"But Thomas (who was
called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the
other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless
I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the
nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe" (John 20:24-25).
Thomas was a twin by
his birth, but he was also a twin by his thoughts. He was double-minded. In one
part of his mind, he believed You were the Messiah - he gave up everything to
follow You as one of Your disciples; he saw Your signs and wonders in the power
of God; he heard and embraced Your teaching with authority; and he saw the
impact of the Kingdom of God changing the lives of all You touched.
Yet in another part of
his mind, he doubted it all. He was "double-minded." And "the one who doubts is
like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being
double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything
from the Lord" (James 1:8).
Thomas' doubt and
double-mindedness was manifested in his pride, as he vowed in his heart and
declared with his mouth, "I will not believe." Part of his mind was still
fixated on the trauma of the past, the image of the nails piercing Your hands
and the spear piercing Your side. That part of his mind was not yet ready to
embrace the truth in trusting faith of all You had promised and all that Your
were in his life.
That kind of pride of
saying, "I will do this; I will do that; I will have it my way; I will protect
myself; I will depend upon myself; I will be in control" is the opposite of
humility - of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent on God alone. That
kind of pride blocks us from receiving the power of the grace of God where we
need it the most. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James
4:6).
Lord, forgive me for
the times I enter into the sins of doubt and unbelief. Forgive me for the times
I give in to the sin of pride and insist on being in control of my life instead
of entrusting control of my life completely to You. Heal my double-mindedness.
Strip away my pride. Deliver me from the spirit of control. Help me choose to
believe You are who You say You are and You want to do all You say You can do in
my life. Bring me into the place where I'm living every moment of every day in
single-minded devotion to You.
Then, like Thomas,
whose doubt was turned to faith by an encounter of Your Presence, I can declare
the truth of who You are and Your rightful place in full control of my life: "My
Lord and my God!" (John 20:28) In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy
Hays
Dear Friend, thank
you so much for your prayers for the meetings in West Virginia this
past weekend. We all saw the Lord move in mighty ways in both inner healing and
miraculous power. A Vietnam veteran suffering from forty years of post-traumatic
stress manifesting in his emotions and his body gave his testimony to Jesus'
mighty power and love in church Sunday morning. And a pastor's wife suffering
for years from great pain from a twisted spine bent over and touched the floor
for the first time in a long time and raised up praising God with no pain.
Praise God! Thank you for all your prayers and standing with us in our ministry
of "healing from the inside out" as the Holy Spirit heals and frees the Body and
Bride of Christ to fulfill our destiny in our generation.
Come to The
Mountain next Monday, April 16th, 7pm, to hear Henry Gruver speak of
his prophetic insights, travelling the nations in prayer. Henry's love for Israel
and understanding of end time events will make this a special evening for
everyone. Hosted at:
Lexington First
Assembly Church
2780 Clays Mill Rd
(corner of Clays Mill and Pasadena)
Lexington, KY
(In the Ministry
Building directly behind the church)
The Mountain is the
weekly Prayer Group for Israel, led by Bob & Doris McCray of our Messiah
Ministries Board of Directors.
Friends, we
raise our own support to further the calling of the Lord upon our
lives. We truly count on those whose lives have been touched by the Lord by
through our ministry to stand with us in prayer and financial support. If you
find our ministry touches your life and bears good fruit by God's grace for His
Kingdom, we encourage you to prayerfully consider sowing your seed into our
ministry and message of inner healing, prophetic ministry to help prepare the
Body and Bride of Christ. Please consider becoming a regular monthly partner
with us to share our heart at home and abroad to the nations. And please
consider contributiing any amount, any time, as the Holy Spirit leads you.
God bless you exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or imagine!
Be empowered, equipped, and encouraged to fulfill your destiny
in Christ!
Tommy & Sylvia Hays | Messiah
Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
