A Thief in the Night 8-18-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the light of the glory of Your presence fill my soul. May You increase as I decrease. May You speak as I listen. May You lead as I follow. ... "For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape. But you, beloved, are not in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of the light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5.2-5). "But you, beloved..." -- Lord, let us not forget the contrast of these words. We are in the world, but we are not of this world. We are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be Your people in the midst of this world to transform this world in the power of Your Spirit to the glory of our Father. Forgive when we forget the contrast; forgive us when we allow compromise and complacency to erase the distinctions between those who follow the world and those who follow the Word. You are the Word of God and You are the Light of life. "The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1.1-5). On the day of the Lord, the world will be surprised as You come suddenly and unexpectedly like a thief in the night. But we are not the world, and we are not to be surprised, according to Your Word. We are not in the dark, we are in the light; and You are our Light. "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life' " (John 8.12). Let us not be confused into thinking we are called to surprised in the darkness on the day of the Lord, but let us embrace our call to be found shining as lights in the midst of the darkness, filled with the light of Your Spirit, as beacons of hope pointing others to You. As You said to Your first disciples long ago, You continue to say to Your disciples today, "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become children of Light" (John 12.36). Yes, Lord. We embrace our calling as children of Light. Come let Your Light shine through us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night (8/20) at 7pm in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington (2800 Tates Creek Rd) for our monthly, city-wide gathering of prayer, praise, and healing worship. Our team will be leading, while I am leading a Healing Prayer Seminar to pray at the altar in the local church at Versailles United Methodist Friday night, Saturday, and with a healing service Saturday night. This is sponsored by St. Andrews Anglican Church (www.StAndrewsKy.org) and held at Versailles United Methodist Church -- all are welcome. Please write us for details. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com