Prideful Cyruses, Called by God - June 16

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen in for Your voice. ...

"I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel Who call you by your name" (Isaiah 45:2-3).

When You spoke these words through Your prophet Isaiah, You weren't directly speaking to the leaders or the people of Israel, though they were intended to encourage them. You didn't speak these words directly to the sons and daughters of God who had come to a place of surrendering their control and entrusting their lives to You as Lord and Savior, though they were intended to encourage Your believers of all generations to come. Rather, You spoke these words directly to a prideful, pagan king, who didn't yet know You, who worshipped other gods in his life, who thought all his choices and actions were for his own purposes and pleasures as the master of his own universe and the ruler of his own life. You were speaking to Cyrus, the ruler of Persia (v. 45:1).

Cyrus was not a prophet or priest, not a king or the coming Messiah of Israel; but nonetheless, he was one You chose in Your sovereignty and wisdom to be "anointed" (v. 45:1). He was one You chose for Your purposes, even before he chose You as his God: "He is My shepherd, and he shall carry out My purpose" (v. 44:28). Even before he would willingly bow his knees to You as the personal Lord of his life, You would bow his will to Your purposes as the sovereign Lord of all.

His life is a picture of the mystery of both God's sovereignty and human free will at work at the same time in all of our lives. There are "Cyruses" every day who have very strategic positions, accomplishing Your purposes, in ways we don't always see and rarely understand. And our part is pray for them, even if we don't agree with them. We don't have to condone or even always tolerate all that they do and say and represent. But we do need to pray that they would come to know You, and that in the meantime, their choices would be used for purposes-"so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name" (v. 45:3).

Lord, bow my will for Your purposes. Let me trust that You are at work in all things in my life. And You were at work long before I ever made the choice to fully trust You with all my life. Just like You are working through all things in the lives of each one You have created, "not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). And remind me to bow my knees in prayer for the "Cyruses" in my life and in this world. Remind me to pray for those who don't yet know You, but You know them and have called them by their name to be used for Your purposes in their lives and in the lives of all, so that we may all know that You alone are God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! June 17th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering (3rd Friday) for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Andrew Eberheart will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin-Moore will be leading in prayer. All are welcome! Please come and bring a friend. Please spread the word!

Friends, please keep our Ministry finances in prayer. These summer months are typically lean financial months for us and, like a missionary, I raise all my own support for ministry in leading Messiah Ministries to fulfill our calling and vision. I would love to speak with you or someone you may know about our calling and vision, as well as our needs. Please consider being one of our regular supporters in prayer and provision. God bless you!

Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
Order our Resources: www.messiah-ministries.org/resources
Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:

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"Great Crowds Came to Him" - June 15

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. ...

"Great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at His feet and He cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel" (Matthew 15:30-31).

Great crowds descend upon this little town of Wilmore, out in the country from Lexington, Kentucky every year. It's called the Ichthus Festival, the oldest and longest running Christian music festival in the nation, named after the Greek word for fish. And there will be crowds of about 25,000 people over the next few days in our little town. Chris Tomlin, Hillsong United, Skillet, and many other Christian artists, speakers, youth leaders, and pastors will be among us to lift up the name of Jesus. The altar will be flooded every night will multitudes coming to faith in Christ - mostly teenagers and young people, whose lives will be radically transformed and set ablaze with a passion for Jesus, as You heal the broken and set the captives free.

"O that You would tear open the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah 64:1-4) Astonish us with Your glory, refresh us with Your Spirit, renew us with Your passion. You come in mighty revivals many years at Asbury and the sacred places where You've poured out Your Spirit in this little town with a big heart for Jesus. "Will You not revive us again so that Your people may rejoice in You!" (Psalm 85:6) Come, Holy Spirit! - here in Wilmore and here in our world. Let great crowds still come to You, as You still come to us. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep everyone in prayer at the Ichthus Music Festival the next 3 days (www.ichthusfestival.org) Thought we've had perfect weather, it always seems to rain, which we always see as a sign of God pouring out His blessings rather than a curse (Isaiah 55:9-10). In fact, it has started to rain now. Pray that the Presence of the Lord and the Word of God will rain down on the hearts of these young people coming from across the country to encounter Jesus. I was honored to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Ichthus Ministries for several years, and continue to pray for the Lord use this ministry mightily for His Kingdom. God bless you!

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! June 17th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering (3rd Friday) for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Andrew Eberheart will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin-Moore will be leading in prayer. All are welcome! Please come and bring a friend. Please spread the word!

Friends, please keep our Ministry finances in prayer. These summer months are typically lean financial months for us and, like a missionary, I raise all my own support for ministry in leading Messiah Ministries to fulfill our calling and vision. I would love to speak with you or someone you may know about our calling and vision, as well as our needs. Please consider being one of our regular supporters in prayer and provision. God bless you!

Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
Order our Resources: www.messiah-ministries.org/resources
Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:

www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

"The Most Holy Things" - June 14

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be my Light and my Vision, my Path and my Provision, this day and every day. ...

"The Lord spoke to Aaron: I have given you charge of the offerings made to Me, all the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity. This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs that they render to Me as a most holy thing, whether grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering, shall belong to you and your sons" (Numbers 18:8-9).

In Christ, we are all Your priests. We are all the sons and daughters of Aaron - chosen and called, set apart to minister to You and to Your people, moved by Your Spirit to offer our lives as living sacrifices in complete surrender and joyful service of our God. We are "a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) might proclaim the mighty acts of Him Who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

And just as the sons of Aaron, in the priesthood of God, were given "a priestly portion" of the first and the best of "the most holy things, reserved from the fire," so it is with us. We give You our first and our best. And yet, even as we offer it to You, You give it back to us. There's nothing You ever require of us that You don't also redeem back to us - cleansed by the Blood of Your Sacrifice for us and purified in the Fire of Your Spirit within us. We can't out-give God. And the measure we give is the measure we'll receive (Luke 6:38).

Our priesthood is not religious ritual; it's joyful service to our God that flows out of the willing sacrifice of ourselves, because of our personal relationship of love and covenant of commitment to You. So the offerings we bring become not the measure You take, but the measure You give. In fact, Your measure back to us becomes "abundantly far more that all we can ask or imagine," as we embrace Your "power at work within us" to bring Your name "glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

So with all that I am and all that I have, I willingly, joyfully offer to You all my "most holy things, reserved from the fire" - all my heart, mind, soul, and strength - as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! June 17th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering (3rd Friday) for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Andrew Eberheart will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin-Moore will be leading in prayer. All are welcome! Please come and bring a friend. Please spread the word!

Friends, please keep our Ministry finances in prayer. These summer months are typically lean financial months for us and, like a missionary, I raise all my own support for ministry in leading Messiah Ministries to fulfill our calling and vision. I would love to speak with you about our calling and vision, as well as our needs. Please consider being one of our regular supporters in prayer and provision. God bless you!

Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
Order our Resources: www.messiah-ministries.org/resources
Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:

www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Impacted by God - June 13

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

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:1-4).

Sunday, much of Your Church around Your world celebrated the Day of Pentecost - the day You poured out Your Spirit in overwhelming measure to be the Body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, to continue the ministry of Christ in this world, just as You promised (v. 1:8). There were flames of fire and rushing winds. And everyone around them knew that something was now different about them. The world didn't know what it was that had changed in these people called Christians, but it was obvious to all that something powerful and significant had impacted their lives (v. 1:12).

Now every day is to be my day of personal pentecost. Every day is to be my day to let Your mighty wind blow through my spirit and You flames of fire burn in my heart. Every day is to be my day to embrace the power and love of Your Spirit in my life, so I can be Your witness in my world.

They may not understand what's happened to me. They may be just as "amazed and perplexed" as the neighbors of the first Spirit-filled Christians were (v. 1:12). Others may mock and sneer, as every generation always has from the beginning (v. 1:13). But I want them to know that my life has been impacted by God - not because I say it has, but because they see it has. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

My friends, Thank You! for all the notes and cards and encouraging words for my 50th Birthday! Thank you walking with me in the journey of prayer and the adventure of life. It will exciting to see what this next season will hold for all of us. May God pour out His mighty Spirit in your heart and life every day!

"The Fiftieth Year" - June 10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let go see where You're going to take me today and every day of this next half of my life. ...

"And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you ... it shall be holy to you" (Leviticus 25:10-12).

Today I turn fifty. I guess I'm finally a grown up. Sadly, I've even received in the mail my invitation to join the AARP - Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons. But nobody told Marilyn, who's in charge of my schedule! No, these will not be years of entering retirement. These will be years of a new refirement. I need more of Your Spirit and more of Your power to fulfill all You have in Your heart to do in me and through me in this next exciting season of life. The best is yet to come.

Prophetically, they say five is the number of grace. And fifty is grace upon grace, ten-fold. I've needed the power of grace through all the experiences and encounters, sins and failures, escapades and adventures You've brought me through this first half of my life. And I have no doubt I'll need even more in this second half. But You'll be with me, just like You always are - picking me up, leading me on, and guiding the way.

This fiftieth year is to be hallowed as holy, set apart for You. It's to be a year of liberty, a year of proclaiming liberty throughout the land in the Spirit of the Lord. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV). And it speaks of the season of Your Kingdom at hand. It was the ministry of liberty and freedom in Christ that You proclaimed as the year of the Lord's favor in the Spirit of Jubilee: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19, NKJV).

Lord, let it be so. As You've set me free and filled me with Your Spirit of Jubilee, send me forth in this fiftieth year and all the years to come, healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives free, proclaiming liberty in the mighty name of Jesus. Let blind eyes see and deaf ears be opened; let hearts be stirred and spirits be awakened, let souls be saved and the Bride be prepared. Let this Good News of the Gospel of Your Kingdom be proclaimed in my heart and home and to the nations of the earth. The best is yet to come. You've saved Your best wine for last (John 2:10). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Forty-Nine and Counting - June 9

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. You are God; and You are good; and You are good to me. ...You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud.... And you shall hallow the fiftieth year..." (Leviticus 25:8-10).

I've been counting off and living out the seven weeks of years. Today is my last day of being forty-nine. And tomorrow the odometer clock of my body will turn a big click, as I leave one decade of years and enter the next. Lord, help me. ...

It seems in many ways the forties speak of a season of preparation. Moses spent forty years learning to shepherd sheep on the back side of the desert before he returned to lead Your people out of Egypt. Israel spent forty years "wandering" through the desert, though Your pillar of cloud and fire led them day and night every moment of their journey, until You moved Joshua to lead them into their Promised Land. And the Holy Spirit led You into the wilderness for forty days, tempted by the devil and tested by the Father, until You came into the synagogue at Nazareth to declare the year of Jubilee, the year of the Lord's favor, as You began the most intense season of Your life on earth as Son of Man, anointed with the Spirit of God.

So I thank You for these years of preparation. And I thank You for Your Presence with me through every moment of the temptations and testings of these seven weeks of years. I've had experiences and encounters with both God and the devil in ways I never dreamed. And I think both of you have trying to kill me - You've been trying to kill my flesh and the devil has been trying to kill my spirit. And You've not wasted a moment of it on Your divine mission to bring me to the place that I can say by Your grace, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:19-20).

There's more dying to do. And there's more living to come. And today as I begin to let go of the forties and prepare to take hold of my fifties, I know in my heart the best is yet to come. As one of my great spiritual mentors in prayer, Margaret Therkelsen, has taught me to say out of her many decades of life in intimacy with You: "Honey, come hell or high water, I'm goin' on with God." And so I am - as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Sign up for Morning by Morning by clicking the link below or going to our Messiah Ministries web site. Please pass on these morning prayer to anyone who would be eencouraged. And we welcome your contributions to join with us in sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God at home and abroad! -- Tommy

www.messiah-ministries.org

Living Hope in Small Town America - June 8

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Spirit, I give this day and all my life completely to You - as best as I can and all by Your grace. ...

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of our God, the holy habitation of the most high. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns" (Psalm 46:4-5).

In a quiet city of small town America, You've given me the joy of encouraging Your people and preparing Your bride for three days of renewal and revival in Aledo, Illinois. I've been on my knees at the altar with the Mayor, prayed in the police squad car with the Deputy Sheriff, stood in the middle of the Subway praying for peace with a woman in tears, prayer walked down main street under the banners of our national flag, and had the honor of coming alongside so many others, including their children, from all walks of life, casting off their burdens and embracing an awakening in their hearts of a deeper passion for You. It fills me with hope for the heart and soul of this land.

O God, pour out Your Spirit in great measure upon the people of the city. Let the bonds of their love for You, for one another, and for the people of this community You've called them love and to serve be strengthened each day. Magnify this out to all the cities and communities across this land where our freedom to worship our God and declare the glory of Your name is still a great privilege and blessing we appreciate and cherish.

Despite all her sins and failures, there is hope for America yet. And I've been so refreshed and renewed in my spirit to spend some time in this city where the River of Your Spirit stills flows with Your power and love. Thank You for blessing and encouragement we still have by the witness of living hope, trusting our great God, in small town America. 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 3 Day Revival Meeting here at Aledo United Methodist Church in northern Illinois, where my good friend Jeff Bealmear pastors. We just got a note this morning of a marriage that was saved and of spiritual gifts awakened. God is on the move! And I pray the same for you and your community! God bless you!

You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Sign up for Morning by Morning by clicking the link below or going to our Messiah Ministries web site. Please pass on these morning prayer to anyone who would be eencouraged. And we welcome your contributions to join with us in sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God at home and abroad! -- Tommy

Preparing for Our Personal Pentecost - June 7

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me afresh with Your Spirit today. ...

"After His suffering, He presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God. While staying with them, He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. 'This,' He said, 'is what you have learned from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now' " (Acts 1:3-5).

Almost fifty days ago, we celebrated the day of Your resurrection. And in a few days we will celebrate the day of the pouring out of Your Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. So in the annual cycle of remembering the milestones of Your spiritual journey and ours, these are days of preparation for our personal pentecost. These are days of watching and waiting in expectant hope for a fresh outpouring of Your Spirit into our lives. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5).

You told Your first disciples to watch and wait. And so for ten days between Your ascension in to heaven and the day of the pouring out of Your Spirit, they watched and waited, they fasted and prayed, they hungered and thirsted. They believed the promise of the Father, that they would be filled with the Spirit of Christ to continue the ministry of Christ as the Body of Christ in this world. They believed Your promise: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Give me that expectant faith. Stir me up in that passionate pursuit of hungering and thirsting for more of Your Spirit in my life every day. As led Your apostle Paul to pray for all of the sons and daughters of God throughout Your Church, may I "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). May I "be strengthened in (my) inner being with power through (Your) Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in (my) heart through faith, as (I) am being rooted and grounded in love ... and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge so that (I) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).

In a fresh way, every day, may I be "endued with (Your) power from on high" as I seek and embrace this "Promise of the Father" to me and to all who seek Your face, who call on Your name, and longingly wait for the pouring out of Your Spirit in our personal pentecost (Luke 24:49). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer for our 3 Day Revival Meeting I'm leading at Aledo United Methodist Church in northern Illinois, where my good friend Jeff Bealmear pastors. We had healing miracles last night! (including the organist, in the middle of my sermon, who was battling bronchitis, pain, and coughing). Much innner healing and spiritual freedom as well, as the Holy Spirit keeps taking us to deeper places of freedom and healing among the people of this community who are deeply hungry for the Presence of God. We're having many personal ministry opportunities and I'll be sharing with area ministry leaders this week as well. Thank you for standing with our ministry in prayer as we minister the healing love of God everywhere He sends us in the power of His name! God bless you.

You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Identity and Destiny - June 6

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart and welcome You into my day....

"Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead's wife also bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, 'You shall not inherit anything in our father's house; for you are the son of another women.' ... And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.... But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, 'Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father's house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?' (Judges 11:1-7).

The world sees us one way, but You see us another. The circumstances of our lives tell us one thing, but the promises and purposes of God tell us another. On the outside, Jephthah was the just the son of a prostitute, despised and rejected by his own brothers over choices made by other people in his life over which he had no control. But on the inside, he was a mighty warrior, created by God to arise at the right time into his God-ordained calling and purpose and destiny.

Even those who had despised and rejected him, would one day see within him the gifts of God that they needed for their lives to be fulfilled. "A man's gifts make room for him" (Proverbs 18:16, NKJV). And no doubt You even used the pain of his past and all the rejection he felt to shape him and mold him into the man he would become. You love to redeem all things - even the painful things, the shameful things, the sinful things in our lives - to use them all to work together for our good, not wasting a moment of our sufferings and struggles.

His brothers had to humble themselves to ask to Jephthah to come home, and Jephthah had to humble himself to respond. But the mercy of Your grace, You worked forgiveness and restoration of respect in their hearts. With Jephthad leading his brothers as the mighty warrior You created him to be, the battle was won and Israel was saved (v. 11:33).

Lord, remind us of our calling and purpose and destiny. Heal us from the wounds and afflictions of words and attitudes against us and all the circumstances and sufferings we've endured by the wrong choices of others and our wrong choices as well. Use it all to allow us to become all You've created us to be. Give us humble and forgiving hearts. Give us spiritual sensitivity to know when it's time to arise into the moments of our destiny for the sake of our own fulfillment, but also for the fulfillment of Your purposes in the lives of those around us. Let Your words of truth determine our identity and let Your purposes for our lives determine our destiny. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer for our 3 Day Revival Meeting I'm leading at Aledo United Methodist Church in northern Illinois, where my good friend Jeff Bealmear pastors. The Holy Spirit is taking us to deep places of freedom and healing among the people of this community who are deeply hungry for the Presence of God. We're having many personal ministry opportunities and I'll be sharing with area ministry leaders this week as well. Thank you for standing with our ministry in prayer as we minister the healing love of God everywhere He sends us in the power of His name! God bless you.

You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

"The Weightier Matters" - June 3

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:23-24).

Lord, don't let me be a hypocrite or a blind guide. Don't let me be like the Scribes and Pharisees who did everything decently and in order and acted like they obeyed every commandment of Scripture to the letter of the law, but lost Your heart and Your Spirit for people along the way. Their priority became their religion rather than their relationships with You and with the people You called them love and to serve.

"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).

Obedience is important, but not for obedience sake. Obedience is important because You've created us to be fulfilled when our hearts are right. And a heart that focused primarily on the rules instead of the relationship, primarily on law instead of love, primarily on principles instead of people, will never be right in Your Spirit, even if its perfectly right by the letter of the law.

Justice, mercy, and faith; loving God and loving one another; growing in grace for ourselves and others by embracing Your Father heart for each one of us - these are the weightier matters. These are things that matter. So help me keep my priorities straight and my heart right. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington). Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Lifestyle of Love, Completeness of Joy - June 2

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit; be One with me in the communion of prayer. ...

"As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:9-12).

Abiding love brings complete joy. Loving You, embracing Your love for us, loving one another, embracing one another's love for us - this is the key, according to Your Word, to have complete joy in this world. This is the heart of all You expect and require of us, because this is how You've created us. And joy becomes the expression of the fulfillment of our obedience to Your commandment.

And how amazing that just as the Father loved You, so You love us. It's a bond of perfect love that eternally binds together the three Persons of God as eternally One. Yet that's the love You have for each one of us, and that's the love You desire between each one of us. Lord God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - help me get that. Help me live that. Help me become that.

It's only by the mercy and power of Your grace, that I can even know that this is the goal of our journey to spiritual maturity. And it's only by the mercy and power of Your grace that I can ever hope to grow into this lifestyle of love that alone can bring completeness of joy. So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I ask for this and embrace this. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington). Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

The Anointing of the Presence of God - June 1

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters in these first moments of my morning, before we arise and go together throughout all the moments of this day. ...

"As for you, the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in Him" (1 John 2:27).

Thank You for the anointing that I have received from You and that abides in me. Lord, give me deeper revelation of what this means. ...

It seems I hear You say in my heart: "My son, My anointing is My Presence. I am with you and I am within you, by My Spirit Who dwells within your heart, soul, mind, and strength. To the degree that you are willing to embrace Me and My anointing, I am at work within you to save and sanctify you, to encourage and empower you, to teach and mature you, to lead and guide you. As you open your heart to abide in Me, so I enter your heart to abide in you."

Yes, Lord. I open my heart wide to welcome You and Your anointing. Help me trust You more each day, open more to You each day, embrace You more each day. Help me grow into the fullness of the promise of Your Word, "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

As You began Your ministry in this world as the Son of Man, anointed with the Spirit of God, You drew Your identity from the Word of God in Isaiah 61, and declared Your destiny of ministry on earth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (v. 4:18).

And as You came to the end of Your ministry in human flesh, anointed with the Holy Spirit of God, You sent forth Your disciples to continue Your ministry in the anointing and authority of Your Spirit, declaring: " 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20:21-22).

In the anointing of Your Spirit, abiding in each of the sons and daughters of God with You in our hearts, we continue Your ministry of proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God and seeing You demonstrate it in Your power through Your people. We see the fulfillment of Your prophetic word, "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do" (John 14:12).

So I embrace the anointing of Your Spirit and the abiding of Your Presence in my life today and every day, as best as I can and all by Your grace. As You are, let me be more like You in this world. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But anointed by the abiding Presence of Your Spirit, I'll never be apart from You. And I can do all things You've called me and anointed me to do, through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Unfailing Word, Unlimited Power - May 31

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day centered in Christ, embraced by our Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word shall come true for you or not' " (Numbers 11:23).

Every written and every spoken word of God will come to pass. None will fall to the ground; none will fail to manifest. All will go forth and accomplish their purpose, all in due time, all in Your perfect timing and Your perfect way.

Your power is released in Your word (Genesis 1:3; Matthew 8:16). And Your power is not limited. It's the power of good and the power of love. It's the power of righteousness, justice, and mercy. It's the power of healing and freedom and salvation. It's the power of Your Spirit made manifest in our lives. It's the power of all creation and the power of transformation, restoration, and redemption of all that is broken and defiled in fallen creation.

Your words are true and Your power is unlimited. Help me hear Your words and expect Your power. Let me not waiver in doubting nor complain in waiting. But let me trust in the truth that "(Your) word that goes forth from (Your) mouth; it shall not return to (You) empty, but it shall accomplish that which (You) purpose, and succeed in the thing for which (You) sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@messiah-ministries.org (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to a Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Memorial Day Prayer - May 30

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. Be Lord and King of all I am and all I do today. ...

"The truth is, we have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, 'What right do you have to worship the Lord, the God of Israel?' ... So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices, but as a memorial. It will remind our descendants and your descendants that we, too, have the right to worship the Lord at His sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings" (Joshua 22:24-27).

Today is Memorial Day in America. We remember those who have fought and died that we might live in the freedom we have, only because of their sacrifice and service for us. And this is a day to not only remember them, but also to remind ourselves and our descendants of this great gift of freedom we have - freedom to worship You and speak our mind, even speak Your name wherever we are, to live the life we choose according to whatever values we embrace in this land where our leaders and warriors are sworn to protect and defend these rights of freedom we hold so dear.

In Joshua's day the people of Israel were divided by a river that ran through the land. They were afraid there might come a day that a river might run through their memories and hearts, dividing them from each other and their common heritage of one nation under God (v. 28-29). And in our day, let us remember our common heritage and our common hope to live in a land that still sees freedom as a great gift worth preserving and defending with all we have and all that we are.

Freedom is the redemptive gift of our land, as a witness to this world. Let us repent of every way we have not always honored the great freedom we have or the men and women who have fought and died for us to live in the land of the free. And let us remember the descendants of generations to come who are to have this same gift and godly heritage we are to protect and defend, in the power of Your grace, for them to embrace and enjoy. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@messiah-ministries.org (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to a Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Carrying Along "the Holy Things" - May 27

Good morning, Lord Jesus. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit - You are One and You are holy and You are welcome into my life today. ...

"Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, set out; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival" (Numbers 10:21).

As the Israelites moved through the wilderness, some were assigned to carry the holy things to the next place for the next season along the journey. Others were assigned to go before them to prepare the way and set things right in the place they were to be.

Lord, show me my place in Your Body during every season at every place along the journey. When am I to be a carrier of the holy things and what are the holy things You've called me to carry? When am I to go ahead and pioneer the path or prepare the way for others to come so they can entrust their holy things to You.

Give me eyes to see the other parts of Your Body -- to honor and respect them, to value and appreciate them. They won't all be like me and they won't all have my assignment. But they are all needed. We are all needed, as we moved forward in the journey together, being deliberate to prepare a place for Your holy Presence.

And now, in Christ, by the mercy of Your grace, it turns out that we are the holy things You want carefully carried along to dwell in the tabernacle of Your Presence. "(Christ) has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before Him" (Colossians 1:22). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please send me a note if you'd be interested in joining us on June 10th in Lexington for a Saturday cookout to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. That day will also be my 50th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Sunrise and Open Heaven at Moravian Falls - May 26

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let God arise! Arise in my heart, arise in my mind, arise in all the moments of my day. ...

Sun rise

In my life

Always here and right

Never a day

That You'd rather say

You'd withhold Your sun from me

Son rise

In my life

Always here and right

Never a day

That you'd rather say

You'd withhold Your Son from me ...

Thank You, Lord, for this new song Your Spirit is singing in my spirit this morning, as I watch the sun rise over the mountains at Moravian Falls. I glory of Your morning light, I want to soak in Your morning embrace. ...

"Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Go and build the sanctuary of the Lord so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 22:19).

The heart of David was to have a place of sanctuary and peace to welcome Your Presence in the house prepared for You. On the top of this mountain this morning, I want my heart to be Your house. I want Your Word settling deep down into my soul to be the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want my voice to be Your holy vessel, cleansed by Your blood and filled with Your Spirit. My security in the certainty of Your mercy and love is my sanctuary of peace. O Lord arise, and take Your place in this sanctuary of my soul I open wide to You this day.

The Moravians worshiped and prayed twenty four hours a day for one hundred years at Hernhutt, Germany. And through their intercession and worship, You led them to the nations. A group came to these mountains of North Carolina and opened the heavens with their prayers in this place down that the Falls at the base of this mountain. Their land was literally deeded to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their spiritual legacy remains palpably present here in the spiritual atmosphere that rests like the glory of the morning mist over this land.

Thank You, Lord, for letting arise this morning to meet the new day in this holy place. And yet it's not the beauty of the mountains or even Your sunrise that make this place of sanctuary and peace so sacred and holy. It's Your Presence. And wherever Your Presence abides, there is an open heaven to us to draw near to You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, I praise God to be invited by my friends Jeffrey and Tina Wanek from Pennsylvania to join them this morning at their cabin retreat for a week on this mountain at Moravian Falls, NC. I pray You woud be surrounded by the beauty and Presence of God this day wherever He has drawn you to be His sanctuary.

Please send me a note if you'd be interested in joining us on June 10th in Lexington for a Saturday cookout to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. That day will also be my 50th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

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