First Day of First Grade 8-13-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By the Holy Spirit, I come to the Father, through Jesus, the Son. I give You all glory for all great things You have done. ... "God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day" (Genesis 1:5). Today is the first day of the first grade for my son, Elijah. We walked him to school this morning at Wilmore Elementary, and entrusted him to the care of his teachers. I know not all parents have the gift we have of Christian teachers for our child, with a Christian principal, full of teachers and administrators who pray for the students, in a public school built on land soaked in prayer from generations of holiness camp meetings. But that's part of why we chose to live in this little town with such a rich heritage. So we receive and rejoice in this gift You've given us. And I’m thankful for Your Spirit in our nation, where our teachers have the freedom to pray for the children entrusted to their care -- not imposing their faith on others, but fully free to affirm their faith in You. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (Constitution of the United States of America, First Amendment). "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). At the same time, I pray for the children and parents of faith You have gifted in other ways, but who will feel more like light shining in the midst of the darkness today in their public schools, rather than soaked in the light of Your Presence. But Your grace is sufficient and perfectly-fitted for each child and each parent to be Your light and bring Your light into every dark place. Wherever Your children go, the light of Your glory shines through them and the power and the glory of Your kingdom draws near, for their King and Your kingdom is within them (Luke 17:21). This first day and every day, let Your light shine in the hearts of our children and the hearts of the teachers, helpers, administrators, and all who are called by Your name and strategically positioned for Your purposes in the schools of our nation and all the earth. No matter where I children go to school, no matter who their teachers are or what faith they have, we remember Your words as we entrust them to the care of their schools: "You call Me Teacher and Lord, for that is what I am" (John 13:13). So we know our children are in the good hands of the perfect Teacher. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Order my book, Morning by Morning, and our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night 8/15 -- 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. Come early for intercessory prayer at 6:30. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 or send a note to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502