Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Morning by Morning, January 5 - Holy Fire, Holy Bride

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You, O Lord my God, in every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- from every dimension of my being -- spirit, soul, and body. ...

"May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

You are the God of peace, the God of shalom. You are the God who desires to set me at a peace with You, at peace with others, at peace within myself.

And it is Your heart to sanctify me entirely, wholly, completely in every dimension of my being -- in my spirit and my soul and body. You want me sound -- healthy, healed, whole, and free. And You want me blameless -- holy, forgiven, cleansed, and pure.

But it's not by my might or my power, but by Your Spirit. The One who calls me is faithful and You will do this. You part is to do this in Your power according to Your will. My part is to willingly choose to freely embrace Your will, as I wholly surrender to the power of Your Holy Spirit at work within me.

It's true that one day, when I die, and join You in heaven in the place You've prepared for me to see You face to face and embrace You heart to heart, I will be sanctified entirely, sound and blameless, whole and holy. But at the same time, You also desire that for me now, here on earth as it is in heaven. It's not only in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ once we get to heaven that You desire to work this in me; it's also now, also here in my heart, here in my everyday life, that You also desire to work this in me, that I may be "sound and blames at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I can't make myself be sound and blameless, healed and free, holy and whole, sanctified entirely. But I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to welcome this work of Your Spirit in me. At any moment of my life, at every moment of my life, I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to give as much of me to You as I can. And to that degree, I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to receive as much of You within me as I can. You have to do it, but I have to choose it. You don't ever override my free will, but You forever invite me to entrust my will to Your will. That's the model of complete trust and complete surrender of our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane -- "not My will but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Spirit of Holiness. Come with Your holy fire and set me ablaze with a passion for purity. Come in Your consuming fire and burn everything out of me that is not yet like You. Give me the grace to fully embrace Your will for my life. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). By the power of Your grace, bring me to place -- moment by moment, with breakthroughs along the way -- where I love You with "all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength," where I "love (my) neighbor as (myself)," and where I love myself in the way You will (Mark 12:30).

In that way, by Your power at work within me, make me more like You (Romans 8:29). It has to be Your Spirit at work within my will encouraging me and empower me to will what is right and to do what is right for Your good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). As I seek You and surrender to You, as I worship You and welcome You to be at work within me, transform me into Your image, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Make me holy as You are holy (1 Peter 1:16). Perfect me in Christian love (Matthew 5:48). Sanctify me entirely (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Set me free to be like Jesus! (1 John 4:17)

My flesh does not desire this; my flesh cannot desire this; for my flesh is opposed to Your Spirit (Galatians 5:17). But by the power of the grace of God at work within, I'm no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit to the degree that I submit my flesh to Your Spirit (1 Peter 4:2). Let my flesh be crucified and let Your Holy Spirit arise within me, so that it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit and Your holy fire (Matthew 3:11). You are a consuming fire who comes to consume our hearts with Your holy fire and a passion for Christ (Hebrews 12:29). The Father has sent His Holy Spirit to prepare a bride for His Son -- that she may be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). Those who have willingly chosen to prepare the way of the Lord in their hearts and lives, to seek to be made "sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Grant me the desire and the power to be part of Your remnant, the body and bride of Christ, that yearns for Your coming and has made myself ready, all by the power of the grace of God at work within me (Revelation 19:7). "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" (Revelation 22:17) Come, Lord Jesus! Make me more like You each day! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May you be consumed with holy fire of God and a passion for Jesus to be part of His holy bride, sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!