Passion and Perseverance of Mary Magdalene 4-6-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re alive! Be alive in me by Your Spirit today. … “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord!” and she told them the He had said these things to her” (John 20:18). I love Mary Magdalene. She’s probably my favorite disciple. She was deeply drawn to Your mercy and readily embraced Your power to forgive her of her sins, to heal her of her brokenness, and to free her from her spiritual oppression (Luke 8:2). And she never forgot it. She never took it for granted. And except for that day Your crucified body lay buried in that tomb behind the stone, she probably rarely let You out of her sight and never let You out of her heart. The one who was forgiven much loved much (Luke 7:47). I know the power of that principle—You have forgiven me of much, healed me of much, freed me of much; and now I love You very much. I never want to take You for granted, never want to forget all You’ve done for me, and never want to let You out of my sight. Mary stood at the foot of the cross on the day of Your crucifixion (John 19:25). And she stood at the door of the empty tomb on the day of Your resurrection (v. 20:1). Mary saw You first in the glory of Your resurrection (v. 20:14). You chose her alone to be the first to hear Your resurrected voice (v. 20:15). She couldn’t restrain the joy in her heart as she reached out to embrace Your resurrected body on Your way from Your burial chamber on earth to Your mercy seat in heaven (v. 20:17). You honored her passion and perseverance with the very first post-resurrection encounter of Your Presence. Some seem to have the testimony of a holy life—untainted, undefiled, somehow seeming to live above the challenges of sin and the ravages of disappointments and sorrows in this broken, fallen world. They seem to find it hard to have mercy for those less holy than they. They find the passion of Mary a little too extreme. And they find Your eagerness to forgive and free and heal one so undeserving as she a little too unsettling. That’s also a spiritual principle—“the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little” (Luke 7:47). I guess that’s why I love Mary Magdalene so much—I see a lot of me in her and a lot of her in me. And by the mercy and power of Your grace, I don’t plan on restraining my joy or letting go of my hold of my risen Lord. You honor me every day with the resurrection glory of Your Presence. May I never take it for granted. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, God bless you as you live out love and mercy we have in the resurrection power of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is risen indeed! I'm excited to get to spend this week with my daughter Madison on her spring break visiting my Mom in the mountains of New Mexico. So my morning prayers will likely be coming out a little later each morning this week from our earlier time zone. I'll be back in Lexington for our Breaking the Silence day of fasting and prayer this Saturday. Please come join us if you can in person or in prayer. Please come join us for two Messiah Ministries events coming up in Lexington, Kentucky in April, as well as The Fountain, our monthly citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship always at 7 pm on the 3rd Friday Night of every month: 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 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