ACTS 11
“The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” Acts 11:22
Acts 11 convicted me again of the absolute necessity of the the presence and filling of the Holy Spirit in my life personally and in our church for us to be people anointed by God, with a heart conformed to the heart of God and his will. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit if we want to have any hope of providing a place where people can encounter salvation in Christ and receive healing of physical, spiritual, and emotional sicknesses and the restoration of shattered lives. I am getting emotional now, as the desperation and urgency of this need sets into my soul. I feel bold enough to say, If we individually, and collectively as a church can not commit to the absolute necessity of pressing into and seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to quit right now claiming to be a a people full of the power of Christ for the transformation of the broken; quit claiming to be a source of new life; quit claiming to be a cross-bearing community willing to abandon everything for the sake of the Gospel; because without that commitment, we cannot be any of these things. And we need to walk away and disappear into the safe, redundant, and complacent cycle of Sunday church.
You and I have God-given gifts to use!
We have a strong gifting of service, and we are constantly either personally and individually, or collectively in our church or house churches, encouraging each other to help their neighbors whether it is bringing food, helping them move, working on house..ect. Also serving at Manna House, House of the Harvest, Downtown Rescue Mission and prayer walking neighborhoods.
Some have an Apostolic gift of being a catalyst. visioning, planning, white boarding, and strategic thinking.
Some have the gift of Evangelism and to go out and prayer walk and tell people about Christ.
Some have the gift of pastoring, and naturally can sit, listen to, love on and offer compassion and guidance to individuals.
Some have the gift of prophecy, of hearing what God's desire is for his people, seeing where his people actually are, and live, pray, and the ability tospeak into and mourn in that gap.
Though one gift may be more prevalent, all of these gifts are in all of us. Yet all of these gifts must flow out of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. These gifts we can’t claim or open in our our competency.
If we can't, if more personally, I can't, prioritize and commit to seeking being full of the Holy Spirit by committing my self daily to time in the Word, to time in prayer and to fasting regularly, I have no business trying to use any of the gifts above. The number one mistake of Christians that are missionally minded, is neglecting the great commandment in observance of the great commission. That mistake is spending time "doing" something for God before we have spent deep time "being" with God. I can not “go” and make disciples if I myself am not willing go deep into my own personal discipleship. I can not lead others to a place I myself am not willing to go. I need to seek that place where I Love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, Then I can have a love for my neighbor that flows out of this intense love for God. Observance of this great commandment is required before I can go to places and people to make disciples. All this holds true as well for us collectively as a church.
The Church needs people willing to use all their giftings that are listed above, but not if they are not wiling to do so in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to present and share the Gospel . If you do treat your neighbors kindly and fairly, help them out, serve at the House of Harvest and are a good neighbor but do not do not sharie the Gospel with them, you will be liked and make more friends. Your popularity will increase and your circle of friends will increase, but your ministry will decrease. Because it will be all about advancing your gifts without advancing Jesus’ gift of salvation, inviting people into your kingdom and not the kingdom of God. And your kingdom is not able to save anyone.
My family. How are your seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit? How are you seeking to fall more deeper in love with God? The world, your family, your neighbors can’t truly be blessed through you if you are trying to use the gifts go God in a nominal, self-reliant, form of a Christian operating out of your own power but lacking the filling and power of the Holy Spirit. I pray you will earnestly seek to obey the great commandment above all else to love the Lord you God with all your heart, strength, mind and soul, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading Acts chapter 11. As we read through these chapters, though certain verses in each chapter stood out to me that I comment and pray on, other verses probably stood out to you. Please share this with us.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Reminder of the 5 Spiritual acts we are committing to do while reading through Acts.:
1. Spend time reading and reflecting on each chapter. Pray then over your ministry and your church.
2. Start up/join in a Band Group. A band group is the Wesleyan name for accountability groups of 2-3 people of the same sex that meet weekly. We need to both encourage and hold each other accountable to time in the Word, Prayer, and our daily walk with Christ. Do not delay, pray to God who to ask you which one or two persons to invite to join you, and do it. Ne excuses, no delays.
3. Set aside just one hour a week (you can do more than one) away from distractions and spend that hour in solid prayer. You can use the Prayer Wheel if you like as a guide.
4. Fast one day a week in prayer. Read Isaiah 58 on fasting for guidance or contact me if you have questions on fasting.
5. Daily Lunch + prayer: Everyday when you sit down to lunch, you pray over your meal. After your prayer over the meal, and a 30 second prayer over ODC and its ministries for God’s vision and leading.
Acts 10 is a removing by the Holy Spirit any barriers and the breaking of the binding chains of tradition, religion, cultural, ethnicity, nationality, family heritage and norms that were strongholds on peoples lives and excluded them from the Gospel.
All things are clean. It is not the object that is unclean (sex, alcohol, food, money, time, materials...) all Idolatry is the perversion of something good. “What God has made clean, do not call common.” V.15.
As importantly, All people are "clean", able to receive the Gospel, including you and me!
"yet God has shown me that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean" v,28
"Then Peter started speaking: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him." v.34
"No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” So he gave orders to have them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." vs.47-48
My daily prayer every morning over my family and our church is, "Lord, send us the ones nobody else wants." Let us truly embrace this, no matter who or what this looks like.
My family, I pray Lord to please free me from the bondage and chains of pre-conceived judgments, prejudice, traditions, and thinking, "Its the way we've always done it." I pray this over you as well. Free me personally and all of us as our churches move forward from any hindrances or clinging to style, format, meeting space, and doctrine, in Jesus’ name. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections to my post or on the verses in Acts 10 that spoke to you.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Thank you Father, for spending this time with me this morning, encouraging and equipping me for my day.
Acts 9 contains one of the most amazing stories in the NT, the conversion of Saul to Paul on the road to Damascus. In my prayer time reading this chapter, two verses stood out to me.
First, The Lord tells Ananais concerning Paul, "For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name".... v.16
We serve a suffering Savior. It was through suffering Jesus established his kingdom on earth. It was by enduring suffering and hardship that Paul further established the kingdom of God. It is through my suffering, our suffering, the church’s suffering that God's kingdom will be further established on earth. I prayed the hard prayer for me, God show me how much I need to suffer for you, and give me the strength and ability to accept and suffer for your kingdom, for you are worthy of it. We need to pray this together as a church.
Second verse, "And laying his hands on him he (Ananias) said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” v. 17.
God sent Ananias to Paul. It was through Ananais laying hands on Paul and praying over him that he received the power of the Holy Spirit to open his eyes to Jesus, enable him to be obedient to God, endure the suffering and hardship, and proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles. All throughout this chapter and the Bible people are coming to Paul's aid and assisting him. Without their help, Paul would not have succeeded.
God sent you to me. God sent me to you. God sent us to each other. To be "Ananias" to each other. To lay hands and pray over each other to receive the Holy Spirit, open our eyes to Jesus, enable us to be obedient to God, endure the hardship and suffering, and proclaim the Gospel to our neighbors. I prayed over all of you for the times and seasons when you have partnered and helped me. I needed it then and I need it today. I am so thankful for you all. I prayed over my help for you when you need it. I prayed over your participation in the church and our help for each other as a church, we need each other. I prayed over helping each other to be filled with the Holy Spirit and scales fall from our eyes to see Christ.
My family, I pray you will in prayer ask Jesus the hard question, “How much I need to suffer for you?” I pray you will also thank God for the “Ananais” he has sent to you in your life. I pray you will also ask Him who are those to whom He is sending you to be an “Ananias”. to them, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading Acts chapter 9. As we read through these chapters, though certain verses in each chapter stood out to me that I comment on, other verses probably stood out to you. Please share this with us.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift!
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!
Jesus, I empty myself this morning, so you can fill me afresh with your Spirit..
I read Acts 7 last night before bed and again this morning. I usually include a section of a chapter that I focused my reflection on. However, my reflection this morning flows from all of Chapter 7 and Stephen’s amazing response to his accusers. Acts 7 is a remarkable chapter. Stephen’s standing up to and response to the High Priest and his counsel is amazing. It is full of confidence and power. This is because the story he is telling them is God’s story of the redemption of mankind. His confidence is real because he really knows God, really knows the Scriptures, really knows God’s story, really knows his place and participation in God’s story, and his whole reply to them centers and focuses on the story of God in the lives of the Jews. To be able to reply with the confidence, power, and authority of Stephen, you have to have spent much time in prayer getting to know God and much time reading, searching and taking to heart the Scriptures. I asked myself, How deeply do I know God in prayer? How thoroughly do I know God’s story in the Bible? Could I reply with the confidence if asked like Stephen?
After I read Acts 7 last night, as I laid in bed I was strongly led into time of personal repentance and reflection over my life that continued when I woke up early this morning. My life and the life of every person person who is baptized are called to truly imitate Jesus. During my prayer time I asked for us all to openly confess and repent of our sins to allow God to begin a revival in our church. These things only deepened my reflection. I reflected over how well I know God and his story. The areas in my life that still are not conformed to God and his story. The thoughts in my head and desires in my heart that are not of God. I said I was sorry for my failures as a husband and Father. Places where pride still exist. I said I was sorry for my areas of disobedience and unfaithfulness to God. Where my passion and ministry was directed by me and not God. Where I backed away from or sold-out of visions and responsibilities because of the cost. Where I neglected or placed on hold needed time in spiritual disciplines of prayer, searching Scriptures and fasting. The times I ran off and spent doing things for God without first being with God.
I reflected over my life and ministry listening to v.51 "You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did!" I repented from the things "made in my hands”, my idols, of: degrees, resumes, house comforts, buildings, and career. I repented from things I use to box in God. "Yet the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands,"v.46-48. I repented for any lack of authenticity in my leadership. Any lack of confidence or authority received from God. I prayed to be more like Stephen. I would like to be more like Stephen. And I know what it takes to be like Stephen. Stephen’s faith and confidence was not forged by attending a one hour weekly public gathering, it was forged in spending many hours consistantly, outside the public eye, passionately and intimately praying and reading God’s Word.
My family, As we begin a new week I pray you take time to reflect today and throughout this week on what you are forging in your mind, heart, and soul outside the public eye. I pray you honestly ask yourself as I did, How deeply do I know God in prayer? How thoroughly do I know God’s story in the Bible? Could I reply with the confidence if asked like Stephen? I pray from this time you intentionally make plans starting Monday for an awakening of this in your life. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends.
I would love to hear how you were affected by reading the response of StephePlease share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/ Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Begin The Day With A Gift!
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, Father and Spirit, let my heart be the place you tabernacle within today..
Acts 6:8-10
“Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia--who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.”
Four words to keep in mind from this passage (at least 4). They reveal a pattern we see as the Holy Spirit spreads.
NOW STEPHEN. . . OPPOSITION AROSE.
It’s critical to understand the bigger picture here where we to get a birds-eye view of the first century church, everywhere we spotted the activity of the Holy Spirit stirring and moving, we would also witness the enemy in opposition actively stirring and moving. The same remains true to the present day. We must understand the real enemy is not the Jews or any other human being. Listen to how the Apostle Paul will later describe the battle.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10-12”
Human beings must indeed be held accountable when they serve as the willing agents of darkness, but they are not ultimately responsible. Evil is real and everyone remains susceptible to being drawn into its strategies. While evil is no match for the Holy Spirit, only those who learn to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” have any hope of standing against and overcoming it. The Big Lesson: as much as people may willingly or unwittingly align themselves with the enemy, people are never the enemy. This is important to remember when ministering to those "no one else wants."
This is also important when discerning the actions and directions of your church. “But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen.” (vs. 9) This reveals it was the synagogue members, “Members of the church” the Jews, the people of God, not outsiders who were now actually in opposition of God by their actions and decisions. Unfortunately today, in our churches and among those who claim to be Christians, they can contain people of God who also actually may be in opposition to God and our actions and decisions as well.
This core dynamic of Christian discipleship consists in the crisis and process of learning to be “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” who is the Holy Spirit. One more key piece of information: THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL ALWAYS LOOK LIKE JESUS. We simply cannot learn or comprehend how the Holy Spirit works apart from keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. And this will not happen apart from immersing ourselves in every detail we can grasp from the inspired accounts we have of His life as revealed in the four Gospels and imitating Him!
We are about to witness a case study, a high-def demonstration of how all of this works out in a human life. Prepare to be astonished.
Remember in Luke 12 when Jesus said, "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."
Read Acts 6:8-10 again. NOW STEPHEN. . . OPPOSITION AROSE. . “Now Stephen, full of grace and power….But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke!”
My family, I stated above, “ This core dynamic of Christian discipleship consists in the crisis and process of learning to be “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” who is the Holy Spirit.” I pray today you will reflect on your reliance, equipping, and empowering by the Holy Spirit. I pray you will embrace the 5 things I asked of you: To read and reflect on these chapters daily, spend; one solid hour a week in prayer; form a band group; fast one day a week; and lunch + prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to anoint you right at this moment with his power and presence. Ask the Holy Spirit to anoint and empower your church to be a church strong in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Your participation is important in this time together!! Please share your reflections in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
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! Thank You! .
CICK HERE TO GIVE CICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning Lord Jesus, I come to you empty to be filled with your Spirit..
I love Acts chapter 4! It is a proclamation and testimony to the power of the resurrected Jesus our Lord and Savior! All throughout the chapter you can sense the presence and power the resurrection of Jesus provided in his believers. It is a picture of people and a church that have confidence in Christ. They have an expectancy that God is and will do great signs and wonders in their midst. It is a church filled with boldness derived not in themselves, but in the living Christ. It is the picture of a church filled with the anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit. A church that prays. A church that has complete unity of purpose that is radically meeting each others needs and affecting lives. It is a church that is on fire with the power of God! It is a church I so long to re-establish and be part of.
I read this chapter on the released power and presence of God in the resurrected Christ and the Holy Spirit in the church. The church is exciting, expecting, and seeing healings, signs and wonders. It is boldly standing up to powers and principalities, removing social barriers and injustice, and boldly spreading the gospel. People are banqueting together and participating in life together. And I so long to be part of that church. Why do I long for that church when there are churches on almost every corner today that are supposed to be places of the same presence of the resurrected Jesus who is alive and now present. The same Holy Spirit full of power moves among the earth today. The same kingdom of God is now at hand.
I was an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church (UMC). In 1786, the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, looked back on the revival begun during his lifetime. He seemed to think that it was well enough established that it would not immediately vanish after his death. However, he was not content with the survival of a lifeless sect that hung around, but failed to renew souls in the image of their creator. He wrote in “Thoughts Upon Methodism” : “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out." These words haunt me. It is as if Wesley continues to challenge all who call themselves Christians, to continue to have the zeal to “spread Scriptural holiness” that the early Methodists had. I can’t read this quote without asking myself the obvious question, not just about the UMC, but The Church in America in general, “Is the church in America a dead sect, does it have the form or religion without the power? Or have we held fast to the doctrine, spirit, faith and discipline with which the early church we read about in Acts 4 first set out?”
I lead a men’s Bible study on Thursday nights called Brothers, Bible and Beer that meets in a local brewery. We were discussing yesterday’s reading of Acts chapter 3 and the miraculous healing of the crippled man begging at the Beautiful gate by Peter and John speaking the name of Jesus of Nazareth over him. In our discussion of this miracle I asked our group, “When was the last time you experienced or witnessed a true miracle that you know was an act of God?” It was amazing how many men had to sit there and think, could not remember, or went back to a time in their childhood. If I was to ask you “When was the last time you experienced or witnessed a true miracle that you know was an act of God?” could you answer right away? Was it something that happened today? This week? This month? or would you have to sit and ponder over past years to think of one, if ever? This ties into today’s devotion, Where is the power of Jesus in your lives? Is your church, your faith a dead sect, does it have the form or religion without the power?
I, and I know you as well long to be part of a church like that in Acts 4. Long to be part of a church that others will look at and long to be part of, because it is full of the power and presence of the resurrected Jesus! Please read Acts chapter 4 and pray over and into these prayers today and over the weekend:
Pray the power of the resurrected Jesus over yourself, family, and church:
its power to save humanity vs. 4, 12,
Its power to heal. vs.9-10, 14. 22, 30
its power to provide us and fill us with the Holy Spirit v, 8, 25, 31,
Its power to fulfill prophesy, and sovereignty over time and our lives vs.24-29
Its power over all creation v.24
Its power to give us boldness in proclaiming the Gospel v.29
Its power to give us the ability to heal and do signs and wonders. V. 30
Its power to give our prayers power in and through the Holy Spirit v. 31
Its power to bring God through the Holy Spirit tangibly into our midst. “The place where they were assembled was shaken”. V.31
its power to unify us into one body v.32
Its power over all we posses v.32-36
Its power to fill all our needs v.34
Repent of ways you have continued on in a faith with the form of religion that is powerless and where you have contributed to your church being a dead sect. You received the power of the Resurrected Jesus at you baptism. Pray into that power. Ask God to remind, reveal and revive that power that is dormant within you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you people, places, possibilities for your church to powerfully proclaim the risen Jesus, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts of my post above or your reflections from your reading of Acts chapter 3 with us in the comments box below.
28 Days of Acts
I am asking all of us as a church, as a family, as a community of faith to come together as we begin pray over a new revelation, a new manifestation of Jesus into the vision and ministries of our churches and our lives. I would like us to dedicate ourselves to pouring ourselves into his word and prayer as we seek God’s will and direction for our lives. To aid us in this I am asking us to commit to one another and join together in these 5 things:
1. There are 28 chapters in Acts of Apostles, so we will read one chapter a each weekday for the next 28 weekdays.
2. If you are not in a Band group, start up or join one. A band group is the Wesleyan name for accountability groups of 2-3 people of the same sex that meet weekly. We need to both encourage and hold each other accountable to time in the Word, Prayer, and our daily walk with Christ and to discern what we hear Christ speaking into our lives.. Do not delay, pray to God who to ask you which one or two persons to invite to join you, and do it. Ne excuses, no delays.
3. Set aside just one hour a week (you can do more than one) away from distractions and spend that hour in solid prayer.
4. Fast one day a week in prayer.
5. Daily Lunch + prayer: Everyday when you sit down to lunch, you pray over your meal. After your prayer over the meal, add a 30 second prayer over yourself and your church and its ministries for God’s vision and leading.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
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! Thank You! .
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You and welcome You into my heart and into my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
We are in the season now as we move from the Holiday of Easter towards Pentecost. So today I Am going begin a time reading through Luke’s book of The Acts of the Apostles to help us focus on Pentecost and the birth of The Church.. I would like us to use this time to as a community spend these days in prayer and fasting over The Church in the World. our individual churches that are part of the body of Christ, and each of us as its members.
Intro to Acts:
The Book of The Acts of the Apostles, or as commonly simply called “Acts” picks up where Luke’s Gospel leaves off, recording the birth of The Church and the early progress of the gospel as Jesus’ disciples took it from Jerusalem throughout Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the Mediterranean world. The story begins with Christ’s ascension and the events of Pentecost. As Gentiles begin responding to the gospel, the focus shifts to Paul and his missionary journeys. Acts forms a bridge between the four Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, showing how the apostles carried on Christ’s work and providing a historical background for Romans through Revelation. The Acts of the Apostles is the second of two New Testament books written by Luke. Like his Gospel, Acts was a letter to Luke’s friend Theophilus, written sometime in a.d. 62–64
"While staying with them, He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. 'This,' He said, 'is what you have heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.... You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth' " (Acts 1:4-8).
Lord Jesus, just before You ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives with all your disciples looking into the sky, You told them to wait for the promise of the Father, for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They knew You personally in their relationship of faith and they believed in Your resurrection as the Son of God. But there was more. You commanded them to wait for more.
They were never meant to go to work for the kingdom of God in their witness of faith without the power of the kingdom of God at work within them. Though they had great faith, though they had a personal relationship with You as Lord and Savior, You told them they needed more. You told them they needed to wait. They needed to wait to be empowered by Your Holy Spirit, to be baptized, saturated, immersed, and filled to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. You said, "See, I am sending upon you what My Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
Your first disciples were to wait with hungry hearts and expectant faith for their baptism with Your Holy Spirit. And so are we. We need You and we need Your power at work within us to be Your witnesses wherever You send us -- whether across the street or to the ends of the earth. We need to be baptized, saturated, immersed, and filled to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit, clothed with Your power from on high. We are to be the body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, continuing the ministry of Christ in this hurting, broken, and fallen world.
So as we Embrace The resurrection of Jesus and move towards Pentecost Sunday in May, let us open wide our hearts every day for the coming of Your Holy Spirit. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus. I embrace Your promise, my Heavenly Father. Come, Holy Spirit of the Living God. Baptize me afresh today and everyday with Your power from on high. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray you will embrace the promise of the Father and be baptized with the Holy Spirit to be empowered to be a witness of Jesus everywhere He sends you each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Asbegin our 28 Days reading through Acts and praying together by reading Acts chapter 1, here are some thoughts to pray on:
Pray over and into your personal, and church’s collective "Baptism of the Holy Spirit." v.5
Pray into the the power each of you received by the Holy Spirit in your baptism. v.8
Pray over your personal and our collective call as a church to witness to your community, the surrounding communities, our state and country, and unto the nations.v. 8
Pray for the return of Jesus. v.11
Pray that every member of your church will take seriously and embrace this call to pray and fast, and we will seek with one mind God's anointing and calling on us. v.14
Pray over your personal call to be a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. v.22
Pray over the leadership role in your church God is calling you to take up and step up into. v. 24
Pray over your commitment to embrace the 5 items I listed in yesterday’s post.
Please share your reflections and prayers on my 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 Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please 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! Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...
"The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple" (Ezekiel 43:5).
Come, Holy Spirit of the Living God. Come lift me up into the inner court, into the intimate place of Your Presence in deep communion with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let the glory of Your Manifest Presence fill this temple of my heart, to begin my day lifted up in Your embrace.
My wife and two daughters got back home late Saturday night from our family vacation. We had a great time together. Most days we spent part of the time lounging around the resorts swimming pool. When my kids were young, whenever we travelled whether for vacation of a ball game one of their favorite things was to stop over and stay in a motel along the way of our journeys. The best part was the swimming pool. They loved for me to shoot them up into the air, out of the water, as high as I could throw them. Or they would stand on my shoulders and I would lift with my legs and launch them in the air. They would say over and over again, "Do it again, Dad! Shoot me up higher!" We'd do that forever it seemed, at least until their launch base got worn out from launching and throwing them and had to shut down for a minute.
And I was thinking this morning how You're a Father who loves to lift us up and launch us high into all You have for us. You love to hear us giggle with delight at the thrill of the adventure. You love to give us the desires of heart whenever You can, maybe even just to see the smile on our faces and hear the joy in our voices, excited for You to do it again and again and again. And You're a Daddy, a good, good Father -- our Abba Father -- who never wears out and never gets tired of giving good gifts to Your children (Romans 8:15; Matthew 7:11).
My Father, You lift me up. You shoot me high into the sky, like a rocket. You have in Your heart to do exceedingly, abundantly far more than I can even ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him!" (1 Corinthians 2:9) So this morning I scream with joy, “Do it again, Daddy!” Abba, my Father God! Shoot me up like a rocket today! Higher Abba Higher! And the cool thing is you never get tired of launching me and laughing with me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, as you begin a new week I pray you may you be lifted up and launched high in the adventure our Father has for you today, even giggling with delight in the thrill of the adventure no matter what you face, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us n the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, and Your words in my mouth, as I watch and wait for Your leading, my Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
This morning I found myself singing a worship song and it reminded me of a passage from Zephaniah:
“The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a Warrior who gives victory;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will renew you in His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing!” (Zephaniah 3:17)
You are our Singing Warrior who gives victory to overcome all that we’ll encounter each day. You take our emptiness and pour into us Your fullness. You take our regrets and give us expectant faith of what is yet to come. You take all our self-imposed limits and You release to us Your limitless power and love to live in us and through us, as You sing over us and cause a new song to rise up within us!
“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper,
and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from Me, says the Lord!” (Isaiah 54:17).
O Mighty Warrior, O Singing Warrior, You’ve defeated every weapon including death at Easter. You’ve silenced every tongue against me as You vindicate me by Your victory over the cross. As you sing over me in Your love, You establish me in Your peace. This is my heritage as a servant of the Lord, as a child of God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be stirred in your spirit with the song of the Lord, our Singing Warrior. I pray you will hear Him singing over you and within you, bringing you into alignment with His heart and His will for your day, and out of joy you will join in and sing along with Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you 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
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!
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart to see You--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God--as I look and listen for Your leading today.
"Now on that day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.... So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:13-32).
Two disciples who were walking to Emmaus after all the events of the cross and Easter. They had known You, loved You and had faith in You. But in their grief and sorrow and disappointment, they couldn't see You. They "had hoped" that You were the Messiah, but now they thought all their hopes and dreams were shattered (v. 21). They had even heard stories of Your resurrection, but they were still "slow of heart to believe" (v. 22-25). Even when You came alongside them, they couldn't sense that it was You, they couldn't recognize Your voice, even though they had such a personal relationship with You.
That may be a picture of many of us at times along our journey of faith. We know You, we have a real and personal relationship with You, we know the stories of Your resurrection; we celebrated at Easter, but at the same time, down deep inside, we still find ourselves "slow of heart to believe." When our dreams and hopes are shattered, when things don’t work out as we planned, when we find ourselves in those times of grief and sorrow and disappointment. We find it hard to see You and hear You and even recognize and remember that You are with us--that You're with us "always," just like You promised (Matthew 28:24), that Your sheep "hear (Your) voice," just like You said (John 10:3).
But even in those times--maybe even especially in those times--You'll come near and go with us (Luke 24:15). You'll come in and dine with us in the communion of our hearts if we'll invite You in to come abide with us (v. 29). Just as You did with those two discouraged disciples who desperately needed an encounter with You, You're ready to come and commune with all who would "urge (You) strongly" to come and stay (v. 29).
In the breaking of the bread with them, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized (You)" (v. 30-31). In the breaking of the Bread of the Word of God with them, "(You) interpreted to them the things about (Yourself) in all the Scriptures" (v. 27). Then their hearts burned within them in fresh fire and faith, in renewed hope and excitement, from their personal encounter in Your Presence with Your Word (v. 32).
Thank You for walking with me on my journey with You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for opening up the Word of God to me this morning and every morning, for revealing Yourself in Your Scriptures to me, "beginning with Moses and all the prophets" (v. 27) and being the source of these devotions. Thank You for coming to abide within me, for opening the eyes of my heart to see You, for making me more and more sensitive in my spirit to hear You. Thank You for the grace and faith to believe in my heart from my personal encounters in Your Presence with Your Word that "the Lord has risen indeed!" (v. 34) And thank You that every day You want to arise in me! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray following the joy of Easter your heart burns within you with fresh fire and faith, in the renewed hope and excitement that the resurrection of Jesus was meant to provide. I pray every day of your journey with Jesus, you will invest the time and invite Him to walk with you and encounter His presence in His Word, 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
Give A Gift
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!
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to Act” Deitrich Bonhoeffer
“To ignore evil is to become accomplice to it.” Martin Luther King Jr.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” Albert Einstein
Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice and wait for Your leading.
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:1-7).
There is a so-called "prince of the power of the air" who is a "spirit;" an evil and destructive spirit (Ephesians 2:2). It's the same spirit who is "the thief" who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). It's the same spirit Jesus called "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31). And it's the spirit of destruction and death at work in our world, seeking to destroy and defile God’s creation by every means possible and at every opportunity available. "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now" longing to be "set free from its bondage to decay" (Romans 8:19-23)
The past days since Easter have contained some battles. Our youth group that has been growing and flourishing has been under attack by personality differences, attitudes and statements made made youth and parents. Young people we are ministering with can’t break free of drug addiction and physical abuse. Marriages that are under attack.
So this morning I say enough is enough! This morning in the power of the resurrected Jesus we claimed on Easter I am shouting at the devil! I am pushing back and calling out in prayer and the name of Jesus and calling out to you to also push back in prayer, in the laying of hands and anointing of oil and call out and push back against "the prince of the power of the air." To call out and push back against "the thief who comes to steal and kill and to destroy." To call out to and turn our hearts and our prayers and our hope to the One who says "I came that (you) may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). To call out and claim over our lives the One who is "rich in mercy," who reaches out to us in our distress. Who wars with us even in our sins, even in the places our own destructive acts, even where we have opened the door to destruction in our hearts or in our land throughout our generations to the accusing enemy of our souls and of Your creation. This morning we call and claim and invite and call on the God of angel armies to battle and push back against the darkness! (Ephesians 2:4).
O God, hear our prayer. Crush "the prince of the power of the air!" Grant us mercy in the face of its attempt to destroy. Stir in the hearts and prayers and proclamations of Your people who are called by Your name to take a stand in faith to speak against mountains of destruction, even as we humble ourselves to be desperately dependent upon You alone. “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:22-25).
And as You bring us through no matter what we may endure, as we groan with all Your creation for the redemption of our broken, fallen world, may we continue to turn to You to be our Hope and our Help. "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 124:7). May You continue to fulfill Your Word through these days of what seems like unrelenting catastrophes: "The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us)" (Romans 16:20). In Jesus' name we pray.
My family, I pray in faith in agreement with you that our God who is rich in mercy will give faith and grace to all to endure and overcome the "prince of the power of the air" and its destructive forces, in Jesus' name! And I join with you in prayer that lives would be restored and those caught in the storms of this season would experience the protection and provision of our God, in Jesus' name! May the presence of God in His mercy and love and through His people be evident in the midst of it all. God bless you my friends!
Please share with us your 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
This morning I’m reflecting on the presence of God and the closeness of Your love available to us in the resurrected Jesus as declared from Romans Chapter 8 in The Message Version of the Bible:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us--who was raised to life for us!--is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39 MSG).
Yes, Lord. With God on our side, how can we lose! “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” (Romans 8:37).
And that gives me courage. That gives me confidence. That fills my heart with joy, fills my eyes with tears, and fills my mouth with praise! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray as we continue to Celebrate Easter you may be filled with ressurection joy in your heart, tears of joy in your eyes, and the praises of God in your mouth, as you know His powerful, unending love for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Please share you 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
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!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the Way and the Truth and Life in You today (John 14:6). For You are my Life, and my life is in You (Colossians 3:3). ...
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 ESV).
If you remember back in April of 2020 covid shut everything down. However the government said we could still go out into parks and get fresh air and gathering small groups if we stay 6 feet apart They also said we could come together for religious gatherings. So I saw men were getting isolated from each other and under strain of trying to live their lives and lead their families in the fear and frustrations of Covid. Then I saw the park Campus 805 in Huntsville that sits between two breweries. And I invited men to come, bring your lawn chairs and Bibles. We could set up outside in the park in a circle 6 feet apart, and grab a beer, and pizza from the brewery (to-go only as dine-in was closed down), and boom! Brothers, Bibles and Beer (B3) was born. The picture in this post is from that first B3. Hard to believe we have been meeting every Thursday night since then now for 4 years! Why did I start B3 and why do we continue to meet?
Because men need the Lord. And men need one another. Together we encourage one another, learn from one another, and join together with one another to grow in spiritual maturity and authority, finding security in our true identity and fulfilling our God-given destiny in Christ. And sometimes that takes some time that’s set apart to get apart from our wives so we can become better husbands, get apart from our children so we can become better fathers, get apart from our parents so we can become better sons, get apart from jobs so we can become better employees and employers, even get apart from our local churches so we can become better disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Women, of course absolutely need these same things in their own way. My wife started a women’s group that meets on Thursday evenings as well 4 years ago. But any Godly woman will tell you the men in their lives need Jesus more than anything else. And if it’s a little time with a few other men with their Bibles out in a park, around a table in a brewery, in a booth at the Waffle House, or down by the river fishing will make that happen and allow steel to sharpen steel, well then “Amen! Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus! And pass me a beer, pour me a cup of coffee, and Holy Spirit make it happen.
My family, I pray you intentionally seek times set apart for fellowship, friendship, and accountability with the Godly people He has put into your life to be sharpened and encourage and become more like Jesus, in Jesus' name. God bless you my friends!!
If you are in the Huntsville/Madison area and would like to join us men at B3 ( or my wife’s ladies group) we both meet at 6:00pm on Thurs.. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community
Please share your reflections in the comment box below.
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Help Me Share The Gospel With Truth And Love
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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.
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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 with Your Spirit and set my heart ablaze with Your Fire. Let me be a torchbearer and Fire-carrier everywhere You send me today. ...
"I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:15-18).
You never called us to huddle up and hide out. You never intended to tuck us away in some tower of tranquility. You did not create our hands to ring church bells and enter into sanctuaries, but door bells and enter stranger’s homes. Your “Church” You created was not intended to be a building dedicated to God for Christians to walk into, but a movement of God Christians are called to enter into and spread throughout our communities. You gave us a revelation of you to be part of a revolution for you. You sent us into the world, even knowing the challenges we'd face and the temptations we’d encounter and even the persecutions we'd endure (v. 14). Yes, a ship is safest resting nice and comfortably in a harbor, but that is not what a ship was created for. Yes, we are safest and most comfortable resting on a church pew, but we weren’t created for that either. Jesus would much rather walk into your church sanctuary on Sunday morning and find it is empty because the congregation is truly obeying his words “As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” Because the congregation is intentionally participating together in the mission of God by spending the day out in their community seeking the lost, addicted, outcast, and orphaned. And the Father would as well.
Jesus, your prayer to the Father was “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (v.18). Last weekend we celebrated Easter and your resurrection and conquering of death and walking out of the grave into the world with your message of Life. If we claim to be people of Easter then we are called to go out with the same message of life. You send us into the world because you want us to become more like You, to imitate You and the “sentness” of Your heart. You send us into the world because You love the world (v. 3:16). You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would have life in You. You desire all to know the joy of Easter we just celebrated a few days ago. So You send us out to be the expression of Your love for them. Just as the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us in the power and love of the Spirit of God living in us (v. 20:21-23). You are a sent one, and You created us in your image to be sent ones as well.
"Here I am, Lord. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the truth of these Scriptures plant deeply in your heart. I pray out of the power of Easter the Spirit of God fills your sails today, that you leave the comfort and safety of any harbor your are resting in because you were not created for that purpose. I pray out of love for God and neighbor you listen to Jesus as He sends you into the world to express the Father's heart of love for everyone you encounter. I pray this is the adventure you actually plan and center your first upcoming weekend after Easter around. What other way would Jesus desire you to spend it and would bring Him the most joy? He suffered, died, and rose to equip you for this purpose, 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
Give A Gift!
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!
Tho Lord has risen indeed! Alleluia!
As we are in the first week after Easter I wanted to share with you the first sermon (outside of Scripture) we have on record. It is called On Pascha and was preached by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who was a prominent figure of second-century Christianity. The present text (excerpted for length) was written in 167 AD, and is the earliest Christian sermon that has survived from the early history of the church. It has been preached over the centuries, often at Easter.
This is the one who comes from heaven onto
the earth for us suffering ones,
and wraps himself in the suffering one
through a virgin womb
and comes as a human.
He accepted the suffering of us suffering ones,
through suffering in a body which could suffer,
and set free the flesh from suffering.
Through the spirit which cannot die
he slew the human-slayer death.
He is the one led like a lamb
and slaughtered like a sheep;
he ransomed us from the worship of the world
as from the land of Egypt,
and he set us free from the slavery of the devil
as from the hand of Pharaoh,
and sealed our souls with his own spirit,
and the members of our body with his blood.
This is the one who clad death in shame
and, as Moses did to Pharaoh,
made the devil grieve.
This is the one who struck down lawlessness
and made injustice childless,
as Moses did in Egypt,
This is the one who delivered us from slavery to freedom,
from darkness into light,
from death into life,
from tyranny into an eternal Kingdom,
and made us a new priesthood,
and a people everlasting for himself.
This is the Pascha of our salvation:
this is the one who in many people endured many things.
This is the one who was murdered in Abel,
tied up in Isaac,
exiled in Jacob,
sold in Joseph,
exposed in Moses,
slaughtered in the lamb,
hunted down in David,
dishonored in the prophets.
This is the one made flesh in a virgin
who was hanged on a tree,
who was buried in the earth,
who was raised from the dead,
who was exalted to the heights of heaven.
This is the lamb slain,
this is the speechless lamb,
this is the one born of Mary the fair ewe,
this is the one taken from the flock,
and led to slaughter.
Who was sacrificed in the evening,
and buried at night;
who was not broken on the tree,
who was not undone in the earth,
who rose from the dead and resurrected humankind from the grave below.
O mystifying murder! O mystifying injustice!
The master is obscured by his body exposed,
and is not held worthy of a veil to shield him from view.
For this reason the great lights turned away,
and the day was turned to darkness;
to hid the one denuded on the tree,
obscuring not the body of the Lord but human eyes.
For when the people did not tremble, the earth shook.
When the people did not fear, the heavens were afraid.
When the people did not rend their garments, the angel rent his own.
When the people did not lament, the Lord thundered from heaven,
and the most high gave voice.
“Who takes issue with me? Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned.
I gave life to the dead.
I raise up the entombed.
Who will contradict me?
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“I am he who destroys death
and triumphs over the enemy,
and crushes Hades,
and binds the strong man,
and bears humanity off to the heavenly heights.”
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“So come all families of people,
adulterated with sin,
and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am the Lamb slaughtered for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your Kings.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
There shall I show you the everlasting Father.”
He it is who made the heaven and the earth,
and formed humanity in the beginning,
who was proclaimed through the law and the prophets,
who took flesh from a virgin,
who was hung on a tree,
who was buried in earth,
who was raised from the dead,
and ascended to the heights of heaven,
who sits at the right hand of the Father,
who has the power to save all things,
through whom the Father acted from the beginning and forever.
This is the alpha and omega,
this is the beginning and the incomprehensible end.
This is the Christ,
this is the King,
this is Jesus,
this is the commander,
this is the Lord,
this is he who rose from the dead,
this is he who sits at the right hand of the father,
he bears the father and is borne by him.
To him be the glory and the might forever.
Amen.
My family, I pray that the complete joy and freedom of Easter permeates your soul as you begin your morning. I pray you walk out your door with a song of praise in your heart for our savior Jesus Christ and eager to share the source of your joy with those you meet in your workplace, schools, stores and wherever your path leads today, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me.
God bless you my friends!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord, and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.' When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.' Jesus said her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabbouni" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not hold on to Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.'' Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord!'; and she told them that He had said these things to her" (John 20:11-18).
Even after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene was still confused about all that was happening. Even after seeing with her eyes and knowing in her heart that the tomb was empty, she still had questions about what was taking place.
She wept and she wondered. She tried to fit the pieces together in a way that made sense in her mind, but she didn't yet see the bigger picture from heaven's perspective. She needed a personal encounter with the risen Lord. She needed to turn around and look to You. She needed to hear Your voice. She needed to hear You call her by name.
Just like Mary, we can all find ourselves in that place at times. We've been walking with You in a personal relationship with You as Your disciple. We believe the cross and the empty tomb are real and true. So it's not a matter of faith. But somehow in all the chaos and confusion of not understanding all that's going on and not knowing yet what it all means and worrying about all that will happen next, we can have questions.
Mary expressed her thoughts and asked her questions. The angels didn't rebuke her and You didn't rebuke her. Instead, You come near to her and spoke to her. At first, she didn't recognize Your voice. At first, she didn't even turn to You to acknowledge You -- still overwhelmed in her grief and consumed in her questions.
But then she heard You speak her name! Then she turned to You and called out to You! Then everything in her wanted to take hold of You and never let You go!
When she heard Your voice, when she turned to You to speak to You face to face, everything became much more clear. There was still so much she didn't know, so much she didn't yet need to know, about all that would happen and all that was to come. She didn't yet fully grasp how things would never be the same -- or what a good thing that would be, even though there would be plenty of hard days ahead. But one thing is clear -- she couldn't wait to go share the good news! She couldn't wait to go encourage Your other disciples with the great joy that filled her heart!
Father, send Your Holy Spirit to make us more sensitive to the voice of Jesus. Even in the midst of all our questions and concerns about the coronavirus and what's going on in our world and what's to come, help us to see from heaven's perspective and listen for the voice of Jesus in the midst of all we're experiencing and all we're about to go through.
Lord Jesus, we believe in the victory of the cross and joy of the empty tomb. We praise You for all that You done and all You're going to do. And at the same time, we need a fresh and deep and intimately personal encounter with You.
So Lord, let us hear Your voice. Let us hear You call us by name. And let us turn to You to encounter You face to face. Give us a deeper desire to take hold of You and never let You go. And fill us with a joy to go share the good news with others, even more so in this time of “bad news,” with all who so desperately need to hear it! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be free to ask your questions and express your concerns to God, along with a growing desire to turn to Jesus and hear His voice and be filled with His joy to go share His good news, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you reflections on this post with others in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach
Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
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Good morning Father, Son and Spirit, speak to me as I speak to you…
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately. And the person who saw it has testified (and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth), so that you also may believe. For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.” And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” (John 19:33-37)
“They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” Here a single phrase is quoted from Zechariah 12, but the entire context is associated with the events surrounding the crucifixion. The "Spirit of grace and of supplication" is poured out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the first part of v. 10. A few verses later in 13:1 Yahweh says "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity." The blood which flowed from Jesus' pierced side may well be what the author saw as the connection here, since as the shedding of the blood of the sacrificial victim it represents cleansing from sin. As Jesus hung on the cross, the author may also have in mind the second coming here. The context in Zech 12-14 is certainly the second coming, so that these who crucified Jesus will look upon him in another sense when he returns in judgment.
“ On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. …I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn…“In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity... (Zech 12:5-13:1)
Holy Spirit, the water of these Scriptures are very deep waters. Continue to motivate me not to stay on the surface of what I read but dive deep to discover the treasures of Your Word of Life that lay there. Continue to call me to run and jump into the fountain of life which flows from Christ where I am soaked, laughing and splashing in the waters of Grace that cleanses me of all sin, impurities, guilt, shame, and depression. As I dive into your Word and prayer I want to to washed by the the river of the water of life that flows from Your throne today!
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-4)
My family, I pray during Lent as you read these Scriptures you allow the Holy Spirit to mold you and speak to you through the Word of God you are reading. I pray you will not just receive from your daily readings but begin to share what yor hear the Spirit speak to you and reveal it to others. I pray you will today dive deep into the healing waters of life that flow from your Bible, In Jeus’ 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
Give A Gift!
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. Through Your Body and Your Blood, make me one with You, one with Your Body of Christ, and one in ministry to all the world until I feast with You at Your heavenly banquet in final victory.
"Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.... Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off His outer robe, and tied a towel around Himself. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, 'Lord, are You going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, 'You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.' Peter said to Him, 'You will never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no share with Me.' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!' Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.' For He knew who was to betray Him; for this reason He said, 'Not all of you are clean' " (John 13:1-11).
Lord Jesus, though You are One with Father and One with the Holy Spirit, You set aside the glory of Heaven to humble Yourself in the likeness of human flesh and blood. And before You humbled Yourself to be betrayed and rejected and crucified by the human flesh and blood You created, You humbled Yourself to wash the dirty, smelly, unclean feet of Your disciples. No wonder Peter could hardly bear the thought of his Messiah, the Son of God, down on His knees washing his feet.
Lord Jesus, help me grasp the humility of Your nature. Though You are the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the exact image and very Word of God, with all power and authority in Your hands, You would humble Yourself with Your holy hands to wash the dirty feet of human flesh.
Your disciples couldn't fully understand what we still have trouble fully understanding as Your disciples today, that You are our example in every way. Just as You laid down Your life for Your friends as an example of Your love, we are to lay down our lives in sacrificial love for one another. Just as You washed their feet as an example of Your humility, we are commandedt to wash one another's feet (v. 14). "Servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If (we) know these things, (we) are blessed if (we) do them" (v. 16).
Lord, help me learn and embrace Your example. You are my "Teacher and Lord" (v. 13). Help me learn to follow in Your steps as Your disciple. Though You've made me clean through Your sacrifice on the cross, you created my hands to get dirty, as I continue Your ministry of humility and love. My hands were not created to simply clasp each other in prayer over people’s life situation in my church or home, but to personally and physically grasp and embrace people and aid them. Just like You dd Lord, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will be filled with the humility and love of Jesus today, as you follow Him as your example. I pray that you will intentionally set aside a time this weekend to get your “hands dirty” in ministry through real contact in the real lives of people around you. 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.
Holy Week Services
Here is the list of Holy Week Services I will be leading if your church does not have these services..
Thursday, March 28th, 6:30pm: Maundy Thursday Service, Cathedral Circle Community Center located at 1310 Cathedral Cir, Madison, AL 35758Friday, March 29th, 6:00pm: Good Friday Service and Stations of the Cross
Indian Creek Greenway Park off Slaughter Road. 392 Harvestwood Ct Madison, AL 3575
Sunday, March 31st , 11:00am: Easter Sunday Service in Liederbach’s back yard. 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift!
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!
