Monday, July 23, 2007

Prophecy in the Power of Love 7-23-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your face is the first thing I seek; Your name is the first thing I speak, as I choose to begin this day with You. ... "Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophecy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). To prophecy is to hear and speak Your words for Your purposes in the power of Your love. You call us each to strive for this gift of prophecy especially, above all other spiritual gifts, as we pursue the path of love. To hear Your words of life and truth and to speak them into one another's lives is a manifestation of Your love and encouragement You desire to express through us. "Those who prophecy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (v. 14:3). In Your sovereignty, You have chosen to encourage and comfort Your people through Your people as a means of Your grace by the gifts You give. "Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 4:10-11). And how will we know what to speak, unless we first listen? How will we be able to listen, unless we first set aside the time it takes to seek Your face and listen for Your voice in the silence of surrender to Your will? "Because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:21). Lord, I choose to obey Your command to pursue love, to strive for spiritual gifts, and especially to prophecy. Work in me the humility to listen before I speak, the yearning to seek You before all else, the compassion to speak the truth in love, the sensitivity to know how to speak in the way that brings life and hope, the wisdom to know when to speak and when to pray, and the courage to obey the prompting of Your Spirit. "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20). Work in me Your nature to be Your ambassador, faithfully representing the Father's heart the mind of Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit as I prophecy Your words of truth and life in love. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays 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 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