Thursday, January 17, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 17 - An Enemy of the Cross or a Friend of Christ?
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up -- here in my heart and every moment of my day.  ...
 
"For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that also enables Him to make all things subject to Himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved" (Philippians 3:18-4:1).
 
We can become an enemy of the cross without being part of some army of another religion or some satanic cult. We can become an enemy of the cross when we refuse to take up our cross and follow You. We can become an enemy of the cross when we let our flesh be our god, when we set our minds on the priorities of the kingdoms of this world instead of the priorities of the kingdom of heaven. And we can become an enemy of the cross when we no longer "stand firm in the Lord," compromising with truth, watering down our faith, and conform to the ways of the world instead of standing in contrast through the ways of Christ.
 
Forgive us, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. The cross is the place of death -- death to my will that's apart from Your will, my ways that are apart from Your ways. The cross is the place where I can say by Your grace, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, buy Christ who lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20 NLT).
 
You said to Your first followers what continue to say to all who would claim to Your followers in every age, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in His glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels" (Luke 9:23-26 NLT).
 
To seek to "gain the whole world" -- even if we say "We're doing it for Jesus" or "We're just trying to connect with our culture" or "We're just trying to be relevant" or "We're just seeking to be less threatening or less exclusive or less judgmental or less intolerant" -- is to lose our soul as a follower of Christ and ambassador of His Church. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?" (Mark 8:36 NKJV)
 
Give me grace to "stand firm" in this age, in my generation, in my culture, in the challenges to Your Way and Your Truth and Your Life in my day. I want to be a friend of Christ not an enemy of the cross. I want to be Your beloved not Your befuddled. I want to be clear in proclaiming and living Your message -- "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) with my "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6) -- not afraid to love and not afraid to speak the truth, just as You show us through Your Life in Your Spirit and in Your Word. 
 
"Truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21). You said, "You are My friends if you do what I command you" -- not "what you think will work best in your world," not "what you feel the Bible ought to say," and not "what you would do if you were God," but "what I command you." So give me grace to be a friend of Christ, not an enemy of the cross. Give me grace to live my life in Christ, in Your Truth, is to take up my cross and follow You this day and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray you are empowered by God's grace to take up your cross and follow Jesus every day, proclaiming His message through your life as a friend of Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friend!

 

 
   

Morning by Morning, Daily Devotional Book. One's year's worth of a selection of my daily prayer devotionals -- written fresh every morning from the communion of prayer to begin your day embraced by your Father, centered in Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Join me on the journey or share this with a friend who's longing for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

 

Register for the Healing Academy.
Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

Keynote Speaker in Shropshire, England for March Conference "Release for the Captives!"
Friends, I'm excited to be invited as Keynote Speaker this year for the European Conference of the Holy Spirit through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Shropshire, England in March. The theme this year is "Release for the Captives!"  Come join us!



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 16 - The Gate of Greater Faith
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Good Shepherd, let me hear Your voice and follow Your leading, here in the deep communion of prayer with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours'" (Mark 11:22).
 
Faith is a gift from God. "For by grace (we) have been saved through faith, and this I not (our) own doing; it is a gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8). And at the same time, faith is also a choice. As You said, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22). So, just like our salvation, You have provided faith for us as Your gift, but we must choose to receive the gift. Just as we choose to receive salvation, so we choose receive faith. And the faith we receive is "faith in God" (Mark 11:22).
 
Our faith is not to be passive, but active. As Your Word says, "Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead" (James 2:26). As You were teaching Your first disciples about choosing to "have faith in God," You were also teaching how to put their faith into practice so that their faith would not be without works, so that their faith would not be passive, theoretical, or dormant -- but alive and active. You taught them to activate their faith with their words and with their prayer, telling them to "say to this mountain" and "believe what (they) say will come to pass" so that "whatever (they) ask for in prayer" and "believe that (they) have received ... will be (theirs)" (Mark 11:23-24).
 
Lord, You've been speaking to me about going through the gates this year (Isaiah 62:10) and that ultimately You are Gate (John 10:7). And I believe You're speaking to me that one of these gates of growing up into Christ, growing up in spiritual maturity and Christ-likeness (Ephesians 4:13, 15), is going through the gate of greater faith.
 
You spoke to me yesterday morning about settling the matter of faith, about renouncing doubt and unbelief and choosing to believe by the power of Your grace. And I believe You are speaking to me about activating faith by my words and my prayer with a greater expectancy and determination that Your Word is true and my prayers will be answered as I speak in faith. 
 
Lord, give me grace to persevere in this. Give me grace to not shrink back from this. As Your Word says, "My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.' But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen" (Hebrews 10:38-11:1).
 
Don't let disappointments from the past or frustrations in prayer hold me back from pressing in and pressing on to what You have for me now and throughout his new year, as I go through the gate of greater faith. Clear away those stones in front of this gate -- stones of disappointment and frustration, doubt and unbelief, negative expectations, passivity and compromise, settling for something less than all You have for me and for Your people in this new season (Isaiah 62:10). As You encourage me through Your Word, "This one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13).
 
Come, Holy Spirit of God. Clear away these stones and stir in my spirit to press in to deeper intimacy and character in Christ, to grow up in my faith, and to press on and go through every gate You've set before me this year, including this gate of greater faith. Maybe this is the first gate I must go through in order to trust and believe You'll take me through every gate You have for me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray you go through the gate of greater faith, removing every stone that would stand in your way by the power of God's grace and the faith He supplies, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 
   

Morning by Morning, Daily Devotional Book. One's year's worth of a selection of my daily prayer devotionals -- written fresh every morning from the communion of prayer to begin your day embraced by your Father, centered in Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Join me on the journey and share this with a friend who's longing for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

 

Register for the Healing Academy.
Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

Keynote Speaker in Shropshire, England for March Conference "Release for the Captives!"
Friends, I'm excited to be invited as Keynote Speaker this year for the European Conference of the Holy Spirit through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Shropshire, England in March. The theme this year is "Release for the Captives!"  Come join us!



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 15 - "Settle the Matter."
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Yielded to Your will, surrendered to Your authority, give me the desire and the power to trust You and obey You today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...
 
"Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89 NKJV).
 
As I wait on You, I hear in my heart:  "Settle the matter."  ...
 
What "matter," Lord?  ...
 
"The matter of faith. The matter of trust. Choose this day Who you will believe and what you will believe. Either My Word is true or it is not. Either I am faithful or I am not. Stop wavering like a ship tossed on the seas. Believe Me; trust Me. Believe My Word; obey My will. Know in your heart that I know what's best. Know that My plans for you are good; know that My plans for you are best. Let Me eradicate doubt from your heart so My truth can be settled in your mind."  ...
 
Yes, Lord. I want to say, "I believe; help my unbelief," like the man in the Bible who's son was tormented by the demonic spirit and the disciples couldn't cast it out (Mark 9:24). But even as that thought comes to my mind, I believe I hear You saying in my heart:  "No! That is My point. Let Me eradicate doubt from your heart so My truth can be settled in your mind. You can't make this happen, but you can agree with Me and My will to make this happen in you by the power of My grace. My will is not to help your unbelief. My will is to eradicate your unbelief. Settle the matter. Choose to believe. Then you will experience more of the realm of My Word where I have said 'All things are possible to him who believes.'"  ...
 
Yes, Lord. By the power of Your grace, let the matter be settled. By the power of Your grace, I choose to believe -- I believe You; I trust You. I believe Your Word; I seek to obey Your will. I thank You for the promise of Your Word that "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NKJV). This Word comes to mind:  "If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be give you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:5-8).
 
Father, in the name of Jesus and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, I renounce doubt and unbelief. I renounce everything that would try to make me double-minded and unstable, trying to block me from receiving from You all You desire for me, according to Your Word and Your will that is forever settled in heaven. I resist and reject those spirits and their lies; and I command them to flee in the name of Jesus! As Your Word says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you! (James 4:7) And in their place, I receive the faith to believe You're pouring into me, in the name of Jesus. By Your grace, I'm going through this gate of greater faith this year, in Jesus' name. And by faith I declare this matter is settled -- in my heart and in my mind -- from this day forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray you settle the matter of faith in your heart and mind -- choosing this day by the power of God's grace to believe Him and His Word, and receiving all He desires for You, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 
   

Morning by Morning, Daily Devotional Book. One's year's worth of a selection of my daily prayer devotionals -- written fresh every morning from the communion of prayer to begin your day embraced by your Father, centered in Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Join me on the journey and share this with a friend who's longing for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

 

Register for the Healing Academy.
Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

Keynote Speaker in Shropshire, England for March Conference "Release for the Captives!"
Friends, I'm excited to be invited as Keynote Speaker this year for the European Conference of the Holy Spirit through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Shropshire, England in March. The theme this year is "Release for the Captives!"  Come join us!



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Monday, January 14, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 14 - Intimacy before Ministry -- In My Heart from the Start
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- I worship You and welcome You into my heart and every moment of my day.  ...
 
“(Jesus) went up the mountain and called to Him those whom He wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:13-15).
 
In the ways of the Kingdom of God, intimacy is before ministry. Before You sent out Your first disciples, You first called them to Yourself. You “called” and “they came.” Their first calling was “to be with (You). And then, having been with You, You “sent (them) out to proclaim the message” in the power of Your name. They knew the power of Your name because they first knew the nature of Your heart.
 
Here at the beginning of my day, Your Spirit calls me to come be with You. My intimacy with You comes before my ministry for You. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). So I’m set apart for You and come apart with You from everyone else and everything else for these few moments, these first moments, of my morning to be with You and You alone. And then I can carry You with me in my heart from the start -- intimacy before ministry. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray you grow in your hunger to answer the call to come to Jesus, in intimacy with Him before ministry for Him, abiding in Him as He abides in you, with Him in your heart from the start, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 
   

Morning by Morning, Daily Devotional Book. One's year's worth of a selection of my daily prayer devotionals -- written fresh every morning from the communion of prayer to begin your day embraced by your Father, centered in Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Join me on the journey and share this with a friend who's longing for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

 

Register for the Healing Academy.
Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

Keynote Speaker in Shropshire, England for March Conference "Release for the Captives!"
Friends, I'm excited to be invited as Keynote Speaker this year for the European Conference of the Holy Spirit through Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Shropshire, England in March. The theme this year is "Release for the Captives!"  Come join us!



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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