Morning by Morning, Saturday 4-7-07 -- Descended into Hell Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm amazed at Your grace and Your desire for me to come and seek Your face, in the communion of prayer with God. ... "Therefore it is said, 'When He ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; He gave gifts to His people.' (When it says, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who ascended is the same One who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things)" (Ephesians 4:8-10). They call today "Holy Saturday" -- the day between the Good Friday of Your death on the cross and the Resurrection Sunday of Your victory over the grave. Some think of it as a day of rest, but it was not. You took upon Yourself all my sins and those of all the world throughout all generations. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is amazing grace beyond my comprehension. That is a price You paid and a sacrifice You made that I will not fully understand until I see You one day face to face. And even then, it will take all of eternity to let the enormity of Your unfailing love for me to settle in to my spirit in the fullness of this truth. So this Saturday is holy to me only because You willing chose to bear all my un-holiness upon You. So before You ascended to heaven, You descended into hell. But hell couldn't hold You. "God raised Him up, having freed Him from death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says concerning Him, '... You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One experience corruption' " (Acts 2:24-27). While You were there, You were not silent. You were not help captive, but came to set the captives free. "For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring You to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey...." (1 Peter 3:18-20). "For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the Spirit as God does" (1 Peter 4:5-6). We really have no idea, this side of heaven, all that these Scriptures mean, just how far Your grace has gone and just how far it will go. We have no idea of the enormity of the sacrifice You have made or the authority and power the blood of Your cross can have. But I thank You and praise You with as much understanding as I have, knowing already I can never repay all You have done for me. And I pray that gift of the proclamation of Your gospel on this holy day for those who need it as much as me, throughout all generations, from the heights of the heavens to the depths of hell -- as far as Your grace will go. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794