Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy are You, Lord, and worthy of all my praise and all my trust, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I commit this day and my life into Your hands. …
“My speech and my proclamations were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
As You walked this earth, everywhere You went, You were proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God and demonstrating the power of God by the Spirit of God (Acts 10:38). And so we are to follow “in (Your) steps,” with the authority of Your name in our words and the authenticity of Your nature in our hearts (1 Peter 2:21). That’s how You spread the love and power of God revealed in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God through the apostle Paul. That’s how You spread that same love and power through the life and ministry of Saint Patrick, the evangelist who lead all of Ireland to Christ, with signs and wonders and miracles in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, while living daily under threats of violence and murder from the pagan kings and their druidic witches. And that’s how You continue spread Your good news to move the hearts of men and women to embrace Your grace and Your love in trusting faith today.
Last night was an exciting night of evangelism in the love and power of the Spirit of God. I was really excited be invited to share the Alpha Course talk on the question “Does God heal today?” with the group from Embrace United Methodist Church in Lexington. They meet Sunday mornings in the old Kentucky Theater down in the heart of the city. And their evangelism team holds their ten week Alpha Course, discussing questions of faith with those who don’t yet believe, next to the bar at Casanova’s Italian Restaurant downtown—literally meeting people where they are, welcome to come as they are. (The owner even let one of the women who works in the bar join our discussion!).
It seemed every story I told seemed to touch some point in the life of one of the women there. I joined with her small group discussion table to pray for her after the talk. As in one of my stories, one of her legs was shorter than the other and she had lots of pain in her crooked hips and back. As we surrounded her in the love of God in prayer, she also began to release some deep emotional pain, as her muscles in her shoulders and back began to relax. In the hands of one of her Alpha friends, as we prayed for healing in the name of Jesus, her leg grew out! All her pain went away!
Though another man wasn’t healed last night from his double vision, his spiritual eyes were drawn closer to You, through the love of God he experienced through his friends, willing to risk disappointment, to pray for him. We’ll keep praying for him too, as Your Word compels us to pray for the healing of one another to be set free from suffering and sickness in the power and authority of Your name (James 5:13-18). I’m so glad we didn’t let disappointment keep us from continuing to pray last night or we would have surely missed the encounter and experience of Your joy as we prayed for the lady who’s leg grew out before our eyes.
So as all of the world join with the Irish to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day today, let them remember Saint Patrick as he truly was. He was a humble man filled with Your Holy Spirit, powerful faith, and a passion for Jesus, who led a nation to Christ, not merely with “plausible words of wisdom,” but with demonstrations of Your miraculous signs and healing power in the love of God. And so should we, in the ways You uniquely lead each of us and with the personality You’ve given each of us (John 20:21; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; John 14:12; Acts 4:30; etc.).
As Saint Patrick, Your healing evangelist and lover of people, passionately prayed: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Happy Saint Patrick's Day, my friends! Please keep my friends at Embrace Church, their evangelism team, and their Alpha Course in prayer with me, that every seeker would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior( www.facebook.com/EmbraceChurch ). Please pray for the Alpha Course at my home church, Centenary Church, as well. I'll be excited to give the talks on the Holy Spirit at the weekend retreat on their Course coming up soon ( www.CentenaryLex.org ).
Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! March 18th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month and I'll be leading in prayer as Jennifer Warren leads in worship this month. All are welcome!
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