Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day seeking for you to guide me in the way and truth my life should go today.
Good morning Lord Jesus, open the eyes of my heart Lord for I want to see you.
“And we all agree, our religion contains amazing revelation:
He was revealed in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)
This morning, instead of adding to what God’s Word say’s about Jesus the Christ, I am letting the Scriptures form the reflection on our passage today and let them speak into the “amazing revelation” of Jesus the Christ.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it….Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory - the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father….For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known.” (John 1:1-18)
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him - all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers - all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:15-20)
“You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,
who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped, but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men,
and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
- even death on a cross!
As a result God exalted him and gave him the name
that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow- in heaven and on earth and under the earth -
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
My family, I pray you read these passages several times throughout today and let the “Amazing revelation” they contain of who Jesus is wash over you and place you in the deep waters of worship all through your day, In Jesus, name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to make me more like You today. ...
"Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.... May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 NLT).
Lord, make me fit and faithful in "spirit and soul and body." Make me whole and holy, aligned with Your will to walk in Your ways. I have far to go -- in my spirit, in my soul, and in my body. But You are faithful and You will do it, as I humble myself to ask You to do it in me. "For it is God working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" and to become all You created me and called me to be in You (Philippians 2:13). You're making me into Your vessel, "fit for its purpose" (Isaiah 54:16).
Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But I thank You that I'm never apart from You, that You're always with me and always at work within me, conforming me into Your image day by day (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:29). So in my weakness, I cry out to You and call on Your name to inspire me and empower me. "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.... For whenever I am weak, then I am strong;" and "(Your) grace is sufficient for (me)" when "(Your) power is made perfect in (me) weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). By the power of the grace of God, make me fit and faithful in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are inspired and empowered to be fit and faithful by the power of the grace of God at work within you every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Friends, thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of reading through the New Testament in a year, one chapter a day prayer every weekday. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, I write these from my morning prayer time and then send them out. It feels like the Lord's "manna" from heaven to me and source of His strength from the intimacy of His embrace for my day. I pray your time daily in the Word feeds your soul as well. Thank you for allowing me to share them with you! And thank you for praying them back for me!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning Jesus, you are all I need and all I desire to delight in today.
“just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is our witness - nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others,” (1Thessalonians 2:4-7)
I remember back to when I was about to give one of my first sermons. I gave my sermon to Bishop Stough, a great man and servant of God. After I finished, I asked him if the sermon meets his approval. Sitting behind his desk, he took off his glasses and lovingly said to me, “Gary, there are no popes in the body of Christ, you preach to the approval of God, not of any man.” It both freed and grounded my ministry under the “God who knows and examines my heart.” I do not work and serve for a church or denomination, I work and serve under God. If you serve or work seeking the approval of anyone or anything but God, you will either sell out or burn out. The main thing I do before I start or enter into anything in ministry is to examine my heart and ask myself the question, “What is my motive?” As one theologian said who I can’t recall now off the top of my head, "If you have the art of proclamation you will please men, if you have the unction of proclamation you will save men.”
As Paul states “we,” all of us have been approved and entrusted by God to share the Gospel of His saving grace through our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Not for our glory or that of any organization, but for the glory of His Church and His glory. The only way we obscure and hinder his glory is when we are silent in sharing His Gospel. When we worry about our “glory,” what other people may think or say about us if we bring up Jesus in a conversation. When we selfishly focus on our image and our qualifications, instead of The One who qualifies the unqualified and are afraid to say something “stupid.” So we say nothing.
My family, I pray this morning you spend time with God, then walk out your door free from seeking the approval of any person or anything other than God’s, and in freedom and joy share the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you have been cre ated, approved, and entrusted by God to share, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
I woke this morning in prayer over our prayer and worship gathering we will have this evening. We will soak in God’s presence, search God’s Scriptures, openly repent of sins, lay hands and anoint with oil, share in the Lord’s Supper, and pray for a revival in our lives an our community. We will “seek the things above where Christ is seated.”
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6
Revival is God's strategic way of working in the earth between the resurrection of Jesus and his coming again to keep us moving towards Him. In Acts 2 and passages following is wave after wave of outpouring of the Spirit. In Joel 2 are massive outbursts of revival before the end of the age. In Romans 11 it speaks to the revival and the fullness of the Spirit to come in the nations that will be so powerful it will turn all to Jesus to accept Him as their Messiah
So if revival is the strategy of God leading to all nations accepting Jesus as their Messiah, why does he wait around for us to pray? Only as you give yourself to prayer are you transformed in your heart to be a determined seeker of more of God. And God will only trust a revival to determined seekers of more of Him. All those in the past who God has entrusted to revival are those who have dedicated themselves to long periods of prayer. Early Methodist revivals came because of a gathering of people who expected to see God move among them. Revival occurs out of Determined Seekers of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a Determined Seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. You have to give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control. God doesn't want you to be confident in yourself, he wants you to be desperate for him and find your confidence in him. This thing is, revival is not something that is a peripheral of our faith, but needs to be at the heart of what we are after. Ask the Lord in prayer to give yourself over to this.
What is the essence of true revival? It is an intense experience of the presence of God in and among the people. The peculiar and mighty sense of the presence of God which is manifested.
4 thing happen when a revival happens.
• Restoration of love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Re-falling in love. Song of Psalms
• There is a restoration of Jesus' Lordship. What does Jesus want me to do in my life and the life on His church.
• Restoration of Holiness and zeal for God's glory. How do you want to use me? Revivals always lead to a releasing of people into ministries.
• Restoration of Boldness.
We are not designed to be carriers of Covid, we are designed to be carriers of God and to be carriers of God to others. And just like we can’t give someone the Covid virus if we ourselves an not contagious with it, we cannot give someone and spread God if we are not contagious with Him, if we ourselves are not carrying Him to others.. We do not have a problem with prayer, we have a complacency with prayer. We can't get people to pray if they are not hungry for it. When people and churches quit praying, then God withdraws from them, then they find themselves in trouble, then they cry out.
How do we provoke hunger if there is a lack of hunger to pray? I wrestle with this, as much of it is out of my control. First, you must teach on prayer. In prayer we are invited into the throne room of God, we are privileged to enter into kingdom making decisions. However, everyone at some time feels disappointed with prayer. Each one of us has had a prayer that has not been answered. Take this cup from me. Lord let them be one. We must minister to the disappointments in prayer as much as we celebrate the answer of prayer. Second, we must de-clutter our programs and calendar if we want to prioritize prayer. We need to be seekers of more: more power of God, more revelation of the Spirit. Third, you need to set times for simple gatherings for prayer. Some people miss the sparks because they are always looking for the big flames. Driving to this big event or conference: IHOP, Passion, Catalyst, New Room..ect. or chasing after "gifted teachers and prophets." These events and people are all good and holy, however they are not meant to be our focus or highlight, and they cannot be the source of revival for your church. The source is Determined Seekers of more of God. We are called to start a spark, to look for where the sparks of God are working among us, and then a pour gasoline on it.
Many people are leaving the church because they have not seen the power of God moving in the church. Yet God's desire at creation, in the Jesus death and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit's in dwelling, in us, was for the creation and existence of a church full of the presence and fire of the Holy Spirit. A "supernatural church" that is unstoppable. Churches today are so easily "stoppable." A talented leader leaves, a donor dies, a strategic plan fails, and now Covid, and church doors close or its ministries become ineffective. In order for a church to be an unstoppable, supernatural church, it has to rely and be surrendered to our unstoppable and supernatural God. There is only one way you become a supernatural church, and that is by spending hours doing what does not come natural to us, hours spent together on our knees in prayer.
My family, I pray today for something that I, your pastor, your spouse, your parents, nor anyone else really has any control over, that you become a Determined Seeker of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a determined seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. I pray today you give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control and become desperate for God through prayer, 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.
Here is the link to our prayer and worship gathering tonight.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve as local missionaries to those in our community with and end of year one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below. Donations can be sent by check to ODC PO Box 1293, Madison, Al 35758
Good morning, Lord Jesus. O Lord, my God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--I worship You in spirit and truth; and I welcome You into my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3).
Lord Jesus, in You are hidden "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." As it turns out, it's all about You! Just as You revealed to Your two disciples walking to Emmaus right after Your resurrection, the law and the prophets all point to You; what's concealed in the Old Covenant is revealed in the Christ of the New Covenant: "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:20). And just as You said to all Your disciples gathered near to You at the shore just before Your ascension back to heaven: "These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about Me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). "Then (You) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45).
Lord Jesus, open my mind to understand the Scriptures. Open my spirit to embrace Your truth and experience Your Presence on my daily journey to grow in "the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ Himself." There's joy in this journey to seek out "all the treasures" You've hidden away for us to find. "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2).
As I search Your Word and seek Your Presence, I know the more I seek You, the more I find You. That's the Promise of Your Word as well: "When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). The more I seek and the more I find, I find Your Word to be faithful and true that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are hidden in You (Colossians 2:2-3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will experience great joy on your daily journey to seek out all treasures of God hidden in Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's all about You. So I seek to begin my day centered in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He Himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:15-20).
I read that passage and I think WOW at who Jesus is!! As I reflect on this passage, about Jesus, about myself and who Jesus is to me I ask Jesus,, Do You "have first place in everything" in me? Do I seek You first? Do I put Your first? Do I live my life throughout the moments of my day there are no other gods before me, there are no idols in Your place, and no compromised in my "sincere and pure devotion to Christ"? (2 Corinthians 11:3) ...
As I sense Your leading to honestly lay the question before You this morning, it seems I hear You speaking in my heart, "Honestly, no. You do not. Nor by yourself can you completely, sincerely, purely, and fully. No one can. Even in this, you need My grace. Especially in this, you need My power of My grace to be at work in your heart and your mind to seek Me and surrender to Me, to passionately pursue Me and allow Me to make your heart more pure and more wholly devoted to Me. But is it My great desire and delight to answer your prayer and move in your heart every time you turn to Me and invite Me to move in you. This is a life-long journey, with breakthroughs along the way. And I breakthrough more deeply as you surrender more deeply to Me." ...
Yes, Lord. I want to love You and surrender to You and Your love for me with "an undivided heart," with "my whole heart" so "turn to me and be gracious to me" (Psalm 86:11-16). I want to "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength" (Mark 12:30). I want to hold nothing back from You, wholly devoted to You, completely surrendered to You. I want You to be first, to "come to have first place in everything" in me -- all by the power of Your grace at work within me.
You are "the Alpha and the Omega, the Frist and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:12). You are my "All in All," as All in One -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 15:28). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to keep turning my heart to You and inviting You to keep moving in me on this life-long journey of faith in You and Your love for me, with breakthroughs of deeper surrender all along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you keep turning your heart to Jesus and inviting Him to keep moving in you. I pray you trust Him more fully and surrender more deeply to Him as the One with first place in everything in you -- all by the power of His grace, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You, as I still my soul and listen for Your voice.
I believe I hear You saying in my heart: "Think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
Yes, Lord. I don’t know with any certainty of all my future circumstances or nor can I predetermine the severity of all my challenges, but I can choose, and I can control -- by the power of Your grace -- the focus of my thoughts. And Your Word encourages me to think on the good things, to focus a little more on the best things, on the things that help me look up instead of down, to look forward instead of backward, and to start off my day on the right path, with my best foot forward, with a good attitude the right priorities and a healthy perspective: "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.... Then the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8).
There will be plenty of time to deal with the daily stuff, but right now I'm going to make my priority and take a little time to be with the Holy Spirit. I will gird up with the armor of God,, walk I out my door and go out into battle for You Jesus in a minute, but right now I'm going to settle in for some quiet time in the communion of prayer, centered in You, and surrounded in Your Presence. I'm going to open up my spirit and lift up my heart and welcome You into every thought in my mind, every desire in my heart, and every moment in my day.
I'm going to think on You and all You've done for me. I'm going to think on Your love for me, Your power within me, Your plans before me, and Your grace to sustain me through whatever comes. And then, when I have to start thinking about all the other things that will become a part of my life today, I'll not forget these good and precious things that You've sealed in my heart, here at the start of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you will take a little time with the Holy Spirit and let the Lord focus your mind and your heart on the good things of God in your life, as you begin your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up -- here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that also enables Him to make all things subject to Himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved" (Philippians 3:18-4:1).
We can become an enemy of the cross without being part of some army of another religion or some satanic cult. We can become an enemy of the cross when we refuse to take up our cross and follow You. We can become an enemy of the cross when we let our flesh be our god, when we set our minds on the priorities of the kingdoms of this world instead of the priorities of the kingdom of heaven. And we can become an enemy of the cross when we no longer "stand firm in the Lord," compromising with truth, watering down our faith, and conform to the ways of the world instead of standing in contrast through the ways of Christ.
Forgive us, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. The cross is the place of death -- death to my will that's apart from Your will, my ways that are apart from Your ways. The cross is the place where I can say by Your grace, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, buy Christ who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
You said to Your first followers what continue to say to all who would claim to Your followers in every age, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in His glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels" (Luke 9:23-26).
To seek to "gain the whole world" -- even if we say "We're doing it for Jesus" or "We're just trying to connect with our culture" or "We're just trying to be relevant" or "We're just seeking to be less threatening or less exclusive or less judgmental or less intolerant" -- is to lose our soul as a follower of Christ and ambassador of His Church. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?" (Mark 8:36)
Give me grace to "stand firm" in this age, in my generation, in my culture, in the challenges to Your Way and Your Truth and Your Life in my day. I want to be a friend of Christ not an enemy of the cross. I want to be Your beloved not Your befuddled. I want to be clear in proclaiming and living Your message -- "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) with my "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6) -- not afraid to love and not afraid to speak the truth, just as You show us through Your Life in Your Spirit and in Your Word.
"Truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21). You said, "You are My friends if you do what I command you" -- not "what you think will work best in your world," not "what you feel the Bible ought to say," and not "what you would do if you were God," but "what I command you." So give me grace to be a friend of Christ, not an enemy of the cross. Give me grace to live my life in Christ, in Your Truth, is to take up my cross and follow You this day and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are empowered by God's grace to take up your cross and follow Jesus every day, proclaiming His message through your life as a friend of Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved)! For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in the all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).
My Father God, teach me what it really means that I have already been raised from the dead along with Christ and You have already "seated (me) with Him in the heavenly realms because (I am) united with Christ Jesus." Give me deeper "spiritual wisdom and insight so that (I) may grow in (my) knowledge of God" to understand more clearly the truth of this mystery (Ephesians 1:17). Help me "understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else -- not only in this world but also in the world to come" (Ephesians 1:19-21).
I'm here on earth in this earthly realm. But already, at the same time, I'm also raised up and seated with Christ in the place of honor at Your right hand in the heavenly realm. That's my high place in Christ You've prepared for me. I have such a strong sense that it's so important to grow in my understanding of the truth of this mystery and to live it out. Help me learn to live it out in the way I pray, in the way I speak, in the way I see myself and see all who believe and have been seated with me and united with me and with Christ Jesus in the heavenly realm.
In the heavenly realm, where I am in Christ and Christ is in me, I am "far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else" (Ephesians 1:21). In that realm, sin is under me, sickness is under me, selfishness is under me, Satan is under me along with every satanic scheme to steal my identity or silence my voice or suppress my spirit. Discouragement, depression, disappointment, defilement, deception, darkness, and every devil sent to delay or destroy my destiny is under me and defeated by the victory of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. "All praise to God, the Father of (my) Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed (me) with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because (I am) united with Christ!" (Ephesians 1:3)
Let this truth get into my spirit. Let my spirit come alive in Your truth.
It's from there -- from the heavenly realm of my identity in Christ, united with Christ in the place of honor as a child of God at the right hand of God -- that I want to learn to live. I want to learn to live from my high place in Christ. I'm alive in Christ and I want to fully live into all that means. Living from there, together with all who believe You and fully entrust ourselves to You, "we are God's masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10). And living from there, may our "hearts be flooded with light so that (we) can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called -- His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance!" (Ephesians 1:18) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray your heart is flooded with the light of God's truth and love, with wisdom and revelation, to learn to live from your high place in Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord, raised from the dead and raising me up to live my life in You this day. ...
"He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:5-8).
It's Your "good pleasure" to pour out Your grace into my life. You don't do this begrudgingly, but freely; and not in scarcity, but in abundance. Out of the riches of Your grace, You lavish me with Your goodness -- all in Your joy and "good pleasure." "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 136:1)
Thank You, Lord, that You are a good God, in a good mood! 'He who sits in the heavens laughs!" (Psalm 2:4). It was "for the sake of the joy that was set before (You that You) endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). And despite what's going on around us -- even in the things that break Your heart and ours -- You're always inviting us to know the truth of Your Word: "In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11).
O Lord, my God, "restore unto me the joy of Your salvation" every day (Psalm 51:12). Speak Your words of spirit and life into my heart that "(Your) joy may be in (me), and that (my) joy may be complete" (John 15:11). Though every moment and challenge of every day, help me see You and see myself in the light of Your truth and Your lavish grace and the "good pleasure" of Your will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you have eyes to see God as He is and see yourself as He sees you, that His laughter and joy may be in you and your joy may be complete in Him, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ToneyUMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's all about You. So I seek to begin my day and week centered in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 13:2-3)
Jesus, I hear you ask me this morning, Do I "have first place in everything"? Do I seek You first? Do I put Your first? Do I live my life throughout the moments of my day with no other gods before me, with no idols in Your place, with no compromises in my "sincere and pure devotion to Christ"?
Jesus, As I sense Your leading to honestly lay the question before You this morning, it seems I hear You speaking in my heart, "Honestly, no. You do not. Nor can you completely, sincerely, purely, and fully. No one can by themselves. Even in this, you need My grace. Especially in this, you need My power of My grace to be at work in your heart and your mind to seek Me and surrender to Me, to passionately pursue Me and allow Me to make your heart more pure and more wholly devoted to Me. But is it My great desire and delight to answer your prayer and move in your heart every time you turn to Me and invite Me to move in you. This is a life-long journey, with breakthroughs along the way. And I breakthrough more deeply as you surrender more deeply to Me." ...
Yes, Lord. I want to love You and surrender to You and Your love for me with "an undivided heart," with "my whole heart" so "turn to me and be gracious to me" (Psalm 86:11-16). I want to "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength" (Mark 12:30). I want to hold nothing back from You, wholly devoted to You, completely surrendered to You. I want You to be first, to "come to have first place in everything" in me -- all by the power of Your grace at work within me.
You are "the Alpha and the Omega, the Frist and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:12). You are my "All in All," as All in One -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 15:28). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to keep turning my heart to You and inviting You to keep moving in me on this life-long journey of faith in You and Your love for me, with breakthroughs of deeper surrender all along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you keep turning your heart to Jesus and inviting Him to keep moving in you. I pray you trust Hm more fully and surrender more deeply to Him as the One with first place in everything in you -- all by the power of His grace, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Help me listen to you. Tune my heart to your melody.
“Now we make known to you, brothers and sisters, the grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia, that during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth of their generosity. For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily, begging us with great earnestness for the blessing and fellowship of helping the saints. And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God... But as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you - make sure that you excel in this act of kindness too. ..For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich. …For if the eagerness is present, the gift itself is acceptable according to whatever one has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not say this so there would be relief for others and suffering for you, but as a matter of equality. At the present time, your abundance will meet their need, so that one day their abundance may also meet your need, and thus there may be equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” (2 Cor. 8:1-15)
Lord Jesus, I am joyful over Your amazing gift of the cross! I still am saying “Thank you!” for Your extreme gift of love that although You were rich, You became poor for my sake, so that I by Your poverty could become rich. (v.9) Lord Jesus, help me “pay forward” to others the gift I received from You. Help me today to “overflow in the wealth of my generosity”(v.2). Help me to excel in the act of kindness to others (v.6). Help me not only out of my abundance, but out of my poverty seek for the blessing and fellowship found in help others (v.4). Jesus, You remind me today that all I have is a gift from You to be used to pour into, relieve suffering, and bring relief to others. “We must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). However, I am called to give because I have been blessed in receiving from You. Jesus, free me from my fleshes desire to hoard, store up, collect, claim, keep, save, and hold onto my items and my finances I should freely give. Open my heart to others as Your Word says, “your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’(Deuteronomy 15:11-12).
My family, You have been given the greatest gift you will ever receive through the greatest act of generosity and outpouring of grace this world has ever know in and through the saving works of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray today you will “pay it forward” and be a tangible example of the love and generosity of Jesus that we who call ourselves “Christians” are supposed to be, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you friends! He Has!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.... For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them" (2 Corinthians 5:11-15).
We are "well known to God." And You know well the plans You have for me and each one of Your children (Jeremiah 29:11). ...
My Father, You know all about me. You've created me and saved me. You've loved me and corrected me. You've called me and anointed me, encouraged me and inspired me, equipped me and empowered me. You always go before me and You're always with me. You know every hair on my head and every hurt in my heart. You know every step that I'll take and every misstep I've taken. And yet You love me with "an everlasting love" (Isaiah 54:8).
The Bible says there came a time when "the Lord was sorry that He had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart" (Genesis 6:6). I know I've grieved You to Your heart at times. I wonder if You were ever sorry You made me. ...
But even as I write those words here in my journal, I immediately hear You speaking to my heart. It seems I hear You saying: "No, My son. I chose to create you and never forsake you, even as I have chosen each one of My children. You are created in My image, but destined to struggle through your issues on your spiritual journey to maturity in Me. When you stumble and fall, when you falter or fail, I still love you and help you and even cause you to become more desperately dependent upon Me so that I can display My glory more completely through you. This is My way. This is My will -- that My children learn to trust Me and love Me and know My love for them on their journey to learn to love in the time they have on this earth."
Yes, Lord. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). You desire that I would "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (my) mind, so that (I) may discern what is the will of God -- what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
Though humankind grieved You, at the same time "Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). And by the power of Your grace through sacrifice of Christ, we are Your children who find favor in Your sight, despite all our sins and failures and all that grieves Your heart with us. "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given us this ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us" (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). In Christ, we are the message -- through our changes hearts and changed lives by the power of the grace of God at work within us! "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making Hi appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
You want to bring me to the place here in my heart and soul where I am free to no longer live for myself, but live for You (2 Corinthians 5:15). And in living for You and allowing You to live in me, I am becoming more like You. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one Spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). This is the way of life and the will of God You've chosen for me and every one of us. "God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). Lord, in desperate dependence upon You alone -- upon the One who knows me well -- make me more like You today, as I learn to love more like You today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I earnestly pray without a doubt you realize, you completely understand, and that you truly know how much God loves you and longs to live through you, making you more like Jesus as you learn to love more like Him each day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit and lead me in Your ways, here at the start and throughout the moments of my day. ...
"In their case the god of this world 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. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. 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 4:4-6).
Your Word calls our spiritual enemy "the god of this world" who "has blinded the minds of the unbelievers" -- those who do not believe "the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." And "the god of this world" is at the source of the evil of this world. You called him "the ruler of this world" (John 14:30). Bur Your Word encourages us to not lose heart when we see Satan’s evil work of deception and destruction, but to rise up in faith: "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith..." (1 Peter 5:8-9).
One way we resist him, steadfast in our faith, is by letting Your light shine in our hearts. Give us a love for those who are deceived. Move us to intercede for them instead of condemn them, that their eyes will be opened to the truth -- "the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Stir in our hearts to pray for those who persecute us, to bless those who curse us, to love those who hate us (Matthew 5:44). Break the blindness from their minds to know the truth who will set them free (John 8:32).
Even with all we see in the world now with Covid and injustice, this is not a time to fear, but to arise in faith. This is not a time to lose heart, but to be stirred in our hearts to pray as warriors into the great contrast between the light and the dark, between good and evil, between the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of God.
As You explained long ago, both light and darkness, both good and evil, are all growing to full maturity at the end of this age -- "to grow together until the harvest" (Matthew 13:24). Let us be encouraged when we see these things coming of age in our day -- the time of a great harvest is near! (Mathew 13:39)
You are "not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). And You will use this ever-increasing contrast that we see around us of the light and the dark, the good and the evil, to expose the deception of the ruler of this age so that all can see the truth and know the One who is the truth -- "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6).
So give us Your harvest perspective! Give us Your kingdom perspective! In the midst of this darkness, as we hold fast to our faith and let the light of Your glory shine through our faces and move powerfully through our prayers, "the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of (our) Father" (Matthew 13:43). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray that in this harvest time, the light of the glory of God will increasingly shine through your face and your prayers to expose the darkness of deception and bring many to faith in the One who is the Truth. The whole earth was Jesus’ harvest field into which He poured His saving blood.. Pray for Jesus to reveal to you the fields you are to pour yourself into and aide in the harvest, 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside some income and save it to the extent that God has blessed you, …. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house. “ (1Corinthians 16:2,19)
Bishop Desmond Tutu stood up as the key speaker to give the college commencement speech to the graduating class. He walked up to the mic and proclaimed, “It is all a gift! It is all a gift!” And then returned to his seat and sat down.
Everything we have is a blessing. There is nothing that we have that can’t be taken away from us tomorrow. All we have is a gift from God. All our gifts from God are resources to be given back to God and used for the kingdom of God. God’s grace did not bless you with simply 10% of your gifts, He blessed you with ALL of your gifts. Though sadly the average giving by parishioners in the US is 2.4%. For Christian families making less than $20k per year, 8% of them gave at least 10% in tithing. For families making a minimum of $75k or more, the figure drops to just 1%. His grace provided for all of your gifts. The notion that 90% of our gifts and resources are ours, so that 10 percent of our gifts are all we need to give back to God is false, as Paul states, “You are to set aside income to the extent that God has blessed you.” As the hymn states, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe …”
A major portion of the blessings and where we store up the blessings that God has bestowed upon you and I is our homes and apartments we live in. This major source of our blessing is not meant to be gated and fenced off as “ours” from God’s use but opened up to be used as an outpost of God’s blessings to your neighbors and community as “His.” What percentage of your home, your gift from God to the extent that He has blessed you have you set aside for God? Out of the 168 hours in a week God has blessed you to reside in your home, how many of those hours weekly is your house or apartment open to others and used for God? Used for hosting youth to mentor, after school children’s bible study, accountability groups, a Bible house church, or other ministries for God? What percentage of this time God has blessed you to reside in a comfortable home do you share back to God? 20%, 10%, 5% or 0%. “Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house.” How are you warmly greeting in the Lord others into your home?
My family, I pray you will intentionally discern and plan how you will “tithe” and open up and share your home or apartment, one of your greatest blessing from God, as a place that warmly greets others in the Lord. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I shared my insights and prayers from todays passage with you. Please share your insights and prayers with me and others 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
http://www.easytithe.com/dl/?uid=onepob279
Father, Son, and Spirit, I press into You at the start of my day so when the day presses into me I can stand firm in You.
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lordʼs death until he comes.,” (1Corinthians 11:23-26)
My devotion for this morning was given to me by a child at the Waffle House. I received by praying as I always do before I went in the restaurant to let me see those I encounter inside through God’s eyes.
One morning I was at the Waffle House and I noticed in the booth to my right a small boy, maybe 5 years old, who was seated across the booth from his father. The food was brought to the table and his dad had ordered him a waffle. The boys eyes got big and a large smile came across his face as he stared at the waffle. He looked at his dad with a big grin, his way of saying thanks, then started smearing butter and syrup on his waffle, and ate it in complete joy!
I was reminded of Bonhoeffer’s words:
“The fellowship of the table has a festive quality… God cannot endure that unfestive, mirthless attitude of ours in which we eat bread in sorrow, with pretentious, busy haste, or even with shame. Through our daily meals He is calling us to rejoice, to keep holiday in the midst of our working day…” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together).
And I was reminded of Jesus’s words:
“13 “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.
14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."(Mar 10:13-15)
That young child reminded me what a gift a meal is, something that I take for granted in this land of plenty where my fridge and pantry is full and there are restaurants on almost every corner.. Unlike most people in the world, the question I struggle with daily is not “if I am going to eat today:, but “what or whereas I going to eat today.” However, The gift of physical life a meal provides for me is a gift from our Father in heaven, who is ever present in my “booth” while I am eating it. And no matter how rough or hard of a day I may be having (at least in my mind), or what situations I find myself in, I have no right to eat a meal that day, or any day, as Bonhoeffer tells me in sorrow or shame. I always need to rejoice while I am eating, and look up to my Father with a big grin of thanks.
It also reminded me of when I share a special meal together with my family, The Lord’s Supper. It is also a gift from the Father that provides a much greater gift than physical life, it provides spiritual and eternal life. A Father, who through the works of the Son on the cross, and by the Holy Spirit, is present in my “booth” when I partake in it. The triune of God is present more closely during the Lord’s Supper than anything else I can do in life because of the promise of the Son that when you “Do this in remembrance of me” I will be with you. A meal, that if I receive and eat it in shame and sorrow would be insulting and saddening to Father. Like it would be to the father of the boy if he received his waffle with sorrow, ate it in quiet shame, never once looking up at his dad.
I am reminded that as a person in the “church” I have taken the Lord’s Supper at times for granted. I need to receive the bread and the cup in celebration with “big eyes” and a wide open heart in wonder and amazement of all the love the Father has bestowed upon me. I need to receive it like that child at the Waffle House and look up to my Father, my Abba, my daddy and give him a big grin!
My family, I pray today at every meal you partake in a big smile of joy will come over your face and you will look up at your heavenly Father and say “Thanks dad!” In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Father, Son, and Spirit, fill me with the unity of your presence.
“Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.”(1Corinthians 9:24-26)
Paul uses a runner as an illustration to compare to a person’s sharing of the Gospel. A runner does not just go and enter a race, he constantly trains to equip his body and mind for running the race. When a runner enters a race, he does not run whenever he wants and where ever he wants, but at a specific time on a specific course. A runner has a daily structure of training and a schedule to help him be a better runner. We all have structures and schedules we use to makes as better and more efficient at completing a task or competing in something. At work we have time schedules and procedures we follow. We have daily schedule of when we work out at a gym. Our calendars have dates and times scheduled on them to help us complete tasks and requirements. What does your schedule for living out the great commission to make disciples look like? What does your routine for training look like to share the gospel with your neighbors? Open your calendar, besides church on Sundays, what dates and times are marked in it daily that are intentionally set aside for your growth as a Christian? What dates are penciled in for sharing your faith with others?
We understand in every area of our life the need to be intentional, have structure and a schedule to follow to achieve results and goals. How come most do not do that with the thing they claim is most important to them above all else, their faith and walk with Jesus? Yes, so we don’t forget and miss opportunities, to schedule in our calendars our kids and grand kids ball games, doctor appointments and other events, most however do not have scheduled in their calendar weekly days to prayer walk their neighborhood, go to a laundromat, attend a Band Group, or intentionally sharing the Gospel with others.
Paul’s ministry and success in sharing the Gospel with people did not “just happen” when the situation was right. He was successful because he was very ntentional in sharing it, prioritized sharing his faith, and he actively actually went out and shared it with people. You and I will be successful in sharing our love of Jesus if we do the same.
My family, I pray today as you begin your week you will take time to sit, open your calendar, and honestly look at how intentionally you set aside times daily, weekly, and monthly for training and equipping in the Bible, prayer, being in a Band Group, and sharing the Gospel to your neighbors and those in your community. We as Christians claim Jesus is better than anything else so I pray you and your family restructure your calendar to reflect that claim. In jesus’ name. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
The LGBT issue is a major issue in our church, country and the world today. This morning, our journey through the New Testament speaks into this issue and instead of sidestepping it, I will reflect on it as well. Since it is a major and delicate issue today in the church, my reflection today is a little longer.
The term LGBT is not in the Bible. It is a modern term, just like the term lesbian does not come up in the Bible either. And it is also true to say that the Bible does not say anything about sexual orientation. This is also a modern term, psychological way of framing a discussion on same sex activity and attitudes. So does the Bible have nothing to say on this subject? In fact it has quite allot to say about this subject as in today’s reading.
The focus of what the Bible has to say about what we today call homosexuality and lesbianism is behavior. Behavior; not inclinations, not tendencies, not orientations, not preferences, not a lifestyle, but actual behaviors.
What the Bible says bout the behavior of homosexuality and lesbianism is pretty clear it says:: Same sex activity, whether it is between two men or two women, is forbidden.
· It is forbidden in the Levitical codes of the OT and other places in the Torah
· It is clearly forbidden in the NT both directly and indirectly
· Paul clearly states this in many places like Romans 1:18-32,
· Here in 1 Cor Paul lists it in sinful behaviors that can even exclude you from the kingdom of heaven.
· There are very strong warnings throughout the Bible against this type of behavior.
Jesus indirectly addresses this issue. When asked by his disciples how they are to relate to each other, he gives us two options: Fidelity in marriage, and celibacy in singleness. Read Matthew 19, it is pretty clear.
The only option to monogamy, sex between a man and a woman in marriage in God, is singleness, celibacy for the sake of the kingdom. Jesus is so emphatic on this singleness that he calls it being a “eunuch for God. “ Everybody in Jesus’ day knew perfectly well what eunuchs were. They were incapable of being with another human being because they had been rendered that way. Jesus even use the technical terms: There are some that are born eunuchs, some that were made eunuchs by other people, and some who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. Jesus essentially and clearly ruled out any form of sexual activity outside of monogamy in marriage between a man and a woman. This should not be surprising to us, it is a common point of view of the Jews, common of early Christians.
What is the fallout from these facts as to how we read the Bible? Lets look at several things. What we all “homophobia” today, the singling out. the stigmatizing, name calling and out casting of homosexuals simply because of their gender orientation I see as a sin. God loves everybody, he just does not love their sin. And one sin a person can commit is treating one group of sinners as somehow worse than everybody else. This is morally wrong and it is a sin to treat Gay and lesbian people as if they are some type of lepars.
Anyone who knows my heart knows that I have a radical approach to “church” that includes radical hospitality of all and everyone. I also have an orthodox understanding of scripture. Like Jesus I try to display extravagant grace, while presenting complete truth in all situations as Jesus did with the women in John 8 caught in adultery. If approached by a LGBTQ individual or couple how would I respond? First, I would let them know I do not judge them. As one saved by grace I look at them with love and not judgement. My story of past sins I committed before coming to Christ is far worse than sleeping with a man. Secondly, As a representative of the church, I would say to them if you have ever been hurt by the church through any form of hate, prejudice, condemnation, or judgement by the church, I am sorry. That is not what the church is called to offer the world, it is a sin, I am sorry and it is not what I am offering you.
Thirdly, I love you and you are welcomed to come and be part of Toney UMC, ODC, and worship in my home. Fourthly, though you are graciously welcomed into the family of God to come just as you are, you, however, just as I and anyone who seeks Christ, you are not allowed to remain as you are. All of us have to repent of our sins. When we call Jesus Lord, we surrender our image of ourselves to the workings of the Holy Spirit to conform us into not our image, but the image of Jesus. I am not going to “call you out”, I am not going to call anyone out. But you, I, we; are all called to repentance, and should be called to repentance. The church was designed to be an equal opportunity critiquer of all behaviors and lifestyles that the Bible says are inappropriate. The Holy Spirit is an equal-opportunity critiquer and confronter of all human sin.
So come as you are, you are welcomed as you are, however all of us are called to repentance and should be called to repentance. And if there is a behavior, or lifestyle anyone is refusing to surrender to God, then it becomes not a behavior issue, but an obedience issue. In the Bible, inappropriate behavior is where the rubber meet the road; Not inclinations or tendencies; as all of us have inclinations: some that are healthy, and some that are unhealthy and sinfull. That is not where the real issue lies, The issue in the Bible focus on behavior. We are all fallen individuals. All of us have tendencies and inclinations that we are not sure are behaviors derived more from nature or nurture. But what we can be sure of is what kind of behaviors are said to please God, and when it comes to sexual behaviors, what behaviors do not please God.
Here is what else I would want to say most. Within my own, our own Methodist tradition, if we did not ordain sinners, including myself, we would not have any ordained ministers of any kind. If we did not accept members into our churches who were sinners, our churches would be empty. So if any person, no matter what orientation they are sexually; heterosexual, homosexual, LGBT, is prepared to be chased in celibacy singleness, or be faithful in heterosexual sexual relationship in monogamy of marriage, then they can be candidates for ministry. We will not rule them out just because their inclinations are different from mine or someone else. I think that is gracious, I think that is fair. I think that is where the church should stand. I think that is what the Bible allows us to say.
My family, as we journey through the reading the Bible together it is going to speak into the issues and behaviors of our lives and the life of the church. That is what God’s word is designed to do. I pray as you read through it this morning you will not be drawn to reflect on the behaviors of others, but the behaviors of the person you see in the mirror and ask the Holy Spirit to remove or add behaviors to transform you more into the image of Jesus, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my frinds!!!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
