"And Now …" 12-10-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. One with the Father, one with the Holy Spirit, come be one in me. … "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you…. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will call Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end…. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be holy; and He will be called Son of God' " (Luke 1:26-35). Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid because she had "found favor with God." Knowing Your favor -- knowing Your presence, Your peace, and Your pleasure with us as Your children -- should calm our hearts and steady our minds from all fear. Your favor is a reflection of Your love. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). When we know You are with us in Your love, we need not fear. You will bring us through whatever we may face. And in the favor of God, the angel said "and now" Mary would conceive in her womb the purposes of God for the calling and destiny of her life: "For you have found favor with God. And now …." It's only in Your favor that we can fulfill our purpose, calling, and destiny. It's only in Your favor that we have any purpose or calling or destiny. Because Mary "found favor with God" so that the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, could be conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Living God in her human womb, we can all find favor with God. We all have favor with God through the willing sacrifice and perfect love of this holy Child. "And now" we can all be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, who can conceive and birth in us the plans and purposes of God for each of our lives. In the favor of Your present and perfect love, we will not fear; we will fulfill our destiny in Christ. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, as the Lord leads, please remember Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving. We raise all our own support to fulfill our calling in Christ of "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" according to our foundation Scripture of Isaiah 61. Month by month for 12 years of ministry, we have always found our God to be faithful. Thank you for being a part of that with your prayers, encouragement, and provision! God bless you, my friend and favored one in Christ! -- Tommy Friends, following The Fountain this month (December 19th), we will have our Messiah Ministries Christmas party to celebrate the season and our Savior with fun and food together. So please come join us. All are welcome! Please RSVP to Lisa by December 12th at mmeventassist@aol.com or 859-543-0658 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 for prayer, praise, and healing worship. 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 or send a note to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com Save the date of January 9-10 for our Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit which we'll be hosting again in Lexington this year. 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 Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com Please Click Here to Contribute or Order our Ministry Resources On-Line