Good morning, Lord Jesus. Great and awesome are You, O God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mighty is Your name and worthy of all praise. …
“Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing, I will make melody to the God of Israel. Lord, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens poured, the clouds indeed poured water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel” (Judges 5:3-5).
I awoke this morning to the earth trembling, to the heavens pouring. As I rise to pray and look out over the woods, I see flashes of lighting and rolls of thunder. I think of Your mighty power, as creation displays Your glory. As the windows rattle, I’m stirred in the fear of the Lord, even as Your Holy Spirit is drawing me near and deep into the communion of prayer in the intimacy of the Lord. Mighty are You, O Lord. Holy is Your name.
As kings go out to war, so the majesty of Your Word and the power of Your Presence go forth unto battle, marching against the forces of darkness. Let the forces of hell tremble at Your Presence, the forces of flesh bow at Your Word. Let men and women turn to You and call on Your name, holding fast to the One Who cannot be shaken, Whose Kingdom has no end.
Though the heavens may tremble and the earth may shake, I will fear neither the fallen creation nor the dark “ruler of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). I will fear You alone, O Lord, my God. You’ve not given me a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of love and power and sound a mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
And as You arise to march out to battle, may Your Spirit arise in me and in the people of God this day, as we praise You and follow You into the battles in the Spirit You’ve purposed for us to fight and win today. “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord! … Tell of it…. To the sound of musicians … there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord… Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord” (Judges 5:9-11).
Together in the Spirit, we gather in prayer and we go forth, each in the way that You would lead, into the victories of God decreed for our day. “March on, my soul, with might!”—the mighty power of the Lord, stirring in me and in the people of God (Judges 5:21). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, I'm excited that several leaders from the Refuge for Women will be joining us for our School of Spiritual Ministry next week in Lexington ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). You're welcome to join us as well! for this 4 Day School to known our identity and authority in Christ, preparing for minister in the love and power of the Lord in the opportunities He brings across our paths.
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Friends, please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Fresh Hot Bread - Feb 25
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and throughout the moments of my day. …
“David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech …. ‘Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.’ The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread ….’ So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day that it is taken away” (1 Samuel 21:1-6).
David was on the run for his life. His enemy was a powerful king, once anointed by God, but now turned away from ruling in righteousness to wickedness and evil, in rebellion against God and in hatred of the servant of God (1 Samuel 18:8-11). And David ran to the Tabernacle to find bread to strengthen himself and his men to continue their journey and their fight for survival in a kindgom that was set against them until the day You restored order to the land and established David in his rightful place of authority. In the Tabernacle of Your Presence, David found bread and a sword (v. 21:8-9).
As with David, so we are also in a battle for survival in a foreign land, held “in bondage to decay” by a wicked ruler Your Word calls “the god of this age” and “the ruler of this world” (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 16:11). And in the unfolding sovereignty of Your will, through Your servants of the faith, You are restoring order to the land and establishing Your sons and daughters in their rightful place of authority, with the Spirit of Christ in our hearts and the calling of God upon our lives (Revelation 11:15; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 6:3).
In this process of transformation of the kingdoms of this world into the kingdoms of our God and Christ, “until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through His holy prophets,” we need strength for the journey and weapons for our warfare (Acts 3:21). You are “the Bread of Life” (John 6:35). And Your Word is our “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).
Every day of this journey, every day of this spiritual fight, we need Your Fresh Bread. And as we take and eat, It is continually replaced. You keep making us hungry for more—more of Your Word, more of Your Presence, more of You. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Let me be filled today and every day of this journey with Your Fresh Hot Bread. Let Your Word be my weapon, as You daily strengthen me for battle in the advancement of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, Tonight I’ll be preaching the monthly healing service at Pfrimmer’s Chapel United Methodist Church, led by my great friend Pastor Tim Johnson. Please pray for us and come join us if you’re in the Louisville, KY/Southern Indiana area ( www.pfrimmerschapel.org ).
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I’ll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home – bottom left corner
“David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech …. ‘Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.’ The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread ….’ So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day that it is taken away” (1 Samuel 21:1-6).
David was on the run for his life. His enemy was a powerful king, once anointed by God, but now turned away from ruling in righteousness to wickedness and evil, in rebellion against God and in hatred of the servant of God (1 Samuel 18:8-11). And David ran to the Tabernacle to find bread to strengthen himself and his men to continue their journey and their fight for survival in a kindgom that was set against them until the day You restored order to the land and established David in his rightful place of authority. In the Tabernacle of Your Presence, David found bread and a sword (v. 21:8-9).
As with David, so we are also in a battle for survival in a foreign land, held “in bondage to decay” by a wicked ruler Your Word calls “the god of this age” and “the ruler of this world” (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 16:11). And in the unfolding sovereignty of Your will, through Your servants of the faith, You are restoring order to the land and establishing Your sons and daughters in their rightful place of authority, with the Spirit of Christ in our hearts and the calling of God upon our lives (Revelation 11:15; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 6:3).
In this process of transformation of the kingdoms of this world into the kingdoms of our God and Christ, “until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through His holy prophets,” we need strength for the journey and weapons for our warfare (Acts 3:21). You are “the Bread of Life” (John 6:35). And Your Word is our “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).
Every day of this journey, every day of this spiritual fight, we need Your Fresh Bread. And as we take and eat, It is continually replaced. You keep making us hungry for more—more of Your Word, more of Your Presence, more of You. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Let me be filled today and every day of this journey with Your Fresh Hot Bread. Let Your Word be my weapon, as You daily strengthen me for battle in the advancement of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, Tonight I’ll be preaching the monthly healing service at Pfrimmer’s Chapel United Methodist Church, led by my great friend Pastor Tim Johnson. Please pray for us and come join us if you’re in the Louisville, KY/Southern Indiana area ( www.pfrimmerschapel.org ).
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I’ll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home – bottom left corner
Thursday, February 24, 2011
“A Little Lower than God” - Feb 24
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day centered in Christ, embraced by the Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit. …
“When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have established; what are human beings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You care for them? Yet You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under their feet…. O Lord, Our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9)
In Your sovereignty, You’ve created us in Your image. In Your grace, You’ve called us Your children. In Your mercy, You’re mindful of every thought in our minds and every desire in our hearts. In Your humility, You’ve entrusted dominion over the works of Your hands into our care. In Your audacity, You’ve made us “a little lower than God.”
How majestic is Your name; how marvelous are Your ways; how amazing is Your grace?
Though “all our righteous deeds are as a filthy cloth” compared to the glory and goodness of Your nature, You have chosen to crown us “with glory and honor” (Isaiah 64:6). Though we sin so often and fall so short of the glory of God, You continually forgive us and cleanse us and call us “the righteousness of God” through the blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though You know our struggles with selfishness and pride, with false humility and self-righteousness, with insecurity and control, You impart to us Your “power and authority” to “proclaim the Kingdom of God” and to be Your “ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us” (Luke 9:1; 2 Corinthians 5:20).
O Lord, give us the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love to live up to Your expectations. Forgive us when we fail. Encourage us when we doubt. Remind us when we forget. This is Your heart—for us to see ourselves as we are, as You have created us to be. “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
In the purposes of Your plans and the sovereignty of Your will, we are all called by grace, created for glory, and predestined for greatness (John 3:16; Romans 11:32; 2 Peter 3:9). All is available for “whosoever will” (Revelation 22:17, KJV). “We are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:16-17). O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, Friday Night I'll be preaching the monthly healing service at Pfrimmer's Chapel United Methodist Church, led by my great friend Pastor Tim Johnson. Please pray for us and come join us if you're in the Louisville, KY/Southern Indiana area ( www.pfrimmerschapel.org ).
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
“When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have established; what are human beings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You care for them? Yet You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under their feet…. O Lord, Our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9)
In Your sovereignty, You’ve created us in Your image. In Your grace, You’ve called us Your children. In Your mercy, You’re mindful of every thought in our minds and every desire in our hearts. In Your humility, You’ve entrusted dominion over the works of Your hands into our care. In Your audacity, You’ve made us “a little lower than God.”
How majestic is Your name; how marvelous are Your ways; how amazing is Your grace?
Though “all our righteous deeds are as a filthy cloth” compared to the glory and goodness of Your nature, You have chosen to crown us “with glory and honor” (Isaiah 64:6). Though we sin so often and fall so short of the glory of God, You continually forgive us and cleanse us and call us “the righteousness of God” through the blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though You know our struggles with selfishness and pride, with false humility and self-righteousness, with insecurity and control, You impart to us Your “power and authority” to “proclaim the Kingdom of God” and to be Your “ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us” (Luke 9:1; 2 Corinthians 5:20).
O Lord, give us the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love to live up to Your expectations. Forgive us when we fail. Encourage us when we doubt. Remind us when we forget. This is Your heart—for us to see ourselves as we are, as You have created us to be. “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
In the purposes of Your plans and the sovereignty of Your will, we are all called by grace, created for glory, and predestined for greatness (John 3:16; Romans 11:32; 2 Peter 3:9). All is available for “whosoever will” (Revelation 22:17, KJV). “We are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:16-17). O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, Friday Night I'll be preaching the monthly healing service at Pfrimmer's Chapel United Methodist Church, led by my great friend Pastor Tim Johnson. Please pray for us and come join us if you're in the Louisville, KY/Southern Indiana area ( www.pfrimmerschapel.org ).
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Break Out and Break Through - Feb 23
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. I welcome You, Lord God, in every dimension of Your Being into every dimension of my being. …
“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel, I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people. The one who breaks out will go up before them; they will break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass on before them, the Lord at their head” (Micah 2:12-13).
Your covenants are forever; Your promises are everlasting. Despite our sins that would divide us from Your blessings, You are constantly calling us back, calling us near. Like Israel, there will always be a remnant who will turn to You, receiving Your mercy, and embracing Your love. Like Israel, there will always be those who survive the consequences and devastations of our own sins and the sins of those around us to be gathered again into Your arms through the gate of repentance.
Lord, give me a repentant heart—a heart continually turning away from my sin and toward Your holiness. When I’m overwhelmed or overcome by the temptations and pressures of the world, the flesh, and the devil, let me hear Your voice calling me near. Let me break out of the snare of the enemy and the bondage of sin. Let me break through the walls that would divide me from Your will and go out through the gate You’ve opened up in the walls by the power of the blood of the Lamb, preparing the way of escape.
You’re not only on the other side of that wall, calling me back, You’re also on this side of the wall leading me through. You are the King who leads Your people home, passing on before them. You are the Lord who leads us through the gate of repentance and grace. You are the Gate itself. As You said long ago, “I Am the Gate. Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10).
I want to be among Your remnant, among Your survivors, who live to fight another day, who live to die to themselves another day. I want to be among those who hear Your voice and turn from their sins and enter through Your Gate into the pastures of Your will. I need Your mercy and grace that flows out of Your steadfast love to all who will allow You to gather them up and bring them close. So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to rise up and break out and break through, following You, my King and my Lord, through the Gate of the One who’s made a way through Your mercy and love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Friends, please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel, I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people. The one who breaks out will go up before them; they will break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass on before them, the Lord at their head” (Micah 2:12-13).
Your covenants are forever; Your promises are everlasting. Despite our sins that would divide us from Your blessings, You are constantly calling us back, calling us near. Like Israel, there will always be a remnant who will turn to You, receiving Your mercy, and embracing Your love. Like Israel, there will always be those who survive the consequences and devastations of our own sins and the sins of those around us to be gathered again into Your arms through the gate of repentance.
Lord, give me a repentant heart—a heart continually turning away from my sin and toward Your holiness. When I’m overwhelmed or overcome by the temptations and pressures of the world, the flesh, and the devil, let me hear Your voice calling me near. Let me break out of the snare of the enemy and the bondage of sin. Let me break through the walls that would divide me from Your will and go out through the gate You’ve opened up in the walls by the power of the blood of the Lamb, preparing the way of escape.
You’re not only on the other side of that wall, calling me back, You’re also on this side of the wall leading me through. You are the King who leads Your people home, passing on before them. You are the Lord who leads us through the gate of repentance and grace. You are the Gate itself. As You said long ago, “I Am the Gate. Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10).
I want to be among Your remnant, among Your survivors, who live to fight another day, who live to die to themselves another day. I want to be among those who hear Your voice and turn from their sins and enter through Your Gate into the pastures of Your will. I need Your mercy and grace that flows out of Your steadfast love to all who will allow You to gather them up and bring them close. So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to rise up and break out and break through, following You, my King and my Lord, through the Gate of the One who’s made a way through Your mercy and love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Friends, please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
“With My Whole Heart” - Feb 22
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and wait on Your Spirit to move in my heart in prayer. …
“I give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise; I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness; for Your have exalted Your name and Your word above everything (Psalm 138:1-2).
Let me hold nothing back. Let me look to nothing else. Let me trust in You alone for all I need with all I am—with my whole heart. Before the gods—before everything else that would seek my praise, that would seek to be my master and lord—I sing Your praise; I bow before Your name. Your name and Your word are my Master and Lord.
You are steadfast in Your love, faithful to Your promises, worthy of my trust. Help me trust You more; help me love You more. Bring me to the place of uncompromising confidence and unyielding assurance in Your good heart towards me and my trusting heart towards You. Bring me to the place where it can truly be said of me that I “love the Lord, (my) God with all (my) heart, with all (my) soul, and with all (my) might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). That’s the place where I’ll love You and trust You “above everything.” That’s the place where I’ll love You and trust You “with my whole heart.” And that’s the only place I want to be. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Friends, please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
“I give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise; I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness; for Your have exalted Your name and Your word above everything (Psalm 138:1-2).
Let me hold nothing back. Let me look to nothing else. Let me trust in You alone for all I need with all I am—with my whole heart. Before the gods—before everything else that would seek my praise, that would seek to be my master and lord—I sing Your praise; I bow before Your name. Your name and Your word are my Master and Lord.
You are steadfast in Your love, faithful to Your promises, worthy of my trust. Help me trust You more; help me love You more. Bring me to the place of uncompromising confidence and unyielding assurance in Your good heart towards me and my trusting heart towards You. Bring me to the place where it can truly be said of me that I “love the Lord, (my) God with all (my) heart, with all (my) soul, and with all (my) might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). That’s the place where I’ll love You and trust You “above everything.” That’s the place where I’ll love You and trust You “with my whole heart.” And that’s the only place I want to be. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Equipping, Training, Impartation for Healing Prayer Ministry
Friends, please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive School of Ministry that I'll be leading in March in Lexington ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Scholarships are available as needed.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home - bottom left corner
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Protocol of the King - Feb 21
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I commit myself and my day into Your hands. …
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25:6-7).
The kings of the earth have their procedures and protocols. They take their places of power and authority, allowing only those whom they will to draw close and near. But You, O Lord, are the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to You (Matthew 28:18). Before You all the kings and nobles of the earth must bow at Your name (Philippians 2:9-11). You alone open the gate of Your kingdom and invite Your guests to come dine at Your table (Revelation 19:9).
And this is Your procedure; this is Your protocol: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:8-10). “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with Me” (Revelation 3:20). “Come up here ...” (Revelation 4:1). “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
You are my King. And You welcome me every moment of every day into Your Presence. You bend low and gather me close and lift me up into Your arms. You prepare a place for me at Your table, even in the very presence of my enemies, continually offering me the cup of Your salvation and the bread of heaven. You steadily speak to my spirit, “Come up here with me, My son, My beloved; You are always welcome with Me—you in Me and I in you, by the ever-abiding Presence of My Spirit within you.”
So I hear and so I come. So I bow low and allow You to lift me up. So I draw near and embrace Your arms, drawing me near to You—in both deep humility and with great boldness, in both the reverence of the fear of the Lord and in the intimacy of the tenderness of Your mercies. I’m a son of the King. And I always have place in Your heart and at Your table that You prepared for me from before the foundations of the earth. Praise Your holy name! It’s so much more than I could ever deserve. It’s so much more that I can even imagine. So I’m not trying to figure it all out, I’m just trying to receive this gift You so graciously want me to have. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March in Lexington.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25:6-7).
The kings of the earth have their procedures and protocols. They take their places of power and authority, allowing only those whom they will to draw close and near. But You, O Lord, are the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to You (Matthew 28:18). Before You all the kings and nobles of the earth must bow at Your name (Philippians 2:9-11). You alone open the gate of Your kingdom and invite Your guests to come dine at Your table (Revelation 19:9).
And this is Your procedure; this is Your protocol: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:8-10). “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with Me” (Revelation 3:20). “Come up here ...” (Revelation 4:1). “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
You are my King. And You welcome me every moment of every day into Your Presence. You bend low and gather me close and lift me up into Your arms. You prepare a place for me at Your table, even in the very presence of my enemies, continually offering me the cup of Your salvation and the bread of heaven. You steadily speak to my spirit, “Come up here with me, My son, My beloved; You are always welcome with Me—you in Me and I in you, by the ever-abiding Presence of My Spirit within you.”
So I hear and so I come. So I bow low and allow You to lift me up. So I draw near and embrace Your arms, drawing me near to You—in both deep humility and with great boldness, in both the reverence of the fear of the Lord and in the intimacy of the tenderness of Your mercies. I’m a son of the King. And I always have place in Your heart and at Your table that You prepared for me from before the foundations of the earth. Praise Your holy name! It’s so much more than I could ever deserve. It’s so much more that I can even imagine. So I’m not trying to figure it all out, I’m just trying to receive this gift You so graciously want me to have. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March in Lexington.
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Friday, February 18, 2011
Finding “Great and Hidden Things” - Feb 18
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re mighty to save, tender to speak, and compassionate to care. …
“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah …. Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name: Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:1-4).
You want me to seek You, to call to You, to ask of You, to depend on You. It’s part of the personal relationship You invite me to develop with You. When I search for You with all my heart, that’s when I find You. As You’ve said in Your Word, “When you call upon Me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me” (v. 29:12-14).
Of course, I don’t search for You because You are lost. I search for You because You’re always drawing me to a deeper relationship with You. There’s always more—more intimacy, more sensitivity, more accuracy. And You’ve not hidden from me because You don’t want to be found. You’ve hidden from me because Your relationship with me is a journey, not just a destination. It’s an adventure, not just an encounter. It’s a moment by moment anticipation of what comes next, not just a memory of the moments that have happened long ago.
And on the journey of this adventure, You’ve purposefully hidden things from me—truths about Your world, Your nature, and myself, that I don’t yet know, but that You want me to discover. It’s like playing hide-and-seek and I’m “it.” It’s like playing peek-a-boo and You’re the face that’s always watching, even when I think You’re not, ready to answer when I call, “I see you.”
These hidden treasures are nuggets of gold—the gold of the glory of Your Presence, the gold of the wisdom You’ve stored up for the righteous, the gold of the spiritual truths that allow my life to align with Your will and Your ways so that all will be well with my soul, as I journey with You through the adventures of this world. “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Proverbs 25:2).
Thank You for the joy of adventure. Thank You for making this journey interesting and exciting. Thank You for making me hungry to hear Your voice, to find You when I search for You, to discover the hidden things I did not know. What hidden treasures have You buried for me to find today? What will You speak to me as I listen for voice throughout the moments of my day? I can’t wait to see. I can’t wait to hear. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries’ 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
Thursday, February 17, 2011
“Especially that You may Prophesy” Feb 17
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help listen to hear, then pray what You say, then do what You will. …
“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy…. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:1-31).
How exciting to be among a people hungry to learn the deep things of God. How beautiful to see the Body of Christ seeking to become all You’ve created us to be. This week, I’m thrilled to be one of Your teachers at “The Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry” hosted by Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, Tennessee. This second session for the next few days focuses on Your desire and anointing for all Your children to learn to flow in the spiritual gift of prophecy—to hear and express the heart of the Lord for one another.
You call us to “pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts.” Why? Because You love each one of us and You also desire to express Your love for each one of us through one another. The spiritual gifts are a means of Your expression of Your love for us, each with their own purpose. You call us to “especially” strive for the spiritual gift of prophecy. Why? Because You desire us to prophesy the words of Your heart into the hearts of one another, by the leading of Your Spirit for that moment in their life. “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (v. 14:3). “He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (v. 14:3, NKJV).
So let us not be afraid to hear what You say or to say what we hear. “We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26, NKJV). So it is with prophecy. We don’t know how to prophesy as we ought, but the same Holy Spirit intercedes for us, knowing the heart of God and then expressing it through us into the heart of another. As Your Word encourages us: “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever” (1 Peter 4:10-11).
The spiritual gift of prophecy is just another one of the marvelous ways You awaken our souls to sing the song of our lives. Teach us how to humble ourselves to listen and then give us faith to pray what You give us to pray and say what You give us to say into the lives of those You desire encourage and comfort in Your love, with the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a beautiful and powerful gift Your Word commands us to pursue and learn how to use as an expression of the power of Your love for each one of us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in prayer, as I teach with the team at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). Almost a hundred students from the Methodist stream of the Body of Christ have come form across the country to grow in their spiritual gifts and ministry. Please pray for awakening and revival in this stream and all streams of the Body of Christ until the River of Life flowing freely and mightily through us all as one!
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries' 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
I was just invited to minister in Africa this summer! Please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors’ conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you’d like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I’m excited to see what God will do!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy…. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:1-31).
How exciting to be among a people hungry to learn the deep things of God. How beautiful to see the Body of Christ seeking to become all You’ve created us to be. This week, I’m thrilled to be one of Your teachers at “The Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry” hosted by Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, Tennessee. This second session for the next few days focuses on Your desire and anointing for all Your children to learn to flow in the spiritual gift of prophecy—to hear and express the heart of the Lord for one another.
You call us to “pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts.” Why? Because You love each one of us and You also desire to express Your love for each one of us through one another. The spiritual gifts are a means of Your expression of Your love for us, each with their own purpose. You call us to “especially” strive for the spiritual gift of prophecy. Why? Because You desire us to prophesy the words of Your heart into the hearts of one another, by the leading of Your Spirit for that moment in their life. “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (v. 14:3). “He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (v. 14:3, NKJV).
So let us not be afraid to hear what You say or to say what we hear. “We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26, NKJV). So it is with prophecy. We don’t know how to prophesy as we ought, but the same Holy Spirit intercedes for us, knowing the heart of God and then expressing it through us into the heart of another. As Your Word encourages us: “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever” (1 Peter 4:10-11).
The spiritual gift of prophecy is just another one of the marvelous ways You awaken our souls to sing the song of our lives. Teach us how to humble ourselves to listen and then give us faith to pray what You give us to pray and say what You give us to say into the lives of those You desire encourage and comfort in Your love, with the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a beautiful and powerful gift Your Word commands us to pursue and learn how to use as an expression of the power of Your love for each one of us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in prayer, as I teach with the team at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). Almost a hundred students from the Methodist stream of the Body of Christ have come form across the country to grow in their spiritual gifts and ministry. Please pray for awakening and revival in this stream and all streams of the Body of Christ until the River of Life flowing freely and mightily through us all as one!
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next Messiah Ministries' 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join our ministry for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
I was just invited to minister in Africa this summer! Please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors’ conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you’d like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I’m excited to see what God will do!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
“Make Known His Deeds Among the Nations” - Feb 16
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, be Lord of my life and Lord of my day. …
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His deeds among the nations; proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in Your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:3-6).
As I hung up the phone last night, joy began to bubble up and flow out of me like a water fountain. I found myself smiling bigger and broader than I can remember in a long time. With those tears of joy that suddenly rise up and gush out like a flash flood, I couldn’t quit saying, “Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord!” I was actually surprised by the depths of joy flooding my soul.
Why? What made me so happy? It actually wasn’t some personal experience, some extravagant gift, not even some big check in the mail. It was an invitation to go preach and pray and minister the healing love of God in Africa this summer. You’ve sent me to many nations many times. But You’ve never sent me to Africa before. I’ve longed for it and prayed for it, but I’ve also known to wait for it—for it to be in Your time and in Your way. I’ve known not to try to push those doors open myself, but to wait for You to open them wide when You were ready and when You said I was ready. And now, it seems, that day has come!
I’ve been reading the autobiography of Rheinhard Bonnke, and of his humble beginnings but deep passion to see all of Africa saved. And he has seen millions upon millions come to faith in Christ, with mighty displays of Your love and power and glory everywhere You send him. And with every sentence of the book, I’ve yearned to go there and be a part of Your story of turning a continent to the mercy of Your love—“From Cape Town to Cairo, all Africa shall be saved!”
You’ve not diminished my passion for the people of India, Pakistan, Estonia, France, England, Wales, Brazil, the Philippines, Costa Rica,Israel, America and every other place You’ve ever sent me and continue to remind me to pray for the fullness of Your salvation in their lives. But You’ve also been stirring this intensifying, burning passion in my heart for the people of Africa as well.
Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be part of drawing Your living waters from the wells of Your salvation to offer the nations of the world a deep drink of Your mercy and love. Thank You, Lord, for letting me be a part of Your end-time mandate: “And this Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come!” (Matthew 24:14) In the joy of the Lord, with thanksgiving and praise, I will proclaim Your name and make known Your deeds among the nations of the earth, at home and abroad—and now, by this gift of Your grace to me, Your son, even among the people of the nations of Africa. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors' conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you'd like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I'm excited to see what God will do!
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
And please keep us in prayer, as I go to teach at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His deeds among the nations; proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in Your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:3-6).
As I hung up the phone last night, joy began to bubble up and flow out of me like a water fountain. I found myself smiling bigger and broader than I can remember in a long time. With those tears of joy that suddenly rise up and gush out like a flash flood, I couldn’t quit saying, “Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord!” I was actually surprised by the depths of joy flooding my soul.
Why? What made me so happy? It actually wasn’t some personal experience, some extravagant gift, not even some big check in the mail. It was an invitation to go preach and pray and minister the healing love of God in Africa this summer. You’ve sent me to many nations many times. But You’ve never sent me to Africa before. I’ve longed for it and prayed for it, but I’ve also known to wait for it—for it to be in Your time and in Your way. I’ve known not to try to push those doors open myself, but to wait for You to open them wide when You were ready and when You said I was ready. And now, it seems, that day has come!
I’ve been reading the autobiography of Rheinhard Bonnke, and of his humble beginnings but deep passion to see all of Africa saved. And he has seen millions upon millions come to faith in Christ, with mighty displays of Your love and power and glory everywhere You send him. And with every sentence of the book, I’ve yearned to go there and be a part of Your story of turning a continent to the mercy of Your love—“From Cape Town to Cairo, all Africa shall be saved!”
You’ve not diminished my passion for the people of India, Pakistan, Estonia, France, England, Wales, Brazil, the Philippines, Costa Rica,Israel, America and every other place You’ve ever sent me and continue to remind me to pray for the fullness of Your salvation in their lives. But You’ve also been stirring this intensifying, burning passion in my heart for the people of Africa as well.
Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be part of drawing Your living waters from the wells of Your salvation to offer the nations of the world a deep drink of Your mercy and love. Thank You, Lord, for letting me be a part of Your end-time mandate: “And this Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come!” (Matthew 24:14) In the joy of the Lord, with thanksgiving and praise, I will proclaim Your name and make known Your deeds among the nations of the earth, at home and abroad—and now, by this gift of Your grace to me, Your son, even among the people of the nations of Africa. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please join with me in prayer for the plans to join with Wesley Paul International Ministries for this Festival Campaign in Kenya in August ( www.wesleypaul.org ). Dr. Wesley Paul has invited me to preach at the pre-festival city revivals, a pastors' conference, and the main festival, with other settings of healing and deliverance prayer ministry. We need to make provision in my calendar and finances, but I strongly believe the Lord is providing for this. Please let us know if you'd like to be a part of this mission in prayer or financial provision. I'm excited to see what God will do!
Please come join us and spread the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ).
And please keep us in prayer, as I go to teach at the Methodist School for Supernatural Ministry with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries near Nashville, TN the rest of this week ( http://www.aldersgaterenewal.org/ministry-events/arc-events/methodist-school-for-supernatural ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Giving from the Heart - Feb 15
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I give You my spirit, soul, and body. I am Yours and You are mine. …
“When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they might invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the cripple, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).
How much of what I do, do I do for what may be done for me? How much of what I give, do I give for what may be given to me? How truly generous am I? How truly selfless am I? And by the same measure, how truly selfish am I—ultimately thinking of myself even when I appear, even to myself, to be thinking of others?
It’s true that I’ll always receive more that what I give. That’s one of Your spiritual laws (Luke 6:38). It’s true that whatever I sow in good soil will always bring back a harvest of more than what I’ve sown. That’s one of Your spiritual laws too (Luke 8:8). But should I give, should I sow, because I know how to work the system? Because I know how to get what I need? Because “them that gives is them that gets?”
It’s what’s in my heart that comes out in my life (Mark 7:21). And I want my giving to come out of my heart. I want my living to come out of my heart. I don’t want to be giving and living for what I think I’m going to get back in this life. So change my heart, O God. Make me a generous, joyful giver. I want to love to give just for the sake of the joy and peace it brings to those to whom You lead me to give—“generous, ready to share, thus storing up for (myself) the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that (I) may talk hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they might invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the cripple, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).
How much of what I do, do I do for what may be done for me? How much of what I give, do I give for what may be given to me? How truly generous am I? How truly selfless am I? And by the same measure, how truly selfish am I—ultimately thinking of myself even when I appear, even to myself, to be thinking of others?
It’s true that I’ll always receive more that what I give. That’s one of Your spiritual laws (Luke 6:38). It’s true that whatever I sow in good soil will always bring back a harvest of more than what I’ve sown. That’s one of Your spiritual laws too (Luke 8:8). But should I give, should I sow, because I know how to work the system? Because I know how to get what I need? Because “them that gives is them that gets?”
It’s what’s in my heart that comes out in my life (Mark 7:21). And I want my giving to come out of my heart. I want my living to come out of my heart. I don’t want to be giving and living for what I think I’m going to get back in this life. So change my heart, O God. Make me a generous, joyful giver. I want to love to give just for the sake of the joy and peace it brings to those to whom You lead me to give—“generous, ready to share, thus storing up for (myself) the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that (I) may talk hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry
( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Monday, February 14, 2011
“The Least of These” - Feb 14
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Light of the World, light my path throughout the moments of my day. …
“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ ” (Matthew 25:45).
Who are “the least of these” I will see today? This morning we’ll go out in the country to the Refuge for Women for prayer ministry with a young woman trying to come out of the strip club and sex trade industry, battling with the choice to live. Is she the least?
Some days I go into the city to try to explain our ministry of healing and deliverance, binding up the broken-hearted and setting the captives free to those whose pride won’t allow them to admit they need it to have the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God in their lives You paid by Your blood for them to have. Are they the least?
Some days I go into my own heart and head, struggling to believe I’m truly a son of God, the righteousness of God in Christ, loved by You and favored by You, despite all the brokenness, sins, and failures of my life—and not all of them the distant past. Am I the least?
Whoever the least are, You love them and You are for them. And as we love them, that’s a measure of how we love You. Deliver us from our hardened hearts of judgment. Free us from our prideful attitudes that make us think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Release us from the mindset that makes us think Your mercy and grace is for everyone but us—because they’re the ones who really need it.
Lord, I need it. I need Your mercy and grace. I need Your steadfast love. I need to know You love me and You are for me, no matter what. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far is the east is from the west, so far He removes His transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12). Praise the Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in prayer as we join in a closer relationship of ministry with the Refuge for Women ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). And please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ ” (Matthew 25:45).
Who are “the least of these” I will see today? This morning we’ll go out in the country to the Refuge for Women for prayer ministry with a young woman trying to come out of the strip club and sex trade industry, battling with the choice to live. Is she the least?
Some days I go into the city to try to explain our ministry of healing and deliverance, binding up the broken-hearted and setting the captives free to those whose pride won’t allow them to admit they need it to have the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God in their lives You paid by Your blood for them to have. Are they the least?
Some days I go into my own heart and head, struggling to believe I’m truly a son of God, the righteousness of God in Christ, loved by You and favored by You, despite all the brokenness, sins, and failures of my life—and not all of them the distant past. Am I the least?
Whoever the least are, You love them and You are for them. And as we love them, that’s a measure of how we love You. Deliver us from our hardened hearts of judgment. Free us from our prideful attitudes that make us think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Release us from the mindset that makes us think Your mercy and grace is for everyone but us—because they’re the ones who really need it.
Lord, I need it. I need Your mercy and grace. I need Your steadfast love. I need to know You love me and You are for me, no matter what. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far is the east is from the west, so far He removes His transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12). Praise the Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in prayer as we join in a closer relationship of ministry with the Refuge for Women ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). And please consider coming or sharing the word with someone who may be interested for our next 4 Day Intensive Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ) coming up in March. And please come join us for The Fountain this Friday Night at 7 PM, our monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Friday, February 11, 2011
See the Scars, the Mark of Authority - Feb 11
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship and adore You; I choose to live my life for You. …
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39, RSV).
Even after Your resurrection, Your body still showed the scars of Your crucifixion. You were not just a spirit, not just an undefined part united into the larger universe as one with it, not just an idea, an image, a philosophy, or a memory. You were flesh and bones, even in Your resurrected and glorified body. Even today, even in Heaven, even throughout all eternity, Your body bears the scars of Your suffering (Revelation 5:6).
But Your scars are Your badge of honor, the marks of Your suffering for us, the evidence of Your sacrifice of love for us. And Your scars are the mark of Your authority. Because You humbled Yourself to be marked with those wounds, to die on that cross, and bear those scars, our Father has given You “the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
And so it is with us. As You are, so are we to be in this world (1 John 4:17). In Christ, our scars are to be our marks of authority. Our wounds, now healed through the victory of the cross and the power of the blood of the Lamb, are the places where we have wisdom and compassion and authority in Your name in the lives of those hurting, wounded, and bound around us. In the way You have comforted us, we are to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In the ways You have freely given to us, we are to freely give to others (Matthew 10:8).
Let me not see You wrongly as a God who has never suffered (Isaiah 53:11). As You humbled Yourself, the Son of God, in human flesh and bones as the Son of Man, even You, as “the pioneer of (our) salvation” were “perfect through suffering” in Your sacrifice of love “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). “For because He Himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who have been tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
So Lord, use my sufferings, not wasting a moment of them. Use even my temptations and even my sins and failures, no forgiven by the power of the blood of the Lamb, not wasting a moment of them. These are now my scars, to display Your glory. These are now the places in my life where You can express Your authority and the power of Your love in the lives of others—even through my flesh and bones, resurrected into newness of life by Your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please join us for Messiah Ministries’ Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39, RSV).
Even after Your resurrection, Your body still showed the scars of Your crucifixion. You were not just a spirit, not just an undefined part united into the larger universe as one with it, not just an idea, an image, a philosophy, or a memory. You were flesh and bones, even in Your resurrected and glorified body. Even today, even in Heaven, even throughout all eternity, Your body bears the scars of Your suffering (Revelation 5:6).
But Your scars are Your badge of honor, the marks of Your suffering for us, the evidence of Your sacrifice of love for us. And Your scars are the mark of Your authority. Because You humbled Yourself to be marked with those wounds, to die on that cross, and bear those scars, our Father has given You “the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
And so it is with us. As You are, so are we to be in this world (1 John 4:17). In Christ, our scars are to be our marks of authority. Our wounds, now healed through the victory of the cross and the power of the blood of the Lamb, are the places where we have wisdom and compassion and authority in Your name in the lives of those hurting, wounded, and bound around us. In the way You have comforted us, we are to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In the ways You have freely given to us, we are to freely give to others (Matthew 10:8).
Let me not see You wrongly as a God who has never suffered (Isaiah 53:11). As You humbled Yourself, the Son of God, in human flesh and bones as the Son of Man, even You, as “the pioneer of (our) salvation” were “perfect through suffering” in Your sacrifice of love “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). “For because He Himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who have been tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
So Lord, use my sufferings, not wasting a moment of them. Use even my temptations and even my sins and failures, no forgiven by the power of the blood of the Lamb, not wasting a moment of them. These are now my scars, to display Your glory. These are now the places in my life where You can express Your authority and the power of Your love in the lives of others—even through my flesh and bones, resurrected into newness of life by Your Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please join us for Messiah Ministries’ Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Thursday, February 10, 2011
“Be Imitators of God” - Feb 10
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes unto the hill of Your holy Presence. And there I see Your cross and remember that I’m loved and forgiven, that I’m a son and a saint by the blood of the Lamb. You’re the source of my help and the center of my life. …
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and give Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).
Holy Spirit of God, God in Christ, and Christ in us, by the power of Your love in our hearts, You call us and empower us to “be imitators of God.” You forgive us and call us to forgive one another. You love us and call us to love one another. You put away Your wrath against our sin against You and call us to put away our wrath against the sins of those who have sinned against us.
We’re children of God, growing up to like our Daddy. We’re marked by Your Spirit, sealed by Your love. We’re set on a journey through all the challenges of this world, being conformed into the image of the Son of God, abiding in us, making us more like You each day—if we’ll let You. And as we do, we become as You are—“a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
By embracing Your Spirit and the power of Your love through the every-day moments of our lives, we are being changed into Your image, revealing Your heart to the world around us. “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). By the power of the grace of God, Lord, let it be so in me this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please join us for Messiah Ministries' Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and give Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 4:30-5:2).
Holy Spirit of God, God in Christ, and Christ in us, by the power of Your love in our hearts, You call us and empower us to “be imitators of God.” You forgive us and call us to forgive one another. You love us and call us to love one another. You put away Your wrath against our sin against You and call us to put away our wrath against the sins of those who have sinned against us.
We’re children of God, growing up to like our Daddy. We’re marked by Your Spirit, sealed by Your love. We’re set on a journey through all the challenges of this world, being conformed into the image of the Son of God, abiding in us, making us more like You each day—if we’ll let You. And as we do, we become as You are—“a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
By embracing Your Spirit and the power of Your love through the every-day moments of our lives, we are being changed into Your image, revealing Your heart to the world around us. “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). By the power of the grace of God, Lord, let it be so in me this day and every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please join us for Messiah Ministries' Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry - Level 1, March 9-12, 2011. This is our 4 day Intensive Course of equipping and empowering for healing prayer ministry. All are welcome; Scholarships are available as needed so all can attend. For more information and on-line registration:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Willing to Wait and Listen - Feb 8
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my thoughts and at the foundation of my day. …
“When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet, if You say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break” (Luke 5:4-6).
Simon had already been working all night long. He was weary and discouraged. He was empty-handed from failure, except for the washing his empty nets. But he was willing to allow You into his boat (v. 5:3). He was willing to wait and listen to what You had to say. And then he was willing to let You direct his choices about how to spend his day.
He wanted to go to bed, but You wanted him to go to work. He thought his plans and his ways made the most sense, but in Your wisdom, You knew what was best. He was ready to give up, but You pressed him on a little further. And in the end, he called You “Master,” yielded his will to Your will, his ways to Your ways, and did what You said.
It was a choice that turned his lack into abundance, his failure into success, his discouragement into joy. And it turns out that his simple act of welcoming You into his day, and then doing what You said, changed his life—not only for that day, but for every day for the rest of his life (v. 5:11). And not only Simon Peter’s life, but it changed the lives of his business partners too, James and John (v. 5:10).
Lord Jesus, I welcome You into my boat and into my day. I want to stop what I’m doing, set aside my plans for the moment, and take time to listen to what You have to say. I want You to be my Master, because I trust Your wisdom to know what’s best for my life. I give over to You every feeling of weariness, discouragement, and failure from every disappointing moment and day of my past. And I ask You to fill my nets with Your provision of all I need in the way You choose. Give me the humility and wisdom to trust and obey. Let it be so for me and for all those closest to me. I want my trust and obedience, by the power of the grace You supply, to be life changing and never ending. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet, if You say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break” (Luke 5:4-6).
Simon had already been working all night long. He was weary and discouraged. He was empty-handed from failure, except for the washing his empty nets. But he was willing to allow You into his boat (v. 5:3). He was willing to wait and listen to what You had to say. And then he was willing to let You direct his choices about how to spend his day.
He wanted to go to bed, but You wanted him to go to work. He thought his plans and his ways made the most sense, but in Your wisdom, You knew what was best. He was ready to give up, but You pressed him on a little further. And in the end, he called You “Master,” yielded his will to Your will, his ways to Your ways, and did what You said.
It was a choice that turned his lack into abundance, his failure into success, his discouragement into joy. And it turns out that his simple act of welcoming You into his day, and then doing what You said, changed his life—not only for that day, but for every day for the rest of his life (v. 5:11). And not only Simon Peter’s life, but it changed the lives of his business partners too, James and John (v. 5:10).
Lord Jesus, I welcome You into my boat and into my day. I want to stop what I’m doing, set aside my plans for the moment, and take time to listen to what You have to say. I want You to be my Master, because I trust Your wisdom to know what’s best for my life. I give over to You every feeling of weariness, discouragement, and failure from every disappointing moment and day of my past. And I ask You to fill my nets with Your provision of all I need in the way You choose. Give me the humility and wisdom to trust and obey. Let it be so for me and for all those closest to me. I want my trust and obedience, by the power of the grace You supply, to be life changing and never ending. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Monday, February 07, 2011
Benjamin Generation - Feb 7
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the name above every name. And here in my heart I bow my knees and confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. …
“When they were seated before (Joseph), the firstborn according to the birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much of any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him” (Genesis 43:33-34).
In one sense, all the tribes of Israel, from Judah to Benjamin, may speak of all the generations that have gone before us and that will come after us. Judah is first with his birthright, but Benjamin is last with his portion five times greater than any generation before him. And perhaps this speaks of a generation that will be young in our eyes, but mighty in Yours—gifted, anointed, empowered more than any generation as the last generation before the return of Christ.
If so, our part is to pray for them, teach them, help raise them up in the way they should go. We should help them be unhindered by the restrictions and fears, by the mindsets and traditions, by the disappointments and failures of our generations. We should get out of their way in every way You lead, while at the same time finding our way with them together. None can fulfill our calling and destiny apart from the other (Acts 2:17-18). But together we can drink deeply of Your Spirit and rejoice in Your Presence as we labor together in the greatest harvest to come before Your return for Your Bride (Matthew 13:30, 39).
One of my favorite times of our City-wide and Regional Strategic Prayer Summit this past weekend was the fathers’ blessing over the younger generation, Judah blessing Benjamin, and releasing this generation into ministry. Then they began to minister to us. We witnessed signs and wonders of the Spirit of God moving through their hands. We heard several testimonies of immediate freedom from pain as bodies and bones were readjusted by Jesus before our eyes! And what joy in the eyes of the young people, being blessed and anointed by God, released and encouraged in their own ministry in our city and region.
Lord, may the generations after us go farther than we have ever gone, do more than we have ever done, see more than we have ever seen. Pour out Your Spirit in greater measure for greater ministry upon the earth than we have ever known (John 14:12). And may we all be a part of all that You’re doing, as “this Gospel of the Kingdom” is “proclaimed to all the nations” of the earth before the day “the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, thank you for praying for us at our 2011 Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. It was incredible, as we came together in the bond of unity in the Spirit to seek the face and voice of the Lord together as one Church in our city and region. Together we experienced a measure of the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, "that they may be one" (John 17:11). I pray the same for you and for your city and region, as we are united as one Body throughout all the earth. "There is one Body and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“When they were seated before (Joseph), the firstborn according to the birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much of any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him” (Genesis 43:33-34).
In one sense, all the tribes of Israel, from Judah to Benjamin, may speak of all the generations that have gone before us and that will come after us. Judah is first with his birthright, but Benjamin is last with his portion five times greater than any generation before him. And perhaps this speaks of a generation that will be young in our eyes, but mighty in Yours—gifted, anointed, empowered more than any generation as the last generation before the return of Christ.
If so, our part is to pray for them, teach them, help raise them up in the way they should go. We should help them be unhindered by the restrictions and fears, by the mindsets and traditions, by the disappointments and failures of our generations. We should get out of their way in every way You lead, while at the same time finding our way with them together. None can fulfill our calling and destiny apart from the other (Acts 2:17-18). But together we can drink deeply of Your Spirit and rejoice in Your Presence as we labor together in the greatest harvest to come before Your return for Your Bride (Matthew 13:30, 39).
One of my favorite times of our City-wide and Regional Strategic Prayer Summit this past weekend was the fathers’ blessing over the younger generation, Judah blessing Benjamin, and releasing this generation into ministry. Then they began to minister to us. We witnessed signs and wonders of the Spirit of God moving through their hands. We heard several testimonies of immediate freedom from pain as bodies and bones were readjusted by Jesus before our eyes! And what joy in the eyes of the young people, being blessed and anointed by God, released and encouraged in their own ministry in our city and region.
Lord, may the generations after us go farther than we have ever gone, do more than we have ever done, see more than we have ever seen. Pour out Your Spirit in greater measure for greater ministry upon the earth than we have ever known (John 14:12). And may we all be a part of all that You’re doing, as “this Gospel of the Kingdom” is “proclaimed to all the nations” of the earth before the day “the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, thank you for praying for us at our 2011 Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. It was incredible, as we came together in the bond of unity in the Spirit to seek the face and voice of the Lord together as one Church in our city and region. Together we experienced a measure of the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, "that they may be one" (John 17:11). I pray the same for you and for your city and region, as we are united as one Body throughout all the earth. "There is one Body and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). God bless you!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Friday, February 04, 2011
As One, Let the Walls Come Down! - Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit 2011 - Feb 4
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, You’re the King of this city and the King of my heart. Come rule and reign in this land and throughout the moments of my day. …
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
The sacrament of Holy Communion, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, is a prophetic act by physical means proclaiming a spiritual reality. We eat the bread and drink the cup together in the physical realm, while we proclaim that we are united together as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord in the spiritual realm. Through this means of Your grace, we are one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. What we do with our bodies is a proclamation of what is in our hearts—that despite all the outer divisions and superficial walls, we believe this eternal truth: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as (we) were called to the one hope of (our) calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
As an expression of the City-wide Church here in this city and our region, we will come together tonight and tomorrow physically as one for prayer, praise, and proclamation from the various and diverse streams and traditions of Your Body. But we are mindful that our physical act of just showing up together in the same place at the same time under the same name of Jesus as Lord of this city and region is a powerful spiritual proclamation—“so that through the Church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).
“Together with Christ” as one with You and one with each other, You raise us up with You and seat us with You in our heavenly position in the place of spiritual intimacy, identity, and authority You’ve entrusted to us as the people of Your Church (Ephesians 2:4-7). Because we are in You and You are in us, we are spiritually, strategically positioned “in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” that would claim any power of darkness over our city and region (Ephesians 1:20-21). And it’s from that place of unity in the Spirit that You command Your blessing—“Life forevermore!” (Psalm 133).
It’s from that heavenly position and place that together we’ll join in deep humility and bold faith for prayer, praise, and proclamation as Your Holy Spirit will lead at our annual City-wide and regional Strategic Prayer Summit. As You have said: “On this rock I will build My Church, and gates of Hell will not prevail against it. I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). As You have said: “The God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:20).
Yes, Lord, let it be so, just as You have said—here in our hearts, here in our city and region, here in our generation and throughout all the Earth. Let the walls of division come down! Let the walls of prayer be lifted up! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
The sacrament of Holy Communion, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, is a prophetic act by physical means proclaiming a spiritual reality. We eat the bread and drink the cup together in the physical realm, while we proclaim that we are united together as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord in the spiritual realm. Through this means of Your grace, we are one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. What we do with our bodies is a proclamation of what is in our hearts—that despite all the outer divisions and superficial walls, we believe this eternal truth: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as (we) were called to the one hope of (our) calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
As an expression of the City-wide Church here in this city and our region, we will come together tonight and tomorrow physically as one for prayer, praise, and proclamation from the various and diverse streams and traditions of Your Body. But we are mindful that our physical act of just showing up together in the same place at the same time under the same name of Jesus as Lord of this city and region is a powerful spiritual proclamation—“so that through the Church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).
“Together with Christ” as one with You and one with each other, You raise us up with You and seat us with You in our heavenly position in the place of spiritual intimacy, identity, and authority You’ve entrusted to us as the people of Your Church (Ephesians 2:4-7). Because we are in You and You are in us, we are spiritually, strategically positioned “in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” that would claim any power of darkness over our city and region (Ephesians 1:20-21). And it’s from that place of unity in the Spirit that You command Your blessing—“Life forevermore!” (Psalm 133).
It’s from that heavenly position and place that together we’ll join in deep humility and bold faith for prayer, praise, and proclamation as Your Holy Spirit will lead at our annual City-wide and regional Strategic Prayer Summit. As You have said: “On this rock I will build My Church, and gates of Hell will not prevail against it. I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). As You have said: “The God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:20).
Yes, Lord, let it be so, just as You have said—here in our hearts, here in our city and region, here in our generation and throughout all the Earth. Let the walls of division come down! Let the walls of prayer be lifted up! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Clothed for Battle, Carrying a Message of Hope - Feb 3
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I’m centered in You in the communion of prayer, help me begin my day with the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. …
“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Let Your helmet cover my mind and my thoughts. Let Your breastplate cover my heart and my desires. Let Your faith, love, and hope guide me and guard me from all that may come against me as I rise and go into the battles of my day.
I put on “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). I’m clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Through the mercy and power of Your grace, I am cleansed “in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). And I am “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Send me now into my day. I know You’ve already gone before me, You’ll go with me, and You’ll be behind me (Matthew 28:20). I am an “ambassador for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). I’m a “soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). And the hope that we have in the steadfast love of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, embraced by trusting faith in the One who loves us and gave His life for us, is my message (1 John 4:10). That’s my declaration of victory that will carry the day through every battle I’ll face. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Let Your helmet cover my mind and my thoughts. Let Your breastplate cover my heart and my desires. Let Your faith, love, and hope guide me and guard me from all that may come against me as I rise and go into the battles of my day.
I put on “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). I’m clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Through the mercy and power of Your grace, I am cleansed “in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). And I am “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Send me now into my day. I know You’ve already gone before me, You’ll go with me, and You’ll be behind me (Matthew 28:20). I am an “ambassador for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). I’m a “soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3). And the hope that we have in the steadfast love of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, embraced by trusting faith in the One who loves us and gave His life for us, is my message (1 John 4:10). That’s my declaration of victory that will carry the day through every battle I’ll face. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Watchmen on the Wall of the City 24/7 - Feb 2
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. ..
“I have set watchmen on Your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7, NKJV).
Throughout our city and across our region, You have set Your watchmen upon the walls. Throughout the watches of the night and the watches of the day, we worship You and welcome You into our hearts and into our land. We look for signs of Your coming and we look for signs of the enemy. We sound the alarm and blow the trumpet of prayer and praise and proclamation that “the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7).
As I write the Scripture “Psalm 24:7” just now, it strikes me that this is a call to 24/7 prayer, praise, and proclamation. It’s a call to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), that keeps welcoming without ceasing the glory of Your Presence in our hearts and in our land. Yet, none of us can do this alone. We need one another. We need many watchmen, taking their positions at many places upon the wall throughout many watches of the night and day. Together, You call us to give You no rest until You establish Your name and Your nature in our city and region.
This coming weekend, You are gathering Your watchmen to come together from the various streams, traditions, and tribes of the Body of Christ from across our city and region for our Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. Together, we’ll seek Your face, call upon Your name, and welcome Your Presence into our hearts and our land through prayer, praise, and proclamation in the authority of the name of Jesus. In the bond of unity, we believe You’ll pour out the oil of Your Spirit and command Your blessing according to Your Word (Psalm 133).
As Francis Frangipane has said, “It takes a city-wide Church to win a city-wide war.” And this annual gathering that You’ve called our ministry to lead for four years now is an expression of Your city-wide Church that will go to war in worship and praise, in confession and repentance, in proclamation and prayer, in the unity of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). As we lift up the gates of Your righteousness and open up the doors of our hearts, let the King of Glory come in—not only this weekend, but 24/7 until Christ comes again in final victory! (Psalm 24:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
“I have set watchmen on Your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7, NKJV).
Throughout our city and across our region, You have set Your watchmen upon the walls. Throughout the watches of the night and the watches of the day, we worship You and welcome You into our hearts and into our land. We look for signs of Your coming and we look for signs of the enemy. We sound the alarm and blow the trumpet of prayer and praise and proclamation that “the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7).
As I write the Scripture “Psalm 24:7” just now, it strikes me that this is a call to 24/7 prayer, praise, and proclamation. It’s a call to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), that keeps welcoming without ceasing the glory of Your Presence in our hearts and in our land. Yet, none of us can do this alone. We need one another. We need many watchmen, taking their positions at many places upon the wall throughout many watches of the night and day. Together, You call us to give You no rest until You establish Your name and Your nature in our city and region.
This coming weekend, You are gathering Your watchmen to come together from the various streams, traditions, and tribes of the Body of Christ from across our city and region for our Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit. Together, we’ll seek Your face, call upon Your name, and welcome Your Presence into our hearts and our land through prayer, praise, and proclamation in the authority of the name of Jesus. In the bond of unity, we believe You’ll pour out the oil of Your Spirit and command Your blessing according to Your Word (Psalm 133).
As Francis Frangipane has said, “It takes a city-wide Church to win a city-wide war.” And this annual gathering that You’ve called our ministry to lead for four years now is an expression of Your city-wide Church that will go to war in worship and praise, in confession and repentance, in proclamation and prayer, in the unity of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). As we lift up the gates of Your righteousness and open up the doors of our hearts, let the King of Glory come in—not only this weekend, but 24/7 until Christ comes again in final victory! (Psalm 24:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friends, please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details: www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
The Nations in an Uproar - Feb 1
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, free me and fill me in spirit, soul, and body every moment of every day. …
“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was not justice. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm brought Him victory, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in fury as in a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay; wrath to His adversaries, requital to His enemies; to the coastlands He will render requital. So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and those in the east, His glory; for He will come like pent-up stream that the wind of the Lord drives on” (Isaiah 59:14-19).
Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, to name a few—the nations are in an uproar, shaken as in a sieve, threshed as wheat and stubble. Truth and justice, righteousness and stability, are drug into the streets and trampled underfoot. And all the people of all the nations from the west and the east look on to see where this will lead and who will prevail. We look at the souls of own nations, with the injustices and hypocrisies of our own lands, and wonder what will become of us as well.
But You are not blind that You cannot see. You are not deaf that You cannot hear. Is there not a remnant who are righteous through the blood of the Lamb, who call on Your name throughout the nations of the earth? You have not left Yourself without a witness among the nations (Acts 14:16-17). And there is a people, who are called by Your name, who can sense Your Spirit calling us to humble ourselves, repent and pray, that You might move in the midst of the turmoil and tumult of these unsteady days and heal these lands (2 Chronicles 7:14).
O Lord, look and see. Listen and hear. Stretch forth Your mighty right arm. Bring victory for Your name’s sake. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You” (Psalm 89:14). Establish Your righteousness and Your justice in these lands. Let Your steadfast love and faithfulness defeat the darkness and win the day in the nations of the earth and in our own souls. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was not justice. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm brought Him victory, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in fury as in a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay; wrath to His adversaries, requital to His enemies; to the coastlands He will render requital. So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and those in the east, His glory; for He will come like pent-up stream that the wind of the Lord drives on” (Isaiah 59:14-19).
Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, to name a few—the nations are in an uproar, shaken as in a sieve, threshed as wheat and stubble. Truth and justice, righteousness and stability, are drug into the streets and trampled underfoot. And all the people of all the nations from the west and the east look on to see where this will lead and who will prevail. We look at the souls of own nations, with the injustices and hypocrisies of our own lands, and wonder what will become of us as well.
But You are not blind that You cannot see. You are not deaf that You cannot hear. Is there not a remnant who are righteous through the blood of the Lamb, who call on Your name throughout the nations of the earth? You have not left Yourself without a witness among the nations (Acts 14:16-17). And there is a people, who are called by Your name, who can sense Your Spirit calling us to humble ourselves, repent and pray, that You might move in the midst of the turmoil and tumult of these unsteady days and heal these lands (2 Chronicles 7:14).
O Lord, look and see. Listen and hear. Stretch forth Your mighty right arm. Bring victory for Your name’s sake. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You” (Psalm 89:14). Establish Your righteousness and Your justice in these lands. Let Your steadfast love and faithfulness defeat the darkness and win the day in the nations of the earth and in our own souls. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
To Reply: TommyHays@aol.com
To Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
To Give to the Calling and Vision of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute
Please keep us in your prayers and come join us if you can for our 4th Annual Greater Lexington Strategic Prayer Summit this weekend, Feb 4-5, being hosted this year at Consolidated Baptist Church. Please see our web site calendar for details:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar
All are welcome for this city-wide and regional gathering of prayer, praise, and proclamation: "Let the walls come down!" Please pray and spread the word!
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