Morning by Morning, April 11 - "Led by the Spirit of God"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my life and every moment of my day.  ... 

"Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:12-14 NLT). 

Throughout the encounters and decisions I'll face today, just like every day, I will have the opportunity at every turn to choose to be led by the sinful nature of my flesh or the righteous nature of Your Spirit. My flesh--grounded in my own selfishness and self-centeredness-- will urge me to make one choice, while Your Spirit--grounded in Your Word and Your will--will urge me to make different choice. As a child of God, I want to make right choices led by the right Spirit. As a child God, I want to be "led by the Spirit of God" (Romans 8:14).  

So here at the beginning of my day, I want to be centered in You--grounded in Your Word, filled with Your Spirit, embraced in the communion of Your Presence. I'm asking You to put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, so when the opportunities to make my choices come, I'm already connected with You, abiding in You as You abide in me (John 15:4).  

Then listening for Your leading and seeking to discern Your direction, I'll be able to more clearly sense Your will and Your ways in every decision I'll make. Then "when (I) turn to the right or when (I) turn to the left, (my) ears shall hear a voice behind (me), saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:21). This is one of the greatest gifts and most precious, powerful blessings of God to be led by the Spirit of God as a child of God. So Holy Spirit of God, come lead me today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you begin this day and every day centered in Christ--grounded in the Word of God, filled with the Spirit of God, and embraced in the communion of God--so you can clearly discern His will and His ways in every decision you face, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 6 - Our Walk to Emmaus 

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart to see You--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God--as I look and listen for Your leading today.  ...

 

"Now on that day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.... So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:13-32).

 

The two disciples on their walk to Emmaus, after all the events of the cross, had known You and loved You. But in their grief and sorrow and disappointment, they couldn't see You. They "had hoped" that You were the Messiah, but now they thought all their hopes and dreams were shattered (v. 21). They had even heard stories of Your resurrection, but they were still "slow of heart to believe" (v. 22-25). Even when You came alongside them, they couldn't sense that it was You, they couldn't recognize Your voice, even though they had had such a personal relationship with You.

 

That may be a picture of many of us at times along our journey of faith. We know You, we have a real and personal relationship with You, we know the stories of Your resurrection; but at the same time, down deep inside, we still find ourselves "slow of heart to believe." When our dreams and hopes are shattered, when we find ourselves in those times of grief and sorrow and disappointment, we find it hard to see You and hear You and even recognize and remember that You are with us--that You're with us "always," just like You promised (Matthew 28:24), that Your sheep "hear (Your) voice," just like You said (John 10:3).

 

But even in those times--maybe even especially in those times--You'll come near and go with us (Luke 24:15). You'll come in and dine with us in the communion of our hearts if we'll invite You in to come abide with us (v. 29). Just as You did with those two discouraged disciples who desperately needed an encounter with You, You're ready to come and commune with all who would "urge (You) strongly" to come and stay (v. 29). 

 

In the breaking of the bread with them, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized (You)" (v. 30-31). In the breaking of the Bread of the Word of God with them, "(You) interpreted to them the things about (Yourself) in all the Scriptures" (v. 27). Then their hearts burned within them in fresh fire and faith, in renewed hope and excitement, from their personal encounter in Your Presence with Your Word (v. 32).

 

Thank You for walking with me on my journey with You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for opening up the Word of God to me, for revealing Yourself in Your Scriptures to me, "beginning with Moses and all the prophets" (v. 27). Thank You for coming to abide within me, for opening the eyes of my heart to see You, for making me more and more sensitive in my spirit to hear You. Thank You for the grace and faith to believe in my heart form my personal encounters in Your Presence with Your Word that "the Lord has risen indeed!" (v. 34) And thank You that every day You want to arise in me! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray your heart burns within you with fresh fire and faith, in renewed hope and excitement, every day of your journey with Jesus, as you encounter His Presence in His Word in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 5 - Turning Wavering Doubts into Bold Declarations of Faith

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As deep calls to calls, my spirit calls to Your Spirit in the deep communion of prayer. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ... 

"But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.' A week later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in My side. Do not doubt but believe.' Thomas answered Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those have not seen and yet have come to believe'" (John 20:24-28). 

I like Thomas--not just because he has my name, but because I see a lot of me in him. What some would call doubt, I would call determined discernment, insistence upon truth, a high value for un-flaky faith, keeping it real. Before I was a minister, I was a lawyer. And as I began to grow in my faith, it was important to me to believe what true before I could preach it or teach it as true. And I suppose after these many years of my personal journey of faith, I'm still that way. 

But like Thomas, what's helped me so much in my journey of faith are my personal encounters with You. Thomas' personal encounter with the risen Lord made him a believer. And it's the same with me. 

I've encountered You in the midst of my guilt and shame where I've deeply regretted what I've done. In Your resurrection power, You forgave me and empowered me to forgive myself and cleanse me from my shame. I've encountered You in the midst of so many moments of failure and heartache, of feeling rejected and unloved, of being misunderstood and judged, of confusion and frustration, of finding myself weary, discouraged, and worn out, and in so many more of those moments when I wish I could just put my finger in Your hands and my hand in Your side. But every time, You've put Your hands around my heart and breathed Your Spirit into my life to lift me up and dust me off and send me along with even more faith, more trust, and more love for You than ever before. Every one of my personal encounters with You have made me a believer, believing even more strongly in every encounter. 

In that powerful moment of Your undeniable Presence, You turned all of Thomas' wavering doubts into a bold declaration of faith--"My Lord and my God!" It's actually the highest and most direct declaration from any person in all the Bible that Jesus is Lord and God. And it's a boldness of faith that never left him after that encounter. I've been to the very place on my ministry travels to India where Thomas was martyred for his faith with a spear through his heart that never stopped loving You or beating passionately for You to preach Your Word and minister in the power of Your name until the day he died. 

I love how You take our greatest weaknesses and turn them into our greatest strengths. In the very places where we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the power of Your grace, You give us authority and passion in Your Spirit to testify to Your love help others encounter the One who's done so much for us. I love how You turn sinners into saints, brokenness into breakthrough, and even lawyers into preachers! Thank You for turning my doubts into declarations and my failures into faith. Lord Jesus--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--You are "my Lord and my God!" And I love You with all my heart and offer all my life to You again this day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray your personal encounters with the risen Lord turn your doubts into declarations and your failures into faith, with a passion to love and serve your Lord and your God with all your heart, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 4 - Breathe on Me, O Breath of God

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in Your resurrection power in my life today.  ...

 

"Then He breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22 NLT).

 

Breathe on me, O Breath of God. Let Your Spirit fill my lungs with praise. Let your Breath fill my mouth with Your words. Let Your Presence abide in my soul.

 

Breathe on me, Lord. Breathe new life, fresh passion, renewed determination to seek Your face, to follow Your ways, to be the child of God and disciple of Christ You created me and called me to be--not in my strength but in Your power, not in my goodness but in Your righteousness. 

 

I desperately need You. I breathlessly await You. Increase my capacity to breathe You in as You breathe on me. Fill me afresh that You can overflow anew through me this day and this next season of my life in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you are filled afresh with the Breath of God to overflow anew with His life and love flowing out of you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

Friends, if you're in the San Antonio area, please come join us Tonight, Wednesday Night, April 4th at 7pm, for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing Prayer at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing this month. Personal Prayer Ministry will be available. All are welcome! More Info: First Wednesday Service

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 3 - "So I Send You"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me in Your ways today--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them. 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (John 20:19-23).

 

Just as the Father sent You, so You send us. Just as the Father sent You to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God, to demonstrate the power of the gospel of the kingdom of God, so You send us -- all in the authority and the power of Your Holy Spirit. 

 

As You are, so are we to be in this world (1 John 4:17). We are the "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). We are filled with the "Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). And now we continue the "ministry of Christ" through our lives for Your glory in Your name (Romans 16:13 NLT;  Matthew 28:18-20). All who truly believe in You will continue to honor and obey You by doing the works that You do in the same power of the Holy Spirit You had when You walked this earth (John 14:12). "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.... He went about doing good and healing all were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38).

 

Though You were crucified, buried, raised from the death, and ascended into heaven, You are with us always (Matthew 28:20). Your Spirit--"Spirit of Jesus Christ"-- is with us and within us (Philippians 1:19). As the Father sent You, so You continue to send us--in Your Spirit, in Your power, in Your name. Here I am, Lord. Send me today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you go with boldness, faith and joy everywhere the Lord sends you to fulfill all He has for you in His Spirit, in His power, and in His name, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

Friends, if you're in the San Antonio area, please come join us Wednesday Night, April 4th at 7pm, for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing this month. Personal Prayer Ministry will be available. 

All are welcome! Information at: First Wednesday Service

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 2 - Resurrection Life Everyday

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in my heart and shine through my life today.  ...

 

"The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you" (Romans 8:11 NLT).

 

Resurrection Sunday is the first day of a resurrection life. You were raised from the dead and so was I. On the day I welcomed You into my heart and Your Spirit came rushing in like a mighty wind to save me and raise me up into newness of life my resurrection life began. "For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives" (Romans 8:4 NLT).

 

Father God, fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Come, Holy Spirit, move in resurrection power in my spirit and through my life. Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day. As You are, so am I to be in my world (1 John 4:17).  So raise me up and send me out in the fullness of the resurrection life You died for me to live. "Therefore it says, 'Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!'" (Ephesians 5:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you awaken and arise to shine with the light of the glory of God in the resurrection power of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

Friends, if you're in the San Antonio area, please come join us Wednesday Night, April 4th at 7pm, for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge. I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing this month. Personal Prayer Ministry will be available. 

All are welcome! Information at: First Wednesday Service

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 1 - Come Alive and Arise in Me!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the resurrection and the life. Come alive and arise in me today and every day. ...

 

"Jesus said to her, "I AM the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?' She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming into the world'" (John 11:25-27).

 

On this Resurrection Sunday, I say to You, like Mary and the followers of Jesus throughout the ages, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming into the world." You're the One who's come into my world and into my heart to change my life and my world around me in the glory of Your name and the power of Your love. 

 

My heavenly Father, fill me afresh with the Spirit of Christ, with resurrection power. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in (me), He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to (my) mortal body also through His Spirit that dwells in (me)!" (Romans 8:11)  So I welcome Your Word and Your Spirit to come alive and arise in me today and every day. In Jesus' name pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you are filled afresh with the Spirit of Christ, coming alive and arising in you this day and every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, March 30 - "Astonished Silence"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for the leading of Your Holy Spirit, here in the embrace of my heavenly Father.  ...

 

"When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake" (Revelation 8:1-5).

 

As I woke this morning, I thought of the cross. I thought of Your suffering and sacrifice, Your mercy and love. I thought of Your holy humiliation that our human minds can't begin to comprehend as You cried out from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). And then these words came to my heart:  "Astonished Silence."

 

Your Spirit brought to mind the silence of heaven when You opened the seventh seal in the Apostle John's Revelation. There were "peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake" (Revelation 7:5). It was the same on the day of Your death at the cross:  "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed His last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split" (Matthew 27:50-51).

 

Every prophecy is ultimately fulfilled in You, as are "all the Scriptures" of the Word of God (Luke 24:27). You are the very Word of God, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). And this morning, I see a parallel in this prophecy of Revelation and a partial fulfillment--one in the eternal realm of heaven with the Lamb of God who stands at the throne and one in the historical realm of earth with the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Revelation 5:6; John 1:29). And in my heart I hear, "Astonished Silence."

 

In the midst of the earthquakes and darkness on that holy day of Your sacrifice and death at the cross, and in the midst of the ultimate judgments that must come upon the earth and upon those who would reject Your mercy and love, I sense the "astonished silence" of heaven. With all of heaven, I'm astonished that God would die for me, astonished that the fury of hell and the mercy of heaven could meet at the cross--at once, both cruel and beautiful, at a moment in time on this earth but forever timeless in the eternity of heaven--and astonished that all will not humble their hearts to receive all You've done for us at such a cost. With the silence of heaven, I am astonished at Your sacrifice of love I have no words to express. ...

 

As I ponder these thoughts in my heart this morning, I can hardly speak at all. I simply say Thank You, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you experience the mercy and love of the One who sacrificed so much for you at the cross--at once, both cruel and beautiful, yet necessary for the salvation of your soul and mine, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, March 28 - "Jesus Said, 'I AM.'"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, 'Have You no answer? What is it that they testify against You?' But He was silent and did not answer. Again the  high priest asked Him, 'Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?' Jesus said, 'I AM; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven'" (Mark 14:60-62)

 

You are the Messiah, the Christ, the One who is both Son of Man and Son of God, the Word of God made human flesh like us, to walk among us and willingly lay down Your perfect and sinless life for us as the atoning sacrifice for all our sins that we might know You and live with You forever in the very presence of God. You are I AM (John 8:58; Exodus 3:14).

 

At that divine declaration, the high priest rended his garments in fleshly exasperation because he didn't believe. But Your Holy Spirit compels all who would hear and believe to rend our hearts in holy desperation to welcome You in as Lord and Savior. "Yet even now, says the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing" (Joel 2:12-13).

 

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I rend it open to You today. Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Remind me of Your sacrifice that compels me in Your love. "For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross.... As a result, He has brought (us) into His own presence, and (we) are holy and blameless as (we) stand before Him without a single fault. But (we) must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it" (Colossians 1:19-23).

By the grace of God, I'm a child of God, forgiven and free, through all You've done for me. "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, I pray you are moved by the Holy Spirit to persist in the faith, compelled by love, in holy desperation rending open your heart in ever-deeper surrender to the One who loves you and laid down His life for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers for us this past weekend for our Kingdom Glory Conference at the Francis Asbury Society Headquarters in Wilmore, Kentucky just outside Lexington. We encountered the deep presence of the Lord with His encouraging words and healing power of His love, refreshed and revived to be Ambassadors for Christ everywhere He sends us. I pray the same for you! God bless you!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!