Established in the Faith 5-27-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. It’s a good morning because I can start my morning with You. I never want to take that for granted. I always want to be thankful for the grace I have in You. ... "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7). Each day that I can wake up and open my eyes to see the light of a new day, my life continues. And then it's my choice, to continue to live my life in You or not, to continue to receive You as Lord of my life or not. A true relationship of love always requires the freedom to choose to love or not. A true relationship of Lordship always requires the freedom to choose to willing submit my will and ways to Your Lordship or not. If You ever took away my capacity to choose to continue to live my life in You, it was no longer be a true relationship of love or Lordship. I would just be a robot or a puppet, not a true son or friend. So love gives me the capacity to choose. And faith gives me the wisdom to choose You. And every day I continue to choose You, my faith in You continues to grow. That's how You establish me in faith. The more deeply I'm rooted, the more firmly I'm grounded in my relationship with You, the more steadily You build me up into a growing maturity of trusting faith in You. A mature and trusting faith is not a faith that nothing bad will ever happen in this broken, fallen world. It's not a faith that there will never be days of difficulty, heartbreak, or even misery. It's not a faith that there will never be battles lost in the day to day skirmishes of life even though the war for eternity is already won. It's a faith in You. It's a faith that You love me, You are for me, and You will be with me through it all. It's a faith that You redeem all suffering, heartbreak, struggles, and sin. It's a faith that You cause all things -- both those You will and those You never willed -- to work together for good because You love me and call me according to Your purpose. That's why I begin each day with You. That's why I continue each day to live my life in You -- in trusting faith and willing submission to Your love and Lordship in my life. With every circumstance and encounter of every day, You've taught me I can trust You and my faith is not in vain. And that's what causes thanksgiving to abound in my heart, no matter what each day may hold. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you're in the Austin, Texas area, please come to our Healing Conference, This Week, May 28-30 at Covenant United Methodist Church in Austin, TX that I'll be leading with Dan Van Nice. I'll be ministering on inner healing (healing from the inside out) and Dan will be ministering on physical healing Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday. RSVP required (512) 673-2652 or email Giana Van Nice: servantsofthemosthighGod@gmail.com Please come and spread the word! Please come join us for the Aldersgate '09 Conference on Spirit-filled Living this summer, July 1-5. I'm excited to be a Keynote Speaker this year in Greensboro, NC, preaching the Friday Night message on Healing and also teaching equipping sessions on prayer ministry for emotional healing: www.aldersgate09.org Please register on-line now and spread the word! As the Lord may lead and if it brings a sense of joy in giving, please consider joining with us as an Isaiah 35 Streams in the Desert Covenant Partner, contributing $35 per month to the vision and calling of our ministry. I'll be glad to speak with you about this by email or phone. 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 Daily Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com Order our Ministry Resources or Contribute to our vision and calling: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org