Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Morning by Morning, February 21 - Holiness of Heart, Not Compromise with Culture

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit, and I welcome You to be One within me as I abide in You. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17; John 15:4). ...

As I offer to You the first moments of my morning each day, to be watching and waiting in Your Presence, grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit, I'm listening to see how You will lead. As I wait on You this morning, You're bringing to mind an image of the temple and a Scripture from one of the prophets about not compromising with the culture and religions around us. As I seek it out, I find this in Your Word:

"Then He brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with His glory... As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard Someone speaking to me out of the temple. He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house shall no more defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring and by the corpses of their kings at their death. When they placed their threshold by My threshold and their doorposts beside My doorposts, with only a wall between Me and them, they were defiling My holy name by their abominations that they committed: therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will reside among them forever... When they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple.... This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple" (Ezekiel 43:12).

As You taught on the walk to Emmaus, the law and the prophets of Scripture find their ultimate fulfillment in You, Lord Jesus (Luke 24:27). And all that happened to the people of Israel in their journey and experience of God in the Old Covenant is intended to speak to us as examples with spiritual principles under the New Covenant (1 Corinthians 10:11). So I'm listening to hear what You would speak to me from this ancient Word that's ever true for my life today. ...

What comes to my spirit and up to mind is a renewed call to holiness and purity. "Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). We are to pursue peace -- to seek to live at peace in the shalomof God with You and with one another. And at the same time, we are to pursue holiness -- holiness of heart and life, yielded to Your will and trusting in Your ways, with Your Word as our Authority and Your Spirit as our Guide. And we are not to pursue peace at the expensive of pursing holiness.

Forgive me for however I have compromised with my culture, settled for something less than Your best, given in to the fear of man rather than honoring You in the fear of the Lord -- setting up my own "threshold" by Yours and my own "doorposts" beside Yours. Forgive me for every way I have defiled Your "holy name" by misrepresenting Your Nature, by misstating Your Word, or resisting Your Spirit. I pray this for myself and as I "stand in the gap" of intercession on behalf of my Church and all You've entrusted to my care, as far as Your grace will go (Ezekiel 22:30).

Our Father God, I thank You for Your steadfast love and merciful heart, so ready to forgive and restore. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Just as You spoke Your Word of forgiveness and mercy, of hope and healing, of restoration and redemption to the people of Israel and their kings who had sinned against You, You still speak Your Word to us and our "kings" today, always pursuing us and calling us to turn our hearts again to You: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:6-9).

Come, Holy Spirit. Convict us of our sins that we may be cleansed form all unrighteousness, in the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement that ignited a great revival said to his preachers, "Expect no revival unless you preach repentance." We repent, Lord (2 Corinthians 7:14). Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us, that we would not be cast away from Your Presence but restored to the joy of our salvation (Psalm 51:10-12). "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). This is "the plan of the temple" (Ezekiel 43:11) -- Let this be the plan for our Church.

Together as Your Church, together as one, we are Your Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). And we welcome Your Spirit to come fill Your Temple with Your Glory -- the Glory of the manifest Presence of God. Come like a rushing Wind! Come light the Fire again! Awaken us! Revive us! Set us ablaze with Your Holy Spirit to be Your witnesses and make Your disciples -- not compromising with our culture but proclaiming Your Cross and Your Resurrection in the power of Your love. There is only true "peace through the Blood of the Cross" (Colossians 1:20). In the great awakening and revival that begins with each one of us, "(We) will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon (us); and (we) will be (Your) witnesses ... to the ends of the earth!" (Acts 1:8) Thank You for the power of both the Cross and the Flame! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you be stirred in a renewed passion and pursuit of holiness of heart and life, looking to the Cross of Christ and consumed in the Flame of the Holy Spirit, to be a part of God's great awakening and revival in our hearts and in our land , in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!