Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
“Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
"On that day the Lord with His cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will kill the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
The "twisting serpent" -- who tries to twist my words so that others don't hear what I've truly said and how I said it, who tries to twist the understanding of motives and intentions of my heart to mean something else in the mind of the hearer, who tries to divide and conquer, who tries to deceive and confuse, who tries to harden hearts in opposition to Godly unity to keep us from speaking the truth in love or hearing the truth spoken in love, who locks it's teeth around our most vulnerable members and drags us down under the water where there is no breath of Your Spirit to guide our hearts and give us help -- is a wicked serpent. It's a wicked spirit of darkness "looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
"Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible! The scales on its back are like rows of shields tightly sealed together... They interlock and cannot be penetrated.... Its eyes are like the red of dawn. Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out.... Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth. The tremendous strength of Leviathan's neck strikes terror wherever it goes. Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated. Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a millstone. When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by its terror.... Leviathan make the water boil with its commotion... Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of the beasts" (Job 41:14-34).
This evil entity of darkness is wildly at work in our world -- within our nation, within our relationships, even within our own hearts, seeking to steal our faith, our hope, and our love to make us broken and divided, "double-minded and unstable in every way" so that we can no longer "receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:8). It's full of pride and instills the pride of hardened hearts that can no longer hear truth. It convincing its victims with a certainty they are right in their twisted beliefs and justified in their opposition to all who would deny or fail to embrace their version of truth -- twisted and distorted, though it is. It stirs up strife with its fury and wrath to intimidate and accuse, to judge and condemn, and to crush the life out of its prey.
So give us eyes to see, ears to hear, wisdom to understand, and humility to allow You to search out our hearts and our minds to reveal its grip upon us -- upon our nation, our relationships, and our own hearts. And let the "cruel and strong and great sword" of Your Word and Your Truth cut off its head, break its teeth, and silence its voice (Psalm 3:7 and 74:14). Wield Your mighty "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" as You empower us to "pray in the Spirit at all times" to "keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:17-18).
This is a spiritual battle -- to be fought with the spiritual "weapons of our warfare" -- weapons of humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope; weapons of the Word of God, the Name of Jesus, the Power of the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony (2 Corinthians 10:3; Revelation 12:11). "For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place. Therefore (we must) take up the whole armor of God, so that (we) may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:12-13).
Come, Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to see the nature of the battle around us and even within us. Come pierce this writhing dragon, this twisting serpent who seeks to "kill and steal and destroy" (John 10:10). Even in the midst of the battle, let us "Praise the Lord! ... For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with victory! ... Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy.... Let the high praises of God be in their hearts and two-edged swords in their hands ... to execute (Your) judgment decreed. This is glory for all His faithful one. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 149:1-9)
Come have Your way in us and in our world. Displace the darkness with Your Light. You're the God to proclaims Your Good News of into our hearts and our world, who comes in Your power and love and truth to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God!" (Isaiah 61:1-2)
We are witnesses of Your glory and warriors in Your Kingdom, with our faith and hope and love in You. "Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my Rock and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the (spiritual enemies of my soul) under me.... Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out Your arrows and rout them; Stretch out Your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of (my spiritual enemies), whose mouths speak like, and whose right hands are false.... (Blessed) are the people to whom such blessings fall; (blessed) are the people whose God is the Lord!" (Palm 144:1-15) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you take up the whole armor of God and stand firm to withstand the twisting serpent in every form it manifests itself in your land and your life, to see the victory of the Lord who has defeats our foe with the piercing of His Word the power of His Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of my morning, I offer You the first thoughts in my mind, the first desires of my heart, and the first words from my mouth -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the power forever and ever!" (1 Peter 4:10-11)
It seems all the world is suffering at some level right now. Some more than others. Some differently than others. But all suffering at some level. Even for those who seem to be somewhat unscathed at the moment, they also are moved by the sufferings of their neighbors and our world, for when one suffers, all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26).
But You are "the God of all grace." And as we invite You into our sufferings, as we offer up our sufferings to You. For You come to "restore, support, strengthen, and establish (us)."
What might seem like is lasting forever, or at least lasting a lot longer than any of us desire, is only "for a little while." What we are suffering right now is not permanent. It's not forever. Shifting and changing and transformation and redemption is on the way. In fact, it's already at work in our world and in us. For You are already at work in our world and in us, causing it all to work together for good for all who are called according to Your purpose (Romans 8:28). And You have a purpose for us all (Jeremiah 29:11).
That's because You are "the God of all grace." You're "the God" -- the One who is sovereign over all, who sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end, who has the last word over our world and whatever sufferings we go through in our world. And Your heart is full "of all grace" -- full of mercy and love, full of the desire for our good and all that means for every one of us, both eternally and the moment we're going through right now.
So even as our minds think "how long, O Lord! (Psalm 13:1), our hearts hear You say, only "for a little while" (1 Peter 5:10).
Come, Holy Spirit of God. I open my heart to "the God of all grace." In prayer, as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, with all my brothers and sisters around the world, I invite You into our sufferings and offer them up to You. And I thank You, Father, for the promise of Your Word and the power of Your Spirit that no matter who long it takes or what we go through in the present sufferings of this broken and fallen world in such desperate need of Your salvation and redemption, You are at work in it all. And through it all, You will "restore" and "support" and "strengthen" and "establish" us to be all You've created us to be. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be restored, supported, strengthened, and established as the God of all grace empowers you to get through these sufferings and make you more like Him in the process, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts or comments on my reflection with others in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for myself, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit in 2020 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.
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for the leading of Your Spirit, here in the embrace of my Father to begin my day in the intimacy of prayer.
“For who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken. But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.” ! Peter 3:13-16
Today is Veteran’s Day. I believe these verses in today’s reading speak into Veterans. I also believe this verse does as well:
"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
This morning as usual, I read the chapter reading for today which is 1 Peter 3 and reflected on it. I then went over my prayer list of things and people needing prayer. I prayed over my family, over our needs and thanked God for our blessings. This morning I also prayed over our veterans and those currently serving in our military and their families. When I have to travel and be gone for my work or conferences, I hate to leave my family for a day or week of business travel. It is hard to imagine the sacrifice of the men and women who serve in our military who are away from their families for months or years.
Today our nation honors the men and women who have been willing to leave their families and comforts of home to go fight and die for our freedom and the freedom and injustices in the world. We're thankful for their service. We're thankful for their sacrifice. We're thankful that they answered the call with courage and conviction to willingly lay down their lives for us. We owe them our respect and honor them with our gratitude -- "respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due" (Romans 13:7).
And as I honor them, I honor You Jesus. You set aside the glory of heaven to humble Yourself in the likeness of human flesh and blood to lay down Your life for me -- "even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-11). You are the Veteran of the greatest war ever fought -- the war between heaven and hell, between good and evil, between forgiveness and sin. The battle scars You bear are the jagged nail wounds upon Your hands and feet forever for us (John 20:27).
Through Your sacrifice of love -- a sacrifice we really can't even begin to fully grasp -- our world that was condemned to die will experience a new heaven and a new earth through the sufferings of Your cross and the glory of Your resurrection (John 3:16). "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). We honor You and thank You. Thank You for Your service and Your sacrifice. "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ!" -- our Greatest Veteran! (1 Corinthians 15:57)
My family, I pray you will join me today in taking a few minutes to honor and pray for our veterans and their families as we set aside this day to remember them and give gratitude and respect. I pray you think of some simple act of kindness you can do today for a veteran. And I pray you will take time to thank our greatest veteran, Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
This morning we read the words of the Apostle Peter: "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles (where you are passing through this world as strangers in a foreign land which is not your home) to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among (your neighbors), so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when He comes to judge (1 Peter 2:11-12). We just had an election last week. States are rezoning their voting districts and political lines are being drawn as our leaders struggle to pass a budget. In all this I hear talk about "battleground states" -- the places of the greatest battles because they're the most strategic states and battles there won can decide on election or bill. Each side devotes tremendous energy, attention, and resources to overcome the opposition and establish a position for victory. Victory in these battles prepares the way for victory in the war, so that the election or position is won.
And our human soul is the greatest "battleground state" of all. This is where the strategic battles are fought and the wars are won.
And these words of the Apostle Paul speak into the battle ground of our soul. "I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me" (Romans 7:22-23). And this: "Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other" (Galatians 5:16-17).
How do we position ourselves for victory in the battleground state of our soul? As the Apostle found, when he humbly sought the answer to this battle in his own soul: "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25 )
Come, Lord Jesus. Come by Your Holy Spirit -- "the Spirit of Christ" -- who comes to live and abide in our hearts to rule and to reign as Lord in our souls (Romans 8:9). The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, giving us life and victory in You (Romans 8:11).
In this battleground of my soul, my victory is won not by my might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord! ( Zechariah 4:6.) Not by my striving but through my completely surrender to You. By the power of Your grace at work within me, "I die daily" to my flesh and surrender daily to Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:31). Day by day, battle by battle, my flesh is put to death and Your Spirit arises in new life in me. "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him" (Romans 6:8).
I want to come to the place where I experience and proclaim Your victory in my soul, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be victorious in the daily battleground of your soul, putting death the flesh and surrendering more and more of you to more and more of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ abiding in you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name over every moment of my day, that everything I encounter must bow it's knee to Your name (Philippians 2:9-22).
"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting in Him will be the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT).
Sometimes it may look like there is anything but "wonderful joy ahead." Sometimes it may look like things are growing worse, darkness is growing darker, division is growing deeper, and hope is growing fainter. Global shortages, rising prices, wars in Ukraine, Palestine and Sudan, cancer, divorce, moral decline, division among our leaders that shu ts down our government, rising violence.. and the list goes on. And it will, just as You said it would (Matthew 24:1-28). But at the same time, the light of the glory of God in those who believe, in those who love You and trust You, will arise and shine within us, as the glory of the Lord arises upon us! (Isaiah 60:1-3)
When "(our) faith remains strong through many trials," we see our faith grow brighter than the darkness; we see our hope overcome every moment of despair; and we see our God display His glory through every trial we face. That's how we can "rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy" that the world around us can't understand and even our own hearts find hard to believe, as we see You bring us through the battles and storms and every trial of our faith. And that's worth so much more than any false peace or hollow victory this world could ever offer. That's the gift of God -- "the reward for trusting in Him" -- that lasts forever as eternal treasure in our souls "far more precious than gold!"
The set days we are given to live out on this earth, through the trials of this broken and fallen world, are the flames of the Refiner's fire (Malachi 3:2; Daniel 12:10; Revelation 3:18). But it's only in the fire that You refine our souls into the pure gold of Your glorious love and "inexpressible joy" You've created us to know by learning to trust in You. Holy Fire of God, All "Consuming Fire," burn in me today, as I encounter and overcome ever trial I endure (Hebrews 12:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are filled with "inexpressible joy" as you faithfully endure every trial you face in the power of God's grace and love for you. Remember you are “set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christʼs blood. May grace and peace be yours today in full measure!” (1 Peter 1:2), In Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” James 5:14
I am trying to take care of my body, stretch and exercise more, eat more healthy foods, and heat my body more naturally rather that prescriptions and meds. I was watching a documentary recommended to me on healthy practices. It had some interesting info in it. However, then the video started mingling healthy body practices with pagan religious practices. It started promoting placing chrystals around your home to “absorb” the evil or negative energy in your home. Wearing chrystal encloses to help ward off negative energy. Burning sage to remove the same energy, and other pagan religions practices.
It reminded me of a little while back there was a Christian family that was dealing with a demonic presence and paranormal activity in there house. The family invited some friends to come burn sage throughout their home to “cleanse” it. I also had a Christian friend suggest the burning of sage to his friends. Another Christian friend has crystals in their home to “absorb the negative and evil energy” in their home. It has been going on since the beginning of Christianity, and maybe it could be because of social media posts, but today there are more Christians turning to, bringing into practice, or “Blending” pagan, Eastern and Native Indian religious rituals and mythical items and beliefs with their Christian faith. Such as burning sage, the use of crystals, and other items. I believe If you try to bring in ancient middle age, new age or pagan rituals with their connection and supposed “curing” powers that are not connected to that of God, but of manmade gods, and you are acknowledging that something other than God has power in this earth, you are opening and granting access to then to those things not of God.
It is like when I anoint with olive oil. Olive oil is not “magical” or has any powers. When I anoint with it I claim it as a visible sign of the invisible sealing and anointing of the Holy Spirit. I claim the presence and power of God. Smoke from sage or anything else you burn, or a rock or crystal is not “magical’ or has any power in itself. For you to believe it works, you have to believe it is connected and derives it’s spiritual healing power from a deity, spirit, or god. If not our one true God, then in what god are you claiming powers of healing?
There are in the Bible references to burning incense and crystals and gems. However, The Bible never assigns any magical, mystical properties to them. None of these superstitious beliefs about sage, crystals or other pagan practices come from the Bible. The Bible does not say that these are beneficial for attracting wealth, rekindling romance, or warding off evil spirits; neither does it say that these items are an aid or needed to connect to God’s Spirit. On the contrary, the Bible warns strongly against engaging in anything related to superstition and the occult. God declares the practice of the occult detestable: “There shall not be found among you …anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) We read yesterday in James 4:12 “there is only one who is lawgiver and judge - the one who is able to save and destroy.” The use of these items and assigning them powers as charms, amulets, or talismans is a type of occult practice, however harmless it seems. Anything that seeks to manipulate the spirit world can be categorized as witchcraft.
My family, I pray you will declare over your life today that Jesus is Lord. I pray you claim that salvation and healing is in Christ alone, and that putting your hope, trust and healing in the hands of anything else is a sin, missing the mark, and remove, repent and release these things to the foot of the cross, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts, reflections, with us in the comment box below.
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Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my eyes up to you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, for you are my help and my hope.
I watched the news and the stories of people who were affected ny Hurricane Mellissa, the wars in Palestine, Ukraine, and the Sudan. As I watched people devastated by the storms and war, who are struggling to survive, to press on and persevere, you remind me that none of us our in control in life. The words of James speaks into this. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”
You remind me to release any perceived control I have and dry near to you. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:8-10 ). You remind me to humble myself before You, so You can lift me up. You remind me to remember You. Because apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5).
To humble ourselves is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. It's the opposite of pride, which says I can do all things in my power, in my wisdom, with my resources. Pride says, "I will survive; I will thrive; I will restore; I will rebuild, all in my way, all as I will, all by myself." Humility says, "I need You, Lord; I'm desperate for You; apart from You, I can do nothing; and I praise You, that I never have to be apart from You, for You are my Help and my Hope."
Pride, in this sense, is an unholy independence from You, manifested in rebellion from Your presence and rejection of Your ways. But humility, in this sense, is a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord to honor You, embrace You, and desperately depend upon You to be our provision and protection, our loving Father who always knows what's best and who is always near and always ready to help through whatever we endure. So Lord, slay our pride and give us humble hearts, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
My family, I pray you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, as you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon Him alone, allowing Him to lift you up and bring you through whatever you're enduring, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, cleanse me by Your Spirit of all that is not of You in me this morning so I can walk out and completely in your presence.,=
“But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in Godʼs image. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it?” (James 3:8-11)
There seems to be so much, hurt, anger, belittling, cursing, and disrespect in conversations today whether in person, on-line, or TV or other social media. Social media has given people platforms to post opinions and say anything about anything or anyone. And it’s easy to get sucked into it. It’s easy to fire back. Our keyboards on our cell phones and computers are extensions of our “Tongues” by which can be typed out both blessings and curses. God reminds us of this this morning through the writings of James. And it is a timely reminder.
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. For human anger does not accomplish Godʼs righteousness.” (James 1:19)
Lord Jesus, help me today to control my tongue. I want to use it to bless and encourage others today. Help me to bridle it and not be sucked in to responding and fueling conversations that hurt. Loosen my tongue to speak out and defend or encourage when I am part of a conversation or given gossip that is wrong to put a stop to it. As the Psalmist sings, help me to acknowledge that you are Lord of me and anyone I speak to today in person on on-line. Help me remember the person I am speaking to belongs to you, and to speak to them accordingly.
“Shout out praises to the LORD, all the earth!
Worship the LORD with joy!
Enter his presence with joyful singing!
Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us and we belong to him;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give him thanks!
Praise his name!
For the LORD is good.
His loyal love endures,
and he is faithful through all generations.” (Psalm 100)
My family, I pray your tongue will produce a voice that shouts praise and joy into your day. I pray it will speak out of a heart of thanksgiving and love, blessing and encouraging, defending against injustice, and a sweet, refreshing sound to those that may be experiencing a sour, dry day, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God Bless you my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
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!
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“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)
My day began at 5:30am as I awaken made coffee and spent time in prayer. I left and drove to the Waffle House and arrived at 6:30am. I was to meet with a person I am meeting with to mentor him and for accountability. The person texted after I arrived that he could not make it. The water pump went on his car so He could not make it. So I sat at the bar talking to the cook and waitresses. One of the waitresseswas a 22 year old woman who worked the night shift and was getting off at 7:00am. She is from a broken home, and lives with her partner, brother and 2 year old child. As we talked she told me how she was planning on going to college to better herself. She was afraid though, had started the application for Calhoun Community College but was having problems. I had my lap top in the car and went and got it. When she got off at 7:00am I spent an hour of so with her spiritually praying into her fears, and physically helping her complete her application to Calhoun, and then beginning her FASFA application for federal student aid.
Around 8:30am my phone rang and it was the man I was supposed to meet at the WH that morning. Of all things, his girlfriend who lives with him, while driving to work, was in a car accident on 565 near Decatur. A car stopped suddenly in front of her and she stopped, but car behind her did not and plowed into the back of her car. Since his car was un-drivable with a bad water pump, he asked me if I would please come pick him up and take him to the accident scene. So I left the Waffle House, drove to his house and picked him up and went to Decatur. We got to the scene and his girl friend was shaken up and in some pain. Her car and the one that hit her were both totaled. The impact to her car had pushed trunk up into the back seat and back car doors would not open. I helped them take all items out of the car and carry them into mine as police left and tow truck came to tow away car.
Her right leg, back, and neck were hurting so I drove them to the emergency room at Madison Hospital.
I talked and prayed over them in the car as we drove then dropped them off. Before I did I asked the man for his house and car keys. My mind went forward in time and I knew to 3-4 hours when they got out of the emergency room. They would need a ride home and be stuck without a vehicle. So I went home and walked across the street and talked with one of my neighbors. He is 24 years old. He moved here from California and is looking for a job. Both Nancy and I have been mentoring him. I take him to Waffle House on Saturday mornings for coffee and guidance. I told him to get dressed and come over I needed his help and he was about to earn an “Alabama red-neck” merit badge. We jumped in my truck and drove to my friends house who was in the emergency room with his girlfriend and had the car with bad water pump. We got the car into the street and I hooked one end of a tow strap to the car (2000 Buick Sable) and the other to my truck. I told him we were going to pull the car to my house so I could work on it. I was going to drive the truck, he was going to drive the sable, steer it around corners and use brakes to stop it from hitting the back of my truck. His eyes got big and he was nervous, but he did it. 7 miles later we arrived at my house with the car. My neighbor said his arms were sore from turning wheel without power steering. I told him he received a “red-neck towing” merit badge.
I then began the process of replacing the water pump. The car engine sits sideways in engine compartment and the water pump was almost impossible to get to. I had to jack up the car and put it on jack stands, loosen the motor mounts and jack up the engine, and work from up top and underneath car to replace water pump. About 5 hours later, around 4:30pm I finished the work. I then had Nancy follow me as I drove the car to the person’s house and dropped it off. They both were so thankful. We Nancy and I checked in on his girlfriend, prayed with them, and left around 6:00pm.
It was a 12 hour “work day” for me. Not the normal day most pastors put in. My “office” that day was my home, the Waffle House, my car, road side of 565, the emergency room, my neighborhood, truck-in-tow, under a car, and in a person’s home. At times when I was under car on my back with hands covered in grease, and my clothes soaked from laying in anti-freeze, I thought how nice it would be to be a “normal” pastor in a normal church. With a church office, staff, and a steady paycheck. But at the end of the day I would not trade where God had me right now. Doing ministry with “boots on the ground” and making disciples by connecting with people in the real everyday events of their lives. No one tithed, and no wages were received from this day of service, but I know somehow God will provide.
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-19. In Jesus name.
My family, I pray you reflect this morning on your faith. In what areas is it alive? It what areas is it dead? With the holidays coming, and the government shut down, how and who can you help in faith? Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please post your thoughts in the comment box below.
You always have the opportunity to partner with me financially in my everyday ministering and discipleship in the community.
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 I cto 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- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the way that leads to life today. ...
"But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act -- they will be blessed in their doing" (James 1:22-25).
Holy Spirit, empower me to put into practice the words You put into my spirit. What I hear from Your heart in the morning, empower me to live out from my heart throughout the moments of my day.
As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to be a doer of the word, not merely a hearer. So remind me all I've seen and heard and empower me to go and do what honors You and expresses Your nature through my life today. "For it is God who is at work in (me), enabling (me) both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the Holy Spirit will remind you of all you heard and empower you of all He has shown you and called you to be a doer today by the power of the grace of God. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:1)
I love the passage above. There is a whole world of blessings, experiences, and new ways God wants to bless each of us if we just step out of our safe circle of familiarity and structured life and step into something strange, foreign and unfamiliar. Taking time to say “hello” to a stranger, someone new, and invite them into a conversation opens the door to God’s grace. Jesus was “strange”, “foreign” and way outside the life structure and comfort circle of the people he lived with. However, those who dared to step “just outside the bubble they lived in” experienced amazing love and grace. And stepping “Just outside the bubble we live in” does not take going on a mission trip, it just takes taking your blinders off and entering into the mission field God has placed you in; your neighborhood, classroom, and work place. Tomorrow is Halloween and a great opportunity love and entertain the strangers that God leads to your door.
Watch this beautiful 2 minute video below in Oxford, Al. This real encounter in life reveals that loving and entertaining strangers is as simple as sitting down in a booth in a restaurant.
My family,
I pray as we all plan to spend a day with family and friends in our circles, you also remove your blinders and see ways to encounter Jesus just outside the bubble you live in, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
As The Year Draws To An End, PLEASE Help Us Help Them!
My wife Nancy and I are in a 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 us and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation now for next year, or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!
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.
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. Your name be lifted up, Your Spirit come fill me up, as You lead me in the way of life and truth today. ...
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we aree in. Jesus did this because he never lost sight of where He was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God” (Hebrews 12:2 The Message).
As I begin another day Jesus, help me keep my eyes on You, Lord. Both by Your Word and by Your Spirit, help me keep my eyes on You. Concerning every Word of the Scriptures of the Bible, You said “it is They that testify on My behalf” (John 5:39). Concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us, You said, “He will glorify Me” (John 16:14).
With my eyes on You, I can “run with perseverance the race that is set before (me), looking to Jesus (for You are) the Pioneer and Perfecter of (my) faith” (Hebrews 12:1). Even through there are challenges every day, hurdles to overcome every step of the way, You give me grace to keep looking to You, to keep following You, even to keep becoming more like You (1 John 4:17). For that’s the very purpose of my race, that I would be conformed into the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29). And You’re causing everything I go through and overcome on my race to work together for the good that ultimate goal (Romans 8:28).
Today, I don’t yet see everything in my world or in my soul as it will be one day at the end of my race, but I do believe the Promise and Truth of Your Word at work in me by Your Spirit:
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).
So by Your Word and by Your Spirit, I press on to run my race so as to win the prize every day (1 Corinthians 9:24). Embracing Your Word, being filled up and formed by Your Spirit to make me more like You every day is the course of my race; and becoming more like You is the prize. As Your Holy Spirit expressed through the heart and words of the Apostle Paul so powerfully:
My family, I pray as you begin a new dY that you may be consumed by the Word and filled with the Spirit, running your race with your eyes on Jesus, allowing Him to make you more like Him each day, 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.
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Help Me Share The Gospel and Make Disciples!
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community and my family to jump down into the pits and help lift up those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commitment to partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!!
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Let me help you!
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus in their community.. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you are interested I would love to talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
“About that time King Herod laid hands on some from the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too.” (Acts 12:1-3)
Having the faith in God to serve him, can be scary and intimidating. In fact, it is supposed to be. If your plans, if your faith are not intimidating to you, they are insulting to God. Because is you can do it in your own competency and comfort, then there is no faith involved. You can do it, you don’t need God. It is in those plans that if God does not show up we are screwed that you need faith, you need God. We cannot afford to be of smaller faith.
You do have those who’s great faith ended happily in this world, on this side of glory:
o Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den in Dan. 6,
o Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace Dan. 3.
o Those are found in Hebrews 11:17-35a
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.” You have in this chapter of Acts 12 the story of Peter being miraculously free. These stories all ended in a “Happy ending” as these persons names were entered into heaven’s hall of fame.
But you also have Hebrews 11:35b-40. It does not always end in a happy ending in this world, on this side of glory.
“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”
You have as we read in Acts 7, Stephen, who was stoned and in this chapter James who was behead.
How the story turns out on earth has nothing to do with whether you enter the Hall of Faith or not. How the story turns out on earth has nothing to do with whether God is glorified or not. It may not have a happy ending on this side, but on the other side God is glorified. But whether it turns out happy or sad by earthly standards, cannot take away or hinder the glory that comes from big faith.
God delights and honors that big faith. Like Caleb and Joshua in Canna, Numbers chapter 13, who said, “Let us go up and occupy it, for we are well able to conquer it.” They are not looking at the problems, they are looking at their God.
My family, As I stated above, if your plans are not intimidating to you, they are insulting to God. What are your plans for serving God and living out your faith? Do they really even require faith? Or are you simply “following Jesus” and “carrying your cross” in a routine way that you can handle and that fits your schedule? Do you have plans you are stepping out in big faith and trying to achieve that you are on your knees fasting and praying for God’s help and provisions because if He does not show up you are screwed? I pray as we read through the New Testament together and hear the amazing big faith of those that birthed The Church, you will reflect and pray on your level of faith, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading Hebrews 11. As we read through these chapters, though certain verses in each chapter stood out to me that I comment and pray on, other verses probably stood out to you. Please share this with us.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Me Help Others Out Of Their Graves!
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! Thank You! .
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for the invitation to abide in You as You abide in me, beginning my day seeking Your face and listening for Your voice. ...
“And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies….For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands - the representation of the true sanctuary - but into heaven itself, and he appears now in Godʼs presence for us.” (Hebrews 9:3, 24)
Unite my heart with Your heart, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my desires with Your desires. I abide in You, as You abide in me (John 15:4). In the holy of holies of my heart, reveal and remove everything in me that is a hindrance to my communion with You, that You can replace it with the Presence of Your Spirit (Exodus 26:34). Make me one spirit with You--more and more every day, in Jesus name, amen!
My family, I pray you become one spirit with the Lord, more and more every day, abiding in Him as He abides in you in the holy of holies of your heart, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning Lord Jesus, I begin my day aligning my heart with yours.
“And the others who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them from continuing in office, but he (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them….He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. “ (Hebrews 6:24-25,27)
The author of Hebrews reminds the readers of his day that Israel had allot of priests that served and led in the Temple. If we fast forward to today there have been thousands of different priests that have served and continue to serve in all the Holy temple, churches, and holy sites in Israel. Here in our Madison/Huntsville area alone there are over 500 churches and led by hundreds of priests and pastors. You can’t count the tens of thousands of pastors and priests that have served in these churches from their formation up to today. As Holy and called all these priests and pastors were or are, none of them held their priesthood permanently as all of them died or will die.
There is only one priest, one pastor, one person, who has eternally continued in his office. Who made the ultimate sacrifice and offering of himself on the cross. Who rose from the dead. Who lives, serves and leads in The Church forever as he will never die. Who then is able to forgive us from our sins and save completely all who call upon His name. And that person is Jesus the Christ.
This morning the words of the old hymn come to my mind,
“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
My family, I pray this morning you take a moment to stop and praise our Lord Jesus. I pray in complete gratitude you thank the one who completely saved you by his grace. I pray you fall into the arms of your savior who will never abandon you or forsake you, In Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
"When God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it by an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 6:17-20).
Lord, You've "strongly encouraged" me to "seize the hope set before (me)" as "a sure and steadfast anchor of (my) soul." What do You mean by this "hope" and how do I seize it? ...
It seems I hear You speaking to my heart, "I Am your Hope. To hope in Me is to trust in Me, to believe in Me and My nature. Know that I Am a good God with a good heart for My children, and I have a good plan in My purposes for your life. Seize this hope by seeking Me, pursuing Me, choosing to trust Me with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength."
Yes, Lord. Your Word comes to mind: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon Me and come and pray to Me, I will hear you. When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord..." (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to seize the hope. I consciously, deliberately choose to seek You, to pursue You, to trust You will all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and all my strength (Mark 12:30). And by the power of the grace of God, I will not be tossed two and fro in wavering doubt no matter what supposed ”truth” or “realties” are declared on TV and social media. No matter what I go through on my journey through this broken and fallen world wether Covid or cancer, public policy or politics. I will trust and know that You are with me and You are at work within me to work out Your good purposes according to Your good plan for my life. That's my future with hope in You and found only in You. And that hope is "sure and steadfast anchor of (my) soul." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the One who is your Hope will be a sure and steadfast Anchor to your soul in the storms of life as you trust in Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of Godʼs utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil. Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity….teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this is what we intend to do, if God permits.” (Hebrews 5:11-6:4)
For a new born baby to survive it is completely reliant on their mother. They are too young to feed themselves. To be fed they need to be embraced and coddled and the mother needs to place her infants mouth to her breast to receive milk. A mother breast feeds her child for a season out of necessity however, her child’s continued relying on her to breast feed it is not her goal. A mother’s goal is to ween and encourage her child into eating solid food and to grow into being self-sufficient. The season a mother breast feeds her child is around a year to 18 months. These days some mothers have extended this season to two years or so. However breast feeding a child for 4-5 years would be very questionable, weird and not in the child’s best interest. A mother breast feeding her child for 9-10 years would not be damaging to the health of the now grown child and discouraged. If a mother breast feeds her child when they are 15-18 years of age or older, they are both going to jail! Can you imagine a mother still breast feeding her 20, 25 or 30 year old child?
The author of Hebrews in these verses above applies this illustration of breast feeding to the Christian congregation in the church. When a person falls in loves with Jesus and accepts Him as their Lord, they become a new child in Christ. For the first year or so they need to be “breast fed” by the church. They rely on the church to teach them what their baptism entails and the Gospel; how to pray and seek out the Holy Spirit; how to read their Bible and search Scriptures, how to live out their Christian faith by tithing, serving others, sharing their faith and loving their neighbor as themselves; the need for repentance and being accountable to each other. However, just like a mother, the goal of the church is not to continue to breast feed its members, it is to disciple them, train them up to be able to self-feed themselves in the Word and prayer, to train them up to release them to share their faith and the Gospel with others, to grow them out of being a consumer in the church who asks, “What does the church and programs offer for me? Into a contributor who ask how can I offer and lead now in the church like leading small groups, leads and participates in ministries, gets in solved in community outreaches, mission trips, and begins to function as an adult, mature in their faith. This season of breastfeeding a new Christian varies from a few months to a year or so. However, Christians who after 2-3 years have not been weened by the church from consumer into contributor, those Christian are not healthy in their faith. And if a Christian who has been in the church for 5 years or more, and is not self- sufficient and mature in their faith, leading small groups and ministries, publicly sharing their faith, sharing the Gospel, baptizing others, Laying hands and praying, and functioning as an adult in practicing their fatih,, then both the church and that Christian needs to be held accountable for this.
Yet unfortunately, I see way too many in the church today who have been members for 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 years of more who still have to be breast fed by the church and have not matured from consumers to contributors in their faith. They still think, “Why has the pastor not called me to check on me” instead of “I need to call the pastor and check in on how I can help.” Or like a needy child they attend a church for what programs or ministries it has to offer them, instead of offering to lead a program or ministry. Or expect to be fed the Gospel from someone from a pulpit on Sunday’s, but fail themselves to share the Gospel and feed others Monday-Saturday.
My family, I pray over this week you will reflect on this. If you have been a Christian for 5 or more and attend a church family, I pray you read and meditate on these verses this morning. “For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, yet you still need someone to teach you the beginning elements of Godʼs utterances! You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food! Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity….teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment! In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your comments, reflections, and prayers from today’s reading with us in the comments box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
TO GIVE CLICK HERE
Good morning Lord Jesus, mold me, make me, fill me, use me..
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)
The Message Bible paraphrases these two verses this way. “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”
You are never hidden from God. Whether in public, inside a church building, inside your home, sitting in front your computer screen or away on vacation; All your thoughts, desires, intentions, actions, attitudes, true character, honesty, and conversations are known to God. You can’t close the door to Him or step into the shadows where He can’t see you.
“He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts. Then each will receive recognition from God.” (1 Cor. 4:5)
“Where can I go to escape your spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?
If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.
If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn,
and settle down on the other side of the sea,
even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,
and the light will turn to night all around me,”
even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,
and the night is as bright as day;
darkness and light are the same to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12)
For God to be our “ever present help in time of need” (Psalm 46:1), he has to be present with us at all times.
“for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26-27)
A day is coming for all of us in the future, where in the presence of everybody we’ve ever met, and everybody we’ve never met, we will stand before them in the throne room of God, with Jesus sitting on the throne. And our whole life, with every second and detail of it will be shown and revealed. Every second and every secret revealed. Before our spouse, parents, our children, our co-workers, friends, and neighbors … all will be revealed. All of God’s promises are true, including: “He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts.” “And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must render an account.” Does this scare you? Does this makes you think? It makes me think. Some Bible passages are warm and fuzzy. Some like this mornings are “sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.”
My family, today God is your ever present help in time of need, and he is also ever present throughout every second of your day including any fakeness, things you do for show, or things you don’t do as your ignore them or pretend you don’t see. God Knows. I pray you will meditate on this and walk in the light in all you do today and everyday, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below with us from todays reading.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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