Plead the Cause of the Poor 9-6-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I add my voice to the growing number of voices across India who are calling upon Your name this morning and Savior and Lord. As we lift our voices and our faces to You, we are welcoming You in our hearts and in this land. ... There are times when You send us to stand before the authority of the governments of men. You call us in humility and in faith to boldly speak the words that You place on our hearts. Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh (Exodus 5.1-5). Paul stood before Agrippa (Acts 26.1-32). As the Son of Man in the days of Your flesh upon the earth, You stood before Pilate (Matthew 27.11-14). On the surface it would seem that none of this encounters went well. Pharaoh refused to let Your people go. Paul was sent in chains to Rome. You were nailed to a cross. But You were at work in the midst of every encounter, causing all things to work together for good, despite the decisions of men in the authority of their power in government. You redeem all things to accomplish Your purposes. By the stories, You give us faith to have an eternal perspective beyond the immediate decisions and circumstances. We need not fret about the outcome of these encounters, but to trust You and obey You as we respond to Your call. If we do, Your Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak and that Your purposes may be accomplished and Your will may be done -- eternally, if not immediately (Luke 21.14-15). Today, I will join Richard, one of my brothers in Christ who is an Indian attorney with the International Justice Mission, to stand before the Assistant Police Commissioner of this city with a population greater than New York. We will present our case and plead our cause for the prosecution of justice and for the freedom from oppression. We go in response to Your call and we ask You to go before us. You are the Advocate and may Your Spirit give us Your words to speak to accomplish Your purposes -- eternally, in not immediately, but we do pray for "immediately" as well as "eternity." "Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1.17). "His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins" (Isaiah 11.3-5). Yes, Lord. We receive our call and our spiritual authority to speak for the victim and plead the cause of the poor. We know You go before us and You go with us -- to bring freedom to the captives and justice to the wicked. Cause it all to work together for good, to redeem the lives of the righteous and the wicked, to bring them all to You in Your timing and in Your way. Sometimes immediately, but always eternally, You are causing the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our God (Revelation 11.15 and 12.10). Use our words and our prayers to be vessels of Your will to do our part in our generation for the glory of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please continue to cover us on our International Justice Mission here in Chennai, India. We are strengthened and encouaraged and protected by the power of God through the prayer shield that surrounds us. My teamate Gerry Calvert will also go with another Christian Indian Attorney to speak with another governmental official today. Thank you and God bless you! We also join with all of you in continuing to pray for the suffering and oppressed in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, and that He will use it all to draw people to Him. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries mailto:--MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: http://www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com/ andhttp://www.morningbymorning.injesus.com/