Friday, December 17, 2010

Season Between Conception and Birth - Dec 17

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. I draw near to You and You draw near to me, as deep calls to Deep and spirit calls to Spirit. 

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in my Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name’ ” (Luke 1:46-49).

Between conception and birth, pregnant with the purposes and destiny of God for her life, Mary’s eyes were on You. Mary’s soul soared and her spirit rejoiced. Her calling was a high calling, with high responsibilities and high pressures. And the burdens she would endure in the journey of days to come in fulfillment of her calling for the sake of Christ would “pierce (her) own soul” (v. 2:35). Yet Mary rejoiced. Mary glorified God.

And in that season between conception and birth, Mary was able to see that she was both lowly and favored, both a servant of God and the mother of her Savior. She was blessed by the great things of God that You were forming and shaping inside her womb  and inside her heart. By the power of Your grace, she was not afraid of what she couldn’t know was to come, but rejoiced that she was chosen to carry the purposes of God for her life, as she “pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Lord, let my soul magnify the Lord. Let my spirit rejoice in my Savior. Though I am Your lowly servant, humbled in my humanity and my desperate need of Your mercy and grace every moment of my life, I am also a son of God. Like all of Your children, my calling is high and my destiny is great—I am being conformed into the image of Christ through every challenge to my calling and every distraction to my destiny, as I persevere in faith for the sake of Christ (Romans 8:29).

There may be things that will pierce my soul. There may be people who will break my heart. There may be days when I stumble and fall. But by the grace of God, my soul will magnify the Lord; my spirit will rejoice in my Savior. For the Lord my God has done great things for me. You have favored me with the knowledge of my identity in Christ and a sense of purpose and destiny for the sake of Christ. You have done the same for each of us who are called by Your name and have given our hearts and our lives to You. Let all generations called us blessed, because we are blessed with the favor and grace of our God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

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Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated. Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, KY 40502; on-line at http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ ; or by phone at 859-317-1491.  God bless you and Merry Christmas! – Tommy

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!