his church. And their is no Plan B. However Plan A, creating and encouraging personal accountability groups or Bands, is way down on the list of priorities and resource allocations in most churches, tucked somewhere under a discipleship ministry.
We are called to put our complete trust and sufficiency in the hands God, by trusting it in the hands of others. It is a paradox. Through whom does God speak to us? Through whom do we discern the moving and working of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Through whom do we overcome the fears that hold us back and overcome the deceitfulness in our own heart that clouds our vision from seeing what we are meant to be doing? Through deep friendships. This is why Jesus modeled Bands in his relationship with His disciples. This is why early Methodists got into bands and classes and they developed spiritual friendships. Because they longed for the fullness of life. They longed for the Zeal for God and neighbor and the salvation of the whole world.
Dallas Willard in his book the “Divine Conspiracy” states. "I know exactly what is wrong with our making of disciples and ourselves becoming disciples. The problem is not that we do not know what we need to do, we know what to do. The problem is that we do not do what we know we are to do. The problem is not that we do not know what we are called to be, but we do not seek what we are called to be." I have probably not told you anything really new here or anything you did not already know. You know it already! You need to do what you know! How do you overcome the perineal problem of being a hearer of the word but not a doer of the word? The person in James’s Gospel, the Christian that looks in the mirror and says to himself, "What a fine Christian you are!" "What a marvelous child of God you are!” And then turns his back and walks out the door and lives just like everyone else. I know of one way, accountability.
We need deep spiritual friendships. Joining with a few others in deep spiritual friendship who will help you take what you know you are called to be and motivate you to pursue what you are called to be for all it is worth. That is why I believe so strongly we first need to all be in a Band and prayerfully support each other. In a Band we share testimonies of how God is working in our lives. We also encourage each other to embrace the need to look outside ourselves as well as inside and encourage us to ask, "Who do I need to share the Gospel with?"
My family I pray that you will pray, seek and invite one or two people into forming and beginning a Band with you this week. In Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and comments
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please begin 2020 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
Bands
. A BAND is made up of two or three people, all of the same gender, who meet weekly for 60-90 minutes for personal accountability for their spiritual growth and development. It is recommended the group not grow past three but rather multiply into two groups of two once the fourth participant has proven faithful to the process.
· A BAND is a simple way to release the most essential elements of a vital spiritual walk to people who need Jesus to change their lives from the inside out. This tool empowers the ordinary Christian to accomplish the extraordinary work of reproducing spiritual disciples who can in turn reproduce others.
There is no curriculum, workbook or training involved. There is no leader needed in the group. A BAND is the simplest form of spiritual community and provides ongoing accountability to learn, obey, and pass on spiritual truth. It incorporates the values of living a balanced spiritual life which results in the developmentand reproduction of disciples.
There are only two suggested qualifications for starting or joining a BAND group:
1. A desperate need for Jesus Christ (Luke 5:29-32).
2. Faithfulness in the process itself (2 Timothy 2:2).
THOUGHTS ON ACCOUNTABILITY
BAND groups involve the sharing of an extremely personal nature. It is imperative that you come to a clear agreement on the confidentiality of whatever is shared in the group. Discuss the limits of confidentiality, (e.g., how things will be handled if information is revealed which involves the safety of someone or illegal activities).
Consider using 2 Timothy 3:16 as an outline for application to your life:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NIV)
· TEACHING- what we should know
· REBUKING- what we should avoid or stop doing
· CORRECTING- what we should do differently
· TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS- what we should begin or continue doing
Remember that accountability to Scripture involves not only applying it to one’s own life, but also blessing others by passing on to them what you are learning. Always consider if there is someone outside the BAND you should be sharing spiritual truth with and make this part of the accountability process.
Be specific when developing an application plan. Think through when, how, and with whom you will put what you are learning into practice. Make sure to follow up with checking on progress in succeeding weeks.
FORMAT OF A BAND: C.H.A.T. with each other.
1. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
FELLOWSHIP
We are motivated by sharing struggles in mutual accountability. Start the time together by going over the Accountability Questions with one another (45-60 minutes).
2. HEAR THE WORD
DISCIPLESHIP
We grow spiritually as we read Scripture in context and in community. Continue the time by discussing what the Lord has impressed on you from your weekly Scripture reading. Your group should read 20-30 chapters per week (e.g. read the book of 1 Samuel or read the book of Ephesians 5 times.) Many people find it helpful to read aloud. If you prefer to listen to Scripture, you can download the “World English Bible” which is a public domain audio version, for free at http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm.
If someone doesn’t finish the reading in a given week then the entire group takes the same assignment for the following week.
3. ACT ON IT
MINISTRY
We serve as we apply the truths of Scripture to living in love towards others day by day. Live out what the Lord impressed on you in the reading to apply it to your life and pass the truths on to others (5-10 minutes).
4.TELL OTHERS
EVANGELISM
We pray for those who need the Lord and reach out to them as we have opportunity. Close in a time of prayer. Pray for one another. Part of this time should be praying for the lost friends, family, and acquaintances for whom the group has been praying throughout the week (5-10 minutes).
WORSHIP
We acknowledge God in prayer and through our obedience. In your time of prayer, do not forget to praise and thank the Lord for who He is and what He is doing in and through you as a group and as individuals. Remember to, your obedience (Act on it) to the Lord is worship! (5 minutes)
ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS
These questions are to be asked of one another in a weekly meeting of accountability (Proverbs 27:17). They are to stimulate conversations of character and confession of sin to God and one another in a safe environment which values honesty, vulnerability, confidentiality, and grace.
1. How have your insights from last week’s reading shaped the way you think and live?
2. Who did you pass your insights from last week on to and how was it received?
3. How have you seen God at work?
4. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
5. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate sexual thoughts?
6. Have you acknowledged God’s ownership in your use of money?
7. Have you coveted anything?
8. Have you hurt someone’s reputation or feelings by your words?
9. Have you been dishonest in word or action or exaggerated?
10. Have you given in to an addictive (or lazy or undisciplined) behavior?
11. Have you been a slave to clothing, friends, work, or possessions?
12. Have you failed to forgive someone?
13. What worries or anxieties are you facing? Have you complained or grumbled? Have you maintained a thankful heart?
14. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships?
15. What temptations in thought, word, or action have you faced and how did you respond?
16. How have you taken opportunities to serve or bless others, especially believers?
17. Have you seen specific answers to prayer?
18. Did you complete the reading for the week?
EVANGELISTIC PRAYER
Each person in the BAND group is to list two or three individuals who need the Lord’s salvation. Write down the names of all those identified in the group on each card so that all of you pray for each of the lost souls weekly. Keep this card in your Bible as a bookmark for your daily reading so that each time you open your Bible you are reminded to pray for these people. You can use one or two of the these verses daily in your prayers and insert the names of those you are praying for into them.
1. Lord, I pray that You draw _____ to Yourself (John 6:44).
2. I pray that _____hear and believe the Word ofGod for what it really is (1 Thes 2:13).
3. I pray that ______seek to know You (Acts 17:27).
4. I ask you, Lord, to prevent Satan from blinding _______to the truth (2 Cor 4:4; 2 Tim 2:25-26)
5. Holy Spirit, I ask You to convict _______ of his/her sin and need for Christ’s redemption (John 16:7-14).
6. I ask that You send someone who will share the gospel with _________ (Matt. 9:37-38).
7. I also ask that You give me or ______the opportunity, the courage and the right words to share with _________ (Col. 4:3-6).
8. Lord, I pray that ________ turn from his/her sin and follow Christ (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thess 1:9-10).
9. Lord, I pray that _________ would put all of his/her trust in Christ (John 1:12; 5:24).
10. Lord, I pray that ________ confess Christ as Lord, take root and grow in faith and bear fruit for Your glory (Rom. 10:9-10; Col. 2:6-7; Luke 8:15).
11. Lord, I pray that You draw _____ to Yourself (John 6:44).
12. I pray that _____ hear and believe the Word ofGod for what it really is (1 Thes. 2:13).
13. I pray that ______ seek to know You (Acts17:27).
14. I ask you, Lord, to prevent Satan from blinding _______ to the truth (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Tim 2:25-26)
15. Holy Spirit, I ask You to convict _______ of his/her sin and need for Christ’s redemption (John 16:7-14).
16. I ask that You send someone who will share the gospel with _________ (Matt. 9:37-38).
17. I also ask that You give me or ______ the opportunity, the courage and the right words to
share with _________ (Col. 4:3-6).
18. Lord, I pray that ________ turn from his/her sin and follow Christ (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Thes. 1:9-10).
19. Lord, I pray that _________ would put all of his/her trust in Christ (John 1:12; 5:24).
20. Lord, I pray that ________ confess Christ as Lord, take root and grow in faith and bear fruit for Your glory (Rom. 10:9-10; Col. 2:6-7; Luke 8:15).
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer for them is for their salvation.
- Romans 10:1
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, come rule and reign in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others.... 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.... So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us; we you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:11-20).
What an honor and joy we all have in our way through the opportunities You open to be "ambassadors for Christ," urged on by "the love of Christ," to "persuade others" of the goodness of God from the heart of faith and hope and love You given each of us. You've changed us and now You invite us and inspire us to live for You and love for You, no longer for ourselves "but for Him who died and was raised for (us)."
This morning, as I ponder these things I sense above all is a call to a deeper level of holiness,of surrender, of a passion for purity of my heart. As You entrust to us greater measures of Your authority as Your ambassadors, You're also calling us to greater measures of our responsibility to embrace Your Refiner's Fire. It's in "knowing the fear of the Lord," in embracing the Fire of the Lord, that You're calling us and empowering us at a much greater level than before "to persuade others" of this great hope and Your great love.
The Fire and the fear of the Lord are burning in us! There's a Holy Fire being kindled to burn across our land. And right now, that Holy Fire is being kindled in us as never before. Purify us, sanctify us. Purify me. Sanctify me. Burn out of us and out of me all that's not yet like You! As You increase the level authority You're entrusting to us to speak Your words, "making (Your) appeal through us," You're increasing our authenticity of the character of Your nature in us. Our words will reveal Your heart. Our lives will reflect Your nature. And our witness will lead our world to You. All by the power of Your grace at work within us, for "all this is from God" and all this is for God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you embrace the Fire and the fear of the Lord burning in you, sanctifying you, make you more like Jesus to be an ambassador of Christ in the character of Christ as His witness in your world, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let my living relationship with my living God grow stronger each day, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
"We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-10).
Yesterday morning I stopped into a local, small grocery store called “Peppers” to get a couple things to cook breakfast for my dad. As I was at the check out counter and the cashier was ringing up my items, she said , “good morning.” I said good morning back and asked how she was doing. She said her back was hurting her this morning and she had been in pain since she got out of bed. I told her I was sorry and said I will pray for you. She said please do. I asked her to give me her hands and reached over the counter and did. (Her hands were in latex gloves because of corona. I said a short prayer over herald when I finished I noticed the person behind me in line had closed their eyes and were praying as well. When I finished the cashier said "It means allot and I love that you are willing to pray for me." I told her remember Jesus loves you and left to head to my dad’s house. Do you know that one of the deepest expressions of love you can share with someone is to offer to pray for them? It moves an everyday worldly encounter them from to polite conversation to breaking-in of the kingdom of God encounter of intimacy.
Thank You Jesus for those who pray for me. Thank You for those who pray as Paul states abovethat I'll be filled with knowledge of God's will, that I'll mature in spiritual wisdom and understanding, that I'll lead a life worthy of You, that I'll lead a life that pleases You, that I'll bear fruit in all I do and all I am, and that I keep growing in my knowledge of who You are and in the intimacy of my deeply personal experience of who You are to me in my relationship with You. By the grace of God, may they never cease.
And at the same time, I pray the same for each one of them; the ones I know and the ones I'll never know until the day we see one another face to face in Your Presence to thank one another for our prayers for each other. Prayer is an expression of love. So You invite us to "pray for one another," You invite us to "love one another" (James 5:16; John 13:34).
Come, Holy Spirit, as You lead me to pray Your Word for my friends in faith and those who read this reflection, my companions on the journey of prayer. Father, in the name of Jesus, may they be filled with knowledge of Your will. May they mature in spiritual wisdom and understanding, may they lead a life worthy of You, may they lead a life that pleases You. May they bear fruit in all they do and all they are in You, May they keep growing in their knowledge of who You are and in the intimacy of their deeply personal experience of who You are to them in their relationship with You. By the grace of God, may I never cease in my prayers for them.
Thank You for the gift and the joy of praying for them and loving each one of them in this way, today and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the love and joy of knowing somebody's praying for you right now. I pray it will encourage you to let another person experience love by you praying over them today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and prayers with us in the comment box below.
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Last night I watched the Presidential debate. I am still reflecting on the out of control mess it was freed by both candidates.. I am back up in Cleveland, Ohio visiting my dad and staying the nights at good friends of mine house as I am working on changing up my dad’s guest bedrooms to better fit him since my mother died. Above all that was shouted at each other about the state of our country I am reminded It is truly an amazing country of wealth and opportunity. We who live in in the USA, though most of the time can’t see over the news on TV which focuses on the negative, are so blessed that we live in the USA, as illustrated by these stories of people I have encountered who in moments they believed they have hit the lottery.
A while back I went of a mission trip for almost a month to Southern Darfur in South Sudan, Africa. I was part of a team that worked with the children and indigent Christian people ravaged by the war and genocide by the Muslims of North Sudan. We dug five water wells to provide drinking water to those affected by the poisoning of their wells by the North. At the completion of one well a Sudanese woman and her three small children came to the well to drink and bath. I had brought some bars of soap with me and I gave one to the woman. She took the bar of soap and cried out in a high shrill cry that is typical of African woman, “Aiy yi yi yi yi yiy yiyi !!!! She moved her naked children to the well and started pumping water and soaping them down, continually crying out full of joy! To her she had just hit the lottery! God knows it must have been years if ever since she had a whole bar of soap to wash her children and she treated it like gold as she washed herself and her family.
My wife Nancy and I for years were part of a group that walked “The Hill,” a mostly black, poor, high crime, high drug use area of Guntersville handing out flyers inviting the families to a free community Thanksgiving Day meal hosted by Guntersville FUMC. Every year when I returned from walking the streets Nancy would ask me, “Ok, so who did you adopt this year?” As every year, my heart would be impacted by a couple families I came in contact with and I would “adopt” them. I would bring their names to the small group, the house church we belonged to and we would by them food, cloths and other items for Christmas. One Christmas Nancy and I brought these items to a poor family I met. The mom had a small son around kindergarten age. I remember the boy going up to the box of food and his eyes got big as he saw a large jar of peanut butter in the box. He grabbed it and came running up to me and Nancy and asked if he could have it, if it was really his? We said yes. The boy hugged the jar of peanut butter and danced, shouted! To him he had hit the lottery! Then he sat down in his bare living room on the floor, took the lid off the jar, and with the biggest grin and joy started eating the peanut butter out of the jar. I remember thinking, if I had given my young children a jar of peanut butter for Christmas they would not have shouted with joy, they would have pouted and looked at me “like really?” Yet to this poor boy, this jar of peanut butter was an unimaginable gift, he had hit the lottery and treated it like gold.
A couple years or so ago I served on a Chrysalis team that served and shared the Gospel for 4 days with a group of teenage boys. One of the boys I got to know asked me to talk. He told me about the family abuse and neglect he lived in. Tears came to his eyes as he talked about his grandma that passed away that he loved. He said she was the one that truly loved and was always there for him. He told me how she lived in this huge house. Like a mansion he said!! It had a big kitchen and lots of rooms. He and his brothers and sisters would go over there often after school and run from room to room. His grandmother would cook them grilled cheese and help them with their homework. Then the teenage boy said they would run around again and play in her large house and yard. He showed me a picture of him and his grandma in front of a home. I asked if that was his grandmother’s house behind him. He smiled and said loudly, “Yes! It’s a double-wide trailer with a built on front porch! I must admit when I think of a huge house, a mansion, a double-wide trailer with a porch does not come to my mind. But to this boy, because of the poverty he came from, in his mind he hit the lottery when he got a grandma who lived in that double-wide that he could escape into and his memory of it was priceless, like gold to him.
Each of us who were born in the USA have hit the biggest lottery we could ever imagine for which we rarely give thank. That is being born I the USA. When each of our heads came out of our mother’s womb it could have been anywhere in the world. It could have been in the bush in a grass hut in Sudan, Africa. A slum of half a million people in India. In a tent behind a barbed wire fence in a Syrian refuge camp. However, by some miraculous chance our heads came out in a hospital bed in the USA. We did not earn it or deserve it. We simply hit the lottery. We won an ultimate prize that billions of people in the world dream and long for, and many desperately try to gain, the prize of US citizenship.
Because of this all of us need to be more generous and none of us have a right to complain. I was doing that the other day with my wife as talked to her about our ministry. We raise are own support ad I was telling her how if we just had one person of all the “rich” in Madison give $50k donation we would be set for a year. I was complaining about our financial situation. And then God brought to my mind the stories I shared above and many others, and I shut up.
If I ever feel like complaining, that I am “owed something,” or that “life’s not fair” I need to go pull out my birth certificate. Then look at the line of “Nation of Birth” that is stamped USA, and remind myself it means Ultimate Sweepstake Awarded. And then go be extremely generous.
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm seeking Your face and listening for Your voice, as I press in to the place of intimacy in prayer.
"And He said, 'Let Me go, for the day breaks.' But (Jacob) said, 'I will not let You go, unless You bless me!' So He said to him, 'What is your name?' He said, 'Jacob.' And He said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.' Then Jacob asked, saying, 'Tell me Your name, I pray.' And He said, 'Why is it that you ask about My name?' And He blessed him there. So Jacob called that name of that place Peniel: 'For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved' " (Genesis 32:26-30).
As the dawn of this new day breaks, with the same desperation and humility I encountered last night I want to take hold of you God with my heart in prayer and not let go. I want to press in deep. I want to position myself to trust in Your promises and embrace Your blessings. And from the very depths of my spirit, I want to see Your face and hear Your voice.
I want to pray not out of a place of routine but out of a raw longing and desperation for God as if my life depended on it, because it does. I want my prayers to flow out of a heart like that of the tax collector Jesus spoke of in Luke, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:13-14)
Jesus also said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3)
Like Jacob in the passage above, would not let go until God blessed them. I am pressing into God, I am pressing into God into God, I am pressing into God, until God’s presence shows up in the place that I sit, thick with the Holy Spirit and I share an amazing encounter with God.
God, you never let me go. Holy Spirit please keep me desperately clinging to God and never let go. Even as I ask for Your blessing, I know I already have it by the grace of God. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Give me grace to live into that truth today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will not just read this post or pray this morning out of a morning routine, but out of a heart desperate for God.. I pray you will spend time in complete rawness before God and experience the intimacy of God as you seek His face and press into Him in prayer until he blesses you and you never let Him go. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Sit back and listen to this song.
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You meet me in the first moments of my morning and take me on the adventure of prayer You've prepared for me each day. Here I am, Lord, ready for my adventure today. ...
"For yet 'in a very little while, the One who is coming will come and will not delay; but My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.' But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved" (Hebrews 10:37-39).
Even in the Covid and Racial pandemics we find ourselves in, the United States of America , one of the greatest countries in the world. It is a country in which its citizens stand up for equality and dignity of human life. It is a country in which its citizens stand up against injustice and evil in the world. It is a country founded in Christianity, Christian faith and in the midst of these pandemics it needs to be a country where its citizens stand up for Christ.
"Are you a Christian?" was the question put to the students by the killer a few years ago in the school massacre in America at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. If they said "Yes" they were immediately executed with a bullet to the head. I remember back then as I heard this news, sickened in my heart from the cruelty and evil, I couldn't help but remember the courage of Cassie Bernall at Columbine High School, martyred for her faith in our country when she said "Yes" to that same question just a few years earlier.
These are heroes of our faith, no less than those who faced the lions of the Romans or those who face martyrdom at the hands of ISIS "beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the Word of God" (Revelation 20:4). Whether from sickness of mind or cruelty of heart, there will always be those who hate God and those who love Him. But give us Your grace to never shrink back from speaking the truth and holding firm to our faith, as we trust You to hold firm to us. "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).
In the moment of our need, whenever our faith is tested, give us the courage to overcome, even forgiving our accusers and love our enemies, but never succumbing to the threat of their accusations. May our faith in You be so deeply grounded in Your love for us that we would not waver and never shrink back, holding fast the confession of our hope. We can't do that in human strength or self-will, but we can trust that "He who has promised is faithful." We say, “In God We Trust “ on our money.
You are faithful to me. I pray today for the courage and grace to be found faithful to You. You are the God who always reminds us, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). "So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
"What then shall be we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Romans 8:31-39) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will be so grounded in grace and love of God for you that you will never shrink back, always hold fast to the confession of your hope, a have the boldnesss to speak your faith throughout your day.in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
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 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, as I watch and wait for Your leading in deep communion with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8)..
We all have such great expectancy to see what Your Spirit will do in these days, as You continue to lead Your people to humble themselves and pray for our nation and our world. We desperately need You to move in our hearts and in our days, for only You can save us from our destruction, forgive us of our sins, heal us of our wounds, free us from our bondage, and restore us to our identity and destiny as one nation under God. But we believe. And we pray. According to Your Promises and great Covenant of Revival: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Your Word to the Prophet Ezekiel comes to my mind as he looked out on the valley of dry bones about to be filled with the Breath of Your Spirit, as You invited him to believe what was hard to imagine: "Son of man, can these bones live?" (Ezekiel 37:3)
Come, Holy Spirit. Come, like a Mighty Rushing Wind (Acts 2:2). Come breath Your Spirit and Your Life into our hearts and our land in a great awakening and rejuvenating revival for the great harvest of You've promised in Your Word at the end of the age (Matthew 13:29). Lord, let these bones live! Lord, let the bones of this nation arise and come alive to be all You've created us and called us to be for the glory of Your name, for You alone are the Hope for our nation and the Savior of our world!
Like the moving of Your Spirit, we don't know the details -- when it comes, where it comes from, where it goes from here. But we're ready! We're hungry! We're thirsty! And we're desperately, passionately, fervently praying for You to come and pour out Your power and Your mercy upon our land! The sooner the better and just in time! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may the winds of revival blow in your spirit and through our land in a great awakening and revival, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you in repentance and prayer for our nation and the people of the earth to turn to God, that He may pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in this new day. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
A Night With New Room
Come join us this Friday night Sept. 27th at Toney United Methodist Church from 6:00pm-9:00pm as we host a watch group of the life stream of A Night With New Room. Come join us as we join in with other across the country and are led in a time of worship and prayer sowing for a great awakening! Click on the link below for more information and to let us know you are coming.
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 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. Guide my steps on the path of life in You today.
"I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.... How kind the Lord is! So merciful, this God of ours! ... Let my soul rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.... And so I walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth.... O Lord, I am Your servant; yes, I am Your servant, born into Your household; You have freed me from my chains! I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord! ... Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 116:1-19)
You're not a God who's distant, but very near. You're not a God who's indifferent, but attentively engaged. You're not a God who's angry or bitter or uncaring or rude. No, You're my Maker and my Master; You're my Savior and Lord; You're my Constant Companion and my Best Friend. So I will thank You and praise You! I will worship and adore You! I will daily choose to live my life for You, for this awesome God of ours! “May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May you be filled with awe today at this God of ours who loves you so, your Maker and Master, your Savior and Lord, your Constant Companion, and your Best Friend, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my heart and listen up for Your leading, seeking to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens
(He is God!), who formed the earth and made it
(He established it; He did not create it a chaos,
He formed it to be inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob 'Seek Me in chaos.'
I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right" (Isaiah 45:18-19).
You're not the author of chaos or confusion. It's not Your character to cause anarchy. You speak the truth; You declare what's right. You bring order, even as You allow freedom (1 Corinthians 14:39-40). You fulfill law and order, even as You lavish us with mercy and grace (Matthew 5:17).
So come and speak Light in the midst of our darkness. Come and speak Life in the midst of our destruction.
You alone are our Savior. You alone are our Hope. And You alone can bring order out of chaos, stability out of insecurity, to set things right when we let You write Your law on our hearts and guide our steps by Your Spirit. You stretch out Your hand to all who will take it and open up Your heart to all who will receive it, calling out to the nation who will hear:
There is no other God besides Me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides Me.
Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from My mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
'To Me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.'
Only in the Lord, it shall be said of Me,
are righteousness and strength" (Isaiah 45:21-24).
Yes, Lord. We turn to You, in desperation and faith, in repentance and prayer, in humble trust in the goodness of Your character and the mercy of Your love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may the law of the Lord be written on your heart and and the order of His ways be established in your life, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart.
"When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, 'Alas, master! What shall we do?' He replied, 'Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.' Then Elisha prayed: 'O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:15).
When You open my eyes of faith, You don't close to my eyes of reality. You just help me see the deeper reality I hadn't seen before. You let me see the truth that You are with me, that You are mighty, that You are in control, that Your victory is already won (Colossians 2:15). "For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the word but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5). "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Romans 8:37)
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, that I may see You and Your truth and Your provision and Your power (Ephesians 1:18). There may be a "thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy, (but You) came that (I) may have life, and have it abundantly!" (John 10:10) Open the eyes of my heart to drive away any fear I may have and allow me to receive your peace and assurance. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33)
Even though I may see and acknowledge my very real enemy, You give me eyes of faith to see my very real Savior! The enemy may have his armies, but the Lord of hosts, the God of angel armies, has His! My battles are real, but so is Your victory. "Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.... Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" (Psalm 24:8-10) And the King of glory has already given me victory over every enemy I'll ever face! (1 Corinthians 15:57)
"Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as Head above all!" (1 Chronicles 29:11) "May we shout for joy over Your victory!" (Psalm 20:5) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you will set apart time with the Lord that through that time the Lord will open your eyes that you may see the deeper reality of the truth of God's victory for your life no matter what battles you're facing, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer 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. Speak to my heart and guide my thoughts, as I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.
"Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!' Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus" (Mark 9:2-8).
Father God, Your cloud overshadowed the disciples who were called apart to come away and be with Jesus. And from the cloud of Your Presence, You spoke to their hearts to listen to Jesus. Then their eyes were opened to see Your glory manifested in Your Beloved, Your only begotten Son, Jesus. And in that moment, they saw nothing else, "but only Jesus."
God, that is a picture of these morning times of contemplative, centering prayer, as I seek to begin my day with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You call me apart from everything else. And before I descend into my daily responsibilities, You lead me up on the mountain of prayer to come away with Jesus. You overshadow me in the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit and lead me to listen for the voice of Jesus, encouraging me, "Listen to Him!" You open the eyes of my heart in these first moments of my morning to see nothing else, "but only Jesus."
As my Beloved Jesus is transfigured before me, my spirit is transformed within me. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
Lord “it is good for me to be here.” Let me live on this Mountain of Transfiguration. Let me daily embrace -- morning by morning, moment by moment, Your Spirit of Transformation, embraced by my Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May you prioritize to make time today to set yourself apart from everything else and through time spent in contemplative and centering prayer encounter Jesus. May you be transformed from glory to glory, morning by morning and moment by moment, beholding the Lord in His ever-abiding Presence, embraced by Your Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer 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. Keep me grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit.
As I pray over our country, my neighborhoods, the churches I pastor, my family, and all my domain, I listen for Your leading this morning, I hear in my heart, "Stand Your Ground."
Yes, Lord. Show me what You mean for me today...
This Scripture immediately comes to mind:
"Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.(Ephesians 6:10-18).
I know this Scripture well. I'm often led to "put on the whole armor of God" piece
by piece in prayer and proclamation in the morning before I step out of my shower
and into my day. In putting on the armor, I'm putting on Christ, to deliberately,
intentionally affirm and declare that I am "clothed in Christ" (Colossians 3:27).
Lord Jesus, You are my Belt of Truth (John 14:16); You are my Breastplate of Righteousness
(1 Corinthians 1:30); You are my Shoes of Peace (Ephesians 2:14); You are my Shield
of Faith (Hebrews 12:2); You are my Helmet of Salvation (Acts 4:12); You are my
Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (John 1:14). And when I "pray in the Spirit
at all times," Your Holy Spirit is building up my faith (Jude 1:20), continually
clothing me in Christ, and empowering me in Christ to stand firm in You.
That's how I'm "strong in the Lord." That's how I "stand firm" all "in the strength
of Your power." That's how I "stand against the schemes of the devil." That's how
I "overcome" my spiritual enemies and "overthrow" what would seek to stand against
me and steal away from me my "ground" and all You've entrusted to me (Revelation
12:11). By the power of Your grace, in the whole armor of God, continually clothed in Christ
as I pray in the Spirit at all times, I will not "shrink back" from my trust and
faith in You (Hebrews 10:39). By the power of Your grace, may I never surrender
nor retreat before the enemies of the cross and the schemes of the devil! "Having
done all" because You've done all this in me, I will stand my ground. In Jesus'
name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may "stand your ground" in the power of God's grace. I pray starting this morning you will intentionally set aside time daily over this long weekend in Scripture and prayer working on your wardrobe clothing yourself in Christ and the whole armor of God, praying in the Spirit at all times, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer 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. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- help me begin my day in the conscious communion of Your Presence.
"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.... Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil" (Proverbs 4:18).
Lord, keep my path straight. Let my steps be sure and let my path be clear -- growing "brighter and brighter." Take me by the hand. Lead me by the heart. Fill me with Your thoughts and Your desires so I can walk in the way You've chosen for me. Your Word says, "Your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:20-21).
As I keep my eyes on my Teacher, as I keep my heart open to Your Spirit, as I allow You to keep transforming me by the renewing of mind, as I remember I am a child of God, living into the fullness of my destiny and seeking to grow into the completeness of maturity, I can trust that You will keep me on Your path. It's all in Your righteousness, not mine. It's all by the power of Your grace, not my will power. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13).
"Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.... Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land" (Psalm 37:23-34). Lord, make my steps firm today, so You can delight in my way and lead me in the way that leads to the fullness of life in You. "You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your Presence!" (Acts 2:28) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, as you step out your front door, may you walk in the path of life that grows brighter and brighter before you each day, full of gladness in the presence of our God who is with you always, every step of the way, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer 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. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of His grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them" (Acts 14:1-3).
In our days, as in the days of Paul and Barnabas in the city of Iconium, there will be opposition to the Word and the Spirit of God in any city where the presence and power of God is on the move. Those whose minds are blinded to the truth of the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ, will resist and riot, stirring up strife, and trying to poison minds and harden hearts. But like Paul and Barnabas, we must keep "speaking boldly for the Lord."
When we're speaking boldly for the Lord, we're speaking against the so-called "god of this world (who) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
As we speak boldly for the Lord, He moves in His power and displays His glory. He begins to "testify to the word of His grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through (the Body and the Bride of Christ)" in our city and our world, beginning in our hearts and then changing the heart of our city (Acts 14:3).
It takes a city-wide church to win a city-wide war. It takes a growing unity of the Body and the Bride of Christ, living by the Spirit of Christ, shining with the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness of our world. Just as Christ is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12), so we are "the light of the world" with the Light of Christ shining through us, pushing back the darkness and opening up the heavens wherever we are (Matthew 5:14).
We don't cast out the principalities and powers and ruling authorities of the kingdom of darkness over our cities like we would cast out a demon. And we don't pull down spiritual strongholds by pulling down people or burning down buildings or coming down to the level of the spiritual forces of evil that seek to divide us and destroy us. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (of the spiritual realm around us)" (Ephesians 6:12).
No, we displace principalities by living in the opposite spirit, by the power and the grace of God living in us. We expose sources of evil and their lies and dispel them with truth by being a source of light in our communities in the darkness, not by imitating forces of darkness and being a source that deepens the darkness in our communities.. Light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good" (Romans 12:21).
We need to be the ones opposed in our cities and oppose the “Caesars” of this world as Jason did, “When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7)
Come Jesus! Holy Spirit. Empower us -- in our hearts and our cities -- to walk in the opposite spirit than the spirit of the world around us, to shine with the light of the glory of God that pushes back the darkness. By Your Word and Your Spirit, may we live our lives to honor Christ in the opposite spirit of the world, so that "now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:10-12). In Jesus' I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be empowered by the love and grace of God to live in the opposite spirit than the spirit of the world, as the Lord confirms and displays His glory through His Word and His Spirit in your life and your city, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer 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!
