“Into a Good Land” 12-27-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of Israel, and Zion is Your holy mountain. Today, as I enter into the land of Your life and ministry, Your death and resurrection, I welcome You to enter into my heart and this journey with my dear friends. … “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, and land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you. Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I am commanding you today” (Deuteronomy 8:7-11). We enter into this good and ancient land today at Tel Aviv, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Truly You have brought us into a good land, a holy land, set apart for the people chosen by God to teach us Your nature and ours by the examples of their journey through this land for generations. In a sense, their journey began two thousand years before the birth of Christ, when You spoke to Abraham in his home far away from here in the city of Ur of the Chaldeans: “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham was a seeker of God, one who was willing to seek You and hear You and obey You. When You first called him to this land, he hardly knew You. But You knew him, for You created him with purpose and calling and destiny. And along his journey and the journey of the generations of his seed to follow, they would come to know You—the chosen people of God—chosen for Your purpose of revealing Yourself as the One who desires to bless all the families of the earth, the One who is eternally the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And from the bloodlines of these who journeyed in the land, there would come One to born of a Jewish virgin named Mary, and step-fathered by a Jewish carpenter named Joseph, who would be the fulfillment of this Divine blessing of all the families of the earth to come. “That in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14). Through the blessing of Abraham, fulfilled by faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel, Jew and Gentile become one in the Sprit and one in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:15). Lord, let it be so for us on our journey through the good land of Your abundant blessings. May Your Holy Spirit come meet each of us wherever we are on our own spiritual journeys. May we come to know You and Your nature, and even our own, at a deeper level than ever before, as we come to understand this blessing of Abraham that rests upon this land and its people, finding its perfect fulfillment in a personal, spiritual relationship with You, Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please join with me today to praise God and celebrate the fortieth birthday of Tammy Watts, my dear friend and deeply spiritual woman faith and prayer, for whom her awesome husband Mikal has arranged this unbelievably gracious blessing for the love of his life and included each of us. Praise God! Please keep us in your prayers as I travel in ministry through Israel and then to The Philippines, as a Keynote Speaker at the International Aldersgate Renewal Conference of the Holy Spirit. We will bring in the new year of this new season literally going around the world to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, as I leave to the east and come home from the west. 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 and faith with God every day. If you would like to join our intercessory prayer team that receives frequent updates and joins in interactive intercession with our team and with me, please send Pastor Linda Dulin a note as our Messiah Ministries' Pastor of Prayer Ministries, PrayerLead@aol.com, who coordinates our team with Carol Arban of Kentucky and Heather Butler of Wales. 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