Morning by Morning, July 10 - We Choose Life. We Choose Love. We Choose the Cause Worth Fighting For.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me into the abundant life You have for me today. ...
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" --Jesus (John 10:10).
There's a "thief" at work in our world. And his work is "to steal and kill and destroy." Right now, we see his "handiwork" everywhere we turn.
One of his most wicked works is to turn us against one another, to divide us and conquer us. He knows a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. When President Abraham Lincoln said those words in the midst of the horrendous civil war in America, he was not quoting some social philosopher or politically astute sage of his times; he was quoting the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:25).
As we read and hear the violent and hateful rhetoric of our times in this horrendous civil war being waged before our eyes, we know the "thief" is at work again. But Your Holy Spirit reminds us that our true enemy is not one another. Our true enemy is our enemy. Our true enemy is the thief at work in the weakness of our flesh, in the unhealed wounds of our past, in the strongholds of our selfishness and self-centeredness, in the places where we've made room for the devil and given him a foothold in our hearts and minds, in our words and actions, in our rebellion and pride, in our arrogance and attitudes of insisting on our own ways instead of following Your ways. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
There is a fight that is right. There is a cause that is worth fighting for and dying for. But that fight is not against one another and that cause is not to come into agreement and become a part of the wicked purposes and plans of the "thief" who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy."
The fight that is right is "the good fight of the faith" as we "take hold of the eternal life to which we were called" (1 Timothy 6:12). The cause that is just is the cause of the Kingdom of God that we would stand up for one another, speak out against what is wrong, and fight for one another with "the weapons of our warfare" of love and truth, of humility and faith, of proclamation and prayer, as a people grounded in God's Word and filled with God's Spirit to be ambassadors of His light in the darkness and His hope in the midst of despair (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). For God "has given us the ministry of reconciliation.... Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us" (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
So by the power of Your grace, I choose life this day. I renounce death this day. I renounce the "thief" and all his works in my world to "steal and kill and destroy," to divide and conquer. And I choose the One who is Life, the One who laid down His Life that all may live and love and overcome in the authority of His name, the power of His grace, and the mercy of His love to make a difference in our world. "For God so loved the world that He have His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy, may you be grounded in God's Word and filled with His Spirit, choosing Life and Love to overcome the evil of this world and the thief of our souls in the Cause worth fighting for, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Aldersgate National Conference on Spirit-Filled
Living - Free Virtual Conference with Prayer Ministry Opportunities this week.
Friends, please register for free at the Virtual On-line Conference of Aldersgate this year (evenings July 8-11, 2020) with anointed speakers and opportunities for prayer ministry. I'll be part of the Prayer Ministry Team in breakout prayer ministry sessions. Come join us!
Prayer for Revival in San Antonio!
Friends, I'm excited to be part of a group of prayer warriors in our community planning times of prayer for awakening and revival in our community and beyond, being led by Max Lucado in San Antonio. Please keep us in prayer to follow the Holy Spirit's leading. If you would like to be involved and help spread the word when the time comes, please send me a note: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org
New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:
Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries
Please share this word to encourage a friend!
