“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.” (James 5:13-17)
Last night my wife Nancy and I went and visited a friend of ours and grandmother. We brought her a meal for her family. Her 19 year old grandson tragically died at a party late Saturday night from what unfortunately appears to be an accidental self-inflicted gun wound. I was introduced to her grandson, I will call him “Adam,” around 5 years ago when he was 14 years old. He “dated” my daughter for awhile. Adam was a good kid at heart. He had a kind and loving heart who wanted to do the right thing. Unfortunately, Adam did not have the most upright role models in his life for which to model. His two brothers drank, used drugs, committed crimes, were in and out of trouble with the law and in and out of jail. He did not grow up in a “church family” that instilled morals and values. So he grew up imitating and being discipled by what he knew. In the year and a half my family had access to him we loved him and poured into him. Adam attended many of the house church gatherings in our home. When he was 15 he made the decision to accept Jesus and I baptized him. My family continued to love and share life with him. When Adam and my daughter “Broke Up” as teens do, my access to him grew less and less.
There were many issues and layers that led to the death of 19 year old Adam. As I sat in the living room of his crying grandmother my mind went to “I wish I had done more, poured into him more.” I am still reflecting on that this morning. Four years ago I performed Adam’s baptism. This Saturday I will perform his funeral. Today 40% or less families attend church or are active in their faith. That number declined more because of covid. That mens 60% or more of our children and youth are not raised knowing the OT Bible stories of Noah, Daniel, or Joseph. They have not participated in a Christmas story of the birth of Jesus or His resurrection at Easter. In the lives of our youth their may still be a grandparent, aunt or other family member who can pour into them the love of Jesus. But as time passes, these family members do as well. We need to be missionaries, not to a foreign country, but to our youth and to our young parents. We need to actively and intentionally seek to interact into their lives. As they need us in their lives.
My family, I pray as you sit there and read this reflection, you will ask the Holy Spirit to place in your mind and heart the names of children, youth, or young parents you have contact with like neighborhood kids and those of friends. I pray you will open your life to them, open your homes to them, and intentionally seek out and support outreaches in schools and other places that allow you to be present in their lives. “But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And he placed his hands on them” (Matthew 19:14). I pray you imitate Jesus, and let the children come to you, in Jesus; name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using 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!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
This morning I’m reflecting on the goodness of God and the closeness of Your love from Romans Chapter 8 in The Message Version:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us--who was raised to life for us!--is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39 MSG).
Yes, Lord. With God on our side, how can we lose! “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” (Romans 8:37).
And that gives me courage. That gives me confidence. That fills my heart with joy, fills my eyes with tears, and fills my mouth with praise! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with joy in your heart, tears of joy in your eyes, and the praises of God in your mouth, as you know and realize His powerful, unending love for you, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You still say to me and to every one of Your disciples, “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). Here I am, Lord; ready to come, follow You today. ...
I hear You saying in my heart:
“Draw near to Me, then I can send you out. Spend time with Me, and I will multiply the moments of your day. Let Me fill you up with My Spirit, so I can pour out of you My love. Allow Me to empower you, that My power can flow through you. I am the Author of your faith. I am the Source of your success. I am the Lord of your life because you have believed that I am Lord of all.” ...
Yes, Lord. This Scripture from Your written Word comes to mind to conform what I believe I’m hearing in my heart as Your spoken word:
“I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me” (Proverbs 8:17).
And these familiar Words are coming to life with a fresh breath of Your Spirit right now:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in Me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in Me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:1-11).
Simple Words. But powerful, intimate Words. Welcoming me to come and follow You, to come and spend time with You, so that my life bears fruit and my joy may be complete -- all because of a genuine, authentic, and deeply personal relationship with You.
By the power of Your grace, with this hunger You’ve put in my heart, I’m here to come follow You, to come be with You -- this day and every day, this moment and every moment -- morning by morning and step by step. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you drawn deeply into the Presence of God, deeply abiding in Him that your life can bear much fruit and your joy may be complete, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day with the word of this psalm of longing for you on my lips.
O God, you are my God! I long for you!
My soul thirsts for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Yes, in the sanctuary I have seen you,
and witnessed your power and splendor.
Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
For this reason I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
As if with choice meat you satisfy my soul.
My mouth joyfully praises you,
whenever I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.
For you are my deliverer;
under your wings I rejoice.
My soul pursues you;
your right hand upholds me.
(Psalm 63:1-8)
Easter, and Jesus’s resurrection opened up to us the presence of God. As this psalmist desire, His presence is made available if we want to seek Him
The Bible is filled with stories of people who longed for and were filled with the presence of God. The one who has been in his presence.
Gideon in Judges 6-8
Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14
David 1 Samuel 30 But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
Paul, I have done more than any of you.... That I may know God. His Resurrection, life.
This what this book is about.
Is that you right now?
Are you are a person like those in this book?
Are you in His presence? Does you yearn for God ? ( Do you even know what that means?)
What is your promise you are claiming from Jesus’ resurrection at Easter?
What is that Easter miracle you are praying for, asking for?
Good Health? Successful business? Restoration of your family?
What is your promise land? what is your miracle you want for your church? To get pews/chairs set up different? Color changed? Growth in attendance? A bigger church?
How many of your miracles you asked for or prayers for things you need this week were to know Jesus better? To long for Him? To thirst for Him deeper?
How many of you desire to part of a church that longs for Jesus? That the minute you walk in you feel His presence? That when a person walks into this service, you want them to be freaked out by what they experience?
When they hear the person up front, or sitting next them, or across the aisle pray, there is something different about them and their connection with God. The pastors prayer is not just a cue to move on in the service but moves out from his heart of his service to God.
That during the prayer time, that visitor listens to the honest, desperate prayer requests of those around him, they hear them praying like they really know this Jesus they are praying to. The visitor sees them at the altar, and in their seats praying for one another and they want what they have.
Moses went up the mountain because he desired to be in God’s presence.
People are not going up to the mountain. Churches are not going up to the mountain. They are busy with so much stuff. I am busy with so much stuff.
And you know I can’t, your pastor can’t, even Jesus can’t make you go up to the mountain.
I can’t, your pastor can’t, even Jesus can’t make you love him and long for him.
I love church. I love you.
But There has to be something more than this.
I remember sitting in the church as a kid at the rituals that was part of the service. I remember when I made my confirmation that the bishop spoke some words over us and then gave me a rose.
There has to be something more than just this.
That somehow I need to lead us beyond this, somehow I need you to lead me beyond this.
And if you are hearing this understand that I am not talking in any way negatively about the church or a church building. It’s just that when I read this book I see so much more in the church and I don’t want us to settle for less. And I believe that if you heart is burning inside it is because of the Holy Spirit confirming in your heart that you don’t want to settle for anything less.
I see a church that is not just fine with the unsaved people around them.
I see a church that is not complacent or fine with people going to hell.
I see a church that is not ok to just sing another song, and tie it up right, and then let’s have another year of services.
I see a church that says, God, we got to have you.
God, I got to have you.
God, I got to experience what I read in this book.
Jesus, death and resurrection and Easter was so we could know Him.
Do you know Him?
I am not talking about some time in your past when you said a prayer and began your relationship with Jesus.
Do we Know Jesus?
Do we Long for Jesus?
Do we Thirst for Him?
Do we want to be the one who has been in his presence?
My family, there has to be something more than just this.
Somehow I need to lead us beyond this.
Somehow I need you to lead me beyond this.
To where our prayers are like those of the psalmist:
“O God, you are my God! I long for you!
My soul thirsts for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the heart and lead me by Your Spirit into all You have for me today and all You desire to do through me today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all His benefits--
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1-5).
With the heart of David, moved by Your Spirit, I bless You, Lord, with all my soul and all is within me. I love You and I trust You. I remember You and all You’ve done in me and for me.
In Your mercy and love, You’ve forgiven me and healed me; You’ve redeemed me and renewed me. You’ve satisfied me with good; and at the same time, You keep moving within me to long for more -- more of You, more of Your Spirit, more of Your love, more of Your nature, more of Your power. You keep filling me with Your Spirit and crowning me with Your life.
So I bless You. I honor You. I worship and adore You. And I’m excited for You to come have Your way in me and through me today. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be filled with God's Spirit, rising up within your spirit to bless the Lord with all our soul and remember all He has done in you and all He desires to do through you, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, I begin my day by surrendering to You all of my heart for every moment of my day, as best as I can and all by Your grace. ...
“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 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 the 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 5:14-19).
There is so much hurtful division in our country and our world. Name calling, profiling, mudslinging, character assassinations, negative stereotyping, drawing lines, winning at all costs, and the list goes on. The enemy of our souls comes to divide, but You Jesus come to unite. Our enemy tries to stir up our flesh to reject one another, but You stir up our spirit to embrace one another. You empower us to speak the truth in love and also hear the truth in love, to surrender our pride and lay down our defenses to hear Your words of conviction that lead repentance and Your words of correction that lead to maturity.
When we allow You to do this in us and in the relationships of our lives, we’re taking hold of this “ministry of reconciliation” and we’re living into this “message of reconciliation.” When we allow You to do this in us and through us, “we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Reconciled to God, reconciled to one another, You make us stronger than before. You unite us in bonds of love not easily broken. You empower us to embrace the Promise of Your Word that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). No, with a heart committed to this ministry and message of reconciliation, love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you embrace the ministry of reconciliation, speaking the truth in love and hearing the truth in love, as an ambassador Christ, letting God make His appeal through you, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, come rule and reign in my life and every moment of my day. ...
“Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him” (Psalm 68:1).
Yesterday morning I sat at the low bar at the Waffle House and listened to the customers and servers conversations. I also received texts and phone calls, my wife did as well, from people who are struggling in life. People who’s lives and family members are under attack mentally, spiritually, and financially. Who say they do not know what they are going to do. Who say they feel like just giving up and walking away. I turn on the news and the hate, animosity, and personal attacks from our government leaders and their supporters and both side of the aisle only fuels people fears and anxieties. The aggression and terror of the leaders and rulersof Russia towards the Ukraine, China towards Taiwan, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the list goes on of governe=ments and armies around the world seems endless.
Lord, arise in the hearts of all who are fearful and worried about their lives, about their families. Lord arise in the hearts of the government officials and their followers who do not know or live out their call to use their position to reflect a God of mercy and love. But those people, institutions and things in this world that are causing fear and worry in people are not the enemy. Our government officials and their radical followers are not our true enemy. Those men and their governments and their armies of that are attacking the peace of the world are not our true enemies
“For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
So we cry out to You God to arise, to scatter Your spiritual enemies, to contend with those who contend with us and all who trust in You (Isaiah 49:25). Send forth Your word to heal (Psalm 107:20). Send forth Your Spirit to strengthen (Zechariah 4:6). Send forth Your angels to fight (Psalm 103:20). Reveal the truth that many more are they who are with us than they who are with the spiritual enemies against us (2 Kings 6:16).
As Your scatter Your enemies, let faith and hope and love arise in the hearts of Your people (1 Corinthians 13:13). Let Your perfect love cast out all fear (1 John 4:18). And let the world see that You are a God who leaves no one behind (Hebrews 13:5).
In this broken and fallen world, death has entered through sin and now death has spread to all men, because all have sinned (Romans 5:12). And in the freedom of will that an authentic relationship of love requires, some will always choose to advance death over life, darkness over light, and good over evil (John 3:19). So even as we pray and believe, some may die; but they will not die alone (Matthew 28:20). Some may suffer; but they will not suffer in vain (2 Corinthians 4:7-12). For even their blood, even their suffering, will be seed for the great harvest of souls to come (Acts 8:1-8; Matthew 13:39).
So we cry out, O God protect them and save them. And at the same time, we cry out, O God let their lives or their deaths, let their salvation or their suffering have immeasurable meaning and unfathomable value in bringing many souls to repentance and many sons to glory (2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 2:10). Give them grace to be saved, courage to stand, and assurance of Your love and Your presence through whatever they endure (Romans 8:28). We pray this for them and we pray the same for us. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you join me in crying out to the God and trust in Him to arise and scatter His enemies, as He redeems all things on behalf of all these He loves, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me up with Your Spirit, as I lift up Your name through my life today (Ephesians 5:18). ...
“For this reason, since the day we heard it, 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 walk 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).
Last night I drove my wife Nancy to her Aunt Di’s house. He Aunt Di is nearing the moment of her passing from this earth into glory, and the family gathered in her home around her bed to say their goodbyes. Aunt Di led a life as an amazing woman of God. She was a school teacher, raised her family, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all in a loving Christian home. She had walked with the Lord a long time, completed her course with grace, and is nearing her end of the race she was called to run. She brought forth much good fruit in her life.
Reflecting on the Holy moment of last night and my life today, it stirred in my heart to ask God to give me grace as well to “walk worthy of the Lord”. I want to be “fully pleasing” to You Jesus and “bear good fruit in every good work.”
I don’t want to limp along or be dragged along in this walk. I don’t want to get side-tracked or distracted. I don’t want to get tripped up or just stumble through it. I don’t want to walk without a purpose or a direction. I want to walk along with You, in step with You, following “in (Your) steps” on the journey You have for my life today (1 Peter 2:21).
Jesus, You’ve taught me along the journey, that this is not a “walk” I can do in my strength or my wisdom; not in my goodness or self-righteousness. It’s all by Your grace. Apart from You, I can do thing (John 15:5). And I thank You that I never have to be apart from You and that by Your grace empowering my desires and my choices, I can do all things all things through You -- through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
Your part is to empower me. My part is to say, “Yes, Lord!” and walk with You.
“For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
So here in these first moments of my morning and then throughout the moments of my day, and on through all the moments of my life, keep filling me with “the knowledge of (Your) will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Keep giving me both the desire and the power to do what pleases You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace, this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, as you begin your day, bring to mind a saint that has touched your life. That man or woman, who like my wife’s Aunt Di, lived a life and was a living example of “walking worthy of the Lord.” I pray the thought of that person will inspire you as it did me this morning, to ask the Holy Spirit tobe empowered by God's grace to "walk worthy of the Lord" today, doing what pleases Him and lifting up His name in honor through your life, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek to start my day centered in You -- grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
“When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, (Jesus) said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down’” (Luke 21:5-6).
Every temple that doesn’t make room for Jesus will come down. Even the beautiful things, even the religious things.
“Not one stone” will stand that doesn’t acknowledge You as “the “Chief Cornerstone”:
“Coming to Him as to a Living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
‘Behold, I lay in Zion
A Chief Cornerstone, elect, precious,
And He who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
‘The Stone which the builders rejected
Has become the Chief Cornerstone,’
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:4-10).
Our hearts are the temple of the Lord Jesus. So with what stones are you constructing the temple of your heart? Stones of pride, position, popularity, selfishness, materialism, and others which will be torn down and not one left standing on another? When the time comes that all things that can be shaken will be shaken, and that time will come, What will remain of the temple you are building? Jesus, You are our Chief Cornerstone. So when the time of shacking comes. and only those things which cannot be shaken remains, those who’s temple was built on faith and hope in You Jesus, will remain firm in You -- our Rock and Cornerstone, as King of kings and Lord of lords, forever abiding in the temple of our hearts. For those whose faith is grounded in You -- steadfast and unshakeable -- “(we) are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in (us)” (1 Corinthians 3:16). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, everyday, including today you lay stones on the temple of your heart. What stones will you lay today? I pray you may be steadfast and unshakeable in your faith and lay stones grounded in the One who is your Chief Cornerstone in the temple of your heart, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard it, they praised God!” (Acts 21:17-20)
Step by step, season by season, all along our journey, we praise God for all You do in our lives and through the ministry You entrust to each of us. All glory, honor, and praise belong to You. And we thank You that we get to be a part of all You’re doing in our days!
Sometimes the battles are intense and the challenges almost overwhelming. But it’s all in Your plan to help us learn to love, to grow in grace, to surrender more of our will to more of Your will, as our ways become more like Your ways. “For this is the will of God, (our) sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
And this is the way of God, to teach us through the moments of real time to experience what’s it really like to truly trust in You and depend upon You for every breath, every provision, and every expression of Your nature through our lives in our world. “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
We’re to “grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ” through all we endure and overcome, through all we celebrate and embrace, “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-16). “Christ in (us), the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
My wife Nancy and I are beginning a new journey ourselves in our ministry as we transition out of leading a legacy, and like Paul concentrate on making disciples with our boots on in the ground house to house in our neighborhoods. We also are reconnecting with old friends, connecting with new, and we are excited to see what all God will do! May we receive and may we impart, as we grow in grace right from the start of our journey. We have arrived where God is calling us, and at the same time we are still on the journey where He leads us, in Jesus’ name.
My family, I pray you may intentionally seek out and then step out in faith to be strategically positioned in the place and with the people the Holy Spirit has aligned in your life for this season of God's glory through you and your ministry, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in my heart by Your Spirit, as I wait here a moment in Your Presence before I arise and go into my day. ...
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).
I begin a new week that will contain new challenges and events. To prepare for this I turn my heart and mind towards the unchanging, everlasting God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You’re everlasting in mercy and everlasting in love. You’re everlasting in faithfulness and fulfillment of every promise of Your Word. You’re everlasting in an eternity that has no beginning and no end in ways that unsearchable and beyond our understanding. And at the same time, You’re everlasting in every moment of our day and every detail of our lives.
You’re everlasting, but we’re not. Though spirit and soul will live for eternity, these physical bodies that carry us through our days on this earth will not. They grow faint; they get weary; they become exhausted.
But even then, You invite us to draw near to You, to open up to You, to wait on You a little while. And as we wait, as we worship, as we lift up our hearts and allow our spirits to arise into the intimate communion of Your Presence, You renew us and refresh us. You lift us up on eagles’ wings and fill us up with spiritual life.
Then we’re ready to run again. To run and not be weary, to walk and not grow faint. Until it’s time to come wait on You again and allow us to be strengthened again in the deep embrace of Your Presence. Thank You for this gift and grace of Your everlasting Presence, our everlasting God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be refreshed and renewed, ready to run again, as you wait on the Lord in the deep abiding Presence of our everlasting God, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Lord and Savior, Good Shepherd of my soul, I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
My wife is a traffic guard for Rainbow Pre-K school. She directs parents dropping off their children in the car line. Madison City Schools started back yesterday. Since it is a pre-Kindergarten school, yesterday was the first day ever for most of the children dropped off. My wife came home yesterday and told me stories of mothers and fathers crying in their cars, taking pictures in front of the school sign, and long hugs with their children as they dropped them off into this new season of their life. So this morning, my heart turns to You Jesus on behalf of all our children going back to school – Pre-K or kindergarten, elementary or college, public or private, vocational or spiritual, at home or abroad. And as I listen for the leading of Your Spirit on how to pray, this Story of Your heart for our children comes to mind:
“(Jesus) called a child, whom He put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in My name welcomes Me. If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.... Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of My Father in heaven.... So it is the will of your Father in heaven that not one of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18:2-14).
For many “little ones,” this is the first day of school to start off this school year. Some have already begun; others will begin soon; yet, all are always learning, always vulnerable, and always in need of our prayers and Your angels.
Thank You for these “ministering spirits” who are Your guardian angels sent forth at Your command and watch over our children and Yours -- not just when they're little, but all the days of their lives. "Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14) "Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out His plans, listening for each of His commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve Him and do His will!" (Psalm 103:20-21)
Father, we entrust our children to You -- to Your word and Your will, Your protection and Your purposes, Your guidance and Your guardians, Your care and Your compassion, Your heart and Your hands. We entrust them to Your Holy Spirit in Your heavenly school, as they go back to school, secure in the Spirit. You love them even more than we do and even more than we ever could.
So we know You'll watch over them -- sending forth Your word and Your warriors -- in ways we can't and never could. "The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him" and carefully watching over all those entrusted to Him (Psalm 103:13).
We trust in You to protect their immune systems from covid and their minds from confusion, their spirits from criticism and their bodies from abuse, their hearts from rejection and their thoughts from fear. We trust You to be with them through the challenges, as they mature in character.
Fill them with Your Spirit and anoint them for learning. Remind them of who they are in You and who You are in them, as they grow “in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man” in the model of Jesus (Luke 2:52). Then bring them home again, safe and sound, secure in Your Spirit and growing in the confidence of their true identity in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may your heart be steady as we entrust our children and the children of our communities in the heart and hands of our Father who loves them more than we every could, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Way to Heaven; and You’ve made Your way into my heart and life by Your Holy Spirit, who reminds me every morning and throughout the moments of my day that I am a child of God. ...
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of Adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:14-17).
Simple but profound and forever true -- Your Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am saved, I am forgiven, I am free. I am a child of God.
Every now and I then, I just need to take a moment, take my morning time here in the silence of surrender before You, here in my morning communion of prayer with You, to remember my identity. Secured and assured by Your Spirit that You are with me, that You are for me, that You have given me Your Spirit of Adoption to know and not doubt that I am a child of God.
I’m an heir of Heaven, as a joint heir with Christ. And my inheritance is my identity, that God himself is my Father -- a Father who never leaves me nor forsakes me; a Father who loves me and looks out for me; a Father who even takes whatever sufferings I endure on my journey through this sliver of time I have in this world on this side of Heaven, to make me more like Jesus every day in the glory of His identity.
As Your Word goes on to say in the next verse: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us” (v. 18).
Yes, Lord. My Father God, I am Your child. Lord Jesus, I am Your joint heir, even as I am also Your disciple and servant. Holy Spirit of the Living God, I am living in constant communion with You as You abide in me and bear witness to me of who I am in Christ.
Nothing I ever encounter and overcome, nothing I suffer through on my journey through this broken and fallen world, will ever separate me from Your love (v. 38-39). “No, in all these things (I am) more than victorious through Him who loves (me)!” (v. 37)
Thank You for reminding me of Your written Word and sending it into my spirit by Your spoken word this morning -- simple, profound, and forever true. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be reminded by the Spirit of your identity as a child of God, forgiven and free, secured and assured of His forever love for you, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, for Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:3); and the sons and daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). ...
As I read these words and now sit meditating and waiting, what comes to my heart -- into my spirit and intto mind, in the communication of Your Heart to my heart, Your Spirit to my spirit -- is this:
“Draw near to Me. Pursue Me. Press in to Me. Position yourself to hear Me and trust Me and obey Me, as I put My thoughts in your mind and My desires in your heart. This is how I change you into My image and transform you with My mind renewing your mind.” ...
Yes, Lord. I know every word I ever believe I’m hearing in my heart must be tested against the Word of God as my Plumb Line and Standard (1 Thessalonians 5:21). And this written Word immediately comes to mind to confirm Your spoken word:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).
And this:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert...” (1 Peter 5:6-8).
The transforming and renewing of my mind does not “just happen.” The peace Jesus offers over my life “that passes all understanding” over the anxieties and chaos in my life I do not receive without being present with You to receive it. Your Word tells me that “Entering into the “Kingdom of God” and receiving all the blessings and grace you offer me in all things and areas of my life does not happen unless I “Seek You first.”
So this morning by the leading of Your Spirit and in the power of Your grace, I do choose to intentionally position myself to hear You and trust You and obey You. I do choose to humble myself before You in prayer, to press in to You in worship, to allow You to change my nature into Your nature, my character into Your character, and transform me by the renewing of my mind. I do choose to be positioned to be changed by the Presence of God.
Let this be my discipline in obedience and submission to Your discipleship. In this way, may You make me more like You each day (Romans 8:29). For as You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17). Lord, let it be so in me and in the heart of every soul who is called by Your name -- day by day, step by step, morning by morning, “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may intentionally position yourself to be changed by the Presence of God, to be conformed into His image and participate in His nature, from glory to glory, 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’ Gideon answered him, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off and given us into the hand of Midian.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.’ He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them’” (Judges 6:11-16).
You saw something in Gideon he didn’t see in himself. And You knew answers to his questions he didn’t know.
What Gideon needed to see and to know was that You knew him better than he knew himself; and that You were with him wherever he was, wherever You would send him, despite whatever questions he had, however weary he had become, however lacking his faith had become.
The key words: “But I will be with you” (v. 16). And You were.
Gideon was able to “Go in this might of (his)” because You empowered him by Your Presence to “Go in this might of (Yours)” (v. 14).
Though he was full of fear and lack of faith at first, even questioning Your promises and purposes, he still chose to trust You and obey You (v. 27). By the power of Your grace, emboldened by Your Presence, Gideon was able to confront the sins of his generations and his nation, the spiritual sickness and idolatry of his culture and his clan (v. 25-32).
It wasn’t until after his first encounter that Gideon realized he had had a “face to face” encounter with the Living God. The “angel of the Lord” was none other than the Presence of the Lord -- a “Christophany” encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ, just has You also appeared in this way to Hagar, Abraham, Jacob, Manoah, and Joshua (Genesis 16:7; 22:15; 32:30; Judges 2:1; 13:13; Joshua 5:14).
“Then Gideon perceived that it was the Angel of the Lord, and Gideon said, ‘Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear; you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, ‘The Lord Is Peace’” (v. 22-24).
There’s peace in Your Presence because You are our Peace (Ephesians 2:14). There’s courage and confidence, security and faith in Your Presence because You are the Source of all we need, when we need it, whether we recognize it at first or not. You are the Lord God Almighty, our All Sufficient-God (Genesis 17:1-2). You are our “All in All” (Ephesians 1:23).
You see us in ways we don’t see ourselves and do things through our lives we could never do on our own. In You we find our identity and fulfill our destiny -- all for Your glory and all by Your grace. You give us eyes to see ourselves with God’s sight, in Jesus’ name.
My family,as you begin this new week it will include going to your job, people to meet and places to go. You will be seen by people who have a formed image of you in their mind. Before you do any of these things, I pray you may take time to form the image in your mind of who you are to God. I pray you mey see yourself as God sees you, empowered by His Holy Spirit, with the Spirit of Christ abiding in you, knowing your identity and fulfilling your destiny 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn to You -- "looking to Jesus" -- to run the race set before me today (Hebrews 12:1-2). ...
On the first floor of the condo on the beach we are staying at there is a dry erase board on which a condo staff member writes down the events at the condo for that day. Written on it this morning across the bottom was “Enjoy and take plenty of “Vitamin Sea” today! “
I smiled at this and then reflected on it.
Vitamin C.
Vitamin C is "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Christ in me, shining Your Light through me, letting Your Rivers of Living Water flow through me, allowing Your Power and Love to be manifest all around me, because Your abiding Presence dwells within me. "(I am) not in the flesh; (I am) in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in (me), though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in (me), He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to (my) mortal body also through His Spirit that dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9-11).
This morning, sitting here with my Bible open I'm taking in my Vitamin C, Lord. And by the power of Your grace -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- my immune system will be strong and I will "be in good health." As the Apostle John prayed for those entrusted to his care, "Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.... I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in truth.... that we may become co-workers with the truth.... Peace be to you" (3 John 2:15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,may you take time today to take in plenty of Vitamin C so that you may be in good health, spiritually, mentally and physically. May this dose of Vitamin C in you cause you to prosper even as your soul prospers, and may you be the hands and feet of Jesus, revealing the love and heart of our Father, all in the power of the Holy Spirit as witness of our God in our world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life, as I begin my day in communion with You. ...
“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).
My family and I came to the beach Saturday with some friends. Yesterday we spent a wonderful day on the beach. I got up this morning and walked down to the beach to set up our chairs and umbrellas. I looked at the sand and though we spent a wonderful, full day yesterday ton the same spot of beach I was now standing: laughing, talking, eating, drinking, and enjoying our time together; this morning there was no trace that we had even been there. The waves of the incoming time had smoothed the sand and erased any signs of the previous day. The waves had prepared the sand “New” for today. I’m reminded that the Bible often speaks of new beginnings.
Lord, give me eyes to see the “new thing” You’re doing -- in me, around me, in my world, in the Body and Bride of Christ. Give me ears to hear what Your Spirit is speaking to Your Church, what Your Spirit is speaking to me. And give me courage to embrace it, faith to believe it, and grace to make it my own.
Where there’s been a wilderness, You’re making a way. Where there’s been a desert, You’re releasing Your river to flow.
By the power of Your grace, let me perceive it; let me receive it. Don’t leave me out of it! And do everything You need to do in me for me to be in the middle of it! ...
As I wait and listen for Your response to the cry of my heart, what comes to mind immediately is the Promise of Your Word:
“But as it is written:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).
O Lord. We have no idea the depth of the things of God about to spring up in this “new thing” You’re doing in this time of new beginnings. But Your Spirit is beginning to reveal it and the world can no longer conceal it.
And I’m all in! I’m not holding back! I’m full of expectant faith and confident hope in You -- the God of new beginnings and faithful endings! He who began a good work in me, and in all Your Body and Bride for all the world to see, will be faithful to complete it until the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you sense the waves of God’s grace washing over you this morning, smoothing out the uneven areas of your life and preparing it for a brand new day today! May you be filled with expectant faith and confident hope in the new things the Lord is revealing by His Spirit and doing in your life and His people for the glory of His name, all 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here at the first of this new year, be first place in my heart, with Your Presence the first thought in mind and Your name the first word I speak. ...
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
As my wife Nancy and I are beginning this new season of ministry God is calling us into, We have started cleaning out and removing the things in our house and garage that we have collected and are clinging to that are taking up space, weighing us down, and require our time and attention. Yesterday, in a time of prayer and conversation with a spiritual brother, he also confirmed how the things that once seemed important and that he could not get along without, as he is drawing closer to God, they no longer hold an attraction to him.
I have also been paying over removing and laying aside the “spiritual” weights that are/would slow me down and the sin that would trip me up. I want to “run with perseverance the race that God is now setting before (me)” and I want to run this race “in such a way that (I) may win” the prize, as Your Word compels me (1 Corinthians 9:24).
And in the kingdom of God, the way to win the prize is by letting go of what lies behind and taking hold of what lies ahead. As the Apostle Paul said:
“Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind...” (Philippians 3:12-15).
And “the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” is that I become more like Jesus -- conformed to the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29), as He is so am I to be in this world (1 John 4:17). I become more like Him, as I behold Him and the Holy Spirit transforms me into the image of Christ from glory to glory, morning by morning, one day at a time (2 Corinthians 3:18).
So my family, that’s the race I’m determined on running. That’s the race I want to win -- as best as I can and all by and relying on the grace of God -- “looking to Jesus.” So by the same mercy and power of Your grace, I’m letting go of physical, mental, and spiritual “Stuff” that once attracted me yesterday, and taking hold of my new revelation of you and my calling today, to run my race well. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be set free of all that would weigh you down or trip you up as you run the race set before you that you are called by Jesus to run, so that you may become more like Jesus every 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
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. 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 Thank You!
