Good morning Jesus my Lord, Let my prayers and praise as I start my day be a sweet fragrance to you…
“Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne…. From the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal….They never rest day or night, saying:
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns before his throne, saying:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!”” (Revelation 4:2-11)
As I read these verses of John impossibly trying to write into words the spectacular images he is seeing of the throne room of God and Jesus sitting on the throne, the lyrics from the song, “I can Only Imagine” come to my mind, “ I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your face is in front of me… will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall; will I sing Halleluiah or will I be able to speak at all..” John is being shaken to his core by the incomprehensible beauty and overwhelming presence of the living God in all the glory of His Son.
God is our “daddy” “by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15). We do have a friend in Jesus, as He said, “I have called you friends,” (John 15:15) However, as this passage reveals The Triune of God; The Father, Son, and Spirit, is incomprehensible and greater or outside of any box I can try to put Him in. Remind me Lord, as You did Moses, to take the “sandals off my feet” when I come before you in prayer and worship and enter into your presence that I am entering into the Holy of Holies! “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5). Forgive me Lord when I throw out Your name casually for You have 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” (Philippians 2:9-10). Forgive me when I think I have You figured out and put You in my box” I created for You. “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Romans 11:32). Lord, let my heart be amazed and lost in the shock and awe of the beauty of who You are, In Jesus name!
My family, I pray this morning you are reminded of as well and your heart becomes amazed and lost in the shock and awe of the beauty of who God is, in Jesus name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good evening, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, as I end my day embracing Your Presence in the communion of prayer. ...
“But I have this against you: You have departed from your first love! Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first..” (Revelation 2:4-5)
Forgive me when I've not asked for You and not pursued You first. Forgive me when I've left You hanging with arms stretched out wide in unfailing love for me and I didn't take the time to love You back. Forgive me and my nation, forgive me and Your church when we've forgotten our way and spurned our first love.
"I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation that did not call on My name. I held out My hands all day long..." (Isaiah 65:1-2).
Lord, You held out Your hands on the cross for me and every day You hold out Your hands in love for me. You're always ready to be sought out, to be pursued, to be embraced in the intimacy of worship and the communion of prayer.
Thank You for Your mercies that are new every morning, you're your love never ceases (Lamentations 3:22-23). Thank You that You are faithful even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Like the father who longed for the return of his son, You're always ready to be sought out and ready to be found. Whenever we remember You, You're waiting for us with arms open wide (Luke 15:20).
Like Your mercies, the promise of Your Presence never comes to and end. And throughout the moments of our days, You continue to invite us to come into Your embrace through worship and prayer: "So I say to you, Ask, and it be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10).
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to ask and seek and knock. I choose to pursue You and embrace You. I choose to not forget my first love, always expressed to me with Your hands stretched out and Your arms open wide. Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My Family, I pray you remember your first love. I pray this evening as you lay down you also choose to ask and seek and knock, embracing the One who loves you so with outstretched hands and arms open wide. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by alsosharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
http://www.easytithe.com/dl/?uid=onepob279
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let my day begin here in the communion of prayer, immersed in Your Presence, seeking You and Your leading--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
As I listen, I hear in my heart the sound of a mountain stream. This thought comes to my mind--"the sound of many waters." ...
"Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across His chest. He head and His hair were white as wool, white as snow; His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining with full force" (Revelation 1:12-16).
Like the many waters of a mountain stream, let the Word of God wash over me and pour through me, cleansing me and refreshing me. Let the words of Your voice purify me and sanctify me "with the washing of water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26). "As the deer longs for flowing stream, so my soul longs for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?" (Psalm 42:1-2)
When John heard Your voice like the sound of many waters, he fell down at Your feet, in deep humility in honor of Your manifest Presence of Your glory (Revelation 1:17). But then You lifted him up and told him not to be afraid, but to be about the work of the Kingdom You set before him (Revelation 1:17-19). When we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up (James 4:10). When we draw near to You, You draw near to us (James 4:8). When we listen for Your voice to be led by Your Spirit as the children of God, You speak and You lead (John 10:3; Romans 8:17; Isaiah 30:21).
Thank You for the sound of many waters rushing through my spirit like a mountain stream this morning. Thank You for reminding me to forever be seeking Your Presence and listening for Your leading throughout the moments of my day. "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High" (Psalm 46:4). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family,I pray the Holy Spirit cleanses you and refreshes you with the washing of the water by His word as you read today’s reading. May it flow through you, listening for the voice of the One who speaks like the sound of many waters, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- into my heart and into my day. ...
“Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
You are faithful and unchanging. You are "Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11). And I trust You and Your Word and Your will. I don't have to worry about You wavering. I don't have to be concerned about Your Kingdom collapsing. When all is said and done, Your Word will stand. And by the power of the grace of God, I will stand on Your Word, as I stand in You
"God is not a human being, that He should lie, or a mortal, that He should change His mind. Has He promised, and will He not do it? Has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?" (Numbers 23:19)
You are my unchanging God. In You, "there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). You are "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). In You, all the promises of God are Yes and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).
And You have spoken Your steadfast word. You have eternally declared, "I the Lord will speak the word that I speak, and it will be fulfilled" (Ezekiel 12:25). "The Lord of hosts has sworn: As I have designed, so shall it be; and as I have planned, so shall it come to pass.... For the Lord of hosts has planned and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:24
My family, May you stand firm in the steadfast word of our unchanging God, I pray you will commit this morning to the “building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life” (Jude 2o-21), in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus.
“Dear friend, you demonstrate faithfulness by whatever you do for the brothers (even though they are strangers). They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone forth on behalf of “The Name,” accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we become coworkers in cooperation with the truth.” (3 John 5-8)
The saving grace of the Father was His Act of “sentness” which from His first saving act in Christ to His continued saving works today which flow through those same acts of Christ. “For this is the way God loved the world: He sent his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
From it’s very conception the church was not designed to be a location, but a movement, part of the missio deo The mission and movement of God. Jesus prayer to the Father over the church had movement and mission at its heart. “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, …Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” (John 17: 15,18)
The Holy Spirit is always moving among us and when we as a church are full of the Spirit we will be caught up in His movement and hear His call to wear He is sending us. “While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off.” (Acts 13:2-3)
My family, I pray that through this passage and the Holy Spirit you will understand that”church” is not a location, the building your church gathers in on Sunday mornings that you see in your rear-view mirror as you pullout of it’s parking lot. :Church”is a movement, what you see out your windshield as you drive through your neighborhood. I pray you will embrace the movement of the Spirit as a sent one in “a manner worthy of God,” in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by also haring with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Continually come into my heart; continually flow out of my heart. Help me abide in You always, as You abide in me. ...
"Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete" (2 John 1:12).
Jesus, You've created us for relationships that are close, personal, and intimate at varying levels that are appropriate to the levels of relationship and trust You've established in our lives. And while we can communicate through texting, social media, electronic technology, gaming, and sometimes even paper and ink, there's something significant and ireplaceable in speaking face to face, looking one another in the eyes, extending a touch, and exchanging an embrace. Your Spirit draws us out of isolation, distancing and loneliness into friendship and fellowship with one another, "not neglecting to meet together ... but encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:22). And then "our joy may be complete." We, the body of Christ were created for deep intimacy with each other. You prayed that we may have the same intimacy as you do with the Father, “so that they may be one just as we are one.” (John 17:11). We need to be in deep Christian fellowship with each other.
Lord, free us from isolation and loneliness in Your Body. Align our hearts and relationships with You and with one another according to Your sovereign purposes and plans for our lives. "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
During this Holiday season when we are thankful for any things, one of the things we are most thankful for is the gift of personal relationships in our life. One of the most precious gifts you can give someone is the gift of personal, face-to-face conversation.
You're always with us to help; and at the same, You also position the ones You have chosen to cross our paths and to walk with us in the relationships of our journey to be an extension of Your hands to help us and an expression of Your face to look into our eyes and encourage us. And you’ve chosen each of us to do the same to others. And then, together, "our joy may be complete."
You're a God of personal relationship -- relationship with You and with one another. Give us courage and faith to trust You and to set aside time to allow others to have access to our lives. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray as the Lord established His personal intimate relationship with you, you will establish plans in your calendar to personally meet with people in your life to fulfill all His plans and purposes for you so that your joy may be complete. Please pray the same the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
I want to encourage you to join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm seeking Your face and listening for Your voice, as I watch and wait for Your leading. ...
"Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.... If we love another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.... God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.... because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:8-17).
Learning to love is the point of it all. For You are love; and You've created us to learn and grow in our capacity to love and be loved. When we hold steadfast in faith through whatever comes, we grow in learning to love. Faith grows and love increases as we suffer through every challenge of persecutions and afflictions in the world around each one of us each day in the power and peace of Your grace.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering" (2 Thessalonians 1:2-5).
I know the sufferings, afflictions, and persecutions of my world are pretty mild compared to the apostle Paul's or the first century Christians he was writing to, in order to encourage and inspire them. I know what I endure is hardly anything compared to what so many Christians endure around the world every day in our own generation. But whatever we endure at whatever level of severity is always an opportunity for each one of us in our own surroundings and challenges to learn to love and grow in faith.
"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has be poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:1-5).
Holy Spirit, give me a right spirit and right perspective as I endure and grow through the opportunities that may come today. Whatever it is, no matter the source, You will use it to make me more like Jesus if I embrace the power and peace of Your grace and I continue to love God and others through it all. Thank You for the promise of Your Word, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in (your) weakness.' So I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
I know with all my heart, because I've seen it so many times, that my God is able to cause all things to work together for good for me if I continue to love God and obey and follow His calling on my life. (Romans 8:28). And I know with all my heart, because I've seen You confirm the truth of Your Word in my life so many times, that my God "is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all (I) can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray both your ability to give love and receive love increases and your faith grows through every challenge you face, becoming more like Jesus each day in the peace and power of God's grace for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends! Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer each weekday by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you to join me by sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. All that I am and all that I have is Yours -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
“Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments. The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person. But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:3-6).
In the freedom of Your grace, you give of the ability to choose to keep your commandments and walk in your ways. You're always leading me to choose You and Your will and Your ways. Even in grace, You desire obedience -- the obedience that freely flows from a heart that truly believes You love me and want the very best for me. This includes wanting the best people to surround me and for me to associate with.
"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals'" (1 Corinthians 15:33).
If bad company ruins good morals then good company inspires good morals. So I want to keep good company with You, Lord Jesus. You are my Companion and my Inspiration. You are my "Friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). And You fill me with Your Spirit so that my thoughts become more like Your thoughts, my desires become more like Your desires, and my ways become more like Your ways (Romans 8:9).
Some would imply that under a dispensation of grace, we are free to do what we want to do, to be with whom we want to be with, to go wherever we want to go. Who the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). Right? "All things are lawful for me" in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:23). Right? Yes, but not all things are good for me; and in the freedom of my salvation I still have the freedom to choose right from wrong, good from evil, to walk in Your ways or walk in the ways of the world, for me to be lord or for You to be Lord (1 Corinthians 10:23). So along with companionship always comes discipleship; and along with grace comes obedience -- as You're teaching me Your ways while I'm walking in deeply personal, intimate relationship with You.
Come, Holy Spirit of God. Move in my heart to give me a right heart. Keep creating in me a clean heart and renewing a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Keep transforming me by the renewing of my mind and conforming me to the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29 and 12:2). May I never stop to "grow in the grace and knowledge of (my) Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever!" (2 Peter 3:18) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray today in your freedom to choose today to simply read though this reflection and go about your day, or set aside time to personally read today’s chapter and reflect on it and keep good company with Jesus, you choose the later. I pray today as you have the choice to walk with Jesus and obey Him as your Lord, or walk away from Him and be your own lord over you life, you choose the later as well. At the end of the day no one will know what choice you made but Jesus, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer each weekday by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you to join me by also sharing with us your thoughts, comments, reflections, and prayers you received from today’s reading 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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You and welcome You into my heart and every moment of my day. ...
"If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanse us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
As we move closer to a day to celebrate being thankful, one day we'll more fully understand just how thankful we should be for Your unspeakable grace that forgives our sins and saves our souls through the power of the blood of Jesus (Romans 8:25). And at the same time, You desire for us to love and honor You and one another, fully surrendering to Your will and embracing Your ways for our lives.
"For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
There will come a day when all of us "will have to give an accounting to Him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Peter 4:5). "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.... So then, each of us will be accountable to God" (Romans 14:10-12).
In our personal relationship with You as Lord and Savior, we have our salvation and we also have Your invitation to each of us "so as to live for the rest of (our) earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God" (1 Peter 4:2). And what is Your will for my life? "This is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Your will according to Your Word is to make me more like You.
When all is said and done, when I stand to give an account for my life before the judgment seat of Christ, I believe You will ask me, "Did you seek to become more like Me?" (John 15:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:27; Philippians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:7)
With all my heart I want to be able to say Yes to You. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to be more like You each day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Yes, Lord Jesus. I want to be like You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the Spirit of God will move in your heart to empower you to commit and seek to become more like Jesus each day, starting today. May you be filled with joy when you give an account at the judgment seat of Christ. 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!
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!
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
“Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
"On that day the Lord with His cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will kill the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
The "twisting serpent" -- who tries to twist my words so that others don't hear what I've truly said and how I said it, who tries to twist the understanding of motives and intentions of my heart to mean something else in the mind of the hearer, who tries to divide and conquer, who tries to deceive and confuse, who tries to harden hearts in opposition to Godly unity to keep us from speaking the truth in love or hearing the truth spoken in love, who locks it's teeth around our most vulnerable members and drags us down under the water where there is no breath of Your Spirit to guide our hearts and give us help -- is a wicked serpent. It's a wicked spirit of darkness "looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
"Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible! The scales on its back are like rows of shields tightly sealed together... They interlock and cannot be penetrated.... Its eyes are like the red of dawn. Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out.... Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth. The tremendous strength of Leviathan's neck strikes terror wherever it goes. Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated. Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a millstone. When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by its terror.... Leviathan make the water boil with its commotion... Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of the beasts" (Job 41:14-34).
This evil entity of darkness is wildly at work in our world -- within our nation, within our relationships, even within our own hearts, seeking to steal our faith, our hope, and our love to make us broken and divided, "double-minded and unstable in every way" so that we can no longer "receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:8). It's full of pride and instills the pride of hardened hearts that can no longer hear truth. It convincing its victims with a certainty they are right in their twisted beliefs and justified in their opposition to all who would deny or fail to embrace their version of truth -- twisted and distorted, though it is. It stirs up strife with its fury and wrath to intimidate and accuse, to judge and condemn, and to crush the life out of its prey.
So give us eyes to see, ears to hear, wisdom to understand, and humility to allow You to search out our hearts and our minds to reveal its grip upon us -- upon our nation, our relationships, and our own hearts. And let the "cruel and strong and great sword" of Your Word and Your Truth cut off its head, break its teeth, and silence its voice (Psalm 3:7 and 74:14). Wield Your mighty "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" as You empower us to "pray in the Spirit at all times" to "keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:17-18).
This is a spiritual battle -- to be fought with the spiritual "weapons of our warfare" -- weapons of humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope; weapons of the Word of God, the Name of Jesus, the Power of the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony (2 Corinthians 10:3; Revelation 12:11). "For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place. Therefore (we must) take up the whole armor of God, so that (we) may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:12-13).
Come, Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to see the nature of the battle around us and even within us. Come pierce this writhing dragon, this twisting serpent who seeks to "kill and steal and destroy" (John 10:10). Even in the midst of the battle, let us "Praise the Lord! ... For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with victory! ... Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy.... Let the high praises of God be in their hearts and two-edged swords in their hands ... to execute (Your) judgment decreed. This is glory for all His faithful one. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 149:1-9)
Come have Your way in us and in our world. Displace the darkness with Your Light. You're the God to proclaims Your Good News of into our hearts and our world, who comes in Your power and love and truth to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God!" (Isaiah 61:1-2)
We are witnesses of Your glory and warriors in Your Kingdom, with our faith and hope and love in You. "Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my Rock and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the (spiritual enemies of my soul) under me.... Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out Your arrows and rout them; Stretch out Your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of (my spiritual enemies), whose mouths speak like, and whose right hands are false.... (Blessed) are the people to whom such blessings fall; (blessed) are the people whose God is the Lord!" (Palm 144:1-15) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you take up the whole armor of God and stand firm to withstand the twisting serpent in every form it manifests itself in your land and your life, to see the victory of the Lord who has defeats our foe with the piercing of His Word the power of His Spirit, 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!
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!
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
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!
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!
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
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Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, cleanse me by Your Spirit of all that is not of You in me this morning so I can walk out and completely in your presence.,=
“But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in Godʼs image. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it?” (James 3:8-11)
There seems to be so much, hurt, anger, belittling, cursing, and disrespect in conversations today whether in person, on-line, or TV or other social media. Social media has given people platforms to post opinions and say anything about anything or anyone. And it’s easy to get sucked into it. It’s easy to fire back. Our keyboards on our cell phones and computers are extensions of our “Tongues” by which can flow out both blessings and curses. This morning God, through the writings of James, reminds us of this.
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. For human anger does not accomplish Godʼs righteousness.” (James 1:19)
Lord Jesus, help me today to control my tongue. I want to use it to bless and encourage others today. Help me to bridle it and not be sucked in to responding and fueling conversations that hurt. Loosen it to speak out to defend or encourage when I am part of a conversation or given gossip that is wrong to put a stop to it. As the Psalmist sings, help me to acknowledge that you are Lord of me and anyone I speak to today in person on on-line. Help me remember the person I am speaking to belongs to you, and to speak to them accordingly.
“Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth!
Worship the LORD with joy!
Enter his presence with joyful singing!
Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us and we belong to him;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give him thanks!
Praise his name!
For the LORD is good.
His loyal love endures,
and he is faithful through all generations.” (Psalm 100)
My family, I pray your tongue will produce a voice that shouts praise and joy into your day. I pray it will speak out of a heart of thanksgiving and love, blessing and encouraging, defending against injustice, and a sweet, refreshing sound to those that may be experiencing a sour, dry day, 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.
