Good morning Lord Jesus, I rest in your peace this morning as I need your peace as I begin my week.
“For a child has been a born to us, a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility and is called:
Wonderful counselor
Mighty God, (God is Warrior)
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. (And to peace there will be no end)
His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity.
He will rule on Davidʼs throne and over Davidʼs kingdom,
establishing it and strengthening its by promoting justice and fairness,
from this time forward and forevermore.
The Lord ʼs intense devotion (Zeal) to his people will accomplish this. (“ Isaiah 9:.6-7)
I call the prophet Isaiah “The prophet of Lent”. Isaiah’s message, teaching and prophecies speak into, point to, predict, describe and prophesies on Jesus as the Son of God, the root of Jessie, the Suffering servant, the lamb of God, and the cross. And they were were spoken and written 700 years before the birth of Jesus.
These verses in Isaiah written over 700 years before the birth of Jesus also contain one of the most remarkable prophesy’s of Isaiah on the birth Immanuel. That somehow a virgin-born child would demonstrate that God is with us. Isaiah says, “A child is born to us…” in doing so he admits his sin and includes himself with all people in the need of deliverance. And I include myself as well. The child is presented as the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel sign.
Wonderful counselor (Extraordinary stategist): throughout Isaiah we read of the failing of human wisdom as folly, and it’s failing, and deceiving has been shown. By contrast, the Coming One, the “Wonderful Counselor” has a great depth of wisdom. True wisdom that knows in weakness there is strength, in surrender there is victory, and in death there is life.
Mighty God (God is a Warrior) the coming Immanuel will have God’s true might. His true power so great he can absorb all the evil which Satan and his demons hurl against him until he has nothing left to hurl, then defeat and crush his enemy.
Everlasting Father: Some kings have claimed to be :the father of their people”, but this was only temporary. Immanuel’s fatherhood would be forever. A fatherhood that does not impose itself on his children, but rather sacrifices himself for them.
Prince of Peace: It is fitting that after all we read, hear and know of the chaos, disruption, and warring of other kings and rulers, the last title given Immanuel is Prince of Peace. He is a peaceful king. One we know now because of our understanding of the cross, did not establish his peace by brutally squashing all defiance, by the means and example of complete transparency and vulnerability which makes defiance pointless. Some how through Immanuel’s reconciliation between God and man, there is now the possibility of reconciliation between man and man.
“from this time forward and forevermore” Isaiah has an eschatological (study of end times) figure in mind in his prophecy. This king will not be another king among kings in the list of kings of Israel. He will be the final king, the king to end all kings, the king of all kings!
To all above I have written I say Amen! Amen!!!
My family, as you I pray you reflect during Lent you will meditate on these verses in Isaiah and affirm your understanding of the presence of Immanuel in your life today, because He is in your life today, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
We have a love-hate relationship with change. We want change when we start a new exercise or diet plan. We want change when we begin a new school year. We want change when we start a new job, but we don’t love change when it comes at a cost. We don’t love when we have to get up earlier to work out, when we can’t eat our favorite foods, when we have to study rather than go out with friends, or when we have to give up the coworkers we have grown to love.
As followers of Jesus, as disciples, we want change. We want to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ. We want to be a better spouse and a better friend. We want to love more and worry less. We want to be more like Jesus, but that comes at a cost. This Lenten season, let us pursue change. We are going to ask the Lord to change our hearts, our minds, and our behavior so we can grow deeper, be better, and look more like Him.
In the midst of a world filled with chaos and disappointment, pain and death, there is a promise of restoration and transformation through Jesus. And the good news is transfor mation isn’t found at the end of our lives, but at the end of ourselves. This is the beauty of the Lenten season. It’s a season in the church calendar where most of us, perhaps more intentionally than any other time, commit to seek transformation. We search the Scriptures and sit in stillness with God as we recognize the sin which has broken the perfect communion God created. We long to be transformed into the image of our Savior who has given His life so we can once again experience earth as it is in heaven, God’s kingdom. That is the promise of Jesus. It is the fulfillment of God’s design.
Let us seek transformation, not for the purpose of finding happiness or avoiding pain, or storing up treasures for our own gain. Let us seek transformation to experience an awakening of holiness within ourselves and encounter the power of our risen Savior to radically alter the way we live.
What fear or concerns do you have as you give yourself over to the Lord to be changed? What is your hope for transformation as you embrace the promise of being made new? What do you need to confess to the Lord today?
My family, as we begin the season of Lent I pray you allow the Holy Spirit to search you and draw your attention to those places in your life which need Your forgiveness and transforming power. I pray you don’t just stay the way we are, but want to be renewed, filled, and changed so you can reflect Christ’s grace in this world, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on change with us in the comments box below.
Resolve to Help in 2023
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin 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. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
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.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I begin my day entering into your presence Jesus my Lord.
"Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.
3 'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
(Isa 58:1-11 ESV)
In this chapter on fasting, God sternly repremands the church because though people claim or think that their religious practices: church attendance, fasting, wearing religious symbols around their necks, and hanging Bible passages on their walls will win special them favor with God. However God sees through these acts to the heart of all people and knows the reason they do these things it not out of love for God and especially love for their neighbor, but is to gain favor and an advantage in a dog-eat-dog world and struggle to gain success, possessions, position and power. Isaiah asks, Is this why God instituted forms of religion? No! God created religious acts to be symbols of an attitude and heart posture of submission, surrender and trust that will form a change in the heart and behavior of his people. However because of the selfishness and self-seeking hearts of the church, the forms of religion they practice are not sources of divine pleasure to God, but ones of divine disgust.
God, when I read your inspired words through Isaiah, I understand the fast that You choose for me is a fast from my flesh, a fast from my desires, selfishness and self-centeredness. It's a fast that frees me from the tyranny of my self and turns my heart to the things on Your heart. A fast that turns my thoughts from thinking about my needs, to the needs of others.
Give me Your heart, Lord. Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me and fill my spirit with the power to do something about it. Give me a fast that re-prioritizes my time and passion for other people and reveal to me the ways that I can make a difference in their lives. Free me from the selfishness over sharing the resources you allow me to have like my home. Let me use my home not simply for my comfort behind my locked doors, but open its doors in invitation and for he comfort of others. Let me be part of the move of Your Spirit in my city and spheres. Let me be a source of influence to rebuild the "ancient ruins," to "raise up the foundations of many generations" and "be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets" (Isaia/h 58:12).
Fasting is not about ancient rituals, traditions or even faithfully executing spiritual disciplines. Fasting is about putting You first God. Putting my neighbors first, and accepting humbly that I am second. As Your Spirit overcomes my flesh you not only change me but You can change the world around me through my life. This is the fast You choose. So by the power of the grace of God at work within me, let this be the fast I choose. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, We are called to fast during this season of Lent, however I pray you will read Isaiah 58 and embrace a fast God chooses. I pray we will move from being a nation of churches with a prayer ministry, to a nation of churches that fasts and prays. I pray the Holy Spirit gives you eyes to see the needs of the world around you and the resolve to do something about it in your spheres of influence today,,in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin 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. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
WHAT IS LENT?
This Wednesday February 14th is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent in The Church. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends 47 days later with Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Lent is one of my favorite seasons and Holy Week is my favorite week ov the year. For those not familiar with Lent you may ask;
"But what is Lent?"
At Jesus' baptism the sky split open, the Spirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended and landed on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, My Beloved, with whom I am pleased." Afterward, as told in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Spirit. Where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During his time there he was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, he was ready to begin his ministry. Maybe Jesus needed some time with God to sort through the major changes happening in his life. Maybe he needed to get away from family, friends and the familiar routine in order to see God (and himself) more clearly. Perhaps he wanted some intentional time with God as he searched for direction and answers like you. Like Jesus, we may need to take some serious time to pray and listen for God.
During Lent, most Christians use three things as aides to help them focus, listen and pray to God.: Fasting, Service/taking on things, and Prayer
FASTING: Some fast by going without food one day or more a week. Some fast by skipping a meal each day and instead praying during that time. But that's not the only way to fast. You can fast by cutting out some of the things in your life that distract you from God. Some Christians use the whole 40 days to fast from candy, tv, soft drinks, cigarettes or meat as a way to purify their bodies and lives. Or you can give up some activity for all of Lent or selected days a week like Facebook, Tic Toc or other social media, Gaming, Netflix or other reality tv to spend time outside enjoying God’s creation. What do you need to let go of or “fast” from in order to focus on God? What clutters your calendar and life? How can you simplify your life in terms of what you eat, wear or do? Read Isaiah chapter 58
SERVICE: Some Christians take something on to reconnect with Christ. You can prioritize more times set aside to read your Bible. You can collect food for the needy, volunteer once a week to tutor children, at an outreach ministry in your community or work for reform and justice in your community. You can commit to help a different stranger, co-worker or friend every day of Lent. Serving others is one way we serve God. Read Isaiah chapter 58.
PRAYER: Christians also use Lent as a time of intentional prayer. You can set aside times to pray daily, prayer walk your neighborhood, use the Prayer Wheel daily, create music or art as a prayer to God, or savor a time of quiet listening. There are also many devotion books that can guide you through Lent All can be ways of becoming more in tune with God.
My family, I pray you will use the season of Lent to reconnect and recommit to you relationship with Jesus. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
PS: Are we all busy, Absolutely. However, Can I make time to talk to you? Absolutely. The deep reflections of Lent can bring out many emotions in people. Need to talk? Call me. My door is always open, the coffee pot is always on and my sofa is always warm and a place of peace and non-judgment. Any who needs to chat are welcome to contact me anytime. It's no good suffering in silence. I have cold drinks in the fridge...tea & coffee in the cupboard and I will always be here....You are never not welcome!! Starbucks and Waffle House are open and a place to talk. You never have to go through a day of addiction, depression, fear, frustration, or anxieties of life alone. It's always good to talk but its even better to listen, and to be listened to. Some days this hits closer to home than we think. I'll always lend an ear and a shoulder and my heart. My hands are always ready to raise in prayer. Where ever you are, if you are struggling with anything and need to talk, go to your church, call a friend or family member.
Please share your reflections and comments in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin 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. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
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.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
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. Looking to You, listening for Your leading, I begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
This morning I read through Ephesians 6:10-20 on “The Armor of God”.Open your Bible and read it. Yesterday I felt under spiritual attack, So I wanted to start my day remembering my armor. The enemy must not have wanted me to post this reflection this morning as my website, and facebook kept glitching on me as I tried posting it.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Every day is a spiritual battle in the spiritual realm. But I thank You that the victory is won through the victory of the Cross and the Blood of Jesus! (Colossians 1:19-20). “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).
And at the same time, our part is also to daily embrace and enforce the victory of the cross through our daily battles in our everyday world, as we take our stand to “stand against the wiles of the devil... that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Not in our might or our power, but by Your Spirit (Nehemiah 4:6) and all by Your grace, for apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
I praise You that we are not apart from You, that You are always with us (Matthew 28:20), always even within us (Colossians 1:27), by Your ever-abiding Presence (John 15:4) and Your ever-filling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4). And in the power of Your Presence, Your Word is continually fulfilled and enforced through the battles of our lives as we keep looking to You, standing in You, with You standing in us: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under (our) feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us)” (Romans 16:20).
So as I fight my battles in the power of Your grace, as I take up “the weapons of our warfare (which) are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4), I take my stand in You and praise You for taking Your stand in me. With my heart entrusted to You and Your Spirit abiding in my heart (Romans 8:9), I am “clothed in Christ” (Galatians 3:26); I “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14).
That’s the key to my daily victories in my daily battles. That’s Your battle plan and strategic strategy for embracing and enforcing the victory of the Cross by the Blood of Jesus in my life every day -- morning by morning, moment by moment, step by step on my journey through the spiritual warfare of this world: As I “put on the whole armor of God,” I “put on the Lord Christ.”
In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. “The Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:13). And every part of my armor is an expression of God and Your Presence with me and within me (Ephesians 6:14-20):
Lord Jesus, You are my “Helmet of Salvation.” There is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12). By grace through faith in You alone, am I saved (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 16:31).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Breastplate of Righteousness.” Only through You, am I made right with God and cleansed of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Only through You can I enter the very Holy of Holies of the Presence of God (Hebrews 10:20), ascending in my spirit into Your Presence with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4), as a child of God abiding in the righteousness of God, “For He who made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21) and even be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Belt of Truth.” You alone are “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). You are the One who is “called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11). In You, I know the Truth and the Truth has set me free! (John 8:32). As You set me free, I am free indeed! (John 8:36)
Lord Jesus, You are my “Shoes of Peace.” You “shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” You are the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). You are the “God of Peace” (Philippians 4:9), the “Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), the “God of Peace (who) will crush Satan under (my) feet shortly” (Romans 16:20). You “keep (me) in Perfect Peace” with my mind fixed on You, trusting in You (Isaiah 26:3).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” You are The Word of God (John 1:1 and 1:14; Revelation 19:13). You are “the Word of God (who) is living and power, and sharper than any two-edged sword” exposing “all things that naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Shield of Faith.” You are my Faith in whom I stand to repel all the fiery darts and flaming arrows sent from my enemy. You are a “Shield to all who trust in (You)” (Psalm 18:30). In You, I “walk by faith, not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7), “for by grace through faith” have I been saved (Ephesians 2:8).
Lord Jesus, You are my Mantle of Humility. You clothe me with Your mind and heart to “have this mind in (me) that was also in Christ Jesus, who ... humbled Himself” (Philippians 2:5-8). “For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). By Your grace, I willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, for “apart from (You), I can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Now, having put on the whole armor of God, clothed in You my Lord and Savior, may I obey Your command to go forth in this armor, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). May I “speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:20). And as I go, may I be found “speaking the truth in love” -- not just truth, not just love, but “speaking the truth in love” -- with Your character in my heart and your authority in my words (Ephesians 4:15).
That’s how “the battle belongs to the Lord!” (2 Chronicles 20:15) That’s how “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). That’s how God “gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57) In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may go forth in victory clothed in Christ, who is your "Whole Armor of God" in Jesus' name. Pleasevpray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“And (The Lord) said (to Moses), ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he said to (The Lord), ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here’” (Exodus 33:14-15).
Like Moses, I don’t want to go anywhere You’re not going.
Don’t let me get ahead of You or behind You. Let me hear the Voice of Your Spirit, saying, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Let me know Your Voice and follow You (John 10:27). As a son of God, let me be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).
It’s only in Your Presence that there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). It’s only in Your Presence that there is peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7)
So let me pursue Your Presence (James 4:8), abide in Your Presence (John 15:4), embrace Your Presence (Hebrews 10:22), rest in Your Presence (Hebrews 4:1).
Then I can follow Your Presence wherever You lead, whenever You lead, however You lead. Because without Your Presence, I don’t want to go. And I thank You today, with all my heart and mind and soul and strength, that I never have to be without Your Presence -- for You are with me always (Matthew 28:20). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may I’ll go Nowhere Without Youfollow the Presence of God everywhere He goes, as You abide in Him and He abides in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Every Monday morning I volunteer at The Manna House in Huntsville unloading pallets of food from the food bank to put on the line to hand out to people. While I was unloading food a homeless man came up to me pushing his shopping cart. He asked me for some water, any food and if i had a few dollars I could spare. I got him all three. Almost every time a homeless person asks me for something my mind goes back to and is reminded of previous encounter I had with a homeless person.
My family and I spent almost 4 years in Wilmore, Ky while I attended Asbury Theological Seminary. Wilmore is a Suburb of Lexington. And for a period of time while we were there we attended Embrace Church. Embrace was a new church plant that began meeting in an old theatre that was right in downtown Lexington. There was a park right next door where the homeless of Lexington hung out. So at our service in the theatre many homeless people attended. After every service, those that attended would make peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches then walk out and hand them out to the homeless.
During one service there came a time of worship and the worship band began playing a song. I remember I closed my eyes, raised my hands, and began worshipping. I was sitting on the isle. And with my eyes closed I heard a man calling out across the isle, “Hey, Hey!” I opened my eye and looked across the isle and there was a homeless man sitting on the isle with all his belongings piled on the seat next to him. When I looked at him, he said to me, “Hey, do you have a dollar I can have?” I replied back to him, “We are in the middle of the service now, just ask me when it is over.” I turned, closed my eyes again and started into worship when I heard again, a little louder, “Hey, Hey Mr., do you have a dollar I can have?” I tried to ignore him but he kept calling out across the isle.
And I got a little irritated and I thought to myself, really? Can’t he see I am worshipping here? He does not need to be bothering people and pan handling during the service. So I turned again and I said, “Listen, I will give you a dollar after the service is over. Just relax and listen to the band for now. I turned again and I heard again even louder, “Hey Mr, please, give me a dollar please!” So I thought to myself this guy will not leave me alone and I will not get to worship until I give this homeless man a dollar. So I pulled out my wallet, took a dollar out, and reached across the isle and gave it to him. The man said, “Thank you” and took it from me.
When I went back to my seat I noticed they were taking up the offertory during the song. And when the basket came by the homeless man he put the dollar into the basket. And he saw me across the isle and said to me, “Thank you, I saw the basket coming around and I don’t have any money and I wanted to give something to Jesus.” And it dawned on me that the man saw the basket going around and asked me the first time for a dollar to put in the offering. And as the basket was getting passed back and getting closer to him, he was getting more anxious for something to put in it so that is why he was asking louder.
I thought of myself as being missional. We were launching a church in the inner city reaching those on those on the margins, the homeless that no one else wanted. I was proud of myself for not being judgmental and accepting of those who were hard to love. Jesus, in His desire to sanctify my heart after His and conform my life to His, knocked me down a notch in my pride and revealed to me areas in my heart an attitude that still needed to change and grow. It reminded me of the parable in Luke 18 of the Pharisee and tax collector praying in the temple, and I was the Pharisee.
My family,, I pray the Holy Spirit will continue to remove from all of us any perceived attitudes and perceptions towards people, and thoughts of “us” and “them” and help us see through what is on the surface to see the heart of all people. Just like Jesus does, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Friday evening I went to support a friend of mine who was one of three people sharing their testimony at a church that was hosting an evening of worship and testimonies. My friend did an amazing job sharing through both the difficult times of her life, and of the deliverance God had provided to her. All three testimonies were impactful, and all three were different as all three were delivered from different situations, circumstances, different “Egypts” they found themselves trapped in.
If you asked any Jew their testimony, they all would be the same.
I was a Slave in Egypt, as was my father, his father and his father. I was trapped, enslaved and without hope. But God delivered us from Egypt.
But then they built a golden calf and tried to return.
We who were delivered from being trapped and enslaved to sin my the blood of Jesus, we try to return as well.
See this with addicts in recovery. They get clean. However, they do not know how to live sober and it scares them with the new realities they must face and work through. Though they feel better, they feel lost. Addiction is all they knew and was “comfortable.’ They think to themselves, in 6 months I am going to fail anyways, so they return to their “Egypt”.
I see this in people who were incarcerated for a long time. They get out of their prison, et it was all they knew, and they return
I see this in people in relationships. Woman with abusive boyfriend or husband. Or one who is lazy, and treats her like his slave. She in a moment of Epiphany leaves him and make a decision to move out on her own, Then she gets lonely. Friday night and friends are out and she is at home. She looks at old photos of them, and thinks to herself, we made good selfies together. She forgets what “living in Egypt was like, and calls him. And returns to Egypt.
I see this in people who are stuck in a job or career where they are under paid, over worked, mis-treated and taken advantage of. Yet they are afraid to leave this “Egypt”.
Israel, the Jews in the Wilderness
Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord;…. The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
In Hosea chapter 11 we see the Jews could not go back to Egypt. But it was all they knew. So they again created their own Egypt and built altars to Baal, raised Ashera poles and other Gods.
Egypt can also be something “good” that your stuck in that is keeping you from doing something great. I see this in people’s lives and in the church today.
What is your Egypt?
What is it God is calling you out of Egypt to do?
What is the Egypt you wanting to go back to Egypt?
God does not provide manna in easy places, but in the wilderness, in difficult places. God only does miracles when there is real need. That does not happen when you are doing good. When you are comfortable. Why do you need a miracle when comfortable?
God provides miracles when there is real need. God provides manna in the difficult places. When you step out, are afraid, following his lead into places that if God does not show up, you will fail. Then God gives you manna. Then You get to experience Him.
On a side note, God provides miracles when you pray for them. Israelites prayed for mana, prayed for deliverance from Egypt
Where is manna raining down for you right now?
What does your manna look like?
If you are not receiving it, or having a hard time picturing it, then maybe you are still in Egypt? Manna did not fall in Egypt. God did not rain it down on them. It was when they stepped out into the wilderness. When they left for the unknown that God was calling them out into. There were no pillars of clouds by day, or pillars of fire by night in Egypt. As you don’t need signs from God to lead you if you are comfortable where you are and are not going anywhere. They are only needed for change and movement.
My family, What is the Egypt you find yourself in now, or you are wanting to go back to? What is it God is calling out of Egypt to do? God does not provide manna in easy places, but in the wilderness, in difficult places. I pray today find your manna, in Jesus name. please pray the same for me. God bless you my friend!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”(Matthew 20:1-16)
Lord Jesus, Your generosity is amazing to the extreme. “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (John 1:16). You give us gift after gift. The extravagance of your generosity, your grace, troubled those in the passage above, and at times it troubles me. There is nothing “fair” about your generosity.
Because we do not earn it, we receive it. Yes, this amazing generosity of God’s came at an extreme price, The scourging, crucifixion, and death of Jesus. But that price was paid for me not paid by me. Jesus earned it, not me. And all receive the full measure of your love, grace and mercy whether they come to Christ as a child or on their death bed.
Does that bother you? Do you think somehow you still deserve more?
It was not until I was 34 years old that I fell in love with Jesus.
Oh I heard of Jesus and knew of Jesus all my life. Parents were Roman catholic and active in their church. I was baptized as an infant, all that is good. I learned to stand up, sit, and kneel to Jesus, however I never knew Jesus.
So what I call my BC days, ( the period of my life Before Christ) was not good. I was a user of people, user of women, user of drugs, selfish…list goes on.
But when I fell in love with Jesus, and I raised my hand and received him as my Lord, It may have been the “9th hour” as in the passage I read from Matthew But the gates of heaven opened up, my Father in Heaven declared, “This is my son in which I am well pleased.” I received the gift of eternal life in the eternal embrace of love of the Father. And I received the complete out pouring of generosity and grace of God. Not in part but in full!
And his generosity goes over and above what we imagine or deserve.
I said I was a user of people and a user of women. However, God did not with hold from me anything, but he gave me a beautiful woman named Nancy to be my wife. And then to rub more grace and generosity in my face, he gave me two beautiful daughters, Paris and Mialn.
I was selfish and a user, but he broke my heart for him and for people, and gave me servants heart and that of a giver, and because of that I cant begin to name the generous gifts I have received! All the amazing people that have looked at me with love and I have been so blessed to have crossed my path in life! My house, my family, my career, my life, all a gift! I did not earn it, Just because I say “I worked hard for it” does not mean I deserve it.
My family, I pray this morning you remember that no matter what time in your life, early or late, you entered the vineyard of Lord, it was out of the generosity of Jesus that He sought you out and saw you first. That He chose you. That He made known to You the very heart of the Father. That you are called out of a heart of worship to go into the market places, and love those you encounter there and bear fruit. 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.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
James Edwin Orr was a Baptist Christian minister, hymn- writer, professor, theologian and author. He was born in Belfast Ireland in 1912 to parents who were both British and American.
At approximately the age of 19 in 1931 Professor Orr began evangelizing in Europe, America, Australia and South Africa. Orr moved to the US, enrolled in Northwest University, and in 1940 he was ordained a Baptist Christian Minister During WWII. He served in a chaplain in the US Airforce in the Pacific. After the war he went back to England to study for a PHD at Oxford University. While there working on his PHD he also taught a class on Evangelism.
One day Prof. Orr took his students on an excursion, a field trip to places in England with major historical significance. Places that had been strategic in the building up of the church and the Christian faith. One place they visited was the Epworth Rectory which was the home, living place, study place of one of the great reformers of the church. His name was John Wesley. Wesley was also the founder of the revival in the Anglican Church that led to the formation of the Methodist Church. John Wesley put in place much of the theology of where many people attend church, not just the Methodist churches. Allot of the foundational formation of our faith was crafted by reformers like John Wesley.
John Wesley would pray, he would teach, he would preach, he set up Band groups and class meeting trying to awaken the church and usher in a revival in the church. He and other reforrmers prayed that revival would break out in mass in England and here in the US.
He prayed in the US and Wesley helped usher in the great revivals that swept through America in the 19th century where people in masses were coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord, where the heavens seemed to be opened up in remarkable ways and the Holy Spirit was moving and presence was felt as lives were changed. Revival broke out that made our history books and we still look back on now and recognize the great fire of God’s sprit that spread during that time. It’s because men like John Wesley were on their knees praying that God would move.
So these theology students led by Professor Orr went and visited this rectory. Professor Orr led the students through the kitchen where Wesley’s family would, cook meals and the dinner table they sat and ate. Then he led them to the study and library where Wesley studied. Students enamored at the old books… many had Wesley’s notes written in the sides of them and sentences highlighted. They spent time looking at the old binders and some of his hand written notes on the desk.
When they finished Professor Orr moved them upstairs to Wesley’s more intimate quarters of the home. They went into his bedroom and they all filed in the room and went around his bed. And as professor Orr was talking one of the students noticed two small circles in the carpet on the side of the bed carpet where the carpet was worn down to the backing. The student asked professor about the worn patches. Professor Orr explained to them that those two patches were the actual places where Wesley’s knees hit the floor every morning as he prayed. And not for a minute or two, but for several hours that revival and renewal would take place. In his constant praying so long and hard his knees had actually worn down the fibers in the carpet. Imprinted them with his knees.
They stayed a few minutes more then left and went downstairs and out the door to the bus to go to the next site. Professor Orr stood at the bus door counting the students as they entered the bus and realized he was one student short. So he went back in the house and walked through the kitchen, study and then went upstairs into bedroom. Looking over the bed he saw the bowed head and shoulders of a student who had planted his knees into those well worn patches on the floor made by Wesley. And he could hear the student praying, “Do it again Lord, and he heard the student weeping as he said, “Lord, would you do it again Lord. And Lord would you do it again with me?” Professor Orr waited a minute, then he walked around the bed and gently put his hand on the students shoulder, and quietly said, it’s time to go. And rising from his knees, Billy Graham got up on his feet and joined the others in the bus
And then God did it again.
My family, God wants begin an awakening of faith and his presence in your life, and that of your spouse, your children, your family, your church, and your neighborhood. However all awakenings begin with prayer. I pray now in my morning “worm spots” where I pray every morning, that you will develop your own “worn spots” of prayer. In Jesus’ name. Pleas pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Good morning Jesus, let et reaching out to you in desperation lead me to outreach to those in desperation today.
The NFL playoff games are over and in two weeks the 49ers and the Chiefs will play on Super Bowl Sunday. It is a day when millions of people will gather in homes and taverns to watch football, party, laugh, cheer, connect and share life together. It is one of the few days of the year that you have an excuse to invite people into your home, or accept an invitation into another home, and share stories and life together. Super Bowl Sunday is a pre-made missional outreach day that every Christian should participate in. Everyone needs to preferably host a Super Bowl Party and if not, then attend one. If you were looking for an excuse to invite your neighbors, co-workers, work-out friends, classmates, and others over to your house, Super Bowl Sunday offers that excuse. It is also an excuse to accept an invitation into another’s home, or yes Pub, for their gathering. I do not care if you do not like football! Watch the commercials, eat the food, whatever. It is an opportunity to encounter and enter into people’s lives in a real way. Here is why.
“Storytelling is powerful because it has the ability to touch human beings at the most personal level. While facts are viewed from the lens of a microscope, stories are viewed from the lens of the soul. Stories address us on every level. They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit, and the will. In a story a person can identify with situations he or she has never been in. The individual’s imagination is unlocked to dream what was previously unimaginable.“
– Mark Miller
“Story telling is powerful.” Corporations know this. Obviously Budweiser has picked up on this in the last few years with their Super Bowl commercials. They moved from the comedic frogs of Bud-weis-er to the now infamous stories of their heritage and horses. Those are always popular each year.
The reason is not merely because people love stories, which they do, but because stories hit a people’s hearts and not merely their heads. And, because advertizers know that the Super Bowl is a story on the biggest stage, and if they can develop a story within the story, they’ll win the rigorous marketing wars between companies vying for your attention.
And, if they hit your heart, that’s what causes action. We can all watch commercials that have facts about how this pill has caused people to lose weight, or how many dentists recommend this toothpaste, but that doesn’t move us…what moves us, is the story, because it hits us deep in the heart. This is why the Super Bowl is important, and this is what the Super Bowl is about. And the great news is that we as Christians have the most amazing story to tell in all the world to tell and share, The Gospel of Jesus Christ! And we need to tell it and the Super Bowl gives us an opportunity to share it.
This Super Bowl…like all others is filled with storys and everyone wants to be part of it, talk about it, be around it because as football players will say, “The game is bigger than all of us.” Everyone wants to be part of a larger story, let’s use this opportunity as a door opener to the largest story ever told. How can we use the Super Bowl to simply point to the larger story of God ?
1. Throw a Party
For our family, we’d rather throw a party than merely attend one. The reason is that it gives us plenty of ways to bless people and have them in our house. I feel I can be like the Apostle Matthew and invite other tax collectors and sinners like me: my fiends, co-workers, neighbors to my party to encounter belonging in that my Jesus.
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” (Matthew 9:9-12)
When you invite others, you get to choose the crowd you hang with. Usually, for Christians, this is a bad thing as we over filter who we invite. But notice who was at Matthew’s party: Scum, Jesus, and disciples. All mixed, partying like it’s 31AD. The more we get this crowd of Jesus, followers and not yet followers to hang out together, the better. Jesus gave us this example of connecting people to His salvation of grace, and He used this type of gathering over and over to reach people. We are called to use it as well.
2. Encourage Story
Encourage story with everyone. Walk around asking people “story” questions. Get your guests talking and listen. You learn so much about them during these stories. Be the story encourager at your party. Ask questions like:
1 How did you and your spouse meet?
2 Why did you choose your career?
3 Who is your favorite NFL team and why??
4 What do you like most about living here?
Really, any open ended question will work. It’s not to bait and switch them so you can talk about how unless you eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood you can never be one of his followers. It’s so you can actually get to know them and their story so that when the opportunity comes, you know where their story needs redemption and who or what is their functional savior so you can point to the one and only Saviour who brings eternal redemption, now and forever. You’ll know how to serve them, love them and show them Jesus in the ways that will tell a story that will hit their heart.
3. Go Overboard with Food
You ever been to a party where there isn’t much food? It sucks. Don’t be that party…be a party that points to the Great Wedding Feast. Not only that, but take into consideration who is coming. Ask if any have allergies, or a special diet. When you take others into consideration, it shows you actually care and desire for them to be comfortable in your house. It also gives you yet another connection point to their story.
Don’t supply all the food though. Have people bring food. We are having people bring their favorite football food. The reason is their dish usually has a story behind it. Either of how they grew up, who taught them how to make it, or why they like it. But I usually simply ask, “Does this dish have any significance to you?” You’d be surprised how much story can come from chicken salad.
4. Ask the Spirit For Guidance
Who has God currently placed in your path for forming a relationship? Ask the Spirit to show you these people. Maybe for you it is your CrossFit gym. Invite all 400 members. You know that 95% of them aren’t going to come, but it gives you an open to invite them into a relationship with you, and is a personal invite.
Ask the Spirit for time a time when you can invite them personally. It means so much more to me when I don’t merely get the Facebook invite, but when someone looks me in the eyes, ask me if I would come to an even and tell’s me personally it’d be so great if I did. Almost everyone I have been given by the Spirit in prayer to ask, and I’ve asked personally to come, everyone one of them comes. It’s awesome, even if one of them is a fan of my opposing team.
But, don’t stop there.
Ask the Spirit for guidance on listening to their story at the party and what you should say, or how you should listen or how to encourage further relationship. Remember, this isn’t about a football game, this whole day is wrapped up in story, so use this to learn other’s stories. Maybe you do get into a deep spiritual conversation, but maybe you don’t. Don’t beat yourself up. The Spirit will tell you when to speak, when to listen, when to keep it surface level and when to go deep. Just because you don’t present all of the Romans’ Road to them doesn’t mean you should feel guilted and shamed. The Spirit doesn’t guilt and shame you, that’s the devil’s game.
The more the devil can guilt and shame you the more you’ll have an agenda instead of listening to the Spirit on how to show off Jesus in the ways of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. Sometimes silence is the loudest witness. Don’t let the devil fool you into thinking you have to convert someone to Jesus at every party for it to be a “successful” party. But, always be thinking, “How can I make this party be a shadow of our celebratory God that wants everyone invited to His party?”
Take some time this week to begin planning your party and asking the Holy Spirit who you should invite to your party. Listen, then obey what the Spirit gives you.
If you do that…no matter what happens, your gathering will have happened by the power of the Spirit to connect people so they might know more about the only story line that ultimately matters. And who knows…maybe he’ll show you even more about “His Story” and how much He loves and wants to connect with you.
Please share your thoughts, reflections, and maybe other examples of what you use to invite other people into your story with us in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin 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. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
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.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good Morning!
My devotion today is part of a daily devotion that is put out by a great friend of mine JD Walt. I met JD in 2008 att Asbury Theological Seminary . He was the Dean of the Chapel there and one of the first people I met as I began my four years of study there working towards my Master of Divinity degree. JD also puts out an amazing daily devotion Called Wake-UP Call. Every Saturday in JD’s devotion, he shares amazing stories of the Holy Spirit working in the church. This past Saturday he had me record an amazing story that took place at an ODC house church gathering and used it for his devotion. Click on the link below and it will take you to this Saturday’s Wake-Up Call devotion. On the devotion page, you can either click on the audio link and listen to me share share the story in my own voice, and JD’s comments, or read the the transcript on the story.. You may also want to subscribe to receive JD’s devotion as well.
Much love!
Gary
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
“Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
One of the people who the most influenced me in the need for prayer was my father Denis. As long as I can remember he lived a life of prayer. My parents were Roman Catholic. And I have very early memories of as a child of kneeling by my bed at night as my parents prayed over me and we said the Rosary together. Later in life in my teens and early 20’s I got involved in drugs and lived a the life of sex, drugs and Rock N Roll. My father prayed over me daily to be delivered and return to Christ. I would joke with him that because of my life style then and his praying over me on his knees, my dad and Jesus became closer known to each other.
As an adult and until my father passed on 9 months ago, he continued to have a remarkable life of prayer. Every morning he would begin his day with at least 2 hours of prayer. He had his prayer devotions and he would read and reply to mine almost daily. My father had to go through many back surgeries, he had arthritis in his hands, and there was not a day in the last10-15 years of his life he was not in some sort of constant pain. I know it was his prayer life that got him through every day with a smile on his face. When we talked on the phone, at the end of our conversation my father would always say, “I am praying for you son”. And I knew without a doubt he was.
Prayer is the life breath of our relationship with God. Just as physically, we breath or we die, spiritually, we pray or our relationship with God dies. My dad understood this, and it was his example of the necessity for prayer that aided in me now entering my 11th year of spending almost every weekday morning with my Bible open in prayer writing a morning devotion.
Who was an influence to your life of prayer? Who are you an influence to of the absolute necessity of prayer with your prayer life? The influence of my dad on the importance of prayer was one of the greatest gifts given to me by my father. With whom are you giving this gift? What is the state of your personal prayer life? Is your prayer closet collecting dust? You spouse, children, family, neighbors, desperately need you prayers. And more importantly, so does your relationship with God.
My family, as I sit and finish this devotion, I am praying over you who will be reading this. My prayer is that you will be influenced, reminded and reaffirmed of the necessity daily prayer in your life, and spend time this morning simply talking to God, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me, as I truly desire that you do. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
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 day 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 beginning a new year and new season of our ministry with ODC 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!
“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law - justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! (Matthew 23:23)
The picture above that I included in this reflection blog is that of a Homeless tent city ablaze with fire. Last week when the weather was brutally cold and roads covered with ice, all the residents of a homeless tent city. which included men, women, and families, were helped into a warming shelter them so they would have a warm bed, shower and food. Also with roads iced over no ministries would be able to reach them. With all the residents in a warming shelter the rent city was empty. The residents were supposed to move back into their tents yesterday.. However, the night before, someone I guess who did not want the tent city in their neighborhood, went through and burned tent city to the ground. Now all the families, women, and men who lived there, who are already poor, already homeless, and marginalized, have lost everything they own now and have nothing.
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
There will be a special place in hell for the person who did this. Jesus had a heart for the poor and the marginalized. And those of us who follow Jesus are called to imitate Him and share in His compassion. We as Christians are called to build up, not burn down. The actions of this individual are unfortunately indicative to the rise of hate and polarization of groups in this country. We need to pray over our nation to rise above the hate and division that overshadows us.
My family, I pray you will join me in praying over our country. I pray you will join me in praying over those person who lost what little they had in the fire. I pray you will, as I asked yesterday, intentionally plan to do or join in an act of kindness in your community, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Want to help the people and families affected by the the fire?
Click on the easy tithe link below. When you log in, select the “Tent City” account. All funds donated to this account will be used to help those affected by purchasing tents, clothing, hygiene articles, and and meet other needs.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning!
Early Saturday morning myself and my friend and ODC member Ed put on warm clothes as it was 9 degrees outside, warmed up my truck and headed out to Publix stores to pick up the all their day old baked goods. There are various groups that alternate days of the week picking up the baked goods from a particular Publix location. But because of the ice covered roads and that I have a 4x4 pickup truck, I have been picking up all week from several Publix’s and taking the baked goods to various agencies. Saturday Ed and I spent an hour and a half picking up baked goods from 6 Publix stores.
After the last store we headed to The Living Room. It is a ministry that reaches out to the homeless and low income population in Huntsville. When we pulled in there were several homeless people standing outside smoking. I went into the building and there was around 80 of so cots set up where ever they would fit inside with people laying on them who spent the night to get out of the frigid cold. The volunteers at The Living Room were starting to serve breakfast to those staying there. We gave the volunteers bread and baked goods to serve with their meals. Then we opened the tail gate of my truck, and opened the boxes of baked goods, and started handing out the baked goods and breads to the line of homeless people that was forming to get food. People in the back of the line were yelling “save some for us” and Ed jumped up in the truck as we tried to keep up with people taking the baked goods.
It was 9 degrees outside, I was bundled up in layers of long johns and clothes and I was still cold. My heart broke inside as I saw all these homeless men and women, with not the proper clothing, standing outside in line trying to get some food. It reminded me of scenes I have seen on TV in Palestine, Africa, and other areas of the world of refugees lining up desperate to get food. The warming shelter that opened for the night would be closing soon and these people all would be back outside.
Jesus speak all throughout the Gospels of our need to love our neighbors. In Matthew 25 he separates people into two groups of “sheep and goats” based on those who showed compassion and hands-on helped and ministered to their neighbors in need. I was reminded Saturday morning of this and felt sad and a little guilty driving away from my “neighbors” in my rear view mirror towards my warm house. We are falling short on following Jesus’ command to Love our neighbors as ourselves.
My family, we still have a couple months of cold weather ahead of us. And we all have neighbors in our communities that are homeless or struggling to get by. I pray that as we begin a new week of plans and events, we will schedule in at least a time to be generous to our neighbors, 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.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries 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 our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
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 begin my day seeking for you to guide me in the way and truth my life should go today.
I was at the Waffle House and customers sitting around the low bar were talking about the messed up coming elections, and war ins is Palestine and Ukraine. one customers replied hopefully Jesus will come back again soon. A high school aged girl asked, “Who exactly is Jesus?” A couple old timer bowed up with shock! And answers came back like, “He is the Son of God”, and “He is our savior who died for our sins.” I sat silently just listening to the responses. If a person asked you “Who exactly is Jesus?”, how would you answer? With that conversation on my mind I sit now with the book of Hebrews open on my lap in reflection.
“After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.” (Hebrew’s 1:1-4)
I love Hebrews and soaking in the deep waters it contains on the deity, lordship, priesthood of Jesus. We dive into these deep waters in the very first sentence which contains the phrase, “He (God) has spoken to us in a son.” This phrase is at the core or The Book of Hebrews. The declarations that Jesus is the Son of God, our true High Priest through whom God reveals and speaks to us. This book begins with a contrast of the old revelations of God to this new revelation of how God now speaks to us, and it introduces a series of seven descriptions of the Son. These descriptions show why Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God:
1.God appointed Jesus the heir of all things. All authority has been given to Him.
2.Through Him all things were created. “apart from him not one thing was created” (John 1:3)
3.Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the representation of his essence, “The person who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:18)
4.He sustains all things by his powerful word, He is the Word made flesh.
5.He had accomplished cleansing of the sins of the world through his saving acts on the cross.
6.Jesus now sits in the throne room of God at His right hand and is our judge.
7. He is superior to all angels and any other created being and at the name of Jesus all knees will bow.
These verses by themselves contain theological descriptions, revelations and aspects of Christ one could reflect on and preach on for months and we only in the first four verses of this Book! Deep Waters. How much of this revelation and understanding of who Jesus is do we grasp when we in the church dare to pray in His name? Or when we at times flippantly say His name or put His name on the side of a coffee mug like “Jesus is the reason for the season.” When we fail to share the name of Jesus with others out of fear, feeling uncomfortable, or other reasons, do we really understand what we have done by not speaking His name?
My family, I pray today as we move into the weekend, you will set aside time in the Spirit to reflect on who really is Jesus to you? Some of you cannot remember a day or week since you were born you have not heard the name Jesus. The name Jesus is so common to you that the sharing of it/not sharing of it is the same as any other name. I pray you will reflect and refocus on who is Jesus and why He is the ultimate revelation of God in your life, 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 everyone,
I had to go give blood for tests as part of my annual health check-up. I went to Quest Diagnostics off of Governors Drive. I went in, signed my name at the window and went and sat down in the waiting room. It had a large glass window facing the street, and there where about 15 people in the waiting room. I was there about 5 minutes when outside the window, a woman who was apparently homeless pushing a shopping cart of stuff walked up to the window. She was dressed in sweat pants, two jackets, and winter hat. She parked her cart in front and came in the door. Everyone’s eyes in the lobby was looking at her. She walked to the check-in window, signed in and handed the nurse some kind of Medicaid form. She then turned around looking across the waiting room area for a seat to sit in. Every ones eyes in the waiting room dropped or turned away from her, hoping that she would not sit next to them. As fate would have it she walked and sat down next to me.
It was apparent to me and others, by the strong smell of body odor that was filling the air around us she had not bathed in quite awhile. Frowns and wide-eyed looks were given to each other of those in the room. After the lady sat down next to me on my right, she bent over and started digging through a large beach-bag type bag she brought in with her filled with all sorts of items. She finally pulled something out and when I looked over at her I was surprised to notice it was a Bible. I looked over and saw she had opened it to 1 John chapter 4. Her eyes caught mine looking at the Bible and she asked me if I read the Bible. I said yes mam I do, and that I love 1 John. She said God has been convicting me that I am not loving others like I should. That I am becoming judgmental of others and their appearances and I need to repent and love others more freely. Knowing in my heart that I had just judged her by her appearance and smell, I said mam, thank you so much for sharing that with me. It is a sermon myself and everyone in the waiting room needs to hear. She asked me to pray for her to love others more freely, when just then my name was called by the receptionist, as I got up I told her we could talk and pray more when I got out, and went through the door into the other offices.
I was only in the room for the few minutes it took the nurse to draw a few vials of blood. When I went back out into the waiting room to leave I looked to where the woman and I had been sitting, however she was not there, nor anywhere in the room. So I thought she had got called back to see a nurse as well. However, when I walked toward the exit door I saw that her shopping cart she had parked in front was also gone. I walked outside and looked around the parking lot and she was no where to be found. I turned and looked one more time through the window into the waiting room and still did not see her. So a little puzzled by this, I walked to my car and driving off looked for her again, but did not see her.
I believe I encountered Christ that morning, and he smelled and looked like nothing I expected or preferred him to look like. I think he wanted to remind me of that. But then again, I have found he never does. We pray at times for Jesus to let us know he is real, that he knows us and to reveal himself to us. If He does encounter you and sits down next to you, it most likely will not be in a way we envisioned.
“Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world…If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.” (1 John 4:15-16, 21-22)
My family, I pray Jesus encounters you today in a way that stretches your image of him and opens your eyes and hearts and releases you to love Him and others more freely, 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community., myself and my family, as we try to bring justice and grace to those on the margins God has placed in our path and I refuse to walk around. Please begin 2024 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
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