"The Lord Is Not Slow"

Good morning Lord Jesus, I bow my heart and bend my knees for you to make me humble to walk out my door as your slave in service to you in my world today.

“Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. “ (2 Peter 2:1-5)

In the time frame of mankind, there is a vast difference between one day and a thousand years. Yet, for God, who is eternal outside of the confines of time, there is no difference. All things past, present, and future, are ever before him: a seemingly delay of a thousand years cannot be so much to him, as putting off any thing for a day or for an hour is to us.  For us, humanity, who can’t wrap our heads around “eternity” and people who have no knowledge or belief of the eternal God, they will place God into their time constraint and think of Him as they think of themselves. How hard is it to form any thoughts of eternity! What men count neglect, not caring, failing to act, is actually God’s long-suffering, and love to us-ward; it is giving more time to Hs own people, to advance in knowledge and holiness, and in the exercise of faith and patience, to abound in good works, doing and suffering, what we are all called to do, that they may bring glory to God.  You need to come to the complete understanding and resolve in your hearts that one day you shall certainly be called to give an account of all things done while you are alive in your body, whether good or evil. And adopt a life that is a humble and diligent walking before God, and daily reflect and judge of yourself  and your walk through the Holy Spirit. And  live life with a firm belief of the future judgment, though many none believers and believers live as if they were never to give any account at all.

My family, I pray you read this chapter as many times as it takes to firmly understand that only the diligent Christian who daily walked out their door into their community and embraced the good works of doing and suffering that they were called to do will be the happy Christian in the day of the Lord. Our Lord will suddenly come to you, or shortly call you to him; and I pray he does not find your life is one of idle complacency centered on working and building the comfort of your kingdom, instead of your calling to the good works of building His kingdom, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments 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

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

"Perverters of Authority and Truth"

After your first read 2 Peter chapter 2 in your Bible, read the portions of the interpretations from this chapter I have included below.  They read as a commentary in today’s news and speak into the voices of so called “truths” that today flood social media.  It is also a strong warning to those who’s mouths are behind these voices that they are being heard by God, and he does not play. And a warning to followers of Jesus who listen to and are swayed by these voices.

“But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you (today). They’ll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can’t tell right from wrong. They give the way of truth a bad name. They’re only out for themselves. They’ll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won’t, of course, get by with it. They’ll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on.

God didn’t let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them.

 God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment. So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day.

 God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.

These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They’re so despicable and addicted to pleasure…. They’re obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they’re experts at it. Dead souls!

They’ve left the main road and are directionless…There’s nothing to these people—they’re dried-up fountains, storm-scattered clouds, headed for a black hole in hell. They are loudmouths, full of hot air, but still they’re dangerous. Men and women who have recently escaped from a deviant life are most susceptible to their brand of seduction. They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they’re addicted to corruption—and they are—they’re enslaved.

If they’ve escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they’re worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, “A dog goes back to its own vomit” and “A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud.”

My family,  I pray you will reflect on what voices you are listening to and allowing to influence your life, and what voice you are speaking, or failing to speak into the lives of others, in Jesus’ name.  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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

  

"Your Words"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I speak out these words, my spirit comes to attention, to wait and to listen for the leading of Your Spirit.  ...

“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. Whoever speaks, let it be with Godʼs words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11)

Father God, my Sovereign Lord, give me ears to hear what Your Spirit is speaking to my heart and through my words so that I may glorify You. Your words of wisdom are weighty words. Your words of wisdom are "alive and powerful ... sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow ... and expose our innermost thoughts and desires" (Hebrews 4:12 NLT

 "The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will" (Isaiah 50:4 NLT).

 Lord, sanctify my heart and sanctify my tongue. Show me "what to say and how to say it" as an expression of Your heart and Your hope to the weary who need Your words of comfort and encouragement (John 12:49 NLT). As You waken me in the morning, I welcome You in my spirit and set apart my words to be Your words, as You make my heart to be more like Your heart and align my will with Your will. 

As I behold You and embrace Your Word and Your Spirit to divide my spirit and soul, to expose my most innermost thoughts and desires, to remove the scales from my eyes and the veil from my heart, You are changing me into Your image. "Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord -- who is the Spirit -- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT). 

Surrounded and yielded to You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace -- I can allow Your words to flow though my words, as my nature becomes more like Your nature and my ways become more like Your ways. You've given us Your gifts to serve Your people and glorify Your name. And You give us the grace to grow in these gifts, to express them in love, and see them bear fruit that honors Your heart:  "God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever!" (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

So I pray for weighty words that carry the weight of the glory of God to inspire hope, to heal wounds, to break chains, to awaken courage, to save souls, to advance Your kingdom, and to glorify Your name. I pray my words would be Your words, the words of the One who is the Word of God abiding in me (John 1:14 and 15:4). So keep crucifying my flesh, keep sanctifying my heart, keep purifying my words, so that my nature becomes more and more like Your nature each day until I can say "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20 NLT). Then my words will truly be weighty words that make a difference in my world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family,I pray your words are weighty words that flow from heart of God being formed in your heart by the power of the grace of God at work in you to crucify your flesh, sanctify your heart, and purify your words, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"A Chosen Race"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You once were not a people, but now you are Godʼs people.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Together in You Christ Jesus, we are all your family, we are all Your priests, we are all Your sons and daughters, we are all "heirs according to the promise, faithfully serving You in the ministry of faith, hope, and love to You and Your people” (Galatians 3:25-29).  "All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God His Father. All glory and power to Him forever and ever!" (Revelation 1:5-6 NLT)  

 Our priestly garments are "the garments of praise" (Isaiah 61:3 NKJV). We are clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27). And the anointing oil of our consecration and ordination is the anointing and abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit. " (We) have been anointed by the Holy One.... As for (us), the anointing that (we) received from Him abides in (us)" (1 John 2:20-27). Your "glorious and beautiful" nature covers us and changes us from the inside out to be priests of our God and "ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20).  

In You, we are "holy partners in a heavenly calling" looking to "Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession" (Hebrews 3:1). You are our faithful "High Priest of the good things that have come" -- the good news of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, here in our world and available to be right here in hearts (Hebrews 9:11).  And as You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17). In Jesus' name I pray.

My family, I pray you ask the the Holy Spirit to remove any lies spoken over you that you yourself have claimed as your identity, and look in the mirror this morning free in Christ to fully embrace your identity and destiny as a child of God and one of His glorious and beautiful anointed priests of God, because that is who you are!  In Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

http://www.easytithe.com/dl/?uid=onepob279

 

"Refiner's Fire"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name over every moment of my day, that everything I encounter must bow it's knee to Your name (Philippians 2:9-22).

 "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting in Him will be the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT).

Sometimes it may look like there is anything but "wonderful joy ahead." Sometimes it may look like things are growing worse, darkness is growing darker, division is growing deeper, and hope is growing fainter. Global shortages, rising prices, Covid, cancer, divorce, moral decline, rising violence.. and the list goes on. And it will, just as You said it would(Matthew 24:1-28). But at the same time, the light of the glory of God in those who believe, in those who love You and trust You, will arise and shine within us, as the glory of the Lord arises upon us! (Isaiah 60:1-3)

When "(our) faith remains strong through many trials," we see our faith grow brighter than the darkness; we see our hope overcome every moment of despair; and we see our God display His glory through every trial we face. That's how we can "rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy" that the world around us can't understand and even our own hearts find hard to believe, as we see You bring us through the battles and storms and every trial of our faith. And that's worth so much more than any false peace or hollow victory this world could ever offer. That's the gift of God -- "the reward for trusting in Him" -- that lasts forever as eternal treasure in our souls "far more precious than gold!" 

These days we live out on this earth, through the trials of this broken and fallen world, are the flames of the Refiner's fire (Malachi 3:2; Daniel 12:10; Revelation 3:18). But it's only in the fire You refine our souls into the pure gold of Your glorious love and "inexpressible joy" You've created us to know by learning to trust in You. Holy Fire of God, All "Consuming Fire," burn in me today, as I encounter and overcome ever trial I endure (Hebrews 12:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you are filled with "inexpressible joy" as you faithfully endure every trial you face in the power of God's grace and love for you. Remember you are “set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christʼs blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure!” (1 Peter 1:2), In Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"Just as You Modeled It"

Good evening, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name as one of the last words from my mouth today, as I intentionally end this day centered in Christ. ...

“Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up - and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.“ (James 5: 13-17)

As Your church, Your body, we are to continue to express Your heart through our lives. "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20). You continue to call us and commission us. You continue to equip us and anoint us to reach out to all who are suffering or sick, lost or afraid, wounded or bound and welcome them, teach them about the kingdom of God, and minister Your healing love in the power of Your name as they have need. 

"On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with Him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. When the crowds found out about it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured" (Luke 9:10-11).

You modeled ministry for Your first disciples. When the lost, the hurting and the broken came to You for ministry, You welcomed them, You taught them about the kingdom of God, and You healed them.

Just as You modeled it, You sent forth the first twelve apostles to continue to Your ministry in the power of Your name (Luke 9:1-2). And after they returned, You sent forth seventy more to do the same ministry in the same of power (Luke 10:1). And after those seventy returned, You expressed Your heart for more and more of Your disciples to go forth and continue Your ministry, saying, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Luke 10:2).

Today, You're doing the same. Today as Your church, we are Your body on this earth -- the body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, continuing the ministry of Christ. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is now at work within and at work though us (Romans 8:11). You continue to send us forth into the harvest of the lost, the hurting, and the broken, saying to us what You said to Your first disciples, "As the Father sent Me, so I send you" (John 20:21).

Just as You have done for us, so we are to do for others (Matthew 10:8). Just as You have comforted us, so we are to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Lord, let us be faithful and obedient to Your heart and Your command. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, may the Holy Spirit equip you and anoint you to welcome, teach and heal in the name and power of Jesus. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

“Humble Thyself"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life this day.

As we "humble (ourselves) in the sight of the Lord, (You) will lift (us) up" (James 4:10 )

Humility is such a gateway to all You have for us. As we come to the end of ourselves to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, You fill us up and grow us up -- "that (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). .

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of His glory, He may grant that you be strengthened in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:14-17).

In these few verses, Your Word speaks of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Your Word speaks of power, purity, and purpose; Your Word speaks of faith, hope, and love; Your Word speaks of identity and destiny, of intimacy and maturity. And it all begins with humility -- "I bow my knees before the Father."

To humble ourselves is to agree with You and Your Word that "apart from (You), (we) can do nothing" (John 15:5). And to embrace our identity, rooted and grounded in the security of Your love, so we can grow up into maturity is to agree with You and Your Word that we are never apart from You, that "(You) are with (us) always" (Matthew 28:10). Then to live into our destiny is to agree with You and Your Word that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13 ).

Through our spiritual journey of learning humility, security, identity, destiny, and maturity, we come to the place where "all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NKJV). This is a gate of greater faith that must begin by first going through the gate of deeper humility.

Your life on earth as the Son of Man shows us the way of going through the gate of humility first: "And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:7-9).

You exalt the humble. You give us our name as we take on Your nature. And the heart of Your nature is humility, faithfulness, and obedience, all rooted and grounded in sacrificial love. "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). As Your Word commands us, "Let the same mind be in (us) that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). That's the way that leads through the gates of all You have for us and to the fulfillment of Your Word "that (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19; Isaiah 62:10). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you are growing in deeper humility, desperately dependent upon God alone, that He may lift you up and take you through every gate of His promises for you, that you may be "filled with all the fullness of God," in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friends!

"Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"Knowing Your Voice"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're with me always and everyway. I welcome Your Presence as I begin my day in the intimacy and communion of prayer with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ... 

"Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do His will, working among us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever" (Hebrews 13:20).

You are the great Shepherd of the sheep and the great Shepherd of my soul. I'm one of Your sheep, seeking to hear Your voice and follow Your way in what is pleasing in Your sight -- as best as I can and all by Your grace. "The sheep hear His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice" (John 10:3-4).

Help me keeping growing in knowing Your voice. Sharpen my spiritual senses and refine my spiritual discernment. Help me learn to discern, so I can sort out the source of every thought and image and sensing -- what's of You, what's of me, what's of something else. "(His sheep) will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:5).

As I listen, it seems I hear You saying, "Discern My voice by testing what You hear against My Word and the nature of My heart. I Am Truth; and I Am Love. If it's not Truth, if it's not Love, it's not Me."  ...

Yes, Lord. As Your Word says, "Test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). "Those who are spiritual discern all things" (1 Corinthians 2:15).

So I seek and welcome Your gift of discernment (1 Corinthians 12:10). I embrace the gift of my identity and my inheritance as a child of God to be led by the Spirit of God, "for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). By the power of Your grace, what You speak, I will hear; and where You lead, I will follow -- my great Shepherd. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you will grow in the gift of discernment, seeking to hear and trust and obey the voice of the great Shepherd of your soul, following where He leads as the beloved child of God that you are, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"Peace and Holiness"

Good evening, Lord Jesus. You are my steady Rock and the Anchor of my soul. You are one with the Father, one with the Holy Spirit; and as I entrust to You my heart and my life, You make me one with You (John 17:21).  ...

"Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God" (Hebrews 12:14-15).

Your Word compels me and commands me to pursue both peace and holiness -- not just peace and not just holiness; not peace without holiness and not holiness without peace. And it's only by the grace of God that I can attempt and do this. 

 In my pursuit of holiness, help me never become religious, self-righteous, and "holier-than-thou" in some kind of spiritual pride as if it's by my own goodness or wisdom. Holiness is Christ in me (Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Holiness is my heart surrendered to Your heart, allowing You to form Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, and Your nature in my nature. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). 

And at the same time, in my pursuit of peace, help me never compromise with holiness and truth, just "going-along-to-get-along," being “politically correct” and excusing and condoning something less than Your will and Your ways, for the sake of being liked or not being rejected, called “intolerant” or misunderstood for simply seeking to walk in Your Truth and honor Your Word. That's appeasement, not peace. That's the world's peace, not Your peace (John 14:27).

Pursuing both peace and holiness -- all by the power of Your grace at work within me -- is impossible apart from a living, vibrant, and deeply personal relationship with You. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). So I praise You and thank You that I never have to spend a single moment of my life apart from You. You are with me always (Matthew 28:20). I am in You and You are in me (John 15:4).

So Jesus, lead me by Your Spirit to walk in both peace and holiness, growing in grace and the nature of Christ, step by step, seeking to "follow in (Your) steps" on my journey of faith through every challenge and question I face (1 Peter 2:21). "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this:  when He is reveled, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2).

My Father God, I welcome Your Holy Spirit to make me more like Jesus today. "Love has been perfected among us in this:  that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). As You do -- with "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" -- You empower me to pursue both peace and holiness with all my heart because You're changing my heart every day from the inside out (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family,  I pray your heart is being changed from the inside out every day in your deeply personal and intimate journey with God, empowering you to pursue both peace and holiness, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"Hall of Fame Faith"

Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day seeking more of you.

     If your plans are not intimidating to you, they are insulting to God.  God delights and honors big faith. God delights and multiplying those of big faith.  Faith that is exhibited in and through Immediate Radical Costly Obedience (IRCO.) We cannot afford to be a people of small faith.

A faith that is not altered or affected by how things end for us in this side of Glory. You do have those who’s great faith ended happily in this world, on this side of glory; Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den in Dan. 6 and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being saved from the fiery furnace Dan. 3,  And you have those mentioned in Hebrews 11:17-35a

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.”(Hebrews 11:17-35a)

But we can’t stop reading there, for you also have the continuation of others mentioned in Hebrews 11:35b-40. For them, it shows that though they had the same great faith, It does not always end in a happy ending in this world, on this side of glory.

 “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

You have the story in Acts chapter 7 of the stoning of Stephen. In Acts chapter 12 Peter was arrested. The church prayed and he was miraculously set free. In Acts chapter 12 James is also arrested.  The same church prayed in the same power of the Holy Spirit yet James was beheaded.  

How the story turns out on earth has nothing to do with whether God is glorified or not.  It may not have a happy ending on this side, but on the other side God is glorified. But whether it turns out happy or sad by earthly standards, cannot take away or hinder the glory that comes from big faith. God delights and honors that faith.  All those listed, whether in the first or second half of Hebrews 11 were admitted into God’s Hall of Fame.  They did not gain entrance into his hall of fame by how their life ended, but how their life was lived.  They all were admitted because of their big faith exhibited through Immediate Radical Costly Obedience.  God delights and multiplying that kind of faith.  Faith that is exhibited in IRCO. You get in God's hall of fame through big faith exhibited in IRCO

Look at Caleb and Joshua’s story and actions in their entering into Canna found in Numbers chapter 13.  They are not looking at the problems; they are looking at their big God with big faith.  Without a faith like this we pray for everything man can do but not for what only God can do. We have to be obedient to him if we want to see him at work. 

I keep coming back to the same question as I sit here, “Do I exhibit my love for him in a big faith exhibited through immediate, radical, costly obedience?”

My family, I pray you spend time today and again this weekend reading these stories of big faith found in Daniel chapters 3 and 6, Hebrews 11:17-40, Acts chapters 7 and 12, and Numbers chapter 13, and others as well.  Then with the Holy Spirit meditate on your level of Faith.   Do you have big faith?  Is your faith based and influenced by hope of fame in this world, or hope of entering God’s hall of fame in the new earth? In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends.

Please share your reflections and questions 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!  

 

"Don't Lose Confidence"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. Let me be of one heart and one mind with You today. 

"Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet 'in a very little while, the One who is coming will come and will not delay; but My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.' But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved" (Hebrews 10:35-39).

My confidence is in You, Lord. I'm confident that You love me, that You're for me, that You're always with me, that You always go before me preparing the way for me to walk in Your will and Your ways by the power of Your grace.

So when challenges come, when battles are fierce, when the enemy of my soul tries to press his attack, I will press on until I press through, by grace through faith, not shrinking back.  "Through faith and patience (I will) inherit the promises" (v. 6:12). May I never surrender and never retreat, but always advance with the endurance and confidence of the faith You're building in me. "So (I) can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?'" (v. 13:6) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.  

My Family, may you be confident in faith, never shrinking back, that you never surrender and never retreat, but always advance into the fullness of the God's promises for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends! 

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

 

"Shadow of the Heavenly"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be in the midst of my heart and my thoughts and every moment of my day-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

“The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the design shown to you on the mountain.”  (Hebrews 8:5)

The ark of the covenant of the Lord was made of wood, covered with gold, and carried the law of the Lord and evidence of the power of the Lord in its chest (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4). But today the ark of the covenant of the Lord seems to be lost or hidden from view, though many have searched for it. Yet even the ark of the covenant of the Lord--carrying the ten commandments of Moses, the budded staff of Aaron, and the manna of the wilderness journey, sealed with the mercy seat and covered by the holy cherubim-was but "a shadow of things to come" pointing toward "the substance of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:5). 

"I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the Lord.' It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the Presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall not longer stubbornly follow their own evil will" (Jeremiah 3:15-17).

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Presence of God. You are Immanuel, God with us, always with us, always within us, abiding in us as we abide in You, that we may carry the Word and the Spirit of God in our hearts and along our journey (Matthew 1:23). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, You are One and Your are holy and You are within us (John 14:18). We don't seek after or worship a box covered in gold; we seek after the One we were created to worship in spirit and truth-for "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).

Thank You, Lord, that our bodies now contain the evidence of the power of the Lord and our bodies are your temple and our hearts are Your ark of the covenant of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16). You surround us with Your holy angels and lift us up into Your holy Presence, where we are safe and secure, forgiven and free, in the fullness of Your salvation (Psalm 91:1-16). Thank You that in Your Presence there is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:11) Thank You for Your shepherds after Your own heart who lead us into Your truth to feed us with knowledge and understanding of Your Word and Your Spirit (Ephesians 4:11). "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" which is "the surpassing grace of God that He has given (us)" in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 9-14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray the Holy Spirit reveals to you just how precious you are to God, that your body is His temple and your heart is the ark of His Presence, as He abides in you and you abide in Him, worshipping the Lord our God in spirit and truth, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends! 

Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us 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 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!  

 

http://www.easytithe.com/dl/?uid=onepob279

 

"God Knows"

Good morning Lord Jesus, mold me, make me, fill me, use me..

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

The Message Bible paraphrases these two verses this way. “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”

You are never hidden from God.  Whether in public, inside a church building, inside your home, sitting in front your computer screen or away on vacation; All your thoughts, desires, intentions, actions, attitudes, true character, honesty, and conversations are known to God.  You can’t close the door to Him or step into the shadows where He can’t see you.  

“He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts. Then each will receive recognition from God.” (1 Cor. 4:5)

“Where can I go to escape your spirit?

Where can I flee to escape your presence?

If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.

If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn,

and settle down on the other side of the sea,

even there your hand would guide me,

your right hand would grab hold of me.

If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,

and the light will turn to night all around me,”

even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,

and the night is as bright as day;

darkness and light are the same to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12)

For God to be our “ever present help in time of need” (Psalm 46:1), he has to be present with us at all times.

“for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26-27)

A day is coming for all of us in the future, where in the presence of everybody we’ve ever met, and everybody we’ve never met, we will stand before them in the throne room of God, with Jesus sitting on the throne.  And our whole life, with every second and detail of it will be shown and revealed. Every second and every secret revealed.  Before our  spouse, parents, our children, our co-workers, friends, and neighbors … all will be revealed. All of God’s promises are true, including:  “He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts.” “And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must render an account.”  Does this scare you? Does this makes you think? It makes me think. Some Bible passages are warm and fuzzy.  Some like this mornings are “sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.”  

My family, today God is your ever present help in time of need, and he is also ever present throughout every second of your day including any fakeness, things you do for show, or things you don’t do as your ignore them or pretend you don’t see.  God Knows.  I pray you will meditate on this and walk in the light in all you do today and everyday, in Jesus’ name.  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below with us from todays reading. 

Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower

One Direction Community

Email: garyl@onedirection.community

Website:https://www.onedirection.community

Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC

Help Us Help Them!

I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around.  Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.

Thank You!  

CLICK HERE TO GIVE 

"Who Is Jesus?"

Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day seeking for you to guide me in the way and truth my life should go today.

“After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.” (Hebrew’s 1:1-4)

I love Hebrews and soaking in the deep waters it contains on the deity, lordship, priesthood of Jesus.  We dive into these deep waters in the very first sentence which contains the phrase, “He (God) has spoken to us in a son.”  This phrase is at the core or The Book of Hebrews. The declarations that Jesus is the Son of God, our true High Priest through whom God reveals and speaks to us. This book begins with a contrast of the old revelations of God to this new revelation of how God now speaks to us, and it introduces a series of seven descriptions of the Son. These descriptions show why Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God:

1.God appointed Jesus the heir of all things. All authority has been given to Him.

2.Through Him all things were created. “apart from him not one thing was created” (John 1:3)

3.Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the representation of his essence, “The person who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:18)

4.He sustains all things by his powerful word, He is the Word made flesh.

5.He had accomplished cleansing of the sins of the world through his saving acts on the cross.

6.Jesus now sits in the throne room of God at His right hand and is our judge.

7. He is superior to all angels and any other created being and at the name of Jesus all knees will bow.

These verses by themselves contain theological descriptions, revelations and aspects of Christ one could reflect on and preach on for months and we only in the first four verses of this Book! Deep Waters.  How much of this revelation and understanding of who Jesus is do we grasp when we in the church dare to pray in His name?  Or when we at times flippantly say His name or put His name on the side of a coffee mug like “Jesus is the reason for the season.” When we out of fear, feeling uncomfortable, or other reasons fail to share the name of Jesus with others, do we really understand what we have done by not speaking His name?  

My family, I pray today as we begin together reading through Hebrews, your will set aside time in the Spirit to reflect on who really is Jesus to you?  Some of you cannot remember a day or week since you were born you have not heard the name Jesus.  The name Jesus is so common to you that the sharing of it/not sharing of it is the same as any other name.  For the next 2 weeks we will be reflecting in Hebrews I pray you will reflect and refocus on who is Jesus and why He is the ultimate revelation of God in your life, in Jesus’ name.  Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below with us from todays reading. 

Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower

One Direction Community

Email: garyl@onedirection.community

Website:https://www.onedirection.community

Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC

Help Us Help Them!

I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around.  Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.

Thank You!  

"Amazing Revelation"

Good morning Lord Jesus, open the eyes of my heart Lord for I want to see you. 

“And we all agree, our religion contains amazing revelation:

He was revealed in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among Gentiles,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

This morning, instead of adding to what God’s Word say’s about Jesus the Christ, I am letting the Scriptures form the reflection on our passage today and let them speak into the “amazing revelation” of Jesus the Christ.  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it….Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory - the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father….For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known.” (John 1:1-18)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him - all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers - all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:15-20)

 

“You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,

who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped, but emptied himself

by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men,

and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself,

by becoming obedient to the point of death

- even death on a cross!

As a result God exalted him and gave him the name

that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow- in heaven and on earth and under the earth -

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)

My family, I pray you read these passages several times throughout today and let the “Amazing revelation” they contain of who Jesus is wash over you and place you in the deep waters of worship all through your day, In Jesus, name. Please pray the same for me.  God bless you my friends!

 

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/Toney UMC

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!  

"Spirit, Soul, and Body"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to make me more like You today.  ...

 "Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.... May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 NLT).

Lord, make me fit and faithful in "spirit and soul and body." Make me whole and holy, aligned with Your will to walk in Your ways. I have far to go -- in my spirit, in my soul, and in my body. But You are faithful and You will do it, as I humble myself to ask You to do it in me. "For it is God working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" and to become all You created me and called me to be in You (Philippians 2:13). You're making me into Your vessel, "fit for its purpose" (Isaiah 54:16).

Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But I thank You that I'm never apart from You, that You're always with me and always at work within me, conforming me into Your image day by day (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:29). So in my weakness, I cry out to You and call on Your name to inspire me and empower me. "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.... For whenever I am weak, then I am strong;" and "(Your) grace is sufficient for (me)" when "(Your) power is made perfect in (me) weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). By the power of the grace of God, make me fit and faithful in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you are inspired and empowered to be fit and faithful by the power of the grace of God at work within you every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends! 

Friends, thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of reading through the New Testament in a year, one chapter a day prayer every weekday. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, I write these from my morning prayer time and then send them out. It feels like the Lord's "manna" from heaven to me and source of His strength from the intimacy of His embrace for my day. I pray your time daily in the Word feeds your soul as well. Thank you for allowing me to share them with you! And thank you for praying them back for me!

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!

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!  

 

 

"Don't Please People, Please God"

Good morning Jesus, you are all I need and all I desire to delight in today.

 “just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed - God is our witness - nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others,” (1Thessalonians 2:4-7) 

I remember back to when I was about to give one of my first sermons.  I gave my sermon to Bishop Stough, a great man and servant of God. After I finished, I asked him if the sermon meets his approval.   Sitting behind his desk, he took off his glasses and lovingly said to me, “Gary, there are no popes in the body of Christ, you preach to the approval of God, not of any man.”  It both freed and grounded my ministry under the “God who knows and examines my heart.”   I do not work and serve for a church or denomination, I work and serve under God. If you serve or work seeking the approval of anyone or anything but God, you will either sell out or burn out.  The main thing I do before I start or enter into anything in ministry is to examine my heart and ask myself the question, “What is my motive?” As one theologian said who I can’t recall now off the top of my head, "If you have the art of proclamation you will please men, if you have the unction of proclamation you will save men.”

As Paul states “we,” all of us have been approved and entrusted by God to share the Gospel of His saving grace through our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  Not for our glory or that of any organization, but for the glory of His Church and His glory.  The only way we obscure and hinder his glory is when we are silent in sharing His Gospel.  When we worry about our “glory,” what other people may think or say about us if we bring up Jesus in a conversation.  When we selfishly focus on our image and our qualifications, instead of The One who qualifies the unqualified and are afraid to say something “stupid.” So we say nothing. 

My family, I pray this morning you spend time with God, then walk out your door free from seeking the approval of any person or anything other than God’s, and in freedom and joy share the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you have been cre ated, approved, and entrusted by God to share, 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/Toney UMC

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!  

"Thinking About Things Above"

“Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

I woke this morning in prayer over our prayer and worship gathering we will have this evening. We will soak in God’s presence, search God’s Scriptures, openly repent of sins, lay hands and anoint with oil, share in the Lord’s Supper, and pray for a revival in our lives an our community. We will “seek the things above where Christ is seated.”

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

Revival is God's strategic way of working in the earth between the resurrection of Jesus and his coming again to keep us moving towards Him.  In Acts 2 and passages following is wave after wave of outpouring of the Spirit. In Joel 2 are massive outbursts of revival before the end of the age. In Romans 11 it speaks to the revival and the fullness of the Spirit to come in the nations that will be so powerful it will turn all to Jesus to accept Him as their Messiah

So if revival is the strategy of God leading to all nations accepting Jesus as their Messiah, why does he wait around for us to pray?  Only as you give yourself to prayer are you transformed in your heart to be a determined seeker of more of God.  And God will only trust a revival to determined seekers of more of Him. All those in the past who God has entrusted to revival are those who have dedicated themselves to long periods of prayer.  Early Methodist revivals came because of a gathering of people who expected to see God move among them.  Revival occurs out of Determined Seekers of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a Determined Seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. You have to give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control. God doesn't want you to be confident in yourself, he wants you to be desperate for him and find your confidence in him.  This thing is, revival is not something that is a peripheral of our faith, but needs to be at the heart of what we are after.  Ask the Lord in prayer to give yourself over to this.

 What is the essence of true revival? It is an intense experience of the presence of God in and among the people. The peculiar and mighty sense of the presence of God which is manifested.

4 thing happen when a revival happens.

•  Restoration of love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Re-falling in love. Song of Psalms

•  There is a restoration of Jesus' Lordship.  What does Jesus want me to do in my life and the life on His church.

•  Restoration of Holiness and zeal for God's glory.  How do you want to use me? Revivals always lead to a releasing of people into ministries.

•  Restoration of Boldness.

We are not designed to be carriers of Covid, we are designed to be carriers of God and to be carriers of God to others.  And just like we can’t give someone the Covid virus if we ourselves an not contagious with it, we cannot give someone and spread God if we are not contagious with Him, if we ourselves are not carrying Him to others..  We do not have a problem with prayer, we have a complacency with prayer.  We can't get people to pray if they are not hungry for it.  When people and churches quit praying, then God withdraws from them, then they find themselves in trouble, then they cry out.

How do we provoke hunger if there is a lack of hunger to pray?  I wrestle with this, as much of it is out of my control.  First, you must teach on prayer. In prayer we are invited into the throne room of God, we are privileged to enter into kingdom making decisions. However, everyone at some time feels disappointed with prayer.  Each one of us has had a prayer that has not been answered.  Take this cup from me.  Lord let them be one.  We must minister to the disappointments in prayer as much as we celebrate the answer of prayer.  Second, we must de-clutter our programs and calendar if we want to prioritize prayer. We need to be seekers of more: more power of God, more revelation of the Spirit. Third, you need to set times for simple gatherings for prayer. Some people miss the sparks because they are always looking for the big flames. Driving to this big event or conference: IHOP, Passion, Catalyst, New Room..ect. or chasing after "gifted teachers and prophets."  These events and people are all good and holy, however they are not meant to be our focus or highlight, and they cannot be the source of revival for your church.  The source is Determined Seekers of more of God.  We are called to start a spark, to look for where the sparks of God are working among us, and then a pour gasoline on it.

Many people are leaving the church because they have not seen the power of God moving in the church. Yet God's desire at creation, in the Jesus death and resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit's in dwelling, in us, was for the creation and existence of a church full of the presence and fire of the Holy Spirit.  A "supernatural church" that is unstoppable. Churches today are so easily "stoppable."  A talented leader leaves, a donor dies, a strategic plan fails, and now Covid, and church doors close or its ministries become ineffective.  In order for a church to be an unstoppable, supernatural church, it has to rely and be surrendered to our unstoppable and supernatural God.   There is only one way you become a supernatural church, and that is by spending hours doing what does not come natural to us, hours spent together on our knees in prayer.

My family, I pray today for something that I, your pastor, your spouse, your parents, nor anyone else really has any control over, that you become a Determined Seeker of more of God. Here is the thing though, you can't make yourself a determined seeker of more of God, you can only pray yourself into one. I pray today you give yourselves to something you do not see and can’t control and become desperate for God through prayer, 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.

Here is the link to our prayer and worship gathering tonight.

 

Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower

One Direction Community/Toney UMC

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 as local missionaries to those in our community with and end of year one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.  Donations can be sent by check to ODC PO Box 1293, Madison, Al 35758

"Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. O Lord, my God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--I worship You in spirit and truth; and I welcome You into my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

"I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3).

Lord Jesus, in You are hidden "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  As it turns out, it's all about You! Just as You revealed to Your two disciples walking to Emmaus right after Your resurrection, the law and the prophets all point to You; what's concealed in the Old Covenant is revealed in the Christ of the New Covenant:  "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:20). And just as You said to all Your disciples gathered near to You at the shore just before Your ascension back to heaven:  "These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about Me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). "Then (You) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45).

Lord Jesus, open my mind to understand the Scriptures. Open my spirit to embrace Your truth and experience Your Presence on my daily journey to grow in "the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ Himself." There's joy in this journey to seek out "all the treasures" You've hidden away for us to find. "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2). 

As I search Your Word and seek Your Presence, I know the more I seek You, the more I find You. That's the Promise of Your Word as well:  "When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). The more I seek and the more I find, I find Your Word to be faithful and true that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are hidden in You (Colossians 2:2-3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you will experience great joy on your daily journey to seek out all treasures of God hidden in Christ, 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/Toney UMC

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!  

 

 

He Is Before All Things"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's all about You. So I seek to begin my day centered in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He Himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:15-20).

I read that passage and I think WOW at who Jesus is!! As I reflect on this passage, about Jesus, about myself and who Jesus is to me I ask Jesus,, Do You "have first place in everything" in me? Do I seek You first? Do I put Your first? Do I live my life throughout the moments of my day there are no other gods before me, there are no idols in Your place, and no compromised in my "sincere and pure devotion to Christ"? (2 Corinthians 11:3) ...

As I sense Your leading to honestly lay the question before You this morning, it seems I hear You speaking in my heart, "Honestly, no. You do not. Nor by yourself can you completely, sincerely, purely, and fully. No one can. Even in this, you need My grace. Especially in this, you need My power of My grace to be at work in your heart and your mind to seek Me and surrender to Me, to passionately pursue Me and allow Me to make your heart more pure and more wholly devoted to Me. But is it My great desire and delight to answer your prayer and move in your heart every time you turn to Me and invite Me to move in you. This is a life-long journey, with breakthroughs along the way. And I breakthrough more deeply as you surrender more deeply to Me."  ...

Yes, Lord. I want to love You and surrender to You and Your love for me with "an undivided heart," with "my whole heart" so "turn to me and be gracious to me" (Psalm 86:11-16). I want to "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength" (Mark 12:30). I want to hold nothing back from You, wholly devoted to You, completely surrendered to You. I want You to be first, to "come to have first place in everything" in me -- all by the power of Your grace at work within me. 

You are "the Alpha and the Omega, the Frist and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:12). You are my "All in All," as All in One -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 15:28). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to keep turning my heart to You and inviting You to keep moving in me on this life-long journey of faith in You and Your love for me, with breakthroughs of deeper surrender all along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

My family, I pray you keep turning your heart to Jesus and inviting Him to keep moving in you.  I pray you trust Him more fully and surrender more deeply to Him as the One with first place in everything in you -- all by the power of His grace, 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/Toney UMC

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!