The Flesh or the Spirit 7-31-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My eyes are on You, Lord. Let everything else fade out of view in these moments of contemplative prayer, as Your Holy Spirit opens my heart and focuses my thoughts on You. ... "For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds of the things of the flesh. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law -- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans 8.5-10). Spirit of God, You are the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in us. You are One with Christ and One with the Father; and You are the Spirit of Christ living in us, "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1.27). You lift our eyes off of the things of the flesh and set our minds on things of the spirit. You come to crucify our flesh, that our spirits may rise in resurrected power into the presence of God. You lift our eyes off of things below and lift them to things above (Colossians 3.1-4). "The flesh" is the unsanctified area of our soul, that part of us that is not yet fully submitted to the Spirit of Christ, not yet conformed to the fullness of the image of Christ. To the degree we are crucified in the flesh with Christ, to that degree we are alive in our spirit. This is Your process of sanctification, as You expose the flesh of our soul -- our mind, will, and emotions -- and bring us to place where we have sanctified Christ as Lord in our hearts, step by step and from glory to glory (1 Peter 3.15; 2 Corinthians 3.18). Like Isaiah, the more we behold of Your glory, the more of our flesh is exposed (Isaiah 6.1-8). Yet this is the blessing of Your conviction, that leads to repentance, that leads to Your mercy. Then we can receive our commission to fulfill our calling, in ever increasing measures of Your power through the presence of Christ in us. This is the hope of glory -- Your glory being manifested through our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

"In Christ" 7-30-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I commit this day into Your hands. Be my wisdom and my leading, my power and strength, my light and my path. Let me follow in Your steps. ... "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord' " (1 Corinthians 1.27-31). We would be foolish to try to live a day under the burdens of this world without Your wisdom. We would be crushed under the weight of the worries of this world if we tried to stand in our own strength. And so many are -- those who do not yet know Christ, and those who should know better. You are our wisdom and our strength when we look to You and welcome You to be our source of life. Each day of life is a series of choices, which really comes down to making one choice, over and over -- "Do I choose to live this moment in Christ or not?" To live the moment in Christ is to have the perspective of the mind and the attitude of the heart that I am listening for You to be my wisdom and looking to You to be my strength. Then I will be committing my life into Your hands by committing each moment of the day to Your wisdom and Your strength. This is more than claiming I am a Christian or believing in the teachings of Christ, this is living my life in Christ and allowing Christ to live His life in me. Come live in me, Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

The Calm of the Silence 7-29-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here I am, Lord -- watching and waiting for the leading of Your Spirit. Help me get quiet, help me listen, help me be still in these first moments of the morning and know that You are God. ... Sometimes Your words and images come with clarity and direction. Sometimes Your Scriptures rise in our hearts and the stories of faith unfold before us. Sometimes we sense the thickness of the glory of Your presence or the swelling of Your love in our hearts. But sometimes there is the quiet calm of silence, as if You are almost whispering, "Shhhh....just be still, just know that I am here, just know that I am God. I have a plan and a purpose. I am redeeming all things in My time and in My way. Just trust Me. Don't get ahead; don't get in a hurry; don't get left behind. Just be still and I will surround you and saturate you with the fullness of My presence. Be at peace and rest in the knowledge that I care for you more than you can imagine. This is the peace I am working into your souls; this is the faith that cannot be shaken; this is the blessing of the children of God. You are My children, and I am your God. Know that in the calm of the silence, I am here." Yes, Lord. Thank You for the truth of Your constant presence. You never leave us and never forsake us. We thank You for the times we experience You in the fullness of all our senses; and we thank You for the times when we rest in the knowledge of the truth that You are always with us, no matter what we sense or feel or hear or don't. "But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul within me is like a weaned child" (Psalm 130.2). A weaned child is a more mature child, who is learning to trust that every need will be satisfied in the constancy of Your presence and the consistency of Your love. There is no need to beg and cry, but only trust in the security and power of Your love and Your plan. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

"Choose Well Each Day" 7-28-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You into my heart and my home, into every moment of my day. ... "As it goes in the morning, so it will go throughout your day. In the first moments of the morning, you lay the foundation for the day. You choose whether you will rise and go about your way, thinking about your problems and all the things you want to do or need to do -- or whether you will first wait and watch and pray, letting Me fill your spirit with My life and your thoughts with My plans. This first choice will set the course for the rest of Your day. Choose well each day." Yes, Lord. Help us choose well, help us choose to look to You first, to seek You first, to humble ourselves in silence before You in the first moments of the morning. Help us allow You to form Your thoughts in our minds and Your desires in our hearts. Then we will be lead by Your Spirit and not our flesh, by Your plans and not our agendas. And all the provision and power of heaven will be available to us on earth. Then we will be instruments of Your grace and vessels for Your purpose -- all because we choose to humble ourselves from the self-centered pride that makes us think we already know what to do and how to do it, that we already have all the power we need, without pausing in prayer to welcome Your presence and receive Your provision. "But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40.31). "O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for You. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in time of trouble" (Isaiah 33.2). "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my souls waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning" (Psalm 130.5-6). This is how You give us each day our daily bread -- the bread of Your presence, of Your power, of Your provision (Mathew 6.11). We can only receive it if we choose to humble ourselves to acknowledge we need it. To start off our day without first watching and waiting in prayer is a way of saying to You and to ourselves we don't need Your help, Your power, or Your presence. Forgive us, Lord. Stir up the desire to seek You first and Your kingdom, then all these other things will come into order, in Your timing and in Your way (Matthew 6.33). Give us Your wisdom and Your grace to choose well each day, to choose You first each day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Light of the World 7-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your Holy Spirit is singing the song of worship in my heart to You: "Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness. Open my eyes; let me see. ... Here I am to worship; here I am to bow down; here I am to say that You're my God...." You are my God, in every dimension of Your being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are the Light of my world. You push back the darkness of doubt and confusion, and enlighten my mind and my heart with the glory of Your presence. ... Holy Spirit, You are writing a new poem of praise to God in my spirit: I worship and adore You In humility before You Open my eyes to seek Your face. I long to be near You To love and to fear You Open my heart to receive Your grace. The Light of Your glory Pushes back all worry All darkness flees without a trace. No more doubt or confusion I'm in perfect communion As the glory of Your presence fills this place. "And Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8.12). You are the Light of the world; You are the Light of life. "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1.78-79). Lord, let Your light break upon us. Lift us from the darkness of doubt and confusion; set our feet upon the path of peace as we choose to rise and follow You. We have a choice each day -- to welcome Your light into our lives or to sit in the darkness. You said, "I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me should not remain in darkness" (John 12.46). In the power of Your grace, we choose the Light. In the power of Your name, we renounce the darkness and rise to follow You this day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Roots of Relationship 7-26-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the roots of our relationship sink deeply into the soil of my soul. Water them in Your Word, and nourish them with Your Spirit. Let them grow strong and steady, unwavering and secure, through the constant communion of prayer. ... "Let me hear what the Lord God will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His faithful, to those who turn to Him in their hearts. Surely His salvation is at hand for those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and will make a path for His steps" (Psalm 85.8-13). As we seek You and listen for You, turning our hearts open to You in the intimacy of prayer, we are soaking in the glory of Your presence. Like a slow rain that settles down into the soil of our souls, we are nourished and strengthened by the life of Your Word -- Your written Word and Your living Word. You are the Word; and in the communion of prayer, the Spirit of Your Word seeps down into our souls, conforming our will and our ways to Your Word, a little more each day. By the abiding presence of Your Holy Spirit, Your Word becomes flesh and lives within us. Our tree of life grows into maturity to bear fruit for Your glory, as we are being continually rooted and grounded in this relationship of love by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3.16-17). This is the good ground You desire -- the ground that is prepared and open to receive the seeds of life, the seeds of Your Word (Matthew 13.3-9). These are the seeds that produce a harvest for Your glory, the seeds that are nurtured and nourished in the soaking of Your presence in prayer. "Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God" (Hebrews 6.7). Your constant presence, continually dwelling in our hearts through intimate relationship with You is our blessing beyond belief. Though we have not deserved it, we do thank You for the gift of blessing the ground of hearts and the soil of souls. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouarged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Heirs of the Promise 7-25-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I choose this day to think of You first, to seek You first, to live for You first. By Your grace, You give me the desire to will it and the power to walk it (Philippians 2.13). You lift me back up when I stumble and forgive me when I fail, as I continue to turn to You as my inspiration and my strength. Apart from You, I can do nothing of any lasting value or eternal significance, but as I abide in You and You in me, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4.13). ... "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of Your possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in showing mercy. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as You have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old" (Micah 7.18-20). You are faithful when we are not. Yet You use even our times of failure and sin to teach us Your ways and work into us Your will. We inherit the promises of Your covenant through trusting faith and willing obedience, all by the grace of Your love -- Your covenant of unfailing love and unswerving faithfulness, in the mercy of Your grace. You have made covenant with us as Your people -- all people who will call upon Your name in humility and in faith. "For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3.26-29). Father, through our inheritance in Jesus the Christ, we are Your children and You are our God. By the faith of Abraham, we are the seed of Abraham, the remnant of Your possession, the heirs of Your promise (Galatians 3.6-7). Hold us tight and never let us go. Give us Your grace to grasp the gift of Your life in the blessings of Your promise, and never let go. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

"See Jesus" 7-24-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the worship song says, I turn my eyes upon You. I look full in Your wonderful face, as the things of earth grow strangely dim, in the light of Your glory and grace. ... "... but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2.9). We see You, Lord Jesus. Open our eyes to see You in every dimension of Your nature. You are the Son of Man and the Son of God. You are the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins upon the cross, and You are the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who roars from heaven in the victory of resurrected and ascended glory. You are to be feared in awe and honor, respect and obedience; and You are to be loved in trusting surrender and intimate prayer. You stretched out Your arms upon the cross, that You might stretch our Your arms around the earth. Let us not only know about You, let us know You. Let us not only seek the gifts of Your hands, but first seek the glory of Your face. Open the eyes of our hearts to seek You and see You, to know You and be known by You. Sometimes our eyes are blinded to Your glory and Your faithfulness through the struggles and pain and trials we face in this broken, fallen world engulfed in the darkness of this age. But You are here with us in the midst of it. You know our sufferings because You endured our sufferings, even the suffering of death in the cruelty of the cross as You tasted death for everyone. You don't waste a moment of our sufferings; You don’t miss any opportunity to draw us nearer to You, to open our hearts to receive Your comfort, to lift our eyes to behold Your faithfulness. As Job found near the end of his journey of suffering, "I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You" (Job 42.5). Suffering has a way of bringing intimacy with You. The struggles and trials of a life we can't possibly bear in the power of our own strength have a way of lifting our eyes to You -- to the One who is faithful and true, crowned with glory and honor forever because of Your willingness to suffer it all out of love for us. Lord Jesus, we see You and love You and honor You. Help us see You more clearly each day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen . Be encouarged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Preparation for Your Presence 7-23-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Rekindle the flame of Your Spirit in my heart this day. As I prepare the altar of my soul, watching and waiting for Your leading, let the glory of Your presence fill my spirit and soul and body. ... "The Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of the people" (Exodus 19.10-11). There is a consecration that comes before the visitation. Our part is to choose, by the grace You give us, to embrace the cleansing of the garments of our flesh by the blood of the Lamb, that washes away our sins (1 John 1.7). You remove every barrier between us, calling us to You, drawing us to You, in the intimacy of Your presence. As we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up into Your arms and hold us tight in Your love (James 4.5-10). Father, You've put a longing in our souls for the third day -- the day You come down to the places and people prepared for Your coming. We dedicate and consecrate our lives to You, to live for Your glory, as best as we can by the grace that You give. Prepare our hearts for the coming of the day of the Lord. Teach us how to live our lives in these days -- the first day of preparation, the second day of perseverance in prayer, and the third day of the power of Your presence. Let Your glory come down and fill the hearts of a people prepared for Your presence. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives of my devotional at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

The Place of Your Presence 7-22-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the heavens above my heart. Let my spirit ascend and Your Spirit descend until heaven meets earth in my soul. Let it not be a moment, but a lifestyle. Continually cleanse the soil of my soul in Your blood and purify me in the fire of Your Spirit, pouring into my heart the love of our Father. By Your mercy and grace, let my life be holy ground, for wherever You are is holy. ... At Bethel, You opened the eyes of Jacob's spirit to You in a dream. He saw angels ascending to heaven and descending to earth. You stood beside him and assured him that You were the Lord God, saying, "Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." As he woke, he realized this was more than a dream -- he had had an encounter with the living God. "Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place--and I did not know it!' And he was afraid, and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate to heaven" (Genesis 28.10-22). Where You are is holy ground, the house of God, the gate to heaven. "Bethel" means "house of God." Let our hearts be Bethel; let our lives be holy ground -- the place of Your presence -- because we have sought You and encountered You and welcomed You. Let us know and never doubt that You are with us and You will keep us wherever we go, that You will not leave us until You have done all that You have promised. That is the place where You have called us, that is the place of Your promise and Your power -- the place of Your presence. Let that place be in our hearts -- in Bethel, the house of God. Let our bodies be the temples of the presence of Your Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3.16-17). Then we will know, and everyone around us who needs to know You and power of Your presence will know, "Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. And how awesome is this place!" In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe contact me at Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7pm. Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives of my devotional at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

The Heart of Hezekiah 7-21-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Break through the clouds of my heart catch me up in the spirit of prayer with You now, I pray. ... As we draw near to You, to seek Your face and listen for Your voice, sometimes the enemy of our souls taunts us to hinder us from the gift of intimacy with You in prayer. He sends the thoughts through his messengers that we are not worthy, we are not wanted; that we have too much sin and not enough faith; that You are too busy or too distant or too holy to hear our prayers; that we are not gifted enough, not spiritual enough, not special enough. But these are the lies of the one who fears the power of the mercy and love of God, who fears the One who forgives us, and cleanses us and draws us near, as a perfect father draws his children near. The enemy of Your people taunted Hezekiah, King of Judah. He sent messengers to mock You and mock Your people, that You were powerless to deliver them and protect them from the power of their enemy. He sent his threats and declarations of destruction by letter, intended to strike fear into the hearts of Your people to stir up doubt and unbelief before the day of battle (2 Kings 18.13-37). Hezekiah humbled himself in Your sight on behalf of himself and all the people under his authority. He laid before You the written record of all the threats and lies, the condemnation of mockery, of the enemy of Your people. He called upon Your name, asking You to confront the enemy he was powerless to resist in his own power. And You answered him and comforted him, assuring him that You heard him, despite all the lies and mocking and condemnation of his enemy. Just as You promised, You defeated the enemy of Your people and delivered them out of destruction in the power and peace of Your protection (2 Kings 19.14-37). Though we have given room to the enemy of our souls by the sins and doubts of our past, though our enemy taunts us and mocks us, he will not prevail if we humble ourselves before You and call upon Your name. He is defeated by the victory of the cross. "And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Him, when He forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2.13-15). Praise You, Lord! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

The Power of Jesus' Name 7-20-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the powerful words of the old hymn, "All hail the power of Jesus' name, let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all!" ... We proclaim the power of Your name over every area of our lives, our nations, and our world this day. You declared in the power of Your name, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matthew 28.18). We bow in adoring worship before You and crown You as Lord of all. Your name is "the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2.9-11). God our Father sends His Holy Spirit in the power of Your name to establish Your authority over all the earth (John 14.26). You name speaks of Your nature -- Jesus -- Yahshua -- the salvation of Yahwah, which is the power of God redeeming Your creation. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2.21). "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which by which we must be saved" (Acts 4.12). The world and the flesh and devil fear the power of Your name. They much prefer we speak in vague, impersonal terms if we must speak of You at all. The enemy of our souls cannot bear the power and the meaning of Your name, doing all he can to silence us from speaking it. As You warned us, "You will be hated by all because of My name" (Luke 21.17). Since the beginning of Your church, the enemy has tried to use the fears and jealousies and pride of the sinful flesh of men to silence Your disciples from speaking of Your name to stifle the power of Your name. "So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4.18). O, how the enemy fears the power of Your name! And rightly so! As You declared, "For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18.20). "I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in My name you ask Me for anything, I will do it" (John 14.13-14). "And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16.17-18). Teach us all that this means. Help us understand the power and authority of Your name as You teach us how to live in Your nature in obedience to Your calling. Lord Jesus, teach us how to ask in Your name, in Your nature, in Your power. Let our Father be glorified in the name of Jesus, spoken from the lips of Your people and released in power in the earth. Let the enemy tremble as we hail the power of Jesus' name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you! If you can, please join us at The Fountain on the 3rd Saturday night every month at 7pm.

"You Are Everything I Need" 7-19-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are ... everything I need. ... You are King of all kings and Lord of all lords, Yet You bow to our hearts and knock on the door. You are God of the heavens and God of the earth, Yet You humbled Yourself in the virgin birth. You know everything from beginning to end, Yet You suffer the choices of sinful men. You are the Son of God and the Son of man, Yet You hold our hearts in Your nail-scarred hands. You are crowned with glory, honor, and praise, Yet You were crowned with the thorns of the sin of the human race. You are filled with all glory and majesty, Yet You suffered injustice and travesty. You laid down Your life that we might live, Yet You call us to die that others might live. You walk in the ways that are faithful and true, Yet You call back to us to come follow You. You could do anything that You've wanted to do, Yet You choose to use us as a means of Your rule. You never falter and You never fail, Yet You are patient with us when we are weak and frail. You are our savior, our healer, and friend, Yet You break down our pride and expose all our sin. You are amazing, steadfast and true, Yet You call us to come join the journey with You. You know every suffering that we'll ever face, Yet You give us the power to persevere in Your grace. You are the One who is worthy of praise, Yet You long for Your people to seek Your face. You move in Your power, the power of Your love Yet You shake the heavens and the earth from above. You cause the mountains to tremble and the seas to roar, Yet You are our refuge in the midst of the storm. You have a kingdom that will never come to an end, Yet You are not yet satisfied, with many souls left to win. You will establish Your kingdom to rule and to reign, Yet You have chosen us to worship and pray. You come as the Spirit and the bride say, "Come," Yet You come in the perfect timing of the sovereign One. You will come in the clouds to catch up Your bride, Yet You come every day to hearts open wide. "I will sing a new song to You, O God" (Psalm 144.9). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Praying Friends, if the Lord is ministering His love and encouragement to you through our ministry, please include us in your generous giving to His Kingdom. Contributions to "Messiah Ministries" are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated, as we covenant with you to use them for the glory of His Kingdom. God bless you! Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, KY 40502 To subscribe/unsubscribe/reply please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com God bless you!

Our Desires Shape Our Destiny 7-18-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let my heart be Your temple. Conform my thoughts to Your thinking and my will to Your desires. ... "Are you ready? Are you available? When you are available for My leading, you are ready for My purposes. Many say they are, but they are not. In My mercy, I do not call them as I desire at the time that I desire, for they would fail. To fail is to refuse to follow. Yet, even in this, My grace is sufficient for the one who admits his resistance and confesses his willingness to try again." Yes, Lord. Forgive us for failing to follow Your leading. Forgive us for rationalizing away the sense of Your calling and the prompting of Your Spirit. Sharpen our discernment where our spirits have grown dull from disobedience. Quicken our thinking where we have grown sluggish in the wallowing of the muck of our own agendas. Speak Your word of life to our spirits and we will rise again into our calling. Release Your word of power to our souls and we will walk again in the way of our destiny. Where we have stumbled, pick us up. Where we have turned aside, straighten our path. Let us fulfill the calling and purpose of our destiny in You. "Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, so that they may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the Lord says: Because they have forsaken My law that I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, or walked in accordance with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them" (Jeremiah 9.12-14). Lord, we receive Your conviction and submit to Your correction. Forgive us for forsaking Your law and failing to heed Your voice. Forgive us for following the fleeting satisfaction of our own desires, and falling at the feet of the false gods we have created with our own hands and worshipped with the faithfulness that belongs only to You. Forgive us for following in the ways of our ancestors and for compromising in the ways of our cultures. You are our Father and we are Your children. Teach us Your ways and give us courage to follow them. "Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know Me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 9.23-24). Yes, Lord. Form this wisdom in our minds and these desires in our hearts. Let the things that delight You, delight us. As You shape our desires, so You shape our destiny. Give us grace to recognize this, to understand this, and to obey You in this. Though we have hesitated, though we have stumbled, though we have failed, yet will we rise in newness of life in the forgiveness of Your grace. Yet will we fulfill the calling and purpose of our lives. You will establish Your love and justice and righteousness in the earth through the obedience of Your people, to the glory of our God. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe/reply please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com God bless you!

"All in All" 7-17-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call upon Your name, the name above every name. I lift my face to You, focus my thoughts on You, open my heart to You, in complete surrender to You. This is our Father's means of conforming us into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We become like what we worship (2 Corinthians 3.18). As You have taught me to teach my kids to pray, "Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day." ... "God put this power to work in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has made Him head over all things for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1.20-23). Fill us with Your Spirit, conform us into Your image, make us more like You each day. While You are seated "in the heavenly places," we are Your body on earth by the presence of Your Spirit in our hearts, "the fullness of Him who fills all in all." "If the Spirit of Him of raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in You" (Romans 8.11). So let us begin, and continue, and end each day looking to You, listening to You, led by You. Let us live our lives in Christ more fully each day as You continually fill us with Your fullness, by the presence and the power of Your Holy Spirit -- for Your glory in this age and in the age to come. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Wisdom and Understanding 7-16-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me commit my thoughts and my ways to You. ... "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He founded the heavens; by His knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down their dew. My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble" (Proverbs 3.19-23). Though we may question Your wisdom, forgive us. Though we may doubt Your understanding, have mercy. You founded the earth with calling and purpose and destiny. You cause all things to work together in the created order of Your purposes and plans, no matter the chaos that comes from the freedom of human choices and the destruction that comes from the attacks of spiritual forces (Romans 8.28). Even these things that break Your heart help transform us into the people You've created us to be, if we will keep seeking You and committing our thoughts to the wisdom of God. We ask for Your wisdom; we seek Your understanding. They are life to our souls and the path for our feet. You are the Path; You are the Way. And as we entrust our hearts and souls to You, our feet will not stumble and we will walk securely, no matter how insecure we may feel and how insecure the world around us may seem. "Trust in the Lord will all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3.5-6). Yes, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Terror spirit of Babylon 7-15-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the light of Your glory shine on my face, as I lift my face to You. ... The reminder of the anguished cries of a mother wailing over the senseless and barbaric murder of her child from a suicide bomber in Iraq keeps interrupting the peace of my prayer this morning. In my spirit I hear the anguished cries of our Father in heaven over the evil choices made by men driven by demonic delusion and blinded by the bitter hatred of their souls. This land is the same land ruled by Nebuchadnezzar in ancient Babylon. In the demonic delusion of worshipping his false gods, he commanded his Hebrew captives to bow down and worship his false gods as if they were the same as You. When they refused to bow, " Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted" and ordered them to be thrown into "the furnace of blazing fire" (Daniel 3.19-23). The spirits of deception that drove Nebuchadnezzar into a murderous rage of cruelty and violence still claim their ground in the land today. The enraged jealousy of false gods, demanding worship and submission through control and fear, continues to manipulate the minds of men, in the weakness and deception of their flesh, to bow down and worship what is evil and false. And they continue to demand that others do the same or suffer the consequences. "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4.4). Yet, these children of God would not bow down. And the torment of their suffering only served to strengthen their faith and provide a platform for the praise of their God. No matter what they suffered at the hands of evil men driven by evil spirits, they bowed only to You, standing steadfast in their faith through the threats of torment and terror. Open our eyes and the eyes of all those who are blinded by deception and controlled by fear to see You, that we may stand steadfast in faith through every challenge of evil in a world that has given power to evil through the choices we've made. Give us grace, as You did to the Hebrew children, to choose You -- to bow only to You and no other, no matter what taunts of violence and threats murder are hurled against us. The demonic spirit that drove Nebuchadnezzar to worship his false god and torment those who refused taunted the Hebrew children of God, saying, "If you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?" But they responded, steadfast in the faith of the one true God, "O, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let Him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up" (Daniel 3.15-18). Give us courage to continue to reject these false gods and refuse to bow down their images, no matter how golden they may appear and no matter how violent their threats and cruel acts of terror may become. You alone are God and whether we go through the fires of terror or not, You will be with us. Ultimately, You will deliver us and the lands of the earth from the spirit of Babylon and every false god and demonic delusion, when You restore Your peace to the earth and establish Your reign forever (Revelation 18.1-24). As we turn to You and refuse to bow down to another, fill us with Your peace and establish Your reign in our hearts now, as we remain steadfast in Your faith and secure in Your grace, through all me must endure in this broken, fallen world suffering under the power of fear and the reign of terror of "the god of this world." Yet, You have prevailed and the victory of Your cross will be established throughout the earth in the power of Your love and peace (Revelation 21.1-27; Daniel 7.9-14). We long for the coming of that day on the earth then, and for the coming of that day in our hearts now. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain this Sat night at 7pm in the Chapel of Centenary Methodist in Lexington -- our ministry's monthly citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Every month is different as the Spirit leads our unplanned time in His Presence. All are welcome, so please spread the word and please cover us in prayer if you can't come. It's the 3rd Sat night of each month. To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives and devotional on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Behold the Lamb! 7-14-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I behold the Lamb. ... Behold the Lamb! The great I Am! You are Faithful and True; Worthy are You! Behold the Lamb. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for this new song in my spirit this morning. You put a new song in our hearts to open our spirits and lift our eyes to behold the Lamb. (Psalm 96.1). Thank You, Father. You are always sending Your Spirit to lift our eyes to Jesus, to bring our will and desires into line with Your will and desires, as Jesus is always revealing Your Father's heart and Your perfect will. Thank You, Jesus. You are the Lamb of God who takes away our sins (John 1.29). You are the Lamb of sacrifice who gives us life by the provision of Your blood (Genesis 22.8). You are the Lamb of glory who stands in the midst of the throne of God, worthy of our worship and praise forever and ever (Revelation 5.6-14). As we behold You, we behold our Father and are filled with Your Spirit. As we behold You, we become like You, as You transform us into Your image, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3.18). Behold the Lamb! The great I Am! You are Faithful and True; Worthy are You! Behold the Lamb! Yes, we do. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain this Sat night at 7pm in the Chapel of Centenary Methodist in Lexington -- our ministry's monthly citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Every month is different as the Spirit leads our unplanned time in His Presence. All are welcome, so please spread the word and please cover us in prayer if you can't come. It's the 3rd Sat night of each month. To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Anointing of Anna 7-13-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord, and I thank You for loving me. By Your grace, I humble myself as best as I can to sit in the silence of surrender to You, to wait for the leading of Your Spirit, and to watch for the coming of the glory of Your manifest presence in the arms of my Father. ... "There was also a prophet, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day" (Luke 2.36-37). You are preparing a people to hear and speak Your word with prophetic power -- young and old, men and women (Acts 2.17-18). You are preparing a people who desire to never leave Your presence, but long to worship You in the constant communion of prayer with You night and day. Pour out upon us the anointing of Anna -- to worship and pray without ceasing. As we begin each day in the silence of surrender in Your presence, Your Holy Spirit moves in our human spirits to lift our faces and open our hearts to You. Lord, let the flow of Your Spirit continue throughout each day in every activity, every encounter, every circumstance. As You abide in us and we abide in You, we need not ever leave the temple of Your presence, we need not ever cease to worship and praise and pray throughout our day. Thank You for the blessing of experiencing this anointing at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. In the "prayer furnace," they have not stopped worshipping You in prayer and praise for six years, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, never planning to stop. Surely the heavens are continually open above this place and the glory of Your manifest presence is as thick as honey. Release that passion for persevering in the pursuit of Your presence in our hearts. Then we will hear Your word more clearly, speak it more boldly, and live it more faithfully -- in constant communion with You. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Children of God 7-12-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. Be King of my heart and Lord of my life. As best as I can, I submit all that I am to You. ... To know You is to know my Father. To receive You is to receive Your Holy Spirit. As You said while You were on earth in the flesh, "I am in the Father and the Father is in Me" (John 14.11). Then You promised to send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to make us one with You, so that we might be one with our Father, as the Son is one with the Father by the Spirit in the bond of perfect love. You said, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.... Those who love Me will keep My word, and My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them" (John 14.18-24). Father, continually send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, in the name and nature of Jesus. Father God and Son of God, come make Your home in our hearts by Your Spirit (Romans 5.5). Give us the grace and the desire to keep Your word, as those who love You desire to do. As we grow in maturity and intimacy with You, as we grow in the nature of Christ because the Spirit of Christ is living in our hearts, we grow closer to You, our Father. We are Your children and You are our Father. You love us as a perfect Father loves His children -- You comfort us and correct us out of love; You draw us near and hold us tight out of love; You encourage us to find and follow You purpose and calling for our lives out of love. Thank You for the Spirit of Your Son in our hearts, conforming us to the nature of Your Son in our lives. As we behold Jesus, we behold You. As we receive the Spirit of the Son, we receive the Spirit of the Father. You have not left us orphaned, but embraced us into Your arms as Your very children. May You receive the joy that a father receives when his children embrace him back in return. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Diversity in Unity 7-11-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, wash me in Your Word. ... There is a mystery of unity in the bond of Your Holy Sprit. As we grow in Christ, we grow in the bond of this unity -- becoming one with God and one with one another. Yet, there is diversity in the unity, because we never lose our individual identities even as we become one. Just as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One, yet each Person of God is unique and personal. Godly unity makes us one, but not the same. I see a page of paper with the words, "I love You, Lord!" written over and over again. But the words are written in different fonts of every imaginable style. The words are in the unity of agreement, but they are different and unique from one another. You are a creative God and You have created us beautifully and uniquely. Rather than crushing that out of us through conformity into sameness, You are calling forth in us the diversity of Your creativity, as we grow into the maturity of unity. We are becoming one, but not the same. We are on the same page, saying the same thing, but saying it in different ways. They say the "Hallelujah" is the one word that is common all the languages of the world. As we shout "Hallelujah!" in every tribe and tongue throughout the earth, we are proclaiming in unity, "Praise God!" We all are making our declaration by the same Holy Spirit, yet in the endless variety and diversity of Your creation. There is creative diversity in godly unity. Lord teach us how to see and bless and encourage the diversity in one another, as You bring us together in Your bond of unity. We agree with Your prayer: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one. As You, Father, as in Me and I am in You, may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17.20-21). Yes, Lord, make us one. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

One Thing 7-10-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Narrow the focus of my thoughts to one thing in this moment. Narrow my thoughts to seek You alone. ... "One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple" (Psalm 27.4). I seek You and behold You, to live in You as You live in me. Let my heart be Your temple, that I may live in the house of the Lord forever. As I behold You, You are changing me. As I am emptied of myself, I am filled up with You. I can't make it happen, but I can ask You to make it happen. And that is the desire that You have placed on my heart, in line with Your will, for this is Your will for all Your children. Like the man who sold everything he had to buy the treasure of his heart's desire, there was one thing he valued above all else (Matthew 13.44). I want You to become the One Thing I value above all else. That is my desire because You have made it my desire. Increase this desire until it becomes the reality of my heart, without compromise and without apology. By Your grace, I dedicate and consecrate all that I am and all that I have to You. You are the One Thing that I seek in these first moments of the morning. Become the One Thing that I seek throughout every moment of every day. You are my Treasure, and where my Treasure is, there my heart will be also (Matthew 6.21). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

The Joy of the Lord 7-9-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You, seeking Your face and receiving Your grace. ... "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8.10). There is a mystery of joy in the midst of the battles that is not denial, but assurance. There is a mystery of peace in the midst of chaos that is not callous, but secure. Not the joy and peace of this world, but the joy and peace of the Lord, that is supernatural and unexplainable apart from an intimate relationship with You. It flows from the steady confidence that You are in charge, no matter what we face in the journey through this broken, fallen world. It wells up and flows out of the hearts of a people who are compassionate and available to the suffering of this world, but who are dead to this world and alive to Christ at the same time. It allows our hearts to break with Your heart in the tragedy and atrocity of evil, while never letting us lose hold of the firm grip of Your strong hand. The security and power of Your strength continually fills us with the joy and peace of Your presence and protection. "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His anointed, saying, 'Let us burst their bonds asunder and cast their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, 'I have set My King on Zion, My holy hill' " (Psalm 2.1-6). This, too, is the Father heart of God -- a heart that breaks at the suffering and pain of His people, pouring out the love and compassion of His healing to redeem it all, while at the same, laughing from heaven in the face of the enemy who thinks he can frustrate Your purposes and plans. But God is in His heaven and He has established His King on earth. Your will will be done; Your kingdom will come -- on earth as it is in heaven, no matter what comes and no matter how long it takes. We can rejoice in this unwavering truth and find peace in this certain hope. The Kingdom of Heaven is established on earth as we establish You as the King of the kingdom of our hearts. "For the Kingdom of God is ... righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14.17). Come Holy Spirit, and fill us with the peace and joy of the Lord, as You establish the righteousness of God in our hearts and in the earth. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Light in the Darkness 7-8-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Though the heavens tremble and the earth shakes, You are steady and secure, faithful and true. My hope and my trust is in You. ... These are dark days. Yet as the days grow darker still, Your light will shine ever more brightly in the midst of the darkness. The enemy of our souls moves in the heart of the wicked to terrorize the helpless. Like a beast lurking in the shadows to pounce upon its prey, he hides and schemes to attack the vulnerable, once paralyzed in the power of fear. But "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1.7). The Spirit of God brings peace in the midst of the terror, and the power of good in the midst of the power of evil. Let us arise in faith and the power of Your Spirit, to be beacons of Your light in the darkness of this hour, drawing the fearful to the faithful One and the shaken to the One who is never shaken. "Arise, shine; for your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (Isaiah 60.1-3). "Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; do not forget the oppressed. Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, 'You will not call us to account?' But You do see! Indeed You note trouble and grief, that You may take it into Your hands; the helpless commit themselves to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until You find none. The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land. O Lord, You will hear the desire of the meek; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more" (Psalm 12.10-18). ... In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Hearts Ablaze 7-7-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see You. ... In the Spirit, I see a pile of hot coals, glowing reddish-orange with intensity and heat. They are white around the edges, releasing small flames of fire that dance around the pile from coal to coal. Some dry branches and leaves fall upon the coals and spontaneously ignite in a blaze of fire. ... "These coals are the hearts of My people and the fire of My presence. They burn with intensity and the heat of a passion for Me. Gathered together, they fuel and feed one another, keeping their hearts burning inside. The fire of the presence of My Spirit burns from within, consuming all that comes in contact with them. They burn white with increasing purity and passionate intensity. In these days, My fire does not fall from heaven as much as it rises up from within the hearts of My people by the abiding presence of My Spirit. This is how I am setting the world ablaze -- to be purified or consumed in the blaze of My presence." Yes, Lord. Set our hearts ablaze with Your Holy Spirit. Draw us near to You and near to one another, so that the fire does not go out, but continues to burn with increasing intensity and purity, ablaze with a passion for You. Then bring us into contact with others who will be set ablaze with the fire of Your presence, until their hearts are burning within them, together with ours. Let the earth be set ablaze with Your glory, manifested and burning in the hearts of Your people. In Jesus' name we pray. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

"Set your house in order" 7-6-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I ask for Your grace to spend these first moments alone with You. Help me seek nothing but Your face and hear nothing but Your voice. ... Lord, You are reminding me of a note I received yesterday about my devotional titled "Put things in order." Her pastor in southern Kentucky said You told him last fall to have his house in order by July 7th. "Every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses" (Matthew 18.16). If You were to move in power across our land, we be ready? If You were to send revival would we be prepared? If You were to return in glory, would You find faith on the earth? The last words of Your servant David are recorded in 2 Samuel 23. Before he died, he did his best to set his house in order. He said: "Is not my house like this with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand; to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot" (2 Samuel 23.5-7). You are "a consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12.29). In the day of Your coming, Your Holy Fire will come "burning like an oven" to consume all that is unholy and impure -- all that is wood, hay, and stubble (Malachi 4.1-7). Only that which has been purified and fashioned in Your refining fire will remain. By Your grace, let us hear and obey. For though Your Fire will come in glory on the Day of the Lord, Your Holy Fire is already being released upon the earth and in our hearts, as that day nears. Give us revelation to understand these days, wisdom to prepare, and diligence to set our house in order. The most important thing to set in order is to set in order our relationship with You. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder suffers loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3.11-15). The truth is, we don't really even know how to completely set things in order, other than to try our best to hear and obey, all by Your grace. We ask for that grace. We ask for You to make us ready, to be prepared to love and minister in the ways of Your will in these coming days that are making way for the Day of the Lord. We ask for You to guide our thoughts and actions, so that what we have built with our lives will be built by You. "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Psalm 127.1). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be leaving for the Aldersgate Conference in Kansas City today to teach on the Holy Spirit and recieve the ministry of the Holy Spirit from others. Please keep us in your prayers, and pray that I won't miss out on anything the Lord is doing at home while I'm gone. I pray the same for you! To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

"Put things in order" 7-5-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By Your grace, I actively embrace the peace and the power of Your presence. In these first moments of the morning, form Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, and Your purposes in my plans. Prepare me to serve You, in communion with Your Spirit, this day. ... "Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Put things in order, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you" (2 Corinthians 3.11-13). By Your Holy Spirit, You spoke these words through Paul to Your people to prepare for his coming. And You are still speaking Your words to us to prepare us for Your coming. Help us to "put things in order." Help us to embrace the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. As we do, we will be putting things in order in our relationship with You, with one another, and within ourselves. We will be restored in unity and intimacy with You and with one another. We will know and experience ever-increasing measures of the love and peace of God. Then, when You come, You will find a people whose hearts and lives are in order -- all by Your grace, in the power of Your love, living in communion with You. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Declaration of Dependence on God 7-4-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can, I bring my heart and my life under God, in humility before You as my Creator. ... On July 4, 1776, the representatives of the people of our land declared their independence to become a sovereign nation. Yet in declaring their sovereignty as a nation, they also declared Your sovereignty over them. The final sentence of their Declaration of Independence proclaimed to all the world: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance upon the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortune, and our sacred honor." You are Divine Providence, our Creator and God, worthy of our firm reliance upon Your protection and provision of all people in all nations, who humble themselves before You as a people of nations under God. "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations" (Psalm 22.27-28). Though You give us the freedom to choose to seek You and to know You, You desire that we humbly and faithfully use that freedom. As we do, You will lead us to Yourself and call us to acknowledge You as You are. "Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46.10). As You are exalted, we bow down before You in humility, obedience, and faith as a nation under God. "God is King over the nations; God sits on His holy throne" (Psalm 48.7). As our forefathers modeled before us, we need not force one another to forgo the freedom to come to know You as You lead; but we can still acknowledge You as our Creator and God, our Divine Providence. Your Holy Spirit will lead us all into Your truth and into Your arms if we will seek You. "When you search for Me, you will find Me, if you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29.13). As we are searching and seeking, let us do so humbly. Let our declaration of independence from the tyranny of the world be also a declaration of our dependence upon the God of heaven and earth. Then we will find favor and grace under the hand of Your Divine Providence. "Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage" (Psalm 33.12). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Wrunning the Wrace Well 7-3-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my heart and my thoughts toward You. ... As I went to sleep last night, I must have been wondering how to express my message at the Aldersgate Conference in Kansas City next week. They asked me to teach an equipping session on living life in the power of the Holy Spirit. You woke me early with these thoughts and Scriptures circling in my mind: We watch for Your presence, looking to see You in the face of every person and in the face of every circumstance (Psalm 59.9; Matthew 25.40; 2 Corinthians 3.18). We wait for Your leading, humbling ourselves before You in the surrender of the silence and in the simplicity of intimacy with You (Psalm 37.7 and 130.5-6; James 4.10). We worship You eternally in Spirit and in truth, looking to things above and not below, focusing on what is eternal rather than temporary (John 4.23-24; Colossians 3.1-4). We walk in Your ways, listening and learning by the leading of Your voice, as You wash us in the water of Your Word (Psalm 101.6 and 128.1; 1 John 1.7). We willingly submit to the Lordship of Christ in every area of our lives, as we continually decrease and You continually increase in our spirit and soul and body (1 Peter 3.15; John 3.30; 1 Thessalonians 5.23). We welcome Your Holy Spirit, as You continually fill us with the fullness of God and purify us in the fire of Your presence (Ephesians 3.14-21 and 5.18-20; Matthew 3.11; Acts 1.4-8). We wage war against the world, the flesh, and the devil, fighting the good fight of the faith with the spiritual weapons of our spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10.3-6; 1 Timothy 6.12). We wrestle against the principalities and powers of this present darkness by actively embracing the light of Your glory and the power of Your love, as Your light displaces the darkness and Your love satisfies the longings of our souls and the groaning of Your creation (Ephesians 6.12 and 5.11-14; Romans 8.19-23). We run the race ("wrun the wrace") of our high calling and purpose in Christ, letting go of the wounds and repenting of the sins of the past, living fully in the moments of our present, and embracing the destiny of our future (Hebrews 12.1-2; Philippians 3.12-14). We win the crown of righteousness -- not on the basis of our righteousness, but on Yours' alone -- all by Your grace, as You enforce the victory of the cross in every area of our lives and we lay down our crowns at the feet of the Righteous One (2 Timothy 4.7-8; Revelation 4.9-11). Thank You, Lord for this message and for this call to live life in the fullness of Your Spirit. Help us run the race of faith well. Forgive us for the times we've tried to live life in our own power without waiting to be filled with Your power from on high (Acts 1.4-8). Let us not only be hearers of Your Word, but doers of Your Word -- in the power of Your Spirit to the glory of our Father (Matthew 7.24-27). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please join us if you can and pray for us if you can't at Aldersgate 2005 -- the National Conference on Spirit-Filled Living in the Wesleyan Tradition, July 6-10 in Overland Park, Kansas. I will be teaching "Embracing the Power and Purpose of the Holy Spirit." For registration and details, see: www.aldersgaterenewal.org To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Trees Planted by the Water 7-2-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the heart and lead me in the place of prayer. ... "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2.6). Lord, let us not only begin well, but also finish well. Let us not only begin the journey in Your faith, but also finish the course in Your power. Like a tree that's planted by the water, let our roots of understanding seep more deeply into the depths of the water of Your Word; let our branches of worship in Your Spirit lift high to the praise of Your glory; and let the fruit of our lives draw others to You. Establish us securely in trusting, unwavering faith. Keep us growing deeper and higher, as we learn more of Your Word and Your ways, thankful and content in the blessing of Your grace. Then the storms and struggles that try to shift us and move us and topple us over shall not prevail. They may shape us like the winds that shape a cypress tree growing on the cliff at the water's edge, but they will not uproot us. They will only make the witness of our endurance by Your grace more beautiful and majestic, displaying the power of Your glory in the lives we live in You. "They shall be like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17.8). Let it be so. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Not Perfect, but Purposeful 7-1-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the peace of Your presence fill my soul. ... Teach us Your ways and teach us how to teach our children Your ways. Convict us and forgive us when we fail. Let our lives be an example -- a good example -- to the generations who follow. Let them see Your words lived out in our actions. And when they don't, remind them that You are still perfect and holy even when we are not. But give us wisdom to let Your word and Your ways be our standard even though we may fall far short. There are lessons to be learned even from the failures. Even though we don't always practice what we preach, let us not stop trying to preach and teach Your words and trying to live and model Your ways. "You shall bind these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth" (Deuteronomy 11.18-21). Yes, Lord. Surround us and saturate us with Your words as You teach us to live out Your ways -- whether we are at home or away, whether surrounded by people or all alone. Then our days will go well, our prayers will be answered, our lives will find meaning, and Your purpose will be fulfilled. We may not be perfect, but we can be purposeful in the power of Your grace. In Jesus' name we pray. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Hurry Up and Wait 6-30-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Give me Your patience and Your grace to see You and Your purpose in all things. ... "Hurry up and wait" -- that seems to be the pattern for so much of our lives. We frantically rush to get somewhere, only to have to wait when we get there. We often focus so much on where we are going and what we have to do that we miss out on what's happening in the moment now. We were hurrying to get up early this morning -- to get the luggage loaded, to get down the mountain, across the desert, and over to the airport for our morning flight home. Now we're waiting. We're pulled over on the side of the road waiting for the military to test fire a missile that apparently must fly over this stretch of the desert highway. All that hurrying doesn't matter now as we sit and we wait. Whether we make it to El Paso in time to catch our plane is now out of our control. Yet, there is a surprising peace that comes when we realize we really are out of control. Lord bring us Your peace that comes when we come to place of recognizing we are out of control. "The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps" (Proverbs 16.9). The choices we make are real, and the consequences of our decisions have infinite significance. Yet at the same time, You are at work in them and through them and in spite of them, patiently bringing Your sovereign plans to pass. "The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established" (Proverbs 19.21). Give us patience to wait, peace not to worry, and faith to know You are at work in all circumstances as we entrust our circumstances to You. Thank You for a moment to stop and pray and write, when I didn't think I had time this morning. As soon as You are ready, Lord, let them fire these missiles, so we can patiently move on through this desert to the airport. There we will excitedly celebrate the miracle that You hold time in Your hands or faithfully trust that You redeem all things, as we patiently wait for the next flight home. We entrust our plans to You. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, God is good! As soon as I finished writing my prayer on my laptop by the side of the road, we were released to go. I'm sending Thursday's prayer today since I was not able to send it yesterday. We've made it home and thank you for your prayers. To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives and devotional on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

"Abba! Father!" 6-29-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Waiting in the silence of surrender, I humble myself in Your sight as best as I can, as You lift me up into the arms of Your presence. I welcome Your Holy Spirit to abide in me as I abide in You. ... "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' " (Galatians 4.4-6). "Abba" was a term of endearment and intimate trust, lovingly expressed by Jewish children of all ages to their father. It's like calling out, "Daddy!" It is not formal, not distant; it is tender and free, loving and pure. It leaves no room for stale religiosity or cool formality. It is a bold expression of a confident relationship, requiring no justification, no explanation -- it just is. In the tradition of my native Texas, I've always wanted my kids to keep calling me "Daddy." Sometimes they still do, but it's usually when they really want something. Most of the time, I have to settle for the shortened, more culturally accepted version of "Dad." Only when my oldest son, Zachary, is trying to be funny with mocking politeness and strategic obedience do I hear the more formal title of "Father." I usually respond with equal formality, "Yes, my son." The titles and tones of how we call out to one another often conveys the state of our heart and the level of intimacy, trust, and respect in our relationship at any given moment. So it is with us. You are our Father and we are Your children. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5.5). You are the God of all creation, and we honor You, respect You, worship You, and fear You. Yet, at the same time, we cry out to You with affection and intimacy, yearning for the nearness of Your presence. You are our God, but You are also our Father. You are our Father, but You are also our Daddy, Abba. There is something about the intimacy and purity of this endearing term of the heart that humbles our hearts and slays our pride to draw us near to You in the trusting, confident faith of little children. No matter what pressures of superficial religion, cultural insecurities, or self-righteous pride may try to distance us, let us never lose this blessing and gift of intimacy with You. Until he died when I was twenty-three, I called my earthly father "Daddy." That's still how I refer to him today, but I remember seeing a John Wayne movie when I was young. His character was a gunfighter in the old west who had had a distant relationship with his sons since they were young. Now they were grown men and one of them called John Wayne's character "Daddy." He said to his son, "You can call me 'Father,' or you can call me 'Sir,' or you can call me 'a son of a gun,' but don't you ever call me 'Daddy.' I started to think there must be something wrong with calling my dad "Daddy," so I quit for a while. But it never seemed right and in time, I overcame my insecurities and self-consciousness and the peer pressures and influences of the media -- even my hero John Wayne, and went back to "Daddy." Daddy Abba, Father God, let it never seem right to be distant from You. Give us the courage and the passion to never let the superficiality and vain formality of religion replace the intensity and intimacy of our personal relationship with You. Thank You for the gift and grace of sending the Spirit of Your Son into our hearts to cry out to You in the childlike faith, "Abba! Father!" In Jesus' name we pray , Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, as we have been away on our family vacation, I hope you haven't minded the longer, later devotionals. I've had more time to reflect and pray. (My brother-in-law Aaron says he has to save them for the next day so he can still read them in the morning). Thanks for your patience! We will be returning home to Kentucky on Thursday, more rested and renewed. Thank you for your prayers for us and I pray for rest and renewal for each of you. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives and devotional on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Waiting in the Silence of Surrender 6-28-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Refresh me and renew me in the power of the presence of Your Spirit. ... My youngest daughter, Madison, turned ten this summer. She told me a while back that she doesn't need to read my morning prayers each day because I always pray the same thing. I don't think she ever makes it past, "Good morning, Lord Jesus." It is true that for this past year and a half that You've been calling me to pray in this way, I've settled in to a familiar pattern that helps me center my heart and soul on You. Though I pray many different ways throughout the day, calling upon Your name in every dimension of Your Being as Father, as Son, as Holy Spirit, I begin these morning prayers centered on You, Lord Jesus Christ. When we turn our hearts to God in prayer, the Father is always sending the Holy Spirit to lead us (Romans 8.26-27); and the Holy Spirit is always leading us to Jesus (John 14.26 and 15.26); and Jesus is always revealing the heart and will of the Father (John 14.10-11). As we enter in to the communion of prayer in trusting surrender, You increase and we decrease. As we wait in the quiet of the silence before You, You still our thoughts and open our hearts. As be embrace You in the intimacy and intensity of seeking the fullness of Your presence, You begin to cause Your thoughts to be our thoughts and Your desires to be our desires. You abide in us and we abide in You, as closely as the created can abide in the Creator (John 14.15-17 and 15.1-11). As I seek You each morning and begin to consciously and deliberately open my human spirit to Your Holy Spirit, You lead me to watch and wait in the silence of surrender, in humility before You. The " ... " of my morning devotional is the time of silence as I watch and wait for Your leading -- sometimes for a moment, sometimes for much longer -- until You begin to form Your thoughts and desires in my mind and heart. As I surrender and entrust myself to You, You bring me back into created order, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, as You bring my body into submission to my soul, my soul into submission to my spirit, and my spirit into submission to Your Holy Spirit. This is a dimension of "the communion of the Holy Spirit" by "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" as we soak in "the love of God" (2 Corinthians 3.13). "Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37.6). "Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all day long" (Psalm 25.4-5). "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning" (Psalm 130.5-6). "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40.31). As we turn our hearts toward You and lift up our faces to behold You, Your Holy Spirit is changing us and conforming us into the image of Christ, the Son of God, to the glory of God our Father (Romans 8.29-30). As we behold You in worship and prayer, we become more like You; for we become like what we worship. "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3.18). This is all part of the mystery of abiding in Christ and allowing Christ to abide in us -- the God of the universe humbling Himself in love and grace to live in our hearts and fill us with Your Spirit, that we "may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3.13-21). "Morning by morning" You feed us Your Word, as much as we need for day (Exodus 16.21). "Morning by morning" You teach us Your ways and lead us in Your paths (Isaiah 50.4). Your steadfast love never ceases and Your mercies never come to an end; they are "new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3.22-24). As we begin our days focused and centered on You, we rise from prayer to embrace the challenges of the day, empowered and anointed by Your Holy Spirit, to fulfill our calling and live our destiny in Christ on earth, to the glory of our Father in heaven. What an amazing mystery; what amazing grace. Help us to embrace You as we seek You. Form us, and conform us, and transform us, as You make us more like You each day, while we watch and pray. As we learn to watch and wait for You in the silence of surrender and the intimacy of Your presence, we will not be disappointed. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come if you can to the Annual Conference of Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Kansas City this year, July 6-10, "The National Conference on Spirit-filled Living in the Wesleyan Tradition." I will be teaching one of the equipping sessions on being empowerd with the Holy Spirit. For details or registration, please contact them online at www.aldersgaterenewal.org To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!

Obedience Brings Blessing 6-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me get quiet and still, as I center my thoughts on You at the start of this day. Open Your Word to me, that You can live Your Word through me this day. Correct me where I am wrong; convict me where I sin, that I can turn again to You and to Your path that leads to life and life abundant. ... "See, I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, and observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess" (Deuteronomy 30.15-16). The grace of freedom is the power to choose. You set before us the choice to obey or disobey, to trust in You or trust in ourselves, to follow Your paths or follow our own. One way leads to life and prosperity, the other to death and adversity. Whether we like it or not, obedience is a spiritual principle: "Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous" Proverbs 13.21). Yet, it is not all or nothing; and we each experience a measure of it all -- both prosperity and adversity -- as we journey through a broken and fallen world, surrounded by broken and fallen people, confronted by our own brokenness and fallenness. But there is a general direction and overarching theme to the flow of our lives toward life or toward death, toward prosperity or toward adversity. If we keep looking to You and trusting in You, You redeem even our times of adversity into prosperity and redeem the struggles with death into victories of life. So how do we obey You? As Your Word says: by loving You, by walking in Your ways, by observing Your principles. Then we shall live and become numerous, then You will bless us in the land You have sent us to possess. Is obedience just an Old Covenant principle? You personally confirmed the necessity of obedience which brings the reward of blessing as a New Covenant principle, saying, "Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it" (Luke 11.28). As Your Holy Spirit said through Paul, "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit" (Galatians 6.7-8). Give us the grace and desire to obey You, trusting that You know what is best for us, for You created us and the spiritual principles that govern us. Continue the process of putting to death the desires of our flesh that rebel from obedience to Your Spirit. If we truly love You and trust You, we will obey You, by the grace that You freely give to those who ask (John 15.10). Then we will prosper even through adversity and we will live an abundant life even in the face of death -- all to Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives and devotional on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Perspective 6-26-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. "Open my eyes, let me see. Here I am to worship; here I am to bow down; here I am to say that You're my God. ..." Thank You for waking me with this song of worship going through my mind and rising up in my spirit this morning. ... To open our eyes is to give us Your perspective -- to see more as You see, to seek more what You seek. Lord, give us Your perspective, Your worldview. Cause the things that break Your heart to break our heart; cause the things that bring You joy to bring us joy. This is the attitude we desire, the heart we desire, the way of life we desire. Even the desire for these things is by the grace You place in a heart that's willing to embrace it. "The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God" (Psalm 14.2). To seek after You is to seek Your ways, Your purposes, Your heart -- to seek to be more like You. Yet we acknowledge that our ways are not yet like Your ways and our thoughts are not yet like Your thoughts. So, You call us to seek You, because in the seeking we are changed. In looking for You, our eyes are opened. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that He may have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, not are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than you ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55.6-9). This is where we begin, but this is not where we are to end. You have called us to grow in the wisdom of Your ways as we grow in spiritual maturity. "But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him Who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4.15). We are to "grow in the knowledge of the Lord" and "be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding" so that "we may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him" (Colossians 1.9-10). Though we have not yet fully "known the mind of the Lord," we are called to "have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2.16). Forgive us for settling for less. Forgive us for embracing our lack of wisdom and knowledge of Your thoughts and Your ways. Free us from the complacency of our spiritual laziness. Deliver us from the deception of our spiritual blindness. Open our eyes to see You as we seek You. Open our minds to grow in Your wisdom and Your ways. Feed us with Your Word and fill us with Your Spirit, as we bow down and worship You. "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 2.2-3). By Your grace, let us grow in Your perspective. Open our eyes, and let us see. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!