Good morning Lord Jesus,, lead me toto the place people and practices that will glorify you today
“I, I am,. the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.” 43:11-12
This chapter reminds us that God’s act of salvation on our behalf and our call by Him to be his chosen people, was an act by God out one of purest grace. God’s saving act in Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago and today was not because of anything people have done. It is not because the people 2,000 years ago or we today have become more perceptive of God or more obedient towards him. Nor was God’s salvation made conditional on their repentance back then or ours today. He did not require that the world repent before He sent the Son. Actually, they rebelled while God sent His Son and they killed Him. God does not condition his sending of the Son into the world today on its repentance, as the world still rebels against God. This chapters overall theme, like chapter 44 that follows, is the gracious (un-earned, un-deserved gift) salvation of God and that God’ has the ability and desire to save. The problem is not on God’s side, it is on ours.
Isaiah also announces to Israel, and reminds us, that God created and shaped their nation, He created and shaped you, and desires to have a special relationship with you where you experience His grace. And that God’s people need not fear that His acts of discipline or correction signals a negation of their salvation or a suspension of God’s loving care and grace towards them. Just as the corrections a mother gives her child do not signal a lessoning of her love for her child. But rather the opposite.
My family, people say to each other, “Have a blessed day!” or simply, “God bless you!” like it is an option wether or not that God will or wants to bless you. God desires to bless you today with the grace of his salvation and have you experience it and live in it! So I pray today you let him! Let him! I pray you will, in Jesus’ name. Please pray that I will as well. God bless you my friends!
I hope during Lent you will start posting your thoughts and reflections as well 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
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“Now, listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!”
This is what the LORD, the one who made you, says -
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Donʼt be afraid, my servant Jacob…
For I will pour water on the parched ground
and cause streams to flow on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
They will sprout up like a tree in the grass,
like poplars beside channels of water.
One will say, ʻI belong to the LORD”…
One will write on his hand, ʻThe LORDʼs”…
This is what the LORD, Israelʼs king, says,
their protector, the LORD who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.
Who is like me? Let him make his claim!
Let him announce it and explain it to me -
since I established an ancient people -
let them announce future events!
Donʼt panic! Donʼt be afraid!
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none…
Remember these things…O Israel, I will not forget you!
I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud.
Come back to me, for I protect you.” (Isaiah 44)
I love Isaiah! He is the Lenten prophet and I love chapter 44! Open your Bible and read it! For it expounds on the completely unmerited nature of God’s salvation. God through Isaiah reminds the people that their sin has removed any obligation He has whatsoever to them. He owes them nothing! They cannot demand anything from God especially that He deliver them. But this does not mean that God will not deliver them, it means that what God does is a free, unearned gift flowing out of His own deep love.
What is the message God wants his people, the Israelites to hear,? Do not fear! v(s.44:2; 8) The world says to the Israelites that God has rejected them. That they are an abandoned widow and their reputation is rotten and they are to be mocked and put to shame. God however speaks to them words of encouragement. He says they are his chosen one, and that “I will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land” v.3 And God speaks this same message and words of encouragement over you and I this morning!
The images of water in a dry land are all throughout the book pf Isaiah. It is a metaphor for the pouring out of God’s spirit, his water of life into hearts that are dead from sin and dry from no hope in life. God’s outpouring of his Spirit was ultimately fulfilled on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out into all humanity and made life-giving water available to those dead in sin. Including you and me.
My family, I pray throughout today you will pray and meditate on this::
Remember, the salvation you receive today is a total gift of grace out of God’s amazing love for YOU!
Remember: God’s message to you today is DO NOT FEAR!
Remember: The refreshing water of the Holy Spirit is available to pour into the “dry places” in your life and heart if you simple ask,
As and as we remember these things, let us give thanks and praise to God! In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. It is God’s desire to bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections on this devotion with us in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“Who has measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully measured the sky,
or carefully weighed the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales?
Who comprehends the mind of the LORD,
or gives him instruction as his counselor?
From whom does he receive directions?
Who teaches him the correct way to do things,
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?
Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.
All the nations are insignificant before him;
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.
To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
A craftsman casts an idol;
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make an idol that will not fall over.
Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earthʼs foundations were made?
He is the one who sits on the earthʼs horizon;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,
and spreads it out like a pitched tent.
He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earthʼs leaders insignificant.
Indeed, they are barely planted;
yes, they are barely sown;
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
“To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One.
Look up at the sky!
Who created all these heavenly lights?
He is the one who leads out their ranks;
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The LORD is not aware of what is happening to me,
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth.
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.
He gives strength to those who are tired;
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble.
But those who wait for the LORDʼs help find renewed strength;
they rise up as if they had eaglesʼ wings,
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
(Isaiah 40 12-31)
The description of who God is in the verses above reminds me of all that is “God”. It both brings me to my knees in awe over who you are, and compels me to leap for joy as I am reminded who is the God that is on my side! Like the wings of an eagle Your Word and Your Spirit lift me and move me, empower me and guide me, in a life that freely and fully soars in Your will. As I embrace the good gifts of Your Word and Your Spirit, You move mightily within me and move mightily for me to align my life with Your good will. "The Lord is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.... He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless…. those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:28-31). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the truth of the Word of God, of who God is, and the empowering Spirit of God would lift you up today and every day and cause you to soar into the fullness of the good life the Lord has for you in the center of His good will for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections on this devotion with us in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
The destroyer is as good as dead, you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you!
LORD, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning!
Deliver us when distress comes…..The LORD is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven;
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom;
he gives all this to those who fear him. (Isaiah 33:1-6)
Most scholars put this chapter in history between the time the Tribute was Sennacherib (2 kings 18:13-16) and when the final attacks on Jerusalem had begun. The leaders of Judah have tried everything to free themselves from the grip of Assyria. But everything they tried failed. Egypt has been defeated, Sennacherib has refused bribes and to be bought off; he took the money, but still remains and is now preparing for battle against them. In this moment, Hezekiah leads his people to repentance and God gives his response which Isaiah records here.
Israel found themselves caught up in a really bad situation that was threatening to destroy them. And they tried everything they could on their own, used all their own strategies, hard work, and resources to get out of it. But it was only as a last resort, after everything else failed, in desperation did they call out to God. Because of a worldly view, pride, ego, and self-reliance, the first thing they should have tried for deliverance and the first person they needed to ask for help, God, was the last thing they tried.
Sound familiar? What was true in the lives of the "church" thousands of years ago is true in the lives of Christians today. We don't like to repent, we don't like to admit we can't fix it, and only in desperation after we have completed messed everything up and find ourselves without hope do we fall on our knees and pray. Only then can we hear God's response.
Also, it took one person, Hezekiah, to stand up and be the spiritual leader and convince the people the need to repent and lead them back to God. You and I need to be that one person in our marriages, families, circle of friends, work places, neighborhoods and especially our churches. We need to be the one to help them see the error of their striving in themselves and seek God's support and direction through prayer, reading the Bible, and gathering with believers for support.
My family, I pray after you read this, you will not just click the close the tab and continue on in your own means, but take some time to put these reflections into action, seek God, and pray over your life. In this season of Lent, reflect on how and with what you are fighting your battles? To whom are you be a “Hezekiah” and leading and calling those you have a relationship with and influence over to turn back to God, repent and pray, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
ODC is reading through the Altar’d Lent Devotion book. My reflections this morning contain part of Day 9’s devotion with my personal adaptations mixd in.
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gatatians 5:19–21)
“In his letter to the Galatians, Paul affirms that because of grace through Jesus, believers have been given a life of freedom. That’s the good news of Jesus. Those who have confessed faith in Christ are not bound to the penalty of sin because Jesus has paid the price. However, Paul warns them that their freedom does not mean they are free to behave any way they choose. They must deny acts of the flesh because the way believers live is a reflection of Christ. Just as what comes out of the mouth reflects our hearts, our actions reflect our lives as followers of Jesus. “
As we skim Paul’s list, we may be tempted to brush it aside and claim that those are sins we would obviously not commit. Surely, we can all agree not to participate in depravity, idolatry, and witchcraft. However, if we look at Paul’s list in vs 19-21 in The Message Bible to pull out more nuances, it tells us:
“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.”
Believers who are practicing the way of Christ must surrender any habits, behaviors and lifestyles that do not reflect their lives of freedom. If this Lenten season is going to have any lasting impact on our life with Christ, if it is not just going to be some ”religious thing” we participated in for 40 days then “go back to our usual routines”, then we need to be intentional in surrendering our habits, behaviors and lifestyles to the cross of Christ. We need to be willing to place in front of God, those acts of the flesh which do not reflect the nature of Christ. Jesus did not give Himself up for us so we can abuse the freedom of grace and continue to act as though we have not been released from sin.
My family, I pray you allow the Holy Spirit to search you and reflect with you on what are obvious examples in your own life of a habit, behavior or lifestyle which does not reflect Christ. I pray you are willing to fall to your knees, confess and repent of them, and surrender them at the foot of the cross today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
“Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead,
those who are always instituting unfair regulations,
to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans.
What will you do on judgment day,
when destruction arrives from a distant place?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,
or to fall among those who have been killed.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. “ (.Isaiah 10:1-4
I am not a “doom and gloom” preacher. I don’t try to scare people into falling in love with Jesus. I cringe inside when I hear people sharing Jesus with someone beginning by saying, “If you get hit by a bus today do you know where you will go?” I don’t center my messages around judgement. However, as passages like these from Isaiah remind me, there will be a final judgment They speak of a coming reality, I don’t like passages like this one. Congregations do not like passages like these. They don’t preach well and they are not easily swallowed. All things belong to and are under the hand of our creator. We are not entitled to anything. Everything is all a gift of grace. We are only stewards of these gifts for a very short time. And all of us must sooner or later give an account to the creator on how we used and shared these gifts of grace we received. Isaiah says on the “visitation” (judgement) day there will be no help or hiding. One’s position, power, status, wealth, possessions, pensions, house’s square footage, church status; are all meaningless before the judgment of God. Especially those listed that are gained at the expense of the poor. God’s glory is ultimately for our good. But it has a standard. We either obey his standards and live in his glory, or we deny his standards and die smashing against his glory. For his glory will not me moved.
My family, “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48). I pray during this season of Lent you will reflect on the gifts of grace and light you have received and your heart of generosity towards them and with them. You will have to do it one day in the not so far future, why not do it today? In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning Lord Jesus, I pulled off my covers and climbed out of bed and now sit and in prayer and reading Your Word to come under Your covering of protection and grace.
“This is what the Lord says to his chosen one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings,
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed.” 45:1
In the midst of the challenges of our lives: pandemics, social upheavals, war, chaos, mass shootings, overt sin, and all the uncertainty we find our selves in, instead of turning to “Facebook Prophets” for direction I have been turning to Scriptures and reading how Prophets of God spoke into a nation that was experiencing these same issues. For Lent I have been reading through passages in The Book of the Prophet Isaiah. In chapter 45, the great issue Isaiah addresses in this section is convincing God’s own people that He can deliver them, and He will, but it will be in his own way, not theirs. Those who heard Isaiah’s words were shocked at Cyrus being called a shepherd, And they must have been even more outraged when Isaiah called him His chosen and anointed one. This title had previously been reserved for priests, prophets and kings of Israel. Surely God could only use persons from His own people, His own elect to accomplish his purpose. Isaiah’s point that shocked them was that God is not the Lord of Israel alone, He is the God of the world. Israel was not God’s chosen people because of anything in themselves, and neither will their deliverance be because of anything in themselves. Their deliverance, then, as with ours today, occurred not only outside of themselves, but in spite of themselves. It is God who chooses, God who delivers, and He will by the means God desires.
God can choose anybody for a time, including all today, to be a type of “messiah” to a people, situation, a community, or even a nation. God can choose anyone to be an instrument through whom God’s gracious purposes will be accomplished and revealed to the world. Messiahs do not only come from the “good crowd,” nice neighborhoods, your “clicks.” your church or denomination, or those with “religion”. Messiahs do not have to look like you, talk like you, dress like you, smell like you, They don’t have to listen to Casting Crowns, attend church on Sunday’s and drink sweet tea. John the Baptist was a type of messiah, a God chosen instrument through whom God’s gracious purposes were accomplished and revealed to the world, and he was way outside societies acceptability and church conduct or dress codes. David was the runt of his family. who they all looked down on. Those in the church were shocked at the thought of Jesus being THE Messiah. They smirked and sarcastically said to each other in their church click,, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?! (and we in the church today would say the same thing, just add, “Bless his heart!”) You, as hard as it may be for some people to believe with all your quirks and short comings, through your baptism into a new creation of Christ and being filled with and indwelled with the iHoly Spirit, are also anointed and called to be a type of messiah, a God chosen instrument through whom God’s gracious purposes are to be accomplished and revealed to the world,
Deliverance is from God and He can and will deliver you, but in his own way, not yours.
“Does clay talk back to the potter:
‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!’
Would a sperm say to a father,
‘Who gave you permission to use me to make a baby?’
Or a fetus to a mother,
‘Why have you cooped me up in this belly?’”
Thus God, The Holy of Israel, Israel’s Maker, says:
“Do you question who or what I’m making?
Are you telling me what I can or cannot do?
I made earth, and I created man and woman to live on it.
I handcrafted the skies and direct all the constellations in their turnings.
And now I’ve got Cyrus on the move.
I’ve rolled out the red carpet before him.
He will build my city.
He will bring home my exiles.
I didn’t hire him to do this. I told him.
I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.” (Isaiah 45:9-13 The Message Bible.)
My family, I pray you will not put God into “Your box” of those He can use to speak light, truth, and grace into our nation, including you, I pray during this time of Lent you will re-claim your anointing of your baptism and hear your call to be an anointed one in your community, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting 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
COLOSSIANS 3:1–3 since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of god. set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in god.
As we seek to surrender and build our lives as an altar to God this Lent, we need to create mental space and set our minds on Christ. We can have the most beautiful chapels for worship and our homes can have the most serene devotional space, but if we our “not right in our heads”, if our minds are not set, we can be like the Israelites wandering in the desert. In our passage, Paul wrote to the Colossians to encourage them. They were distracted by noise of the world, and he told them to set their hearts and their minds on things above. The definition of the word set in the original language gives us a little more insight. To set means to direct one’s mind or to seek. In other words, this is not a passive activity.
Setting our minds on the things above can be easier said than done. As we seek to move deeper into Christ during this Lenten season, we may need to make two changes: reset and replace. First, let’s reset. Creating mental space might mean physically moving to a space that is more conducive for your mind to focus. Jesus would often leave the crowds and the activity of the town to pray alone. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). He had to reset by physically leaving a place to mentally create space.
Second, let’s replace. Creating mental space might mean replacing what is normal in our routine for a different activity. We may need to replace something that is trivial with some- thing that is meaningful. Replace something that is draining with something that is filling. What is taking up your mental space today? The world is not lacking for things that can distract us and drain us, but we have a choice to reset and replace so that our time can be offered to the Lord.
What is the noise in your life that distracts you? How does the physical space you create help provide time for mental space? A re there any changes you can make in your life today that give more time for God?
My family, I pray the voice of Jesus may be the only clear voice in your heads today. I pray you choose to set your mind on the good news of Christ so you can set your heart and mind on Jesus the Christ, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on change with us in the comments box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning Lord Jesus, I rest in your peace this morning as I need your peace as I begin my week.
“For a child has been a born to us, a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility and is called:
Wonderful counselor
Mighty God, (God is Warrior)
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. (And to peace there will be no end)
His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity.
He will rule on Davidʼs throne and over Davidʼs kingdom,
establishing it and strengthening its by promoting justice and fairness,
from this time forward and forevermore.
The Lord ʼs intense devotion (Zeal) to his people will accomplish this. (“ Isaiah 9:.6-7)
I call the prophet Isaiah “The prophet of Lent”. Isaiah’s message, teaching and prophecies speak into, point to, predict, describe and prophesies on Jesus as the Son of God, the root of Jessie, the Suffering servant, the lamb of God, and the cross. And they were were spoken and written 700 years before the birth of Jesus.
These verses in Isaiah written over 700 years before the birth of Jesus also contain one of the most remarkable prophesy’s of Isaiah on the birth Immanuel. That somehow a virgin-born child would demonstrate that God is with us. Isaiah says, “A child is born to us…” in doing so he admits his sin and includes himself with all people in the need of deliverance. And I include myself as well. The child is presented as the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel sign.
Wonderful counselor (Extraordinary stategist): throughout Isaiah we read of the failing of human wisdom as folly, and it’s failing, and deceiving has been shown. By contrast, the Coming One, the “Wonderful Counselor” has a great depth of wisdom. True wisdom that knows in weakness there is strength, in surrender there is victory, and in death there is life.
Mighty God (God is a Warrior) the coming Immanuel will have God’s true might. His true power so great he can absorb all the evil which Satan and his demons hurl against him until he has nothing left to hurl, then defeat and crush his enemy.
Everlasting Father: Some kings have claimed to be :the father of their people”, but this was only temporary. Immanuel’s fatherhood would be forever. A fatherhood that does not impose itself on his children, but rather sacrifices himself for them.
Prince of Peace: It is fitting that after all we read, hear and know of the chaos, disruption, and warring of other kings and rulers, the last title given Immanuel is Prince of Peace. He is a peaceful king. One we know now because of our understanding of the cross, did not establish his peace by brutally squashing all defiance, by the means and example of complete transparency and vulnerability which makes defiance pointless. Some how through Immanuel’s reconciliation between God and man, there is now the possibility of reconciliation between man and man.
“from this time forward and forevermore” Isaiah has an eschatological (study of end times) figure in mind in his prophecy. This king will not be another king among kings in the list of kings of Israel. He will be the final king, the king to end all kings, the king of all kings!
To all above I have written I say Amen! Amen!!!
My family, as you I pray you reflect during Lent you will meditate on these verses in Isaiah and affirm your understanding of the presence of Immanuel in your life today, because He is in your life today, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
We have a love-hate relationship with change. We want change when we start a new exercise or diet plan. We want change when we begin a new school year. We want change when we start a new job, but we don’t love change when it comes at a cost. We don’t love when we have to get up earlier to work out, when we can’t eat our favorite foods, when we have to study rather than go out with friends, or when we have to give up the coworkers we have grown to love.
As followers of Jesus, as disciples, we want change. We want to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ. We want to be a better spouse and a better friend. We want to love more and worry less. We want to be more like Jesus, but that comes at a cost. This Lenten season, let us pursue change. We are going to ask the Lord to change our hearts, our minds, and our behavior so we can grow deeper, be better, and look more like Him.
In the midst of a world filled with chaos and disappointment, pain and death, there is a promise of restoration and transformation through Jesus. And the good news is transfor mation isn’t found at the end of our lives, but at the end of ourselves. This is the beauty of the Lenten season. It’s a season in the church calendar where most of us, perhaps more intentionally than any other time, commit to seek transformation. We search the Scriptures and sit in stillness with God as we recognize the sin which has broken the perfect communion God created. We long to be transformed into the image of our Savior who has given His life so we can once again experience earth as it is in heaven, God’s kingdom. That is the promise of Jesus. It is the fulfillment of God’s design.
Let us seek transformation, not for the purpose of finding happiness or avoiding pain, or storing up treasures for our own gain. Let us seek transformation to experience an awakening of holiness within ourselves and encounter the power of our risen Savior to radically alter the way we live.
What fear or concerns do you have as you give yourself over to the Lord to be changed? What is your hope for transformation as you embrace the promise of being made new? What do you need to confess to the Lord today?
My family, as we begin the season of Lent I pray you allow the Holy Spirit to search you and draw your attention to those places in your life which need Your forgiveness and transforming power. I pray you don’t just stay the way we are, but want to be renewed, filled, and changed so you can reflect Christ’s grace in this world, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections on change with us in the comments box below.
Resolve to Help in 2023
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Jesus, I begin my day in you, walking in the light of the one who lights the darkness
Today is Ash Wednesday. The first Day of Lent. Lent is my favorite season of the church. It is a time of 40 days before Easter where we, the church, set aside for self-reflection, prayer, fasting as Jesus did for 40 days in the wilderness after he was baptized before he began his ministry, and as the Israelite spent 40 years in the desert before entering the promise land.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,” (Isaiah 61:1-2)
You may be thinking, why am I beginning my meditation on Ash Wednesday with a passage on anointing and good news?
Because that anointing in the passage above in Isaiah is also on all who have been baptized in Christ and received the Holy Spirit. In Christ, your identity, who you are is a source of good news to the poor, love to those depressed and heartbroken, freedom to the addicted, and the voice of the Gospel of grace and hope in your community.
In Christ you are all these things, however you in yourself are dust, and to dust you shall return. In ourselves, in our mortal bodies we are but dust that dies, However, in Christ filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit we are beings of life. “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7)
Do we need to embrace the reality too Ash Wednesday hat each of us in our flesh will die? Yes we do, as yes we will. “.A voice says, “Cry!”And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:6-7)
However, Jesus never spoke of his crucifixion and death without also including his resurrection. Jesus told us, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt 16:25) The focus is not on the ashes of loss but the anointing of life! “to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,” (Isaiah 61:3).
Jesus, at the beginning of the Lord's Supper states, "And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luk 22:15) Jesus in complete love earnestly desired to be with and reach out into the lives of those around him. And he earnestly desires to be with you. A good question for each of us to honestly discern this Lent is, "What do I earnestly desire?" Because what you desire will control the one thing that controls everything else in your life, your heart.
Ash Wednesday and Lent is a season of repentance and dying to things, good things, that we have made idols of in our lives so that out of their ashes we may have life and life abundantly. Jesus tells us “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Yes, we were physically born into a body that will perish, but that is not our focus or who we are. Who we are and our identity is in Christ and our spiritual birth, our being born again in the Spirit. “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. (Psalm 103: 23)
My family, I pray today you will remember you are dust and ashes, but embrace your anointing. That beginning today and the next 40 days of Lent you will repent and die to idols that perish, so your identity will be one of life and love. In Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!!
I really would love to hear your reflections, and I believe they would encourage others. So please share your reflections and prayers with us in the comment box below.
Ash Wednesday Service
I will be leading an Ash Wednesday service in my back yard this evening this evening at 6:30pm. You are all welcomed to attend. Even if Ash Wednesday is not a part of your denomination’s traditions, I encourage you to find a church that is having a serve tonight and attend.
Resolve to Help in 2023
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Worship Gathering This
I begin my day entering into your presence Jesus my Lord.
"Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.
3 'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
(Isa 58:1-11 ESV)
In this chapter on fasting, God sternly repremands the church because though people claim or think that their religious practices: church attendance, fasting, wearing religious symbols around their necks, and hanging Bible passages on their walls will win special them favor with God. However God sees through these acts to the heart of all people and knows the reason they do these things it not out of love for God and especially love for their neighbor, but is to gain favor and an advantage in a dog-eat-dog world and struggle to gain success, possessions, position and power. Isaiah asks, Is this why God instituted forms of religion? No! God created religious acts to be symbols of an attitude and heart posture of submission, surrender and trust that will form a change in the heart and behavior of his people. However because of the selfishness and self-seeking hearts of the church, the forms of religion they practice are not sources of divine pleasure to God, but ones of divine disgust.
God, when I read your inspired words through Isaiah, I understand the fast that You choose for me is a fast from my flesh, a fast from my desires, selfishness and self-centeredness. It's a fast that frees me from the tyranny of my self and turns my heart to the things on Your heart. A fast that turns my thoughts from thinking about my needs, to the needs of others.
Give me Your heart, Lord. Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me and fill my spirit with the power to do something about it. Give me a fast that re-prioritizes my time and passion for other people and reveal to me the ways that I can make a difference in their lives. Free me from the selfishness over sharing the resources you allow me to have like my home. Let me use my home not simply for my comfort behind my locked doors, but open its doors in invitation and for he comfort of others. Let me be part of the move of Your Spirit in my city and spheres. Let me be a source of influence to rebuild the "ancient ruins," to "raise up the foundations of many generations" and "be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets" (Isaia/h 58:12).
Fasting is not about ancient rituals, traditions or even faithfully executing spiritual disciplines. Fasting is about putting You first God. Putting my neighbors first, and accepting humbly that I am second. As Your Spirit overcomes my flesh you not only change me but You can change the world around me through my life. This is the fast You choose. So by the power of the grace of God at work within me, let this be the fast I choose. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, We are called to fast during this season of Lent, however I pray you will read Isaiah 58 and embrace a fast God chooses. I pray we will move from being a nation of churches with a prayer ministry, to a nation of churches that fasts and prays. I pray the Holy Spirit gives you eyes to see the needs of the world around you and the resolve to do something about it in your spheres of influence today,,in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and experiences on fasting in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
WHAT IS LENT?
This Wednesday February 14th is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent in The Church. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends 47 days later with Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Lent is one of my favorite seasons and Holy Week is my favorite week ov the year. For those not familiar with Lent you may ask;
"But what is Lent?"
At Jesus' baptism the sky split open, the Spirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended and landed on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, My Beloved, with whom I am pleased." Afterward, as told in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Spirit. Where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During his time there he was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, he was ready to begin his ministry. Maybe Jesus needed some time with God to sort through the major changes happening in his life. Maybe he needed to get away from family, friends and the familiar routine in order to see God (and himself) more clearly. Perhaps he wanted some intentional time with God as he searched for direction and answers like you. Like Jesus, we may need to take some serious time to pray and listen for God.
During Lent, most Christians use three things as aides to help them focus, listen and pray to God.: Fasting, Service/taking on things, and Prayer
FASTING: Some fast by going without food one day or more a week. Some fast by skipping a meal each day and instead praying during that time. But that's not the only way to fast. You can fast by cutting out some of the things in your life that distract you from God. Some Christians use the whole 40 days to fast from candy, tv, soft drinks, cigarettes or meat as a way to purify their bodies and lives. Or you can give up some activity for all of Lent or selected days a week like Facebook, Tic Toc or other social media, Gaming, Netflix or other reality tv to spend time outside enjoying God’s creation. What do you need to let go of or “fast” from in order to focus on God? What clutters your calendar and life? How can you simplify your life in terms of what you eat, wear or do? Read Isaiah chapter 58
SERVICE: Some Christians take something on to reconnect with Christ. You can prioritize more times set aside to read your Bible. You can collect food for the needy, volunteer once a week to tutor children, at an outreach ministry in your community or work for reform and justice in your community. You can commit to help a different stranger, co-worker or friend every day of Lent. Serving others is one way we serve God. Read Isaiah chapter 58.
PRAYER: Christians also use Lent as a time of intentional prayer. You can set aside times to pray daily, prayer walk your neighborhood, use the Prayer Wheel daily, create music or art as a prayer to God, or savor a time of quiet listening. There are also many devotion books that can guide you through Lent All can be ways of becoming more in tune with God.
My family, I pray you will use the season of Lent to reconnect and recommit to you relationship with Jesus. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
PS: Are we all busy, Absolutely. However, Can I make time to talk to you? Absolutely. The deep reflections of Lent can bring out many emotions in people. Need to talk? Call me. My door is always open, the coffee pot is always on and my sofa is always warm and a place of peace and non-judgment. Any who needs to chat are welcome to contact me anytime. It's no good suffering in silence. I have cold drinks in the fridge...tea & coffee in the cupboard and I will always be here....You are never not welcome!! Starbucks and Waffle House are open and a place to talk. You never have to go through a day of addiction, depression, fear, frustration, or anxieties of life alone. It's always good to talk but its even better to listen, and to be listened to. Some days this hits closer to home than we think. I'll always lend an ear and a shoulder and my heart. My hands are always ready to raise in prayer. Where ever you are, if you are struggling with anything and need to talk, go to your church, call a friend or family member.
Please share your reflections and comments in the comment box below.
Resolve to Help in 2024
I want to ask you to resolve this year in partnering with my wife, myself, and One Direction Community by supporting our ministries! We begin a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this. If you click on the link below you can easily set up a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly auto donations in the amount you desire. . We would be so grateful for your help. You can also give a one-time donation on the same link. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Discipleship Training.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Looking to You, listening for Your leading, I begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
This morning I read through Ephesians 6:10-20 on “The Armor of God”.Open your Bible and read it. Yesterday I felt under spiritual attack, So I wanted to start my day remembering my armor. The enemy must not have wanted me to post this reflection this morning as my website, and facebook kept glitching on me as I tried posting it.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Every day is a spiritual battle in the spiritual realm. But I thank You that the victory is won through the victory of the Cross and the Blood of Jesus! (Colossians 1:19-20). “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).
And at the same time, our part is also to daily embrace and enforce the victory of the cross through our daily battles in our everyday world, as we take our stand to “stand against the wiles of the devil... that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Not in our might or our power, but by Your Spirit (Nehemiah 4:6) and all by Your grace, for apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
I praise You that we are not apart from You, that You are always with us (Matthew 28:20), always even within us (Colossians 1:27), by Your ever-abiding Presence (John 15:4) and Your ever-filling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4). And in the power of Your Presence, Your Word is continually fulfilled and enforced through the battles of our lives as we keep looking to You, standing in You, with You standing in us: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under (our) feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us)” (Romans 16:20).
So as I fight my battles in the power of Your grace, as I take up “the weapons of our warfare (which) are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4), I take my stand in You and praise You for taking Your stand in me. With my heart entrusted to You and Your Spirit abiding in my heart (Romans 8:9), I am “clothed in Christ” (Galatians 3:26); I “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14).
That’s the key to my daily victories in my daily battles. That’s Your battle plan and strategic strategy for embracing and enforcing the victory of the Cross by the Blood of Jesus in my life every day -- morning by morning, moment by moment, step by step on my journey through the spiritual warfare of this world: As I “put on the whole armor of God,” I “put on the Lord Christ.”
In this entire section the author is painting a metaphor for his readers based on the attire of a Roman soldier prepared for battle and its similarity to the Christian prepared to do battle against spiritually evil forces. “The Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:13). And every part of my armor is an expression of God and Your Presence with me and within me (Ephesians 6:14-20):
Lord Jesus, You are my “Helmet of Salvation.” There is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12). By grace through faith in You alone, am I saved (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 16:31).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Breastplate of Righteousness.” Only through You, am I made right with God and cleansed of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Only through You can I enter the very Holy of Holies of the Presence of God (Hebrews 10:20), ascending in my spirit into Your Presence with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4), as a child of God abiding in the righteousness of God, “For He who made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21) and even be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Belt of Truth.” You alone are “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). You are the One who is “called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11). In You, I know the Truth and the Truth has set me free! (John 8:32). As You set me free, I am free indeed! (John 8:36)
Lord Jesus, You are my “Shoes of Peace.” You “shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” You are the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). You are the “God of Peace” (Philippians 4:9), the “Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), the “God of Peace (who) will crush Satan under (my) feet shortly” (Romans 16:20). You “keep (me) in Perfect Peace” with my mind fixed on You, trusting in You (Isaiah 26:3).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” You are The Word of God (John 1:1 and 1:14; Revelation 19:13). You are “the Word of God (who) is living and power, and sharper than any two-edged sword” exposing “all things that naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
Lord Jesus, You are my “Shield of Faith.” You are my Faith in whom I stand to repel all the fiery darts and flaming arrows sent from my enemy. You are a “Shield to all who trust in (You)” (Psalm 18:30). In You, I “walk by faith, not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7), “for by grace through faith” have I been saved (Ephesians 2:8).
Lord Jesus, You are my Mantle of Humility. You clothe me with Your mind and heart to “have this mind in (me) that was also in Christ Jesus, who ... humbled Himself” (Philippians 2:5-8). “For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). By Your grace, I willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, for “apart from (You), I can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Now, having put on the whole armor of God, clothed in You my Lord and Savior, may I obey Your command to go forth in this armor, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). May I “speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:20). And as I go, may I be found “speaking the truth in love” -- not just truth, not just love, but “speaking the truth in love” -- with Your character in my heart and your authority in my words (Ephesians 4:15).
That’s how “the battle belongs to the Lord!” (2 Chronicles 20:15) That’s how “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). That’s how God “gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57) In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may go forth in victory clothed in Christ, who is your "Whole Armor of God" in Jesus' name. Pleasevpray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“And (The Lord) said (to Moses), ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he said to (The Lord), ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here’” (Exodus 33:14-15).
Like Moses, I don’t want to go anywhere You’re not going.
Don’t let me get ahead of You or behind You. Let me hear the Voice of Your Spirit, saying, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Let me know Your Voice and follow You (John 10:27). As a son of God, let me be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).
It’s only in Your Presence that there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). It’s only in Your Presence that there is peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7)
So let me pursue Your Presence (James 4:8), abide in Your Presence (John 15:4), embrace Your Presence (Hebrews 10:22), rest in Your Presence (Hebrews 4:1).
Then I can follow Your Presence wherever You lead, whenever You lead, however You lead. Because without Your Presence, I don’t want to go. And I thank You today, with all my heart and mind and soul and strength, that I never have to be without Your Presence -- for You are with me always (Matthew 28:20). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may I’ll go Nowhere Without Youfollow the Presence of God everywhere He goes, as You abide in Him and He abides in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Every Monday morning I volunteer at The Manna House in Huntsville unloading pallets of food from the food bank to put on the line to hand out to people. While I was unloading food a homeless man came up to me pushing his shopping cart. He asked me for some water, any food and if i had a few dollars I could spare. I got him all three. Almost every time a homeless person asks me for something my mind goes back to and is reminded of previous encounter I had with a homeless person.
My family and I spent almost 4 years in Wilmore, Ky while I attended Asbury Theological Seminary. Wilmore is a Suburb of Lexington. And for a period of time while we were there we attended Embrace Church. Embrace was a new church plant that began meeting in an old theatre that was right in downtown Lexington. There was a park right next door where the homeless of Lexington hung out. So at our service in the theatre many homeless people attended. After every service, those that attended would make peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches then walk out and hand them out to the homeless.
During one service there came a time of worship and the worship band began playing a song. I remember I closed my eyes, raised my hands, and began worshipping. I was sitting on the isle. And with my eyes closed I heard a man calling out across the isle, “Hey, Hey!” I opened my eye and looked across the isle and there was a homeless man sitting on the isle with all his belongings piled on the seat next to him. When I looked at him, he said to me, “Hey, do you have a dollar I can have?” I replied back to him, “We are in the middle of the service now, just ask me when it is over.” I turned, closed my eyes again and started into worship when I heard again, a little louder, “Hey, Hey Mr., do you have a dollar I can have?” I tried to ignore him but he kept calling out across the isle.
And I got a little irritated and I thought to myself, really? Can’t he see I am worshipping here? He does not need to be bothering people and pan handling during the service. So I turned again and I said, “Listen, I will give you a dollar after the service is over. Just relax and listen to the band for now. I turned again and I heard again even louder, “Hey Mr, please, give me a dollar please!” So I thought to myself this guy will not leave me alone and I will not get to worship until I give this homeless man a dollar. So I pulled out my wallet, took a dollar out, and reached across the isle and gave it to him. The man said, “Thank you” and took it from me.
When I went back to my seat I noticed they were taking up the offertory during the song. And when the basket came by the homeless man he put the dollar into the basket. And he saw me across the isle and said to me, “Thank you, I saw the basket coming around and I don’t have any money and I wanted to give something to Jesus.” And it dawned on me that the man saw the basket going around and asked me the first time for a dollar to put in the offering. And as the basket was getting passed back and getting closer to him, he was getting more anxious for something to put in it so that is why he was asking louder.
I thought of myself as being missional. We were launching a church in the inner city reaching those on those on the margins, the homeless that no one else wanted. I was proud of myself for not being judgmental and accepting of those who were hard to love. Jesus, in His desire to sanctify my heart after His and conform my life to His, knocked me down a notch in my pride and revealed to me areas in my heart an attitude that still needed to change and grow. It reminded me of the parable in Luke 18 of the Pharisee and tax collector praying in the temple, and I was the Pharisee.
My family,, I pray the Holy Spirit will continue to remove from all of us any perceived attitudes and perceptions towards people, and thoughts of “us” and “them” and help us see through what is on the surface to see the heart of all people. Just like Jesus does, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
Friday evening I went to support a friend of mine who was one of three people sharing their testimony at a church that was hosting an evening of worship and testimonies. My friend did an amazing job sharing through both the difficult times of her life, and of the deliverance God had provided to her. All three testimonies were impactful, and all three were different as all three were delivered from different situations, circumstances, different “Egypts” they found themselves trapped in.
If you asked any Jew their testimony, they all would be the same.
I was a Slave in Egypt, as was my father, his father and his father. I was trapped, enslaved and without hope. But God delivered us from Egypt.
But then they built a golden calf and tried to return.
We who were delivered from being trapped and enslaved to sin my the blood of Jesus, we try to return as well.
See this with addicts in recovery. They get clean. However, they do not know how to live sober and it scares them with the new realities they must face and work through. Though they feel better, they feel lost. Addiction is all they knew and was “comfortable.’ They think to themselves, in 6 months I am going to fail anyways, so they return to their “Egypt”.
I see this in people who were incarcerated for a long time. They get out of their prison, et it was all they knew, and they return
I see this in people in relationships. Woman with abusive boyfriend or husband. Or one who is lazy, and treats her like his slave. She in a moment of Epiphany leaves him and make a decision to move out on her own, Then she gets lonely. Friday night and friends are out and she is at home. She looks at old photos of them, and thinks to herself, we made good selfies together. She forgets what “living in Egypt was like, and calls him. And returns to Egypt.
I see this in people who are stuck in a job or career where they are under paid, over worked, mis-treated and taken advantage of. Yet they are afraid to leave this “Egypt”.
Israel, the Jews in the Wilderness
Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord;…. The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
In Hosea chapter 11 we see the Jews could not go back to Egypt. But it was all they knew. So they again created their own Egypt and built altars to Baal, raised Ashera poles and other Gods.
Egypt can also be something “good” that your stuck in that is keeping you from doing something great. I see this in people’s lives and in the church today.
What is your Egypt?
What is it God is calling you out of Egypt to do?
What is the Egypt you wanting to go back to Egypt?
God does not provide manna in easy places, but in the wilderness, in difficult places. God only does miracles when there is real need. That does not happen when you are doing good. When you are comfortable. Why do you need a miracle when comfortable?
God provides miracles when there is real need. God provides manna in the difficult places. When you step out, are afraid, following his lead into places that if God does not show up, you will fail. Then God gives you manna. Then You get to experience Him.
On a side note, God provides miracles when you pray for them. Israelites prayed for mana, prayed for deliverance from Egypt
Where is manna raining down for you right now?
What does your manna look like?
If you are not receiving it, or having a hard time picturing it, then maybe you are still in Egypt? Manna did not fall in Egypt. God did not rain it down on them. It was when they stepped out into the wilderness. When they left for the unknown that God was calling them out into. There were no pillars of clouds by day, or pillars of fire by night in Egypt. As you don’t need signs from God to lead you if you are comfortable where you are and are not going anywhere. They are only needed for change and movement.
My family, What is the Egypt you find yourself in now, or you are wanting to go back to? What is it God is calling out of Egypt to do? God does not provide manna in easy places, but in the wilderness, in difficult places. I pray today find your manna, in Jesus name. please pray the same for me. God bless you my friend!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”(Matthew 20:1-16)
Lord Jesus, Your generosity is amazing to the extreme. “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (John 1:16). You give us gift after gift. The extravagance of your generosity, your grace, troubled those in the passage above, and at times it troubles me. There is nothing “fair” about your generosity.
Because we do not earn it, we receive it. Yes, this amazing generosity of God’s came at an extreme price, The scourging, crucifixion, and death of Jesus. But that price was paid for me not paid by me. Jesus earned it, not me. And all receive the full measure of your love, grace and mercy whether they come to Christ as a child or on their death bed.
Does that bother you? Do you think somehow you still deserve more?
It was not until I was 34 years old that I fell in love with Jesus.
Oh I heard of Jesus and knew of Jesus all my life. Parents were Roman catholic and active in their church. I was baptized as an infant, all that is good. I learned to stand up, sit, and kneel to Jesus, however I never knew Jesus.
So what I call my BC days, ( the period of my life Before Christ) was not good. I was a user of people, user of women, user of drugs, selfish…list goes on.
But when I fell in love with Jesus, and I raised my hand and received him as my Lord, It may have been the “9th hour” as in the passage I read from Matthew But the gates of heaven opened up, my Father in Heaven declared, “This is my son in which I am well pleased.” I received the gift of eternal life in the eternal embrace of love of the Father. And I received the complete out pouring of generosity and grace of God. Not in part but in full!
And his generosity goes over and above what we imagine or deserve.
I said I was a user of people and a user of women. However, God did not with hold from me anything, but he gave me a beautiful woman named Nancy to be my wife. And then to rub more grace and generosity in my face, he gave me two beautiful daughters, Paris and Mialn.
I was selfish and a user, but he broke my heart for him and for people, and gave me servants heart and that of a giver, and because of that I cant begin to name the generous gifts I have received! All the amazing people that have looked at me with love and I have been so blessed to have crossed my path in life! My house, my family, my career, my life, all a gift! I did not earn it, Just because I say “I worked hard for it” does not mean I deserve it.
My family, I pray this morning you remember that no matter what time in your life, early or late, you entered the vineyard of Lord, it was out of the generosity of Jesus that He sought you out and saw you first. That He chose you. That He made known to You the very heart of the Father. That you are called out of a heart of worship to go into the market places, and love those you encounter there and bear fruit. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Partner with us as the year begins!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you tp partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
You can mail your donation to One Direction Community P.O. Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758
Would you like to receive my morning devotion blog?
Email your name and email address to garyl@onedirection.community and I will add you to my ODC Daily Message distribution list to receive an email of these reflection every weekday morning.
