"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.... The star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:1-11).
The wise men were going to see the King. They followed His star and when they found Him they took Him into their hearts. They "rejoiced with exceedingly great joy!" They "fell down and worshiped Him" and "opened their treasures" before Him to offer their gifts to Him.
Lord Jesus, You are the King - "the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15). Give me the wisdom to pursue You every day. Give me the humility to open the treasures of my heart and offer the gift of my life completely to You. Holy Spirit help me worship Worship Jesus and welcome Him into my heart and every moment of my day, Your Spirit will fill me with the peace of Christ and "with exceedingly great joy!" Let me be among those wise men and women who are ever seeking to see the King! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the Holy Spirit may stir in your heart this morning as we begin a new week to go and see the King today and every day. Give Him the gift of your heart, as He fills you with His peace and exceedingly great joy, 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!
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
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog in 2024?
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, this morning I begin my morning intentionally listening to you so I can hear your intentions for me to walk in throughout my day today.
“Why does no one respond when I call?” v.2
“Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness, without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” V. 10
God asks His followers why does no one respond to his invitation to believe in his grace and power? Instead of them trying to put the blame on God for their actions and resigning themselves to their hopeless situation, his people should be committing themselves to the power, deliverance, and grace of their creator. He is more than ready to help them and restore them if they just admit their guilt and receive his deliverance.
God also asks, “Who fears the lord?” How does a person demonstrate that he or she “fears the Lord?” How do they show that they live in that place of reverence and awe for God that shapes their behavior? By listening to, and by obeying that which the Servant (Jesus) has been appointed by God to reveal in the world. I may be over simplifying it, but if you do not even bother to listen to Jesus by daily setting aside time reading the Bible and in prayer, then you have no fear, no real respect for Him. If you won't even take the time to listen to God, then you really don’t have a desire to follow Him, obey him and let him shape your life. How can He lead you daily when you aren’t even valuing any time daily to hear what He says to you? If you have no real desire to hear God, you have no real desire to respect and to obey God, no fear of God. How can you claim to be a follower of someone who you do not listen to? Isaiah declared the people were following the the words and listening to the stories of false prophets and ignoring God. Are you spending more time following the words and stories spoken on Facebook and social media than reading the words and stories in God’s Word?
Isaiah goes on to reveal that to fear God and to obey the voice of His Servant would imply an abundance of light. But this is not necessarily the case. Those who follow the Servant may indeed walk with Him into the darkness of frustration, injustice, humiliation, and abuse in the world as He did. But this does not mean they should abandon following God! All throughout time the followers of God think that God’s blessing equals comfort, monetary gain, and their well being. But that was not the way the Servant of God led His life.. And he was the most blessed person to ever walk the face of this earth.
My family, God call’s you today. I pray you will take time today to listen to Him. Do you respect what He has to say to you enough to intentionally set aside time today to hear it? Will you care enough today to listen to God by spending time listening to Him in His Scriptures and in prayer to let him shape your day? I pray you will in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us 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
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.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning Father, Son, and Spirit, I claim your presence in my life as I begin my week so I can impact those I meet this with your love and grace.
“They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of them, and they were amazed, but those who followed were afraid…” (Mark 10:32)
“But those who followed were afraid…” When was the last time you were afraid to follow Jesus? When was the last time you made a decision to follow Jesus knowing it would cost you something? When was the last time you obeyed His call to follow knowing it would be hard, difficult, uncomfortable and you would not get anything out of it but the satisfaction of being obedient?
We in America live and worship in a form of “ comfortable church” and easy discipleship that is absence of fear. We follow Jesus to comfortable worship buildings and Sunday school classrooms with comfortable chairs and AC. We follow Jesus to Wednesday night suppers. And we follow Jesus not with the His understanding that "church" is walking in public confronting and encountering others with the Gospel, but by isolating ourselves from our community and driving in comfortable cars, listening to Casting Crowns, drinking Starbucks and insulating ourselves from those who are around us in the cars and homes we are passing, to go to a safe and comfortable "sanctuaries."
Fear does not enter into our decision not to follow Jesus, comfort does. Asking the question, "When was the last time you did not follow Jesus out of fear?" may not be applicable to us. However the question, "When was that last time you did not follow Jesus for lack of comfort?, does apply to most of us. If it is raining outside, we stay home. If we had a hard day at work, we stay home. If we just don’t feel like it today, we stay home.
We don’t talk to people we encounter in our work day about Jesus because it makes us “uncomfortable.” We don’t know our neighbors and invite them into our homes to build relationships with us to share Jesus because it make us uncomfortable. Yet those people actually attend your "church", those you meet along along the way as you follow Jesus. Read Mark 10:32 again. "Church" was those those they met along the way as they followed Jesus.
My family, I pray as you follow Jesus on your way today, you follow Him in a way that makes you afraid, or at least makes you uncomfortable. 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, 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. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.... Then the devil took Him to the holy city.... Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain.... Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.'' Then the devil left Him, and suddenly angels came and waited on Him" (Matthew 4:1-11).
Lord, help me learn to discern when I'm in a place where the Spirit has led me or where the devil has taken me. Even You, holy and without sin, were both led by the Spirit to places at times and taken by the devil to places at times, according to the Word of God. You were "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15 ). You always knew how to respond. You always embraced all the Spirit had for You and always rejected all the devil had for You. By the power of Your grace, may I learn to do the same.
Thank You for the promise of Your Word, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). And for Your promise, "When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide (me) into all the truth" (John 16:13). I am Your child and You are my Father. Come lead me by Your Spirit into Your truth. Empower me to discern and resist every temptation of the devil. "No temptation has overtaken (me) except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow (me) to be tempted beyond what (I) am able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that (I) may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let me be faithful this coming year to read Your Word, that Your Word will be hidden in my heart so that I can declare what is written; and let Your Spirit guide my spirit so that I'm certain where I am and who led me there or took me there. Then -- no matter whether it was You or the devil -- You'll cause it all to work together for good in the fulfillment of Your plans and purposes because no matter where I go, I will be called according to Your purpose. (Romans 8:28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are resolving to daily intentionally setting aside a devotion time reading the Bible and in prayer so you may be led by the Spirit through every temptation with God's Word hidden in your heart and God's Spirit guiding your spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help
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
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
Last night for Mother’s Day I took my wife Nancy to see the movie she wanted to see “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” A major part of the movie was filmed in Milan, Italy. And in the movie was a scene filmed in front of Leonardo a Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper. I brought back memories of the trip my family and I took to the cities of Paris, Milan, and London. I was in many of the places the film was shot and while watching the movie my wife and I kept saying to each other, “We were there” and “Do you remember that.”
While in Milan we visited Santa Maria Delle Grazie. Painted on the wall in the Dominican Monk monastery next to the church is the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci,”The Last Supper.” Here is a photo I took of it.
Besides the fact that it was painted by Da Vinci, what makes this painting so famous? Why was it so unique when it was painted? Da Vinci was a renaissance artist, and the renaissance was focused on the mind, beauty, and accomplishments of mankind. Here is a picture I took of Jesus in the painting.
In almost all the paintings and Icons of Jesus before this painting it was Jesus’ deity that was stressed. He was painted with a halo around his head, on a cross, "glowing" in some way, or painted larger than other people around him. In The Last Supper, Jesus is painted simply as a man. He has no halo around his head, no other sign of deity and is the same size as the other disciples in the photo. Jesus is painted emphasizing his incarnation, completely human, in context, in community, present at the supper table.
Another thing that made this painting unique is the food on the table. Remember, the last supper took place in Jerusalem. When you study the food you will see some of the traditional foods used in the Passover meal, however most of the food on the table is that which would be served at a typical Dominican Monk’s dinner. Da Vinci painted this painting in a Dominican monastery, and he wanted to reflect the meal in its context painted. Like we do today in our context when we celebrate the Lords Supper in remberance of the Jesus’ acts in salvation.
Da Vinci is stating in his painting that Jesus desire was not to imitate or replicate the meal when we remember it as happening somewhere in the past, but to incarnate it into our current meal. At ODC we are centered around simple churches, house church type models. I remember back when one of our new house churches just launched that was made up of recovering addicts. I received a call one night from a member as they were meeting and they asked, “Gary, we do not have any grape juice in the house, is it ok to use apple juice, or is that against the rules or will it ruin it f?” I told them apple juice is fine, Jesus is just delighted you are inviting him to your table. I got another call one night from a house church meeting in a restaurant asking me, “Gary, we forgot to bring bread from home, is it ok to use the restaurant’s dinner rolls?” I said, Yes, that will be fine.” When I was in Darfur, Sudan, I celebrated The Lord’s Supper every night. However, there were no grapes and no wine or grape juice within 100 miles of where we were. So I celebrated The Lord’s Supper using some type of Sudanese moonshine made of local flowers. Jesus’ promise of “Whenever you do this in remembrance of me I will be present,” was not to the elements, but to you and I. Da Vinci emphasized this in his painting. It does not matter whether you use Matza or Wonder Bread. Nor does it matter if you serve it in a gold chalice or a red solo cup. When I was pastoring at traditional churches, each Sunday I always asked a family to assist me in serving The Lord’s Supper. Instead of using a special chalice and plate from the church, I told the family to bring a cup and plate from their home for us to use that morning. One Sunday, a young girl of the family came up to me and handed me a “My Little Pony” cup and plate she had picked out to use for the Lord’s Supper and asked if this was ok?, I said “Perfect!” And I consecrated the bread and wine on them and she proudly stood and served the congregation the Blood of Christ from her My Little Pony cup. Everyday at home when she uses that plate and cup she will be reminded of the incarnation of Christ in her everyday life.
Another thing that made this painting famous and unique are the windows in the back of the painting showing outdoor scenes. Again, the Lord’s Supper took place in an upper room in Jerusalem and the wall would have been solid behind Jesus. However, Da Vinci added and three windows in his painting and painted scenes of landscape through these three windows. When you examine the landscapes painted, they are not of Jerusalem, but landscapes of the Italian countryside. Again, by doing this Da Vinci is moving the setting for the Lord’s Supper from the past to the present context. Again, he was missionaly stating in his painting, the Lord’s Supper and the incarnation of Jesus is not about Jerusalem anymore or any church building or location, but Jesus is present and glorified where ever and whenever it is celebrated to his remembrance.
My family, I pray today you will remove any lingering religious teachings, traditions, or customs that have enforced in you the belief that Jesus is only present in a certain location, building, sanctuary or restricted to certain altars, vessels, or elements. I pray, like Leonardo Da Vinci, you will see and experience the incarnation of Jesus in your context and in your community and in doing so, bring the remembrance Jesus in your life and the life of those you meet today. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
“My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained this - that is, I have not already been perfected - but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 3:10-14)
Last night I attended the monthly Kairos Reunion gathering inside Limestone Correctional Facility. The Kairos gathering is held the ifrst Thursday of the month. It is attended by prisoners who have gone on a past a 4 day Kairos weekend and and men from the outside who have served on a weekend. It is also open to any prisoners that are interested in learning more and attending a future Kairos. It was held in the small chapel inside the prion and approximately 80 inmates and 15 outside men attended.
The gathering is run by the inmates. They lead the service, all the prayers and the worship. The worship band is amazing! It rivals the best praise bands of large churches. There are inmates who are talented musicians who before they were locked up were studio musicians who recorded in Muscle Shoals, and played in various secular and church bands. The band played their hearts out led us into Holy Spirit soaked worship of men with hands raised, clapping and cheering for Jesus.
After the opening time of worship, we read together the pasage abore from Phillipians. An inmate named Brandon then gave a talk based on that passage. The title of his talk was “Keep Going.” Brandon’s message to both inmates and outside men was to be strong and continue in our calling of Jesus Christ. He used and stressed the word “urgency” throughout his message. He said how inmates could walk out into the yard or free men out to their cars and wether by sickness or and action/accident their life could end. Nothing is guaranteed, So we need to share the Gospel to those who do not know Christ with an urgency that that this may be thast last chance we have to do it. The inmates gathered shook their heads in agreement and shouted “Amen!” Their hearts were broken for those who do not know Jesus and I felt how they were compelled to share the Gospel like I wish I felt in he hearts of those who attend most church gatherings I attend on Sunday mornings. After Brandon’s message, the inmates prayed aloud over us from the outside for boldness and the courage to share Christ with others. They then prayed over all our families, themselves, and the guards and staff of the prison.
There is something special, some thing Holy, something after the heart of Jesus when you spend time worshipping with a group of people who are completely humble, admit they are broken, and completely offer themselves to Jesus in prayer and worship. And after the service as we wre walking out of the chapel and across the yard another man who attended said “Why can’t I feel the Holy Spirit’s presence in my church service on the outside like I do in here.? There is more compassion and a sense or urgency for those who do not know Christ in prison, than in my church outside its walls.” I have been reflecting on this.
My family, I pray you plead to the Holy Spirit to give you a sense of urgency to share the Gospel today with someone who does not know Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless yoiu my friends!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’ Gideon answered him, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off and given us into the hand of Midian.’ Then the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.’ He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them’” (Judges 6:11-16).
You saw something in Gideon he didn’t see in himself. And You knew answers to his questions he didn’t know.
What Gideon needed to see and to know was that You knew him better than he knew himself; and that You were with him wherever he was, wherever You would send him, despite whatever questions he had, however weary he had become, however lacking his faith had become.
The key words: “But I will be with you” (v. 16). And You were.
Gideon was able to “Go in this might of (his)” because You empowered him by Your Presence to “Go in this might of (Yours)” (v. 14).
Though he was full of fear and lack of faith at first, even questioning Your promises and purposes, he still chose to trust You and obey You (v. 27). By the power of Your grace, emboldened by Your Presence, Gideon was able to confront the sins of his generations and his nation, the spiritual sickness and idolatry of his culture and his clan (v. 25-32). (We need the same power by God’s grace to confront the same things in our world today)
It wasn’t until after his first encounter that Gideon realized he had had a “face to face” encounter with the Living God. The “angel of the Lord” was none other than the Presence of the Lord -- a “Christophany” encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ, just has You also appeared in this way to Hagar, Abraham, Jacob, Manoah, and Joshua (Genesis 16:7; 22:15; 32:30; Judges 2:1; 13:13; Joshua 5:14).
“Then Gideon perceived that it was the Angel of the Lord, and Gideon said, ‘Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear; you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, ‘The Lord Is Peace’” (v. 22-24).
There’s peace in Your Presence because You are our Peace (Ephesians 2:14). There’s courage and confidence, security and faith in Your Presence because You are the Source of all we need, when we need it, whether we recognize it at first or not. You are the Lord God Almighty, our All Sufficient-God (Genesis 17:1-2). You are our “All in All” (Ephesians 1:23).
You see us in ways we don’t see ourselves and do things through our lives we could never do on our own. In You we find our identity and fulfill our destiny -- all for Your glory and all by Your grace. You give us eyes to see ourselves with God’s sight, in Jesus’ name.
My family, as you begin this day it will probably include going to your job, people to meet and places to go. You will be seen by people who have a formed image of you in their mind. Before you do any of these things, I pray you may take time to form the image in your mind of who you are to God. I pray you see yourself as God sees you, empowered by His Holy Spirit, with the Spirit of Christ abiding in you, knowing your identity and fulfilling your destiny in Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord, raised from the dead and raising me up to live my life in You this day.
"He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:5-8).
I can’t think of a better way to start a Wednesday morning than reading the amazing, wonderful, life changing words above and speaking and claiming them over your life as we begin “Hump Day” and push on through our Week! I am destined to be a child of God! It's God’s "good pleasure" to pour out His grace into my life! I am God’s beloved! I am redeemed and restored in God! God’s desire is to lavish me with the riches of his grace! And God does not do this with any conditions, but freely; and not in scarcity, but in abundance. Out of the riches of Your grace, You lavish me with Your goodness -- all in Your joy and "good pleasure." "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 136:1)
So out of complete JOY my response is Thank You! Thank you! Thank you Lord! You are a good God, in a good mood on this Wednesday morning! 'He who sits in the heavens laughs!" (Psalm 2:4). It was "for the sake of the joy that was set before you Jesus that you endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). And despite what's going on around us -- even in the things that break Your heart and ours -- You're always inviting us to know the truth of Your Word: "In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11).
O Lord, my God, "restore unto me the joy of Your salvation" every day (Psalm 51:12). Speak Your words of spirit and life into my heart that "(Your) joy may be in (me), and that (my) joy may be complete" (John 15:11). Though every moment and challenge of today and every day, help me see You and see myself in the light of Your truth and Your amazing grace and the "good pleasure" of Your will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you take a moment of reflection and open your spiritual eyes to see God as He is and see yourself as He sees you, that His joy may be in you and your joy made be complete in Him as you walkout your door into the gift of today, 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, 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!
"Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, so that those who love Your name may exult in You. For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You cover them with favor as with a shield" (Psalm 5:11-12).
When I was at the Waffle House bar the other morning, the lady sitting next to me turned to me and asked me what I do for a living. I told her I am in Community Development. I don’t tell anyone I am a pastor in the beginning, as when I do, They will, put out their cigarettes, pour out their beer, change the way they talk, and just act weird! The lady said, "Well, you just seem like a genuinely happy person." I thanked her and smiled and told her that was really nice to hear.
I know, I probably should have invited her to church or led her to Jesus or offered to minister healing and deliverance or something; but honestly, at that moment, I was just thinking about what a great blessing You've given me. I thank You, Lord, because You're the One who gave me that joy. Despite everything I've ever been through, and You know I have been through allot, You've never let my joy be taken from me. I'm genuinely joyful because You've put that joy in me. It's like the Sunday School song says: "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay." I like that other verse too -- "And if the devil doesn't like it he can sit on a tack today!" --or something like that.
Even when I was a general contractor, I loved to joke and laugh." I've still got my old jokes and I've still got my laugh! But Your joy has always been my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). And Your joy has always been at the heart of my experience of You and the growing fulfillment of Your kingdom in my life. "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
You've allowed me to see one of the great purposes of Your words of Spirit and life are "so that (Your) joy may be in (me), and that (my) joy may be complete" as I learn to obey You and abide in You (John 15:10-11). And even though on our daily, spiritual journey through this broken and fallen world "(we) have pain now ... (but at the same time, our) hearts will rejoice, and no one will take (our) joy from (us)" as we live out our days in the conscious awareness of Your Presence (John 16:22-24). "You show me the path of life. In Your Presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:11)
You're the God who makes us genuinely joyful! You take all our sins, what can be more Joyous than that? You remove our sorrows to give us freedom and joy to display Your glory through our lives. "(You) give (us) beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that (we) may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified!" (Isaiah 61:3 NKJV) In You, You fulfill in us the promise of Your Word: "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!" (Isaiah 35:10) Thank You, Jesus! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you begin your day genuinely joyful, that the joy of the Lord may be your strength, and that no one can take your joy from you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections on joy 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, 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.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Guide my heart and guide my steps as I look and listen for Your leading today. ...
"They brought in the ark of God, and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being.... He appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.... Then on that day David first appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred: O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name, make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him, tell of His wonderful works. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His Presence continually!" (1 Chronicles 16:1-11)
The first Psalms sung out from the tabernacle of David were songs of thanksgiving and praise, of Your glory and power, with the promise that all who seek You and Your strength and Your Presence would rejoice forever in their hearts. For 24/7 they lifted up their praises in worship and prayer to You and for 24/7 You poured Your peace and Your joy into their hearts. As they rejoiced, they were continually "re-joyed"- 24/7.
Re-joy me every day, Lord. Re-joy me today!!! Rebuild the tabernacle of David in me each day (Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16). Let my heart be the tabernacle of your joyful presence. Let me begin every day lifting up my praises to You in worship and prayer and then continue 24/7 in deep unto Deep of constant communion with You, as I abide in You and You abide in me (John 15:4).
As I'm "re-joyed," the joy of the Lord will be my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). And as I live out the moments of my day--"re-joyed 24/7," may I be a source of “Re-joy” to those around me who are in desperate need for joy . In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today ae we begin a new week you are "re-joyed" 24/7, by beginning your day abiding in the Lord as He abides you. Praise him from the tabernacle of your heart in worship and prayer throughout the moments of your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please begin 2018 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!
Help me listen to you. Tune my heart to your melody.
“Now we make known to you, brothers and sisters, the grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia, that during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth of their generosity. For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily, begging us with great earnestness for the blessing and fellowship of helping the saints. And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God... But as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you - make sure that you excel in this act of kindness too. ..For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich. …For if the eagerness is present, the gift itself is acceptable according to whatever one has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not say this so there would be relief for others and suffering for you, but as a matter of equality. At the present time, your abundance will meet their need, so that one day their abundance may also meet your need, and thus there may be equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” (2 Cor. 8:1-15)
Lord Jesus, I am joyful over Your amazing gift of the cross! I still am saying “Thank you!” for Your extreme gift of love that although You were rich, You became poor for my sake, so that I by Your poverty could become rich. (v.9) Lord Jesus, help me “pay forward” to others the gift I received from You. Help me today to “overflow in the wealth of my generosity”(v.2). Help me to excel in the act of kindness to others (v.6). Help me not only out of my abundance, but out of my poverty seek for the blessing and fellowship found in help others (v.4). Jesus, You remind me today that all I have is a gift from You to be used to pour into, relieve suffering, and bring relief to others. “We must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). However, I am called to give because I have been blessed in receiving from You. Jesus, free me from my fleshes desire to hoard, store up, collect, claim, keep, save, and hold onto my items and my finances I should freely give. Open my heart to others as Your Word says, “your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’(Deuteronomy 15:11-12).
My family, You have been given the greatest gift you will ever receive through the greatest act of generosity and outpouring of grace this world has ever know in and through the saving works of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray today you will plan ways this weekend to “pay it forward” and be a tangible example of the love and generosity of Jesus that we who call ourselves “Christians” are supposed to be, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you friends! He Has!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
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!
The LORD said to Moses, “Go up from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ʻI will give it to your descendants’. I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.” (Exodos 33:3)
You are on your own sayeth the Lord.
God told Moses, I am about to immensely bless you and give to you and your people everything you have desired, however, I will no longer be with you nor will you ever experience my presence again. Moses responded, “Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” He repented, begged for God’s pardon, and said the we do not want the inheritance of all these blessings without You God, for without You all these other things are worthless. The only inheritance we desire if that of your people and your presence in our lives.
Suppose God told you today I am about to immensely and completely bless you today. You will receive calls from family members and friends who you have been praying would come to know Jesus who have accepted Christ into their lives. All your prayer requests for healing over yourself and your loved ones will be answered. All your prayers for restoration of relationships with you wife and family members will be restored. You will receive a letter from an unknown relative stating that you will inherit 500 million dollars and be financially set for life. All these blessings and more you will receive. However, God says once you receive them, I will no longer be with you, I will withdraw my glory and remove my Holy Spirit from you. I will never hear or respond to a prayer from you, and you will never, ever, again experience my presence in your life. What would you do?
We can talk tough now tucked away in Sunday school and church amd declare “Nothing can compare to you Jesus, you are all we need.” But in life, behind closed doors honestly declaring that answer is not all that easy is it? Day to day we make a decision to that question as well in the small events of or day. Do we chose the comfort of our home and material goods, or to go out into our neighborhoods were God is. Do we hoard our homes as our own or open our door and welcome in others to learn about Jesus? Do we hoard our resources God has blessed us with and shut out God’s call to give, or do we give with extreme generosity. Do we choose to be right and Lord of our lives, or do we choose to experience God through humble forgiveness. Do we live as God called the Israelites in the passage above, as “stiff-necked people with our heads locked straight ahead at a mirror focused on ourselves, our wordly inheritance, our needs and desires, our blessings, and our goals, or do we turn our eyes towards Jesus and humbly offer him all we are and all we have, and tell Him, nothing is better than you in my life.
There are those times in our lives of wonderful transitions: We move out of our parents house for the first time and into our own home or apartment. We go to the bank and deposit our first pay check. We get married and move into our first home with someone to share out life with. We start a new well paying job. We get healed from a physical or mental illness, and so many other transitions. In all of these are a test from God. Will we enter into them stiff-necked, or will we enter into them only in the presence of Jesus. In all our transitions God tests our heart. Why? For He knows our choices and responses will effect our future direction and our destiny.
My family, I pray you may take a moment by yourself and simply say out loud., “Nothing is better than you Jesus and the experience of you in my life.” Then allow the Holy Spirit to honestly reveal the true application of that statement in your life, 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.
As Another Month Draws To An End, Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation now for next year, 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!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
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. Arise in my heart and shine through my life today. ...
“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad” (Proverbs 12:25).
As I begin my day, fill my heart with Your Good Word. Let Your Word be a Lamp to my feet and a Light to my path (Psalm 119:105). The Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God will make me glad, as I hear it and as I share it (Luke 4:43).
Unfortunately, anxiety and depression fill the hearts and minds of so many people I talk to today. I had conversations with two different people today in their homes. Both of their conversations led to the state of the world today, what they saw on the news, the Tik Tok and Youtube short videos by “experts” they watched, Facebook and Instagram posts, and others all sucked them into feelings of anxiety and depression. These cause in them fear, paralyzes the soul, and are at the root and cause of many sins and disorders like hoarding, drug addiction, alcoholism, cutting, anorexia, suicide and others. As the roots of anxiety bears the fruit of depression. We however need to let the root of Jesus’s good words, rooted and grounded and springing forth from the Word of God, bear the fruit of gladness and peace and joy. I told them they need to spend less time watching TV and listening to, “Likeing” and “Following” social media “experts” and spend more time reading their Bible and listening to, “Likring” and Following the voice of Jesus. Listen to and allowing these thoughts to sink into your soul:
For Jesus, only Your words are Truth; Your words are Spirit; Your words are Life (John 6:63).
You are Love (1 John 4:8). And Your words are expressions of Your love. And they are better than life.
“I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise you as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands” (Psalm 63:1).
So Jesus, let Your words of Spirit and Life fill my heart. Let Your words of Love and Life cast out all fear, all anxiety and lift off all depression, all discouragement, all heaviness of heart. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). “For (You have) not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). So we can cast all our cares, all our anxieties upon You, for You care for us (1 Peter 5:7).
Jesus, uproot from within us all sources that bear the fruit of depression, discouragement, and heaviness of heart. In their place, comfort all who mourn in sadness or weariness or sorrow:
“To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3).
Let it be so in me. And let it be so in every heart who would receive any words You would speak through me today on my journey of faith with You.
My family, I pray you may be filled with gladness and peace and joy as God's Good Words are rooted in your spirit, uprooting any anxieties, washing away depression, and casting out any fear, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning 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 myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit 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.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
God’s complete desire, that of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is for us to be one with him, and as importantly, one with each other. The Casting Crowns lyrics come into my head. “Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt.” But as hard as it may seem sometimes, He does! At Christmas in Christ we see God’s desire to know us and be known by us as He became incarnate in Emanuel, God with us. Our relationship with our God is not like that of other religions of one of master to slave. Or like the beliefs of others of a vague form of deism where God is “out there”, detached, and impersonally directing the universe. Like a clock maker who makes a clock, winds it, sets it on the mantel, and walks away. Our God, The God, desires an intimate relationship with us, one in which we also know and desire Him intimately as well. Jesus tells us, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends (Joh 15:15). How remarkable is that! “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27 ESV) How amazing is that when you wrap your head around it!!
And God Proved his desire to have an intimate relationship with us, to be one with him, through the incarnation of His Son, Jesus the Christ. God sent the Son to be born of a woman. He walked this earth, lived our life, bore our sins, carried our cross, suffered, was crucified, died, descended into hell, and was raised from the dead to create and restore a path, a way for us to an intimate, loving relationship with a God who intimately, madly, loves us. SOOOO LOVED GOD THE WORLD, (you and I ), that he sent His Son to demonstrate it. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 3:16;15:13)
However, The works of Jesus on the cross and the salvation and oneness with God it made available to us is not the end into itself. Jesus’ hope is for our oneness with him to be an “unto” something else. Jesus tells us,
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. You are my friends if you do what I command you. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. As God sent me into the world, so I have sent you into the world. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8, 9, 14,12; 17:1)
My family, as we begin a new week I pray you reflect on today, “What is the hope you as a Christian are striving for throughout your life in the world today?” did you make a New Year’s Resolution back in January? As we move on through 2026 “What is the hope you plan to seek and strive for before the year ends? 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 begin 2018 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!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Good morning Jesus, I desperately need your light today…
“As all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.” (Luke 20:45-47)
Jesus warns us against pride. The Greek word for “Beware” or “Be on guard against" above is a present imperative and indicates that pride is something that is constantly lurking and something we need to be constantly on the watch for and guarding ourselves against. Pride separates. It separates us from others and from God. Pride in things you have leads you to covet them, forget that everything you have is a gift from God, and cause you not to be generous. Pride in finances and professions leads to entitlement and a false rationalization that “I deserve this because I worked hard.” Pride in your heart leads to narcissism and placing yourself above others.
Our guard against pride does not come from comparison to others. Jesus told this parable on pride in Luke chapter 18:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ʻGod, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.ʼ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ʻGod, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!ʼ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (Luke 18:10-14)
Our measure of our pride or lack of pride does not come from our comparison to any others or anything, but solely by our comparing ourselves to Jesus who gave us the example when; “He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!” (Phillipians 4:8) We Compare ourselves to the cross. It was only in His complete obedience, complete humility, complete absence of pride that He was able to do the will of the Father. You can not be full of pride and endure people cussing you, spitting in your face, striping you naked in public, smacking you around, beating you, then slaughtering you on the cross. I would have “Bowed up”, Jesus bowed down.
Prayer To Christ The Prisoner
“ Lord, because you wanted to save the world, you decided for the following things to happen:
· You became a man
· You were born a human
· You were circumcised
· You were rejected by your neighbors
· You were betrayed by a close friend, a traitor
· You were cuffed and shackled and led stumbling to court
· You were forced to stand in front of judges and prosecutors, with no attorney to help you
· You were accused by lying, paid witnesses
· You were tortured with beatings, insults and whippings
· You had men spit in your face
· You had sharp thorns shoved into your scalp
· You were punched in the face, and sticks beat your body and head
· You were not allowed any medical treatment
· You were blindfolded, had your clothes stripped off your body and forced to carry the thing which with you were killed, almost half a mile
· You were nailed through your hands and feet to a heave piece of wood
· You were hung on a cross between two criminals, in front or the whole ciry, and your family and friends
· You ere offered bitter wine to drink, had a spear shoved into your side and left to die with no appeal
Lord, you willingly allowed these things to happen to save the world and to save me. When I think of these things that happened to you, your sufferings, I ask you to bring me to the same paradise that you brought the thief that was killed with you. .All he asked of you was to be forgiven. This I ask also. “ Amen. (Taken from the Kairos Freedom Guide)
So forgive me Jesus when in my pride I read the passages above in Luke 20:45-47 and 18:10-14 and others come to mind and I don’t think they apply directly to me, in Jesus’ name. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
My family, I pray you will confront the pride that resides in you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I really would love to hear your reflections, and I believe they would encourage others. So please share your reflections and prayers with us from chapter 19 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!
I am still reflecting on my time of serving the weekend on the Kairos Prison Ministry team going inside of Limestone prison to share the Gospel of the love, grace, and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. For those four days the 42 men who attended were greeted each day with a welcoming smile of love and respect. They sat at 7 tables with 6 inmates and three team members at each table. They listened to talks and testimonies shared by the team and then at their tables shared their thoughts and personal connections and reflections on these talks. They spent time in the chapel of prayer and in meditations. They were led through forgiveness meditations where they were guided through how to forgive those who have inflicted pain and abuse into their lives, and as important, forgive themselves for the bad choices they had made, and receive the freedom and peace that passes all understanding only attainable in Jesus Christ.
The men were given an opportunity to share things and release things in their life that had scared and crippled them emotionally and physically. And for all, they were given a gift that most had not received in a long time if ever, the gift of simply being listened to without judgement, shame or fear of being humiliated or labeled. And this atmosphere led to a place both the listener and speaker entered into their deep brokenness, and through tears, hugs and prayers, release and restoration was made possible.
Listening = loving. So who do you have in your life to listen to you where you can honestly share the hurts, brokenness, fears, and challenges of your daily life? And who are you giving the gift of simply listening in love and allow them to share? We all need a safe small group of Christian men or women depending on your gender, where in holy confidentiality, honest sharing, encouragement, accountability, and prayer we can receive healing and encouragement on our daily walk with Jesus. No one is self-sufficient. Christianity is not a solo journey. Jesus modeled this for us in his small group of men he journeyed with.
My family, I pray this morning as you sit here and read this, the Holy Spirit will compel and convict you of your essential need to form a Band group, a small band of a few men or women to share, support and encourage each other in their daily walk with Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit will bring the names of those few people into your mind, and give you the courage to call them. Most will be honored that you thought of them to call. So by the end of this week a date and time for your first meeting will be set, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on this blog post in the comments box below!
Below is an outline you can use for you small group to follow.
Begin with all praying together:
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
Those in the group then take turns answering these questions.
PIETY:
1.Overall, How is it with your soul?
2. Share one spiritual aid with which you have nourished your vital union with Christ and share how it nourished this union.
A. Personal Prayer B. Meditation
C. Song or music D. Spiritual Direction
E. Family Prayer G. Prayer Group or Church Gathering
G. Retreat or Quiet Day H. Other
3. Share one moment in which you felt closest to Christ, and why.
4. Share one moment in which you felt distant to Christ, and why.
STUDY:
5. Share one thing you have done to increase your understanding of your relationship with God and His Creation. What have you learned?
A. Scripture Readings B. Devotional, Theological, Christian living or other books
F. Group Study H. Other
ACTION:
6. In your attempt to witness or serve the Lord, what apostolic success did the Lord want you to accomplish through you this week?
* in your family * in your neighborhood * in your environment
7. With what failure/challenge did the Lord want to test you this week?
* in your family * in your neighborhood * in your environment
8. What unexpected opportunity to witness has the Lord offered you?
9. How was your plans for last week fulfilled? Plans for this week.
CLOSING PRAYER after all have answered questions and shared:
We give you thanks, almighty God, for all the benefits you have given us. You who live and reign forever and ever. AMEN
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day in prayer to allow you to raise me up on wings like an eagle so I can soar with you throughout my coming day…
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)
I have been reflecting on my time serving on the Kairos Prison ministry team inside of Limestone Prison last weekend. As i reflect however i realize tht there are people all around you; co-workers, classmates, neighbors, the person next to you in line at a store, who are suffering in “prisons” of addictions, abuse, depression, unforgiveness, financial struggles, that need to hear the Gospel of grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ that you can share with them and speak over them.
Years ago I was serving on a Kairos prison ministry team sitting at a table inside St. Clair prison talking with an inmate. The inmate shared with me this story. He and a friend were smoking crack in the living room of his small house. His 5 year old son was sleeping in the back bedroom. They ran out of crack and beer, so he and his friend left to go get more. While they were gone, his son got up and went into the living room. He found the small lighter/torch they were using to smoke the crack. His son started fires in the house, and then got scared and ran into his room and hid under the covers of his bed. The inmate and his friend returned an hour or so later and the house was consumed with flames. As he pulled in he ran to the house and heard his son coughing and calling out “Daddy! Daddy help me!” As he ran around the house trying to get in, the roof fell in from the fire and his son was killed, For the 6 years he had been in prison he had been living in his own hell. He could not get the sound of his son calling out “ Daddy, Daddy help me!” from echoing in his head. He could not forgive himself, turned to using drugs to quiet his son’s voice and engaged in destructive behaviors,
The inmate had just listened to another team member give a talk on forgiveness. With tears in his eyes he said there is no way God could forgive me for what I have done. In that one on one conversation with him, I was able being led by the Holy Spirit to share with him the gospel of grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ available to him. With hugs and tears from both of us, he embraced the Gospel, and finally received the forgiveness for his actions. That night for the first time since the fire he slept through the night, and a couple weeks later he was baptized, enrolled and went through the drug treatment program in the prison, and became freer in prison than he has ever been.
My family, I pray you may hear and receive these words from the prophet Isaiah:
“The spirit of the sovereign LORD is upon me,
because the LORD has chosen me.
He has commissioned me to encourage the poor,
to help the brokenhearted,
to decree the release of captives,
and the freeing of prisoners,” (Isaiah 61:1)
And then walk out your door and share the Gospel of the grace, forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ with those you encounter today, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers on my blog in the comment box below.
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Thank You!
Lord God, I thank you for your love, grace and mercy.
“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
I am still reflecting on my experiences from serving on the Kairos Prison Ministry Team inside Limestone Prison this past Thur-Sun. I have been blessed to serve on many Kairos weekends of going into prisons for four days like the onecoming up in September. During this time we spend in the prison it includes sharing meals, our life stories, listening to those of the inmates, sharing our love for them and sharing the love of Jesus. All the men in the prison are suffering the consequences of bad decisions they made in their life.
In the sharing with the inmates, one theme is always the most prevalent in the inmates stories; love, or the lack of love. Almost all of the men, with hardened hearts have built up walls of strength around them as required to survive in prison. They end up with tears in their eyes saying they have never experienced love like this that is shown to them during the weekend before in their life. Or they said they have forgotten for a long time ago what real love felt like. They also said they wish they had a person show them this kind of love when they were growing up, a mentor, someone to look up to who showed them love and taught them how to model love and Christian values. They probably would not be in prison now if they did.
Unfortunately, there are so many children, young men and women, single mom’s, children of single parents, and single men in our communities that have not experienced love or have a mentor in their life. You could be that person that “if only someone had shown me love and taught me how to love” that changes the direction of a person’s life. We may not all be called to write letters like Paul, launch a church planting network or lead a church congregation, however we are all called and capable to open our hearts, our homes, and invest margins of time to love and mentor one or two men or women who need role models. The only way we will stop having to spend weekends going inside prisons to reach men or women imprisoned inside them and share with them love and the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ, is to start spending time on weekends to reach men or women outside in our neighborhood and community and make time to embrace them, mentor them, and share the Gospel with them, and change the direction of their lives.
My family, I pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you to the one or more persons you can simply love, listen to, share life, mentor and intentionally invest time in their life as a tangible presence of the grace and hope of of Jesus Christ, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Please Partner With Me!
Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
