The Hinge of History 4-1-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy One worthy of all praise, humble to ride on a donkey and allow sinful men to nail You to a cross, yet heralded by angels and all generations who bow their knees at the mention of Your name. I bow my knees and open my heart as I praise Your holy name in these first moments of my day. … “Then He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet, not My will but Yours be done’ ” (Luke 22:41-42). The hinge of history hangs on Your prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane. As Son of Man, You had free will to choose whether to drink of the cup of all our sins, whether to submit and surrender to the will of the Father while knowing the horrific cost of Your sacrifice to come. And You wrestled with that choice. You anguished over all it mean. You counted the cost as You foresaw the moment when You would fulfill the prophecy of being forsaken by God in the moment our sins were imparted to You—“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46, fulfilling Psalm 22:1). Yet You chose to drink the cup. You chose to submit Your will to the will of the Father. You chose to sacrifice Your sinlessness for our sinfulness. You chose to break Your eternal intimacy with the Father so that we could have it, to allow Your righteousness to be defiled so that we could become the right with God through this sacrifice of Your love. “For our sake He made Him sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5;21). We cannot really even fathom the cost of all You were willing to endure by Your choice to drink that cup of our sins for our salvation. You were willing to go to hell on our behalf so that we would never have to (1 Peter 3:18-22). You were willing to be forsaken and separated from God the Father in the moment You became “the atoning sacrifice for our sins” so that we would never have to (1 John 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). But what if You had not been willing to make that choice? What if You had not been willing bow in prayer, to seek the will and the heart of the Father, and to yield to it no matter the cost? If Christ were not crucified we would still be dead in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). Our very lives hung in the balance of Your choice. Our capacity for intimacy of relationship with God swung on the hinge of history that night You kneeled in the Garden to pray. Without Gethsemane there would be no Good Friday. Without Your choice to yield to the will of God we would have no choice to embrace it ourselves. I really have no idea just how much Your choice cost. But as much as I know, I thank You and praise You now for making that choice for me then. When You chose to embrace the will of the Father, You chose to embrace the love of the Father for me. In this is love—the love of the Father and the love of the Son, now poured into my heart and the hearts of all who would humble themselves to believe it and receive it by the love of Your Holy Spirit now living in us by the mercy of Your grace (Romans 5:5). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come join us for two Messiah Ministries events coming up in Lexington, Kentucky in April: April 10, 2010 Day of Prayer and Fasting we're calling "Breaking the Silence--Restoring the Voice of Women in the Church" based upon Acts 2:17-18. Laura Beach and I will be leading in prayer along with various worship leaders throughout the day. April 28-May 1, 2010 "The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, Level 2." Please contact Marilyn, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries for more information: DirOfMinistries@aol.com 859-317-1591 The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, Level 2 A focused time of teaching, mentoring, discipleship, personal ministry, equipping, worshipping and prayer led by Tommy Hays and a Messiah Ministries teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will continue to 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. Level 2 gives deeper experience, opportunity, and practice in healing ministry. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: Information/RegisterSchoolOfMinistryLevel2 God bless you this Holy Week of preparing our hearts to experience the resurrection power of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Subscribe by email to Tommy Hays at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute on-line: www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502