Diamond in the Rough 3-23-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are My Lord and Savior, My Healer and Deliverer, My God, My King, and My Best Friend. You are the One who sees my heart and loves me anyway. ... "He's a diamond in the rough." Those words have always stuck with me. I had grown up on a cotton farm and then in little oil towns around west Texas and eastern New Mexico. I had worked my summers in middle school, high school, and college mostly hauling hay and driving tractors. I even filled in a couple of weeks as a roughneck on an oil rig until the reality of losing a finger or a toe from hauling drill pipe up and out of a greasy derrick really sank in and I went back to hauling hay. But now I was being considered for position as a trial lawyer in a Dallas law firm where I had worked part of my summer through law school as a law clerk. The lawyer who was pulling for me to be on the list of new hires from the graduating class passed along the summary of how I was seen by the hiring committee -- "a diamond in the rough." It felt good and it hurt at the same time. They were willing to see my potential but not fooled by my present and my past. That's how You are, Lord. With Your Father's heart, You see me as You created me to be. You see me in the fullness of the potential of my purpose and destiny, along with all the gifting, calling, and anointing You have given me and imparted to me by Your grace. But at the same time, You are not fooled by my present and my past. You see the diamond, but You also see the rough. You see my true self that needs to be nurtured and healed as You call forth my true identity and destiny, but You also see the false self that I have created and I have allowed others to create out of my own hurts and wounds, pride and insecurities, that needs to broken off in order to reveal the diamond hidden beneath the rough. When You called me to the ministry of inner healing -- healing from the inside out -- You began to remind me of those words and that image from long ago. You began to give me Your Father's heart to see Your sons and daughters as You see them, like a diamond in the rough. You taught me how to confront the "rough" and call the sin for the sin that it was in order to lead a person to confession and repentance in submitting every area of their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. You taught me how to help them acknowledge the pain and the shame that was still buried in the hurts and wounds of their past, from the things they had done and the things done to them. You taught me how to help them let Your Holy Spirit release it all to You -- step by step and layer by layer, liking pealing the layers of an onion with patience and faith, persistence and truth. You taught me how to speak life to the dry bones in the power of Your name and call forth their God-given purpose and passion to see and be who You created them to be. You began to teach me how to listen to You and speak Your heart to them, as You called forth the diamond and broke off the rough, through inner healing. And You began to teach me how to take the authority You had given me as Your disciple and Your ambassador over all the power of the enemy of our souls who seeks to keep us bound up in the idolatries and addictions of the bondage of self in our flesh. You were teaching me how to bind up the broken-hearted and set the captives free, as You proclaimed through my prayers the coming of the kingdom of God and the year of the Lord's favor in each person's life (Isaiah 61; Luke 4). Much of it You taught me as You used others to minister this kind of life and healing to me, as You gave me the courage and humility to set aside my pride and fear to receive the ministry of the healing love of God through those You had anointing to be Your healing hands and living words to me, as instruments of Your grace. You reminded me how when You saw the woman at the well, You went much more deeply than the surface (John 4:1-42). You looked into her past and confronted her shame and her need for love and acceptance. You could have just ministered a miracle, but You ministered inner healing as You exposed her past, so she could release it to You. In her healing, her eyes were opened to see You as her Messiah; and in her joy, she hurried off to tell everyone she knew about the love of the One "who told me everything I have ever done!" (verse 4:29) "Many Samaritans in the city believed in Him because of the woman's testimony" (verse 4:39). And You reminded me how the friends of the paralyzed man pressed through the crowds and every barrier to bring him to you for healing (Mark 2:1-12). You could have simply worked the miracle as said, "Rise and walk." But instead You looked beneath the surface of the problem to the root of the issue, ministering inner healing from the inside out. You spoke to the sins of his past as well as to the manifestation of that sin in his body; and he was healed. You expressed Your authority divine insight and revelation knowledge to not only work miracles, but also to expose the root and the source of all that keeps Your people from experiencing the healing and freedom of Your will. " 'But so that you many know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' -- He said to the paralytic -- 'I say to you, stand up, take up your mat and go to your home' " (verse 2:10-11). Thank You for the ministry of Your healing love. Thank You for the ministry of inner healing and deliverance. In the same way that You have ministered Your healing and deliverance to me, now You have given me the heart and the joy to minister Your healing love to others by the power and authority of Your Spirit living through me. In the same way we are healed and comforted by You, so You send us to be Your heart and hands of healing and comfort to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). There is still much to receive and there is still much to give. Freely have I received, now freely am I to give (Matthew 10:8). Lord, thank You for letting others see the diamond in the rough in me, so now I can minister that same Father's heart of Your healing love to others. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this morning's devotional become a little more involved than I expected to express much of my calling and ministry. If you would like to know more about these biblical, spiritual principles for personal transformation through inner healing and deliverance, you might consider ordering my dvd's from a healing prayer weekend called "Preparing the Way of the Lord." You can send a note or order it from the resources page of our web site: http://www.messiah-ministries.org To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Signs of the Times 3-22-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and await Your coming, for You are always coming to those You watch and wait for You. ... "The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, 'When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah'" (Matthew 16:1-3). The first day of Spring came this week. And then a day of snow came this week. What are the signs of the times? How should we interpret these things? It seems, at the very least, these signs would say that things are not right. Like a fever lets us know that something in the body is not right, so the earth is letting us know that something is not right. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. ... We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly while we wait for adoption, for the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:19-23). It is Your judgment and Your mercy to let us know when things are not right. It is a call to join in the travail of prayer, to awaken us to the reality of the evil and adultery in our generation and in our own hearts. It is a call to repentance -- to confess our sin and the sins of our generations so we can turn away from sin and turn to You by the grace of Your love for us. Through repentance, Your "mercy triumph over judgment" (James 2:13). Father, open my eyes to the signs of the times. Open my ears to the cry of creation and cry of the Spirit. Give me courage and hope to enter into this season of birth pangs, as Christ is being formed in me and in all who turn to You in repentance and faith. The sign of Jonah was the ark -- the only place of safety in the coming days of judgment. You are the Ark. You are the only Place of safety in the coming days of judgment, and You will lift us up into the safety of Your protection. As we turn to You in repentance for ourselves and for our generations, Your mercy will triumph over judgment. This is the redemption of our bodies and the adoption of our souls as the children of God we long to have in the fullness of Your salvation -- not only our redemption, but the redemption of all creation. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we recorded The Fountain live last Friday Night. Please send me a note if you would like to order it on CD and experience it with us. We are working out the distribution details and want to share the blessing. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Forty Days 3-21-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of the morning, I turn my eyes toward You, opening my heart to Your Holy Spirit and resting in the arms of my Father, here in the communion of prayer. ... "Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty day and forty nights" (Exodus 24:15-18). Lord, You have called me again this year to a season of fasting for forty days from to the repentance of Ash Wednesday to the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Thank You for allowing me the grace of juices of fruit and fluids of vitamins to help sustain my strength and health. You are drawing me up to the mountain of Your presence; but the closer I come, the more Your devouring fire is revealing and consuming my flesh -- the unsanctified areas of my soul that are not yet like Jesus. Like Isaiah, the more I behold Your glory, the more I find myself crying out in my spirit, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" (Isaiah 6:5). John Wesley charged his preachers with nineteen questions to affirm their calling and commitment to You before commissioning them as ambassadors of Your gospel. At ordination, I also affirmed those historic vows as a Methodist minister -- one of "Mr. Wesley's preachers," but above all, one of Your preachers. Question sixteen affirms the spiritual discipline of fasting as a means of growing in holiness of heart and life: "Will you recommend fasting and abstinence, both by precept and example?" -- to teach it and to live it. Fasting speaks of the process of sanctification and spiritual transformation -- death to the indulgences of our own desires of the flesh in order to be awakened to a life of the desires of the Your Spirit. "So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God 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 also may be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:12-17). By grace You have called me to this process, and by grace You are bringing me through it. Morning by morning and day by day, I become more desperate and dependent upon You alone. May this season of fasting be a means of Your grace to join in the struggle of Your suffering, as it becomes a means of Your grace to join the joy of Your resurrection. "He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards He was famished" (Matthew 4:2). Lord, make me more famished still for You, for Your Word, and for Your Spirit. I stand on Your promise by faith, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (verse 5:6). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please join with me in praying for Rev. Jeffrey Bealmear and his mission team as he preaches and ministers to the people of Honduras this coming week. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Go Out to War" 3-20-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I prepare my heart for You, as I welcome You to come and prepare me for the battles and adventures of the day. ... "When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Before you engage in the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the troops, and say to them: 'Hear, O Israel! Today you are drawing near to do battle against your enemies. Do not lose heart, or be afraid, or panic, or be in dread of them; for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you victory!' " (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). The wars and battles in the natural realm of the Old Testament speak to us of the wars and battles in the spiritual realm of the New Testament. Our true enemies are not flesh and blood, but the spiritual forces of wickedness of "this present darkness," who often deceive and confuse those of flesh and blood to be the instruments of wickedness and destruction through their words and actions in our lives (Ephesians 6:12). Every day is a new battle. And in this broken and fallen world cloaked under cover of darkness and deception by "the ruler of this world," we are called to "go out to war" (John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11). As we do, Your light overcomes the darkness by every choice we make to walk in the truth of Your light rather than bowing to the deception of the darkness. You give us the victory as we enforce the victory of Your cross in the power of Your Spirit. "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:31). Sometimes it seems like I am outnumbered and overwhelmed, but I do not fight alone. In fact, I cannot fight alone. Apart from you I would already be defeated. But You are the Priest who stands before me to encourage me and fill me with courage and faith for the battle. You are the Warrior who rises within in me to give me Your heart and to give me Your victory. I need not fear, for You are with me, and by Your Holy Spirit, You are within me. You do not stand back in the safety of Heaven and send me "out to war", You arise in my heart to go out to war through me along with all those who welcome You into their hearts to give us heart for the battles we face on earth. The moment I take we stand in You and allow You to take Your stand in us, our enemy is defeated and the victory is won. "The Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's!" (1 Samuel 17:46) In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Obedience Brings Blessing 3-19-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You, my Father. I welcome You, Holy Spirit. Teach me the wisdom of Your ways and give me the desire to obey Your will. I watch and wait for Your leading in silent surrender before Your throne. ... "You shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. If you follow My statutes and keep My commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land. And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid. ... And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people" (Leviticus 26:3-12). Obedience brings blessing. You desire from me the obedience of a son, not the obedience of a slave or a hired hand. You desire obedience "from the heart" (Romans 6:17). This is the obedience that comes from the desire to please You and to trust You because I believe You love me and You know what is best for me. If I keep Your sabbaths, I will learn to rest in You. If I reverence Your sanctuary, I will know the place of peace in Your presence. If I lie down from the labors of my flesh and rest in the strength of Your Word and Your will, I will experience the Your love that casts away all my fears and anxieties and stress. As I continually welcome You to walk with me through the moments of my life, I will know with ever-increasing certainty that You are my God and I am Your son. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Clarity 3-18-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes to You. Let the light of Your truth shine into my soul, as I embrace the light of the glory of Your presence here in my heart. ... Last night at The Fountain, I was praying for a woman with deep faith, struggling to persevere through a hard season of anxiety and stress. As I was praying, You impressed upon me to pray for "clarity" -- clarity of thinking, clarity of perspective, clarity of devotion. You seemed to be showing me her weary mind needed peace and rest from the swirl of activity and chaos that seemed to engulf her. And because of the deep heart of compassion and mercy You have given her, she was drawn to carry all these burdens on herself as the enemy of her soul tried to twist her gift of God and use it against her to weigh her down and crush out her strength and hope. As I said "clarity" in my prayer, she burst into tears. You had been leading her to pray for "clarity." After we prayed, she showed me a bracelet she recently bought to remind her to pray. It was called "clarity." Part of the purpose of the words of knowledge You give us in prayer is to let us know in a very specific way that You are watching over us and You are with us in the struggles and sufferings we face (1 Corinthians 12:8). You are reminding us that You have the answers because You are the answer. We can trust Your leadings because we can trust You. Lord, open the eyes of my heart to see You more clearly. Remove the filters and distortions that cloud my thinking and blur my focus. Like sharpening the point of a pencil, narrow my thoughts to the One who knows the answer to every need I have because Your are the answer. You are the Word of Knowledge because You are the Word of God (John 1:1). Let me keep growing in the wisdom of Your ways and in the knowledge of who You are. "Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God know me now" (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we recorded The Fountain last night. If you would like to order a copy of the cd for yourself or to give to others, please send me a note. God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"I Die Daily" 3-17-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek You and I need You. I welcome You into my heart more deeply each day. Let me continually be emptied of myself and filled with You, as the Father and the Son come and make Your home in my heart by Your Holy Spirit (John 14:23). ... "Then He said to them all, 'If any want to be My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of Me and My words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels' " (Luke 9:23-26). Yes, Lord Jesus. I want to be Your follower. I want to life the live I was created to live and fulfill the fullness of my calling and destiny in this opportunity I have during this sliver of eternity I live in this earthly body. Remind me daily of this eternal perspective. Remind me daily to live for You and not myself. Remind me daily to choose by Your grace to take up my cross and follow You. As I deny myself, I embrace You, as You continue to come in glory into my heart and life. As Paul said, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31, NJKV). As John the Baptist said, "You must increase and I must decrease" (John 3:30, personalized). This is a choice You set before me each day -- to follow the world or follow You, to live for myself or live for You, to be ashamed of You or glorify You. I choose You again this day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, You are invited to Come to The Fountain! this Friday night 3/17 for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. Please spread the word that The Fountain is now on the 3rd Friday night instead of Saturday night. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Somebody's Praying 3-16-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I come into the Holy of Holies in prayer under the Blood of the Lamb. By Your grace, give me clean hands and a pure heart, as I lift my face to You in worship and prayer in the first offering of my day. ... "For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to make it holy to the Lord. For a multitude of the people ... had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover other than as prescribed. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'The good Lord pardon all who set their hearts to seek God, the Lord the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.' The Lord heard Hezekiah, and healed the people" (2 Chronicles 30:17-20). In Your mercy, it is Your heart to pardon and to heal all who set their hearts to seek You. You desire obedience and cleansing from sin. You desire hearts that are sanctified completely and set apart entirely unto You. But even in our disobedience You move on the hearts of others to pray for us for Your pardon and Your grace -- a grace that is only available through the Blood of the Passover Lamb. You are "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Thank You for those who are willing to intercede throughout the generations. Thank You for their prayers in submission to the leading of Your Spirit that open a window of Your grace for us. John Wesley said You do nothing except through prayer. It may be that the only reason any of us ever come to a place of setting our hearts to seek God is because someone has been praying, maybe even many generations before they even knew our names. It reminds of the song, "Somebody's praying ... I can feel it." Thank You for hearing their prayers for me. Thank You for putting those prayers on their hearts to pray. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Friday night 3/17 for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Led by the Spirit 3-15-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me listen for Your leading. ... "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). Lord, increase my sensitivity to the leading of Your Spirit. And increase my willingness to be flexible and obedient to follow. The ways of the Spirit are not the ways of my flesh. My flesh wants certainty and security and conformity. But Your Spirit comes in ways I don't expect and leads me to places I would not have gone. Being led by Your Spirit is part of growing into the maturity of relationship with You. I have to take time to know Your voice and listen for Your leading. I am called to have courage to rise and follow You at the prompting and directing of this spiritual Force as unseen as the wind, but just as real. This spiritual Force is a Personhood of Your Being -- the Holy Spirit of the Living God -- living in me and living through me and all those who are "born of the Spirit" and called by Your name as children of God. Your life on earth is my example. You were "led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" for forty days as You fasted and prayed (Matthew 4:1). Flesh would not choose that, but the Spirit did. "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5). You are freeing me from the weakness of my flesh, encouraging me each day to rise the power of Your Spirit and follow the leading of the will of God, which is often so contrary to my natural thoughts and desires. "The Spirit helps us in our weakness" and "the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (verse 8:26-27). Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit -- the "Sprit of Life in Christ Jesus" (verse 8:2). Thank You for the grace You are giving me to follow Your Spirit where You lead, even when my flesh does not want to go there. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 3/17 -- the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel at Centenary in Lexington, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. Paul Cooper will lead in worship and I will lead in prayer. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"The Battle at the Gate" 3-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open the gates of my heart and soul to You this day. I welcome You in as the King of Glory. ... "In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of His people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate" (Isaiah 28:5-6). Lord, I want to be among the remnant of Your people. I want to be counted as one who remains faithful and true by Your grace through every wave of judgment that comes and through every battle that is waged. But free me from the confusion of passivity and passivism that sits back waiting for Your return or waiting for You to do what You have called me to do in the power of Your strength and Spirit. In Your strength, let me take my place to obey Your command to "turn back the battle at the gate" of my city, and my family, and my heart. This is a spiritual battle, to be fought with the spiritual weapons of faith and courage, truth and justice, humility and grace. We are to wield "the weapons of our warfare" -- the name of Jesus, the power of Your blood, the sword of Your Spirit in the Word of God, worship and praise that exalts our God and confuses our enemies (2 Corinthians 10:4). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV). We are not to run in fear or to rest in passivism, we are "to stand" and "to withstand in the evil day" the enemy of our souls (verse 6:13). It is an all-volunteer army, but You are calling us and commanding us to volunteer, to be trained, and to be employed at Your command. In the name of Jesus, I renounce the passivity of the confused Christian culture of my generation. Though You came the first time as the gentle Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, You are coming now with fire in Your eyes, a sword in Your hand, and a robe dipped in blood as You lead the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11-16). "In righteousness He judges and makes war" (verse 19:11). These battles are fought through the choices we make every day. Be victorious in my heart that You can be victorious through my life to turn back the battle of evil forces and sinful flesh at the gates where You call me to take my stand. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Friday night 3/17 (not on Saturday any more) for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"The Battle at the Gate" 3-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open the gates of my heart and soul to You this day. I welcome You in as the King of Glory. ... "In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of His people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate" (Isaiah 28:5-6). Lord, I want to be among the remnant of Your people. I want to be counted as one who remains faithful and true by Your grace through every wave of judgment that comes and through every battle that is waged. But free me from the confusion of passivity and passivism that sits back waiting for Your return or waiting for You to do what You have called me to do in the power of Your strength and Spirit. In Your strength, let me take my place to obey Your command to "turn back the battle at the gate" of my city, and my family, and my heart. This is a spiritual battle, to be fought with the spiritual weapons of faith and courage, truth and justice, humility and grace. We are to wield "the weapons of our warfare" -- the name of Jesus, the power of Your blood, the sword of Your Spirit in the Word of God, worship and praise that exalts our God and confuses our enemies (2 Corinthians 10:4). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV). We are not to run in fear or to rest in passivism, we are "to stand" and "to withstand in the evil day" the enemy of our souls (verse 6:13). It is an all-volunteer army, but You are calling us and commanding us to volunteer, to be trained, and to be employed at Your command. In the name of Jesus, I renounce the passivity of the confused Christian culture of my generation. Though You came the first time as the gentle Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, You are coming now with fire in Your eyes, a sword in Your hand, and a robe dipped in blood as You lead the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11-16). "In righteousness He judges and makes war" (verse 19:11). These battles are fought through the choices we make every day. Be victorious in my heart that You can be victorious through my life to turn back the battle of evil forces and sinful flesh at the gates where You call me to take my stand. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Friday night 3/17 (not on Saturday any more) for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"The Battle at the Gate" 3-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open the gates of my heart and soul to You this day. I welcome You in as the King of Glory. ... "In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of His people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate" (Isaiah 28:5-6). Lord, I want to be among the remnant of Your people. I want to be counted as one who remains faithful and true by Your grace through every wave of judgment that comes and through every battle that is waged. But free me from the confusion of passivity and passivism that sits back waiting for Your return or waiting for You to do what You have called me to do in the power of Your strength and Spirit. In Your strength, let me take my place to obey Your command to "turn back the battle at the gate" of my city, and my family, and my heart. This is a spiritual battle, to be fought with the spiritual weapons of faith and courage, truth and justice, humility and grace. We are to wield "the weapons of our warfare" -- the name of Jesus, the power of Your blood, the sword of Your Spirit in the Word of God, worship and praise that exalts our God and confuses our enemies (2 Corinthians 10:4). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV). We are not to run in fear or to rest in passivism, we are "to stand" and "to withstand in the evil day" the enemy of our souls (verse 6:13). It is an all-volunteer army, but You are calling us and commanding us to volunteer, to be trained, and to be employed at Your command. In the name of Jesus, I renounce the passivity of the confused Christian culture of my generation. Though You came the first time as the gentle Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, You are coming now with fire in Your eyes, a sword in Your hand, and a robe dipped in blood as You lead the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11-16). "In righteousness He judges and makes war" (verse 19:11). These battles are fought through the choices we make every day. Be victorious in my heart that You can be victorious through my life to turn back the battle of evil forces and sinful flesh at the gates where You call me to take my stand. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Friday night 3/17 (not on Saturday any more) for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Arise and Shine 3-13-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be near to me today, as I willingly and deliberately submit my life into Your hands in these first moments of my day. ... "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). Lord, shine Your light into the depths of my soul like the light of the morning sun shining into the depths of dawn. Light my spirit like a candle so that I will shine with Your light today. As You drive the darkness out of me, then I will be like a lighted candle in Your hand as You carry me throughout the day driving out the darkness wherever You take me. Though my culture and the cultures of the earth are filled with darkness, You have called me to stand out from the darkness and to shine with the light of Your glory in the midst of the darkness. But I can only shine with Your light to the degree that I have embraced Your light and submitted to Your deliverance from the darkness that tries to linger in my soul. By Your grace, I can choose to walk in Your light or linger in the darkness with every decision set before me each day. "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of the light -- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.... but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it say, 'Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you' " (Ephesians 4:8-14). Help me live in Your light as Your light lives in me more each 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). In You, I will "Arise and shine; for my Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon me" (Isaiah 60:1, personalized). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 3/17 -- now the 3rd Friday night of every month instead of Saturday at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Father's Blessing 3-12-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You and my Father are One and You dwell in my heart by Your Holy Spirit. Father, I am Your son. I seek the blessing of Your presence and the inheritance of Your provision in every area of my life again today. ... "By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, 'bowing in worship over the top of his staff' " (Hebrews 11:20-21). My oldest son Zachary and I got away for a little time together yesterday. We were playing golf, but the conversations we had were much more important the shots we made. Zach is fifteen now and this year he has finally achieved one of the goals of his lifetime -- to be taller than me. At my height, it doesn't seem like such a lofty goal, but there is something in the heart of sons that tends to cause them to measure themselves by their fathers. And there is something in fathers that tends to make us want our sons to grow taller, run faster, do better. That's part of what was in Isaac's heart as he blessed his sons and what was in Jacob's heart as he blessed his sons and the sons of his sons. Part of the Father heart of God that You impart to our hearts is the desire to bless our sons and our daughters, to see them go farther than we could go in our generation. Part of the role and calling of the father is to speak life into the hearts of his sons and daughters, to affirm who they are and who they were created to be, to confirm their gifting and calling and anointing, and to celebrate their life and growth and maturity, so that they can pass it on as a blessing to the next generation. Father, forgive us when we fail to represent Your Father heart well. Forgive us when we fail to bless our sons and our daughters -- with our words, our time, our encouragement, our resources. Make up the difference of what they lack from us as You pour Your unfailing love into their hearts and bless them with Your holy hands. Let us be aware of the importance of our words and our presence in their lives and let us make them aware of the importance of allowing Your words and Your presence in their lives. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 3/17 -- the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

You Hear Me when I Call 3-11-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord and I need You, Lord. So I call to You and wait for the answer of Your manifest presence in my heart. ... When I am weary, You are my strength. When I feel misunderstood, You understand me. When others don't seem to value me, You remind me You created me with purpose and destiny. When I'm rejected, You accept me. When I'm troubled, You are my peace. Let me find my security and my significance in You alone. "But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him" (Psalm 4:3). Lord, keep me faithful to You. Thank You for being faithful to me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Grow in Grace 3-10-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call You "Lord" because I willingly choose to submit to Your Lordship in every area of my life, as best as I can and all by Your grace. You and my Father are One, and I welcome You to come take charge of my life and fill me afresh with Your life again today. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as I submit my will to Your will and my ways to Your ways. I know it is the process of a lifetime, and I thank You for Your patience and Your grace for me in the process. ... "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity" (2 Peter 3:18). Lord, I grow in Your grace as I grow in Your knowledge -- not knowledge about Jesus, but the knowledge of Jesus. You give grace to the humble but resist the proud (1 Peter 5:5). But as long as I am willing to be teachable and willing to yield my thoughts to Your thoughts and my ways to Your ways, You pour out Your grace upon me to learn and to change. In patience and in love, You are making me more like You each day and I am being "conformed to the image" of the Son of God (Romans 8:29). I have so far to go, but eternity is a long time. In the beginning of the process, my thoughts are not Your thoughts and my ways are not Your ways (Isaiah 55:8). But that's only the beginning. As You impart Your grace and Your knowledge to me, You are transforming me by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). It is Your will that I "have the mind of Christ" -- that Your thoughts become my thoughts and Your ways become my ways. From now until the day of eternity, keep changing my mind and my heart. As the worship song says, "Take my mind, transform it. Take my heart, and form it. Take my will, conform it -- to Yours, to Yours, O Lord. Holiness, Holiness -- is what You want from me." That's what I want from You, because You have put that desire in my mind and my heart by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Excited for the Adventure 3-9-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I think about my day, before I even intercede for others, I turn my eyes and my heart to You. In these first moments, let everything else fade away as I narrow my focus on You alone. ... As I try to center my thoughts on You this morning, my quiet, contemplative prayer is being interrupted my little boy, Elijah. He's excited and up early because today is "Donuts with Dads" at his preschool at our church. It was the last thought on his mind last night and the first thought this morning -- though I'm not sure if he's thinking more about the donuts or about the dads. For him, it's an adventure and he is filled with anticipation and excitement for the day. Father, fill my heart with anticipation and excitement for the day. Holy Spirit, arise in my spirit to get up early and come running into the throne room of my Dad in prayer to see where You'll take me today with You. Lord Jesus, let me hear Your voice and sense the leading of Your Spirit, as You call me to come and follow You. "Whoever serves Me, must follow Me, and where I am, My servant will be there also. Whoever serves Me, the Father will honor" (John 12:26). Lord, I am Your servant and Your son. I'm excited to serve You and follow You in the adventure You have planned for us today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, a very close friend of mine is leading an around-the-clock prayer vigil for a very brave little girl named Jackie Black having surgery today in Houston to remove a brain tumor. We're all praying for her complete healing by the hand of God through every means He chooses. My prayer time starts now. Please join with me in prayer for Jackie and as we magnify these prayers in agreement for healing in the power of the blood of Jesus for all those the Lord lays on our hearts. God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Our Enemy is Under Our Feet 3-8-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name in prayer as the first words from my mouth this day. ... "The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (Romans 16:20). As we gathered for prayer and praise as one body at my friend Doug Abner's church in Manchester, Kentucky yesterday, he reminded us of Your call to him and the city-wide spiritual leaders of their community a couple of years ago to take a bold stand for Jesus. Their county had become recognized as the "Painkiller Capitol of the Country" with more people per-capita addicted to painkillers than anywhere in America. They were losing an entire generation to death and suicide by those overwhelmed by addiction and depression. But You called your people to pray. And through prayer, You called your people to march through town with banners declaring Your name and Your power to overcome. As they marched, You crushed Satan under their feet. You led them to take courage and serve notice on the drug dealers of their community that the united church of Jesus Christ throughout their county was actively and aggressively praying that every one of them would "get saved or get busted." And they did. Several of them stood at our prayer meeting to praise Your name and thank You for Your conviction and grace and deliverance. Now hundreds of families whose lives were being destroyed and whose lives were destroying others are getting the help for recovery and restoration You provide by the power of the blood of Jesus and the love of God through people willing to take a stand of obedience in faith. "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you" (Joshua 1:3). As Ray Hughes said yesterday, sometimes the pain we're trying to kill is not always because we've hurt our back or stepped on a nail. Sometimes it's because we are overwhelmed by hopeless and discouragement, having lost our identity and forfeited our destiny through our sins and the sins of others against us throughout the generations. But You are redeeming the generations and You are driving out our enemies before us. Then You call us to take our stand and to march forward under the banner of Your name. "Let God rise up, let His enemies be scattered" (Psalm 68:1). Lord Jesus, arise in my heart and in my community and throughout the earth today, as You crush our enemy under our feet. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, it is amazing to see how the government has come to the church and asked for their help in Clay County, Kentucky. Let's pray and be prepared to respond in our communities with both our heart and our hands in these coming days when it become increasingly clear that only Jesus is the answer. Life Line Ministries at Doug's church really needs a Spirit-filled Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor "who loves Jesus" to come help them. Please let us know if that's you or you know who might be. God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Principalities and Powers Displaced by Unity 3-7-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You Lord God Almighty in spirit and truth -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ... "Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given to me by the working of His power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the good news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:7-12). Lord, Your church is not one particular place or even the people gathered together in one particular place. Your church is the gathering of all who believe and who are called by Your name throughout all generations. Though we may worship in different ways and even have different understandings of the meaning of Your Word, we are "one body through the cross" (verse 2:16). And when we come together as one church, setting aside our differences to worship You alone and proclaim the glory of Your name alone, Your power and wisdom is "made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (verse 3:10). In unity and faith as Your church, we are a witness "to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places" (verse 3:10, NKJV). Today pastors, ministers, intercessors, watchmen, and saints will gather together as Your church from our region in the mountains of Kentucky at Manchester. From the diverse traditions of Your body, we will pray and proclaim as one, under the covering of Your name and in the power of Your name. As one we are Your church. And as one, we are empowered with the authority of Your name to take our stand for You in our region. The rulers and authorities, the principalities and powers of darkness in the heavenly places over this region will be pushed back by the power of the light of Your glory, as Your name is high and lifted up in the heavenlies. "God put this power to work in Christ when He raised Him from the dead as seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has made Him head over all things for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (verse 1:20-23). Praise You, Lord God Almighty! Give me humility and faith to join my brothers and sisters of Your body from every tribe and tongue and nation and denomination in our region. When we gather in unity, You command Your blessing for all Your people (Psalm 133). Let the principalities and powers of darkness be pushed back further every time we gather as one church under the one name that is "above every name" -- Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Spiritual Leadership 3-6-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. No one comes to the Father, but through You. And no one comes to You unless the Spirit draws them. Holy Spirit, I thank You for drawing me to Jesus. Lord Jesus, I thank You for perfectly revealing to me my Father. Heavenly Father, I thank You for welcoming me into the embrace of Your arms as Your son. ... Today I'll travel to Corbin, Kentucky to speak with the pastoral staff of one of Your churches on spiritual leadership. In this main-line denominational church, someone spoke a word of prophecy in tongues and someone else interpreted Your message to the church a few Sundays ago. That apparently doesn't happen every Sunday in their church -- or mine. But maybe it should. You give us guidelines and principles in Your Word of how to embrace the freedom of Your Spirit and the words You speak to us through the spiritual gifts You have given us as the body of Christ on earth (1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14). "So my friends, be eager to prophecy, and do not forbid the speaking in tongues; but all things should be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:39-40). Though I have so much left to learn, You have been teaching me how to facilitate the flow and ministry of Your Holy Spirit in our ministry's monthly gatherings for prayer, praise, and healing worship at The Fountain. We gather from many different traditions and streams of the body of Christ to seek Your face and welcome Your presence. Every month is a little different because Your move and mercies are always fresh and new, alive with the life of Your Spirit. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). Maybe one of the most important principles of spiritual leadership You have taught me is to facilitate the freedom of the Spirit of God moving through one another to encourage and edify us all. It's risky, but it's right. There are mistakes, but there is Your mercy. How can we grow up "to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" unless we are willing to step out in faith and step in to Your presence through a desperate dependence upon You that we can't completely order and control ourselves? Paul expressed this principle of spiritual leadership this way: "My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19). Like childbirth, this kind of spiritual leadership can be risky and painful, but it's worth it. It was worth it to You to endure the pain You did to make the mercy of God and the freedom of the Spirit available to us. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Walk in the Light You Have 3-5-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the worship song says, "Lord, I give You my heart. I give my soul. I live for You alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord have Your way in me." By Your grace, let this be my desire and by Your grace, let this be my way of life. ... This weekend, You were our Alpha and Omega. Your Holy Spirit met every person where they were and drew them closer to You. Some committed their lives to You for the first time. Some embraced the filling of Your Holy Spirit for the first time. Some released the hard places of their hearts and the bitter places of their souls into Your hands; and some allowed You to touch their hurts and wounds, their burdens and bondages with Your healing hands and living words. Some chose simply to be willing to be willing. But we all encountered the presence of Your light and love in the divine appointments You had for each of us along the way. It seems I hear You saying, "This is the walk I have for you. Walk in the light as I am in the light, and I will give You more light still. My light is My Word and My Spirit. I open the eyes of all who are willing to seek My light and I empower the steps of all who are willing to walk in the journey with Me." Yes, Lord. Keep opening my eyes and empowering my steps. I want to go on with You. I want to keep walking in Your light. As I do, I can't help but be changed by Your light for You are the Light (1 John 1:5-7). No matter how much You have changed me, You want to change me more. No matter how far You have brought me, there is always further to go. And while the destination is very important, so is the relationship we build along the way. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Alpha and Omega 3-3-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I entrust my life to You again today. Let me begin and end this day with You. You are my Alpha and Omega. ... " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty' " (Revelation 1:8). "See, I am coming soon; My reward is with Me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (verse 22:12-13). This weekend, I will help with prayer ministry on the "Holy Spirit Weekend" of our church's Alpha Course. Over one hundred people have joined the course this time for about ten weeks to ask their questions and discuss their views to try to understand You and Your call to surrender our lives to You. Many have never known You before and have never welcomed You into their hearts. Others have, but are coming to a place of deeper trust and deeper surrender. The group has been learning about God the Father and God the Son. This weekend, they will learn more specifically about God the Holy Spirit. Many will pray to "be filled with the Spirit" as they take a deliberate step of faith to be emptied of themselves and filled with You (Ephesians 5:18). I will be there to minister and pray, but I will also be there to be filled. By Your Holy Spirit, You are always "coming soon" into the hearts of all who welcome You in. But that's only the beginning. You are not only the Alpha but You are also the Omega, and everything in between. As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are our "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). Let me learn to continually begin and end every moment of every day in You and You in me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Sacrifice of Surrender 3-2-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your name be the first word I speak today. Let Your praise be the first emotions of my soul today. ... "Through Him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Hebrews 13:15-16). To sacrifice is to surrender -- to give up something I have. To pray is to sacrifice my time. To praise is to sacrifice my attention. To fast is to sacrifice my food. As David said, "I will not offer sacrifices to the Lord that cost me nothing" (from 1 Chronicles 21:24). But the ultimate sacrifice is not only to surrender what I have, but to surrender who I am. It is to surrender my life to You more deeply and more completely each day. That's when the praise of Your name on my lips becomes the substance of Your nature in my soul. And it will cost something -- everything I am. Give me the courage to keeping trusting You and praising You as I keep surrendering to You my life a little more each day. This is the sacrifice "pleasing to God." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Fasting for Fulfillment 3-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On the morning of this Ash Wednesday, take the ashes of my soul, burned and purified by the fire of Your Spirit, mingle them with living waters of Your Word, and impose them upon my heart and mind as mark and seal of Your redemption of my life. I belong to You, and I submit to You in humility and faith as best as I can and all by Your grace. ... "I humbled my soul with fasting" (from Psalm 69:10). Many of the spiritual leaders of our generation are calling for a season of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter this year -- Francis Frangipane, Mike Bickel, Dutch Sheets, and others. Their call bears witness in my spirit. From the beginning of this year, I have had a sense that this would be a year of fulfillment of many hopes and promises that seemed to have been stuck in a wilderness of delay and hindrance. But this is a year of Your favor, a year of fulfillment (Isaiah 61:1-2). And though it is through many tribulations that we must enter in to the kingdom of God, we will enter in if we keep pressing through in obedience and faith (Acts 14:22). Fasting speaks of humility. It is choice of our will to be emptied of ourselves and to be filled with You, to join in the fellowship and sacrifice of Your sufferings, that we might share in the joy and power of Your resurrection (Philippians 3:10). You purify our souls through obedience to Your call to trusting surrender and desperate dependence upon You alone as the Source and Sustainer of our lives (1 Peter 1:22). "But in your hearts, sanctify Christ as Lord" (verse 3:15). Fasting in obedience to Your call and in faith for the fulfillment of Your promises humbles the pride of our self-sufficiency and self-centeredness. It causes us to hunger and thirst for You alone -- the Bread of Life and the Living Waters which alone can sustain us through the valleys of the shadow of death and into the land of our destiny in Christ. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time" (verse 5:6). Yes, Lord. I choose to answer Your call to fast and pray in the way You will lead for these forty days, until You bring me through my Jordan and into the Land of Your Promises for me. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). Let these days of fasting be a death to my flesh that I may arise into the newness of life in the fullness of Your Spirit (Romans 6:4). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Knowing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 2-28-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. You are One, yet You reveal Yourself and manifest Yourself in these three interwoven dimensions of Your Being. I want to know You more fully in every dimension. You are my Redeemer, my Creator, my Sustainer. You are my God, my King, and my Best Friend. I want to fear You and follow You. I want to worship You and adore You. And I welcome You here in my heart and in every dimension of my being again today. ... Your heart breaks when I suffer or when I sin, as a father's heart breaks for his son or daughter when he sees the pain or shame of their struggles. You are my Father and I am Your son. "For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26). You know my temptations and my sufferings, because You faced them all for me as You humbled Yourself to be both Son of God and Son of Man. You walk along side me as an elder Brother, having laid down Your life for me in a sacrifice of love I cannot fully imagine or understand on this side of heaven. "For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.... Therefore He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself was tested by what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested" (Hebrews 2:11-18). You never leave me nor forsake me. The very moment I experience anguish or joy, temptation or triumph, You immediately experience it with me as well because You live here within me by Your Holy Spirit. I an amazing mystery humans minds can't fully comprehend, the God of all creation has descended to live in my heart and in the hearts of all who believe and entrust their lives to You. "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one 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 8:9-10). You are my Father and my Brother and You have come to make Your home in my heart by Your Spirit. Let me live my more fully aware of the intimacy of Your presence in the moments of my day. Let it bring the fear of God upon me when I'm tempted to sin and let it bring the comfort of God upon me when I'm wounded by the sins of others. What could be better than the amazing peace and joy of Your constant presence in all the challenges and celebrations of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Walking it Out 2-26-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me be still before You in these first moments of the morning to watch and wait for Your leading as I lay my life before You this day. ... "He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!' And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this, they were overcome with amazement" (Mark 5:41-42). Praise You, Lord, for Your healing power of life over death. Like Jairus' daughter, my friend Tim's little girl, Olivia, was "at the point of death," as both of these fathers came to You in desperation and faith, saying, "Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live" (verse 5:23). So You came and so You did. That little hospital room was filled people from their church ministering the healing love of God through their hugs and prayers. Three days after Olivia was admitted into the emergency room in diabetic shook, nearing a coma that the doctors feared would lead to death that night, Olivia was free to go home! When the nurse came to ask her if she wanted them to carry her out to the car in the little wheelbarrow or the wagon, Olivia said, "No thanks, I'll walk." As her daddy said, that was a prophetic word that by God's grace, she has walked out of this snare of death and will walk out her complete healing from the disease of diabetes in Your power. Lord, we are overcome with amazement and thrilled with joy for Olivia. And we continue to cry out to You in desperation and faith with every mother and father for the healing and abundance of life of their little girls and boys no matter how old and no matter how sick. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, a 12 year old boy named Jackson with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City is fasting today on his 12th birthday to end abortion and for the lives of unborn children throughout the earth. The word is being spread to intercessors around the world. I'm going to join Jackson and I invite you to fast and pray any way the Lord would lead as we take a worldwide stand against death and pray for life today. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Company Store 2-25-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of the morning, I choose who will have priority of my thoughts and plans for my day. This day, I choose You. ... Tennessee Ernie Ford used to sing a song of a coal miner's lament, "Sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store." The other day we saw the company store in the Appalachian Mountains of Lynch, Kentucky. It's boarded up now like a lot of those little towns that served the coal mines and the coal mine companies. When the coal companies left, they took the heart and soul of everything that was bound to them. But Lord, You have come to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free. You use the broken and base things of this world as a means to display Your glory. You love to breathe the life breath of Your Spirit into dry bones, and You are still raising the dead. There is new life in Lynch and Benham and Cumberland and little communities throughout the Appalachian region. You are leading those who will follow beside the still waters and restoring the soul of the people and the land. Desperation and faith are producing hope. Salvation is not in a coal mine company or in continuing to live as victims of what happened when the company left town. Salvation and hope is in You. And You are redeeming and restoring, breathing new life into weary souls. Lord Jesus, I owe my soul to You. I am "a slave of Christ" who is "bought with a price," no longer a "slave of human masters" (1 Corinthians 7:22-23). Let my life not be controlled by my work or my mortgage, my church or denomination, or my own goals and ambitions apart from You. Let my life be controlled by You. Let me come to Your company store to receive all I need. As You said long ago, "Therefore I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich" (Revelation 3:18). Let me find my security and riches in You alone, then I will be free to live my life for You alone, unencumbered by the slavery of this world. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we are forming an area of interest fund for the spiritual transformation of the Appalachian Region of eastern Kentucky through the Kentucky Christian Foundation: www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org I serve on their board and help facilitate prayer and giving into ministries of God's Kingdom as an extension of the regional ministry of Messiah Ministries. Please cover us in your prayers and share this with anyone you think might be interested in what the Lord is doing in this region. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Kingdom Come 2-24-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call upon Your name and draw upon Your nature, as I behold You and give myself to You. ... "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done...." (Luke 11:2, KJV) I've heard the phrase "from here to Kingdom Come" all my life, growing up in west Texas and eastern New Mexico. I didn't know it really refers to a little community tucked far away back in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. As they say, "it may not be the end of the earth, but you can see it from here." Yesterday I traveled with a small group of pastors, intercessors, and a missions leader down the "Kingdom Come Parkway" on behalf of the Kentucky Christian Foundation to see what all the fuss was about. Revival flames have been breaking out in pockets of fire across Kentucky. But rather than brush fires, there seems to be a slow burn building as the fires are fanned into flame through prayer. We've been hearing about a regional transformation of new hope and abundant life rising up out of the poverty and depression that has dominated the Appalachian region. But You have been preparing the way for this move of Your power in prayers of desperation and faith for generations, that You display Your glory in the fullness of time. The time has come for Kingdom Come and every little community scattered throughout the hills and hollers of this region. The transformation has begun. Lord, let me be a part of what You are doing in this land. Fresh faith mingled with desperate prayers and new hope prepares the way for transformation by Your power. Give me a burden in my soul to see this region made whole. Remind me of the pain of poverty here in our own backyard of our prosperous nation. And remind me of the joy and life I see rising in the hearts of those You are setting free from the bondage of the past to embrace the destiny of their future. Move my heart in prayer for the fulfillment of the awakening of life You have promised in response to the faithful prayers of desperate generations. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we are forming an area of interest fund for the spiritual transformation of eastern Kentucky through the Kentucky Christian Foundation: www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org I serve on their board and help facilitate prayer and giving into ministries of God's Kingdom as an extension of the regional ministry of Messiah Ministries. Please cover us in your prayers and share this with anyone you think might be interested in what the Lord is doing in this region. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Every Moment Counts 2-23-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best I can and all by Your grace, I entrust my life and this day to You. May I live for You as You live through me today. ... "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.' Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that' " (James 4:13-15). Like a dusting of snow that melts by mid-afternoon or the morning mist that evaporates with the rising sun, my earthly life is but a moment in the perspective of heaven's eternity. Yet every day matters and every moment counts. Like precious jewels, they are more valuable because of they are few in number. One day I will give an account for how I spent my time in the moments and opportunities of my days (Matthew 12:36; Revelation 20:11-15). You are "the One who judges all people impartially according to their deeds" (1 Peter 1:17 and 4:5). The standard will not be about numbers or wealth. It will be about my obedience to Your will and Your way in my walk with You through the journey of the moments of my life. I want You to do all You have intended in me and through me in these few, precious moments I have. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Pressing In and Breaking Through 2-22-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my heart to You in praise. Praise draws me out of myself and into You; it takes my eyes off of my problems and leads me to Your promises. Prayers of praise fill my heart with thankfulness for the One who is the maker and the keeper of the promises. ... "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water" (2 Samuel 5:20, NKJV). Yesterday morning, You were reminding me that You are the God of the breakthrough. I heard from many who needed Your word of encouragement to keep pressing in and pressing through to the breakthrough for themselves and for others. There has to be breaking for there to be breakthrough -- sometimes breaking of the barriers between Your kingdom and Your will on earth as it is in heaven, sometimes breaking of the walls of our pride and self-sufficiency, and sometimes breaking the gates of hell that can't prevail against Your church moving in Your power and Your authority in obedience to Your command to overcome. When we breakthrough, we break through from one place to another -- sometimes from our place of our wilderness into the place of Your promises, sometimes from how things are to how things ought to be, and sometimes from "I can't by my power" to "I will by Your grace." We can't break through unless we have the courage and the will to begin breaking what needs to be broken so we can break through from where we are to where we are going. When we strike one blow and the walls come crumbling down, that's a miracle of the instantaneous power of God. When we strike one blow and then strike another blow and then strike another blow until the cracks become crevices and the rocks become rubble, that's the process of persistence through persevering faith in Your promises. Either way, there is no breakthrough without breaking and there is no going through unless we are going forward -- all by Your grace and all in Your power. One of those who called me to stand with him and his family to cry out to You for breakthrough was my good friend, Pastor Tim in Indiana. You've touched many souls through his words and healed many bodies through his hands. He is a faithful disciple of Christ and an obedient instrument of Your grace. But yesterday it was not just a pastor's heart, but a father's heart crying out for breakthrough for his little girl, Olivia. A viral infection lapsed into diabetic shock. She went to the emergency room and her daddy went to his knees. Her doctors fought in the natural realm and her daddy fought in the spiritual realm. Both fought for her life as the medical team told her parents she might not make it through the night. But You are the God of the breakthrough, and little Olivia has broken through! As I write my prayer from her hospital in Indiana this morning, I praise You for her breakthrough as one snatched from the jaws of death to life. Yet we are not satisfied with the promise of life, we keep pressing in and pressing through for breakthrough into Your promise of abundant life. We pray for freedom from every infirmity and healing of every disease, including the diabetes that has been exposed in the failed attempt to destroy her life. And we are pressing in and pressing through in the persistence of prayer for all those who need the power of Your breakthrough. We can't go in the middle of the night to join the fight for breakthrough in person for everyone who needs a breakthrough, but You can. And You will -- as we keep persisting in prayer as You lead and as daddies keep entrusting their little girls into Your arms of love. Sometimes we won't see the breakthrough until the ultimate healing of heaven, but as persist in the power of prayer, we will see more breakthrough of healing on earth. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

God of My Breakthrough 2-21-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the song says, "You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all." ... Lord, all around me people are crying out -- some in praise and thanksgiving, excitement and anticipation, and others in sickness and pain, discouragement and despair. It's as if the enemy of our souls senses an advance of the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of Your people and is unleashing a preemptive strike from the pit of hell. Many are gravely concerned for our governor, Ernie Fletcher, weary and weakened by unrelenting fevers and a raging infection of e coli. It seems to speak of an attack of sickness and disease against our spirits and souls and bodies at every level of our relationships in our region and throughout the earth in this hour. We cry out to You for healing and deliverance, for courage and strength, to preserve in faith through every challenge. Through many tribulations, we enter in to the promises of the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Lift our eyes to You to, as we are strengthened and empowered by the resolve of Your gaze. Send the fire of Your Spirit to consume the fevers of infection and disease. Send the water of Your Word to replenish our souls with the peace of Your presence. Draw our focus off of our troubles and awaken our hearts to fix our gaze on the One who delivers our lives from every pit of destruction and despair, sickness and disease, confusion and discouragement. Remind us of Your Word, for Your Word reveals Your will; and Your will for us is good: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits -- who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:1-5). As I look to You, for myself and for others, let me be honest with my pain, but also honest with Your power. Your power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I hear a song of Your Spirit rising up to lift my spirit and heart, as I entrust every burden to You: Blessed are You, Lord When all around me is pain. Blessed are You, Lord When I'm weary and I'm drained. Blessed are You, Lord When I call upon Your name. Blessed are You, Lord For You are always the same. I need You now And I need Your power I need You to come breaking through Won't You hear me now In this very hour You're the God of my breakthrough Blessed are You, Lord When the enemy comes in like a flood. Blessed are You, Lord For the Living Waters and the Blood. Blessed are You, Lord When all around me seems to give way Blessed ware You, Lord You're my hope and You're my stay. I need You now And I need Your power I need You to come breaking through Won't You hear me now In this very hour You're the God of my breakthrough. Yes, Lord. You are. Give me faith to believe it and perseverance to keep pressing through in prayer and praise until I see it -- in my life and in the lives of those You have put on my heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Praying Friends, let's stand together in prayer and praise for God's breakthroughs in one another's lives and in the lives of those we love through the ministry of intercession. These challenges will become opportunities to advance in to the promises of the kingdom of God this year if we will not lose heart, but keep entrusting our hearts to the Lord. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Galatians 2:20 2-20-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come rule and reign in my heart today. ... As I write today's date of "2-20" the passage of Galatians 2:20 comes to mind: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." This is my desire, my goal, and my commitment. By Your grace, You put this desire in my heart and give me the will to walk it out. My part is to choose the destination, and Your part is to encourage me and empower me to go there. This is the death to self and the life to Christ You call me to choose. I can't do it without Your Spirit and You won't do it without my heart. Crucifixion is a death that takes time. As my wife knows, I have far to go in the process of the crucifixion of my flesh. But by Your grace, I die a little more each day, as I thirst for Your presence and commit my spirit into Your hand. And every morning, You arise a little higher in Your resurrection glory, as I choose again to turn to You and live my life by the faith of the Son of God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we have changed the date for The Fountain to be the Third Friday of every month instead of the Third Saturday. I've had many pastors tell me they would love to come and soak in the presence of the Lord and the freedom of our worship, but Saturday night was a hard night for them. So please come when you can -- and bring your pastor with you. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com