Morning by Morning, April 19 - "Sanctify Yourselves" for the "Wonders" of God
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
"Then Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you' " (Joshua 3:1).
When we sanctify ourselves - when we willing choose in faithful surrender to totally entrust ourselves to You and Your will and Your ways for our lives - we prepare the way of the Lord to do wonders among us. But before You work Your wonders among us, You want to work Your wonders within us. "For this is the will of God, your sanctification.... For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects no human authority but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you" (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).
Before You released Joshua to lead Your people into the promised land, You prepared them for the battles they were to face and the inheritance they were to embrace by preparing their hearts first - from the inside out. A mighty army without the Mighty One in their hearts would falter and fail.
And the same is true for us. The Kingdom of God will never advance through us unless we allow the Holy Spirit to advance the Kingdom of God within us. "For the Kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). "For, in fact, the Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
Lord, sanctify my heart. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Encourage me, enable me, and empower me to will what is right and then to do what is right, because Your Holy Spirit at work within me is causing my nature to become more like Your nature (Philippians 2:13). Help me to embrace Your sanctifying process of making me more like You each day (Romans 8:29). Help me keep my eyes on You so that You can change me into Your image from the inside out (2 Corinthians 3:18). I want to be ready to cross over into the fullness of my inheritance and see the mighty wonders of the Mighty One all along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I join my prayers with yours for all who are shaken and hurting from the terroristic attack in Boston and the catastrophic plant explosion in Texas. May our God who is good turn around all that was intended for evil and use it for good, calling our nation and all nations to our knees in prayer to hear His voice and follow His Spirit through the difficult and dark days, with many tribulations, through which we "enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
