Continuing His Ministry 1-22-05

Saturday, January 22, 2005 -- Morning by Morning Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these next moments, let me hear nothing but the words You place in my heart, let me see nothing but the images You place in my mind. I give these first moments of my day to You as a willing sacrifice of worship and prayer. ... Lord Jesus, we love to sense Your joy as You continue Your ministry through the body of Christ on earth though the power of Your Holy Spirit to the glory of our Father in heaven. You taught Your first disciples how to minister healing and deliverance in Your name. Then You "gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal...They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere" -- Luke 9.1-6. You not only gave Your power and authority to these first twelve, but continued to teach, equip, and send forth Your disciples after them to continue Your ministry: "After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of Him in pair to every town and place where He Himself intended to go. He said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest...Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you'" -- Luke 10.1-9. When these disciples returned from obeying Your command to continue Your ministry in Your power, these "seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, in Your name even the demons submit to us!'" -- Luke 10.17. Their joy and their obedience gave You great joy: "At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will" -- Luke 10.21-22. Praise You, Lord Jesus! It has been beautiful these past days to see You move in power through Your disciples proclaiming Your kingdom and demonstrating the coming of Your kingdom with Your power, as You bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free! The harvest is plentiful, and it brings You joy to equip more laborers to send out into the harvest for the end of this age. You're still sending Your disciples to every town and place where You intend to go. What a joy it is to our hearts to sense the joy in Your heart as even now as You continue to rejoice in the Holy Spirit. We long for the day coming soon when You will come to receive Your harvest. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe/reply please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com God bless you!