The Intimacy and the Fear of God 4-3-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. More of You, less of me; more of Your nature, less of mine. … "I tell you friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him, who after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! … And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies Me before others will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke 12:4-9). You desire the deep intimacy of a personal relationship; but You also desire the honor and respect of personal surrender. Your first disciples were full of platitudes about their faith and commitment as they journeyed with You through the days of signs and wonders, saying, "I will follow You wherever You go" (Luke 9:57). But in the days of perseverance and sacrifice, they scattered and fled, denying they even knew You (Luke 22:54-62). Lord, give me grace to follow You, be committed to You, be willing to always acknowledge You, refusing to ever deny You. Without the faith of the Son of God living in me, without the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in me, I'll be no different than Peter and the others -- full of platitudes and promises, but empty of integrity of heart and faith. But by the grace of God, I'm not without Your faith or Your Spirit. "And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now life in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). I want to be found faithful to the end, even through the days of perseverance and sacrifice, not denying You in my flesh but standing firm for You in the Spirit (Luke 12:11-12). You gave Yourself for me. And by the power of Your grace, I will give myself for You. Love demands nothing less. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays If you are in the Owensboro, Kentucky area, please come join us this weekend. I'll be speaking at a Pastor and Ministry Leaders luncheon on Friday, leading healing services Friday and Saturday nights, and teaching on prayer ministry Saturday morning. Please contact Gaye Rogers with Healing House Ministries: 270-929-3016 healinghouseky@aol.com www.healinghouseky.com I'll be preaching Sunday morning and evening at the Lewisport UMC with Pastor Rob Hughes. Come if you can and spread the word! 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 will worship together and I will share a word each morning hosted at the Winchester First United Methodist Church with Pastor James Williams www.winfumc.org Friends, please Save the Date of 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. 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 Order My Book, Morning by Morning, and our Ministry Resources or Contribute to our vision and calling: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org