Fellowship of His Sufferings, Power of His Resurrection 4-9-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy are You, Lamb of God, who takes away my sin and all the sins of the world. Worthy are You, Lamb of God, who gave Your life for me that I might live my life in You. … "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11). They mocked You, rejected You, ridiculed You, taunted You, judged You, and condemned You (Luke 22:47 through 23:39). You said to those who came to seize and arrest You, as a lamb led away to the slaughter, and all that they represent in the wickedness and rebellion of man, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). Yet somehow, at the same time, "It was the will of God to crush (You) with pain" (Isaiah 53:10). Somehow the rebellion of man, the power of darkness, and the will of God aligned "to make (Your) life an offering for sin" so that "through (You) the will of the Lord shall prosper" (Isaiah 53:10). Somehow, in the mystery of faith and the purposes of God, You set aside the glory of heaven to humble Yourself in human flesh to willingly subject Yourself to the will of man and the power of darkness out of Your steadfast love and incomprehensible love for us "to the point of death -- even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-11). Through Your sacrifice of love, You "rescued us from the power of darkness" (Colossians 1:13). "For in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross" (Colossians 1:19-20). And now You call me to prepare to die to my self. You call me to be ready to endure mockery and rejection for the sake of Your name in the spirit of Your love. You call me to "share in the fellowship of (Your) sufferings" if I am to truly "know (You) and the power of (Your) resurrection" (Philippians 3:10, NKJV). You call me to willingly submit to the will of God to pray for those who persecute me, bless those who curse me, and love those who hate me. You call me to say with You, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34). You simply say, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12). Only through the fellowship of Your sufferings can I know the power of Your resurrection. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we have special guests coming to The Fountain this month on April 17th with the Drum Corp and Drama Dance Team from our friends at The Tabernacle Church in Prestonsburg. A flyer is attached. Please spread the word and come join us! Please Come Join Us Friday Night, April 24th for our annual Messiah Ministries Celebration Dinner in Lexington to celebrate all the Lord is doing through our ministry and share our vision and calling with all our supporters and friends. You are invited and Dinner is Free! Please make plans to come and bring some friends who may have a heart for what we are doing. Our invitation card is attached. For planning, we will need an RSVP to Marilyn or a table host: DirOfMinistries@aol.com We always need lots of volunteers to help also, so please send us a note if you'd like to help in that way. God bless you during this Holy Week. If you're in the Winchester, Kentucky area, please come join us each morning at 7 am for community-wide Holy Week services, where we worship together and I share a word each morning hosted at the Winchester First United Methodist Church with Pastor James Williams www.winfumc.org Subscribe by email to me at 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