"You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember You in Your ways. But You were angry, and we sinned; because You hid Yourself we transgressed.... There is no one who calls on Your name, or attempts to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:5-8).
Sometimes we use Your silence as an excuse to sin. Sometimes we allow our disappointments to direct our decisions. Sometimes we let our bad choices led us down the path of more bad choices still-personally, as a nation, and as a people who are prone to wander away from Your will and wallow in our own self-pity, while somehow blaming You. And though it breaks Your heart, You deliver us into our own iniquity, allowing us to endure the consequences of our own choices.
Yet, at the same time, You are our Father. And when we are faithless, You are faithful. When we turn away, You come after us. When we turn inward, You draw us upward. Like a potter with wet clay in Your hands, You use it all to shape us into all You've created us to be-never wasting a moment of our suffering, never wasting even the consequences of our sins, but causing all things to work together for good.
There are some around me, I see going down that wrong path. And it breaks my father heart. Just like I know it breaks Your Father heart when I do the same in my own ways. And everything in me wants to reach out to them, to take hold of them, to awaken them to look up and see You there, to listen up and hear You there, to reach up and embrace You there. And it reminds me to do the same. Because one of the most powerful principles about the mercy and grace of Your Father love is that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).
But You won't force us to call. You won't forces us to cry out. Love has to leave room for the freedom to choose or it's not really love. And You are a Father Who loves us, Who's for us, Who wants the very best for us. But we have to choose to embrace You and Your love for us. If we don't, all the love and mercy and grace that fills Your Father heart can't really help us.
So I call on Your name, O Lord-Yahweh, Jehovah, Yahshua. I call on all the names of Your nature, O Lord-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I call on Your name-Lord God Almighty-for myself and for all those who need to know Your Father love. You are our God and we are Your people. Even when we sin and turn away, that never changes-just like the mercy and grace of a Father's love (Luke 15:11-32).
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly 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. This month, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. All are welcome!
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Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
Order our Resources: www.messiah-ministries.org/resources
Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
