“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
For the past two weeks my wife Nancy and I have been helping clean out our neighbor’s house. Our neighbor passed away a few months ago. He had two sisters that both live out of town several states away. When they went into their brothers house they discovered he was a hoarder.. To clean out his house in the beginning they literally had to use rakes and shovels. I had to use my truck and trailer to haul away loads of large black garbage bags full of trash, magazines, expired food, and old, broken, and none-working items piled around the house. And then we had to help clean, dust, sort through and separate all the thousands of dollars of items that will sold at his estate sale. We finished the house, however the garage which is packed with items also needs to be gone through next.
Nancy and I knew our neighbor. He actually lived a street over and up the road a little ways. However, we hand out invitations to over 400 homes around us in our in our neighborhood to our annual Neighborhood Halloween Gathering and Easter Sunday service we hold in our front and back yard. He was a nice elderly man, who would come to our gatherings with his little dog, sit around the fire pit in our yard, grill a hot dog and talk. However we did not know of his hoarding.
He lived alone, and in his isolation he turned to “stuff” to fill the whole in his life that family, friends, and human contact was designed to fill. The stacks of Playboy Magazines we hauled off were a “fake” way he attempted to replace his desire for real intimacy, love and sharing his life with a wife. He wanted happiness and connection, and spent thousands of dollars filling his home with “stuff” as a the source of both of these, but “stuff” is always only a temporary fix.
When I returned to my home after a day of cleaning his, the “plank in my own I” prevented me from any kind of judgement. As I looked around the “nice” items I have filled my house with for my happiness and comfort. Items and resources that I “cherish” that I think are necessary for my happiness and my kingdom, but in reality cannot bring me any true happiness or impact the advancement of Jesus’ Kingdom. But in the end will be simply be dusted off and sold at an estate sale for pennies on the dollar. Sometimes it takes attending a funeral to realize life is short and time is precious. Attending a wedding to be reminded how blessed I am for my wife. Sit with a person battling cancer to be truly grateful for my health. Or clean out a house full of “stuff” of a hoarder to open my eyes to ways I am hoarding myself. And remind myself that no matter how nice, expensive, a good deal I got it for it, or rare it is, that item in my house is just “stuff.”
My family, I pray as you begin a new week you will reflect on, as I am, what your treasures are, what are you storing up, and begin to seek out the things that can truly bring happiness, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning 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 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.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today.
"We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:14-16).
"No longer children ... we must grow up." Give me grace to grow up, Lord. From every place where I've been stuck in the development of my mind and will and emotions, help me grow up. From every place where I allow myself to be tossed to and fro by the winds of doctrine or the will of others trying to impose their will or their sense of truth or their plans for my life on me, help me grow up. From every place where my selfishness and my self-centeredness and my self-righteousness wants to rear its ugly head in pride rather than humility or insisting on my way rather than fully surrendering to Your way, help me grow up. From every place where I'm tempted to compromise with Your truth out of some sense of false compassion or settle for something far less than Your very best out of complacency, laziness, lukewarm-ness, apathy, or self-pity, help me grow up.
There's not a spiritual gift of spiritual maturity; it must be developed and deepened on the daily journey of faith. There's not an anointing or impartation of spiritual maturity your pastor can pray over you. And you can’t gain it by searching “Spiritual Maturity” online and reading a social media post on it. Spiritual maturity comes out of your personal decision to put in the time seeking God. Iit must grow from seed to harvest, through every season along the way - both the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. But it does come to those who seek it, to those who seek You God, to those who embrace the call and command of Your Word that "we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). It does come to those who spend time daily searching the Scriptures. It does come to those who spend time daily in prayer. It does come to those who invest time weekly in deep accountability with one or two others. It does come to those who serve and love their neighbors. It does come to those who are willing to step out of their safety and comfort and pick up their cross and follow You.
The Apostle Paul expressed his spiritual journey like this: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became and adult, I put an end to childish ways" (1 Corinthians 13:11). He did that by growing in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). He did that by embracing and "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). And he grew in love and truth because he grew in grace -- the power of Your grace alone that can grow us up into all You've created us to be in You -- by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Lord, help me "grow in grace" so I can grow in truth and love (2 Peter 3:18). I want to grow "to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" through every opportunity You set before me on my journey of faith through this world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you seek spiritual maturity and desire above all else to keep growing in grace, growing up into Christ, more like Jesus each day, into the spiritual maturity of the child of God and disciple of Christ you were created to be, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. And remember I am here for you to help encourage, equip, mentor, and walk with you to grow spiritually mature. Please use me! God bless you, my friends!
Please share with us your thoughts and reflections with us this morning 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 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.
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's all about You. So I seek to begin my day and week centered in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 13:2-3)
Jesus, I hear you ask me this morning, Do I "have first place in everything"? Do I seek You first? Do I put Your first? Do I live my life throughout the moments of my day with no other gods before me, with no idols in Your place, with no compromises in my "sincere and pure devotion to Christ"?
Jesus, As I sense Your leading to honestly lay the question before You this morning, it seems I hear You speaking in my heart, "Honestly, no. You do not. Nor can you completely, sincerely, purely, and fully. No one can by themselves. Even in this, you need My grace. Especially in this, you need My power of My grace to be at work in your heart and your mind to seek Me and surrender to Me, to passionately pursue Me and allow Me to make your heart more pure and more wholly devoted to Me. But is it My great desire and delight to answer your prayer and move in your heart every time you turn to Me and invite Me to move in you. This is a life-long journey, with breakthroughs along the way. And I breakthrough more deeply as you surrender more deeply to Me." ...
Yes, Lord. I want to love You and surrender to You and Your love for me with "an undivided heart," with "my whole heart" so "turn to me and be gracious to me" (Psalm 86:11-16). I want to "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength" (Mark 12:30). I want to hold nothing back from You, wholly devoted to You, completely surrendered to You. I want You to be first, to "come to have first place in everything" in me -- all by the power of Your grace at work within me.
You are "the Alpha and the Omega, the Frist and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:12). You are my "All in All," as All in One -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 15:28). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to keep turning my heart to You and inviting You to keep moving in me on this life-long journey of faith in You and Your love for me, with breakthroughs of deeper surrender all along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you keep turning your heart to Jesus and inviting Him to keep moving in you. I pray you trust Hm more fully and surrender more deeply to Him as the One with first place in everything in you -- all by the power of His grace, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Help Us Help Them
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the ways that lead to life in You today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"Since, then, we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have One who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).
In our weakness but also boldness, in our humility but also faith, we come to Your throne of grace in our time of need. You invite us to come boldly because You're able to sympathize with our weakness, because You have been tested in every respect as we are being tested now. Before You "passed through the heavens," You suffered through every testing of the trials and tribulations of our world we have ever faced and that we are facing now, "yet without sin."
You're a God who understands us. You're a God who is not distant or detached, not uncaring or unavailable. You're a God who is right here with us through it all and who has already been through it all -- through it all for us.
If we feel afraid of what might happen, You've been through it. If we are feel worried about what we're already experiencing, You've been through it. If we feel confused about what to do, You've been through it. Even if we feel frustrated or angry in a moment for what seems unfair or out of control or overwhelming, You've been through it. "Yet without sin" -- as You suffered well, persevered well, lived out Your identity and calling in the midst of all that was wrong in a broken, fallen world well, You went through it all in human flesh and blood to model well an example for us (Philippians 2:5-11).
Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- this is our time of need. We come to You in our weakness and neediness; we come to You on behalf of our neighbors and their weakness and neediness. These problems we face are over our heads. So we come humbly and boldly to Your throne of grace in our time of need, just like You invited us to do. As You have promised: "My grace is sufficient for you; for My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.... For when (we) are weak, then (we) are strong" in You (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV). "Therefore (we can be) content (through) weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ" for You are with us and You will get us through it all, as we call on Your name and trust in Your grace, no matter what we face (Corinthians 2:10).
You see us. You hear us. You understand us. And You are here with us to help us get us through this. You'll even turn it all around for good in ways we can't even see or imagine right how. Just like You always do. You always have and You always will. So we thank You now, even before we see it come to pass (Mark 11:22-24). "This is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him" (1 John 5:14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you come boldly before our God's throne of grace in your time of need for yourself and for your neighbors, trusting our God who has already suffered through whatever you face without sin so we could look Him and know He understands and know He will respond in His grace, 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 would appreciate your prayer and also any support for support myself as we reach our neighbors with the gospel through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me hear Your heart and let my heart be one with Yours--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"In accordance with His promise, we wait for a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by Him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.... Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (2 Peter 3:13-18).
This morning I will walk out my door surrounded by your grace. Help me keep growing in grace your today. Show me where I'm not a peace within my soul, where I'm not yet without spot or blemish, where righteousness is not yet fully at home here in my heart.
As I sit here and close my eyes, I don't have to wait very long for the answer or look very deep for some hidden secret sin. I'm aware of my struggles and so are You. And at the same time, You help me to be just as aware of Your grace and the power of Your love that never leaves me as I am but always empowers me to keep growing in grace, growing in my sanctification everyday of my spiritual journey with You, as I "pursue righteousness and a godly life" (1 Timothy 6:11).
I hear you speak Paul’s words over me, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set (me) free from the law of sin and death." So in Christ I can go out my door and "walk not according to (my) flesh but according to the Spirit.... (I am) not in the flesh; (I am) in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me).... for if (I) live according to the flesh, (I) will die; but if by the Spirit (I) put to death the deeds of the body, (I) will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:1-14).
Your will for me and for all who are called by Your name is that we would come "to maturity, the measure of the full stature of Christ"--to Christ-like-ness (Ephesians 4:13). "For this is the will of God, (our) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
My family, I pray you keep growing in grace every day, growing up in spiritual maturity into Him who is our head, into he full measure of the stature of Christ, as best as you can and all by His grace at work within you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please commit 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. You're one with the Father and one with the Holy Spirit; be one within me, as I abide in You and You abide in me.
"Let me hear of Your steadfast love in the morning, for in You I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.... Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Let Your good Spirit lead me on a level path" (Psalm 143:8-10).
I settle in to my place of prayer and center in with my focus on You. I lift up my heart and open up my spirit, as I greet You and welcome You into the moments of my day. "Good morning, Lord Jesus."
I could say, "Good morning, heavenly Father" or "Come, Holy Spirit" or "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!" But for going on eleven years now (time flies), from when I first began to journal my morning prayer, this has been my simple way to focus my heart and begin my day centered in You--embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.
And every morning is a good morning because Your good Spirit is with me--to love me and lead me on the level path of life in You, to teach me and tell me the ways of Your will--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. You put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. You take me by hand and lead me by the heart on my journey of faith that begins each day in worship and prayer, in trusting surrender and faithful obedience.
In these morning moments of deep communion in prayer, You begin my daily journey of making me more like You, as I intentionally, deliberately entrust my soul again completely to You. "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--make us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT).
If you are reading this reflection this morning I want to let you know I never intended my morning reflections to be a substitute or replacement for you personally spending time in the morning searching the Scriptures, reflecting on God’s Word, and in prayer. I put them out to remind you of the necessity of daily time in the Bible and prayer, and encourage you to begin or continue your own personal devotional time with God. To go back and re-read the Scripture passages in the reflections God gives me and allow Him to create reflections in you. And truthfully, if time is an issue and you have to choose between time to read my reflections and prayers, or your personal time reading the Word and in prayer, I’d rather you spent personal time in the Word and prayer, and so would God.
My family, I pray you experience the peace, joy and transformation of the Presence of God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--as YOU intentionally, deliberately entrust your soul to Him every morning in God’s Word and prayer, to ground you in His truth and love throughout the moments of your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
If these morning reflections have encouraged you to begin or continue in daily time in the word, please share your thoughts 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!
“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.” (James 4:13-15)
Last night at our house church a new guest attended who goes by Maggie. Our time together discussing God’s Word flowed out of my ODC Daily Devotion I wrote earlier that morning one being dependent on God. During that time Maggie shared a story. She said she is a pre-school teacher. A couple years ago in her class room she tripped over a toy and fell and her head hit hard on the floor. So she went to the hospital and had a scan done on her head as a precaution. The good news was the scan found no damage from the fall. The bad news was that the scan showed she had a type of a large aneurism in her brain. The neurologist who examined her told her this. He also said there was nothing he could do for her here and sent her to Vanderbilt Hospital.
Maggie said the neurologist at Vanderbit told her that the aneurism was extremely dangerous, and it could “blow” at anytime, and if it does, she would die in a minute. He asked her how they found it? She told him about her fall. He said she was in one way lucky, this type of aneurism is rarely discovered until after it “blows” and the person dies. The neurologist told Maggie the surgery to remove from her it is very dangerous. He has done 11 of these types of surgery. 8 of the patients survived, 3 died as a result of the aneurism blowing before he could remove it.
Maggie researched the procedure and the surgeon, and the almost certainty her aneurism will blow, and decided to do the surgery. She told her family, prepared all the details of her funeral, got her things in order, then had the surgery. She survived the surgery. Afterwards the surgeon told her the surgery was a success and the aneurism was removed. However, he some bad news. During the surgery another smaller aneurism was discovered in her brain stem. Any attempt to surgically remove it would kill her so surgery is not a possibility. He said though this aneurism is not a large as the one removed from her brain, it still has a the chance to “blow” and when it does, it will kill her. He said this could happen in a day, a month, a year, 10 years, there was no way to tell. But at some time it will probably happen.
Maggie is not under any king of medical restrictions. And she said she tries not to think about it daily. She just thanks God every morning she wakes up and then tries to live each day to the fullest. Maggie has an amazingly strong faith and love for Jesus. She said her situation has drawn her closer to Jesus, and she prays with power. And her prayers always included praying over those who do not yet know Jesus. She said when the inevitable happens, she is ready.
My family, Maggie’s story reminded me that time is precious and each day is a not guaranteed but a gift I pray this story reminds you of this as well and encourages you to pray powerfully over those you know who do not know Jesus, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
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Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today.
“Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him…He went away from them about a stoneʼs throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:39-40)
Lord, last week we celebrated our Nations Independence when we declared our independence from the tyranny of England. This morning, I want to declare my complete dependency on the reign of Jesus. In humility of heart, I want to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone Jesus. Set me free from my selfishness and self-centeredness, from my insistence upon my independence apart from Your wisdom and authority in my life. Forgive me for my pride that says I'll do it my way, instead of Your way and demands my will instead of trusting Your will. Give a heart that honestly says, "not my will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).
You are the God who "leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble (Your) way" (Psalm 25:9). You are the God who "adorns the humble with victory" (Psalm 149:4). And it's to the humble You grant Your favor and Your blessings (Proverbs 3:34). And Your Word says, "God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:6-10).
God, I admit I need a more humble heart. In you Holy Spirit, help me have the courage to boldly entrust my heart into Your hands and commit my will to Your will today as I begin my week, and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may you experience the blessings and favor of God, and seek his will to be done in you life. I pray you humble your heart in His sight and allow Him to lift you up and lead your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers with us on this blog in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Give A Gift!
I could use you’re the gift of your financial support for my family and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support my family and ministries through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, 102 Champions Green Drive, Madison, Al 35758.
Thank You!
“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13: 8-10)
This past Thursday July 4th we celebrated Independence Day and all the freedoms, opportunities, and blessings this country makes available to each one of us. One of those rights, freedoms, and choices made available to us is we have is the choice to love our neighbors. As citizens of the USA we also have the freedom and choice not to love our Neighbor. However, Jesus, as our Lord of Lord’s and King of Kings You did not give us this freedom or choice. We all, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven are not given the option but the command to love our neighbors, to love our neighbors.
Yet most of us spend more time avoiding our neighbors than loving them. We get in the car in our garage in the morning, hit a garage door opener and pull out and head to work or whatever is on our agenda for this trip. We drive past our neighbors. We drive past the poor and the homeless and we pretend not to see them. On the way back home later in the day we repeat the same drive, ignoring and avoiding our neighbors. We push the garage door opener and pull into our garage and close the garage door behind us “successfully” avoiding our any contact with our neighbors, and never even stepping foot in our neighborhood. And if we go outside that evening it is on our back deck of our fenced back yard away from our neighbors.
We know the commandment to love our neighbor. We know that in the final judgment Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, those who loved their neighbors from those who did not: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world….‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me… “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” (Matthew 25:34, 40, 41, 45)
We know this, Yet we fence in our yards, build back decks, do not host Bible studies in our homes, and structure most of our lives to avoid our neighbors. We even call where we worship on Sunday’s “Sanctuaries” from the world. Loving your neighbor does nor “just happen.” Loving your neighbor takes intentionality. You have to intentionally set aside and prioritize margins of time in your day and week to love your neighbor. Again, on July 4th we celebrate Independence Day and all the freedoms, opportunities, and blessings this country makes available to each one of us. In my post Thursday, I reflected on how each of us who were blessed to be born in the USA have “Hit the Lottery” and we need to be generous. One of greatest blessings this country has provided each one of us is with houses and apartments to live in. Each one of our homes comes equipped with front doors. Doors that can used to be generous and opened up to welcome and love our neighbors. Or doors that can be used to shut off neighbors and keep them from entering.
Let us recommit to Jesus’ command to love our neighbors! Christians hang on their walls pictures and paintings containing the words from Josua 24:15, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” When in reality they use their homes to only serve themselves and are not using there homes at all to serve the Lord and to obey His command to love their neighbor. You can commit to prayer walking your neighborhood and start a Bible study, prayer group, or other gathering in your home. Invite a different neighbor every other week over for dinner. And join in with other ministries who :love their neighbors” by volunteering at the Manna House, Downtown Rescue Mission, First Stop, House of Harvest or other ministry. “Love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Just like planning a dinner party with friends takes intentionality: setting a date, setting a time, making a guest list and inviting, and planning a menu, loving your neighbors takes the same intentionality. If you do not prioritize dates and times in your calendar, if you do not pray over your guest list and unite, it will never happen.
Take a moment to watch this short video.
My family, watching this video breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes. I pray it touches your heart as well. I pray today in remembrance of celebrating Independence Day, in all the freedom provided to you by the country, and out of love for God and your neighbor, you intentionally pray on how and where you can add margins of time to your life to love your neighbor. 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
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!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice as I worship and wait in the communion of prayer. ...
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
I looked at a coin on my coffee table and I read the words “In God We Trust”. Like a “pocket cross” or some other prayer reminder people carry in their pockets, do you realize that the coins you carry in your pocket are a reminder of who and where your faith and trust lies?
As we move on from July 4th and the remembrance of the birth of our nation, may we not forget the motto of our nation and may it become an authentic expression of the people of our land, in humility and honor, in faithfulness and obedience before You, O God. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their heart individually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You" (Psalm 33:12-22).
And Lord, let the motto of our nation be the motto of my heart. By grace and in faith, may I trust in You and Your holy name. Forgive me for when I'm tempted to trust in myself or anything less than Your will as my destiny and Your Word as my authority. Give me a holy fear of the Lord to honor You and a holy love of the Lord to trust You. For me and for my nation, may You always be "our help and our shield," for in God we trust. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray that you pick up a coin and read the motto “In God We Trust.” I pray it reminds you who your faith is set in, and you trust in the Lord with all your heart, leaning not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledging Him and trusting Him to direct your paths--for you and for our nation, 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!
If you have been reading my blog posts this week you know because of the 4th of July holiday I have focused my last two posts on the USA and the birth of our Country. If you read my post yesterday you know how blessed I feel to be born in America and have “hit the lottery". The picture of the flag in this post is in front of my house. So this morning, do not to take this post out of the overall context of my reflections or feelings for our country. This morning I simply reflect on another aspect of this July 4th holiday. I am starting off my blog post today with a blog from one of my favorite missionologist, Michael Frost. My comments will follow.
“I don’t love my country.
There, I said it.
I’m a citizen of Australia, a relatively peaceful, prosperous, liberal democracy with a pleasant climate, kangaroos, beautiful beaches and an impressive opera house.
I’m grateful for the considerable benefits my citizenship brings. I’d rather be Australian than Syrian or North Korean or South Sudanese. I cheer enthusiastically for our national rugby team and politely explain to Americans how Australia and New Zealand are different countries and why being Australian is better.
But I don’t love my country.
(I don’t even really think it’s better to be an Australian than a New Zealander).
In fact, whenever I allow myself to give into those tribal inclinations to defend my country as better than any other I can’t sense the Holy Spirit behind that at all.
It’s tribalism. It’s factionalism. It’s divisiveness and superiority. It deceives me into overlooking the racism and injustice perpetrated in my country’s name and to focus on flimsy and ill-defined definitions of my national “character”.
And yet so many Christians appear to equate national loyalty with faithfulness to God.
Billy Sunday, the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century, once wrote, “Christianity and Patriotism are synonymous terms, and hell and traitors are synonymous.”
It’s a trap, surely, to confuse the Christian faith with the religion of American patriotism.
Remember, the term patriotism derives from the root word, patris, meaning “fatherland”. Surely, those of us who put our faith in Christ accept that our Father is God, not our nation.
And before you go saying the Bible teaches we should be patriotic, it doesn’t!
Sure, in Romans 13 Paul calls on the church to be subject to political authority. And when writing to Titus, he explains that the Roman Empire is a strange blessing in that it keeps the peace and allows the church to flourish: “…remind them (the believers at Crete) to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.” (Titus 3:1)
Moreover, Paul not only commends obedience to authorities, but also that we pray for them. I Timothy 2:1-2 states,
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quite life in all godliness and dignity.”
It could be argued that to pray for someone is to love them, but note that Paul’s motivations in Romans 13, Titus 3 and 1 Tim 2 are all somewhat self-serving. He doesn’t want Christians to become enemies of the state because it will impede the spread of the gospel.
I can’t distil from any of these passages the least inclination in Paul that the early Christians should love the empire and feel patriotic about their citizenship in it.
In fact, Paul’s injunctions to live at peace in the empire sound more like the prophet Jeremiah’s advice to the Babylonian exiles. When the Israelites were conquered by their mortal enemy and forcibly repatriated as hostage-slaves to Babylon, God encouraged them to live at peace on foreign soil:
“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters …. Increase in number there; do not decrease” (Jer. 29:5-6).
But more than that, God tells them to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7).
Far from promoting patriotism, both Paul and Jeremiah appear to be liberating the people of God from it, telling them they can make our home anywhere. In other words, it is the duty of the people of God to seek stability, peace, and prosperity wherever they go. This includes supporting the nation in which we live, but not loving it.
Polycarp, a 2nd Century bishop, was martyred for his faith around AD156. He was aged in his mid 80s by then and much loved by all who knew him. Even the soldiers tasked with his execution wanted to offer him a way out. They told him all he had to do to avoid being burned at the stake was to light incense to the Emperor and declare, “Caesar is lord.” But Polycarp refused: “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
That was awfully unpatriotic of him.
I take David Gushee’s point that because gratitude is an important Christian quality, we do well to show our thankfulness to God for the opportunity to live in free and prosperous nations (for him, the US, and me, Australia). Okay, but is that the same a loving my country?
For those of us in Christ, our citizenship is in the kingdom of God. Any nationality we adopt is only provisional. This is Paul’s view, as best I can figure it out. He drew heavily on the benefits of Roman citizenship without ever investing his identity in it.
Likewise, we can’t focus our identities around being American or Australian, British or South African, as if this means anything in the eternal scheme of things. Otherwise we fall into the idolatry of patriotism, believing that any one nation’s or people’s cause is more worthy than another’s. That kind of thing only leads to bloodshed and suffering.
I think it’s fun when on national holidays we eat provincial cuisine and watch local sports and recall our nation’s history and give thanks for the advantages our citizenship affords us. And I think it’s beautiful when the followers of Jesus can bow their heads on such days and recall they have been set free from parochialism and condescension, racism and militarism, and can thank God their citizenship is in a coming kingdom of justice, reconciliation, wholeness and peace.” (Michael Frost)
Here are my comments: The first church I pastored was a small country church and the majority of the parishioners were senior citizens. When I walked in the church I noticed they had pictures of church members and family members of the church who were veterans wearing their uniforms hanging on the wall along the back and side of the church. They had hung them there for a Memorial Day service several years ago and were never taken down. In the front of the church behind the prayer rail and altar to the right of the cross that hung in the center of the front wall, stood a large American flag on a pole in a brass stand. I was appointed to the church in June and I was only there a few weeks when I led my first service during the July 4th. I can still remember the opening hymn for that service that Sunday was “Amazing Grace.” A powerful hymn and a popular hymn, and the congregation sat in their pews as they sung it, most from memory, looking around at their neighbors and the woman leading the singing. Because it was the July Fourth Sunday, the next hymn they sang was “God Bless America.” As soon as the sweet lady behind the piano began playing the melody of the song, the whole atmosphere in the church changed! I hate to say it, but to one of deep reverence and importance. The whole congregation left their pew seats and stood up. They placed their hands over their hearts, stopped glancing at their neighbors, their eyes focused forward on the American Flag up front, and they sang louder and with more passion to this song than they did to the great hymn of the faith before it. And I remember thinking to myself, if somehow it was possible for someone to walk into that church who knew nothing about Christianity or the USA; maybe someone from outer space who had no idea what the cross or the American flag meant. And they simply observed the church service and the congregation and its worship; Who or what would they perceive as the reason the church was gathered and the main focus their worship was directed towards? It would not be the cross and what ever it stood for, but the American Flag and what it stood for.
Or if a person from another country attended that church with the veteran’s pictures on the wall and flag up front, how comfortable would they be in that service?
This troubled me. Now being a pastor and only at that church a few weeks, I knew that If I pointed this out to them and asked for the removal of the American Flag from up front and the taking down of the pictures of the veterans from the walls, it would be suicidal to my ministry there. So I Prayed, I Loved the congregations, and waited until I had enough ethos and a relationship with them to make a point. When Christmas came, the ladies of the church set up a large and beautiful nativity scene in the front of the church near the altar. One Sunday morning before the service, I took a small American flag, and I stood it up in the nativity scene right behind the manger that baby Jesus was laying in surrounded by Mary and Joseph. As the ladies who set up the nativity scene and the congregations came in that morning, they saw the nativity scene and the flag stuck in it and they complained to me and said, “Why did you put that American flag there? Jesus was not American. The flag does not belong there.” I said, ”Exactly!” And motioned with my head to the flag at the front of the church.
As I stated in the beginning of my reflection the flag hanging in the picture is in front of my house. When I look down my street, the are many houses with Americans flag hanging in front of them. This was similar to Memorial Day and other national holidays. However, I have never looked down my street, no matter what the holiday of our faith was; Easter, All Saints Day, Pentecost…etc and seen more than half the house in my neighborhood with crosses out or Christian banners hanging in front of their homes. Why are we so bold to proudly declare to everyone without reservation our patriotism and love for our country, however not our love for Jesus?
"Then God spoke all these words, saying,“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:1-5)
Please share your thoughts and reflections to my blog 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
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
Good morning Lord Jesus, I prioritize you as I begin my days that I may prioritize serving others throughout my day.
I am reflecting this morning on today’s celebration of July 4th and the birth of our country. I believe that as Christians we are called to claim are citizenship as citizens of God’s kingdom and to view the whole world as our neighbors. We are to imitate Jesus and have a world view of salvation, “God so loved the World” (John 3:16). Yet though we are citizens of heaven, those of us who live in this world in the USA are truly blessed and need to be exceedingly grateful and exceedingly generous. The USA is truly an amazing country of wealth and opportunity. We who live in America, most of the time can’t see how blessed we are to live in the USA, as illustrated by these stories of people I have encountered who have hit the lottery.
A while back I went of a mission trip for over three weeks to Southern Darfur in South Sudan, Africa. I was part of a team that worked with the children and people ravaged by the war and genocide by the Muslims of North Sudan. We dug five water wells to provide drinking water to those affected by the poisoning of their wells by the North. At the completion of one well a Sudanese woman and her three small children came to the well to drink and bath. I had brought bars of soap with me and I gave one to the woman. She took the bar of soap and cried out in a high shrill cry that is typical of African woman, “Aiy yi yi yi yi yiy yiyi !!!! She moved her naked children to the well and started pumping water and soaping them down, continually crying out full of joy! To her she had just hit the lotto! God knows if she had if ever had a whole bar of soap in her life and she treated it like gold as she washed herself and her family.
My wife Nancy and I for years were part of a group that walked “The Hill,” a, poor, high crime, high drug use area of Guntersville handing out flyers inviting the families to a free community Thanksgiving Day meal hosted by Guntersville FUMC. Every year, as Nancy would say, my heart would be impacted by a couple families I came in contact with and I would “adopt” them. I would bring their names to the small group I belonged to and we would buy them food, cloths and other items for them for Christmas. One Christmas Nancy and I brought these items to a poor family I met. The mom had a small son around kindergarten age. I remember the boy going up to the box of food and his eyes got big as he saw a large jar of peanut butter. He grabbed it and came up to me and Nancy and asked if he could have it, if it was really his? We said yes. The boy hugged the jar of peanut butter and shouted and danced anround the small living room of his HUD apartment! To him he had hit the lotto! Then he sat down on his barely furnished living room on the concrete floor, took the lid off the jar, and with the biggest grin and joy started eating the peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon. I remember thinking, if I had given my young children a jar of peanut butter for Christmas they would have pouted and looked at me “like really?” Yet to this poor boy, this jar of peanut butter was an unimaginable gift, he had hit the lottery and treated it like gold.
A couple years ago I served on a Chrysalis team that served and shared the Gospel for 4 days with a group of teenage boys. One of the boys I got to know asked me to talk. He told me about some family abuse and neglect he lived in. Tears came to his eyes as he talked about his grandma that passed away that he loved. He said she was the one that loved and was always there for him. He told me how she lived in this huge house. “It was like a mansion!” he said. It had a big kitchen and lots of rooms. He and his brothers and sisters would go over there often and she would cook them grilled cheese and help them with their homework. Then the teenage boy said they would run around and play in her large house and yard. He pulled out his cell phone and showed me a picture of him and his grandma in front of a home. I asked if that was his grandmother’s house behind him. He smiled and said as he showed me the picture, “Yes! It is a double-wide trailer with a built on front porch!” Honestly, I must confess when I think of a “huge house”, “a mansion”, a double-wide trailer with a porch does not come to my mind. But to this boy, because of the poverty he came from, in his mind he hit the lottery when he got a grandma who lived in that double-wide that he could escape into and his memory of it was priceless, like gold to him.
Each of us who were born in the USA have hit the biggest lottery we could ever imagine for which we rarely give thanks to God; Being born I the USA. When each of our heads came out of our mother’s womb it could have been anywhere in the world. It could have been in the bush in a grass hut in war torn Khartoum Sudan, Africa. A slum of half a million people in India. In a tent behind a barbed wire fence in a Syrian refuge camp. However, by some miraculous chance our heads came out in a hospital bed in the USA. We did not earn it or deserve it or were entitled to it. We simply hit the lottery. We won an ultimate prize that billions of people in the world dream and long for, and many desperately try to gain everyday, the prize of US citizenship.
Because of this all of us need to be more generous and none of us have a right to complain. I was doing that the other day with my wife as talked to her about our ministry. We raise our own support ad I was telling her how if we just had one person of all the “rich” in Madison give $50k donation we would be set for a year. I was complaining about our financial situation. And then God brought to my mind the stories I shared above and many others, and I shut up and repented.
If I ever feel like complaining, that I am “owed something,” or that “ I’m entitled to to something” or that “life’s not fair,” I need to go pull out my birth certificate. Then look at the line of “Nation of Birth” that is stamped USA, and remind myself ”USA” means Ultimate Sweepstake Award. And then shut up, fall on my knees and thank God, and go be extremely generous.
My family, I do not know what struggles our hardships you are going through, I am not trying to make light of them, and I am praying for you. However, I pray you fall to you knees and thank God that you are going through them in America. I pray today as the greatest way to celebrate the birth of our country, you simply shut up and go out and be extremely generous today, 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!
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!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
Tomorrow e will celebrate the July 4th holiday and the birth of out Country. I prayed over our country this morning. The statistic is given that there are over 185 million secular functioning people that do not know any basics of the Bible in America. This makes America the third largest mission field in the world.
Those 180 million people are members of your family, co-workers, classmates, fellow gym members, waitresses, and your neighbors. I watched the movie the insanity of God. It iss a movie on persecution of Christian and the sharing of the Gospel in dangerous places in the world. One scene of the movie looked at China. In China, even though there is horrific persecution of Christians taking place in that country, millions of people are coming into the saving faith in Christ Jesus and the church is booming. The interviewer there asked them why that is? They answered their persecutors who are atheists attack those who the share the Gospel and will not share it today or any day with anyone. So we share the gospel daily. If we go through the day and do not share the Gospel with anyone, who’s side are we on, Jesus’ or our persecutors? If we do not share the Gospel today, we choose to side with them. As how is our silence in sharing the Gospel any different than there’s is? There is the sin of omission. Failing to do what the gift of your salvation compels you to do.
You can’t do it wrong. You do not have to be a theological expert. Most of those who are sharing the Gospel in China have not read much of the Bible. Some of their underground churches have just got a copy of a book of the Bible or two passed on to them.
Read Ephesians 3:7-13; Acts 4:12
My family, I would ask you then to take time, yes time, to write out the Gospel. Have you ever wrote out the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Write it out to enforce and remind you of it, so you will have more clarity and comfort in sharing it. Then pray over what you wrote, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an unavoidable opportunity to share it today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you for my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading my friends email with me and 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 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!
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“In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great - but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians (5:28-32)
This morning instead of me writing a reflection, I am sharing with you a reflection I received from a good friend of mine in an email yesterday. His marriage is trying, he does not want a divorce, and we have have been talking and praying over it. His “Revelation” as he calls it speaks into the heart of Pauls words from the passage above. I was blessed and reminded of the high calling and holiness of marriage when I read it. I asked him if I could share it with others to remind them as well, leaving his and his wife’s name out of it of course, and he agreed. Here is the email he sent me.
“Gary,
I wanted to share with you a revelation I had this morning while praying. I also want to get it down in writing while I can, but I’m fighting A LOT of distractions this morning. Almost like someone doesn’t want me to dwell on this… Now who would do that? Maybe… SATAN?!?! (You have to picture Dana Carvey doing his Church Lady skit for that one)
Anyway, I was praying this morning tell Jesus that I believe, I trust, I love, but I want a deeper relationship with Him. I want to really know Him. I want a personal, intimate relationship with Him and really feel His presence in my life like a best friend, but then I realized Best Friend doesn’t quite mean what I want. I don’t want a God that I can hang out with, drink beer, howl at the moon and tell each other lies about the girls we dated. That’s absurd!
So, I had to think about what I do want in a relationship with Jesus. It came to me that it’s a 2-way street; what I want from Him and what He wants from me. Or to state it from the other side of the same coin, what He’s willing to do for me and what I’m willing to do for Him.
I know He’s done EVERYTHING for me; the whole Bible is the story of what He’s done for me! It also tells me what He wants from me, Love and obedience out of Love and Trust, not obligation. These are very BIG concepts and make me feel very far away from a close, personal relationship with Jesus. I understand them on an intellectual basis (as far as my mind can handle) but it’s hard for me to put this into a personal perspective.
I had to pull back a bit and ask myself “What do you want in a relationship with this God who did all this for you?”. That’s an idea I can handle, even without coffee. What I want is to know Him, really know Him, deeper than a best friend or even a brother. I want Him to be on my mind all day, and to be missing Him when I wake up in the morning and can’t wait to spend time with Him and I want to feel His presence like He’s physically here with me and can give me big hug when I’ve had a bad day and can guide me and give me direction on the best days.
Keeping in mind the He is God, I also want to be in awe of Him and worship Him and learn about Him and obey Him. I want Him to be God in this relationship so I can trust Him and know He’s got this, no matter what comes up, even if what He says to do seems illogical. I want Him to be the leader in this relationship. We’re not equals, and I don’t want Him to be my equal because I’m a mess, but I still want that intimacy from a one-on-one relationship. I want to feel like I’m the only one in the world when I’m with Him and feel His love for me and love Him and respect Him and worship Him. I want to be his Bride; both as part of the Church and as an individual. I want Him to be my Bridegroom and know that He loves me and can protect me and provide for me!
And then it hit me. BAM! This is what I want in my house, in my life, and in my marriage. I’m not saying my wife should worship me and obey me even when I’m illogical. (Well, maybe a little) I'm saying I want her to know that I do love her and will protect her and provide for her. I am her Bridegroom. I love her and will do anything for her, even die for her. I want a close, personal, intimate relationship with her and really know her and miss her when we’re apart. I want her to know I’ll give her a big hug when she’s having a bad day and I can guide her on her best day because I love her. I want her to know she can trust me because I trust Jesus. I want her to feel secure knowing that I’ve been appointed as the head of the house by Jesus, just as He is the head of the Church, and if I’m following Him it’s going to be OK, even when it seems illogical. I want her to know it’s a HUGE job and I can’t do it alone but with her and Jesus we can make it. The 3 of us are in this together and if we cling to each other instead of trying to do this alone it’s going to be alright.
I realize it’s my job to do all this for her just like Jesus, my Bridegroom, does for me. I must love if I want love. I must obey if I want to be obeyed. I must respect if I want to be respected. My actions and thoughts and feelings are my responsibility and I’ve been negligent. I can’t change my wife, but I can change and show her Jesus. She desires all these things from me so that she can trust me as her Bridegroom. She wants to know that whatever happens, I’ll be there for her just like Jesus is here for us. I need to be the Bridegroom to her that Jesus is to me!!!”
Anonymous Husband
My family, I pray that all you husbands and wives, and those of you considering marriage to another, have this same revelation concerning your marriage and spouse, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading my friends email with me and 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 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!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and work week embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38).
In the ways of Your Spirit, we reap what sow. The harvest of our lives reveals the seeds that were sown in our hearts. And every seed bears fruit after its own kind. "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. I you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7-9).
You've given me good seed: Your Word, Your Spirit, Your Life, all sown into my soul. Let it grow up in me, into maturity, into a "harvest of righteousness" where all is right with God, right with others, right within myself, all by the power of Your grace at work within me each day (Philippians 1:11).
So let my plans, and my actions this weekend be an expression of what You've done in me. You've sown so much of Your grace into me, a "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over." Give me the wisdom and the desire to sow Your grace into every encounter I'll have today and this weekend. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the good measure of God's grace in your life today and throughout this weekend, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support 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!
I sit and open my Bible and open my heart and mind to receive you love and guidance over my life today.
Last night at our House Church gathering in our home I played this video below by Michael Frost. In it He shares a message drawn from Jesus’ priestly prayer found in John 17. He highlights the facts that each one of us is God’s gift to Jesus, God’s gift to each other, and God’s gift to the world. He demonstrates this by sharing an amazing story of transformation in a slump in Cambodia, And He asks us all this question we all must discern, “To Whom are you sent?”
So fo my message this morning I am posting the video by Michael Frost to watch or play and listen to the audio of it sometime today. I would love to hear your comments after watching/listening to the video. Post them in the comments box below.
My family, I pray by listening to this video you will come to a deeper understanding that you are a gift from God to Jesus, A gift from God to eat other, and a gift from God to the world, and be able to answer the question, “To whom are you sent.”. 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
Please support and partner with myself and my family with your end-of-year financial gift as we serve as local missionaries to those in our community Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
TO GIVE, CLICK HERE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. This intimate time I begin my day with is my life-line. My personal prayer time with You in the morning sets the path for all the other times throughout my day. You're always with me and You're with me deeply and intimately in these first moments of my morning, keeping me fully aware and actively engaged with You throughout all the other moments of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.
"I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body rests secure.... You show me the path of life. In Your Presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Psalm 16:8-11)
Thank You for the joy of Your Presence. Thank You that it brings You joy when I embrace You and Your Word and Your Presence with me (John 15:11 and 16:24). And with the promise of Your Presence to Your first disciples and to all Your disciples in every age, You speak to our spirits today saying, "I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:20). By the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit, "the Spirit of Christ", with us and within us, we can see You and embrace You, again and again, every moment of every day (Romans 8:9).
You promised, "I Am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). So You are! And so my heart is glad and my soul rejoices in the fullness of joy in the intimacy of Your Presence, every day to the end of the age! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you experience the joy of the Presence of Jesus in your heart -- as you begin your day in the intimacy and communion of prayer with Him and throughout every moment of your day, 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 support and partner with myself and my family with your end-of-year financial gift as we serve as local missionaries to those in our community Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
“When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep.” And they began making fun of him” (Matthew 9:23-24)
Curtis Sergeant is an amazing man who has planed thousands of churches around the world, and consults with NGOs (Non Government Organizations and CPMs (Church Planting Movement) leaders around the world. He told me the story of when he was over in Asia in a secret location, where CPM leaders had gathered from around the world to pray, train and equip each other. Curtis said they had just gathered, when news came to one of the leaders that two of his church planting operatives in a city had just been put to death. The leader told Jesus he had to go back immediately. Curtis told him he was so sorry for what had happened, however he said all who had gathered had traveled great distances to get here, and great security and secrecy had been in place to allow this meeting to happen, could the leader just stay for a few hours of a day and fly back tomorrow. The leader looked at Curtis and said, I need to go back now to pray and see if Jesus will raise these dead men. Curtis thought to himself what he would do if a couple of his operatives were martyred and put to death. He would notify their family of the incident. Inform his board and discuss who they would send in to replace them. Contact the media to control and get a media story out. However, flying out immediately to go see if Jesus would raise his dead operatives back to life would not be on his list. The leaders faith and expectancy of the poser and ability of God both amazed and convicted him.
If I were to ask you, ask those in the church the question, How many believe that God can raise the dead?” I think most if not all hands would go up. If I asked the question, “How many expect to see God raise the dead today?” Many fewer, if not all hands would remain at people’s sides. Having a belief that God can raise the dead and expecting that God will and is raising the dead are two very different things.
Our simple, maybe even strong belief for many in the church that God can raise the dead comes out of our cognitive brain. It is a fact or data we hold to be true. It is like our belief in the fact that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the USA. What impact does your belief in the fact that Abaraham Lincoln was the 16th president have on your live today? None. What does your simple head knowledge that God can raise the dead have on your life today? None. The churches simple belief in the fact or truth that God can raise the dead has not and cannot impact on our daily life today without an expectancy that God will and is raising the dead today.
In Matthew 9:18-26 is the story of Jesus raising a young girl back to life. When Jesus tells them he was going to raise her back to life the crowd around him did not believe or support him but they laughed at him. If someone told you after the death of someone that they were going to pray and see if God could raise them from the dead, and if they asked you to come pray as well, would your thoughts be similar to those of the crowds?
The church is the place that professes Jesus is Lord, but it does not do “Jesus is Lord” well. Can I say that? We say Jesus is Lord the same way we say Lincoln was the 19th president. We say it absent for the most part of any expectancy of power and presence in our lives.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in which I am an ordained clergy said before he died looking into the future of the church, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
Read Matthew chapters 8 and 9 and see the expectancy and power of Jesus.
My family, I pray you will walk out of your door expecting to see God raising the dead and doing amazing miracles in the world today, because he is! All in and through Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I would appreciate your prayer and also any support for support myself as we reach our neighbors with the gospel through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You!
TO GIVE , CLICK HERE
