“Making Melody to the Lord in Your Hearts” 10-7-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Majestic and mighty, faithful and true, holy and worthy are You of all of my trust, all that I have, and all that I am. … “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times for and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:15-20). Surrounded by sheep and angels, no doubt, among the stone walls and rolling green hills of the Welsh countryside, we were invited to come out last night for a home gathering of fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. In the joy and peace of the incredible thickness of the Presence of Your Holy Spirit, we worshipped and laughed; we shared stories of our lives and Your faithfulness; we prayed passionately for the burdens on our hearts and for the needs of one another; we encouraged each other with Your Word and bonded with each other in Your Spirit. All the gifts and graces of Your Holy Spirit were flowing freely among us, filling us afresh with Your love and peace and joy, as we praised Your name with our words and our worship, making melody to the Lord in our hearts. It was truly a few hours of heaven on earth, as You poured heaven into our hearts. Throughout our evening, You stirred and moved through first one and then another, as Your Spirit led. It was such a fulfillment of Your Word expressing Your will for our gatherings of worship and fellowship together as the Body of Christ: “What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up…. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:26-31). Near the end of our time together, we found ourselves gathered in a circle, hand to hand and heart to heart, praying first in our common language then praying in Your heavenly language, singing first in our common language then singing in Your heavenly language. First the physical, then the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46). You gave us a vision of the light of Your glory, shining as a giant pillar of light, passing from the heavens and through the earth and under the earth. The great pillar of Your light was opening the heavens and displacing the darkness, as the light of Your glory filled the hearts of Your people and shone on this land. Lord, let it be so—in our hearts, in this land, and throughout the earth. “O that You would tear open the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1) As we left—and no one wanted to leave—I asked one of our hosts if this was what it was like in their home group every week. She said, “No, but this is what we’ve always dreamed it could be like!” O Lord, You are on the move, stirring in the hearts of Your people with fresh passion and unhindered freedom in Your Spirit, to encounter and experience Your Presence and power as we have never known. “When You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your Presence” (Isaiah 64:3). And in that freedom of Your Presence, You are making us to be more like You, filling our hearts with more of Your heart, as we lift our eyes to behold Your glory and open our hearts to encounter Your Spirit, together in this kind of worship and prayer: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Keep coming, Holy Spirit, as never before. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer on our Encounter Wales! ministry trip. The Holy Spirit is on the move! Today we'll have some personal prayer ministry times. Thank you for helping us in all the ways you join us in fulfilling our calling of "Preparing the way of the Lord ... Ministering the healing love of God" at home and abroad. If you'd like to be part of our interactive, intercessory prayer team, please send a note to Linda, our pastor of prayer ministries at PrayerLead@aol.com We now have about 210 Prayer Partners on our Team standing with us in prayer and covering us in ministry every day! God bless you!a 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!