Thursday, January 24, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 24 - The Gate of Deeper Humility
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life this day.  ...
 
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of His glory, He may grant that you be strengthened in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:14-17).
 
In these few verses, Your Word speaks of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Your Word speaks of power, purity, and purpose; Your Word speaks of faith, hope, and love; Your Word speaks of identity and destiny, of intimacy and maturity. And it all begins with humility -- "I bow my knees before the Father."
 
Humility is such a gateway to all You have for us. As we come to the end of ourselves to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, You fill us up and grow us up -- "that (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). As we "humble (ourselves) in the sight of the Lord, (You) will lift (us) up" (James 4:10 NKJV). 
 
To humble ourselves is to agree with You and Your Word that "apart from (You), (we) can do nothing" (John 15:5). And to embrace our identity, rooted and grounded in the security of Your love, so we can grow up into maturity is to agree with You and Your Word that we are never apart from You, that "(You) are with (us) always" (Matthew 28:10). Then to live into our destiny is to agree with You and Your Word that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). 
 
Through our spiritual journey of learning humility, security, identity, destiny, and maturity, we come to the place where "all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NKJV). This is a gate of greater faith that must begin by first going through the gate of deeper humility.
 
Your life on earth as the Son of Man shows us the way of going through the gate of humility first:  "And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name" (Philippians 2:7-9).
 
You exalt the humble. You give us our name as we take on Your nature. And the heart of Your nature is humility, faithfulness, and obedience, all rooted and grounded in sacrificial love. "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). As Your Word commands us, "Let the same mind be in (us) that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). That's the way that leads through the gates of all You have for us and to the fulfillment of Your Word "that (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19; Isaiah 62:10). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Tommy, I pray you are growing in deeper humility, desperately dependent upon God alone, that He may lift you up and take you through every gate of His promises for you, that you may be "filled with all the fullness of God," in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friend!

     

Pastors and Leaders Spiritual Retreat. Friends, please keep us in prayer this Saturday as I speak on prayer at a spiritual retreat for pastors and leaders hosted at the First United Methodist Church in La Grange, Texas:  "Deep to Deep -- Greater Intimacy with God" and "Spirit-Filled, Spirit-Led"
   

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 23, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 23 - The God Who Withholds No Good Thing
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.  ...
 
"No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 85:11).
 
You are not stingy. You are not controlling or distant in Your compassion and care. You are not miserly or manipulative with Your blessings of grace and lavishing of love. It's not in Your heart to hold back or withhold any of Your good things. You are a good and generous Father who loves to "give good gifts" to Your children (Matthew 7:11).
 
You are a "God (who) is able to provide (us) with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, (we) may share abundantly in every good work.... He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply (our) seed for sowing and increase the harvest of (our) righteousness" (2 Corinthians 9:8-10).
 
Lord, make me more generous like You. Give me the grace of "great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11). Make me "a cheerful giver" -- full of joy in receiving and full of joy in giving (2 Corinthians 9:7).
 
Give me the grace to think rightly and "walk uprightly" with You. Line up my thoughts with Your thoughts, my heart with Your heart, and my nature with Your nature (Romans 8:29). Set me free from every fear of not having enough. Deliver me from every doubt about Your great generosity and covenant commitment to provide abundantly for all I need. And give me greater faith to believe "My God will supply every need of (mine) according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
 
"Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My Friend, I pray you are growing in the grace of knowing the heart of our God who withholds no good thing from us to give us great joy in receiving and great joy in giving, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friend!

   

Pastors and Leaders Spiritual Retreat. Friends, please keep us in prayer this Saturday as I speak on prayer at a spiritual retreat for pastors and leaders hosted at the First United Methodist Church in La Grange, Texas. "Deep to Deep -- Greater Intimacy with God"
   

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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Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 22 - My Words Matter
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my heart with Your heart, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my will with Your will, and my ways with Your ways -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...
 
"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:34-37).
 
According to Your Word, my words matter. And my words manifest what's in my heart. So Lord, I give You my heart and I give You my words. You are the Good Treasure in my heart that lets good treasure come out of my mouth. "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10 KJV). "My tongue will sing aloud of Your deliverance.... and my mouth will declare Your praise" (Psalm 51:14-15).
 
Like Isaiah, take a burning coal from Your altar and touch my lips (Isaiah 6:6). Let Your Holy Spirit burn in my spirit to purify my heart and sanctify my words (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You" (Psalm 19:14). And then, like You, may my words be "spirit and life" to bring encouragement and hope in the authority of Your name, with Your nature in my heart and with Your Spirit abiding within my spirit (John 6:63; 14:17; and 15:4).
 
In both humility and faith, I embrace the promise and authority of Your Word:  "Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever" (1 Peter 4:10-11). 
 
By the power of Your grace, may the words I utter be comforting instead of careless and penetrating instead of powerless. My words matter. So let my words make a difference in my world and in the lives I encounter today everywhere You lead. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray the words that come out of your mouth are spirit and life because Jesus is in your heart, bringing forth good treasure because the One who is the Good Treasure always abides in you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me! God bless you, my friend!

    

Pastors and Leaders Spiritual Retreat. Friends, please keep us in prayer this Saturday as I speak on prayer at a spiritual retreat for pastors and leaders at the First United Methodist Church in La Grange, Texas. "Deep to Deep."
   

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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Friday, January 18, 2019

Morning by Morning, January 18 - The Government that Never Shuts Down
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Make me more like You today.  ...
 
"The government will rest on His shoulders, and He will be called:  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!" (Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT)
 
We hear a lot these days about "the government shutdown." We hear plenty of heated debate on every side about why it's happening and who it's hurting and what it means and how long it will last. God knows... (Isaiah 47:10).
 
But at the same time, this is what I know: While I'm a citizen of the government of my county, I am first and foremost a citizen of the government of heaven. "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control!" (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT)
 
There's no "shutdown" in my government. My fellow citizens and I are secure in the One who rules and reigns forever. Our hope and faith is in the One Who's not elected with human votes, Who's not swayed by human debates, and Who's not anxious about human power struggles, because "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to (Him)" (Matthew 28:18). He is my "Wonderful Counselor," my "Mighty God," my "Everlasting Father", and my "Prince of Peace!" And "of His kingdom there will be no end!" (Luke 1:33)
 
I look forward to the day when this Word is ultimately fulfilled, here on earth as it already, eternally is in heaven:  "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)  And every day between this and that day to come -- here in this earthly dimension as it already is in the heavenly dimension -- I say in my heart:  "Lord, let Your kingdom come! Lord, let Your will be done! Here in me, here in my country, here in every moment of day and every step of my journey, here on earth as it is in heaven" (from Matthew 6:10). 
 
Governments may shut down. Debates may rage on. Ultimately, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but (Your) words will not pass away!" (Matthew 24:32; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33)  A "new heaven and a new earth" are on their way (Revelation 21:1). So my faith and my hope is in You alone. "You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!" (Psalm 89:26) "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns!" (1 Chronicles 16:31)  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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




My friend, I pray you are confident and secure, filled with hope and faith, in the One who is your Wonderful Counselor, your Mighty God, your Everlasting Father, and your Prince of Peace no matter what you or your nation is going through, 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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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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