Morning by Morning, September 29 - "Treasures in Heaven"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to guide my steps along my journey of faith in You today.  ...

 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also" (Matthew 6:29-21).

 

My heart will be in the right place when my treasure is in the right place. What I treasure most is what get's the most of me -- my time, my attention, my resources, my passion. And You said my treasures should be in heaven.

 

Lord, what are "treasures in heaven?"  ...

 

It seems I hear You speaking in my spirit, "Treasures in heaven are the things that are treasured most in the kingdom of heaven. They are not treasures of silver or gold or diamonds or rubies. They are treasures of humility and faith, obedience and love, kindness and joy. They are treasures of all I treasure most in your heart as you allow Me to form My heart in you. For the kingdom of heaven is within you, and My desire is to see the treasures in heaven become My treasures in you."  ...

 

Yes, Lord. Grow these treasures in me. Store them up in me. Give me the grace to grow and embrace humility and faith, obedience and love, kindness and joy, and everything else that You long see maturing in me. Let this be my treasure and let this be my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you treasure what Jesus treasures, and may His treasure grow in you every day, as you keep growing in Him, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 28 - The Law of Love, not the Letter of the Law

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit -- let me begin my day looking to You and following Your lead.  ...

 

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

 

The new covenant we have in Christ is not a covenant of rules but of relationship, not a covenant of the letter and legalism of the law but of the heart and Spirit of the law. It's not about how we have heard that it was said, but how we hear by Your Spirit and live by Your example (Matthew 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (us) free from the law of sin and death!" (Romans 8:2)

 

Come, Holy Spirit. Give me a right heart and right spirit, as You fill me and lead me in the way that leads to life in Christ today. "When (I) cry 'Abba! Father!' it is (Your) very Spirit bearing witness with (my) spirit that (I am a child) of God" (Romans 8:15-16). Even as I seek the truth and speak the truth, lead me and empower me to be "speaking the truth in love (as I am living the truth in love) that (I) may grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). 

 

This is the law of love, for "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10). This is living by the Spirit who brings hope and life rather than trying and failing to live by the letter of the law that can only bring discouragement and death (2 Corinthians 3:6). This is the "new commandment" You give us through our new covenant in Christ -- "that (we) love one another" just as You have loved us" and "by this everyone will know that (we) are (Your) disciples, if (we) have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). "For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you live and experience the law of love in Christ today, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 26 - Alert and Firm, Courageous and Strong - All in Love

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my heart and open up my spirit to welcome You into the moments of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13).

 

Alert and firm, courageous and strong -- all in love. Lord, help me live my life like that today. Let me be a light like that in my world today.

 

If I begin to grow complacent, make me alert, as You awaken my spirit and revive my soul. If I begin to waiver in faith, losing hope or giving in to doubt, empower me to take my stand, reminding me of all those who have stood firm before me to never surrender and never retreat. If I begin to shrink back in worry or fear, or feel helpless or alone, remind me of the One is always with me, always upholding me with Your mighty right hand until I'm courageous and strong in the power of Your grace once again. And if I begin to lose my love or let it grow cold, rekindle the coals to my soul and stoke the flames of my spirit until the fiery love of God burns with passion for You and for all You put on my heart again in the power of Your love that never fails. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will live your life today in the power of God's grace alert and firm, courageous and strong, all in love in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 19 - "I Shall Not Be Moved"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me today, as I entrust my life completely to You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace.  ...

 

"I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure" (Psalm 16:8-9).

 

Always before me, always encouraging me, strengthening me, inspiring me, and empowering me. You are Emmanuel -- the God who is always with me (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). And by the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit, You're always here within me (Romans 8:9).

 

That's why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. That why I don't lose heart and my hope doesn't fail. There's nothing I'll ever face that You've not already faced and nothing I'll ever endure that You've not already endured -- all on my behalf, all because You're for me, all because You love me. "Let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:14-15).

 

Because You're immovable, I can be immovable in You. Because You're unshakeable, I can be unshakable in You. That gives me hope. And that steadies my soul and gives me peace, as live out my journey of faith "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of (my) faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

 

With You always before me and Your Spirit always within me, I shall not be moved. "(I) shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. (I) shall not fear when heat comes, and (my) leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought (I am) not anxious, and (I) do not cease to bear fruit" -- all in the power of Your grace (Jeremiah 17:8). That encourages my heart. That makes my soul rejoice and allows my body to rest secure, with my hope and faith secure in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will not be moved, being firm and steadfast in your faith, even flourishing through whatever you endure, with the Lord Jesus ever before, with our heavenly Father always embracing you, and His Holy Spirit always filling you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, Rocio and I will be traveling today for a destination wedding in Cancun for my stepson Ray and his beautiful bride, Clarissa. I'm so honored to be the officiating minister. Please keep us in prayer for a wonderful wedding and time away with family this week. Depending on our schedule, my morning devotionals may not be as regular the rest of this week. God bless you and thank you for joining with me in this journey of prayer!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 18 - Discernment and Determination

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm waiting and listening for Your leading, as I begin my day in the communion of prayer.  ...

 

"There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).

 

There is a right way, among many alternative ways. But all ways are not the same. And all ways do not have the same end. There is a way that leads to life and there is a way that leads to death. And according to Your Word, the way that leads to death can seem like the right way to us. 

 

We can be deceived. We can be confused. So we need discernment and determination -- discernment to know what's right and determination to do it; discernment to find the way that leads to life and determination to follow it.

 

So how do I discern the right way that leads to life? ...

 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

 

Lord, continue to renew my mind every day. Put Your thoughts in my mind; put Your desires in my heart. Align my thoughts with Your thoughts and my ways with Your ways, so I can rightly discern the right way that leads to life. Give me the desire and the power to seek "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Humbling myself to seek Your mind -- the mind of Christ rather than the mind of this world -- is the only way that leads to life, for You alone are "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). And as I discern it, empower me to do it -- day by day, step by step, decision by decision. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be transformed by the renew of your mind, discerning the will of God for the direction of your life that leads to the fullness of life in Christ every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 15 - Healing Hope in the Times of the "Bread of Adversity" and "Water of Affliction"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- You are One God and You are my God. I welcome You into the moments of my day and embrace Your presence to help me walk in Your ways.  ...

 

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:18-21).

 

In these devastating days of turmoil and tribulation, many wonder where's God. Many wonder whether we are under the judgment of God or spiritual attack of our enemy. But even under judgment, Your heart is always that we would return to You, to call on Your name, to humble ourselves in Your sight, that You may lift us up. Even if we eat the bread of affliction or drink the water of affliction, You are ready to hear and ready to answer the who looks to You, who waits for You, who returns to You. 

 

Personally or as a people, You're always calling us to turn to You -- if we have sinned, You call us to repent; if we are under siege, You call us to cry out. Regardless of whether we are under judgment or under attack, the answer is the same -- to call on the name of the Lord our God in faith and trust, in repentance and obedience, with hope in our hearts, resting in the promises of Your Word. "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (v. 15). No matter what we endure and no matter why we are enduring it, You will answer the one who turns to You "on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow" (v. 26). 

 

Lord, let us turn to You today -- in our hearts and on behalf of our land. Rather than the bread of adversity, may we eat of the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Rather than the water of affliction, may we drink deeply from the Water of Life (John 7:38-39). May even adversity and affliction lead to repentance and revival in our hearts and in our land. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn form their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you would experience the healing hope of Jesus Christ, in returning and rest, as you turn to the Lord and call on His name through whatever adversity or affliction you may ever endure, whether in your heart or in your land, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

We celebrated graduation last night at our School of Ministry Level 1 Prayer Ministry Training, learning and experiencing the Biblical principles for hope and healing through prayer ministry. Thank you for your prayers for us. We'll begin Level 2 on practical prayer ministry in a couple of weeks. Our books and DVDs are available as well:  RaphaGodMinistries.com

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 14 - No Need for Troubled Hearts Here

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ... 

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:26-27 NKJV). 

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit -- the One who comes from our Father in the power and the presence of Your name to help us and comfort us and remind us that You're always with us. You never leave us nor forsake us, so we never have to be afraid. You keep filling us with Your peace, and Your perfect love keeps casting out all fear (1 John 4:18).  

There's no need for troubled hearts here -- here in Your peace, here in Your presence, here in the so-slip grip of Your grace. I'm reminded of what David came to know in his life-long journey with You through every hardship and injustice, through every heart-breaking disappointment -- whether in himself or the world around him or even in You at times. Through it all, his heart continued to turn to You in trusting faith and the steadfast peace that only You can provide, saying for all to hear throughout all generations, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1-4 NKJV). 

Lord, through it all, let it be so. Let it be well with my soul, as You keep me close and steady in Your peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV). There's no need for troubled hearts here. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray your heart is not troubled through whatever valley or struggle you or those you love may be going through, as you keep trusting in the One who is always with you with His peace and comfort and help, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 13 - "Unprecedented"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Make me more like You today.  ...

 

"For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of Him shall see, and those who have never heard of Him shall understand'" (Romans 15:18-21).

 

As I listen for the leading of Your Spirit this morning, I hear in my heart the word "Unprecedented."  ...

 

Lord, what are You speaking to me and to Your church?  ...

 

I believe I hear You saying in my heart, "These are unprecedented times. These are times -- now and in the days to come -- like nothing ever seen or heard. And though the struggles around you and the struggles within you may be unprecedented, so are the opportunities. These are unprecedented times full of unprecedented opportunities to share the love of God in Jesus Christ -- "by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God." Fully proclaim the good news of My grace. Hearts are open to hear My hope and receive My love by the power of My grace."  ...

 

Yes, Lord. May we be ambassadors of hope, by our words and by our deeds, reaching out to the hurting and the lost in every way You would express Your hope through us as the body of Christ, fully proclaiming the good news of Christ, everywhere we are and in every opportunity we have. Let those who have never been told of You come to see You; and let those who have never heard of You come to understand You -- that You are God and You are love and You are here. Let there be a great harvest of the kingdom of God, now and in the days to come, like nothing ever seen or heard, in these unprecedented times (Matthew 13:39). 

 

"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). Lord, let it be so -- here in my heart, here in my land, and to the ends of the earth in our generation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you would experience the unprecedented power of God's Spirit moving in your heart and through your life to display the love and grace of God and the good news of Christ in these unprecedented times, that we may see an unprecedented harvest of God's kingdom in our generation, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace may be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, September 12 -  From Humility to Hope

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my eyes up to the hills -- up to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- for You are my Help and my Hope.  ...

 

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:8-10 NKJV).

 

As we battle the storms, as we struggle to survive, as we press on and persevere, You remind us to draw near to You. You remind us to humble ourselves before You, so You can lift us up. You remind us to remember You. Because apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

 

To humble ourselves is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. It's the opposite of pride, which says I can do all things in my power, in my wisdom, with my resources. Pride says, "I will survive; I will thrive; I will restore; I will rebuild -- all in my way, all I as I will, all by myself." Humility says, "I need You, Lord; I'm desperate for You; apart from You, I can do nothing; and I praise You, that I never have to be apart from You, for You are my Help and my Hope."

 

Pride, in this sense, is an unholy independence from You, manifested in rebellion from Your presence and rejection of Your ways. But humility, in this sense, is a healthy, reverential fear of the Lord to honor You, embrace You, and desperately depend upon You to be our provision and protection, our loving Father who always knows what's best and who is always near and always ready to help through whatever we endure. So Lord, slay our pride and give us humble hearts, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6 NKJV).

 

It's a heart of humility that will fill our hearts with hope. And hope is what we need. Hope in You alone is what we need. And hope is what we will have if we humble our hearts to hope in You. "Now may the God of hope fill (us) with all joy and peace in believing, that (we) may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13 NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, as you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon Him alone, allowing Him to lift you up and bring you through whatever you're enduring, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace may be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!