The View is Always Worth the Climb 6-20-10

Morning by Morning, Wednesday 6-30-10 – The View is Always Worth the Climb Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, I worship You in every Dimension of Your Being and welcome You into every dimension of my being. … “After Lot was gone, the Lord said to Abram, ‘Look as far as you can see in every direction. I am going to give all this land to you and your seed as a permanent possession. And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you’ ” (Genesis 13:14-17, NLT). Elijah and Josiah, my two youngest sons, wanted to go hiking and exploring in the mountains yesterday on our vacation at Ruidoso, New Mexico, where my mom lives. So we drove up the mountain toward the Sierra Blanca peak and Monjeau Lookout until we came across Trail Number 24 in the White Mountain Wilderness of the Lincoln National Forest. We picked out our hiking sticks and set off on our journey through the canyon trail until we came to the mountain’s edge. The view from that high place looking out over the other ridges and valleys was beautiful. But we saw an interesting outcrop of giant rocks a little higher, around the mountain’s edge, but off the beaten path of the common trail. So we continued our little expedition on up there. When we climbed up on those rocks, the view was even more astounding. Now we could see beyond the ridges of our mountain, across the high plains desert and even to another mountain range. We took pictures and talked about being brave explorers and mighty warriors. My eight year old son, Elijah, prayed a great prayer out over the land of Your creation, thanking You for our wonderful day and exciting adventure up the mountain. My four year old, Josiah, prayed his prayer for Your protection over our journey and continued to mention the thought of Your bears. Then we looked and saw another cluster of the giant boulders up a little higher and further around the mountain’s edge. We couldn’t help but wonder how far we could see from there. So we climbed a little higher and journeyed a little farther. The view from there was even more breathtaking. And though our climb was growing steeper, our pace was growing slower, and our breaks were growing more frequent, we were all captivated by the sense of adventure to find just how far we would be able to see as we climbed higher still. By now we could look and see what seemed to be the top ridge, rising up to the peak. We all wanted to see if we could make it to the top. So little by little, we zigged and zagged and wound our way through the rocks and trees up the ridge. As we got closer to the top, our adrenaline flowed and our spirits soared with eager anticipation for the pinnacle of our adventure. At last we made it to the mountain’s peak! The highest point was a rocky cap just big enough for the three of us to stand. We waived our hiking sticks in the air, sang a song of praise, prayed and proclaimed Your blessings upon the land and its people, and took some cell phone pictures in celebration of our victory and success in accomplishing our mission. The view from there was spectacular, more than we ever could have imagined. The famous Monjeau Lookout Tower was at the same height as us on the next mountain peak over from us. We couldn’t believe how high we’d climbed! As we walked from one end of our small peak to the other, we could see forever to the north, south, east, and west. What a gift You gave us as our reward for the journey upward and onward beyond the common trail. Then we made a simple cross out of branches and vines to plant in a hole in the top of the rock, almost perfectly shaped for the base of our cross at the highest point. Then we laid down and took a nap, with a rock for my pillow and my belly for theirs. We probably could have rested there for the rest of the day, except for the sound of thunder in the distance. So we began our descent, so much easier and quicker now than our ascent, until we soothed our aching, bare feet in a cold mountain stream running through the meadow back down in the valley at the beginning of our trail. Thank You, Lord, for the sense of adventure You place in our hearts. Thank You for the times You call to come a little further, to climb a little higher, to show us the views we’ll never see from the common trail. Thank You for the joy of overcoming our challenges with those You bring alongside us in the journey up the mountains of our destiny into the peaks of Your Presence, surrounded by the beauty of Your creation. All along the journey, You always teach us more about You and more about ourselves. And the view is always worth the climb. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm attaching a picture below of Elijah and Josiah and our cross on the top of the mountain peak. Thanks for joining me in the journey of prayer and the adventure of life with God. God bless you! Aldersgate 2010 National Conference on Spirit-Filled Living July 14-18 Come join us for Aldersgate in Charleston, WV this summer. I'll be teaching an equipping session on emotional healing and serving on the prophetic ministry and prayer ministry teams. Randy Clark will be the keynote speaker on healing and Craig Marsh will be ministering in his gifts of the miraculous, along with many other teachers and speakers for what's always a highlight of my summer: www.aldersgate2010.org See you there! July 30-August 1, 2010 Healing Prayer Weekend at Asbury Inn, Wilmore, Kentucky. Come away for a powerful weekend retreat with times of teaching, personal prayer ministry in a safe setting of worship that welcomes the healing Presence of God. Led by Tommy Hays, along with our worship team and prayer ministry teams. For more information or to Register for our Healing Prayer Weekend… ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterHealingPrayerWeekend September 8-11, 2010 -- The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Join us for a focused time of teaching, equipping, personal ministry, worship and impartation for healing prayer ministry led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterFountainSchoolLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker, DirOfMinistries@aol.com or cell 859-317-1591 Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“The Only Thing that Counts” 6-29-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to hear Your voice and follow Your lead. … “For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus … the only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:5-6). “The only thing that counts?” What strong words! What clarity of mind and singleness of purpose. What focus with which to filter all the choices and priorities of how to spend the moments of my day and the purposes of my life. Can this be true? Can it really be that simple? Shouldn’t Your Word say: “The only thing that counts is getting to heaven when you die” or “The only thing that counts is obeying the rules of the law to be righteous, holy, and perfect before God” or “The only thing that counts is to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior” or “The only thing that counts is to be as good as you can and do all the good you can” or “The only thing that counts is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, healing the sick, and casting out demons” or “The only thing that counts is to make sure you give all your tithes and offerings to the pastor and his vision for your local church and make sure you pay all your apportionments to your bishop and his vision for your denomination” or “The only thing that counts is that you never take a risk, never try to change anything, never rock the boat, never upset the apple cart, never do anything or say anything to draw any attention to yourself for others to think that you think you’re something special and have some kind of special gifting, calling, purpose, and destiny to fulfill the passions you think God himself personally put into your heart to accomplish in your life for His purposes through the grace of His power and for the glory of His name?” No, that’s not what Your Word says. Somehow every good thing, even every great thing, that You desire from our lives is centered in this: “The only thing that counts is faith working through love.” It’s not faith without love and it’s not love without faith. It’s “faith working through love.”It’s not faith patiently sitting there and just waiting for love to spontaneously happen to us or through us. It’s much more intentional, active, and deliberate than that. It’s “faith working through love.” Faith is trusting You. Love is living for You. And if I truly trust You, I will my live for You in the nature of Your love and by the grace of the power of Your Spirit. This is to be my “hope of righteousness”—my hope to live a life that’s right, in right relationship with You, with one another, and within myself. This is what really counts. This is “the only thing that counts.” And if I focus on getting this right, “through the Spirit, by faith,” then everything else will come into place and flow out of that place of my “faith working through love.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, while I'm away for some rest and vacation with my kids up at my mom's in the mountains of New Mexico, I'd appreciate your prayers that I'll have both wonderful family time and deep personal time with the Lord, to be refreshed and renewed in the time that I have. I pray that same blessing for you! (And for all who have been asking, my son Zach is doing great from the terrible car accident he had on our way out here on the interstate through Oklahoma, all by the miraculous grace of God and protection of His mighty warring angels, bearing him up on eagles' wings without a scratch to his body! But not so much for my faithful Jeep that's carried me many miles in ministry. So please join me in praying for God's perfect provision in that regard). Please join us for these upcoming events through Messiah Ministries: July 30-August 1, 2010 Healing Prayer Weekend at Asbury Inn, Wilmore, Kentucky. Come away for a powerful weekend retreat with times of teaching, personal prayer ministry in a safe setting of worship that welcomes the healing Presence of God. Led by Tommy Hays, along with our worship team and prayer ministry teams. For more information or to Register for our Healing Prayer Weekend… ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterHealingPrayerWeekend September 8-11, 2010 -- The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Join us for a focused time of teaching, equipping, personal ministry, worship and impartation for healing prayer ministry led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterFountainSchoolLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker, DirOfMinistries@aol.com or cell 859-317-1591 Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“On Eagles’ Wings” 6-28-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. All that I am, all that I have belong to You—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. … “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4). The enemy of our souls and our children’s souls may come in like a rushing flood to kill and steal and destroy, trying to wipe out in a moment the calling a destiny of a generation and those to follow. But You raise up a banner and You stretch for Your hand. You bear us up on eagles’ wings out the flood of the enemy’s schemes to establish us securely in Your arms. So it has been from the beginning and so it will be through the end (Revelation 12:14).The purposes of God for the lives of those who trust in You will not falter and will not fail. And in fact, every attack of the enemy against us for the sake of our calling and commitment to Christ will only result in “a hundredfold” blessing of increased favor, authority, and protection “now in this age … and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). For life always overcomes death, light always overcomes darkness, and the plans of God always overcome the plans of the enemy as we entrust our lives to the One who redeems all things in Your will, Your time, and Your way. As we are committed by the grace of God to “be faithful until death,” we will overcome to receive Your “crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). The enemy will have no say and death will have no say in the measure of my days to serve my God in this world. I will only look and see the glory of the faithfulness of my God as You bear me up with my children on eagles’ wings into Your heavenly embrace where I’m dwelling forever in Christ “far above” every plan and scheme of the enemy of our souls (Ephesians 1:21 and 2:6). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Please join us for these upcoming events through Messiah Ministries: July 30-August 1, 2010 Healing Prayer Weekend at Asbury Inn, Wilmore, Kentucky. Come away for a powerful weekend retreat with times of teaching, personal prayer ministry in a safe setting of worship that welcomes the healing Presence of God. Led by Tommy Hays, along with our worship team and prayer ministry teams. For more information or to Register for our Healing Prayer Weekend… ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterHealingPrayerWeekend September 8-11, 2010 -- The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Join us for a focused time of teaching, equipping, personal ministry, worship and impartation for healing prayer ministry led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterFountainSchoolLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker, DirOfMinistries@aol.com or cell 859-317-1591 Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

On Angels’ Wings 6-25-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Fortress and Strong Tower, my Mighty God and Deliverer. I entrust my life and my day into Your care. … “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will no dash your foot against a stone…. Those who love Me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know My name. When they call to Me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life, I will satisfy them, and show them My salvation” (Psalm 91:11-16). Thank You, Lord, for bearing up my son on angels’ wings last night. He was driving my car, behind me in another car, down the interstate into a downpour of rain, when we came around a curve upon the flashing lights of two Oklahoma state troopers patrol car stopped in our lane of traffic. They were stopped behind a car that had wrecked in the left lane. I swerved into the right lane to avoid them, but Zach hydroplaned into the rear of the troopers’ car, crumpling the vehicles together in a mesh of metal. The airbags didn’t deploy but Your angels did. Zach and the state troopers were uninjured and unharmed by the grace of God in a miracle of Your protection and deliverance from what seems should have been devastation and destruction. Praise God! And while it seems my vehicle is a total loss, my son is alive and well and with us this morning, as are those officers in the patrol car. Praise You, Lord God Almighty! Truly You rescued them and honored them, with long life You have satisfied them and shown them Your mighty salvation as a witness of Your love for us all. Today I’m sure we’ll begin to sort out the messy details, but not without first giving You all glory, honor, and praise. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you so much for your prayers for us as my three sons and I travel from Kentucky to New Mexico through Oklahoma to spend time with my mom on our vacation. It has been quite a journey. We had air conditioner trouble in Oklahoma and had just rented a car for the day for them to repair it tomorrow. I don't guess we'll need those air conditioning repairs now, but we're all so happy that Zach and the state troopers were unharmed in this ordeal. Our adventure has already provided many opportunities for life-long lessons for us all. Please keep us in prayer as we continue on! God bless you and thank you for joining us in the journey--one day at time! Please join us for these upcoming summer events through Messiah Ministries: July 30-August 1, 2010 Healing Prayer Weekend at Asbury Inn, Wilmore, Kentucky. Come away for a powerful weekend retreat with times of teaching, personal prayer ministry in a safe setting of worship that welcomes the healing Presence of God. Led by Tommy Hays, along with our worship team and prayer ministry teams. For more information or to Register for our Healing Prayer Weekend… ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterHealingPrayerWeekend September 8-11, 2010 -- The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry- Level I Join us for a focused time of teaching, equipping, personal ministry, worship and impartation for healing prayer ministry led by Tommy Hays and our teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: ClickHereForMoreInfoOrToRegisterFountainSchoolLevelOne or contact Marilyn Walker, DirOfMinistries@aol.com or cell 859-317-1591 Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Father and Sons 6-23-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Where You lead, I will follow, as You give me the grace to get there. … “And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac (his son)” (Genesis 25:5, KJV). I’m on a journey this week with my three sons—Zachary, Elijah, and Josiah. My daughters weren’t able to come this time, so it’ll be an adventure of the Hays men. Strengthen the bonds of our friendship, love, and respect for one another. Let me give to them all that I have from You in all the natural ways that come along in all the little opportunities that arise. We’ve already had chances to talk about some of Your timeless spiritual principles that make life together more of a joyful journey rather than a miserable struggle: sowing and reaping, doing unto others, chivalry and honor, and pass the biscuits please. So we’ll learn as we go, trusting You’ll give us all the patience and grace we will need on our manly adventure together. As someone wise has said, “Let’s live long, love well, and laugh often.” Lord, let it be so. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer the next couple of weeks when I spend vacation time with my family. We're going out to see my Mom in the New Mexico mountains. Due to our travels, I may not be as consistent with sending out Morning by Morning, but you'll be in my prayers; thank you for keeping me in yours. God bless you! Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Prepared for Action 6-18-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me start this day rooted and grounded in a deep place in You. … “Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed” (1 Peter 1:13). Right action requires preparation. Sustained success requires discipline. But all my preparation and all my discipline can only be my best and never Your best unless I set all my hope on the grace of God. It’s not an easy grace that allows me to be passive or complacent, somehow just sitting back and waiting for You to move me and the people around me like an army of chessmen on a chessboard. It’s a grace that calls me to look to You, to listen for Your leading, to embrace both Your love and Your correction, both Your abundance and Your pruning. It’s a grace that call me to train my fingers for battle and my hands for war, that I may be ready to advance at Your command, never to surrender, never to retreat, never to back up or back off from what You’ve put in my heart to do and who You’ve placed in my heart to be. Yet it’s also a grace that continually calls me to humble myself in Your sight, to admit I don’t always hear what You’re truly saying because I’m always in the process of transformation. There’s always another layer of the onion to peel away—exposing the next unhealed wound, the next unbroken chain, the next hardness of heart, the next confusion of mind, the next rebellion to the advancement of Your Kingdom within me. None are righteous, no not one. All are to be forever pressing on and pressing in until Your love is perfected in each one of us (Matthew 5:48). “As He who has called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct, ; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:15-16). So I always have need of my Savior and Redeemer, my Healer and Deliverer. I am always in need of Your grace. And Your Holy Spirit is always moving in my human spirit to look to You and consciously, deliberately, intentionally set all my hope on all Your grace. That’s how I prepare my mind in advance to be ready for whatever action You desire, whether in me or through me. That’s how I position myself to be ready to move with Your Spirit in the moment You call. The old saying that “God helps them that help themselves” is just not true. God helps them that humble themselves to admit they can’t do a thing that really matters in this world without setting their hope on the grace that only God can give. So by the grace of God, I choose to set my hope on You this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night June 18th at 7PM, the 3rd Friday Night of every month, for our Messiah Ministries monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Led by Messiah Ministries and hosted at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky. Come drink deeply from The Fountain of Living Waters as we worship Jesus in the freedom of His Holy Spirit. I will be leading in Prayer while Brooke and Shannon Barrett will be leading in Worship and as we also honor Laura Beach and her ministry this month. All are welcome and please spread the word! Contact Marilyn Walker, our Dir. of Ministries for details 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Inspired and “In-Spirited” 6-17-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of my morning, I rededicate my life and my day to You, my King. … “But let justice (roll) down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. called upon Your name and spoke out these prophetic words in his speech of his dream for a day to come in this land when the civil rights of every American, regardless of race, would be secure with liberty and justice for all. The American civil rights movement was not grounded in government, it was grounded in Jesus. It’s leader was not a president, it was a pastor. It’s creed and call to arms in a non-violent revolution to change the hearts and minds of our national culture was not a manifesto of human philosophy, it was the Bible. And those that deny the Biblical foundations and Spiritual guidance of the revolutionary call to liberty and justice that flows forth only from the righteousness of God like a mighty stream are either deceived from the truth, ignorant of the historical facts of the heritage of our nation, or both. Yesterday, it was good to be reminded of the opportunities we have and the power to influence the change of our culture by the lawyer who leads the Southern Poverty Law Center, Morris Dees, at our state bar convention. Every year, I’m required to have hours of continuing legal education to maintain my license to practice law. Those hours can be fairly boring, but yesterday I found those hours to be very inspiring. It was good to hear the Word of God spoken out to a convention full of lawyers and judges. It was encouraging to hear the story of Amos, a prophet of God, related as an inspiration to us to inspire others, as the prophetic ministry of Amos inspired the revolutionary ministry of Rev. Dr. King. Like Rosa Parks, our everyday choices of our everyday lives can make a difference if we insist upon the righteousness and justice at the foundation of the Kingdom of God and at the center of our Spiritual heritage as a nation. Thank You for inspiring me to be more bold in my faith in the marketplace and public square of my community and culture. For what do You require of each of us, wherever You’ve positioned us in each season of our lives but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). If a lawyer can quote the Word of God at a state bar convention, stirring a room full of lawyers and judges to their feet in a challenge to remember our calling to use the gifts and opportunities we’ve been given to make a difference in our culture, surely I can try to live out the Word of God in the whatever ways You lead in my life today. As I think of being “inspired” this morning, I think of being “in-Spirited” by the Holy Spirit of the Living God who calls each of to arise in the Spirit of Christ to make a difference wherever we are and whatever we do because we carry the Spirit of God within us (Romans 8:9). That’s the dream I have. That’s the day I’m praying for and the movement I’m a part of—“until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night June 18th at 7PM, the 3rd Friday Night of every month, for our Messiah Ministries monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Led by Messiah Ministries and hosted at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky. Come drink deeply from The Fountain of Living Waters as we worship Jesus in the freedom of His Holy Spirit. I will be leading in Prayer while Brooke and Shannon Barrett will be leading in Worship and as we also honor Laura Beach and her ministry this month. All are welcome and please spread the word! Contact Marilyn Walker, our Dir. of Ministries for details 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Heart of Mercy 6-16-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Take away from me what’s not of You and leave for me only what is. … “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28-29, NKJV) It’s a great sin to treat the blood of Christ as “a common thing.” It’s an “insult” to the Holy Spirit of the Living God, who is a Spirit of mercy and grace. When we judge others for the actions of their lives that are now under the blood of the Lamb as if to say, “That’s how you are; that’s how you’ll always be; you’ll never change,” we “trample the Son of God underfoot” and exalt ourselves as lord in the place that only You are to have. That’s never the mind of Christ. That’s never the heart of God. That’s coming into agreement the accuser instead of coming into agreement with the Redeemer, being used of Satan to destroy someone rather than being used of God to restore someone .When we do, we are the ones who are handed over into torment that comes from a critical spirit and a vengeful heart. Then we are the ones who subject to the judgment of God by rejecting the power of the blood of Jesus to forgive and redeem and transform any life of sin and shame into a life that displays the mercy and power and love of God. Then we will be the ones who suffer the consequences of our hardened hearts and self-righteous spirit that dishonors as “a common thing” the very blood that saved us and cleansed us from all unrighteousness to give us a clean slate and a fresh start. “And again, the Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (v. 10:30-31). So give me Your heart of mercy. Your mercy is so much a part of the Father heart of God. We cannot be ambassadors of Christ or display to the world the nature of our Father without the nature of Your mercy in our hearts. You don’t ignore our sins or deny our struggles, but at the same time, You also see who You’ve created us to be—speaking life instead of death, redemption instead of accusation, mercy instead of judgment. In the heart of God, “mercy triumphs over judgment,” but at the same time, “judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy” (James 2:13). O Lord, I need Your mercy. I need the full measure of the power of the blood of Jesus in my life. Let me never treat it as “a common thing” but honor You by honoring all You do in the lives of those who humble themselves to call on Your name to be forgiven of their sin and cleansed in the power of Your blood. Let me look for the good of God in others, calling forth the diamond, even as You break off the rough. Let me be one who seeks out the hidden treasures in the hearts of those wounded and bound, but being healed and freed by the One who redeems all things to bring beauty out of ashes, joy out of sorrow, and glory out of shame. That’s Your heart, and that the heart I want to have. That’s the heart I want You to have for me, so that’s the heart I want You to give to me for others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night June 18th at 7PM, the 3rd Friday Night of every month, for our Messiah Ministries monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Led by Messiah Ministries and hosted at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky. Come drink deeply from The Fountain of Living Waters as we worship Jesus in the freedom of His Holy Spirit. I will be leading in Prayer while Brooke and Shannon Barrett will be leading in Worship and as we also honor Laura Beach and her ministry this month. All are welcome and please spread the word! Contact Marilyn Walker, our Dir. of Ministries for details 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Friends, here's a note from Laura Beach with Equipping Lydia Ministries about events coming up. We'll be celebrating Laura's ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church during part of our time together at The Fountain this Friday Night, as we pray blessings for her at the conclusion of our three year mentoring journey for her. Please come join us next Friday Night! Friday, June 18, 2010 – Spiritual Refreshment Retreat Women of Faith, you are invited to come away with Equipping Lydia on Friday June 18. We will have our monthly spiritual refreshment retreat at A Quiet Place in Bryantsville, Kentucky. That evening, retreats are also welcome at the Messiah Ministries Fountain Healing Service which begins at 7 p.m. at Centenary Church on Tates Creek Road in Lexington. It will be a beautiful day of healing rest. To register for the retreat, email retreats@equipinglydia.org or go to www.equippinglydia.org for details. There is no need to register for the Fountain. Friday, June 25 - Mother, Are You Sitting Down? Lisa Baker's story of God's amazing love and faithfulness for a mother and her daughter. Lisa Baker’s testimony as a mother is one of yielding to God through the challenge of raising a beautiful but strong willed child. If you are a mother who needs a word of hope, come and be encouraged and strengthened by God’s love through Lisa’s journey with her daughter Jaime. 9 a.m. – 12 noon, Lexington, Kentucky. For details, go to: http://www.equippinglydia.org/PDFs/lisabaker.pdf or www.equippinglydia.org Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Living by Faith 6-15-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice. Lead me deep into Your Word and draw me close into Your Spirit. … “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe in the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:35-39, NKJV). I want to live my life by faith, to live a life that pleases You. I want to press on to the prize and endure to the end. Don’t let me draw back; don’t let me hold back; don’t let me give anything less that all I have and all I am. Don’t let me expect anything less than the fullness of all You have promised to me in Your Word and confirmed to me by Your Spirit. And by the grace of God, I will not strive in my own strength, nor insist on my own way. I will not impose my will upon Your will. I will not impose my picture of what I think Your plans should look like upon the blank canvas of my life I’ve asked You to paint. You’re the Master. And I trust Your creativity to make a masterpiece of any life fully entrusted to You. Living by faith is believing that every little stroke is significant—each in its own time, each in its own place—until one day they all reveal what You had promised all along. At times it may look messy and undefined, hard to see what’s taking shape. But there’s purpose in every stroke. Give me Your enduring faith to patiently persist until the day Your painting is finished. Let me have no doubt that You are able and You are faithful to bring to completion all You have begun to still make something beautiful out of my messy life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night June 18th at 7PM, the 3rd Friday Night of every month, for our Messiah Ministries monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Led by Messiah Ministries and hosted at Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky. Come drink deeply from The Fountain of Living Waters as we worship Jesus in the freedom of His Holy Spirit. I will be leading in Prayer while Brooke and Shannon Barrett will be leading in Worship and as we also honor Laura Beach and her ministry this month. All are welcome and please spread the word! Contact Marilyn Walker, our Dir. of Ministries for details 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Friends, here's a note from Laura Beach with Equipping Lydia Ministries about events coming up. We'll be celebrating Laura's ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church at The Fountain next Friday Night, as we pray blessings for her at the conclusion of our three year mentoring journey for her. Please come join us next Friday Night! Friday, June 18, 2010 – Spiritual Refreshment Retreat Women of Faith, you are invited to come away with Equipping Lydia on Friday June 18. We will have our monthly spiritual refreshment retreat at A Quiet Place in Bryantsville, Kentucky. That evening, retreats are also welcome at the Messiah Ministries Fountain Healing Service which begins at 7 p.m. at Centenary Church on Tates Creek Road in Lexington. It will be a beautiful day of healing rest. To register for the retreat, email retreats@equipinglydia.org or go to www.equippinglydia.org for details. There is no need to register for the Fountain. Friday, June 25 - Mother, Are You Sitting Down? Lisa Baker's story of God's amazing love and faithfulness for a mother and her daughter. Lisa Baker’s testimony as a mother is one of yielding to God through the challenge of raising a beautiful but strong willed child. If you are a mother who needs a word of hope, come and be encouraged and strengthened by God’s love through Lisa’s journey with her daughter Jaime. 9 a.m. – 12 noon, Lexington, Kentucky. For details, go to: http://www.equippinglydia.org/PDFs/lisabaker.pdf or www.equippinglydia.org Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“As He is, So are We” 6-11-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. I trust Your will and Your way for the journey of my life. … “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). As You are, so am I As You will, so I do As You lead, so I come As You are, so am I As You speak, so I hear As You move, so I feel As You love, so I praise As You are, so am I I want to see like You I want to speak like You I want to be free to be like You Yes, Lord. Shape these desires in my heart. Let this song Your Spirit is singing become the song of my life. Though all my thoughts are not yet Your thoughts and all my ways are not yet Your ways, I want them to be. I want Your nature to become my nature, more and more every day. “Thus, He has given us, through these things, His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in this world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). As You know, some days are better days than others in my quest to seek You and pursue Your righteousness. I am forever in need of Your mercy and grace through the power of the blood of Jesus that forgives my sins, redeems my failures, heals my wounds, and breaks my chains. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. But “on the day of judgment” to come, I would like to have the boldness to know that as best as I could and all by Your grace, I was a man after Your heart. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, here's a note from Laura Beach with Equipping Lydia Ministries about events coming up. We'll be celebrating Laura's ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church at The Fountain next Friday Night, as we pray blessings for her at the conclusion of our three year mentoring journey for her. Please come join us next Friday Night! Friday, June 18, 2010 – Spiritual Refreshment Retreat Women of Faith, you are invited to come away with Equipping Lydia on Friday June 18. We will have our monthly spiritual refreshment retreat at A Quiet Place in Bryantsville, Kentucky. That evening, retreats are also welcome at the Messiah Ministries Fountain Healing Service which begins at 7 p.m. at Centenary Church on Tates Creek Road in Lexington. It will be a beautiful day of healing rest. To register for the retreat, email retreats@equipinglydia.org or go to www.equippinglydia.org for details. There is no need to register for the Fountain. Friday, June 25 - Mother, Are You Sitting Down? Lisa Baker's story of God's amazing love and faithfulness for a mother and her daughter. Lisa Baker’s testimony as a mother is one of yielding to God through the challenge of raising a beautiful but strong willed child. If you are a mother who needs a word of hope, come and be encouraged and strengthened by God’s love through Lisa’s journey with her daughter Jaime. 9 a.m. – 12 noon, Lexington, Kentucky. For details, go to: http://www.equippinglydia.org/PDFs/lisabaker.pdf or www.equippinglydia.org Please pass on these prayers to anyone who may be interested or encouraged by them. Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Beginning My Year of Jubilee 6-10-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. All that I have and all that I am, I entrust to You today. … “You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud… And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants… The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you…. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you…” (Leviticus 25:8-12). I’m forty-nine years old today. I’ve come to the end of my first seven week of seven years and today is the first day of my fiftieth year. This is the beginning of my jubilee. Lord, let it be holy to me. And let me be holy to You, by the grace of my Father God that embraces me as a son and the power of the blood of Jesus that cleanses my sins and the fire of the Holy Spirit that purifies my soul. You have set me free to be like Jesus in the liberty of Your Spirit and the transforming power of Your mercy and love (1 John 4:17). And throughout this year of jubilee, may I “proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants,” proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God, healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free with the Spirit of the sovereign Lord upon me (Isaiah 61:1-3). Lord, let me hallow this holy year in my heart and life for the glory of Your name. Let the trumpet sound loud to awaken my spirit to the fullness of my calling and identity and destiny in You. Let nothing be left unsaid or undone that is in Your heart to accomplish through my life—this year and every year, in the liberty and the power of Your Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV). By the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit within Your people made holy by the blood of the Lamb, every year is our jubilee year to experience and express Your liberty through our lives, throughout our land, and everywhere You send us in the authority and power of Your name. So let the trumpet sound loud! Let the people of God awaken and arise! The forty-nine years of preparation for this day are now over; let the fiftieth Year of Jubilee begin! In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My friend, thank you for joining me in the journey of my life. May this be a Jubilee Year for you with the Spirit of God moving mightily in your life in fulfillment of all He has been preparing in you! May you have exciting surprises of joy this year! God bless you! Please pass on these prayers to anyone who may be interested or encouraged by them. Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“And They Become One” 6-9-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. … “Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.’ Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24). Today I’ll have the joy and honor of pray Your blessing over a man and woman who have made the choice to respond to Your call that they become one in the covenant of the bond of marriage. They will declare before You and before us their commitment to their covenant to love and honor and cherish one another all the days of their lives. Though they were legally married before a government official over twenty years ago, they’re drawn to speak their vows and reaffirm their love to one another and their dependence upon You in a deeply spiritual atmosphere of the Presence of God. Come, Holy Spirit, and guide our hearts and words to honor the covenant of love You profoundly express through the communion of marriage where two lives become one. Why is it, Lord, that You say, “It is not good that man should be alone?” (Genesis 2:18) It seems I hear You say, “Love requires relationship. Without relationship there is no love. I am God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I am Love and I am One. I eternally exist in a perfect communion of perfect love. And out of My nature, I create My children to experience and express My love for them, their love for Me, and holy love for one another. All of the fullness of life is centered in this.” Yes, Lord. All the fullness of life is centered in this (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-40). Thank You for all the ways You provide for us to experience and express the gift and the power of love—marriage, friendship, family, worship, prayer—all the ways we freely give of ourselves to You and one another in the holy ways of Your holy love by the drawing and leading of Your Holy Spirit. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). May the blessing of Your hand rest upon the hearts of my friends today. May we all grow by the grace of God into deeper experiences and expressions of the gift of Your love in our lives—all in Your time, all in Your way, all in Your will. May none be alone. May all become one—one with You, one with each other, one in ministry to all the world. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please prayerfully consider joining us with joy in fulfillment of our calling and vision "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" as an Isaiah 35 "Streams in the Desert" Covenant Partner. We believe this is the Lord's plan of provision for our ministry to continue to advance through the wilderness and dry seasons of a challenging economy. I will be glad to talk with you about this: MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“In the Presence of My Enemies” 6-8-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters, guide me in the paths of Your righteousness. … “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5). Where do You prepare a table for me? It’s far from the safety of my comfort zone and security of a life without risk; it’s “in the presence of my enemies.” When do You anoint my head with oil? It’s before the days of battle when I will need to rely completely upon the authority of my identity in You (1 Samuel 2:10). How will my cup overflow? It’s as I give all that I am and all that have, sowing myself into the lives of others for the sake of Your name, as one with You by Your Spirit within me (Luke 6:38). It’s “in the wilderness” that You send us to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3). It’s in the desert places that the streams of Your Living Waters burst forth to water the dry and weary land full of the parched souls of a dry and weary people (Isaiah 35:6). It’s in the darkest places that You send us to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15, NKJV). O Lord, my God, give me grace to grow up into spiritual maturity, finding my place in Your Body for the advancement of Your Kingdom in my generation (Ephesians 4:11-13). Let me not fear a life of taking risks in obedience to Your leading and submission to Your will, as best as I can discern, through an intimate relationship with You. Train me to hear Your voice; sensitize me to be led by Your Spirit (Romans 8:14). I want to be on the front lines of Your advance of Your Kingdom among the people and in the places where You strategically position me for Your purposes. Help me embrace the fires of affliction that test my faith and purify my soul to make me more like You each day (1 Peter 1:7). It’s out of the times of testing, through the wilderness seasons, having overcome the challenges of the spiritual enemy of my soul and the accuser of my brethren who dares to slander me to my face, that I am “filled with the power of the Spirit” to confidently enter the next season of life and ministry in fulfillment of my destiny in Christ (Luke 4:14). By the grace of God, I will not yield or be controlled by “the fear of man,” but will put my hope and trust in the Lord, my God who will guide my steps (Proverbs 29:25). I put my faith in the One who “always leads us in triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Mighty are You, my “God, mighty to save and mighty to deliver me from all my doubts and fears as I trust in You to guide my steps. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident… I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:1-13). Even in the very presence of my spiritual enemies who comes to steal and kill and destroy, You will provide for me, protect me, anoint me, and empower me as Your servant and Your son to know who I am in You and who You are in me. And in that place, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please prayerfully consider joining us with joy in fulfillment of our calling and vision "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" as an Isaiah 35 "Streams in the Desert" Covenant Partner. We believe this is the Lord's plan of provision for our ministry to continue to advance through the wilderness and dry seasons of a challenging economy. I will be glad to talk with you about this: MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Morning by Morning, Monday 6-7-10 – “Pursue Righteousness” Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Savior and Lord, my Father and Friend, I welcome Your Spirit and Truth into my heart and life throughout the moments of my day. … I woke up this morning with these words rising up from spirit to my mind: “Pursue righteousness.” And as I lay this living word alongside the plumb line of Your written Word, to weigh it and test it, I find this Scripture: “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor” (Proverbs 21:21). Lord, what are You speaking to me today? … It seems I hear You say: “My son, I desire for you to find life and honor in all you do and in all you are. This is My heart for you, as it would be for any godly father for his daughter or son. You have questions in your mind about your ministry and about your personal relationships. You do well to lay these questions before Me. You do well to ask Me to put My thoughts in your mind and My desires in your heart, to lift from you all that is not from Me and to seal to you all that is. Do not first seek the answers. First, seek Me, for I am your Answer. Pursue Me. Pursue My mind and My heart in every matter of your life. Pursue My righteousness, for I am your Righteousness. As you do, I will set all things in right order. I will align your heart and your mind with Mine. Is this not the very journey of your life? Is this not My will for all My children, that all would grow in the wisdom of God and maturity of spirit in the journey of intimate relationship with Me, as I conform each one into the image of My Son?” Yes, Lord. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I pursue You and Your righteousness. I surrender and submit my thoughts to Your thoughts, my desires to Your desires, my will to Your will. Take from me what is not of You and seal to me all that is. Help me “Seek first the Kingdom of God and (Your) righteousness, (knowing that then) all these things shall be added to (me)” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV). To “pursue” is active, deliberate, intentional, persistent—even tenacious and aggressive. It is not passive, complacent, stagnant, or inert. It’s a choice You set before me every moment of every day. And as I persist in pursuing You and Your righteousness, I know the answers I seek will come—all in Your timing, all in Your will, all in Your way. And I believe this is the heart of Your sons and daughters that brings great joy to You. “But as for you, man of God, … pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Yes, Lord. By the grace of God, I will. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, let's pray for one another to faithfully, fearlessly pursue the will of God for our lives, entrusting our will to His will, trusting Him to then conform our will and our nature into His a little more every day, with breakthroughs and encounters all along the way. Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

“Listen to His Voice” 6-4-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Son of God, Son of Man, God with us, Immanuel, be with me, come live within me today. … “O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. O that today you would listen to His voice! (Psalm 95:6-7). I have a choice to listen to Your voice. I can choose to listen to the voices of men, and I can also choose to listen to the voice of the One who is the Maker of all men. I can choose to listen to the voice of my friends and counsel of others, and I can also choose to listen to the voice of my Best Friend and my Wonderful Counselor. I can choose to listen to the voice of the witnesses of Your written Word, and I can also choose to listen to the voice of the One who is the Word. I can even choose to listen to the voice of the world, the flesh, and the devil, but I can also choose instead to listen to the One who has overcome the world, who crucifies my flesh, and who has defeated the devil. By the grace You give me and in response to the choice You offer me, I choose to listen to You. Some say, “How can you hear God? How can you be sure you’re hearing God?” What do You say, O Lord, my God? … At this moment right now, I believe I hear You say, “Come, worship and bow down, kneel before Me, for I am your Maker. I am your God. You are a son of My pasture and a sheep of My hand. You are one of My little ones, one of My precious ones, one I created from My love in order for You to know My love for you. And if you will listen, I will speak. And every day You listen for the leading of My voice, you will grow in the knowing of My voice in your heart. Do not be afraid to test My voice, but also do not be afraid to believe My voice.” Yes, Lord. Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:27). Your sons and daughters, Your servants and friends, hear You knocking at the door of our hearts, calling us to open the door in worship and humility, expectantly longing by faith to welcome You in to draw near to us in our everyday relationship of love with You (Revelation 3:20). Thank You, Lord, for speaking with me this morning. Please come in and keep speaking with me throughout my day. “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Sufferings into Songs 6-3-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind; put Your desires in my heart. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust myself and my day into Your will and into Your care. … “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5). I saw an old friend yesterday whose life is a testimony of Your tender mercies and steadfast love through our darkest days, our deepest fears, and our broken dreams. In a frantic moment of desperate grief and overwhelming fear, she cried out to You from the depths of her heart. You reached down into her pit of despair and embraced her in power of Your Presence. And out of her unbearable sufferings You established in her spirit a renewed and steadfast faith. And in the season of healing of her heart and life to follow, You awakened her gifts of playing music by ear and singing the songs of Your healing love You would write in heart and share with others. You are the God who loves to turn our sufferings into songs and our desperation into faith. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). You love to turn our ashes into beauty and, our sufferings into joy, covering us in the garments of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). Then You anoint us with Your Spirit and send us forth in the power of Your love to comfort others in the ways Your have comforted us and encourage others in the ways You have encouraged us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Thank You, Lord, for every time You’ve met me in my sufferings and reached down to me in every pit of despair. Thank You for never wasting a moment of my sufferings, redeeming them all as I entrust them to You. They are now part of my character and part of my hope—my confident trust in my God who hears me when I call and leads me through them all. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Drawn to the Greater Place 6-2-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the first word I speak and the first thought I think, as I begin this new day centered in Christ, embraced by our Father, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. Now I wait in the silence of surrender, watching to see what You’re doing and listening to hear what You’re saying. … “An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by His side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me; for the least among all of you is the greatest’ ” (Luke 9:46-48). You gave Your first disciples unbelievable authority and power to go in Your name and proclaim the coming of Your Kingdom, changing lives and even the spiritual atmosphere of every place they went (Luke 9:1-6). They saw Your heart for all people, and saw the miracles of Your love and provision for all who drew near to You (v. 9:10-17). They were moved by Your Spirit to begin to understand more of Your nature (v. 9:18-20). They heard Your call willing lay down their lives so they could follow You into the freedom of Your will alone which would become their lives (v. 9:23-27). Those closest to You and hungriest for You went with You to the mountain to pray, where they beheld Your glory, lost in worship and heard the voice of God in their hearts in a deep encounter of Your Presence (v. 9:28-36). Yet, just a few days later, they find themselves moved by their flesh instead of Your Spirit, striving for the place closest to You and greatest in Your kingdom (v. 9:46-48). They did not yet understand that growing intimacy with You is the very thing that exposes what remains to be healed and freed in their hearts, so that they could keep growing in Your nature and be trusted with Your authority and power of Your calling for their lives (v. 9:37-43). They didn’t fully understand that the closer they came to You, the more their inner fears and insecurities, their unhealed hurts and unfulfilled desires, would be brought to the surface so they could release them to You and grow even closer still (v. 9:43-45). They wanted more. They wanted all You had for them, without realizing there’s always more You want from us. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Seeking Your face, hungering for Your Presence, longing to grow in wisdom and stature and favor in Your Spirit is a good thing, a God thing, needful to know our true identity and fulfill our destiny. But we must know that as we do, there will always be another layer of our flesh to be crucified, a deeper root that yet bears bad fruit to be dug up and cast into the fire, and another branch that does not yet bear good fruit that must be pruned back and prepared for the harvest to come. As we press on with You toward the goal of our prize, You are always pressing in even more deeply still. You see our hearts—both that part of our hearts that seek You above all else and also that part of our hearts yet blinded to the fullness of Your love and Your nature that remain to be healed and filled with the fullness of Your Spirit (Luke 9:47). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NKJV). As we allow You to search our hearts, clarify our motives, heal our wounds, You pour in Your love, establish us in Your security, and change us into Your nature. Then we’re able to receive even more of all You have for us. “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary” (Jeremiah 17:12, NKJV). You draw us closer still, lift us higher still, as we humbly, faithfully keep saying to You: “Behold, You desire truth in my inward parts, and in the hidden part You make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from sins, blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Psalm 51:6-12). Because I love You and trust You, I say, “Yes, Lord. Keep revealing and purging everything in me that is not yet like You. Give me Your heart for all Your children. Give me the humility to take my place at Your feet so You can lift me to the place You have for me in Your heart. Let me be free from striving or competition, be healed from insecurities, fears, and hurts from my past, so that I can trust You to fulfill Your perfect plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, so You can lead me to the place where all Your dreams, instead of my dreams, are fulfilled in my life—exceedingly, abundantly far more than all I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). It’s always worth it to trust Your heart instead of mine, trusting in Your plan instead of my own. This is the heart that’s drawn to the greatest place in the intimacy of Your Presence. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer in Corpus Christi, Texas this week. Each year I'm called to report to my bishop of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church where I'm an ordained elder and member under annual "appointment" to ministry by my overseeing bishop (www.umcswtx.org). Though Messiah Ministries is a non-denominational ministry all streams and traditions of the Body of Christ and reaching out to all people of all nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, I personally am a Methodist minister. Rather than being "appointed" to pastor a local church, I have always praised God for allowing me to be "appointed" to Messiah Ministries as its founder and director to continue the vision the Lord gave me, "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" in fulfillment of ministry's founding Scripture, Isaiah 61 (www.messiah-ministries.org). And since I receive no financial support from the UM Church under my "extension ministry appointment" to Messiah Ministries, raising my own funds for ministry by the spiritual principles of sowing and reaping into the lives of others, I'm so grateful for all the ways You join with me and our ministry to fulfill the calling and vision the Holy Spirit causes to burn in my heart. Thank You and God bless you for joining me in the adventure! Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!

Walking Through the Open Door 6-1-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and life. … “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy One, the true One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens: ‘Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name’ ” (Revelation 3:7-8). I’ve seen Your power to change my life and the lives of so many others—the power of salvation and sanctification, the power of healing and deliverance, the power of forgiveness and redemption—all expressed through the power of Your grace and Your love. And I’ve seen You entrust Your power through the anointing of Your Spirit to those who commit themselves to seek to live by Your word and be known by Your name (Luke 9:1-2; 10:1-12). As the Father sent You, so You send us in the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit and the authority of Your name to continue Your ministry of changing lives in the power of Your love for the glory of Your name (John 20:21). Yet even this is “but little power” compared to what is to come in the days ahead. There will be even “greater works than these” as we are found faithful to allow You to prepare the way of the Lord in us and in all the earth (John 14:12). In this hour, You set before each of us an open door. It is a door of identity and destiny, vision and calling, the fullness of our salvation and our significance as the sons and daughters of God, as servants of our King and Your Kingdom. You hold the key to that door. But through the sacrifice of the power of Your blood poured out for us at the Cross and through the anointing of Your Holy Spirit poured out upon us as Your Church at Pentecost, that door is unlocked and open before each one of us. Lord, give us eyes to see that door. Give us eyes to see You, Lord Jesus, for You are that door—“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…” (John 10:9, NKJV). As I look to You alone, Lord Jesus, as the open door of my identity and destiny, give me courage to enter into the fullness of my salvation in You. Don’t let me turn to the left or the right, but only move forward into the way You’ve set before me. Don’t let me get ahead or behind, but move right in line and right on time with all You have for me. Shut every door that’s not in complete alignment with Your timing and Your will, and open every one that is (Isaiah 22:22). Make me increasingly sensitive to the leading of Your Spirit and increasingly full of faith to believe You’re answering this prayer because I’m praying Your will. “Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we will have the petitions asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV). So by the power of Your grace and Your love, I’m looking to the One who is my Open Door. And I’m walking through. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer to walk in obedience and faith with God through some opportunities that seem to be opening up for the longer term vision and calling of Messiah Ministries. And I pray the blessing of the Lord's leading to open and shut the doors of His will for you, as you entrust yourself to Him. God bless you! Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!