What God has Called Clean 7-12-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my life and at the foundation of my day. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, my All in All. … “Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven” (Acts 10:9-16). Peter was hungry for the deep things of God. He was hungry to encounter Your Presence and to know Your will. He prayed fervently for Your heavens to open and Your glory to come down. And as his spirit yearned to be filled, so it was in his belly as well, in the union and alignment of spirit, soul, and body that prayer brings. But when You answered his prayers and opened Your heavens, he didn’t see what he expected to see. And when You spoke to his heart and the direction of his life in the next season of his journey of faith, the voice he heard didn’t say the things he thought You would say. So in Your mercy and patience, You spoke to him “a second time.” In Your persistence to change the paradigms of his perceptions—even those entrenched so deeply by generations of tradition, grounded so firmly in the letter of the law of God—You opened his eyes to see what You were doing and hear what You were saying “three times.” You were preparing his heart to be ready to respond to Your Spirit when the time would soon come to “get up (and) go with (those You sent to him) without hesitation” (v. 10:20). Because Peter took time to spend alone with You in prayer, he could discern the voice of Your Spirit, even when it seemed at first the Spirit of the law was speaking in contradiction to the letter of the law. Though he wasn’t ready to shift his thinking the first time You spoke, he was willing to listen because he was seeking the truth and eager to yield his life to Your will. He just needed You to confirm Your will and explain Your Word by the leading of Your Spirit. And so You did—all in Your time and in Your way as He sought to hear Your heart. And the heart of Your explanation of Your Word to Peter was this: “Do not call unclean, what God has called clean.” Peter knew his Word. And Peter knew Your Spirit. Peter grew in wisdom and obedience as he grew in humility and faith, spending time with You in the intimacy of communion in prayer. And at the center of it all was his growing understanding of all You had done for him and desired to do for all through the power of the blood of Jesus. You were teaching him the heart of the message he would proclaim and live among whomever You would send him and wherever he would go for rest of his life: There’s no sin the blood of Jesus cannot forgive, no sinner the blood of Jesus cannot save, no wound the blood of Jesus cannot heal, no chain the blood of Jesus cannot break, no tragedy of the struggles and shame and pain of life the blood of Jesus cannot redeem. If it means anything at all, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God means there is always a fresh start, a clean slate, and a new beginning for all we will entrust into the hands of God at the foot of the cross and under the blood of Jesus. “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). “O precious is that flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Thank You, Lord, for the blood of Jesus that cleanses all I have entrusted to You. You forgive all my sins, heal all my wounds, redeem all my mistakes. Through the blood of Jesus, I’m now cleansed “from all unrighteousness” despite anyone else’s judgment or understanding of the traditions of men or the letter of the law. As You made clear to the religious thinkers of Your day and as Your Spirit makes clear to all who seek Your truth and Your will through spending time in Your Word in the intimacy of communion in prayer today, You came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). None of us can—no matter how good we think we are or how righteously we think we’re living our lives according to the letter of the law of Your Word. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. And all I can do is choose to bring, by the power of the grace You give, all that I am and all I have into the hands of my God at the foot of the cross and under the blood of Jesus. And so I do. And having done that, no matter what anyone thinks or says about me or any other who’s given their sins and struggles, their shame and pain to You, I’m forgiven and cleansed “from all unrighteousness”—even as if I had never sinned and never been sinned against. That’s the center of the Father heart of God who loves me and forgives me by the mercy of Your grace poured out upon me through the power of the blood of Jesus. That’s the good news of a fresh start, a clean slate, and a new beginning to me. Praise God. Thank You, Jesus. So let me not sin and break Your heart, denying the power of the blood of Jesus, by calling unclean what You have called clean—whether in another or in myself. Get this truth at the heart of Your Word settled deep down within my spirit so I can get up and go, proclaiming and living this message of the power of Your love wherever You send me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My friend, thank you for your prayers for me and my time away with family this summer. This has been a wonderful time of rest for me, despite the struggles we had. God was faithful to be with us through it all. Now I'm ready to come back and press in with a renewed spirit into what the Lord has for me and our ministry in this next season. Thank you for joining with me! Aldersgate 2010 National Conference on Spirit-Filled Living July 14-18 Come join us for Aldersgate in Charleston, WV this summer. I'll be teaching an equipping session on emotional healing and serving on the prophetic ministry and prayer ministry teams. Randy Clark will be the keynote speaker on healing and Craig Marsh will be ministering in his gifts of the miraculous, along with many other teachers and speakers for what's always a highlight of my summer: www.aldersgate2010.org See you there! July 30-August 1, 2010 Healing Prayer Weekend at Asbury Inn, Wilmore, Kentucky. Come away for a powerful weekend retreat with times of teaching, personal prayer ministry in a safe setting of worship that welcomes the healing Presence of God. Led by Tommy Hays, along with our worship team and prayer ministry teams. For more information or to Register for our Healing Prayer Weekend… ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterHealingPrayerWeekend September 8-11, 2010 -- The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Join us for a focused time of teaching, equipping, personal ministry, worship and impartation for healing prayer ministry led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterFountainSchoolLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker, DirOfMinistries@aol.com or cell 859-317-1591 Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!