Holy Laughter and Spirit-filled Joy 1-19-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart as I begin this day in the communion of prayer with You—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. … “He who sits in the heavens laughs…” (Psalm 2:4). You are a God who is full of joy. You are the King of the Kingdom of God; and Your Kingdom is full of joy—“righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Whether You’re laughing with the joy of the Father heart of God as You delight in Your children or laughing in the face of the foolish arrogance and rebellion of those who think they know better than You, You laugh with the joy of the Lord, with the joy of the One who sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end (Psalm 2:1-4). And You long to fill us with Your joy—“so that (Your) joy may be in (us) and that (our) joy may be made complete” (John 15:11). You are not the grim-faced God many imagine, but the God who is always moving us to pray by Your Spirit, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12, KJV). And there is no greater joy than the joy of one who knows the fullness of our salvation in You. The restoration of holy laughter and Spirit-filled joy is a great witness of Your goodness and the power of Your redemption for those who keep trusting You and calling on Your name through the darkest of days and hardest of times. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced…. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!” (Psalm 126:1-5). Lord fill me with the fullness of Your joy today. Let me see Your smile and hear You laugh. Your laugh is contagious and Your smile is irresistible. And though there is so much in the world and in our lives that would break our hearts and try to steal our joy, You are the God who loves to give “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness… that (You) might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3, KJV). You love to bless us with Your joy in the very places where we feel almost embarrassed to laugh again in the strength of the joy of the Lord because the enemy of our souls wants to crush our spirits and bind us up in the grave clothes of mourning. But Your heart and Your Word says, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” as you allow the Lord your God to turn again your sorrows into singing and your mourning into dancing (Luke 6:25). “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Thank You this morning, for filling me afresh with Your joy. Your joy, O Lord, is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Your smile, O Lord, is my delight (Numbers 6:25). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays This Weekend! Messiah Ministries will be leading again the 3rd Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit the weekend of January 22-23, 2010, hosted at Church of the Savior on Brannon Road (www.cosonline.org). Together we will seek the Lord for His vision for our city and region this year, joining in prayer, praise, and proclamation, while hearing from the leaders, intercessors, and watchmen on the wall of our city and Central Kentucky, Bluegrass region (Margaret Therkelsen, Bob Hale, Tom Monroe, Linda Whitaker, and others). Rob Poindexter and many worship teams from across our region will lead us in prophetic worship and praise throughout the weekend. Come join us if you can and join with us in prayer if you can't. I pray for unity and awakening of the Body of Christ and the City-wide Church in your region as well, as the army of the arises to advance the Kingdom of God in our generation. For details, contact Marilyn at: DirofMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591 Friday Night 7-10pm; Saturday 9am-9pm, with Linda Whitaker sharing a prophetic word of our city Friday Night and Margaret Therkelsen speaking on Holy Spirit revival Saturday Night, with praise, praise, and proclamation all day Saturday. Please spread the word! All are Welcome! January 27-30, 2010 -The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Come Join us for focused time of teaching, mentoring, discipleship, personal ministry, equipping, worship and prayer led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register On-Line for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, Click Here: Information/RegisterSchoolOfMinistryLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591 Scholarships are available as much as possible to that all may attend. Please spread the word! 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