Morning by Morning, Dec 31 – First and Final Word of Love

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. You are one God in three Persons, revealing three dimensions of Your Being, all united in pure and perfect love. And I have this lifetime and all the rest of eternity to seek You and love You, in response to Your perfect love for me.  …

“So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16).

This morning I’ve come to the end of another year of my journey of prayer—seeking Your face, listening for Your voice, following Your leading, as I seek to begin my day deliberately, intentionally centered in Christ, embraced by the Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit morning by morning. Most of these mornings, I’ve journaled my prayers in the expression of my heart of my best understanding of Yours. And every morning, You’ve drawn me into the place of excited expectation to listen to hear what You would speak to my heart and stir in my spirit. Thank You for the gift of this daily adventure and the blessing of calling me into this journey of prayer.

But after all the Scriptures, images, conversations, and encounters we’ve had in our communion of prayer along the way, You’ve brought me back to this foundational Word in these closing moments of this year:  “God is love.” That’s really the heart of it all, the foundation, the cornerstone, the bedrock, the be all and end all of coming to know You in the communion of prayer and the journey of life. This is the alpha and omega of knowing You. This is the beginning and end of any journey with You. As You said long ago, everything You’ve ever said to us through Your written Word or prophetic words are rooted and grounded in this nature of Your Being (Matthew 22:37).

So as I write these last words of this past year in my journal of prayer with You, I sing to You this simple song You’re writing now on my heart in my time with You. …

As I seek Your face

And embrace Your grace

I know I need Your love

More than life, more than breath

More than doing right or anything else

I know I need Your love

And I thank You Lord

For Your steadfast love

It is who You are to me

More than faithful, more than true

More than Your Word and all that’s good

I know You are Love to me

Yes, Lord. I know You are Love to me. Love is Your first and final word for me. Love is Your eternal word for me. And for all who will embrace You on the basis of Your love for them (John 3:16). I thank You for loving us enough to reveal to us this truth of who You truly are. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

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Preparing to Spring Forth in the New Season - Dec 30

Good morning, Lord Jesus. With clean hands and a pure heart, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and purified by the fire of the Spirit, draw me up to the mountain of the Lord through the communion of prayer.  …

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Thank You for the lessons of this past year. Thank You for the opportunities to grow in grace, to dig deep in humility, to reach out in love. Thank You for walking with me through every valley, standing with me through every fire, and climbing with me to every peak. You’ve never left me, never forsaken me; You’ve always been faithful be here with me through it all. And I know by faith and by experience that that will never change. Praise You, Lord—my God and Savior, my Maker and Master, my Constant Companion and Best Friend.

Now that the experiences and encounters of this past year are a part of who I’ve become, all filtered through Your hands and redeemed by Your grace, prepare my heart and soul for the year to come. Increase the sensitivity of my spirit to perceive what You are doing. Open the eyes of my heart to see all You want to show me in Your wisdom and settle my soul in peace to rest in Your goodness and faithfulness for all that You choose not to show me.

Give me courage to let go of the former things You’re leading me to entrust to Your ever-unfolding plans and boldness to embrace the new thing You’re preparing for me in the season ahead. As it begins to spring forth, let me not shrink back, but spring forth with it in expectant faith. I have no doubt that by this time next year, I will again be with You in prayer that I “might declare (Your) praise” (v. 43:21). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

I pray for God's Holy Spirit to prepare your heart for the days and season to come in this next new year of your life. May the Lord fulfill all His plans through your life, as He fills you with the "righteousness and peace and joy" of His Kingdom within you (Romans 14:17). God bless you and thank you for joining with me in the journey of prayer!

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

"Flee to Egypt" - Dec 28

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You. Help me start this day and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...

"Now after (the wise men) had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the Child to destroy Him.' Then Joseph got up, too the Child and His mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had spoken by the Lord through the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I have called My Son' " (Matthew 2:13-15).

Even the plans of God can be opposed by men. And yet, even the opposition of man is part of the plans of God. The murder of Joseph and Mary's Child was never in the heart of God, but God always knew that murder would be in the heart of Herod. So God sent His word through His angel in a dream to His children to respond in obedience to save the life of Christ and fulfill His plans.

Did Joseph have the freedom of will to respond? Did Mary have the freedom of will to gather her Child and follow her husband to a foreign land away from her family to raise her Child among a people she didn't know? Did Herod have the freedom of will to humble his soul, renounce the murder in his heart, and honor this Child who was said to be born King of the Jews according to the Word of God?

Somehow in the mystery of Your sovereignty and our freedom, You know our choices, yet our choices are real. Your very nature and the nature of Your plans for our lives require our freedom: God is love; and You've created us for a relationship of love. Love requires freedom, because love without freely choosing to love is not love at all. So You could not be who You are, creating us in Your image, for a relationship with You in Your nature without the freedom of will that love requires (1 John 4:16).

Yet in Your sovereignty and infinite knowledge that sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end, You have always known every choice we will ever make. Your prophetic words of what will take place are merely an expression of what You have known to have always been true even before the unfolding of those events in the fullness of time. Joseph and Mary's choices were real. Herod's choices were real. Even the angel's choice to go share the message of God in a dream to Joseph was real. Any could have chosen to obey or disobey the choices You set before them, but their choices and ours are a reflection of our trust in You and our love for You in the freedom You've given us in the sovereignty of Your will (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; John 15:10).

And Herod's heart to destroy Mary's Child to thwart the plans of God is also a prophetic picture of the spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of men and women throughout all generations: "The the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to His throne; and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished .... Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated ..." (Revelation 12:4-8).

Lord, thank You for the freedom You've given me to choose to love--love that's reflected in my choices to trust and obey. You have plans for my life, and there's a spiritual battle for the destiny of my soul and the fulfillment of Your plans. The same is true for us all (Jeremiah 19:11; 1 Peter 5:8). But You will be sending forth Your word and sending forth Your angels in ways I don't always know to stir in my heart and move in my life to accomplish Your plans--plans You've always known, all in the light of the choices I will always have (Psalm 139:16). Love will allow nothing less.

Sometimes Your love and Your plans may command me to even "flee to Egypt"--to places that may seem far away from what seems like the plans for my life. But Egypt may be necessary to preserve and prepare my life for the fulfillment of my destiny. It may be that it's "out of Egypt" that You desire to call forth Your son when You call me to come in the fullness of time. You already know whatever I'll face in the journey of my life. So let me be ready to choose to flee or to come however You command out of Your love and Your plans that I choose to belief are perfect for me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

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“Overwhelmed with Joy!” - Dec 27

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my thoughts and at the heart of my desires.  …

“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the Child who has been born King of the Jews? For we observed His star at its rising, and have come to pay Him homage’ … When they had heard the king they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy! On entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they knelt down and paid Him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:1-11).

All the heavens declare Your glory. All of nature is a sign of Your sovereignty. The very stars You created rose in the sky to align in rare majesty to proclaim Your coming. And those who were wise to read the signs of their times saw prophecies of old come to pass in their lives. “… For so it has been written by the prophet:  ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,  are by no means least among the ruler of Judah; for from you shall come a Ruler who is to shepherd My people Israel’ ” (v. 2:5-6).

I wasn’t there to look up in the heavens to see Your star. I wasn’t there to come and kneel at Your feet in the little town of Bethlehem. I have no treasure chests to open up to You and no costly gifts to lay down before You. But when I read Your story and think of Your birth and all that that means for me and for all You came to save in the mercy of Your love, I’m also just as overwhelmed with joy! God with us, Emmanuel. Jesus, the Salvation of all! As they say, “Wise men still seek Him.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

 

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

 

God bless you, my friend in this season of joy! I pray that no matter what season you're in and whatever the signs of your times, you will know the peace of Christ and the joy of the Lord, as you embrace His abiding Presence with you.

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“Born this Day!” - Dec 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Happy Birthday!  …

“ ‘To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you:  you will find a Child wrapped on bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ ” (Luke 2:11-14)

Glory to You, Lord God! Fill our hearts and all the earth with Your peace again this  morning. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light! … For unto us a Child is born, a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:2-6, NKJV). Let all the earth rejoice! Emmanuel, God is with us!

And as children around the world wake from their beds and hurry to see waits gifts are waiting for them, as mommys and daddys around the world delight to give good gifts to their children, as friends and family love one another and rejoice with each other in every tribe and tongue and nation today, let us remember the Gift of God this happy morn—the Gift of this Child who restores our hearts to child-like faith at the wonder of the love and grace of our God. Glory to God in the highest, and earth, peace, goodwill toward men and women, boys and girls, young and old, celebrating this day in all the joy of the Spirit of Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

 

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

To Reply to Tommy Hays:  TommyHays@aol.com 
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“Good News of Great Joy” - Dec 23

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, fill my spirit, soul, and body with the fullness of Your Presence as I begin my day with You.  …

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord’ ” (Luke 2:8-11).

Are we still terrified by the glory of the Lord? Or do we casually take it for granted? Are we still bringing good news of great joy for all the people? Or have we made it terrifying news of great judgment for all the people we don’t think have what it takes for the glory of the Lord to shine all around them?

You are our Savior, not our shamer. You bring salvation, not condemnation. Your salvation is great news, not bad news. You are a Gift of God, not a burden of God. And this is the season we celebrate the gift of Your salvation, the birth of our Savior and Messiah, with great joy! And it's not meant to be great joy for some people, but “great joy for all the people.”

Pour out Your Spirit of Joy in these days. Break into our hearts again in a way that restores our sensitivity to the wonder and majesty of the glory of Your Presence. Send Your holy angels to surround us; send Your Holy Spirit to fill us. Then send us out to share this great news You’ve meant to bring great joy to all the people we see. May they see Your Spirit of Joy in us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Reply to Tommy Hays:  TommyHays@aol.com 
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Born in the Manger of Humanity - Dec 22

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart to see You. Open the ears of my heart to hear You. Now I watch and wait in the silence before You, as You draw me into the communion of prayer with You.  ...

"While they were there, the time came for (Mary) to deliver her Child. And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in bands of cloth, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:6-7).

You lay in a manger, not a mansion. You were surrounded by animals, not armies. You humbled Yourself to be born as human child from the womb of a humble woman, not descending as God in all Your glory from heaven. You chose to be born in the manger of humanity. What contrast to all the mythologies of the so-called gods of the various cultures of the earth. You are the God, so secure and mighty in Your identity and glory, that You desired to set aside the glory of heaven to humble Yourself in human form, to live among us as one of us, to show us the nature of life lived in deepest intimacy with God (Philippians 2:5-8).

"And the Word  became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.... From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made Him known" (John 1:14-18).

In this Christmas season, when all the world seems to be exceptionally open to hear the story and come to see the Child who born in the manger, let us look closely to see Your heart for us. Let us see the One who makes known to us "the Father's heart."  Your heart is humble and tender to draw near to us as we draw near to You (James 4:8). In the birth of Christ, You have drawn near to us in the very nature of us, that we could best understand Your heart toward us. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ ... that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them ..." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Yes, Lord. Let me embrace this Christ Child who has come to reconcile me to God and God to me. Let me embrace the One who has humbled Himself to draw near to me so that I may draw near to Him. "O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

To Reply to Tommy Hays:  TommyHays@aol.com 
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Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries
"Preparing the Way of the Lord
... Ministering the Healing Love of God"
2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, KY 40502, USA
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Right Place, Right Time - Dec 21

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my heart with great tidings of comfort and joy in the abiding peace of Your Presence.  …

“Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a Child” (Luke 2:4-6).

Joseph and Mary were strategically positioned in the right place at the right time for a mighty move of God in their lives—the birth of Christ. Did they know of the prophecy centuries before that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of the Messiah, their Child? (Micah 5:2) Or were they just obeying the political orders of the secular government that seemingly ruled their nation ?(Luke 2:1) Ultimately, no matter what Mary and Joseph were thinking, no matter what Caesar was thinking, You were thinking You wanted the Son of God to be born in Bethlehem. And so He was (Luke 2:7).

Lord, let every day be a day You are strategically positioning me for Your purposes in my life. I want to be in the right place at the right time for every mighty move of God that You’ve prophesied or planned to come to pass. I don’t yet fully understand the tension between Your sovereignty and our freedom, between the plans we make and the plans You make that come together in fulfillment of what You’ve always known all along. But I do know that it was not until “the fullness of time had come, (that) God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children” (Galatians4:4-5).

So Lord, I entrust myself to the fullness of Your timing and the fulfillment of Your plans, as best as I can and all by Your grace. I want my free choices to align with Your sovereign will. Use all the authorities and circumstances of my life to guide my heart and my steps into the fulfillment of Your purposes. Put Your thoughts in my mind. Put Your desires in my heart. Let me lean not on my own understanding, but trust in You with all my heart, acknowledging You in all my ways, that You may direct my path (Proverbs 3:5-6). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  www.messiah-ministries.org

Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated:  Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, KY 40502; on-line at www.messiah-ministries.org ; or by phone at 859-317-1591.  God bless you and Merry Christmas!  --Tommy & all of us at Messiah Ministries

Season Between Conception and Birth - Dec 17

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. I draw near to You and You draw near to me, as deep calls to Deep and spirit calls to Spirit.  …

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in my Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name’ ” (Luke 1:46-49).

Between conception and birth, pregnant with the purposes and destiny of God for her life, Mary’s eyes were on You. Mary’s soul soared and her spirit rejoiced. Her calling was a high calling, with high responsibilities and high pressures. And the burdens she would endure in the journey of days to come in fulfillment of her calling for the sake of Christ would “pierce (her) own soul” (v. 2:35). Yet Mary rejoiced. Mary glorified God.

And in that season between conception and birth, Mary was able to see that she was both lowly and favored, both a servant of God and the mother of her Savior. She was blessed by the great things of God that You were forming and shaping inside her womb  and inside her heart. By the power of Your grace, she was not afraid of what she couldn’t know was to come, but rejoiced that she was chosen to carry the purposes of God for her life, as she “pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Lord, let my soul magnify the Lord. Let my spirit rejoice in my Savior. Though I am Your lowly servant, humbled in my humanity and my desperate need of Your mercy and grace every moment of my life, I am also a son of God. Like all of Your children, my calling is high and my destiny is great—I am being conformed into the image of Christ through every challenge to my calling and every distraction to my destiny, as I persevere in faith for the sake of Christ (Romans 8:29).

There may be things that will pierce my soul. There may be people who will break my heart. There may be days when I stumble and fall. But by the grace of God, my soul will magnify the Lord; my spirit will rejoice in my Savior. For the Lord my God has done great things for me. You have favored me with the knowledge of my identity in Christ and a sense of purpose and destiny for the sake of Christ. You have done the same for each of us who are called by Your name and have given our hearts and our lives to You. Let all generations called us blessed, because we are blessed with the favor and grace of our God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  http://www.messiah-ministries.org/

Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated. Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, KY 40502; on-line at http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ ; or by phone at 859-317-1491.  God bless you and Merry Christmas! – Tommy

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!

The Words of God in a Dream - Dec 16

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I come with all the faithful to adore You, Christ the Lord.  …

“… [A]n angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ … When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her for his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son; and he named Him Jesus” (Matthew 1:20-25).

The angel of the Lord spoke with the authority of the Lord to Joseph. You speak to us in many ways. Sometimes You speak through Your written Word; sometimes You speak through the words of our friends, our family, and those we trust to speak into our lives; sometimes You speak through our circumstances; sometimes You speak through the moving of Your Holy Spirit in the thoughts of our minds and the desires of our hearts; sometimes You speak through dreams or visions or prophetic signs; sometimes You speak through angels and other messengers of God You send at critical moments in our lives and in the lives of Your people in the progressive journey of  Your plan for our world.

But whenever You speak and however You speak, You expect us to discern Your word to be truth. Because not every word we hear, every dream we have, every thought and desire formed in our mind and heart, or every spiritual encounter or experience is from You. You command us, “Test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). We are to “weight what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29). But when we test it and weight it and discern it as from You, we are to trust You and obey You and the word You have spoken to us through whatever means You have chosen in Your sovereignty and wisdom to speak. That’s just as true even if it’s spiritual, supernatural, intangible, unmeasurable, unverifiable unrepeatable; even if it comes through an angel in a dream, rather than through black and white words on a paper. That’s why You call it faith—“the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Through the angel in the dream, You “commanded” Joseph to name his Son “Jesus.” “And Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him … he named Him Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25). We don’t hear a lot about Joseph in the Bible. But we do hear this:  A very young man was chosen by God to be the one who named the Savior of the world. Though he didn’t receive a decree from Caesar, get a word from a prophet, or even a prayer from his pastor, he knew he heard God speaking to him. He was convicted in his heart of what he hadn’t yet seen with his eyes, and he chose to act in faith in obedience to the word he believed he heard.

A father’s words are a father’s blessing. And a father’s name for his son speaks of the purpose and calling and destiny for his life. Through this young man named Joseph, the Father named His Son “Jesus”—meaning “the salvation of God”—“for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). What an honor You gave to Joseph, this young man of such strong faith, who was willing to believe he heard the words of God in a dream and was willing to obey them, as best as he could and all by Your grace. Lord, let it be so in me, in response to however You choose to speak. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  http://www.messiah-ministries.org/

Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated. God bless you and Merry Christmas! – Tommy

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!

Joseph’s Mercy for Mary - Dec 15

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King and Lord of all the moments of my day.  …

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, and angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’ ” (Matthew 1:18-21).

Joseph was “a righteous man.” But his righteousness was revealed in his heart of mercy. His righteousness was not the self-righteousness of insisting upon the judgments of the law with harshness and legalism. His righteousness came from one who knew God more personally, more intimately; he was one who was “unwilling” to do what the law seemed to require and what he felt people seemed to expect. Rather, he was willing to express his love through his mercy, even though his heart was broken and his emotions were raw, in the face of his deep disappointment with this one he valued and trusted so much.

Before Joseph ever knew the truth about Mary’s Child, the truth of his own heart was revealed. It was only after Joseph resolved in his heart to show mercy to Mary that the angel appeared to reveal the truth of all the facts that Joseph didn’t know. It’s the heart of mercy, not judgment, that draws the Presence of the Lord. It’s the heart of mercy, not judgment, that allows us to hear the truth and live in the way that honors God, as we honor those He brings across the path of our lives.

The heart of mercy, not judgment, is at the heart of God. And it’s to be our heart as well. “For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). Freely we have received Your mercy and freely we are to give (Matthew 10:8). You command us, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). You remind us, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Lord, like Joseph, let me have a heart of mercy. Let me be unwilling to judge or condemn. Let me grow in Your righteousness, not my self-righteousness. Let me never assume I know all the facts and harden my heat in judgment, rather than opening my heart in mercy. And if I’m led to speak the truth in love, let it be Your truth spoken in Your love, only as You lead with Your heart to redeem and restore. After all, that’s what Mary’s Child has come to do for us. “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high has broken upon us!” (Luke 1:78) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  http://www.messiah-ministries.org/

Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated. God bless you! -- Tommy

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!

Filled with Joy! - Dec 14, 2010

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I give You the offering of my first thoughts of my first moments of this new day.  …

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there was be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord’ ” (Luke 1:41-45).

Spirit to spirit, heart to heart, deep to deep (Psalm 42:7). The child in Elizabeth’s womb and the Child in Mary’s womb were filled with the Spirit of God. And the stirring of Your Spirit stirred up the expression of joy. “In Your Presence there is fullness of joy! (Psalm 16:11)

We need Your joy in our world today. I need Your joy in my world today. The expression of joy is an evidence of presence of the Kingdom of God within us. “For the Kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Fill me afresh with Your joy today—not joy that everything around me is perfect and wonderful, but joy that the Spirit of Your Presence abides within me and flows out from me.

Let the Spirit of God within me leap for joy with the Spirit of God with my brothers and sisters of the family God everywhere I go today. Let us rejoice, even in the midst of a world that doesn’t feel like rejoicing. Let us not be overcome by the doom and gloom of the world around us, but let us overcome that doom and gloom with the joy of the Lord flowing our of our hearts. You speak to our hearts, encourage our souls, and stir up our spirits “that (our) joy may be full” (1 John 1:4, KJV). Fill us with the fullness of Your joy today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  www.messiah-ministries.org

Friends, please prayerfully consider Messiah Ministries in your year-end giving, as you join with us in our ministry to others. Your support and encouragement is truly needed and greatly appreciated. God bless you! -- Tommy

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!

“Nothing will be Impossible with God” - Dec 13

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I center my thoughts and open my heart to You, my God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  …

“The angel said to her, ‘ ... nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’ ” (Luke 1:37-38).

The angel first spoke of the plans of God. Then the angel spoke of the power of God to make possible His plans for her life. When Mary believed, that’s when Mary said, “Here I am.” When Mary believed the truth that nothing is impossible with God, she was willing to entrust all the possibilities of her life to her God, the God who has the power to do the impossible.

And the miracle Child conceived in her womb, when the God of the impossible changed her world and ours’ through the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, would “increase in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52). Then one day, this Child would be a Man, who would proclaim this same Truth:  “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23, NKJV).

Mary believed, and the God of the impossible made all things possible. Mary believed, and the plans of God were made possible by the power of God for her life. So even though You are the God who can do all things and there is nothing impossible for You, You desire a people who will choose to believe You. You desire a people who will choose to trust You, love You, and obey You because they believe You. It’s when we truly believe that we’re willing to truly trust and obey with all our hearts and with all our lives.

Help me believe You more. Help me trust You and love You and obey You more and more each day because my belief in You increases more and more each day. You are the God who has the power to make all Your plans for my life come true. By the grace of God, I believe it. And nothing will be impossible for You in my life and through my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

To Comment or Reply:  TommyHays@aol.com

To Subscribe, Contribute, or Order Resources:  http://www.messiah-ministries.org/

Come to The Fountain This Friday Night! Dec 17 at 7 pm for our Messiah Ministries monthly, citywide gathering for Prayer, Praise & Healing Worship. All are welcome! Come drink deeply from the Living Water as we worship God in Spirit and Truth, welcoming His healing Word and Presence into our lives and the burdens on our hearts. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin will be leading in prayer, while I’m speaking at The Vineyard Church in Lexington for Celebrate Recovery. The Fountain is led by Messiah Ministries and hosted monthly in the Chapel at Centenary Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington, KY 40502. If you’re in our area, please come with a friend and spread the word!

“Make Ready a People Prepared for the Lord” - Dec 10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit; come be One within me through the communion of prayer, the mercy of grace, and the mystery of faith.  …

“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before Him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:13-17).

Before Your first coming, You sent Your Holy Spirit to fill the heart of Your messenger “with the spirit and power of Elijah” to set things right and make people ready. And so it will be before Your second coming. As You promised and prophesied in the last words of the last book of the Old Testament: “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). “With the spirit and power of Elijah,” You’re still anointing Your messengers to be filled with Your Holy Spirit to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).

One day You will come again in the clouds of heaven, with the sound of the trumpet and the cry of the archangel (1 Thessalonians 4:16). For Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again! (Revelation 1:8) But every moment of every day between now and then, You want us to be a people prepared for the Lord. And you want each of us to be anointed and empowered, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” to be Your messengers, in all the unique and diverse ways You’ve created and called us, to help prepare the way of the Lord in the hearts of those You bring into our lives. We can only be Your messengers to the degree we’ve embraced Your message and allowed Your Holy Spirit to prepare the way of the Lord in our own hearts first.

Lord, let these days of preparation for Christmas, be days of preparation of our hearts for the coming of the Lord—not just Your second coming at “great and terrible day of the Lord,” but also for Your coming in our hearts every day. Empty us of every false and substitute thing we’ve filled ourselves with in the past, so we can make room for the true filling of Your true Spirit now. We are Your children. Turn our hearts again to our Father, that we might receive the abundance of Your blessings and grace in this season of “joy and gladness,” rather than enduring the judgment of the curse of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Let us be “ready;” let us be “a people prepard for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep Messiah Ministries in mind during your year-end giving. We're grateful for God's provision through the hearts He moves with joy to join with us in prayer and provision to fulfill our vision and calling -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God."

We welcome your tax-deductible contributions of any amount to "Messiah Ministries" by mail at 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 or on-line at www.messiah-ministries.org or by credit card over the phone at 859-317-1591 or through the Kentucky Christian Foundation at http://www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org/ I'll be happy to talk with you about our vision, our calling, and our needs:  tommyhays@aol.com  Please give generously and joyfully as the Lord may lead!  Thank you and God bless you!

Reply to Tommy Hays:  tommyhays@aol.com

Subscribe for Prayer:     www.messiah-ministries.org

Christmas Party Dec 10th! w/ Messiah Ministries & Tommy Hays

Friends of Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries ...

Come Join Us Friday Night, December 10^th!

Messiah Ministries Christmas Party

Special Music with Paula Stefanovich!  

( http://www.omegachristianmusic.com/ )

Come for an evening of fellowship & refreshments, worship, and hearing stories of God's glory and all He is doing through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad. Come and bring friends to learn more about our ministry and join in prayer and provision for our calling and vision--

"Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God"

6:30 in the Chapel & Foyer at Centenary UMC

2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington

Please RSVP to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591

www.messiah-ministries.org

God bless you and Merry Christmas from all of us at Messiah Ministries!

--Tommy Hays, Founder & Spiritual Director

Subscribe to our Events Calendar & Newsletter or

Tommy's Daily Prayer Devotional, Morning by Morning

at our New Web Site:  www.messiah-ministries.org

Both Blameless and Barren? Dec 9, 2010

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, help me begin this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  …

“In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendent of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years” (Luke 1:5-7).

Is it possible to be both blameless and barren? Is it possible to be righteous before God, to know all the right things and do them, according to all the rules, commandments, and regulations of the Lord and still be lacking the longing of your heart? Can bad things happen to good people? Can hard times and tough seasons, deferred hope and shattered dreams, unfulfilled expectations and discouraging disappointments touch the lives of those who love God and are called according to Your purposes?

Look at Zechariah and Elizabeth. They loved You; they lived for You and lived blamelessly before You. They were created and called by You with tremendous purpose and calling and destiny—they would be the earthly father and mother of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way of the Lord in the spirit of Elijah for the coming of Christ. Yet, they suffered sadness and maybe even sensed a measure of rejection and confusion about Your promises and provision for abundance and blessing in their lives. They were getting on in years, yet the hopes and dreams of their hearts were still unfulfilled.

And even if the season of barrenness would be broken and the birth of a miracle child was to come, what of all the years before? What of all the tears before? What of all the questions and struggles in their hearts, and what of all the questions and judgments of their neighbors and s0-called friends through all the days of their journey of faith until the day of rejoicing when the miracles and power and provision of God was to come?

No wonder Zechariah had a few questions and even a bit of an attitude with the angel of the Lord when the glorious promises and breakthroughs of God were announced (v. 1:18). No doubt Elizabeth must have had a few questions of her own. Yet Your Word went forth and the miracle child was conceived (v. 1:24). Years of disappointment, seasons of enduring disapproval and doubts of others, and decades of being tempted to settle for something less than the fullness of the desires of their hearts were wiped away in a moment. Elizabeth embraced the gift and grace of the miracle of God in her womb, declaring to heaven and to anyone who would hear, “This is what the Lord has done for me when He looked favorable on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people!” (v. 1:25)

You are the God who says, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act” (Psalm 37:3-5). We’re not responsible for the results or the timing. All of that is in Your hands. Our part is to keep on trusting, keep on doing good,  keep on committing our way to the Lord—as best as we can and all by the mercy and power of Your grace. And good things will come, our purpose and calling in our lives will be fulfilled, and there will be great days of “joy and gladness” with rejoicing in our hearts and all around us on the day when You act—all in Your time and all in Your way (Luke 1:14). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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

My friend with me in the journey of faith and prayer, I am praying for you right now for breakthrough in all your unfulfilled hopes and desires. I'm rejoicing with you in the Spirit now for the day that will come when joy and gladness fill your heart and the promises and provision of God overtake your life. May discouragement, disappointment, and doubt flee away, as persevering faith and enduring hope fill your spirit as we agree in prayer in the name of Jesus. Thank you for praying the same for me. God bless you and thank you for joining with me in the journey!

Friends, please keep Messiah Ministries in mind during your year-end giving. We're grateful for God's provision through the hearts He moves to join with us in prayer and provision to fulfill our vision and calling -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God."

We welcome your tax-deductible contributions of any amount to "Messiah Ministries" by mail at 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 or on-line at www.messiah-ministries.org or by credit card over the phone at 859-317-1591 or through the Kentucky Christian Foundation at http://www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org/ I'll be happy to talk with you about our vision, our calling, and our needs:  tommyhays@aol.com  Please give generously and joyfully as the Lord may lead!

Thank you and God bless you!

Reply to Tommy Hays:  tommyhays@aol.com

Subscribe for Prayer:     www.messiah-ministries.org

Christmas Party Dec 10th! w/ Messiah Ministries & Tommy Hays

Friends of Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries ...

Come Join Us Friday Night, December 10^th!

Messiah Ministries Christmas Party

Special Music with Paula Stefanovich!  

( http://www.omegachristianmusic.com/ )

Come for an evening of fellowship & refreshments, worship, and hearing stories of God's glory and all He is doing through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad. Come and bring friends to learn more about our ministry and join in prayer and provision for our calling and vision--

"Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God"

 

6:30 in the Chapel & Foyer at Centenary UMC

2800 Tates Creek Rd., Lexington

Please RSVP to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591

www.messiah-ministries.org

 

God bless you and Merry Christmas from all of us at Messiah Ministries!

--Tommy Hays, Founder & Spiritual Director

 

Subscribe to our Events Calendar & Newsletter or

Tommy's Daily Prayer Devotional, Morning by Morning

at our New Web Site:  www.messiah-ministries.org