“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to Act” Deitrich Bonhoeffer
“To ignore evil is to become accomplice to it.” Martin Luther King Jr.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” Albert Einstein
Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice and wait for Your leading.
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:1-7).
There is a so-called "prince of the power of the air" who is a "spirit;" an evil and destructive spirit (Ephesians 2:2). It's the same spirit who is "the thief" who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). It's the same spirit Jesus called "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31). And it's the spirit of destruction and death at work in our world, seeking to destroy and defile God’s creation by every means possible and at every opportunity available. "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now" longing to be "set free from its bondage to decay" (Romans 8:19-23)
The past days since Easter have contained some battles. Our youth group that has been growing and flourishing has been under attack by personality differences, attitudes and statements made made youth and parents. Young people we are ministering with can’t break free of drug addiction and physical abuse. Marriages that are under attack.
So this morning I say enough is enough! This morning in the power of the resurrected Jesus we claimed on Easter I am shouting at the devil! I am pushing back and calling out in prayer and the name of Jesus and calling out to you to also push back in prayer, in the laying of hands and anointing of oil and call out and push back against "the prince of the power of the air." To call out and push back against "the thief who comes to steal and kill and to destroy." To call out to and turn our hearts and our prayers and our hope to the One who says "I came that (you) may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). To call out and claim over our lives the One who is "rich in mercy," who reaches out to us in our distress. Who wars with us even in our sins, even in the places our own destructive acts, even where we have opened the door to destruction in our hearts or in our land throughout our generations to the accusing enemy of our souls and of Your creation. This morning we call and claim and invite and call on the God of angel armies to battle and push back against the darkness! (Ephesians 2:4).
O God, hear our prayer. Crush "the prince of the power of the air!" Grant us mercy in the face of its attempt to destroy. Stir in the hearts and prayers and proclamations of Your people who are called by Your name to take a stand in faith to speak against mountains of destruction, even as we humble ourselves to be desperately dependent upon You alone. “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:22-25).
And as You bring us through no matter what we may endure, as we groan with all Your creation for the redemption of our broken, fallen world, may we continue to turn to You to be our Hope and our Help. "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 124:7). May You continue to fulfill Your Word through these days of what seems like unrelenting catastrophes: "The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us)" (Romans 16:20). In Jesus' name we pray.
My family, I pray in faith in agreement with you that our God who is rich in mercy will give faith and grace to all to endure and overcome the "prince of the power of the air" and its destructive forces, in Jesus' name! And I join with you in prayer that lives would be restored and those caught in the storms of this season would experience the protection and provision of our God, in Jesus' name! May the presence of God in His mercy and love and through His people be evident in the midst of it all. God bless you my friends!
Please share with us your 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
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day. ...
This morning I’m reflecting on the presence of God and the closeness of Your love available to us in the resurrected Jesus as declared from Romans Chapter 8 in The Message Version of the Bible:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us--who was raised to life for us!--is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39 MSG).
Yes, Lord. With God on our side, how can we lose! “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” (Romans 8:37).
And that gives me courage. That gives me confidence. That fills my heart with joy, fills my eyes with tears, and fills my mouth with praise! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray as we continue to Celebrate Easter you may be filled with ressurection joy in your heart, tears of joy in your eyes, and the praises of God in your mouth, as you know His powerful, unending love for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Please share you 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
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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Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the Way and the Truth and Life in You today (John 14:6). For You are my Life, and my life is in You (Colossians 3:3). ...
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 ESV).
If you remember back in April of 2020 covid shut everything down. However the government said we could still go out into parks and get fresh air and gathering small groups if we stay 6 feet apart They also said we could come together for religious gatherings. So I saw men were getting isolated from each other and under strain of trying to live their lives and lead their families in the fear and frustrations of Covid. Then I saw the park Campus 805 in Huntsville that sits between two breweries. And I invited men to come, bring your lawn chairs and Bibles. We could set up outside in the park in a circle 6 feet apart, and grab a beer, and pizza from the brewery (to-go only as dine-in was closed down), and boom! Brothers, Bibles and Beer (B3) was born. The picture in this post is from that first B3. Hard to believe we have been meeting every Thursday night since then now for 4 years! Why did I start B3 and why do we continue to meet?
Because men need the Lord. And men need one another. Together we encourage one another, learn from one another, and join together with one another to grow in spiritual maturity and authority, finding security in our true identity and fulfilling our God-given destiny in Christ. And sometimes that takes some time that’s set apart to get apart from our wives so we can become better husbands, get apart from our children so we can become better fathers, get apart from our parents so we can become better sons, get apart from jobs so we can become better employees and employers, even get apart from our local churches so we can become better disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Women, of course absolutely need these same things in their own way. My wife started a women’s group that meets on Thursday evenings as well 4 years ago. But any Godly woman will tell you the men in their lives need Jesus more than anything else. And if it’s a little time with a few other men with their Bibles out in a park, around a table in a brewery, in a booth at the Waffle House, or down by the river fishing will make that happen and allow steel to sharpen steel, well then “Amen! Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus! And pass me a beer, pour me a cup of coffee, and Holy Spirit make it happen.
My family, I pray you intentionally seek times set apart for fellowship, friendship, and accountability with the Godly people He has put into your life to be sharpened and encourage and become more like Jesus, in Jesus' name. God bless you my friends!!
If you are in the Huntsville/Madison area and would like to join us men at B3 ( or my wife’s ladies group) we both meet at 6:00pm on Thurs.. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community
Please share your reflections in the comment box below.
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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.
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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. Fill me with Your Spirit and set my heart ablaze with Your Fire. Let me be a torchbearer and Fire-carrier everywhere You send me today. ...
"I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:15-18).
You never called us to huddle up and hide out. You never intended to tuck us away in some tower of tranquility. You did not create our hands to ring church bells and enter into sanctuaries, but door bells and enter stranger’s homes. Your “Church” You created was not intended to be a building dedicated to God for Christians to walk into, but a movement of God Christians are called to enter into and spread throughout our communities. You gave us a revelation of you to be part of a revolution for you. You sent us into the world, even knowing the challenges we'd face and the temptations we’d encounter and even the persecutions we'd endure (v. 14). Yes, a ship is safest resting nice and comfortably in a harbor, but that is not what a ship was created for. Yes, we are safest and most comfortable resting on a church pew, but we weren’t created for that either. Jesus would much rather walk into your church sanctuary on Sunday morning and find it is empty because the congregation is truly obeying his words “As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” Because the congregation is intentionally participating together in the mission of God by spending the day out in their community seeking the lost, addicted, outcast, and orphaned. And the Father would as well.
Jesus, your prayer to the Father was “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (v.18). Last weekend we celebrated Easter and your resurrection and conquering of death and walking out of the grave into the world with your message of Life. If we claim to be people of Easter then we are called to go out with the same message of life. You send us into the world because you want us to become more like You, to imitate You and the “sentness” of Your heart. You send us into the world because You love the world (v. 3:16). You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would have life in You. You desire all to know the joy of Easter we just celebrated a few days ago. So You send us out to be the expression of Your love for them. Just as the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us in the power and love of the Spirit of God living in us (v. 20:21-23). You are a sent one, and You created us in your image to be sent ones as well.
"Here I am, Lord. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray the truth of these Scriptures plant deeply in your heart. I pray out of the power of Easter the Spirit of God fills your sails today, that you leave the comfort and safety of any harbor your are resting in because you were not created for that purpose. I pray out of love for God and neighbor you listen to Jesus as He sends you into the world to express the Father's heart of love for everyone you encounter. I pray this is the adventure you actually plan and center your first upcoming weekend after Easter around. What other way would Jesus desire you to spend it and would bring Him the most joy? He suffered, died, and rose to equip you for this purpose, 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
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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!
Tho Lord has risen indeed! Alleluia!
As we are in the first week after Easter I wanted to share with you the first sermon (outside of Scripture) we have on record. It is called On Pascha and was preached by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who was a prominent figure of second-century Christianity. The present text (excerpted for length) was written in 167 AD, and is the earliest Christian sermon that has survived from the early history of the church. It has been preached over the centuries, often at Easter.
This is the one who comes from heaven onto
the earth for us suffering ones,
and wraps himself in the suffering one
through a virgin womb
and comes as a human.
He accepted the suffering of us suffering ones,
through suffering in a body which could suffer,
and set free the flesh from suffering.
Through the spirit which cannot die
he slew the human-slayer death.
He is the one led like a lamb
and slaughtered like a sheep;
he ransomed us from the worship of the world
as from the land of Egypt,
and he set us free from the slavery of the devil
as from the hand of Pharaoh,
and sealed our souls with his own spirit,
and the members of our body with his blood.
This is the one who clad death in shame
and, as Moses did to Pharaoh,
made the devil grieve.
This is the one who struck down lawlessness
and made injustice childless,
as Moses did in Egypt,
This is the one who delivered us from slavery to freedom,
from darkness into light,
from death into life,
from tyranny into an eternal Kingdom,
and made us a new priesthood,
and a people everlasting for himself.
This is the Pascha of our salvation:
this is the one who in many people endured many things.
This is the one who was murdered in Abel,
tied up in Isaac,
exiled in Jacob,
sold in Joseph,
exposed in Moses,
slaughtered in the lamb,
hunted down in David,
dishonored in the prophets.
This is the one made flesh in a virgin
who was hanged on a tree,
who was buried in the earth,
who was raised from the dead,
who was exalted to the heights of heaven.
This is the lamb slain,
this is the speechless lamb,
this is the one born of Mary the fair ewe,
this is the one taken from the flock,
and led to slaughter.
Who was sacrificed in the evening,
and buried at night;
who was not broken on the tree,
who was not undone in the earth,
who rose from the dead and resurrected humankind from the grave below.
O mystifying murder! O mystifying injustice!
The master is obscured by his body exposed,
and is not held worthy of a veil to shield him from view.
For this reason the great lights turned away,
and the day was turned to darkness;
to hid the one denuded on the tree,
obscuring not the body of the Lord but human eyes.
For when the people did not tremble, the earth shook.
When the people did not fear, the heavens were afraid.
When the people did not rend their garments, the angel rent his own.
When the people did not lament, the Lord thundered from heaven,
and the most high gave voice.
“Who takes issue with me? Let him stand before me.
I set free the condemned.
I gave life to the dead.
I raise up the entombed.
Who will contradict me?
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“I am he who destroys death
and triumphs over the enemy,
and crushes Hades,
and binds the strong man,
and bears humanity off to the heavenly heights.”
“It is I,” says the Christ,
“So come all families of people,
adulterated with sin,
and receive forgiveness of sins.
For I am your freedom.
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am the Lamb slaughtered for you,
I am your ransom,
I am your life,
I am your light,
I am your salvation,
I am your resurrection,
I am your Kings.
I shall raise you up by my right hand,
I will lead you to the heights of heaven,
There shall I show you the everlasting Father.”
He it is who made the heaven and the earth,
and formed humanity in the beginning,
who was proclaimed through the law and the prophets,
who took flesh from a virgin,
who was hung on a tree,
who was buried in earth,
who was raised from the dead,
and ascended to the heights of heaven,
who sits at the right hand of the Father,
who has the power to save all things,
through whom the Father acted from the beginning and forever.
This is the alpha and omega,
this is the beginning and the incomprehensible end.
This is the Christ,
this is the King,
this is Jesus,
this is the commander,
this is the Lord,
this is he who rose from the dead,
this is he who sits at the right hand of the father,
he bears the father and is borne by him.
To him be the glory and the might forever.
Amen.
My family, I pray that the complete joy and freedom of Easter permeates your soul as you begin your morning. I pray you walk out your door with a song of praise in your heart for our savior Jesus Christ and eager to share the source of your joy with those you meet in your workplace, schools, stores and wherever your path leads today, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for 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
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 love You, Lord, and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.' When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.' Jesus said her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabbouni" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not hold on to Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.'' Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord!'; and she told them that He had said these things to her" (John 20:11-18).
Even after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene was still confused about all that was happening. Even after seeing with her eyes and knowing in her heart that the tomb was empty, she still had questions about what was taking place.
She wept and she wondered. She tried to fit the pieces together in a way that made sense in her mind, but she didn't yet see the bigger picture from heaven's perspective. She needed a personal encounter with the risen Lord. She needed to turn around and look to You. She needed to hear Your voice. She needed to hear You call her by name.
Just like Mary, we can all find ourselves in that place at times. We've been walking with You in a personal relationship with You as Your disciple. We believe the cross and the empty tomb are real and true. So it's not a matter of faith. But somehow in all the chaos and confusion of not understanding all that's going on and not knowing yet what it all means and worrying about all that will happen next, we can have questions.
Mary expressed her thoughts and asked her questions. The angels didn't rebuke her and You didn't rebuke her. Instead, You come near to her and spoke to her. At first, she didn't recognize Your voice. At first, she didn't even turn to You to acknowledge You -- still overwhelmed in her grief and consumed in her questions.
But then she heard You speak her name! Then she turned to You and called out to You! Then everything in her wanted to take hold of You and never let You go!
When she heard Your voice, when she turned to You to speak to You face to face, everything became much more clear. There was still so much she didn't know, so much she didn't yet need to know, about all that would happen and all that was to come. She didn't yet fully grasp how things would never be the same -- or what a good thing that would be, even though there would be plenty of hard days ahead. But one thing is clear -- she couldn't wait to go share the good news! She couldn't wait to go encourage Your other disciples with the great joy that filled her heart!
Father, send Your Holy Spirit to make us more sensitive to the voice of Jesus. Even in the midst of all our questions and concerns about the coronavirus and what's going on in our world and what's to come, help us to see from heaven's perspective and listen for the voice of Jesus in the midst of all we're experiencing and all we're about to go through.
Lord Jesus, we believe in the victory of the cross and joy of the empty tomb. We praise You for all that You done and all You're going to do. And at the same time, we need a fresh and deep and intimately personal encounter with You.
So Lord, let us hear Your voice. Let us hear You call us by name. And let us turn to You to encounter You face to face. Give us a deeper desire to take hold of You and never let You go. And fill us with a joy to go share the good news with others, even more so in this time of “bad news,” with all who so desperately need to hear it! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be free to ask your questions and express your concerns to God, along with a growing desire to turn to Jesus and hear His voice and be filled with His joy to go share His good news, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share you reflections on this post 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
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 Father, Son and Spirit, speak to me as I speak to you…
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately. And the person who saw it has testified (and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth), so that you also may believe. For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.” And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” (John 19:33-37)
“They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” Here a single phrase is quoted from Zechariah 12, but the entire context is associated with the events surrounding the crucifixion. The "Spirit of grace and of supplication" is poured out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the first part of v. 10. A few verses later in 13:1 Yahweh says "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity." The blood which flowed from Jesus' pierced side may well be what the author saw as the connection here, since as the shedding of the blood of the sacrificial victim it represents cleansing from sin. As Jesus hung on the cross, the author may also have in mind the second coming here. The context in Zech 12-14 is certainly the second coming, so that these who crucified Jesus will look upon him in another sense when he returns in judgment.
“ On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. …I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn…“In that day there will be a fountain opened up for the dynasty of David and the people of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity... (Zech 12:5-13:1)
Holy Spirit, the water of these Scriptures are very deep waters. Continue to motivate me not to stay on the surface of what I read but dive deep to discover the treasures of Your Word of Life that lay there. Continue to call me to run and jump into the fountain of life which flows from Christ where I am soaked, laughing and splashing in the waters of Grace that cleanses me of all sin, impurities, guilt, shame, and depression. As I dive into your Word and prayer I want to to washed by the the river of the water of life that flows from Your throne today!
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-4)
My family, I pray during Lent as you read these Scriptures you allow the Holy Spirit to mold you and speak to you through the Word of God you are reading. I pray you will not just receive from your daily readings but begin to share what yor hear the Spirit speak to you and reveal it to others. I pray you will today dive deep into the healing waters of life that flow from your Bible, In Jeus’ 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. Through Your Body and Your Blood, make me one with You, one with Your Body of Christ, and one in ministry to all the world until I feast with You at Your heavenly banquet in final victory.
"Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.... Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off His outer robe, and tied a towel around Himself. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, 'Lord, are You going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, 'You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.' Peter said to Him, 'You will never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no share with Me.' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!' Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.' For He knew who was to betray Him; for this reason He said, 'Not all of you are clean' " (John 13:1-11).
Lord Jesus, though You are One with Father and One with the Holy Spirit, You set aside the glory of Heaven to humble Yourself in the likeness of human flesh and blood. And before You humbled Yourself to be betrayed and rejected and crucified by the human flesh and blood You created, You humbled Yourself to wash the dirty, smelly, unclean feet of Your disciples. No wonder Peter could hardly bear the thought of his Messiah, the Son of God, down on His knees washing his feet.
Lord Jesus, help me grasp the humility of Your nature. Though You are the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the exact image and very Word of God, with all power and authority in Your hands, You would humble Yourself with Your holy hands to wash the dirty feet of human flesh.
Your disciples couldn't fully understand what we still have trouble fully understanding as Your disciples today, that You are our example in every way. Just as You laid down Your life for Your friends as an example of Your love, we are to lay down our lives in sacrificial love for one another. Just as You washed their feet as an example of Your humility, we are commandedt to wash one another's feet (v. 14). "Servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If (we) know these things, (we) are blessed if (we) do them" (v. 16).
Lord, help me learn and embrace Your example. You are my "Teacher and Lord" (v. 13). Help me learn to follow in Your steps as Your disciple. Though You've made me clean through Your sacrifice on the cross, you created my hands to get dirty, as I continue Your ministry of humility and love. My hands were not created to simply clasp each other in prayer over people’s life situation in my church or home, but to personally and physically grasp and embrace people and aid them. Just like You dd Lord, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you will be filled with the humility and love of Jesus today, as you follow Him as your example. I pray that you will intentionally set aside a time this weekend to get your “hands dirty” in ministry through real contact in the real lives of people around you. 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.
Holy Week Services
Here is the list of Holy Week Services I will be leading if your church does not have these services..
Thursday, March 28th, 6:30pm: Maundy Thursday Service, Cathedral Circle Community Center located at 1310 Cathedral Cir, Madison, AL 35758Friday, March 29th, 6:00pm: Good Friday Service and Stations of the Cross
Indian Creek Greenway Park off Slaughter Road. 392 Harvestwood Ct Madison, AL 3575
Sunday, March 31st , 11:00am: Easter Sunday Service in Liederbach’s back yard. 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al
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 Father, Son, and Spirit, I begin my day receiving you love, grace and mercy.
Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate… So Pilate spoke to them (crowds) again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!...” So the soldiers led him into the palace….Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him.… Those who passed by defamed him, (Mark15:1, 12, 16,19, 29)
Jesus, as I read this passage this morning it hits my heart and saddens me how completely alone and abandoned You were in your suffering. The chapter before tells us that when You were arrested, “all the disciples left him and fled.” (Mark 14:50) In this passage everyone else rallies together against you: Chief priests, Elders, experts in the law, the crowds, Pilot, soldiers, passers by; all wanted to humiliate and hurt You, You were completely alone.
All except one man, Simon of Cyrene. “The soldiers forced a passerby to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country” (Mark 15:21) One man stepped out, embraced your cross, entered into your suffering, and walked with you. The passage said he was forced, but he still did it.
Lord help me be Simon today and everyday of my life. Carrying your cross is not the popular thing to do. Those in the crowd around me (my co-workers, classmates, family, friends neighbors) may ridicule me. Like Simon, honestly in my flesh it may not be what I want to do and it may be way beyond my comfort zone. Walking close with You, I will receive the brunt of people’s anger and get hit in the face by the spit that is intended for You. However, today I have to make a choice;: Will I be like Simon, or will I be like the rest of the crowd. Holy Spirit give me the strength, fill me with love for Jesus and my neighbors, and instill in me a heart of worship to embrace Jesus, embrace His cross, and carry it into a a desperate world that needs its love and redemption.
My family, I pray today you choose to be like Simon and not like the crowds around him or the crowds around you. I pray as you step into the Monday of a new week which is also Holy Week, you step out of your comfort zone, embrace Jesus, carry your cross, and speak the love of Jesus into the crowds today. I pray you will share Jesus and your faith with at least one person today and every day of Holy Week, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!
Please share your reflections and prayers on my post 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 Carry The Cross To Others
I could use your financial support as I relationally share the Gospel tothose 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. As I journey with You this Holy Week when we remember Your journey to the cross, help me listen and see all You're showing me, as I take up my cross and follow You.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Matthew 23:37-39).
Jesus, when You came into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey in deep humility, the crowds waived their palm branches and declared You were the Messiah, the Son of David, coming as King, declaring "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (v. 21:6-10). But You already knew in your heart that in a short week's time, those same crowds who are now welcoming and loving you would soon be despising you and crying out for Your crucifixion on a cross, rejecting Your words and rejecting You as their Messiah (v. 27:20-23). And You knew in Your heart Jerusalem would be destroyed, as a city divided in her heart and denying her Savior (v. 24:1-2).
Yet, even so, You would continue to love her and seek to gather her together again in hope, fulfilling the ancient prophecies of the restoration of Israel and the salvation of Jerusalem at the end of the age (Zechariah 12:1-11). And on that day that will seem like all the nations of the earth are about to finally destroy Jerusalem and all she represents, the crowds of Jerusalem will look up to heaven, to the return of her Messiah, "the One whom they have pierced," in mourning and repentance to declare, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord" (Zechariah 12:10).
We are no better than the crowds who cried out for Your crucifixion because it was our sins as well as theirs that nailed You to the cross, You continue to cry out for us every day/ And because of Your sacrifice of love, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for never giving up on us, for never giving up on me! You are the blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26). You are the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. Despite the sins of our souls and the unfaithfulness of our hearts, You never give up on us. Your steadfast love never comes to an end (Lamentations 3:22).
So let me be part of that crowd, from every generation, saved by Your grace, from the cross to the second coming of Christ, who cries out to You, "Blessed in the One who comes in the name of the Lord." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you enter intp Holy Week by crying out in your heart to Jesus, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord." May you hear and see all the Lord desires to show you on this Holy Week journey to the cross. In Jesus’s name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Holy Week Services
IF you are in the Madison/Huntsville area, and your church does not have Holy Week services of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, here is the list of services I will be leading and ALL our welcomed! For questions or more information please email me at garyl@onedirection.community. Or post it in comments box below.Holy Week Services
Thursday, March 28th, 6:30pm-8:00pm: Maundy Thursday Service: Maundy” comes from the Latin word “mandatum” meaning mandate or commandment. On his last night before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples In John’s Gospel and then gave them a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). He instituted the Lord’s Supper in Mark, Matthew and Luke and the commandment to “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus in John’s Gospel also instituted the washing of feet. Service will be held at The Cathedral Circle Community Center located at 1310 Cathedral Cir, Madison, AL 35758
Friday, April7, 6:00pm-7:30pm, Good Friday Service: This service remembers God’s loving and redeeming the world through the passion and the saving works of the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Gathering will be held outdoors at Indian Creek Greenway located in Creekwood Park off Slaughter Road in Madison just north of the Farrow Rd / Slaughter Rd intersection. 392 Harvest Wood Ct.Huntsville, AL 35806. We will be outside so dress appropriately for the weather that evening.
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, my family, and 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
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 my family,
With Holy Week beginning Sunday my thoughts and prayers this morning were on preparing our hearts for this time. Sunday is Palm Sunday and will began the time called Holy Week in the church. It is my favorite week in the year. We remember the last week of Christ’s life before his death and resurrection. It contains so many powerful events, examples, and expressions of God’s love for us as demonstrated in the life of Christ. Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday and Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jesus’s cleansing of the temple. The institution of the first Lord’s Supper. Jesus washing the disciples feet. Jesus’s final teaching to his disciples in the upper room. The betrayal by Judas. Jesus prayer and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. His trials before the Sanhedrin, Pilot and Herod. Jesus’ scourging, and crucifixion, and finally, resurrection.
I know I am preaching to myself with all I have to do with getting ready for all the upcoming events next week, but I want to encourage you to try to make this next week different. Try to slow down. Read through a passion narrative in one of the four Gospels each day. Commit yourself to Fast and pray as often as you can next week. Try to “Fast” as much as you can from social media, TV, video games and other Apps and spend that time in prayer. Serve and do acts of mercy at the Manna house, Downtown Rescue Mission, House of Harvest or other outreaches into your community. This is a reason why I invite you to participate in Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services before Easter Sunday to help reinforce Holy week is different and set aside extra time for something we need to do more of, time in collective prayer together. You are invited to attend ODC gatherings if your church does not have them, or please attend your churches or others in your communities Holy Week observation gatherings.
Pray over One Direction Community, (and your church and their vision) that we can press forward with our vision of Loving God, Loving Neighbors, and Making disciples through our House Churches. Share your testimony and the Gospel at least once a day with others. Prayer walk more this week seeking new people of peace to invite into existing, and start up new house churches. Invite people to our (your) Holy Week gatherings. If for some reason you are still not in a Band Group, (an accountability group) make it a priority to start one next week. Pray we can more deeply develop a heartbeat for those who are not yet in our churches, rather than those who are here. That is why God sent His Son, that all may be saved by his suffering and resurrection of grace. And that is why God sends all of us to share with others Jesus’ salvation of mercy and grace with others.
My family, I pray today you will intentionally commit to refocusing your heart, your free time, and the dates on your calendar for next week and remove distractions and include Holy Week gatherings, times of service and sharing the Gospel, and time in Word and prayer. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I love you all,
Gary Liederbach
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
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!
If your church does not have Holy Week gathers, you are invited to attend ODC’s.
All are welcomed
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
On Wednesday evenings my wife and I host a simple house church at our home for One Direction Community (ODC) members and guests. As people gather we share a meal and catch up on life from the week before. We then move into the family room for a time of worship and prayer. After that we spend time reading and reflecting together on whatever passage of Scripture we are on. Last night we did our Palm Sunday gathering and read through a compilation of the passion narratives from all four Gospels I put together in chronological order.
We had just moved from the dining room into the family room when a 15 year old girl who is a member of ODC received a text from a friend. She read the text and told us the friend had texted he was in a dark place of depression and was thinking of committing suicide. The girl said I need to go see him and pray with him now. One of her friends, who is also 15 and a member of ODC said yes we do. They asked if it would be ok if they went right now, and we said absolutely! So the two girls, plus another girlfriend of theirs who they invited to come and has been only coming for two weeks, the girls dad who would drive them, and my wife all got up to go. We put them all in a circle in the middle of us, laid hands on them and prayed over them, and they left to go to the boys house who texted that lived close by. While they were gone the rest of us prayed of them, the boy who texted, and the boys parents.
The group that left returned in about an hour and shared how they found him in a dark place. They talked with him and prayed with him. The boy was not completely receptive, however seeds of light were planted in his darkness and he was grateful they had come.
Here is the thing that I was praising God about. The two girls who are members of ODC are new to their faith. I just baptized them both in my friends swimming pool 6 or 7 months ago. They do not yet have The Lord’s Prayer memorized but read it from a sheet I printed out when we say it together at House Church. They have just began studying the Bible and could not name the 4 Gospels if asked them. However, at our house church they both have celebrated The Lord’s Supper, said the prayers, broke the bread and served us communion. On Ash Wednesday they placed the oil and ashes on my head, and laid hands on me and prayed. On Saturdays mornings they go with us to the House of the Harvest and hand out food to the poor and those in need and pray over them. They have gone with us prayer walking our neighborhood praying with our neighbors and our community.
So though they do not have the book and head knowledge of Jesus yet, and that will come. They have the heart knowledge and obedience knowledge of Jesus. They know Jesus. They know who they are in Jesus. They know He hears their prayers. They know they are filled with the Holy Spirit. And they know from their baptism just a few months ago that they received the power and calling of Jesus to go run into darkness with light.
I was praising God that just a short 6 months ago if they received a text like this from a friend they would not have gone. For they did not know then Jesus or who their identity was as daughters of the King of Kings. And here they were wanting to go and pray for someone. And not only that, they brough along their friend who has just started coming to House church now for a couple weeks with them to take part and witness them praying over this boy. It was those two 15 year old girls, not a pastor, not a youth leader, who were modeling, teaching and introducing their friend what it looks like to follow Jesus. In my time pastoring churches I know of people who have been in a congregation for years who would not jump up an do what these two young ladies did. To which again, almost in tears I said Praise God!
And finally, after they returned to our group last night and shared with us what had happened, we went ahead and read through the long Palm Sunday narrative of the Passion of Christ from all 4 Gospels. And one of the girls who was a member asked if she could be the narrator and the new girl who just started coming asked if she could be Jesus and read all his lines! So these two young ladies, who could not tell you from where in the Bible the verses are found they were reading, led our hour time together in the Word. God is so Good!
My family, I pray today you’re a reminded and realize that you also have what these 15 year old girls have. That you have the heart knowledge and obedience knowledge of Jesus. That you know Jesus. That you know who you are in Jesus. That you know He hears your prayers. That you know you are filled with the Holy Spirit. And that you know from your baptism whether it was a few months or many years ago, that you received the power and calling of Jesus to go run into darkness with light, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts and reflections with us in the comment box below.
Partner with us!
As we begin the year, if you have the ability to be generous, I invite you to partner with me, my wife, and One Direction Community to support our ministries of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over our ministries and outreaches into our community. We would be so grateful for your one time gift or monthly support. Thank you!
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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
I begin my morning centering my thoughts and desires on you Father, Son and Spirit,
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20"
In this popular passage of Scripture, Jesus commissions everyone there in hearing of his voice to go and make disciples of the nations, and he promises them through the presence of the Holy Spirit, that he will always be with them. All who hear his voice today are called to the same commission, to go and make disciples of the nations by and in the same continuous power and presence of the same Holy Spirit.”
What does it mean to “Go and make disciples” in the power of the Holy Spirit? For my main reflection today I am going to allow Fracis Chan to speak to you in short 9 minute video on experiencing, the calling and sending of the Holy Spirit. Please take 10 minutes now to watch it. Then if you have time through the day read Acts 1:4-8, Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:21-22.
My family, I pray today the Holy Spirit opens your ears to hear you call to “go” and opens your eyes to “see”those around you to whom you are sent. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!
Please post your comments 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 begin my work week put my life in the hands of the one who loved me from the beginning.
Above his head they put the charge against him, which read: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews…. If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him! He trusts in God - let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, ʻI am Godʼs Sonʼ!” (Matthew 27:37,42-43).
There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, "save yourself!" and "come down from the cross!" They wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save His physical life, but it was indeed His staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life. Those passing by only believed what they saw. All of Jesus’ disciples only believed what they saw and fled and hid themselves. Jesus’ resurrection had not yet occurred in the world and they had no knowledge or faith in what happening before them and what was to come.
However, we who call ourselves “Christians“ have knowledge of the death and resurrection of Jesus and it is at the core of our faith. We also understand that it is only by dying to ourselves that we also can experience resurrection from the dead into eternal life. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-26)
We too want Jesus to come down from the cross. Because if we truly believe that Jesus had to die on the cross, if we truly believe that it was through suffering that Jesus would redeem the world, then we must truly believe that in order to call ourselves a “Christian”, a follower and imitator of Jesus, we too must also “Trust in God,” we too who follow Jesus must also pick up our cross, and we too must also suffer.
Jesus asked His disciples, “Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?” (Matthew 20:22). This morning and every morning we are blessed to wake up to be part of another day on earth, as our feet are hitting the floor next to our bed Jesus asks the same questions of us, “Are you willing to drink my cup today?” “Are you willing to pick up your cross and suffer for your faith?” When was the last time you picked up your cross and suffered for your faith? When was the last time you did something that made you even a little uncomfortable for your faith? What are your plans for cross bearing today? For this weekend?
My family, As we approach the Cross and near the end of season of Lent, I pray you will reflect on your call to be cross bearers and the same irony that is only by you giving giving up the safety and comfort of physical life that you and those you encounter in the world will experience a resurrection from death to life in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers on your reflections from this mornings reading 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
I could use your financial support as I seek to relationally reach 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.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You and welcome You, here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"When it was evening, He took His place with the twelve; and while they were eating, He said, 'Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.' And they became greatly distressed and began to say to Him one after another, 'Sure not I, Lord?' He answered, 'The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.' Judas, who betrayed Him, said, 'Surely not I, Rabbi?' He replied, 'You have said so'" (Matthew 26:20-25).
Sometimes I wonder what happened to Judas. Did he get too close to the money? (John 6:29) With his hand in Your bowl, did he become presumptuous of his access to Your greatness or begin to take his invitation to Your intimacy and his acceptance of Your grace for granted? Did being one of the “Big Twelve” give him the big head? Or did the seeds of sin and self-seeking sown into his fallen soul finally grow to full harvest in his heart of betrayal? In any event, somehow Satan himself entered his soul to consume his thoughts and influence his choices (Luke 22:3).
You know every choice we will ever make, seeing the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end (Isaiah 46:10). You know every heart and every motive of every choice (Acts 1:24; Jeremiah 17:10). Yet, the choices are ours in the freedom of will that a true relationship of love requires (Joshua 14:15; Deuteronomy 30:14-15; John 7:17).
And what if Judas had made better choices with all that was entrusted to him? Surely Your Word was true of him as It is with us all: "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" (Jeremiah 29:11). "As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live" (Ezekiel 33:11).
Judas was not born a traitor, but he "became a traitor" (Luke 6:16). And by the time it was time for Judas to choose blessing or curse, life or death, "the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray (You)" (John 13:2). In the end, "Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place" (Acts 1:25).
But what if instead of becoming "the one destined to be lost," Judas would have humbled himself in repentance and faith, seeking Your healing and freedom of all that would hold him back of being a faithful follower instead of a condemned traitor (John 17:12)? His confession and repentance came too late when finally acknowledged, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!" (Matthew 27:3) What if he could have become a son of God instead of the "son of perdition" (John 17:12)? What if he was to spill out his heart to lead others to Christ instead of spilling out his guts after hanging himself on a tree (Matthew 27:5; Acts 1:18)? What if even the Book of Jude could have been the Book of Judas, sharing words of encouragement and exhortation from a life that was changed and surrendered to God to fulfill a destiny to honor Christ (Jude 1)?
You are "longsuffering” toward us (all), not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). So before I judge Judas for the speck in his eye, give me a humble and teachable heart to see the log in my own eye (Matthew 7:5). Let me "judge not," so that by the measure I judge I will not also be judged and that very thing come up me (Matthew 7:1). Let me never take my grace for granted or presume upon my place of intimacy with You. Convict me of my sins and keep me sensitive in my heart to the leading of Your Spirit, so that it's never too late to choose well and live well in the destiny You desire for me (Ephesians 1:11). By the power of Your grace, may I grow to be much more like Jesus than Judas (Romans 8:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you you will honestly and openly confess, repent, and be restored of any sin that is festering inside you. I pray you will seek God’s grace and forgiveness and then seek to grow in the grace of God to become more like Jesus every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers to 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
I could use your financial support as I seek to relationally reach 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.
Thank You!
Good morning Jesus, touch my heart with your love this morning so I can touch the hearts of others with your love.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ʻCome, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.ʼ Then the righteous will answer him, ʻLord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?ʼ 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.ʼ (Matthew 25:31-39)
Lent invites us together to find ways to serve and find ways to change the lives of homeless people in our community or the community you live in. It’s a time to draw attention to the needs of our neighbors on a local level. The poor and homeless had a special place in Jesus’ heart, and as followers of Jesus desiring to have a heart in us that imitates Jesus’, they need to have a special place in our hearts as well. There are many ways you can participate in this season of Lent.
Volunteer to serve at a local homeless shelter or a ministry that serves meals or in some other way helps out the homeless community that allows you to interact with. Or if you see a homeless person on the street, invite that person out for lunch or for dinner. If they do not want to go to a restaurant, offer to purchase you both a meal, then go back and sit, talk, and share a meal with them. I am sure you will learn more about Jesus from your time spent with them. Or invite them to go shopping with you and take them to a groceries store and buy them a few food items. Or invite them to a Walmart and buy them a couple clothing items.
The key thing is as Jesus speaks to us in his words in Matthew 25, spend personal time with that homeless man or woman. When Jesus says above ”When I was hungry you gave me something to eat” He did not mean you dropped off some canned goods to a food pantry or your church. He meant you invited Him to a meal with you and you fed Him. When Jesus says, “I was naked and you gave me clothing” He does not mean you dropped off clothes at a Good Will or thrift store, He meant you personally got me clothes. Read Jesus words above again: I was a stranger and you invited me in; I was in prison and you visited me…these are all personal, intimate moments with Jesus. So when Jesus says, ”As you did it for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me,” He means the “it” is the personal, intimate, encounters of love you entered into with the poor and the homeless. We cannot try to disconnect this meaning or rationalize we have done this when we drop off outdated cans of food to our churches food drive or clothes that no longer fit us to thrift stores. Such rationalization does not honor Jesus, and It does not honor our least of these brothers and sisters. Both Jesus and them deserve more. Such rationalization is what the “Goats” of the passage above do, not the “sheep.”
Such rationalization by people are at the basis of these words by Jesus. “Not everyone who says to me, ʻLord, Lord,ʼ will enter into the kingdom of heaven - only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ʻLord, Lord, didnʼt we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?ʼ Then I will declare to them, ʻI never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21)
Giving food, clothing and money donations to organizations and ministries is absolutely a good thing! However, these donations should not help contribute to, or lead to your justifying that you obeyed Jesus’ words in both passages above and then isolating yourself from the least of these, isolating you from Jesus. The Kingdom of Heaven is a place of intimacy and love, entrance into it flows out of intimacy and love with Jesus. This is found and flows out of intimacy and love for our neighbors, the least of our brothers and sisters.
My Family, I pray on during Lent you will sit in the Holy Spirit’s leading and simply reflect on Jesus’ words, “just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.” In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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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 in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this 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 seek You first and Your kingdom in these first moments of my morning. ...
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
With the wars in Israel and Palestine, Ukraine, and other areas of the world, a lot of people are talking about “the end” is coming right now. Even praying for “the end” to come. Or at least, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20) One such discussion took place yesterday morning at the Waffle House bar with customers and staff that led to this reflection this morning.
No one knows when “the end” will come. Jesus told us, “But as for that day and hour no one knows it - not even the angels in heaven - except the Father alone.” (Matt:24:36). However, say “the end” is near. My heart breaks when I think about my neighbors, co-workers, family members and friends who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus and without that when “the end” comes will be separated from Him and his love forever. If “the end” is near, it should compel us not to withdraw in fear and isolation, but to go out and speak out with urgency and love in our hearts of the saving love, mercy and grace of the Gospel of Jesus.
You’ve called and commissioned each one of us to minister wherever we are --whether at work, in our neighborhoods, our schools, our homes, and all our encounters along the way--with the same love and power and passion that You pour into the hearts of Your evangelists and missionaries--for that is who we are and what You’ve called us to do. Your Word calls us all to “sanctify Christ as Lord in (our) hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks (us) to give an account for the hope that is in (us), but with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 ). As You said to Your first disciples, You continue to speak to all of us who are Your disciples today: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...” (Matthew 28:19). “As the Father has sent Me, so I also send you!” (John 20:21)
Send us, Lord! Send every one of us! Let this good news of Your kingdom be proclaimed in our hearts and to the nations, and everywhere in between! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray that as Lent draws us near to Holy Week, Good Friday, The Cross and Easter, which are at the core of our faith, you are compelled to share your faith with those you encounter throughout your day. Our knowledge of these things and the gift of salvation was meant to be shared, in Jesus' name. Please pay the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
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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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, speak to me, your servant is listening.
This morning we have a convicting chapter to read. No passage in the Bible is more biting, more pointed, and more severe than these seven “Woes” in Matthew 23 spoken by Jesus Christ upon the Pharisees. The Pharisees, while attempting to honor the Word of God and manifesting an extreme form of religious observance, were actually the farthest from God. The theme of the Sermon on the Mount was righteousness, the theme of these woes is hypocrisy. There is a common strong emphasis in both addresses on the leaders’ failure to understand and submit to the Scriptures. Jesus gave both addresses to contrast the true meaning of Scripture with the Pharisees’ interpretation and application of it. The Pharisees professed to teach the Scriptures accurately but did not do so. They were therefore hypocrites.
Every one of the seven ‘woes’ is an exclamation like the ‘blessed’ of the Beatitudes. It does not state a wish but a fact. It is not a curse that calls down calamity but a calm, true judgment and verdict rendered by the supreme Judge himself, Jesus. Six of these judgments have the evidence attached by means of a “because” which illustrates the full reason for the verdict ‘Woe’” and in the remaining judgment.
There is today only one proper Christian use of the “Woe” sayings of this chapter. It is found not primarily in the application of the passage to the historical Pharisees, and even less to modern Judaism as a religion, but in the application of the passage to Christian members of The Church today. Hypocrisy is the real enemy of these woes, not the scribes, the Pharisees, or the Jews. If, on the application of these woes, a finger is to be pointed, a bitter woe is to be pronounced against anyone today, it must be directed solely against we Christians and the hypocrisy in the church. Here is a translation of a “Woe” from this chapter from the GRV Bible (Gary’s Reflective Version).
Woe to you Christians! For they go to church so that their faith may be seen and approved by people. They love to be greeted as “brother” or “sister” as they fellowship before the service with a cup of coffee in their hand and Hillsong playing in the background. They wear crosses around their necks, and put crosses and Icthus fishes on the back of their cars that they ride in comfort to their churches with windows rolled up as they drive past the homeless, poor, the widows and orphans. After church, they fatten themselves at lunch, have struggling single-mom waitresses to serve them, and the only sharing if any of their faith all day with others is they show their church bulletin at lunch check out to get 10% off their meal. They then pull into safe garages who’s door close out their neighbors they are called to go out and serve but instead walk into living rooms with a picture on the wall that says, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Woe to you! You Christians, you hypocrites!
My family, Paul in 2nd Timothy tells us, “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2Timothy 3:16). Even the Scriptures that hold a mirror up in front of us and make us access the true level of our discipleship as a Christian. Lent is a season of reflection. I pray you will read and spend time guided by the Holy Spirit reflecting on this chapter and looking in the mirror. “It’s a me. It’s a me, it’s a me Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer,” In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I want to encourage you to please share your reflections and prayers on my 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
I could use your financial support as I relational reach out to 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!
