Born of a Virgin, Merry Christmas to All ! 12-25-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. “O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.” I adore You this holy day that all the world celebrates the birth of the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, who would be and who is the salvation of our souls and the Lord of our lives. O come let us adore You! … “Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place this way. When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son; and he named Him Jesus” (Matthew 1:18-25). Lord, before You called me into full time ministry to prepare the way of the Lord and minister the healing love of God wherever You would send me, You first led me through a season of being a trial lawyer. In those days, I learned to be an advocate for those who chose me to speak for them as their voice in the courts of law. There I learned the significant of evidence to convince the judges and juries of the truth. And when You called me to be one of Your advocates, to be an ambassador of Your voice to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus, I needed to be certain in my heart that this Gospel and Your Word were true. If I were to give my life to You and this calling, I could only live it out if there was integrity in my heart first that You would inspire me impart to others. That’s just how You created me. I remember studying and praying through this Scripture of the account of the Virgin Birth so many times at much deeper level than ever before. In so many ways, it seemed so incomprehensible from a rational, logical analysis. And in those days, my mind still grappled greatly with the concept of the miraculous and the supernatural, spiritual realm. Now, thinking of the outpouring of your Presence and the flow of healing miracles and salvation I just saw with my own eyes in Pakistan just a week ago, I praise You for how You have set me free to see this awesome reality of Your spiritual realm, so conclusively proving the veracity of Your Word and the power of Your name. But in those days, as I began to take a deeper look at this story I had heard and believed all my life, it was, honestly, a great challenge to me. As You know and I’m sure You remember my days and nights of wrestling with You! And then one day, Your Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my heart to see with wisdom and revelation that this story of the Virgin Birth is actually one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that the Gospel of Your Word is true! Writers trying to manufacture a religion as an invention of men would never begin their message with such an outrageous, offensive story. They risked exposing their Savior and Hero of thier story to the shame and sin for which His mother could have been stoned to death for defiling her engagement to a righteous man and disgracing her family—unless people actually believed that an angel spoke to them and that God himself impregnated her by His Holy Spirit. Who would believe a story like that, so illogical, so irrational? What judge or jury would not run them out of court? No one would dare present such a case—unless it were true. And it is. And maybe it first takes an openness to Your Spirit to help us be willing to let the Creator God of this universe open our eyes to this truth and all spiritual truths. “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). But I praise You, Lord, that You used that revelation to convince me of Your truth in a deep way that I needed in my heart and mind to step out in faith for the rest of my life to proclaim this message of hope, love, peace, and joy of this Gospel of the Kingdom of God revealed in Jesus the Christ. And what an amazing journey it has been since taking that step of faith in the calling and destiny You had prepared for me. How You’ve given me such a love and passion to share the truth of Your mercy and love with all who will hear wherever You lead. So this holy day, I celebrate Your holy birth—conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. As spoken by the Lord through Your prophet almost eight hundred years before the day of the coming of our Messiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, NKJV). And so You have—here on earth at that moment in time of Your Virgin Birth and forever here in my heart. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus the Christ—my Messiah, my Lord, and my Savior! Glory to God in the highest. Peace and goodwill to all! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My dear friends of the journey, Merry Christmas to you and your family this holy day we celebrate our Savior's birth from me and my family and our ministry. God bless you every one! Please keep me in your prayers as I leave for ministry in Israel tomorrow and then to The Philippines to bring in the new year of this new season literally going around the world to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Thank You so much for all your love, encouragement, prayers, and support in so many ways as you've joined me in the journey of prayer with God every day. This winter season is a very lean time for our ministry financially, so Please prayerfully keep Messiah Ministries in mind for your Year-end and Christmas giving to the ministries of the Kingdom of God. I hope you find our ministry to be good soil to sow your seeds for the growing maturity of the God's Kingdom on earth. I'll be glad to speak with you personally about our vision and calling in ministry if you'd like to join with us in your prayer and financial support: tommyhays@aol.com Thank You! to our Isaiah 35 Covenant Partners and other supporters in prayer and finances who make this ministry possible at home and abroad to the nations. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). We joyfully gratefully welcome your gifts of any size for Messiah Ministries on-line or by mail: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe for free 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