"Loose the Bonds of Injustice" 8-28-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in to the holy of holies in the intimacy of communion in prayer. Put on my heart what is on Your heart, bring to my mind what is on Your mind. ... "Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? " (Isaiah 58.6). Yes, Lord. Free us from false religion. Deliver us from the comfort of passive spirituality. Let Your desires become our desires and Your actions become our actions. Let the things that break Your heart break our heart, and let the things that bring You joy bring us joy. Open our ears to hear the cry of injustice; open our eyes to see the suffering of the oppressed. Empower us to answer by the leading and anointing of Your Spirit. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God" (Isaiah 61.1-2). Whether we answer Your call to go to the nations or to go to our knees, let us take our place and answer Your call. You are a God of justice and mercy. You are a God who delivers those who are bound and frees those who are oppressed. "For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, You have broken as on the day of Midian" (Isaiah 9.4). And in Your sovereignty, You have chosen to do this through Your people whom You have anointed with Your Spirit, in answer to Your call, to bring glory to Your name. Let us hear Your call and let us answer -- all by Your grace, all in Your power, and all for Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this Sunday morning my home church (Centenary United Methodist in Lexington) will commission Gerry Calvert and me to join a small team of Christian lawyers with International Justice Mission in Tamil Nadu, India August 31 through September 11 (www.ijm.org). We will work with the laws of that nation to fight for the freedom from oppression of many who are illegally held in bonded slavery, including women and children. Please stand with us in prayer as the leaders of our church lays hands on us and pray for the commissioning of the Holy Spirit this Sunday (Acts 13.1-3). And I pray the Lord will call you and commission you and empower you for His calling and purpose for this season of your life. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Can You Hear? 8-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me get quiet; help me listen for the leading of Your Spirit. ... Can you hear the cries of My people? Can you hear them calling on My name? Can you hear them praying for deliverance? Can you hear them seek My face? Will you go in My name? Will you go in My power? Will you tell them that I love them? Will you show them in this hour? You are My body and My church; You are empowered to do your part. You are filled with My Spirit; You are My hands and My heart. "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you still a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12.27-31). Yes, Lord. Help us be humble enough to hear and obey Your word. Help us be faithful enough to arise in Your power and go forth in Your name -- wherever and to whomever You send us. Make us one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Let us each find our part and answer our calling, continually growing in maturity, that we may be Your body, in the power of Your Spirit, to the glory of Your name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this Sunday morning my home church (Centenary United Methodist in Lexington) will commission Gerry Calvert and me to join a small team of Christian lawyers with International Justice Mission in Tamil Nadu, India August 31 through September 11 with (www.ijm.org). We will work with the laws of that nation to fight for the freedom from oppression of many who are illegally held in bonded slavery. Please stand with us in prayer as the leaders of our church lays hands on us and pray for the commissioning of the Holy Spirit this Sunday (Acts 13.1-3). And I pray the Lord will call you and commission you and empower you for His calling and purpose for this season of your life. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

From Doubting to Declaration 8-26-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Healer and Deliverer, Savior and Lord, You are my Rock and my Fortress, my Power and my Strength. I worship You and welcome You into my heart and my life. ... As we seek You and behold You, You strengthen our trust and encourage our faith. You remove all doubt and unbelief of Your goodness and Your power. Thomas doubted until He saw You face to face in Your resurrected power. Then You changed his doubt and unbelief into a powerful declaration of faith. Thomas said to the others, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of His nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe." Then he saw You. In a moment his doubt was consumed in the glory of Your presence. You told Thomas, "Put your finger here and see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in My side. Do not doubt but believe." As he beheld You, he believed You. He welcomed You and worshiped You, declaring to You and to all, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20.24-28). You commanded Thomas not to doubt; You called him to believe. The blessing of believing came as he reached out to You and beheld You in the glory of Your presence. Help us reach out to You. Help us behold You. Open the eyes of our hearts to see You as You are in Your resurrected power -- the power that changes our doubts into faith. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"To Destroy the Works of the Devil" 8-25-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You must increase and I must decrease. I surrender all again to You this day. ... "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3.8). C.S. Lewis said the devil's most effect strategy is to convince us that he does not exist. In human pride and worldly naiveté, Your own church is often confused and deceived into believing we are wiser than Your Word and we have advanced beyond the truths of Scripture to understand how the world really works. We think we have learned that there really is no devil, but only psychosis, imagination, and chemical imbalance. Yet the Word of God says this is the very purpose for which the Son of God was revealed, "to destroy the works of the devil." This is not a marginal or an ancillary part of Your ministry, this is the very heart of Your ministry. You commissioned us to continue Your ministry in the power of Your Spirit: "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20.21-22). This was why the Father sent You, the is why You have sent us. "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using My name they will cast out demons...." (Mark 16.15-17). One of Your children is suffering under the works of the devil. He's grown weary of listening to the lies from the voices in his head. These are not Your thoughts and these are not his thoughts that try to get him to lose his hope, renounce his faith, and end his life. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10.10). As Paul warned the Christian believers at Corinth, we can be "deceived" by "the serpent" so that our "thoughts will be led astray from a pure and sincere devotion to Christ" to the point that we even "receive a different spirit than the One we received" (2 Corinthians 11.3-4). Help us set aside our pride and the world's wisdom to remember in humility it is Your church that You taught to pray, "Deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6.13, KJV). It is Your church that Your word warns, "Like a roaring lion, your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5.8). But today, the true Lion -- the Lion of the Tribe of Judah -- will roar! The enemy of this young man's soul will be scattered by the power of Your Spirit to the glory of Your name. We overcome our enemy "by the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12.11). As his mother and his pastor and those who love him enough to fight for him come with him to call upon Your name in the power of Your Spirit, the Son of God will be revealed and the Son of God will destroy the works of the devil. You came to "proclaim release to the captives" and "to let the oppressed go free" (Luke 4.18). You have not changed and Your mission has not changed. Neither has ours. As the Father sent the Son, so You have sent us, in the power of Your Spirit. We thank You now for the victory of the cross You will enforce in his life and in ours, all for Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this family and this church is asking for prayer. Please join us in prayer for Johnathon today and each day as he walks out the victory Jesus has already won for him at the cross. Let us pray for one another, that we would be delivered from evil as the Lord Jesus Christ continues to destory the works of the devil, enforcing the victory of His cross by the power of His blood through His Spirit in His church for His glory. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Vine and Branches 8-24-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are welcome to abide in me; help me to abide in You. You are my vine; let me be one of Your branches. Let my life and this day bear fruit that pleases You. ... I believe I hear You say to us, "I am the vine. You are My branches. I extend My heart through you, My word through you, My will through you. Live and move and have your being in Me so that I may live and move and have My being through you. I fill you, as you are emptied of yourselves. I increase as you allow My will and My desires to become yours, and you decrease as you entrust your mind and heart to Me. This is how you are transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is how your mind becomes like the mind of Christ. This is how I remove your heart of stone and give you My heart of flesh -- a heart that is tender to My will and filled with My love." Yes, Lord. Let us be Your branches that bear Your fruit (John 15.1-11). Let our minds by renewed to think more like You think, so that we may love more like You love (Romans 12.1-2). Remove our hearts of stone and give us Your heart of flesh. As You said to Israel long ago, and as You continue to speak to Your people from every tribe and tongue and nation who are called by Your name, "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you, and make you follow My statutes and be careful to observe My ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be My people and I shall be your God" (Ezekiel 36.26-28). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Teaching, Preaching, Healing 8-23-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the healer of our hearts, the restorer of our souls. As best as I can, and all by Your grace, I commit my heart and soul to You this new day. ... You spoke the words of our Father's heart when You preached of the kingdom of God at the sermon on the mount. You began to preach and teach when you "saw the crowds" (Matthew 5.1). But we often forget the context of why those crowds were there to hear about the message of the kingdom. You not only taught of the kingdom, You demonstrated the coming of the kingdom in the power of God. "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He cured them. And great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan" (Matthew 4.23-25). You never intended Your teaching to be separate from Your power. Forgive us Lord, in the body of Christ today, for trying to teach of Your kingdom in our wisdom and trying to preach of Your kingdom without Your power. Let Your Word be proclaiming and let Your power be revealed. You said, "the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do" (John 14.12). Forgive us for our sin of disobedience. Forgive us for the false humility that has led us to disobey Your command to do Your works in Your power. In large measure, we have failed to teach what You taught and we have failed to do the works that You did. We have settled for an "outward form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3.5). Convict us of our sin as the body of Christ, that we may repent and return to our calling to be Your true ambassadors of Your true nature in a world that is literally dying to see the presence and power of God demonstrated in their lives. As You forgive us, release us in the anointing of Your power to teach and preach and heal in the power Your name, as You have commanded us to do. These are the works that You did, this is the work You've called us to do (John 14.12; Mark 16.15-18; Isaiah 61). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our Healing Prayer Seminar last weekend. The Lord taught us and moved among us in power. Please pray for the continuing process of healing of spirit, soul, and and body in the lives of each one. I pray the same for each of you. Thank you for your prayers for The Fountain. A very precious, elderly black woman with the love of God shining from her face was led to go to each person and pray words of propecy that spoke directly to each person heart, bring incredible encouragment and peace. Let us welcome God's word and His power in our midst. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Beginning of Birth Pangs" 8-22-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I dedicate and consecrate my life and this day to You, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ... With the unfolding of the events in Israel and in Babylon, with the shaking of the heavens and of the earth in famines and earthquakes, with the increase of violence and darkness and lawlessness throughout every tongue and tribe and nation, we need You now as never before. As we declared in worship Sunday, "People need the Lord." We are experiencing "the beginning of the birth pangs" (Matthew 24.7). But we need not fear, we need not run, we need not hide. We need not sit back passively waiting for everything to fall down around us until we catch the glory train passing through in the middle of the night as our ticket of escape out of here. You are preparing Your people to shine as light in the midst of the darkness, to be the arms of Your security and Your love in the midst of the confusion and fear. Prepare us now that we may stand firmly and securely in these days that the seeds of both evil and righteousness are coming to full maturity in the lands of the earth and in the souls of men. You glory is Your manifest presence. And Your glory is present in the hearts of Your people whom You have prepared for this present darkness of these days. We do not stand alone, we stand in You as You stand in us. These are the days prophesied long ago: "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 arise 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). Let us not withdraw but advance in these days of the beginning of the birth pangs. Let us not sit back passively in resignation, retreat, and self-centeredness, but let us be Your light in the midst of the darkness, let us be rooted and grounded in Your love and firmly established in trusting faith. Let us be Your place of refuge for those who would humble themselves to come to You and call upon Your name. Let the nations see Your light shining in us, let them see the brightness of Your dawn rising in us at the dawn of the day of the Lord. "But how are they to call on One in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" (Romans 10.14-15). You are the Good News. Let it be written on our hearts and lived out in our lives for all to see, as You draw the nations to You through the people You have prepared in these times of great tribulation and of great harvest. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come" (Matthew 24.14). Come, Lord Jesus, come -- into our hearts and into our world. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Let God Arise!" 8-21-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are glorious, mighty, and powerful. And You live in my heart. Praise You, Lord! ... "Let God rise up, let His enemies be scattered; let those that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy!" (Psalm 68.1-3). Arise in our hearts, O Lord. By the blood of the Lamb, we are cleansed of our sins and in You, we have become "the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21). The power of the enemy is broken by the victory of Your cross. Let our enemy be scattered -- scattered from our minds, our bodies, our lives. "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6.12). Let the enemy of our souls be driven away by the fire of Your glory arising within us. " 'Now I will arise,' says the Lord, 'now I will lift Myself up; now I will be exalted' " (Isaiah 33.10). If God be for us, who can stand against us? As You arise within us, we arise in the joy of Your victory. We celebrate the routing of our enemy by the glory and might and power of our God. This is the joy of the Lord that is our strength (Nehemiah 8.10). 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Growing Up 8-20-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Cause Your thoughts to be my thoughts, Your words to be my words. Little by little, and day by day, conform me into Your image and transform me into Your nature. ... My youngest son, Elijah, loves to dig my old cowboy boots and straw hat out of the closet. (No matter where they live and no matter what they do, every Texan still has a pair of boots and a cowboy hat somewhere in their closet). The boots come up to his waist and the hat swallows his head. He loves to go through the house roping the furniture and tying up the "bad cowboys." He wants to grow up quick so he can be a "real cowboy." He loves being three, but it seems he would love even better to be thirty. As we come to know You, Your Spirit comes into our hearts to begin to grow us up into Your nature. As we spend time with You and Your word, our thoughts become more like Your thoughts and our words more like Your words. We are growing up in spiritual maturity. At first, Your "boots and hat" are way too big and almost swallow us up. But You are gracious and You are patient, loving and correcting us, teaching and maturing us, little by little and day by day, as we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3.18). Individually and as the body of Christ, "we must grow up in every way into Him, who is the head, into Christ," so that "all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the full measure of the stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4.11-16). We want to grow up to be like You, Lord. Help us be patient and gracious with who we are now, but never settling for less that who You want us to become. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night at 7pm for prayer, praise, and healing worship in the Chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. Thank you for your prayers for our Healing Prayer Seminar in Versailles, KY this weekend. People have joined us from many different churches and traditions in the area to learn how to pray for others at the altar of the local church. Please cover us in prayer for our healing service tonight at the Versailles Methodist Church, 7-9pm. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Storms of Tribulation 8-19-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Transform me by the renewing of my mind as I submit my thoughts to You. Conform me by the shaping of my desires as I submit my will to You. Let me be silent now as I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit. ... It's stormy outside. The wind and rain are blowing hard against the house. Many would say it's stormy inside -- inside our homes and inside our hearts. But storms bring rain when the land is dry and storms break away the dead branches that no longer bear life. Storms have a way a getting our attention and demanding our focus. They have a way of changing our agendas and redirecting our plans. They have a way of humbling our hearts and turning our thoughts to You. If they lead us to hold on more tightly to You, we can even thank You for the storms. "In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered; and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5.7-9). These are the days of our flesh -- the days of suffering through our storms, even though we too are sons and daughters of God. Let them humble us to seek You and to obey You. As the storm clouds gather in these days, let them gather us to You. You are the source of our eternal salvation; You are our security and strength in the midst of every storm. Use the storms and suffering that comes with them to make us more like You, to draw us closer to You. "We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14.22, KJV). Let us not fear the tribulation or the storms or the suffering, let us fear the One who is Lord of the storm, in humble obedience and trusting faith. Only after the storm has worked its purpose in our souls, You will arise to rebuke it and declare, "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4.39). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night (8/20) at 7pm in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington (2800 Tates Creek Rd) for our monthly, city-wide gathering of prayer, praise, and healing worship. Our team will be leading, while I am leading a Healing Prayer Seminar to pray for others at Versailles United Methodist Church this Friday night 7-9, Saturday 10-3, and with a healing service Saturday night 7-9. This is sponsored by St. Andrews Anglican Church (www.StAndrewsKy.org) and held at Versailles United Methodist Church -- all are welcome. Please write us for details. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

A Thief in the Night 8-18-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the light of the glory of Your presence fill my soul. May You increase as I decrease. May You speak as I listen. May You lead as I follow. ... "For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape. But you, beloved, are not in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of the light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5.2-5). "But you, beloved..." -- Lord, let us not forget the contrast of these words. We are in the world, but we are not of this world. We are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be Your people in the midst of this world to transform this world in the power of Your Spirit to the glory of our Father. Forgive when we forget the contrast; forgive us when we allow compromise and complacency to erase the distinctions between those who follow the world and those who follow the Word. You are the Word of God and You are the Light of life. "The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1.1-5). On the day of the Lord, the world will be surprised as You come suddenly and unexpectedly like a thief in the night. But we are not the world, and we are not to be surprised, according to Your Word. We are not in the dark, we are in the light; and You are our Light. "Again 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). Let us not be confused into thinking we are called to surprised in the darkness on the day of the Lord, but let us embrace our call to be found shining as lights in the midst of the darkness, filled with the light of Your Spirit, as beacons of hope pointing others to You. As You said to Your first disciples long ago, You continue to say to Your disciples today, "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become children of Light" (John 12.36). Yes, Lord. We embrace our calling as children of Light. Come let Your Light shine through us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night (8/20) at 7pm in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington (2800 Tates Creek Rd) for our monthly, city-wide gathering of prayer, praise, and healing worship. Our team will be leading, while I am leading a Healing Prayer Seminar to pray at the altar in the local church at Versailles United Methodist Friday night, Saturday, and with a healing service Saturday night. This is sponsored by St. Andrews Anglican Church (www.StAndrewsKy.org) and held at Versailles United Methodist Church -- all are welcome. Please write us for details. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Living in Him 8-17-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Cleanse my thoughts in the blood of Jesus; purify my heart in the fire of Your Holy Spirit; draw me near into the arms of my Father. ... "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 2.6-7). Each one of us who are called by Your name have made a decision along the way to put our hope and our trust in You. We have bowed our knees, believed in our hearts, and confessed with our mouths, "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2.11). We have welcomed Your Holy Spirit in us, the "Spirit of Jesus Christ," now living in our hearts and conforming us to Your nature, so that "living is Christ" (Philippians 1.19-21). Teach us how to live our lives in You; teach us how to be rooted and built up in You; teach us how to be established in the faith; teach us how to abound in thanksgiving. It cannot be by our will power or human strength; we can't make that happen. But as we humble ourselves to depend upon You and commit ourselves in trusting faith to You, Your Spirit is grounding us and strengthening us so that we may stand firm and bear fruit of Your nature in our lives. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts" (Zechariah 4.6). In these moments of prayer at the foundation of our day, these are moments of trust and dependence, moments of being established in the faith, moments of preparation and advance, moments of growing in maturity and strength by welcoming the presence and power of Your Spirit to live our lives to the glory of our Father. Father, be glorified in our lives -- by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night (8/20) at 7pm in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington (2800 Tates Creek Rd) for our monthly, city-wide gathering of prayer, praise, and healing worship. Our team will be leading, while I am leading a Healing Prayer Seminar to pray at the altar in the local church at Versailles United Methodist Friday night, Saturday, and with a healing service Saturday night. This is sponsored by St. Andrews Anglican Church (www.StAndrewsKy.org) and held at Versailles United Methodist Church. Please write us for details. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Terror is not Victory 8-16-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of all I am. As best as I can, and all by Your grace, I commit this day and my life into Your hands. ... "Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56.1-4). In these troubling days, terrorists claim victory and murderers of women and children are exalted as heroes of their faith in the name of their god. Evil is called good; demonic strategies of terror are condoned and justified as necessary for peace. Yet evil will not be appeased and the perception of victory will only fan the flames of unholy war. When the stated goal of terror is to drive a people into the sea by any means necessary, nothing less will satisfy the lust for blood. Yet all was foretold long ago and all must come to pass until the day of Your glory -- the great and terrible day of the Lord. A great day for those who yearn for Your coming to redeem and restore our broken hearts and our broken world, and terrible for those who persist in choosing to resist Your Word and Your will. Yet, You are using even the suffering and persecution and evil of these days to open the blinded eyes to Your truth and open the hardened hearts to Your love. "See, I am sending My messenger to prepare the way before Me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight -- indeed, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears? For He is like refiner's fire and fuller's soap; He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the descendents of Levi and refine them like gold and silver until they present offering to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years" (Malachi 3.1-4). Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts as You prepare the way of the Lord. Remove confusion and bring understanding. Lord Jesus, our Messiah and Christ, let us be found faithful in prayer and in truth, standing in agreement with You and Your word rather than the world when You come in glory. Heavenly Father, give us Your wisdom and Your grace to understand Your will and Your ways. We pray for the day You will come and establish Your Kingdom forever in final victory throughout all the earth. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night (8/20) at 7pm in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington (2800 Tates Creek Rd) for our monthly, city-wide gathering of prayer, praise, and healing worship. Our team will be leading, while I am leading a Healing Prayer Seminar to pray at the altar in the local church at Versailles United Methodist Friday night, Saturday, and with a healing service Saturday night. This is sponsored by St. Andrews Anglican Church (www.StAndrewsKy.org) Please write us for details. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Father's Love 8-15-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As Your Holy Spirit lifts the eyes of my heart to You, I see my Father. As Your Holy Spirit opens the ears of my spirit to hear Your voice, I hear the words of my Father. You are One -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and You desire to be one with us in the communion of prayer. ... "As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love" (John 15.9). Help our minds to embrace this truth; help our hearts to receive this love. The same way the Father loves You is the same way that You love us. Teach us how to abide in this love -- to live in it and let it live in us, to let it become our life. Remove from us all sense of unworthiness and all confusion about this truth. Your Word reveals Your truth, and Your truth is You love us just as our Father loves You. We have not lived a sinless life as You have, yet You love us as our Father loves You. We have not fulfilled every purpose in perfect obedience to every call of our Father as You have, yet You love us as our Father loves You. Your love is not conditional upon our success, our obedience, or our goodness -- You just love us. And the measure of Your love is not dependent upon the measure of our righteousness, You love us all just as our Father loves You. And we can't begin to grasp how much our Father loves You -- nor can we begin to grasp how much You love us. But let this truth begin to seep down deep into our souls, to bring the sense of peace and security and intimacy in You that You intend by the truth of these words. As we do, we will become increasingly free to abide in Your love and to abide in 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Eyes on Israel 8-13-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your Word seep deep down inside of me, let the glory of the presence of Your Spirit rise up in me, as I watch and wait for You. ... It is amazing that the eyes of the world are continually turned to the tiny nation of Israel. It is no accident that all the people of all the nations are finding themselves increasingly unable to be neutral in their opinions about the fate of this nation. Let us be led by You in the forming of our opinions, let us be led by Your Spirit as we turn to You in prayer. "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8.26-27). All has been foretold long ago, yet now we see it unfold before our eyes. In Your Word, the focus of the world turns to the nation of Israel and the city of Babylon at the end of this age. How exciting and how frightening it is to be alive in these days. Give us humility to seek You and seek our Your will revealed in Your Word as we make our choices and form our opinions. Let us not be led by politics but by Your presence, not by the wisdom of this world, but by the wisdom that comes from above. As the nations are gathered and sorted on one side of obedience or the other, let us be found in obedience to You. As the remnant of the faithful are found in You, no matter the cost, let us be found in that remnant. In humility we ask for wisdom, understanding, and direction, as we renounce the confusion that has come upon the mind of the world in these matters, in the name of Jesus. "The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. So you shall know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, My holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it" (Joel 3.16-17). Be our refuge, O Lord. Be the refuge and the stronghold of Your people. Let us not find our strength the approval of the nations but in the favor of our God. Let us stand with one another as we stand in You. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Healing Prayer Seminar On Friday evening, August 19 from 7-9 p.m., and Saturday, August 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., St. Andrew’s Anglican Church will host a two day seminar on healing prayer by Tommy Hays of Messiah Ministies, that will be held at the Versailles United Methodist Church. The event costs $10 and includes a boxed lunch. Invite your friends to attend this wonderful opportunity to learn more about healing prayer. Sign up at the information table or contact Mary Ann Duddy by email at Maduddy2@aol.com, or 859-873-9290 for more information. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Words from the Heart 8-12-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak Your name out loud as the first word from my mouth this day -- "Jesus." Just speaking Your name begins to affect the spiritual atmosphere around me and it begins to affect the spiritual atmosphere of my soul. "Jesus...Jesus...Jesus." ... "For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12.34). What we speak is evidence of what is in our hearts. Our words bear witness for us or against us, because our words bear witness of what is hidden in our hearts. As You said, "The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12.35-37). Purify our hearts and sanctify our tongues. Empower us to release life with our words and not death, to encourage and build up and not destroy and tear down. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits" (Proverbs 18.21). There is a mixture of the treasure buried in our hearts, both good and evil, releasing a mixture of good and evil in the power of our words. Give us courage to see the evil that remains in our hearts and give us the humility to confess it before You, that You may forgive us and cleanse us, that You may change our hearts to be more like Your heart. Then the words we speak will be Your words of life. Then we will proclaim the name of Jesus because the nature of Jesus will be in our hearts. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Here I am 8-11-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here I am, to seek You, to listen, and to pray. Help me get quiet and get still. Give me patience to watch and wait in the silence of surrender, as Your Holy Spirit centers my heart and my thoughts on You. ... Here I am -- to watch and to wait Here I am -- to listen and pray Lead me Lord, by Your Spirit each day Lead me Lord, in the path of Your ways Yes, Lord. Thank You for this new song You've written on my heart this morning. How are we to lead others unless first we are led? How can we give away what we have not received? Fill us afresh with Your Spirit each day, so that You can pour us out to bring refreshing to the dry places. Form Your desires in our hearts each day, so that our desires reveal the desires of Your heart. Form Your thoughts in our minds each day, to that the choices we make are made more with the mind of Christ. This is a process and a lifestyle of a lifelong journey. Here's where the journey begins each day -- here in the place watching and waiting, listening and praying, entrusting our hearts and our minds to You again each day in the first moments of the morning. "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when call upon Me and come and pray to Me, I will hear you. When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile" (Jeremiah 29.11-14). Yes, Lord. You honor our choices in the freedom of the will You have given us. We can choose how to spend our time, how to begin each day. We can choose each day whom we will serve. When we choose our own path instead of Yours, by Your principles and by our choices, we are driven away from intimacy with You and we are exiled into a place that is far from Your presence. Gather our hearts and gather our thoughts back to You. You will not force us, You will not override the freedom of the will You have given us; but You call us to come and to seek, to listen and pray. As we seek You, we will find You. As You restore us and renew us, You will release us again into the plans of Your purpose. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

International Justice Mission 8-10-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name be exalted in all the earth and here in my heart. I turn my thoughts to You in these first moments of the day. ... "Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1.17). Yeshi prayed in the Spirit last night in our city-wide, intercessory prayer group Margaret Therkelsen faithfully and sacrificially has led every week for over twenty years. We turn our hearts to You in praise and then in the silence, then in the spirit of intercession we begin pray for our city and region and the nations as Your Spirit leads. Yeshi is one Your faithful intercessors, an Ethiopian woman, who has seen much and endured much through the brokenness of the world, yet prays with a purity of heart and fervency of Your Spirit with her eyes firmly fixed on You. Though her words were English, it was the voice of Your Spirit crying out for the oppressed, crying out for those who are crying out to You to be rescued from their oppressors. Through her, You were opening our eyes to the suffering and oppressed in Sudan and Ethiopia and throughout the earth who are suffering and tormented by abuse of power and cruelty of selfish greed, by hatred and racism, by the unimaginable evils of wicked men. I know You begin to move heaven and earth when You hear her pray, and I know You begin to move my heart. You were confirming in my heart a call to another depth of the ministry of deliverance. You've been teaching me and empowering me to teach us others how to take our authority in Christ to break the yoke of demonic oppression from the necks of Your children, that they may be free to fulfill their destiny in You. But lately You've been calling me as well to join others in the physical deliverance from oppression as well as spiritual deliverance. Just as You share Your gospel of salvation to others through Your people, just as You minister Your healing love through Your people, You also desire to rescue the oppressed through Your people. The oppressed are crying out to You, and You are crying out through Your intercessors, to send Your people to bring deliverance from physical and governmental oppression -- children sold into slavery, women forced into prostitution, widows cheated out of their security, and men bound by forced servitude for debts they will never be able to repay. They cry out to You to expose injustice and all the forms of oppression and cruelty, even in the face of laws intended for their protection, while law enforcers abuse their power for their own wicked gain and cruel lust. You look from heaven for someone to stand in the gap, to hear their cry, to answer Your call for deliverance, and to take up their cause. Though You could do it with a blast of Your power from heaven, You have chosen to do it through Your people, as in every other form of ministry on earth. You've been moving on my heart to take my part in obedience to Your call to answer the cries and prayers of the oppressed. In September, I will travel again to India, this time as a lawyer rather than as a deliverance minister -- or rather a different kind of deliverance minister. Our team will work with the base team of the International Justice Mission there to gather evidence and pled our case using the laws of their nation to expose injustice and set the captives free -- mostly women and children sold or forced into bonded labor. They have almost lost hope, yet You have heard their cries for freedom. They may not know it yet, but their hope is in You, Lord Jesus Christ. Though Your ministry of deliverance from oppression through this small team of Christian lawyers may only affect the lives of a few people, it will affect the lives of those people for all eternity. Here I am, Lord -- send me. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'd appreciate your prayers as our team prepares for this mission to India August 31 through September 11 with this ministry of Christian lawyers, International Justice Mission: www.ijm.org Please be praying for my old law partner in Texas to answer the call to the mission the Lord is preparing for him at the right time. He knows who he is and so does God. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Fresh Wineskins 8-9-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me afresh with the fullness of Your Spirit. ... "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins" (Mark 2.22). Father, You desire to fill us each day with the new wine of Your Holy Spirit. But to fill us afresh each day, we must turn afresh to You each day. You pour Your new wine into fresh wineskins -- the wineskins of our hearts. They are fresh because they are continually being filled up and poured out -- filled up with Your Spirit in the place of prayer, then poured out to others as we rise and go forth to be vessels of Your Spirit in the world. Some may not understand. Some may sneer that we are "filled with new wine" as they see the joy of the Lord on our faces and hear the words of the Spirit from our mouths. But it will be the fullness of Your Spirit that has filled us afresh with Your presence and power from on high each day (Acts 2.13). Let us "be filled with the Spirit" afresh each day as we open the new wineskins of our hearts to You afresh each day (Ephesians 5.18). 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our ministry address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Days of Preparation 8-8-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my strength and shield, my strong tower. I put my faith and hope in You. ... "These are days of preparation." Yes, Lord. What we experience in small measure now, we will experience in full measure then. As much as we think we have known, we have known but a foretaste -- a foretaste of revival, of the harvest of souls, of the signs and wonders of God; and a foretaste of tribulation, of persevering in the face of persecution, of being Your light in the midst of the darkness. Prepare us now that we may prosper then. Purify our souls and quicken our spirits, hone our faith and teach us to pray. Help us learn to listen for the leading of Your voice and to respond in obedience to Your command. Align us and position us, teaching us to trust You and one another, as we look to You and cover each others' backs. Sharpen the weapons of our warfare and instruct us in the keys of Your kingdom. Let it be said of us in the day of Your coming, Your "bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19.7). Though the seals be broken, the trumpets sound, and the bowls be poured out, yet will we shine as Your light in the midst of the darkness, yet will we stand firm under shadow of the Almighty, in the great harvest of souls at the end of this age. The world will look to those who are standing firm in the faith, fearless in the face of it all, because we have known and understood Your Word and Your ways, fully putting our faith and trust in You. Tribulation began in the garden when sin entered the earth, and it has increased, progressed, and even accelerated until it will grow into full maturity at the end of this age; yet so has faith, wisdom, and grace. Use the tribulations of today to prepare us for those to come tomorrow, and use those that come tomorrow to prepare us for those to come each day after that. Let us stand firm in the faith, trusting in You. Open the eyes of our heart to see Your plan and receive Your preparation. These are days of preparation -- let us not waste them, let us not fear them, but let us embrace them as we embrace 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our ministry address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Humility 8-7-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open my heart to receive You and open my eyes to seek You, as I welcome You into my life again this day. ... It seems You are saying, "Humility is desperate dependence upon God. Pride is dependence upon yourself." Yes, Lord. Slay our pride and work Your humility into our hearts. Teach us how to humble ourselves in Your sight, so that You may lift us up (James 4.10). True humility is not self-deprecation or denying the gifts and favor of God on our lives, but an awareness and acknowledgment that You are the source of everything of worth in our lives. Pride is just the opposite -- acknowledging what is of worth without acknowledging that You are One who is worthy of the praise. Father, You have revealed Your heart and Your nature and Your will to us in Jesus Christ. And You work Your will into our nature by Your Holy Spirit, who is teaching us and changing us, to conform us into the image of Christ and to restore us to the image of God. Jesus taught us by His example the path and the power of humility. He "humbled Himself" in Your sight and in submission to Your will, so that You "exalted Him." This is the "same mind" that You desire that we have -- this "same mind" in us "that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2.5-11). This is the mind and the heart that is desperately dependent upon God. This is the place where we come to the end of ourselves, to only speak what we hear You speaking and only do what we see You doing. This is the place where we become more like You each day. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our ministry address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Desperate for Your Love 8-6-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Shine the light of glory into the depths of my soul as I lift my face and open my heart to You this day. "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4.6). ... You woke me with Your Spirit singing a new song in my spirit this morning-- a song of urgency and determination, a song of desperation. ... O Lord, I seek You O Lord, I need You I'm desperate for Your love For Your power from above I need to feel You To know that You're real too I'm desperate for Your love For Your power from above I'm need a breakthrough I need to get through I'm desperate for Your love For Your power from above And I will not give up until I know that You are here That You listen and You hear. And I will hold on tight on to the altar of Your love Until I know Your power from above I'm desperate for Your love. "When he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even the more loudly, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stood still and said, 'Call him here.' And they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take heart, get up, He is calling you' " (Mark 10.47-49). We are trained to be self-sufficient and independent, to not need anyone or anything. It's implied that we are to suffer in the silence, to not make a scene, to go with the flow and not make waves. But You call us to be desperate, to desperately need You, to be utterly dependent on You. You desire a people who are willing to make a scene in shameless desperation, crying out for Your presence and crying out for Your power. Lord, make us more desperate for You -- desperate for Your love, for Your power from above. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'd appreciate your prayers for us. I'm teaching personal prayer ministry of inner healing and deliverance at Cornerstone Church in Paducah, Kentucky, teaching it by doing it with the prayer teams. Please pray for breakthroughs in the power of God's love. And I pray for breakthoughs of God's power in your life. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our ministry address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Children of Glory 8-5-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name be exalted in all the earth and here in my heart. ... "It was fitting that God, for whom and through who all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to called them brothers and sisters" (Hebrews 2.10-11). You know our sufferings because You have endured the sufferings of this world, as You humbled Yourself in the likeness of human flesh and blood (Philippians 2.5-8). In all that we face, in all that we endure, You have gone before us and You are now going through them with us, as You bring us to glory. The refiner's fire of the sufferings and ordeals of this age becomes the fire of Your glory, as You sanctify us and perfect us through all that we endure in the brokenness of this age. "We are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be gloried in Him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us" (Romans 8.16-18). You are bringing many children to glory -- not wasting a moment of our sufferings, but using every opportunity to make us more like You. Though in our flesh and earthly wisdom, we would choose another means, but this is means You have chosen, for Yourself and for us. Give us faith and give us courage to look to You, to hold on to You, and to follow You, as You bring us through. 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 MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our ministry address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com and www.morningbymorning.injesus.com God bless you!

Spirit of Zerubbabel 8-4-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Wake me each morning with Your Word in my spirit. Let Your Word by a lamp for my feet and a light to my path to guide the steps of my day. ... "The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai, on the twenty-fourth day of the month. Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, saying I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of the kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and their horses and their riders shall fall, every one by the sword of a comrade. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you says the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2.20-23). In these days, You are shaking the heavens and the earth, and all that is not built upon the foundation of Your truth will crumble and fall, so that only what is true remains (Hebrews 12.25-29; Matthew 7.24-27). The false kingdoms of this world and the evil one who sits on the throne of these kingdoms will be destroyed (Revelation 2.13; Luke 1.52; Isaiah 14.1-23). You entrusted dominion of this earth to the sons of man -- speaking of male and female alike, throughout all the generations (Genesis 1.26-31). Yet we, as a people, relinquished our authority through the disobedience of our sin (Genesis 3.1-24). Since that time, the "ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient" sits enthroned in the false temple of our praise every time we sin in our pride and rebellion against Your word and Your will, "following the course of this world" (Ephesians 2.1-3). 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). Through his deception and our sin, the "king of Babylon" has stolen our birthright and snatched away the signet ring of our authority, to establish the throne of his government among the nations and kingdoms of this world who submit to his authority by rejecting Your authority (Isaiah 14.3-21). But in these last days, You are stirring the spirit of Zerubbabel, the governor of Your people, to establish the government of Your Kingdom again in the earth and throughout eternity. Even his name means "children of Babylon," which speaks of the reversal of the curse and the redemption of our souls. Though we were children of the evil one as sons of disobedience, blinded by his deception, we are being restored and redeemed by the light of Your truth and the blood of Your Lamb. We are rising in the power of Your Spirit to receive the signet ring of Your authority, to rule and "reign on earth" as Your kingdom of priests and kings, once again enthroning You in the temple of our praise (Revelation 5.9-10). The government of this world will rest again upon Your shoulders, and of Your kingdom there shall be no end (Isaiah 9.6-7). "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11.15). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Praying friends, I would appreciate your prayers as I travel to Conerstone Church in Paducah, KY for a series of personal prayer ministry appointments to minister inner healing and deliverance with their prayer teams and then preach on Sunday. The Lord is cleansing and purifying His bride for His coming. God bless you! 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 and at: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Our Shepherd and Shelter 8-3-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You strengthen me as I rest in You. You teach me as I seek Your wisdom. You make me more like You as I behold You. ... In the Revelation of Jesus that You showed to John to encourage Your disciples of all generations, he saw "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!' " (Revelation 7.9-10). And all the heavenly beings fell on their faces and worshiped God. We fall on our faces and worship, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are the source of our salvation -- salvation from sin, from fear and terror, from sickness and infirmity, from all the power of the wickedness of the world, the flesh, and the devil -- as we turn our eyes to You and open our hearts to You and fall down in worship before You. John asked who these where, who were gathered from every people and language of the earth in the worship of God for the gift of salvation. One of the heavenly beings answered, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship Him day and night within His temples, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them....For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd...." (Revelation 7.13-17). Shepherd us and shelter us, Lord. Lead us through every ordeal we may ever face in a broken, fallen world that is shaken and purged under the consequences of the sins of the generations of the earth. Teach us how to "live in the shelter of the Most High" and how to "abide the shadow of the Almighty" as we trust in You alone as our "refuge" and "fortress" in the days of trouble (Psalm 91.1-2). May we join those from every nation who are thankful and safe, worshiping You for our salvation before Your throne forever, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. 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!

Worthy is the Lamb 8-2-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy are You, Lord, and worthy is Your name. You are worthy of "honor and glory and blessing" (Revelation 5.12). ... Your Word speaks about tremendous judgment to come upon the earth in the last days. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, written through John, speaks of these judgments being written on a scroll sealed with seven seals. John "saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?' And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it" (Revelation 5.1-4). "As it is written, 'There is no one who is righteous, not even one;' " for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3.10 and 23). Yet, as John wept that there was no one worthy to take up and open the scroll, his eyes were turned to You, as one of the heavenly beings declared, "See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals" (Revelation 5.5). Lord Jesus, You are worthy to release the judgments of God, for You have paid the price through the sacrifice of Your sinless life for us, that we might know mercy in the day of judgment. All who call upon Your name, in repentance and in faith, will know Your mercy instead of Your judgment on that day. "The Scripture says, 'No one who believes in Him will be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on Him. For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' " (Romans 10.11-13). For all who call upon Your name, in humble repentance and trusting faith, Your "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2.13). As You open the seals and release Your judgments, Lord, "in wrath may You remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3.2). Prepare our hearts now that we can join in the "new song" of those who fall down in worship before You: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slaughtered and by Your blood You ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to God, and they will reign on the earth" (Revelation 5.9-10). "Worthy is the Lamb" (Revelation 5.12)! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I have been writing a book this summer on principles of inner healing and deliverance in the Holy Spirit's preparation of the bride of Christ for the coming of the Lord. Please pray for me to get this finished and published, while not neglecting the rest of the ministry, all in the way the Lord plans. And I pray for you to fulfill all He is calling you to do in this hour, all in His way and all to His glory. God bless you! 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

"He Must Increase" 8-1-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By Your grace, You are calling me to come spend these moments of the morning with You. By our grace, I come. ... "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3.30). Yes, Lord Jesus, increase. Increase as the focus of my life. Increase as the source of security and strength, of wisdom and provision, of calling and destiny, in every area of my life. As You increase, help me to decrease. To decrease from dependence upon my own strength and wisdom and direction apart from You. In thankfulness, I know You have brought me a long way down the path of surrender and trust; and in humility, I know I have so much further to go. Lead me further each day down this path to the place of complete surrender and complete trust -- the place where You increase and I decrease. I hear You calling, and I choose to come. ... In Jesus' name, I pray. 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 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