Good morning Jesus, I seek you to guide me through my week ahead.
This morning I read through Mark chapter 4.
"A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him up and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You don care that we are perishing?' He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'" (Mark 4:37-41)
The photo in this post I took of the wall cloud of the leading edge of the rains that rolled through my community last week. Moments after I took this the bottom dropped out of the clouds and began to pour rain.
The following morning I sat on my front porch and I sipped coffee and looked at my yard and what I needed to clean up. And I thank God for all the times he has cleaned the debris up in my life after the bottom has dropped out of it. I want to thank you Jesus for all the storms in my life you have got me through. Thank You, Jesus, for every time You've been my miracle in the storms of my life. Thank You for every time You've been my miracle in every moment when I was about to be devastated by something I couldn't control that threatened to wash me away with everything around me. Every time, You arose to rebuke the storm. Every time You spoke to the wind and waves of my anxieties and fears, saying "Peace! Be still!" And I know You always will.
You never promised me there would never be any storms. But You did promise me that even when the storms come You'll be with me through them all. Like You say in Your Word that always gives me great hope and peace through every storm: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... Because you are precious in My sight, and honored, and I love you.... Do not fear, for I Am with you" (Isaiah 43:1-5).
By the power of the grace of God at work within me, by the peace that comes from the One who rebukes my storms and settles my soul, I choose to trust in You today. Through every storm, I'm trusting You to empower me to choose to not give in to fear, but hold on in faith, excited to see the next miracle of Your power and peace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will keep choosing to trust in our God to be with you and empower you in His peace to overcome every fear through any storm that may be going through now, or that ever comes, 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.
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
Help Me Share The Gospel!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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Good morning Lord Jesus, speak to me in the silence of my morning.
“because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:19-22)
Paul declares that the general revelation of God through creation has been made available to all people. How many people? All, including you and me.
What Paul says is the reality of God is evident in every country, city, town, and neighborhood in the world. The reality of God and the power of God have been made evident to all. The problem is not people have not heard the gospel, it is what they have done with what they do know about God. Here is how Paul puts it. That though they knew about God, they exchanged the truth about God for a lie. You can’t exchange X for Y unless you have X. There is no person born who does not have some knowledge of God. The problem is they do not have knowledge of God but acknowledge God. They Exchanged the truth for a lie. They did not change true religion for no religion, but for Idolatry. We are living in a country full of idolaters. They are not secular people, they are idolaters. The truth may have dawned on them in small measures, but they do not like it. They have exchanged truth for a lie. The reason missions and evangelism is necessary is because the world has truly chosen darkness over light. John 1 says it. The light shines in the darkness, but the cockroaches in the basement preferred that darkness. They know about the light, to run from it.
What I would say about people in remote places who have not heard or heard little of the Gospel? Or on the other side those of us here in the USA who’s currency says on it “In God we trust”, have churches on almost every corner, have been born into Christian families, attended church all our lives or for years, have publically accepted Christ, attended Bible studies and been mentored in our faith? Each person will be judged according to the light they have received and what they have done with that light. They are judged on what they have received ”To whom much has been given much is required”….and judged on what they have done in their life with the light they have received.
Have they acknowledged it and accepted it with joy? Have they begged God for more light and prioritized prayer and Bible reading in their life. Have they consistently shared the light of the Gospel with others? Have they with urgency sought out those in their communities in darkness and witnessed to the light and lead people to Christ? Have they mentored, discipled, and given people access to their lives and light to learn about it? Have they served and loved their neighbors as themselves? All people will one day stand in the throne room before Christ and their life opened up and examined. Each person will be judged according to the light they have received and what they have done with that light. Those of us who have frequently and consistently heard and received light will be judged more than those in a remote region on the earth who little light has be revealed to them. To those much has been given much is required.
My family, This world we find ourselves in today is desperate for the light you have received. I pray this morning you will reflect on the light you have received, what you have done that light and more importantly, what you are doing with that light, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:4-7
In Deuteronomy God reveals through Moses what the Greatest commandment of all is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And what is the first thing God tells his people to do to obey this commandment? Teach this to your children. God’s first = to his people after placing loving God at the core of their being is not plant churches, cast out demons, heal the sick, or set the captives free, but to teach your children. And that to teach is not just directed to your biological children, but all children. And not just to people with children, but all people.
Today, especially in the USA and Western cultures I believe we do not do a good job of teaching and mentoring our children. Especially by providing them access to those who are “seniors” in our churches and communities. Seniors have attended and graduated life’s “School of Hard Knocks.” They “paid” the full tuition required to graduate this school. They paid the tuition of pain, mistakes, heart break, bad decisions, disappointment, financial loss, struggle, anxiety. They have a wealth of knowledge gained from life’s school of hard knocks they can mentor and share with children and youth so that they do not have to pay the full tuition. Their life’s wisdom and knowledge they can pass on are amazing “Grants” or Scholarships” that if shared with youth can enable them to avoid and not pay all of the required tuition I listed above.
However, in the USA and western culture and western church structure there are very few intentional opportunities for youth to “hang-out” and be mentored by seniors and adults in general. Most children and youth’s opportunities throughout the year to interact with seniors is the half a dozen or so times they see their grandparents at holidays, birthdays, funerals, and special occasions. In our churches efforts to excel growth and numbers of those attending they have launched contemporary services and most churches now have a contemporary service and a traditional service. So the minute people enter the church youth are separated from seniors as youth go to contemporary service, seniors to the traditional service. Youth go to youth groups, seniors go to Bible studies, and the only time the two meet again is in the parking lot headed to cars. I think most churches never look at the theology behind separating youth and seniors in their gathering structures.
The reality is that today's youth have very few real, intentional opportunities to to contact and connect with adults and seniors in their day to day, year to year American structure of life. The reality is that we in the USA and western church are not doing well at “ Teach this to your children.” The reality is that we all need to be more intentional, and intentional being the key word, at making opportunities to not just teach in a classroom setting, but to do life with and mentor our children and youth. And remember God commanded all of us, not just those ”gifted with children” to teach our Vhildren.
My family, I pray thismorning as you begin your week you make a priority this week to invest time pouring into, mentoring or encouraging children. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the chidren an opportunitiy to meet with them then put it in your schedule for the week. Please pray the same for me. God Bless you my friends!.
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
Help Me Share The Gospel!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
http://www.easytithe.com/dl/?uid=onepob279
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Subscribe to ODC Daily Devotions
Would you like to receive my daily devotions in your email inbox every weekday morning? I can add you to the email subscription list if you message me on FB or email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with my Father, One with the Holy Spirit, and I welcome You here in my heart to be One within me, as I begin my day looking to You and listening for Your leading.
The more I find myself desperately dependent upon You to be my Source of peace and security in the world I find myself in now, the more I'm moved for those who are trying to get through this life depending upon themselves. And in the moments when it feels like You're not there or not acting on our behalf in the ways I feel You should, is when it makes me press in even that much more deeply to come even that much closer to You, the more I'm deeply burdened for those who do not know you or feel distant or forgotten or even forsaken.
The story of the bride-to-be and her beloved in the Song of Solomon comes to mind this morning, of her yearning for his presence in times when it feels like he's not there.
"Upon my bed at night, I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called to him, but he gave no answer.
'I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.'
I sought him, but found him not.
The sentinels found me, as they went about in the city.
'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
Scarcely had I passed them, when I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I brought him into my mother's house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me"
(Song of Solomon 3:1-4).
The bride-to-be is not a casual acquaintance of the one she seeks. He is her beloved, her bridegroom-to-be, the one whom her soul loves. And at the same time, she feels like he isn't there. She seeks him, but doesn't find him. She calls to him, but he doesn't answer.
But she doesn't give up on her relationship. She doesn't give in to any feelings of distance or rejection or abandonment. She doesn't settle for something less than her hopes and dreams for intimacy and security that she longs to come from only him.
She says in her heart, "I will rise now and go.... I will seek him." And even then, it feels like she's having a hard time finding him. She goes to others who may have been seeing him and experiencing his presence in the ways she longs to see him and experience him.
And then she finds him! With great relief that was worth the waiting in the pursuit, with great joy that was worth the sorrow of the feelings of separation, she must have shouted out for all to hear, "I have found him whom my soul loves!"
Father God, You've sent Your Holy Spirit to prepare the bride for Jesus, our Bridegroom. It's not a gender thing or sexual thing; it's a spiritual thing. Men are part of "the bride" of Christ (Revelation 19:7), just as women are part of the "many sons being brought to glory in growing up into the maturity of the body of Christ (Hebrews 2:10). Jesus is our Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).
We're created to long for Him, to pursue Him, to even feel empty and alone and lost without Him. But He is not far from any of us -- even before we come to know Him and humbly open up our hearts to Him. "God has done all this, so that we will look for Him and reach out and find Him. He isn't far from any of us, and He gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. 'We are His children'" ... (Acts 17:27-28).
Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Holy Spirit of the Living God, stir in my heart to pursue Jesus (John 14:26), to listen for His voice (John 10:27), and to deeply abide in and embrace His Presence (John 15:4). Lord Jesus, I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. You are my Beloved and I take hold of You to never let You go and I thank You that You take hold of me and never let me go -- even, and especially, when it feels like You're not here or acting in all the ways and in all the timing that I feel You should. Through it all, You are Lord of all. "There is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you come closer to Jesus every day, more passionately pursuing Him and more deeply embracing Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you in prayer for all who need to know Jesus and God's love for them today and through every moment. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Last night at our house church gathering that was hosted in the home of a sweet 84 year old widow who opened her heart and home to us, we read the Parable of The Sower together in Mark 4:1-20 and we reflected and discussed on “Sowing.”
As I read the passage one more time this morning, I reflected on that all through the Gospel in the NT we see God's extravagant sowing in people and in the church.
After the stoning of Stephen in Chapter 7, men scattered from the persecution that followed from Cypres and Syrean, they went out and sowed the Gospel into the weeds and thorns, to gentiles, who would believe it. Their sowing establish the great church in Antioch that later sent Paul out to be the great missionary. (Acts 11:20)
In the 4th century the whole church is brought to its knees by Barbarians that invaded and sacked the Roman Empire. What did the church do? They sowed to the barbarians. And they became better Christians than the Romans!
Fast forward to recent time: Africa was known as "the grave yard of missionaries”, but the real story was God's extravagant sowing into Africa. China called us "foreign Devils." But the real story is the Gospel took root in China, and today the most dramatic growing churches are in Africa and China.
All through history the story is the remarkable spreading of the gospel through individuals and churches who extravagantly and wildly sowed God's seed.
And we come to the present, to our church One Direction Community and to your church. What if a handful of 4 or 5, or dozen people gathered in our or your church had one wild idea: “What if we actually became a church that served and wildly sowed to the people in Madison, Huntsville, Harvest and other communities in your area?”
What if we asked the mayors or officials what are their problem areas? Their weedy, thorny areas, that give them the most headaches: the barbarians, the missionary graveyards, the foreign devils and we sowed there?
What if when your church gathers next your pastor is greeted by a handful or more of people who tell him, “Lets start sowing!!”
What if in our churches we didn't just focus on collecting and acquiring God's seed in Sunday morning Bible Studies and our worship services (which are good), but spent most of our time looking forward to who we need to be sowing the seed we collected? And then hold each other accountable to sowing the seed.
What if we did not form a Missions committee in our church, but we formed and became a church of missionaries all sent on mission with God to sow?
What if we did not form a wonderful prayer committee in our church, but we actually sought to be a whole church that fasted and prayed?
What if we sought not to be known as the church to go into with the amazing worship team or worship service, but as a church that collectively goes out into and continuously sows and worships out in its community?
What if we actually formed a church who’s heart breaks for the lost, and that was concerned that one marvelous day, when we stand together in the new earth among the millions before the lamb and worship Him, that because of our extravagant sowing into their lives, our neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and others from our area, are there as well, along side us proclaiming:
That God’s sowing is more consistent than the Devil’s snatching!
His sowing is more powerful than the devil’s eating!
His sowing is more enduring than the devil’s tribulation!
His sowing is more persistent than the devil’s choking!
My family, I pray this morning after reading this you ask the Hoy Spirit to give to you the names of the handful or dozens of people to ask to join you in Wildly Extravagantly Sowing in your community, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
You Can Help!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for reaching with the Gospel 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, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
To Give Click Here
The Holy Spirit led me to re-read this morning again and the Parable of the Sower found in Mark 4:1-20 and to continue self reflecting on the extravagant sowing of God.
The extravagant sowing of God is at the core my Wesleyan understanding Christianity and of God’s grace, election and salvation that differs from my Presbyterian and Calvinist brothers.
His grace is not like a cruise missle of election, where God enters all the data and details, and launches it. And it cruises around all the hard hearted people, It swerves around the rocky and shallow soiled people, it ducks under the thorny covered people, and finally hits the heart of the one person who has been elected by God.
Actually, in a Biblical sense as I see it, the election of God is in the heart of every man and woman, including you, and including me.
God sows in every heart, and there are a variety of responses to his Grace, some rejection, some hardening of heart, some can’t hear it, but God keeps on sowing, Halleluiah.
Jesus explained to his disciples that parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.
That is the only way to makes sense of this text from Isaiah that is included in this passage that most sermons skip over, never talk about and ignore: Isaiah 6:9-10. Yet this very difficult text is found in Mark, Matthew and Luke,
“so that although they look they may look but not see, and although they hear they may hear but not understand, so they may not repent and be forgiven.” (Mark 6:12)
The fact that previenent grace is both enabling and disabling. People who hear God's word receive it with Joy, others hard hearts, but sometimes, it takes hardening of hearts for a later opening of the Gospel.
Sometimes even a hardening of heart is God's grace to us, waiting of the right time for it to take root and bloom.
The original text in Isaiah 6 9-10 reads:
“Listen continually, but donʼt understand!
Look continually, but donʼt perceive!ʼ
Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”
In the following verse, Isaiah 6:11, Isaiah says after hearing these horrible and shocking words asks God, "How long, sovereign Lord?"
For he knows this is not God's last word.
And the Lord replied, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, and the LORD has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned." (Isa 6:11-12)
Until the devastation is complete and only a stump is left. Until a person loses it all, surrenders it all, until all our other sacred pillars are thrown down. Until their heart is completely abandoned, Until a person is in the pit, at the very bottom of it where there is nothing, where all there is, is Jesus
The holy seed God is extravagantly sowing does not come from or is found in the lofty grandeur of a trees branches, it comes from and is in the stump, the stump of Jessie.
That is what baptism symbolizes. Life, Death, New life in Christ.
You Can’t be raised from the dead, until you die.
You Can’t be saved, until you admit you need saved.
My family, the election of God is in sown into the heart of every man and woman, including you. I pray you will seek a place and time to empty yourself, so there is nothing, nothing but you and Jesus. Please pray tge same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
You Can Help!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for reaching with the Gospel 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, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
To Give Click Here
This parable in Mark 4:1-20 has never been called the parable of the soils. It is of the sower.
It is a parable about the sower. God is sowing his seed into the world. His sowing was behind all the past saints and behind the present and future saints of you and me. His sowing into the world.
God's persistent sowing:
We think about Moses: If we took a snap shot of his life when he murdered the Egyptian. Aren’t you glad (and Moses as well) that he was not defined on that day as one who the bird ate up the seed? But God kept sowing seed into his life and he became the deliver of Israel.
Gideon was in the pit, fearful, scared, afraid and cowardly. A snap shot of his life at that time and he would be defined as one who in the worries and anxieties of the day, the seed was snatched away. But God kept sowing seeds into his life and he became one that the Angel declared as a mighty warrior.
Saul of Taurus was holding the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen to death. If he was identified by that one moment in his life it would be a person of a hard heart. God kept sowing seed into Saul (Paul) and he became the great missionary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the world.
Peter,in the temple court yard denied Jesus three times. Defined by that moment in his life he would be labeled one who the thorns and persecution choked his faith away. But again, God kept sowing into Peter and he became the one who declared of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, and who Jesus said, “Upon this Rock I will build my church.
The real story of Peter, Paul, Moses, and so many others in the Bible is not about a particular day and the soil of their heart, but the extravagant sowing of God into their lives.
Some of you have heard my testimony. I was 34 years old when I came to Christ. Many snap shots in my life the soil of my heart was choked, snatched, thin, unable to hear God. However God never stopped sowing in my life. And you are not defined by a particular time or act of the soil of your heart. God has never given up on any of you but he consistently is sowing into your life. Whether your heart is like a fertile plowed field not, or a hard parking lot.
Here is the thing: it is the weeds, thorns, rocks, shallow soil that are the target of the sower. He is we not sowing the seeds there carelessly, but on purpose.
I need his seed sowed in me when the soil in my heart is good to produce fruit 30, 60,10 times, Without the Holy Spirit I can produce nothing,
However, I need His seed sowed in me, maybe even more so, when my heart is hard, when I am chocking, and I am under pressure and persecution
Again, The real story about them and this story is:
That God’s sowing is more consistent than the Devil’s snatching
His sowing is more powerful than the devil’s eating
His sowing is more enduring than the devil’s tribulation
His sowing is more persistent then the devil’s choking
My family, I pray you remember this morning that who you are, how you are defined and your story is not defined by a snap shot of your life of the soil of your heart, but as one who is never abandoned of foretokened, and one in whom God is constantly sowing into His seeds of the Gospel of his love and grace. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my freinds!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
You Can Help!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for reaching with the Gospel 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, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
To Give Click Here
Good morning Jesus, I begin my day opening my heart to allow you to pour your blood of the love, grace and mercy into my life.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 8:5-8)
If you have been in the church for awhile, you probably heard many sermons on this text. They all focus on the different soils, which result in Sermons focus on which heart conditions which are yours:
Are you that thorny hearted person?
Are you that Rocky or Shallow hearted person?
Are you the hard hearted person?
Are you the good soiled hearted person?
Well if I took a spiritual snap shot of your heart right now, a spiritual photo, I guess it could be true that at this moment perhaps your heart is hardened now on some point or another. Or you may have a rocky heart, or a thorny, choking heart now, or a good heart now.
But life is not a static snap shot is it, it is a moving picture. There are times in our lives that we can’t hear God’s word, sometime we won’t hear it. Some times we hear it, and we lose it. There are times that anxieties and fears choke it. Sometimes we receive it with Joy..
When I hear this parable and read the story about the seed that falls on the path and is eaten up, when I hear it I say to myself, That’s me!
When I hear about the story of how the seed fell on rocky places and there was shallowness, and the first time, persecution or suffering comes they fell away I say to myself: That’s me too.
When I hear the story about how one receives the Word and lets the worries of the world and materialism choke it away, I say to myself: That’s me too.
And when I hear the story of the seed falling on the good soil and it produces fruit 30x, 60x, 100x, I say to myself: Praise God that’s me too!!! Because in so many ways these soil represents various times in my life.
Yet this parable has never been called the parable of the soils. It is of the sower. It is a parable about the sower. God is sowing his seed into the world, his sowing was behind all the past saints, and behind the present and future saints, and behind you and me, sowing into the world!
The real story is: That God’s sowing is more consistent than the Devil’s snatching. His sowing is more powerful than the devil’s eating. His sowing is more enduring than the devil’s tribulation. His sowing is more persistent then the devil’s choking. The real good news of this parable is that God is the great extravagant sower in all the world, including you and me.
My family, I do not know what the snap-shot condition of the soil of your heart looks like this morning. However, I pray you open your heart, open your Bible, open your hands in prayer, and receive the seeds of love, grace, mercy and hope your Father, the extravagant sower, who is madly in love with you wants to sow into your life today. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
You Can Help!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for reaching with the Gospel 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, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
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 want to start my day in the center of Your will and surrounded by Your presence--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"Whenever the unclean spirits saw (Jesus), they fell down before Him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' ... He went up the mountain and called to Him those whom He wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons" (Mark 3:11-15).
Your first followers called to You and were sent out by You. They were Your disciples, Your apostles, appointed and anointed to grow in the nature of Your character and to go in the authority of Your name. They were not "the Son of God," but they were sons of God. And so are we--the sons and daughters of God, coming to You and being sent out by You (Romans 8:16). We're led by the same Spirit (Romans 8:14). And the same Spirit and power that raised You from the dead lives in us and flows through us to proclaim Your message of forgiveness and freedom, healing and hope, by Your authority and in Your power, everywhere You send us (Romans 8:11).
Just as the Father sent You, so You send us--filling us with Your Spirit and grounding us in Your Word (John 20:21). Our names are written in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16). And in the authority and power of Your name, even the demons must submit to us and our position in You as disciples of Christ and children of God (Luke 10:19).
Thank You for the invitation to keep coming to You in the intimacy of prayer, Scriptures, and the communion of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Thank You for the assurance of Your presence, that You are always with me, abiding in me as I abide in You (Matthew 28:20; John 15:4). And thank You for appointing me and anointing me to go with joy and faith, as You send me to be Your ambassador as an extension of Your Word and Your Spirit, secure in my identity and fulfilling my destiny. This is Your will and Your plan for every one of Your sons and daughters. And even all "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God" (Romans 8:19). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you go out to start a new week and as we begin a new month, you go out in joy and faith everywhere today with the understanding that Jesus sends you in His authority and power. I pray you spend time in Scriptures and prayer growing in His nature and going in His name, appointed and anointed as a disciple of Christ and a child of God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to align my steps with Your path for my life.
I went to the Waffle House to meet a person who wanted to talk but they did not show up. So I sat at the bar next to a senior-aged man who is a regular at the WH. Dave shared with me that in a few months he will be married to his wife Martha for 53 years. They married right after high school. The first 13 years of their marriage was great and normal. What he thought marriage would be like, what “he signed up for.” Then Martha was impacted by a degenerative nerve disease that ran in her family. She became depressed, suicidal, emotional and moody. She has been hospitalized 70 times in the 37 years since she was effected by the disease for various periods of a week to 2 months. Dave said Martha will be one moment engaged and joyful, and then the next depressed and saying she does not want to live anymore. In this state she takes things out on Dave and says hurtful things to him because of her condition. Dave says it hurts him inside but he knows it is the disease and depression speaking, not his wife. Martha has gone through all types of different medicines and doses with only brief or sporadic help.
Dave said the 40 years of marriage since Martha’s disease changed everything has been a challenge. Sometimes a deep struggle. He has had to forgo allot of travel, and normal activities couples do together like going to a dinner and a movie because since the disease hit his wife hardly leaves the house. Yet for the past 53 years, with 40 of them being difficult, he has remained faithful to his wife. He has a strong faith in Christ, and he said he made a covenant before God and Martha that he will not break. He said, “Do I have moments and days I thinks this is not fair? Yes. That I got a raw deal of more years of the “worse” out my vow of “for better or for worse?” Yes. That I miss going out and enjoying my wife’s company? Yes. Have I had occasional thoughts of leaving my wife? Yes. But he loves Martha. Loves God. And remains faithful to both. I told him he was a good man. He said I hear that allot however I am not. Most days I do not know what I am. He told me thanks for listening. Most people can't tell the difference between listening and loving. And we listen because we love.
We prayed together at the bar before we left.
I then went to a house to repair a plumbing issue for a couple. As God would have it, while working on the issue the the man began to share with me about his wife and marriage. Larry told me that he and his wife retired 1 1/2 ago and about the same time his was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. And it has progressively gotten worse. He said she loved to garden and landscape and he showed me all the flower beds and garden in his front and back yard. They were looking rough and he said it is because his wife now is not able to take care of them. Larry said his wife is an amazing cook, however she rarely cooks for them any more because she will begin cooking something, not be able to remember the complete recipie, and get frustrated and angry, and quit. He said his misses her cooking and meal time around the table so they order out allot now. LArry said they stopped going out because when his wife goes out she gets nervous and anxiety because she does not know where she is. Larry said he he worked all his life to save up and enjoy retirement with his wife spending time together and traveling, and now that has been taken away from him. His retirement and the rest of his years together with his wife would not be what he had planned or signed up for. After I finished the plumbing repair, I realized that had not sent me to Larry’s house to work, but to listen. I prayed with Larry before I left and told him to call me if he ever wanted to talk.
In my truck while driving away I thought I have no reason to complain about any of the struggles I have had in my marriage or my life. Any percieved bitterness in my marriage was now brought into perspective and sweetened by my morning interuption listening to Dave, Larry and God.
"Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?' He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet" (Exodus 15:22-25).
We are all on a spiritual journey out of the bondage of Egpyt, through the wilderness, and into the promised land of our destiny. And along the way we can grow weary and worn. We can give in to the negative attitudes of murmuring and complaining and criticizing. We can let our faith waiver as we begin to forget Your faithfulness for salvation and deliverance so many times before and start to lose our vision and hope for the destiny You've set before us. We focus on the cup of bitter waters we may be drinking from in the present.
But You are the God who makes our bitter waters sweet. Just like You showed Moses a piece of wood, you remind us of a piece of wood. You remind us of Your cross. The power of Your cross and Your sacrifice of love for every one of us is the power of God for our salvation, for our healing, for our deliverance that refreshes us and renews us to continue the journey. Just as You showed the children of Israel that day, You show us every day You are "the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may drink deeply from the Living Waters every day, from the One who makes your bitter waters sweet, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Help Me Share The Gospel!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
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.
Weekday morning Devotions are also published daily on my “ODC Daily Message” Facebook page.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I was in the Waffle House this morning sitting at the low bar talking with waitresses, cooks and customers. I was wearing a “One Direction Community” T shirt. One of the customers asked me where my church was located. When I told them my living room, they gave me a weird look. He said to me, “So you are trying to start something new, a new form of church. They went on to tell me about their church, that it was not something new, that is was non-denomination and that they just followed Jesus. I told them that was great. However, no church is is really non-denominational. Once a church states it vision, mission, and belief statements that are putting in place an eccciastical structure that conforms to Baptist or another traditions beliefs and structure. No one births a church free from the tracks the saints have laid before them. We ended up talking for 45 minutes on various church aspects.
It reminded me and I shared with them about a trip I took my family on several years ago to Great Britain, France and Italy. we visited and spent time in several cathedrals and famous churches. St. Paul and Westminster Abbey in London; Bath Abby in Bath; Notre Dame, Sacre Coure, and St. Chappelle in Paris; and the Doumo and Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.
The picture above is part of a marble plaque that is inside the Duomo in Milan. The Duomo is the largest Catholic Church in in Italy, the third largest in the world. It lists the Bishops of the church. When I read it, it made me stop and reflect. The first bishop was Saint Antalone and he became bishop in 51 AD (“Anno Elez”- year elected). In 51AD!!! Jesus was crucified in 32AD so this is only 19 years after his death! This is before most of the books of the New Testament were written and those that were written, copies were not yet made by hand and distributed. This church was planted and grew without any New Testament Bibles. John 3:16 would not be written until 25-30 years after this church was planted! And actually, Antalone died before John 3:16 was written. When we talk about a church based simply on Jesus, the “early church”, this was the early church.
History states that Barnabas brought the Gospel to Milan and that Saint Antalone was converted by and then discipled by Barnabas. This church then was birthed out of one thing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Trying to form a community that simply conformed to and imitated the life of Jesus.
As a planter of missional churches I am aware that church plants tend to be of a different culture. In their attempt to create a “new” form of church, a “Cowboy” or anti-established church attitude can take shape. As I read this plaque I am reminded and reaffirmed that though I may take issue with some of the current models of church structure, I am not trying to distance my self from the established church.
I am not smart enough nor do I want to try to create from scratch a new denomination. (And saying you are non-denomination basically means this). Nor do I want to disconnect myself and our church from those like Antalone. Those early saints and martyrs whose blood and sacrifice first joined in the Missio Deo, the Mission of God to establish his Kingdom on earth and laid the prayers and ground worked my church today flows out of.
The more my heart was opened to “new church” the more my heart and my understanding was exposed to the “old church.” As I understood, embraced and began to imitate not what the church has currently morphed into, but what the current church morphed out of. The early church illustrated in Acts of the Apostles and the explanation and implementation teachings on the church contained in the Letters of Paul and James. And since we are a church committed to discipleship, I have spent much time in close examination of the life and teachings of Jesus found in the Gospels. The life and teachings on which Antalone founded the church in Milan
I came to the greater realization that Christianity and discipleship is not about imitating a religion, but imitating a person, namely Jesus Christ. So my plant is not called to try to conform to and imitate current church models, but it is called to conform to and imitate Christ.
A deeper study of John Wesley, the early Methodist movement based on band and class meetings, the reading of Wesley’s sermons, and reading through the journals containing the stories of the lives of early Methodist preachers exposed me to the “old” of our denominations roots. What "new" form of church was used to birth the Methodist movement and caused it to spread like fire. Added to this, I spent much time honestly assessing the state of the church today, which is not good. Through all this my heart was not just opened to, but convicted and compelled to doing the what some people call “something new.” However, "new" basically means returning to the “old,” forming and returning to simple churches that Love God, Love Neighbor, and Make Disciples.
Starting a church is not the goal, the goal is starting a community imitating Jesus. If you start with the goal of a church, you do not always end up with community. But start with forming a community and a church will be formed. And lives will be transformed.
My family, I pray today you will reflect and pray “old School.” Paul states in 1Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” The ultimate price was paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. However, the Church today through which you receive grace from God was paid for by the dedication, suffering, prayers, and lives of the millions of saints who have gone before you. You are part of a community of faith, a communion of saints, which includes Saint Antalone. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
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! Gary Liederbach
To Give Click Here
“And the king will answer them, ʻI tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Yesterday, heard the news that after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that Haiti no longer met the conditions for designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and terminated TPS Status for Haiti. And I am sorry, and I do not cuss to often, but when I heard the news I but I actually yelled out loud at the TV “What the F#ck are we doing?” I was so mad! I was so sad and disheartened. And that feeling continues this morning.
Because of this termination of TPS for Haiti, now the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made plans to ramp up operations to arrest and deport Haitian migrants, as more than 300,000 Haitians brace for the termination of their legal status and prepare to lose deportation protections and work permits under the TPS.
The plans include arresting migrants in Ohio — where large Haitian communities in cities like Springfield have been targeted by President Trump and conservative politicians and commentators — and quickly putting them on deportation flights to back to crisis-stricken Haiti. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump amplified baseless claims that Haitians in Springfield were eating cats and dogs.
Yet when you go to the US State Department’s website on tourism, the website gives everyone these strong warnings on travel to Haiti:
Do Not Travel to Haiti due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care.
Violent crime is rampant in Haiti..There has been an increase in gangs, organized crime, and terrorist activities.
• Crimes involving firearms are common.
• Crimes include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom.
• The escalation of fighting between armed groups has led to a rise in random gunfire incidents. There is risk of being struck by stray bullets, even for people not directly involved in the violence.
• Local law enforcement has an extremely limited ability to respond to serious crimes.
Kidnapping is widespread. U.S. citizen victims of kidnapping have been hurt or killed.
Terrorist violence, including attacks on citizens and other violent gang activity, happens frequently in Haiti.
• Armed, anti-gang vigilante groups attack and, in many cases, kill U.S. citizens. This is when they suspect someone of being a gang member based only on rumors or incorrect information.
• “Watch groups” often harass or detain people who are not known to be residents of their neighborhoods.
• Hospitals and clinics in Haiti have limited trained staff and lack basic resources.
Medical providers almost alw ays require payment in cash before treatment.
So our government is strongly warning it’s US citizens because of the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, gang activity, killings, and unrest, that under no circumstances are we to travel to Haiti, or allow our spouses, parents, or children to travel to Haiti. Yet at the same time it is saying it is ok to forcefully arrest, deport the black, poorest of the poor Haitian spouses, parents, and children who somehow managed to successfully flee Haiti, back to the living hell that is Haiti. That hypocrisy is so racially motivated, so anti- humanitarian, so anti- Biblical it saddens me and makes me sick! And our government is doing this on the celebration of our countries 250th anniversary of the land of the free! A country that declares in its Declaration of Independence, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all persons are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unaliable rights, of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Last fall I watched the videos of Hurricane Melissa when it slammed into Jamaica and Haiti. It showed many slums of people forced by the violence and unrest in Haiti to live in make shift homes made out of cardboard boxes and plastic. The hurricane just obliterated these people. One video interviewed a man who lived in a slum that survived. He was desolated. He said he wanted to die. He said he has no food, no place to live, no help, no safety and living is just to hard. My heart broke for him and the thousands like him. I prayed for them and wished there was a way I could rescue him and his family and bring them here into my home. And now our country is forcefully returning those who made it out of that hell.
I believe in and know we need to protect our borders. ICE was supposedly created to arrest and deport criminals and murders that entered our country. So why are we now going to waist and spend millions of dollars on operations to arrest, transport, airline flights, and deport the poorest of the poor, the least of these?
In Jesus’ most famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 he tells us:
“When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them by saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.”
We live in a country and a time now that is perverting this teaching
Exploited are the poor, because they are poor.
Neglected are the elderly because they are old.
Marginalized are the widows and children, because they are weak.
Exported are the least of these, because we can.
Lord Have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
My family, I pray you will join me in prayer as my heart mourns and struggles with our government’s decision to exploit and deport the least of these from Haiti. Pray for a reversal of our leaders hearts. Pray for the people and the country of Haiti, In Jesus’ name.
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
To Give Click Here
In Last Friday morning’s devotion I reflected on one of the core identities of all Christians is to be “sent ones”. This morning as we begin another week the Holy Spirit wanted to remind me and you again of our calling to be sent ones and witnesses to the Gospel of love, grace and forgiveness we have all received. I turned my Bible to john 1:1-18 and read and reflected.
“A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him.” (John 1:6-7)
“Witness” is one of the major themes of John's Gospel. The Greek verb for “witness” is “μαρτυρέω” (martyr). It occurs 33 times in John’s Gospel. When compared to the other three Gospels we have read, it appeared only once in Matthew, once in Luke, and zero times in the Gospel of Mark we are reading through now. And the noun for “witness”, μαρτυρία (marturia), occurs 14 times in John as compared to zero in Matthew, once in Luke, and 3 times in Mark. So “witness” occurs 47 times in John’s gospel as compared to 6 times in all of the three other Gospels combined.
The witness of John’s gospel testifies to the deity of Jesus and that "He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world." This witness has a world view in mind. As we will read later in John 3:16, “God so loved the world”
“He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.” (v.11) His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the “Word” came into the world, he came to his own, literally "his own things" and his own people, who should have received him, but they did not. John does not say that "his own" did not know him, but that they did not receive him. The idea is one not of mere recognition, the people recognized Him, witnessed who he was in his teachings and miracles, but they did not acceptance and welcome that witness into their life.
“The Word became flesh” (v.14). This verse constitutes the most concise statement of the incarnation in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it clear that the Logos was fully God, but 1:14 makes it clear that he was also fully human so that Jesus could witness to us in person.
Now it is time to witness to others what we received.
“On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(v.29) This is now are calling if we are truly a people of a resurrected savior,; to go and witness to others through sharing our testimonies, our witness, and the Gospel of grace and open up to others and invite them into the living scriptures and testimonies of our and say, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” “Look at what He has done in my life!”
The one time in Luke’s Gospel that the noun “Witness” is used is at the very end of the chapter right before John’s Gospel where it states,“and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”(Luke 24:47-47)
My family, if you are reading this devotion this morning you need to understand and admit to yourself the “You” in Jesus’ words, “You” are witnesses to these things” is YOU! The person’s reflection you see in the mirror! As you begin a new week I pray you will embrace your call to be a witness today! I pray before the sun sets tonight you will seek out at least one person and share with them “The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to start my day in the center of Your will and surrounded by Your presence--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"Whenever the unclean spirits saw (Jesus), they fell down before Him and shouted, 'You are the Son of God!' ... He went up the mountain and called to Him those whom He wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons" (Mark 3:11-15).
Your first followers to came to You and were sent out by You. They were Your disciples, Your apostles--appointed and anointed to grow in the nature of Your character and to go in the authority of Your name. They were not "the Son of God," but they were sons of God. And so are we--the sons and daughters of God, coming to You and being sent out by You (Romans 8:16). We're led by the same Spirit (Romans 8:14). And the same Spirit and power that raised You from the dead lives in us and flows through us to proclaim Your message of forgiveness and freedom, healing and hope, by Your authority and in Your power, everywhere You send us (Romans 8:11)
Just as the Father sent You, so You send us--filling us with Your Spirit and grounding us in Your Word (John 20:21). Our names are written in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16). And in the authority and power of Your name, even the demons must submit to us and our position in You as disciples of Christ and children of God (Luke 10:19).
Thank You for the invitation to keep coming to You in the intimacy of prayer and the communion of Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Thank You for the assurance of Your presence, that You are always with me, abiding in me as I abide in You (Matthew 28:20; John 15:4). And thank You for appointing me, equipping me and anointing me to go with joy and faith, as You send me to be Your ambassador as an extension of Your Word and Your Spirit, secure in my identity and fulfilling my destiny. This is Your will, You calling, and Your plan for every one of Your sons and daughters. We are all to be “sent ones”. And even all "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God" (Romans 8:19). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you go in joy and faith everywhere Jesus sends you in His authority and power, growing in His nature and going in His name, appointed and anointed as a disciple of Christ and a child of God, 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.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support reaching with the Gospel those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thanks You!
I place my life in your hand God to mold into the image of your Son.
“It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles…I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.” (1Corinthians 5:1, 9-13)
Why do heathens, non-Christians, those who do not know Jesus and seek to conform their lives to Him act and do some of the immoral things they do? Because they are heathens. You would not expect those who don’t know Jesus that their values, morals and lifestyles would be conformed to Him. However, you would and should expect Christians who claim Jesus as their Lord and should be pressing into deeper Christian perfection and sanctification, trying to imitate the life of Jesus to resist and abstain from these things that are obviously behaviors not in Jesus. So Paul tells us we are not to stop associating, seeking out, becoming friends, and trying to mentor immoral people who do not know Christ. It is these places and people we are called to visit, hang out with, and offer our love and friendship to them to introduce them to Jesus and change their indentation by others and in their own hearts from that of a “Heathen” to that of a son or daughter of the King and a fellow heir with Christ. Who we are supposed to stop associating with is those who profess to be Christians, to be sons and daughters of the king who live immoral lives imitating sons and daughters of Satan, and give Christians a bad name. People who by our association with them and remaining silent to their immoral actions are actually approving of them. “Now the works 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 similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:19-22)
Paul’s message today is directed towards all who claim to be Christians and he pulls no punches. He is “meddling” and very direct in addressing and calling out the personal morals and behaviors of those in the church, including me.
Holy Spirit, as I meditate on this passage, reveal to to me and in me immorality, bad attitudes and behaviors in me that I am still doing in my flesh that have no business being in someone who claims Jesus as His Lord. Convict me where my lifestyle is a bad witness to my neighbor. I want to be a person who’s association with my wife, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and church members bears good fruit in them and not bad, builds them up and not tears them down, brings them joy and not pain. Someone of character who can say to a brother or sister, “I encourage you, then, be imitators of me.” (1Corinthians 4:16). Holy Spirit, also reveal to me the relationships I am maintaining with immoral believers and “silently approving” of their attitudes and behaviors out of “political correctness”, “tolerance”, or lack of courage to speak truth in love into their sin, In Jesus’ name.
My family, I pray today you will allow the Holy Spirit to “meddle” in you in a personal way and reveal morals, attitudes, and behaviors in your life you are continuing to practice that have no business being in a child of God. Then name them, repent of them, and release them to Jesus to lay at the foot of His cross. I also pray you will ask the Holy Spirit to reveal relationships you have with immoral Christians and are “silently approving” of their behaviors that you need to speak truth into and release yourself from them, In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
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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Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38).
Yesterday the Holy Spirit drew me to reflect on any sources of pride, judgement or hypocrisy that were in my life. To reflect on how am I actually imitating and how closely am I living out my life following Christ. In the same thought stream I was led to read the passage in Luke 6 above. I guess the Holy Spirit wants to make sure I am understanding what he is saying! LOL!
Jesus, In the ways of Your Spirit, I reap what I sow. The harvest of our lives reveals the seeds that were sown in our hearts. And every seed bears fruit after its own kind. "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7-9).
You've given me good seed -- Your Scriptures, Your Holy Spirit, Prayer, Christian Fellowship, Your Life to sow into my soul. There are also seeds of my flesh- selfishness, pride, hate, envy…ect. Let me choose today to plant the seeds from you in my heart. Let my words and my actions today be an expression of what your seeds have done and are doing in me. You've sown so much of Your grace into me -- a "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over." Give me the wisdom and the desire to sow Your grace into every encounter I'll have today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the good measure of God's grace in your life today -- a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, I set aside tie with You, to allow you to set me aside for your glory today.
I read this morning in Mark 2:13-17 the story of Jesus sharing a meal with Levi’s home with tax collectors and sinners. And the snobbish replies of the “church” people who witnessed this. I thought to myself, what a bunch of hypocrites! Then thoughts of a similar reply from a “church” person in Luke came to my mind and I turned to it.
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ʻGod, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.ʼ The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ʻGod, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!ʼ I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee.” (Luke 18:10-14)
This passage speaks to me, and it speaks to I would say most in the church in America. and it haunts me. Putting myself in the place of the Pharisee on my knees before God I would say, “I tithe consistently”. (But do I? Do I give God my first fruits or just my left overs after my personal purchases, vacation spending, and then give what is convenient to give. I need to look at my bank statements. Then an my knees I would say, “I attend church faithfully”. (But do I? or is it when there is nothing better going on that day, when I feel like it, or maybe I will sit and drink coffee and watch on line.) “I fast regularly in prayer.” ( But do I? If I look at my calendar and schedule, does it show I prioritize times I consistently and intentionally set aside regular scheduled days to fast? Hour slots set aside weekly to si,ply pray? (Look at your calendar and schedule where are they?) “I am a Christians.” A follower and imitator of Jesus. Yet how am I consistently imitating Jesus in picking up my cross and living a life of sacrificial love for my neighbors? Look in your heart.)
The Pharisee was not justified before God because he relied on his acts of righteousness instead of humility before God and used them to separate himself from his neighbors instead of serving his neighbors. However, at least he was honest, honorable, obeyed his covenant with God, obeyed God, and actually did what God required, though out of the wrong heart posture. At least he was actually faithful to his religion. If God did not justify the Pharisee, what does he think of me? As myself and most in the American church are even worse than the Pharisee! We have the same wrong heart posture, and we are faking our way of obeying God and posers as true practicers of our religion.
We do not have at least the integrity of the Pharisee or the broken humility of the tax collector. So where are we in this story when we come before God with our prayers?
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
My family, I pray you read this passage of the words of Jesus. I pray you may not think this reflection applies to “someone else.” I pray you will join me with an honest heart and meditate what it would look like if Jesus spoke about you in these two stories, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are our tryin in our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. I've come to meet with You in our morning place in the deep communion of prayer--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).
Here on earth, here in this earthly dimension of time and space where time unfolds chronologically, day by day. Here I am in my physical home in Alabama. But at the same time, I also live in another dimension, in the heavenly dimension of Your Presence, where I also already have a spiritual home in Christ. It's in that heavenly dimension, which is just as real as this earthly dimension, that Your Word is fulfilled that You have "made us alive together with Christ--by grace (we) have been saved--and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:5-6). I'm here on earth in one dimension, but I'm also up there seated with You in another dimension. It's in that heavenly dimension that Your Word is fulfilled that already God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3).
In that heavenly dimension, all of this is already done, it's already finished, it's already accomplished and completed. It's an eternal dimension, not limited by chronological time and space. And in Christ, I'm already a part of that heavenly dimension, as I abide in Christ and Christ abides in me (John 15:5). In that heavenly dimension, I already have a spiritual home, I'm already abiding forever in Your Presence, I'm already home.
So here on earth, in this earthly dimension from my physical home, You invite me to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). And the more I allow You to align my will with Your will, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my heart with Your heart, there more my prayer is being answered as Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, here on earth, here in me and my world, as it is in heaven.
Just as You promised Your first disciples long ago, You continue to promise me and every one of Your disciples today: "In My Father's house here are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). That's not a place to go when I die, that's a place in Christ that You've already prepared for me now by your saving works of the cross and resurrection--the place of Your Presence, where I'm already home.
Thank You, Jesus. You have "put eternity in (our) hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It's a deep longing to experience and live into the reality of what's already true in the heavenly realm forever here in the everyday lives or our earthly realm today. "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.... He who has prepared us for his very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Give me grace to live into this eternal reality more every day. Give me grace to embrace the truth that in You, I'm already home. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you grow in the grace of embracing God's truth that you are already home in Christ, and may you live into this reality more every day, where God already has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please begin 2018 by a commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
