Morning by Morning, June 17 - "The Threshing Floor"
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your sheep hear Your voice and Your children are led by Your Spirit. Help me hear and follow You today, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
As I wait for Your leading this morning, I hear in my heart "the threshing floor." ...
Yes, Lord. What are You speaking to my spirit? ...
What comes to mind are the words of John the Baptist who had the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord in the hearts of the people:
"In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!' This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight! ... Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but One who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and will gather His wheat into the granary; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire'" (Matthew 3:1-12).
John spoke of the "threshing floor" as a place where the wheat is separated from the chaff, just as he spoke of the bad roots that produce bad fruit being uprooted and removed. The chaff and the roots were to be consumed in the fire -- the Fire of the Holy Spirit at the hand of Jesus. By the spirit of Elijah, John was preparing the way of the Lord before Your first coming (Matthew 11:4) just as the same spirit of Elijah -- the Holy Spirit in the consuming Fire of God -- is preparing the way of the Lord before Your second coming (Matthew 17:1-13). As was prophesied long ago: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their father, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6).
We are in Your threshing floor. Our hearts are being threshed. Our bad roots that bear bad fruit are being uprooted. All is being consumed in the Fire of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, in our land, in our world. "For our God is a Consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29).
John referred to this "threshing floor" as Your threshing floor -- "He will clear His threshing floor and will gather His wheat into the granary" (Matthew 3:12). That's not talking about the world; that's talking about us! The threshing floor is Your threshing floor. It's Your threshing floor for those who are Yours so You can separate the wheat from the chaff in us. Just as You're the Lord of the harvest, You're also the Lord of the threshing (Matthew 9:38).
Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Holy Fire of God! Burn the chaff out of me. Burn the chaff out of Your Church. This is the time of "the threshing floor!" Give us grace to get through this "threshing," that the wheat of pure hearts, wholly devoted to God, can be gathered up into the granary of God. Prepare the way of the Lord in us before the "great and terrible" day of the Lord comes in our world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may the Holy Fire of God burn in you and give you His grace to come through the threshing floor of Jesus, as the Holy Spirit prepares the way of the Lord in your heart for the great and terrible day of the Lord to come, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Listen and join me in today's Morning by Morning
Prayer Devotional Podcast
Pakistan Preaching Praise Report from Last Night!
Friends, I'm excited to share this praise report I just received from Pastor Rizwan after out outdoor evangelistic meeting in a new village for our outreach in Pakistan last night: Over 350 souls were saved! And there were testimonies of healing received already, as the Pastor reported this morning: "41 Persons are healed from different things. Last night one person had heavy teeth pain so pain gone after he went to his home. Two sisters came with heavy stomach pain so they told our team that today they are healed perfectly!"
Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for us to be able to hold these monthly evangelistic outreach meetings through our Internet Ministry into Pakistan. Each month, I am preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region through Skype in these outdoor evangelistic meetings. Leading our local team, Pastor Rizwan Fazal sets up a big screen in an outdoor meeting usually and interprets my message of hope and healing live in Pakistan. Then we follow up with prayer and discipleship through our partnership of ministry with Pastor Fazal. We're excited to see what God is doing in these days!
"And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come!" (Matthew 24:14)
From Last Night's Meeting. Praise the Lord!!!
New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:
Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway
Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257
My friend, we've updated our new ministry website. Take a look and tell us what you think!
Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries
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