Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, Your words in my mouth, as You lead me by Your Spirit through every moment of my day. ...
“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:27-36).
Being more like Jesus is as much about becoming more “merciful” as it is about moving in the miraculous. It’s as much about allowing Your Spirit to develop our character as it is about anointing us with charismatic gifts.
And at the heart of that supernatural character development is the evidence of how we treat people -- especially the most challenging people, like the ones that hate us and hurt us, curse us and mistreat us, judge us and misunderstand us, or even just flat out ignore us. Embracing the true character of Jesus is the most challenging choice we’ll ever face in this life.
We all know the Golden Rule, “Do unto other as you would have them do unto you,” which is taken from this very Passage of Scripture. But we don’t always remember just how challenging and counter-cultural this command of Yours really is. Being “merciful” as “children of the Most High” is marked by being much more radically loving, extravagantly giving, and graciously forgiving than even most of the most committed followers ever come close to living out.
We, of course, can’t even begin to do this or even desire to do this apart from You. It’s not in our nature. And that’s point. You want to change our nature, as You develop our character into the nature and character of Christ (Romans 8:29), as we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).
This transformation is not just a little tweaking here and there. It’s a crucifixion of our flesh (Galatians 2:20); it’s a circumcision of our heart (Romans 2:29). It’s resurrection of our new self as a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), but it’s a resurrection lifestyle not merely a one-and-done prayer, as we “die daily” to our old ways of thinking and living, of loving just those who are easy to love and being merciful only to those who we think deserve our mercy (1 Corinthians 15:31). It’s answering a call and commitment asked of every would-be disciple and follower of Christ, as You continue to set before us this choice every day: “If any wish to come after Me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
It’s not an easy road, even as we rest in You and trust in the finished work of Your cross. It’s not meant to be. In fact You said, “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Pressing even further, You said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from Me, you who behave lawlessly’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
How I need Your grace every moment of every day. I thank You for the grace that saved me, but I’m also desperately dependent upon Your grace to sanctify me, to make me more like You every day. Apart from You, I can’t begin to do this or even desire this (John 15:5). So I thank You that I’m not apart from You, that Your Spirit is living in me, changing my heart and developing my character to make me more like You, giving me both the desire and the power to please You and honor You with this sliver of time with the opportunities I have on this side of Heaven (Philippians 2:13).
My family, I pray you may choose daily to embrace the challenging character of Jesus, by embracing the power of God's grace and the work of His Spirit in you, making you more like Jesus each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on this in the comments box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“And now he’s found Jesus, which we do not want to hear about at this time. He’s apologizing to the mom, saying he’s found Jesus, we don’t care about that”
Yesterday morning, CBS Morning Show aired a story on Natalee Holloway murder confession. Joran van der Sloot admitted killing Natalee in 2005. It was a horrible, gruesome murder and Joran absolutely deserves to be punished for his crime. However, in the 18 years since Joran committed this murder, he repented and accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior. It is this conversion to Christ which convicted him to come forth and confess he committed this crime. At the end of the news story, CBS anchor Gayle King went off the script and said referring to Joran, “And now he’s found Jesus, which we do not want to hear about at this time. He’s apologizing to the mom, saying he’s found Jesus, we don’t care about that”
Again, let me be clear that the murder of Natalee by Joran as horrific and Joran deserves to be punished for his crime. However, we must celebrate that Joran “was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.ʼ” ( Luke 15:32)
Author Max Lucado stated on the trial of serial killer Jeffery Dahmer: The most difficult thing for me about the trial of Dahmer is not the fact that he killed, mutilated and ate so many people; not the fact that he had no remorse, no apologies for his acts and to the victims families, not the fact that he sat cold-hearted, unemotional throughout his trial, The most difficult thing for me to accept and wrap my head around is that while Dahmer was in prison, he repented, confessed, and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord. And if that conversation was honest and real, Dahmer will be standing next to me and all the saints in heaven.
Gayle King in her remarks stated ‘We”do not want to hear about it…; “We” do not care….. I do not know who, or identify with the “We” that she is referring to.
Paul remarks about another “We” in Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while “We” were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That “We” I can identify with; as that “we” includes me, and it includes you, and all those who were saved, redeemed, and given new life by and through the blood of Jesus. I am not God. I do not complete understand or have to agree with, be completely comfortable with, or like God’s plan for our salvation. It is God’s plan, not mine. All I am to do is fall on my knees in complete surrender and gratitude and receive His salvation for me. As I to was dead and now alive, I was lost and now am found. To which I say, Thank you Jesus!
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 3:22-24) And that all includes Paul, Joran, Dahmer, Gary Liederbach, and you.
My family, I do not know the last time in prayer you thanked God for His plan of salvation for the world through Jesus, which includes you, and thanked him for saving you. I pray today and throughout this weekend you take time to read the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. And as you do replace yourself in the story for the son, and fall on your knees in gratitude, and say Thank you!, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on this in the comments box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“Therefore Go, and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19)
Just over a month ago I was so blessed to baptize 4 teenagers in a friends swimming pool. Since then they have started coming on Wednesday nights to the simple church held in my wife Nancy and my home. As they were new in their faith, we shared simple times of worship with them they entered into for the first time. We share the Lord’s Supper every week and they shared in that for the first time. We all say the Lord’s Prayer together as [part of the Lord’s Supper/. The teenagers just looked at each other as the rest of us recited it by heart. I was convicted in my assumption that everyone knows the Lord’s Prayer. They are new to the faith, my mistake. So next week I provided it to them to read along with us. Last week I taught them on prayer and it’s necessity as the life breath of a Christian. I led our group through an hour time of prayer. For the teens it was their first time in a long block of prayer.
Last night our simple church met at our house again, however we did not meet inside. I did a short teaching on prayer walking, we circled up and prayed in our front yard, then we divided up into groups and headed off in different directions to prayer walk our neighborhood. I was so proud of these teens! They were only baptized a month ago, yet they took up their mantle of authority they received in their baptism and went out into the streets to pray over and with their neighbors. They stopped and asked to pray with people out walking, in their front yards, and working in their garages. They prayed over houses and various know situations of neighbors. We prayer walked for an hour then all met up back at my house to share meal, the Lord’s Supper, and discuss their experience. I told them how proud I was of them! That they are new to the faith so they do not know how huge what they just did was compared to allot of Christians in the church. I told them how I pastored churches where many members had been baptized 20, 30, 40 or more years ago, have been Christians decades longer than they were, yet when I suggested we leave the church and go out in the streets and prayer walk and pray over our neighbors, they would not do it and looked at me like I was crazy. These teens just weeks into thier faith embraced a high level of obedience as disciples of Jesus. During our meal together they asked if we could go prayer walk their school sometime? I said absolutely!
After our gathering two of the teens came up to me and asked me if they could lead the group in the Lord’s Supper next week. I again said absolutely! And I gave them both print outs of the service to read over this week to prepare for leading next week. Praise God!
See, the goal of our missional life is not to grow churches. The goal of the church is to grow missionaries. The goal of the gospel is not to get people to church. The result of the gospel is that people will find each other and gather because of the deep meaning of a common experience. This is why I myself and I advocate other church planters not to start the church by launching a church service. Instead, I advocate that they launch people out with the Gospel and add the gatherings as needed. The challenge for a church is to sensitively "not provide" things at the gathering that you want people to experience in the world, and slowly reestablish the meaning behind weekly church service. Maybe, it should not be called a "service." That communicates, " You come here to get what you need." The key is to not let your gathering become something more than it is supposed to be, not let people depend on the gathering for things it wasn't supposed to provide in the first place.
I am reflecting on this simply to encourage you to think outside the box. To see church as a movement throughout your day instead of a location on one given day. But be prepared that if you pray for God to lead you to minister outside the box, he will honor that and show you what real out of the box faith, worship, and grace looks like. It is challenging me right now. I pray you are now or will come to the place it challenges you as well.
My family, we are all members of The Church. We are all part of the movement of God. We are all missionaries. The definition I use of a missionary is; “someone who is willing to sacrifice everything except the Gospel, for the sake of the Gospel.” I pray you will pray to the Holy Spirit and ask Him for guidance, then reflect throughout today on these questions:
Is your church life based on movement or a location?
How are you participating in the movement of God?
Where is church as the movement of God happening around you?
Where is God calling you to enter into his movement?
Please post your reflections as a comment below.
Also please connect with me as I would love to help, train, and walk with you, your small group, your church, in becoming movement.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, Your words in my mouth, as I listen for Your leading. ...
According to Your Word, there is “a time for war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:8 ESV). “For there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (v. 1).
And it’s always the time to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Even through the time of war, we pray for the time of peace to come. But even as we pray for peace, we remember Your words that the kind of peace we are praying for is not the world’s kind of peace--a peace that turns a blind eye to injustice, a peace that appeases evil, a peace that compromises with the “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” of the kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). No, we pray for Your peace, the peace of Your kingdom that only King of the Kingdom of God can ever provide. As You said:
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
So we pray for Your peace for Jerusalem, Your peace for Israel and Palestine, for all the Middle East and all the people and nations of this world. But it is a peace that comes when we call upon Your name, when we turn to You as the Source of true peace, for only You are “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
So as our hearts break, as fears and anxieties of the state of our world and the horror and terror of these days seeks to rise in our minds and emotions, we turn to You and call on Your name and seek Your help. We lift up our hearts and our voices to You in faithfulness and prayer, because that’s where our Help comes from; our Help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2).
No matter what time this is--for war, for peace, for courage, for action, for boldness, for faith, for hope, for love--let us answer Your call to this time of prayer, here in our own hearts and in the heart of all who call upon Your name and trust in Your Word and are led by Your Spirit around the world.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
So let us not pray according to the will of the world, but according to the will of God. Let us not pray for peace as defined by the world, but let us pray for peace according to the heart of God defined by the Word of God. Then “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (our) hearts and (our) minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My Family, I pray you may join in prayer and take your stand for Israel and all the people of the Middle East and the world to know Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Defender, and Rescuer, as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, 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 with us from todays reading.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Rock and my Refuge, my Cornerstone and Coming King (Psalm 18). I listen for Your leading as I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more” (Psalm 10:16-18 NIV).
10 days ago as Israel celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, rockets began to rain down terror in waves of indiscriminate horror on civilian homes. Women and children and the elderly were kidnapped and taken hostage. Hundreds upon hundreds of Jewish people were systematically murdered, slaughtered in moments of genocidal rage by racist terrorists.
We pray for a day when they will “terrify no more.”
King Jesus--Messiah of Israel and all nations of the earth--come in Your justice and Your mercy. Hear the cries of the afflicted, the fatherless, and the oppressed. Come set things right. Set the captives free and heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61). Even use what has happened to open the eyes of the world to the terror the people of Israel face every day.
Terror is never justified. The slaughter of the innocent is always evil.
Yet terror will not have the final word and evil will not have the final say. We don’t give in to a passive mentality that says “Whatever will be will be.” No, we take up the weapons of our warfare to fight in the Spirit by the leading of Your Holy Spirit in this spiritual battle of good and evil being manifested before our eyes (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). There is spiritual warfare behind this evil and terror. We fight this battle, we “fight the good fight of the faith,” on our knees in prayer and with our voices in faith (1 Timothy 6:12). We all need to join into this spiritual warfare by praying on our knees daily over the war in Israel and Palestine.
And as we fight, as we pray, we take our stand with You for Israel. We pray You would be a “Wall of Fire” of her protection, her vindication, and her restoration. “For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a Wall of Fire all around her, and I will be the Glory in her midst’” (Zechariah 2:5).
With Your Spirit in our hearts as we pray, we obey Your command and answer Your call to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Palm 122:6). We pray for the peace of God, the shalom of God, to cover all the people of that land and fill the hearts of all the people, whether Jew or Gentile, Israeli or Palestinian, even Iranian or Syrian, as You move to turn every heart to You as Messiah and King of all the earth.
We know from Your Word that horrific and evil events will occur on this earth before Your return. Both good and evil, the seeds of wickedness and the seeds of righteousness, will come to full maturity; but even that is preparation for the great “harvest” of souls at “the end of the age” (Matthew 13:39).
So let us be found faithful in our prayers for good to prevail and righteousness to come. Even cause this evil that has happened to work together for good (Romans 8:28) so that in the end, “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
Between this day and that day to come, come into that land as a Warrior and Defender, a Rescuer and Father to set things right in the righteousness of God that only You can do. Remind us that our true battle is not “against flesh and blood,” not even against wicked people and leaders of nations that would carry out their evil actions of terror and cruelty to seek to destroy a nation. But that our true battle is “against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
As we express our grief and sorrow, our shock and anger, at all that has happened and may yet happen, as we continue to pray and fight the good fight of the faith on our knees and through our authority in Christ on behalf of all people of this land and every land, let us remember “the battle belongs to the Lord!” (1 Samuel 17:47) And our God will always prevail (Isaiah 46:10). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may join in prayer with me and take your stand for Israel and all the people of the Middle East and the world to know Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Defender, and Rescuer, 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 with us from todays reading.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning Lord Jesus, fill me completely so I can love today deeply….
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess,….See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God. But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sinʼs deception. For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end.” (Hebrews 3:1,12-15)
You and I in the moment we fell in love with Jesus, surrendered our lives to Him, and exchanged our lives from for His we were in that second justified, made whole, and initially sanctified with the power and presence of Christ and set aside into the family of God for His use and His glory. All that took place in a second. However, though this sure thing and gift of grace we started out in came in a second, we are not in Christ for a second. We are in Christ for the long haul. For how long, for how many days? This passage tells us as long as “today” is called “today.”
Every day we wake up and it is “today” we are to live out our “heavenly calling.” And we are not to do it alone, nor can we do it alone. This passage says we are to “Exhort one another each day.” Everyday we are called to encourage each other, pray for each other, lift up each other, warn each other, have each other’s back, keep each other vigilant and on our toes. We are in this for the long haul and we need each other to encourage one another along every step of the journey. Jesus sent out the 12 and the 70 two by two, side by side. He knew we could not do it alone. He knew we needed a church.
My family, If you are reading this then God gave you this gift you woke up in called “today.” Today you are to live out your heavenly calling. Today you are to exhort, lift up, pray for, and encourage others in their journey. Today I pray as you begin another week of your journey, you will pick up the phone and call someone or text them, or better yet invite them to have coffee or a beer face to face and encourage them to “hold to our initial confidence in Christ firm until the end,” 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 with us from todays reading.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Good morning Lord Jesus, I am lost without you, please guide me through my day...
“For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control, but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by Godʼs grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.” Again he says, “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, with the children God has given me.” Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abrahamʼs descendants. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:8-18)
Here is the reflection on these passages from The Message Bible.
“It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to treat them as family, saying, “I’ll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you; I’ll join them in worship and praise to you…
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.
It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.”
When I read these verses, there is nothing I can add except Amen! Amen! And Thank you! Thank you!
My family, I pray you will read and let these timely words of God speak into the current situations: of war in Ukraine and now Israel; of the fear, and uncertainty we find ourselves in today and allow them to soak into your hearts and minds. If you are “cowering through life now “scared to death of death.” If you are experiencing pain, trials, testing you have a Lord and savior who is “not ashamed to call you his brother or sister.” And who has experienced everything you are going through, and is there beside you going through it with you, please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can We find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus know are every weakness; take it to the Lord and prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Comm
Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I went into my local Waffle House (WH) and sat at the low bar. I had been out of town Friday through Monday so it was the first time I had been there since last Thursday. I was talking to the waitresses and cooks catching up on life when an elderly lady walked in. Her and her husband are regulars at the WH. This was the first time I had seen her walk in by herself. The waitress whispered to me as she walked in that her husband had passed away on Sunday and they had his funeral Tuesday. My heart sank into sadness and I said, ‘Oh No!” I got up from the low bar as she was coming in and walked up to her. She gave me a warm smile and said, “Hello”. I told her I was so sorry to her about her loss and hugged her. As we hugged another waitress came around the bar and hugged her as well and the three of us with tears in are our eyes shared a long hug of love as the waitress and I spoke words of love over the lady. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said I had to come in this morning and see my family. And I have to try to move on into this new season of my life. We hugged, I kissed ger cheek, and she went and sat down at a booth, for the first time without her husband.
They were a wonderful, sweet, elderly couple who were so in love with each other. Her husband had Parkinson disease and it sadly slowly deteriorated him. He would sit at the booth and his leg would shake all the time. They used to laugh with me as my shakes all the time when I sit down. They always had a smile on their face and I was blessed to share life with them and pray with them. They were members of our WH congregation, they were family.
As I sat at the low bar and drank my coffee and talked with the staff and those patrons around me, I watched the booth the lady was sitting at. Throughout my time there someone would continuously sit in the booth in the bench across from her. A waitress would sit across from her and they would hold hands across the table and share. After five minutes of so, the waitress got up and walked around and hugged her. When the waitress got up, a regular patron walked over and took the seat across from her and this process repeated. Before I left, I took my turn in the seat across from her and held her hands across the table. In our conversation I told her I loved her, loved her husband, and if there is anything she needs help with to please give me a call. After we finished talking, I prayed over her, then walked around and hugged her again, kissed her forehead, and left for my day.
As I reflect on the morning, I loved the fact that the morning after she buried her husband, she wanted to come to the WH. It was her family, it was her “small group”, it was her church. And that morning even though her heart was broken with the loss of her life-long soul mate, it was a place where her heart received love, support, compassion and healing.
As a simple church planter, I have always said that if you start by trying to plant a church, you may end up with some form of community, However, if you start by forming and entering into a community, a church will always come out of it. The mornings this couple spent at the WH, they were with out labeling it, attending their small group, band group, or accountability group. It did not have those labels, it did not meet at a church or because of a sign up sheet passed around at a church, it did not look like what you would picture a small group would look like, but it felt like one more than ever. And it was real, and it was beautiful. And I am blessed to be a part of it. And it continues every morning I walk in the door and hear “Welcome to Waffle House” and sit down and love and receive love from those I sit down and share life with. Again, it is what legacy churches are trying to recreate, it is organic, it is beautiful
My family, I pray you will find your WH, your place where you can enter into the life and simply love your neighbors as yourself. As in doing so you will receive amazing love in return, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. I would also love to help you start a simple church in your home. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of my morning, I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to deliberately, intentionally begin my day in the deep Presence of God. ...
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7).
Father God, pour out Your Spirit upon me today through Jesus Christ my Savior. Let me live into the fullness of my inheritance as a son of God, now and forever. Let the understanding and the experience of the fullness of my salvation by true in the thoughts of my mind also in the nature of my heart.
I've been reborn and I'm being renewed -- all by Your mercy and grace, all by Your goodness and loving kindness. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You've done a deep work in me; and "I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work (in me) will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). In Jesus' name pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may desire, seek, and be renewed by the Holy Spirit as you begin your day, and every moment of every day, as the One who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. 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.
Please join me in prayer over the horrific attacks on Israel, the victims, families of victims, and the country as it works through this tragedy. Please keep those residents in Palestine in your prayers who are victims and pawns of Hamas presence among them, Lord Have Mercy, Christ Have Mercy, Lord Have Mercy.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me hear Your voice and listen for Your leading, as I begin this day in the communion of prayer with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is He who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11-14).
Lord Jesus -- "our great God and Savior" -- manifest Your glory today. I know one day You will return in a spectacular, indescribable, world-wide manifestation of Your glory for all to see (1 Thessalonians 4:16). But at the same time, I know You also desire there to be a manifestation of Your glory here in my heart and in here through my life every day. "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossian 1:27).
You forgive my sins and purify my soul. You fill me with Your Spirit and anoint me with Your presence and power and purpose (1 John 2:17). And You send me out into my world, zealous for You with a passion for my Father's kingdom to come and will to be done, here on earth and here through my life, "to display (Your) glory" as one of those "called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord" (Isaiah 61:3).
When You walked this earth to show us the way to honor God with our lives, You said, "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" (John 15:7-8). So Father God, in Jesus' name, I embrace Your Holy Spirit to manifest the glory of Christ through my life in my world today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will be continually filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God, abiding in Jesus and His word, that your life may be a manifestation of the glory of Christ in your world every day, 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 with us from todays reading.
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 Lord Jesus, this morning I open my Bible on my lap to Romans 8 and soak in its words to soak in you…
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set (us) free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4 ).
The same power of Your grace that saves us and sets us free from the law of sin and death is the same power of Your grace that empowers us to “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (v. 4). In that place of growing in spiritual maturity -- not settling for merely our salvation, as wonderful and as essential as that is -- we also begin to experience the deeper life and fuller peace that’s now available to us through life in Your Spirit:
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:5-8).
Praise You, Lord, for setting us free for life in You! We have life in You because Your very Spirit lives in us!
“(We), however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in (us). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in (us), although 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 (us), He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to (our) mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in (us)” (Romans 8:9-11).
Thank You for this grace! Thank You for this power of God abiding in us to walk in Your ways as You live out Your ways through us:
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if (we) live according to the flesh (we) will die, but if by the Spirit (we) put to death the deeds of the body, (we) will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:12-14).
All by the power of Your grace that saves us and is maturing us, we are sons and daughters of God, set free to live by the Spirit, as we are led by the Spirit to walk in Your ways by Your Spirit. And in this, we are truly blessed.
“For (we) did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but (we) have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:15-17).
What is to “suffer” is not our true identity as children of God in You. What is to “suffer” is our flesh -- that part of us that wants to be Lord ourselves instead of yield to Your Lordship, wanting to walk in our own ways apart from Your ways. It’s our flesh that needs to suffer and die by the mercy of Your grace so that we can truly live our life in Christ, as we allow You to live Your life in us.
That’s the blessed life! That’s our best life now! -- to borrow a phrase from a famous preacher and apply it to the will and ways of our even more famous Savior!
So I begin this day thanking You for Your grace to walk in Your ways by Your Spirit in the fear of the Lord. Keep putting Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart all day long. Keep filling me up with Your Spirit all day long (Ephesians 5:18). And I thank You now that it will be another good day in Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be empowered by God's grace to walk in His ways, with the Spirit of Christ living His life in you, 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.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)
On Sunday mornings I pick up baked goods from Publix grocery store and take them to the Waffle House. I park my car by their kitchen back door and give out the baked goods to the WH employees and some customers in need. A waitress named Michele always gets baked items from me and is very grateful. Michele has been a waitress there for many years and I know her well. She is in her mid-fifties, has many tattoos, and a quiet personality. When I share my faith at the bar to waitresses and customers, she always stands and listens, however she rarely says anything. This past Sunday I asked her how was she doing. She said not very good at all. I asked her what was going on and she got quiet and began sharing.
She said she was having a sore throat, pain and having trouble swallowing. She said she finally went to the doctor a couple weeks ago (WH does not offer great health insurance) to have it checked. They found a large mass in her throat. On return visits and biopsy they confirmed it was cancer and it has began to metastasize into other areas of her body. She said she was going to have to receive both chemo and radiation treatments. She was going Tuesday (yesterday) to get a feeding tube inserted, as when they start the treatment her throat will be to sore, she will not be able to eat, and will be sick. She was scared and tearing up as she talked. She said today (this past Sunday) was the last day she will be able to work for a long time and she did not know how her and her husband were going to make it with loss of her income and medical bills. ( Her husband works at Walmart. ) For the first time in the years I have known her she asked me to please pray for her, and so I held her hands and I did.
I texted her yesterday evening and asked her how inserting the food tube went. She said it hurt way more than she thought it would, but she survived it.
Besides her husband George, Michele has no other family or support to help her or drive her to treatments and doctor visits. Her husband has to miss work to do this.
I love Michele. She is different, an outsider, one of the least of these. So I am going to do something I never have done in a morning devotion before, ask you who are reading this to help, encourage, and bless her. Here is her address:
Michele Jackson
2716 Monticello Drive NW
Huntsville, Al 35810.
(Her husband’s name is George)
What I am asking is that you take the time, go “old School”, buy a stamp, and mail her a card. Michele has been told she has stage 4 cancer, which is devastating. She is afraid, depressed, has anxiety, and unsure of her future both financially and physically. I can only imagine the surprise, hope, joy she would be blessed with by walking to her mailbox and receiving cards of prayers and encouragement from people she does not know. Maybe ask your small group, family members, or others to write her. She is facing financial hardships, so any financial support you want to include in your card of any amount I know she would appreciate. But simply receiving cards letting her know she is not an outcast, not alone, and loved would be such a blessing. And her experiencing the outpouring of “The Church” may help open the door of her heart where I can lead her into salvation of Jesus Christ.
My family, We all have busy agendas. I pray you may take the time to write Michele a letter or card, and be led by the Holy Spirit to see the other “Micheles” around you who are going through some kind of hell you be a source of light in their darkness and pain. 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.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your leading to start my day following You. ...
“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers” …..“I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:2-5; 14-15).
Lord Jesus, You’re the Gate and You’re the Good Shepherd. By the power and grace of Your Spirit, open my eyes to see where You’re leading me and open my ears to hear where I’m to follow.
I know Your name and You know mine (v. 3). Help me Jesus hear when You’re calling my name, when You’re stirring in my spirit, when You’re moving in my heart. Help me discern Your voice from the voice of the stranger, the voice of the enemy of my soul. Your voice leads to life, but the stranger’s voice leads to death (v. 10). Your voice leads to abundance, but the stranger’s voice leads to destruction (v. 10).
Align my spirit with Your Spirit, my heart with Your Heart, my thoughts with Your Thoughts, my words with Your Word, so that my ways will follow Your Way. For You are “the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).
All these things must be spiritually discerned, with my spirit seeking the leading of Your Spirit, abiding in the fellowship and communion of Your Spirit:
“But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love Him’ --
“God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual…“But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
To have “the mind of Christ” is have “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9). To have “the mind of Christ” is to abide in communion with Christ -- seeking Your face, following Your voice, filled with Your Spirit. “Anyone united with the Lord becomes one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17).
By Your grace Jesus, keep me close, keep me in the holy communion of intimate fellowship with You. Keep me going through the Gate of the Good Shepherd into the abundance of Life in You that You desire for me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you keep going through the Gate of the Good Shepherd, seeking His face and following His voice in communion with His Spirit, 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.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
GIVE TODAY, CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Jesus, I am in no hurry as I wait here in your presence and seek to hear your voice.
“Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs and met him. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him…..For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”…. people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind….Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.” (Excerpts from the story found in Mark 5:1-20)
The verses above are part of the passages in Mark’s Gospel about a demon possessed man in chains . I read through the story of the demoniac again this morning and these last two verses in the story stood out to me. They tie in with and build upon my posts this week reflecting on serving with Kairos in prisons. The cause of Christ and are calling to bear witness to the world the truth of Jesus.
The man in the story was broken and controlled by, and identified by the evil inside of him. When he encountered Jesus, he was free of all that bound him, he was no longer recognized by those who knew him by his past, and given an amazing new life and future. Jesus then told him to tell his family and friends what He did for him.
When all of us encountered Jesus we were in some form of brokenness and bondage, and when we did Jesus set us free as well. In the same way as the demoniac in the story in Mark, we are called to share with others what Jesus has done for us. Paul tells us, “Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.” (1 Timothy 4:16) We all have a testimony to share. When we share it with someone wether we are in prison or our place of work, those listening to it always have one question they want to hear an answer to, “What difference does my relationship with Jesus make in my life?” They want to hear the tangible truth of who Jesus is to you and in you, how it affects the way to live today, and how that truth then can be applied to them.
When you came to Christ and were baptized the Holy Spirit fell upon you and you were filled with his presence and power. Your filling with the Holy Spirit has a purpose, a “Because” by God and that is, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; “ (Isaiah 61:1-2)
My family, I pray today you will share what Jesus has done for you in your home, and then to the people you encounter today. I pray over you Paul’s words, “Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak - that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel…Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak. “ (1 Corithians 6: 19-20) Please pray the same for me, God bless you my friends!!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
On a Kairos weekend a team goes into a prison for four days to share the Gospel of the love and grace of Jesus with the inmates inside. Thursday evening, he first evening after all the inmates who will be participating have gathered and introductions are made, the weekend begins with a quiet time of reflection and meditation in the prison chapel. I have been asked a few times to give the first mediation of the weekend. The meditation hopes to begin to open the inmates up to self -examination and prepare them for the talks and discussions to come. The first meditation is titled “Knowing Yourself”. I have included the meditation here today as my post. Set aside some quiet time to meditate on how well you know yourself?
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:43-51)
I want you to think for a moment about what’s going on with Nathaniel in this story. As the story begins, we have Philip bringing Nathaniel to Jesus. At that point, Jesus has seen Nathaniel before, but Nathaniel had not yet seen Jesus.
Where had Jesus seen Nathaniel before? All we really know about that is that when Jesus saw him, Nathaniel was sitting under a fig tree, apparently by himself. I like to think he was meditating… getting to know himself.
That seems terribly unimportant, doesn’t it? But it was important enough for Jesus to have made a mental note of it. There was something about the fact that Nathaniel was just sitting quietly there by himself that got Jesus’ attention. We know from many occurrences in Jesus’ later life that he considered time alone to be very important.
When was the last time you tried to get off to yourself just to think?
Especially to think about yourself, take some time now and slowly, quietly meditate:
about who you are?
about how you feel?
about what’s important to you?
and about who is important to you?
think about what makes you happy?
and what makes you sad?
About what things make you feel good about yourself?
And what things make you feel bad?
About what you like?
And about what you don’t like?
In short, you need to think about who are you?
Do you know yourself?
How well do you know yourself?
Well, when Nathaniel was seen by Jesus, he was just sitting and perhaps thinking. And Jesus turned in to his thoughts and knew him.
And when Jesus greeted Nathaniel, Nathaniel knew that Jesus knew him. In that moment he thought of himself in a new way. Under the fig tree he had looked at his life from the inside. Now it was like he was seeing his life through the eyes of Jesus. It was like he was another person looking at his life from the outside.
Have you ever tried that: looking at your own life sort of from the outside? You should try it.
Try a game of imagination with me for just a little bit. Imagine that you are sitting quietly under a tree somewhere just thinking about your life. Now imagine that your mind can move somewhere outside of yourself and you stand off to the side looking down at yourself, at your own life.
There is no one else around. There is nothing there to distract you, so take your time. Take a good close look at yourself…at your life. What do you see? Whom do you see? What’s that person like when you look carefully? What mood can you read from the face… the eyes? Can you look into the heart? The soul? What do you see there?
When we are honest with ourselves, we may be surprised to find that we have many more good qualities than bad. When was the last time you have thought about your good qualities… the special gifts you have that no one else has?
We will also discover some qualities we wish we did not have. Yet, it is important that we be honest with ourselves and accept ourselves as we are, including our weakness. The first step toward overcoming our weaknesses is to admit that they exist.
It is very important that we know our condition if we hope to model our life after that of Jesus. This means being humble. The word humble comes from the Latin word humus, which means earth. To be humble is to be like the earth, open and receptive. The foundation upon which discipleship builds upon is honest self-knowledge which comes through humility and openness the Holy Spirit.
My family, I pray you will take time to now begin to know yourself. I pray you will continue to reflection this throughout your day, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share any reflections or insights you have gained from this meditation in the comments box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!” Psalm 50:23
I have been spending much time praying and reflecting on the Kairos team I served on this past weekend. One thing serving inside a prison does is instills gratitude into your life. It make you remember how thankful you are for all the simple things we take for granted that we have living free in our daily life.
On this past weekend serving in Tutwiler women’s prison, we make and serve the inmates fruit trays as part of their meals. A women inmate picked up a strawberry and started crying as it had been years since she saw or tasted a strawberry. Another woman inmate when she saw the salad that was served with a meal asked my wife, “Is that Romain lettuce?” When my wife said yes, tears came to the woman’s eye as she told my wife ”I Love romain lettuce” and then filled her plate with it and cherished every bite wile eating it.
On a Kairos weekend, the inmates are served lunch and dinner. Woman back at our team location cook home-made dinners for the inmates and runners bring them into the prison. At St. Clair Prison, all the inmates have long sentences. Most 40 years or more, 70% have life without parole sentences and are never getting out. For these men, it has been years since they had a home cooked meal, and the ones they receive on this weekend will be the last ones of their life.
I remember one Kairos I served on inside St. Clair prison for men.. One of the team members I served with owned a McDonalds restaurant. He donated hundreds of quarter pounders with cheese for a lunch meal. I was sitting at a table with 6 inmates eating, and one of the inmates asked if he could have my quarter pounder. I said' "Sure, I can stop on the way home and get one if I want, you can’t." As I slid the burger across the table to the inmate he said “Thank You.” I told him, “Your welcome.” He said, “No really, I mean thank you. You see I have a life without parole sentence and it has been 23 years since I last had anything from McDonald’s, and this burger you gave me will be the last one I eat before I die.”
We bring in metal folding chairs for the inmates to sit on. Folding metal chairs are far from a “luxury” item to you and II that we are thankful to have, and actually we usually hate sitting in them for an extended time period. However, to the inmates they are something special. At St. Clair, none of the places they sit have a back on them. The cafeteria and common areas where guys watch TV have tables with those built-in round seats with no backs. Out in the yard and other areas of the prison are picnic tables and benches. Except for the one or two times a year they get called into a prison administrators office, for the inmates this weekend will be the first time, and possibly last time they sit for an extended time in a chair with a back on it. They say it makes them feel like men.
There are so many things we receive a during every minute of every day we eat, use, wear, own, and experience in our day to day life we do so thanklessly and without gratitude. I am sure everyone of these men or women in prison did so as well. Until these things were taken away from them. The ability for me to sit here in my recliner and write this blog post, and you read it wherever you are sitting now, and to communicate on a cell phone is one I do daily without thinking about it. Cell phones are not allowed in prison.
Read Psalm 50:23, 60:30, 95:2; 1 Cor. 1:4; 2 Cor. 2:10-12; Philippians 4:6 Then take time to reflect to on all the things you have to be thankful for today.
My family, I pray as you go through the day today as you eat, wear, use, experience everything that is available to you, after reading this post, you will do it with a greater appreciation and a heart of thanksgiving and gratitude, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Post any reflection, questions, words of thanksgiving in the comments section below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good Monday morning!
My wife Nancy and I got back into Madison last night from our time of serving the past four days on the Kairos Prison Ministry team going inside of Tutwiler women’s prison to share the Gospel of the love, grace, and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. For those four days the 30 women who attended were greeted each day with a welcoming smile of love and respect. They sat at 6 tables with 6 inmates and three team members at each table. They listened to talks and testimonies shared by the team and then at their tables shared their thoughts and personal connections and reflections on these talks. They were led to the prison chapel for times of prayer and meditations. They were led through forgiveness meditations where they were guided through how to forgive those who have inflicted pain and abuse into their lives, and as important, forgive themselves for the bad choices they had made, and receive the freedom and peace that passes all understanding only attainable in Jesus Christ.
The women were given an opportunity to share things and release things in their life that had scared and crippled them emotionally and physically. And for many, they were given a gift that most had not received in a long time if ever, the gift of simply being listened to without judgement, shame or fear of being humiliated or labeled. And this atmosphere led to a place both the listener and speaker entered into their deep brokenness, and through tears, hugs and prayers, release and restoration was made possible.
One women at my wife’s table shared she was caught in an abusive relationship with a man for 17 years. Both her and her children went through the hell of being physically and mentally abused that ended when the man committed suicide and she was placed in prison. The women was so broken she did not trust anyone and hardly talked at all the four days. Yesterday, on the last day of the weekend in a conversation the woman said to my wife in a soft voice, “I think I can trust Him, I think I can trust Jesus.” It was moments like this that made the getting the long days of getting up at 5:30am and getting back to rooms at 10:00pm more than worth it.
Listening = loving. So who do you have in your life to listen to you where you can honestly share the hurts, brokenness, fears, and challenges of your daily life? And who are you giving the gift of simply listening in love and allow them to share? We all need a safe small group of Christian men or women depending on your gender, where in holy confidentiality, honest sharing, encouragement, accountability, and prayer we can receive healing and encouragement on our daily walk with Jesus. No one is self-sufficient. Christianity is not a solo journey. Jesus modeled this for us in his small group of men he journeyed with.
My family, I pray this morning as you sit here and read this, the Holy Spirit will compel and convict you of your essential need to form a Band group, a small band of a few men or women to share, support and encourage each other in their daily walk with Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit will bring the names of those few people into your mind, and give you the courage to call them. Most will be honored that you thought of them to call. So by the end of this week a date and time for your first meeting will be set, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on this blog post in the comments box below!
Below is an outline you can use for you small group to follow.
Begin with all praying together:
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
Those in the group then take turns answering these questions.
PIETY:
1.Overall, How is it with your soul?
2. Share one spiritual aid with which you have nourished your vital union with Christ and share how it nourished this union.
A. Personal Prayer B. Meditation
C. Song or music D. Spiritual Direction
E. Family Prayer G. Prayer Group or Church Gathering
G. Retreat or Quiet Day H. Other
3. Share one moment in which you felt closest to Christ, and why.
4. Share one moment in which you felt distant to Christ, and why.
STUDY:
5. Share one thing you have done to increase your understanding of your relationship with God and His Creation. What have you learned?
A. Scripture Readings B. Devotional, Theological, Christian living or other books
F. Group Study H. Other
ACTION:
6. In your attempt to witness or serve the Lord, what apostolic success did the Lord want you to accomplish through you this week?
* in your family * in your neighborhood * in your environment
7. With what failure/challenge did the Lord want to test you this week?
* in your family * in your neighborhood * in your environment
8. What unexpected opportunity to witness has the Lord offered you?
9. How was your plans for last week fulfilled? Plans for this week.
CLOSING PRAYER after all have answered questions and shared:
We give you thanks, almighty God, for all the benefits you have given us. You who live and reign forever and ever. AMEN
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin this day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“Fan into the flame the Gift of God, which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6).
Holy Spirit, You are the Gift of God, which is in me. You’re the very Presence of the Living God, here within me and within every son and daughter of God who’s opened their heart to let You in.
“Or do (we) not know that (our) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within (us), whom (we) have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) “(We) are not in the flesh; (we) are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (us)” (Romans 8:9).
Be fanned into flame, Holy Spirit of God. Burn in my heart, as I carry the Fire of Your Presence with me everywhere I go. Let the Life of Your Spirit bring the Life of God to all who’d touch with Your Flame through me. Give me a deeper understanding and greater revelation of all that it means to carry Your Presence and give away the Gift of God that’s in my heart. As The Message version expresses this revelation of Truth:
“If God Himself has taken up residence in (my) life, (I) can hardly be thinking more of (myself) than of Him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for (us) who welcome Him, in whom He dwells--even though (we) still experience all the limitations of sin--(we ourselves) experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into (my) life, He’ll do the same thing in (me) that He did in Jesus, bringing (me) alive to Himself? When God lives and breathes in (me)--and He does, as surely as He did in Jesus--(I am) delivered from that dead life. With His Spirit living in (me), (my) body will be as alive as Christ’s! (Romans 8:9-11 The Message)
Flame of God, residing and abiding in me, let me be fanned into flame, set ablaze, to burn for You today. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray there may be an awakening of this desperate hunger for the heart of God in you right where you are and then everywhere God sends you, in Jesus' name. Please pray there same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Thank You!
