Union Church 6-9-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Form Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit. ... "Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 'You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God ..." (1 Kings 5:2-5). You've sent me this week to pray with Your people, proclaim the coming of Your kingdom, and help prepare the way of the Lord in Kerrville, Texas. We're meeting at the First Christian Church, one of the original four churches of this community. Your city-wide church began with the blessing of unity in this hill country community. People of faith and prayer from four different denominations came together to build the Union Church -- shared jointly by the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches. All four traditions of Your body in this city came together in this house of the Lord for its first service on Christmas Eve, 1885. You crushed the enemy of sectarianism and division under the feet of the unified body of Christ in this region. Under the name of Jesus, they came together "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," declaring by word and action that Your church is of "one body and one Spirit ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:3-6). It's in the unity of the body and the bond of the Spirit that You establish Your victorious church and give us "rest on every side" from the warfare of adversity and misfortune. In the city-wide witness of Your city-wide church we win the city-wide war in the heavenly realms. The principalities and powers of the kingdom of darkness are displaced by the light of the glory of Your kingdom shining forth through Your people who choose to love You and love one another. You release Your power through the union of Your church. On Your high priestly prayer to our Father during Your ministry on earth, You prayed that we "may become completely one, so that the world may know You have sent (Your Son)" (John 17:23). Restore the church of this city to that deep and strong root of unity. Bring together Your church in every city in the bonds of love and peace in Your Spirit to display Your glory. In that bond, the enemy of our souls and Your church will be crushed under our feet by the power of Your name (Romans 16:20). Though Your church, the lost will be found, the broken will be healed, and the bound will be free because the world will know that the Father has sent His Son in His love for them. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Rugged Beauty 6-8-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord. ... "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth" (Psalm 50:1). Yesterday I drove up from the serene beauty of the coastal plains up into the rugged beauty of the Texas hill country. Both are just a beautiful in their own right, but splendidly diverse. As my friends and I sat out on their front porch in our rocking chairs admiring the rugged beauty of these hills, creeks, and valleys tucked away in the heart of Texas, we couldn't help admire our Creator. Just as You create the earth with such diversity and beauty, so You create each of us. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works" (Psalm 139:14). And whether we are more rugged or more serene, we are each created to display Your beauty with our lives. And there is nothing more beautiful than a heart fully surrendered to You, passionately seeking the glory of Your presence, and coming alive to the uniqueness of Your calling and their destiny to share Your beauty with others. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns' " (Isaiah 52:7). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be preaching this morning and teaching this week on inner healing and spiritual warfare at the First Christian Church of Kerrville, Texas. Please keep us in your prayers. We've had a lot of interest in our Caribbean Cruise for next February where I've been invited to be the inspirational speaker. Please let Marilyn know right away if you'd like to come: DirOfMinistries@aol.com God bless! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

The Ride of My Life 6-7-08

Morning by Morning, Saturday Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to be Christ-centered and Christ-consumed. You are my "all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). ... "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in heaven and earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:15-20). I stopped by to see some old friends in Corpus Christi yesterday, one of my old law partners and his wife and family. They were all together under a big tent in the front yard of their church -- along with over seven-hundred and fifty kids screaming and singing about Jesus at the top of their lungs! The Vacation Bible School they lead every year just keeps growing, with kids and helpers and parents from all different churches and neighborhoods in their city. By Your grace and the power of Your Spirit, they are fulfilling Your commission to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19). For these kids, You are personal and real; and You have "come to have first place in everything" in their lives. And as they go out from their big tent in their neon green t-shirts bolding declaring, "Choose Jesus for the ride of your life!" their lives and their city will never be the same. Lord Jesus, keep awakening that kind of passion in me. As a disciple of Christ, I want to be consumed with the "Spirit of Christ" more every day (Romans 8:9). Keep coming into the center of my life to have first place in everything. By Your grace, I want to be a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered disciple of Jesus Christ, busy "turning the world upside down" in the ride of my life (Acts 17:6). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be leaving Corpus Christi today after our annual ordination service to go preach and minister at the First Christian Church of Kerrville in the Texas hill country for the next few days. Please keep us in your prayers. We've had a lot of interest in our Caribbean Cruise for next February. please let Marilyn know right away if you'd like to come: DirOfMinistries@aol.com God bless! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Potter's Clay 6-6-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Like clay in a potter's hands, I entrust my heart and my day to You. ... "Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:8). You see the end from the beginning. You already see every choice that will ever be made and all the consequences thereof. All eternity is already present to You. And in the mystery of both Your sovereignty and my free will, You set before me true choices every moment of every day (Deuteronomy 30:19). Yet at the same time, You have always known every choice I would ever make before I ever made the first one (Psalm 139:16). In Your sovereignty, You give me the freedom to choose to seek You or not, trust You or not, obey You or not. You have dreams and hopes and plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). Let them become my dreams and hopes and plans as well. You are a master Potter, but Your are also a loving Father. And into Your hands, I willingly choose to entrust the clay of my heart for the shaping of this day and my life for Your purpose. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"The Day Approaching" 6-5-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I watch for Your face and listen for Your voice in the silence of surrender before You. ... "And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). Sometimes I hear someone of the generations before me say, "I remember back in the day ...." And then they tell of something that was a lot better than how it is today -- like gas being fifty cents instead of four dollars a gallon or children respecting their elders or most people going to church on Sunday mornings. It's good to look back and remember the stories of our lives, especially to look back and see Your hand weaving together the threads of relationships and events that have made us who we are (Exodus 13:3; John 12:16). "I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember Your deeds of old" (Psalm 77:11). And it's good to meet together to share our war stories and Your glory stories, as we honor You in our journeys. But as we remember the days that have passed, let us also remember the Day approaching. On that Day, we "will have to give an account for every careless word" (Matthew 12:36). We will "give an accounting to Him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead" (1 Peter 4:5). As we look forward to that Day, let us encourage and inspire one another to live each day for You, "so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God" (1 Peter 4:2). We thank You for Your grace that covers our sin of wasted time, and we thank You for Your grace to redeem our time to come. Let us choose now to entrust our time to You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Reporting the Praises of God 6-4-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I give my heart and this day to You. ... "When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them" (Acts 15:4). Since the beginning of the revival that burned through England over two hundred years ago, John Wesley called his Methodist preachers together each year. It was a time to worship and pray together, encourage one another, wrestle with issues of doctrine, and sort out the practical matters of sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. No doubt "they reported all that God had done with them." And so we continue today, reporting the praises of God. Pastors, evangelists, and the "circuit riders" of our day with gather with one another and church leaders in regions across the nation in these first weeks of summer. Because of the prayer ministry You've called me to, I'm more of a circuit rider and an evangelist than a pastor of a local church; and I look forward to gathering with those who have been seeking to fulfill their calling in the places and ways You've sent them. Though You've called me to a broad ministry that crosses all denominational lines to help "prepare the way of the Lord" and "minister the healing love of God" through prayer ministry, You've chosen to keep me rooted in the Methodist movement. And as we come together to pray and praise and wrestle with the practicalities of ministry, may we all remain rooted in You -- "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Let us remember that all that we have done that will carry any eternal significance is only what You have done through us by Your Spirit for Your glory. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. This coming Monday Night June 9th, Vicky Welch will lead in a Feast of Pentecost Celebration -- all are welcome. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"The Whole City" 6-3-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You and never let me go. By Your grace, I'll never let go of You. ... "Then next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ... Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. ... And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13:44-52). Lord, let this be the day that whole cities are filled with a hunger for God and whole regions are filled with the word of the Lord. Fill us with Your joy and Your Spirit as You awaken our generation to our destiny. The day is soon coming and may already be dawning that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas" (Habakkuk 2:14). You are moving mightily in earth in our day. Lord, move in me. Move in my city, in my region, and as far as Your grace will go. I hear the cry of the old hymn rising up in my heart with the hunger and passion You're stirring in me: Pass me not, O gentle Savior,Hear my humble cry;While on others Thou art calling,Do not pass me by. Savior, Savior,Hear my humble cry;While on others Thou art calling,Do not pass me by. Do not pass me by, Lord. In this great awakening to arise and be filled with Your Spirit and equipped with Your word to reveal the good news of Your salvation in the great harvest to come, do not pass me by. Don't pass by my city and my region. Make us hungry and thirsty to settle for nothing less than the fullness of Your presence in our midst. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be going to Corpus Christi, Texas today for my Annual Conference where I'm under "special appointment" from my bishop there to lead Messiah Ministries. That's where I used to practice law before the Lord called me into the ministry. Though our ministry is interdenominational and based in Lexington, Kentucky, I'm ordained with the United Methodist Church in the Southwest Texas Conference (the area that covers Austin, San Antonio, San Angelo, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and most of the region between Houston and Mexico. Please pray that the Lord will not pass us by, for it's His heart to fill all hearts with the glory of His presence. Next Sunday, I'll be ministering at a Church of Christ in the Texas hill country of Kerrville, praying for the Lord to fill us afresh with His Spirit there as well. Thank you for your prayers! And I'm praying for you! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"Prepare the Way of the Lord" 6-2-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart into the light of this new day. ... "A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken' " (Isaiah 40:3-5). Lord, let me hear the voice of Your Holy Spirit calling to the depths of my human spirit. "Deep calls to deep" (Psalm 42:7). You are preparing my heart for more of Your heart, emptying me of more of my self and filling me with more of Your Self (Ephesians 3:19). You are preparing the way of the Lord, preparing the way for the glory of the Lord to be revealed in me and in every one of Your people, according to Your will and Your Word -- "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). So the same Holy Spirit who brings comfort, but also bring conviction (Isaiah 40:1-2). In Your mercy, You convict us; in Your love, You correct us (Hebrews 12:5-6). In Your desire for unhindered relationship with us, You seek to remove everything that separate us (Romans 8:39). So You bring down every mountain and idol that we would lift up to take Your place on the thrones of our hearts. You lift up every valley of discouragement and disappointment that would keep us for seeing You and the horizons You've set before us in Your plan for our lives. You make every crooked place straight that would lead us astray with distraction or deception. And You remove everything that might cause us to stumble and fall on the path of the destiny You've set before us. So help me hear and help me listen. Help me wait for the leading of Your Spirit, then arise and shine in the light of the glory of Your presence to follow You wherever You lead each day (Isaiah 60:1). Give me wisdom to listen for the voice of the One crying in my soul, trying to prepare the way of the Lord in me. Give me courage to welcome You into the wilderness of my ways so You can lead me into Yours. Then "the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad" (Isaiah 35:1). Then, with all those who are called by Your name and surrendered to Your will, we will look and see together what You are doing and hear what "the mouth of the Lord has spoken" into our human spirits by the voice of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our gathering at the Billy Graham training center at The Cove in NC last weekend. Margaret Therkelsen led us by the Spirit into deeper depths of surrender and intimacy with God to be available as instruments in His hands in our world. And I was so thrilled to be able to preach and share my testimony in their beautiful chapel in the mountains with my friends from Margaret's city-wide prayer group she's led now for 29 years of faithful ministry to the Lord in Lexington. I pray the blessing of your connection with a vital praying group as the Holy Spirit prepares the way of the Lord in your city and region. God bless you! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

You're Invited for an Inspirational Cruise!

Friends of Messiah Ministries and Tommy Hays, I've been invited by The Haven as the inspirational speaker for a 5 day Caribbean Cruise in February 2009 You are Invited to Come! Sponsored by The Haven INSPIRATION CRUISE -- FEBRUARY 23-28, 2009 Cruise with Messiah Ministries & Tommy Hays · From Tampa Bay, FL to Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman (Carnival Cruises). · Interior Cabin: $473.00/person; Ocean View: $543.00/person (includes taxes & port fees) · Accommodations, meals, & on-board entertainment included. · Worship and Teaching with Tommy Hays & Team after dinner each evening

Payment Schedule: • Initial deposit of $25 per person due by June 10, 2008. • Second deposit of $200 per person due Oct 20, 2008. • Final payment is due Dec 19. 2008.

There is a $25 per person cancellation fee after the second deposit. There are penalties after the final payment. Checks should be made payable to: The Travel Authority PASSPORTS ARE REQUIRED (Subject to change). Application and mailing will be sent to you by email at your request. If you are interested, please contact us right away: DirOfMinistries@aol.com or call Marilyn Walker at 859-317-1591 Fax or mail completed form to: The Travel Authority, Jeannie Anderson 175 E. Alex Bell Rd., Suite 272 Centerville, Ohio 45459 Fax (937) 610-0475 God bless you and I hope you can come! Tommy Hays Messiah Ministries http://www.messiah-ministries.org/

Blessed to See and Hear 5-30-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I know You and trust You. Help me know You and trust You more each day. ... "Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it' " (Luke 10:23-24). We are entering into an amazing time on the earth -- where darkness, suffering, and evil increase, but at the same time, the light increases even more in the midst of the darkness (Isaiah 60:1-3; Philippians 2:14-15). So we don't need to deny the darkness or the suffering, but we do need to embrace the light. We don't need to deny our disappointments, but we do need to celebrate Your victories. Prophets and kings have longed for these days. And those who kept seeking You and trusting You despite their disappointment and discouragement that the promises of Your Word seemed to tarry, kept doing their part in their generation by Your grace and their faith to prepare the way for what we are beginning to experience (Hebrews 11:39-40). Even when those of past generations saw the move of Your mighty hand in their own hearts and in the lives of others, You kept reminding them to keep their hearts focused and their eyes fixed on the goal of a personal relationship with You. "Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). It's in the eternal blessing and certain hope of that relationship that we can endure the suffering of our disappointments where Your kingdom has not yet fully come and celebrate with excitement and praise where it is coming in ways we can hardly believe. Keep increasing our faith to believe in You and all You want to do in our lives and on the earth. Heaven is invading earth; Your kingdom is coming (Luke 17:20-21). Keep lifting from us the disappointment when it doesn't seem heaven is invading earth fast enough, that Your kingdom is coming soon enough. Let that make us even more hungry, more thirsty, more determined to align our hearts with heaven and pray with unfaltering faith for more of heaven to be manifested on earth and in us (Luke 11:2 and 17:20-21). In the trusting faith of a personal relationship with You, our names will be written on Your heart in heaven and Your name will be written on our hearts on earth. And we will be amazed to see and hear all You do in our days and all You are in us (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be at joining a group to hear one of my spiritual mentors, Margaret Therkelsen, at The Cove this weekend, the Billy Graham Training Center in NC: www.thecove.org I'll be sharing my testimony of faith and prayer and leading in the Lord's Supper Sunday morning. Please keep us in your prayers and I pray for the coming of the kingdom in God's power in your hearts and your region. Please send us a note right away to come join us in February. I've just been invited to be the inspirational speaker for a five day cruise (Tampa Bay/Cozumel/Grand Cayman) next February hosted by The Haven. You are invited to come join us! But a reservation and initial deposit ($25) must be made right away (total cost about $500 per person). Please send a note for details or call Marilyn Walker at 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"Picked Up Dead" but "Taken Away Alive" 5-29-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my thoughts with Your thoughts, my will with Your will, and my ways with Your ways. ... "A young man named Eutychus who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, 'Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.' Then Paul went upstairs and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted" (Acts 20:9-12). My friend Palma could hardly contain herself testifying to the power and glory of Your name yesterday. She was visiting her aunts in eastern Kentucky a few days ago when one of them suddenly turned dark, her body went stiff, and she quit breathing. They tried to give her CPR to resuscitate her body. But my friend Palma felt led to boldly pray to resuscitate her spirit. She said she rebuked the spirit of death in the name of Jesus and prayed for the breath of life to fill her aunt's body (John 10:10; Acts 2:24). And life returned. Some would say that was an accident; some would say that was a miracle. Some would say that she was not dead, only passed out; some would say she was raised from the dead by the power of God. I'm sure they had the same discussions around the young man who was "picked up dead" but then "taken away alive" after Paul prayed for him. What matters most to me is what You say, Lord. What is Your theology of life and death, healing and deliverance, heaven and earth? Correct me where I'm wrong and encourage me where I'm right. I don't want to lead anyone astray and I don't want anything less than the fullness of Your will in my life. But it seems Your Word says Your disciples will heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers, and raise the dead in the authority and power of Your name to display Your glory on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 10:8). This is part of Your command and commission to Your church: "As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near' " (v. 10:7). You said, "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do" and "As the Father has sent Me so I send you" (John 14:12 and 20:21). Lord, has the kingdom of heaven come near? Are You beginning to release the signs and wonders in America we hear about you releasing in other parts of the world? Are You pouring out Your Spirit and opening up Your heavens at a new level we've never seen since the first apostolic generation? Is Your kingdom coming and Your will being done in answer to the prayer You taught us to pray? Is the revival we've long for and prepared the way for beginning to be released in our generation? Is the great harvest finally at hand? Word of Your wonders is spreading from Florida, South Carolina, and California. I'm hearing of healing revival breaking out in western Kentucky and now this testimony from eastern Kentucky. Even in our own ministry we're seeing You accelerate the healing process of spirit, soul, and body as You bind up the broken-hearted and set the captives free (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Isaiah 61; Luke 4). And we are praying for more miracles of salvation, healing, and deliverance. "God added His testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to His will" (Hebrews 2:4). We are all hungry for more, Lord -- more of You, more of Your presence, more of Your power made manifest to the glory of Your name in our lives. And while I'm heartbroken over what has not yet been happening, I'm also celebrating what is happening. While I plead with You for the breakthroughs in what it seems You are not doing, I praise You for the breakthroughs in what You are doing. More, Lord. As in the days of Paul and as in the days of my friend Palma, let us not hold back from "speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of His grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them" (Acts 14:3). This is the good news of the kingdom of heaven. This is the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come near. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, for those who are interested, here's a link to Rick Joyner's thoughts on this current revival in his most recent prophetic bulletin just released. I'm a member of the MorningStar Fellowship of Ministries that he leads: MorningStar Ministries : #7 - The History and Future of the Present Revival - Part 4 I've just been invited to be the inspirational speaker for a five day cruise (Tampa Bay/Cozumel/Grand Cayman) next February hosted by The Haven. You are invited to come join us! But a reservation and initial deposit ($25) must be made right away (total cost about $500 per person). Please send a note for details or call Marilyn Walker at 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: http://www.shop.messiah-ministries.org/

Follow the Path 5-28-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are One and You are welcome in moments of my day. ... "You must therefore be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess" (Deuteronomy 5:35-36). There is a path You have set before me to walk each day. And I have a choice to walk that way or not. If I persistently choose to walk in that path by the grace and the light that You give, it will go well with me. It does not mean that it will go easy for me or go without heartache and pain for me, but it will go well for me. For You will go with me, and whenever You go with me, it is well with my soul. Though I go through the challenges of a fallen creation, filled with fallen people, surrounded by fallen spirits, I will not fear nor fail, for You go with me (Isaiah 43:2). If I am to do what You command and follow where You lead, I must know Your Word and listen to Your Spirit. I must begin the journey each day entrusting the day to You. Like Moses, I must resolve in my heart that unless You go with me, I don't want to go; and I don't want to go anywhere You are not leading (Exodus 33:15). Apart from Your grace, I can't hear Your Word or obey Your will. But I never have to be apart from Your grace. You give freely of Your Spirit to all who ask (Luke 11:13). By the leading of Your Spirit, I will not turn to the right or to the left, but follow the path that You set before me today. If I step off the path, You will correct me. If I follow the path, You will encourage me. And by Your grace I will live out this day possess the land You lay on my heart and entrust to my care. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I've just been invited to be the inspirational speaker for a five day cruise (Tampa Bay/Cozumel/Grand Cayman) next February hosted by The Haven. You are invited to come join us! But a reservation and initial deposit must be made right away. Please send a note for details or call Marilyn Walker at 859-317-1591 Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"New Every Morning" 5-27-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wait for Your word and listen for Your leading. ... "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:22-26). I sleep, but You never do. I rise to face a new day, but You are already there, preparing the way. You already know every challenge I'll face and every choice I'll make. You see the end from the beginning and everything in between. So wisdom calls me to seek the One who sees it all. And humility calls me to wait on the One who is willing to walk with me as a sure guide and trusted friend. Why is it so hard to wait and to seek? Why is it so hard to first listen for Your leading? The wisdom is worth the wait. The finding is worth the seeking. And the peace is worth the persistence. You ways are higher than my ways and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). So it would only be wise to humble myself in the silence of surrender before You at the beginning of each new day to seek Your ways and listen for Your thoughts. And in Your steadfast love and tender mercies that are new every morning, You are always here to be found by each one who will take the time to seek You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Remembering Our Warriors 5-26-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my strength and shield, a mighty warrior and loving God. ... "These are the names of the warriors whom David had ..." (2 Samuel 23:8). Today is Memorial Day in our nation, a day to remember those who sacrificed their lives in the call of service to our nation. We honor those who honored us with their lives, even unto death. And we honor those who sacrificed by releasing them to their duty and are now grieving their loss. May their souls rest in the arms of our Father through the blood of Jesus, who willing made the greatest sacrifice of all for each one of us. You are a God of love and peace, but You are also a God of war when war is required in response to the violence of sin in our fallen world. "The Lord goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior He stirs up His fury; He cries out, He shouts aloud, He shows Himself mighty against His foes" (Isaiah 42:13). "In righteousness He judges and makes war" (Revelation 19:11). And though we long for the day when all wars will cease and Your peace will reign overall the earth, between now and then, "there is a time for war" (Ecclesiastes 3:8). So there is a time for warriors. And when our warriors have fallen, fighting our battles for our sakes, we honor their lives, we remember their names, and we thank them for their service to us all. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"See the Heavenes Opened" 5-25-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of heaven, come be King in me on earth as You are in heaven. ... "When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!' " (Acts 7:55-56). When Stephen was encircled by the rage of violence and injustice, God the Holy Spirit lifted his eyes to heaven. And there he gazed into the glory of God the Father and God the Son. As he opened his heart, You opened the heavens. As he lifted his eyes, You lifted his spirit. You gave him the courage and the confidence to keep his eyes fixed on things above rather than below, on the things that are eternal rather than temporary (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). They stoned his body, but his spirit soared to heaven (Acts 7:57-60). I hear in his heart and see by his witness that he learned by Your Spirit to know he could always lift up his eyes to the One who was his strength and courage. "I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- from where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1). Even in the face of fear and death, Stephen was secure in Your peace because he knew the source of his strength and the destination of his soul. "With the Lord on my side, I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? ... Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord" (Psalm 118:6-19). And by Your grace and Your Spirit, so do I. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be preaching at my home church in Lexington today, Sunday 5/25 at two of our services (9:45 and 5:15) as the first sermon of a new series on Heaven www.CentenaryLex.com Please come join us anytime you can and please keep us in your prayers. May our hearts be prepared and your eyes be lifted to heaven! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Heaven's Home 5-24-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. It's a good morning because You're a good God. ... "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going" (John 14:1-4). You have prepared a place for me -- a place called heaven, a place called home. For "our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We are "strangers and foreigners on the earth ... seeking a homeland" because we "desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one," where You "have prepared a city" for us (Hebrews 11:13-16). So as I journey through the challenges that humble me and the opportunities that mature me in this broken, fallen world, I choose by Your grace to look to heaven. "Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-3). I look beyond the brokenness to the wholeness to come, beyond the bondage to decay toward the freedom and joy of all You have prepared for me in heaven's home. By Your grace, I will live out all my days, learn all my lessons, endure all my trials, and fulfill all my destiny. But all the while, I will be looking forward to all that is to come. "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). So though my feet are on earth, my heart is in heaven. And no matter what I will endure through this short but eternally significant journey, it will all be worth it. "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm excited to be preaching at my home church in Lexington this Sunday 5/25 at two of our services (9:45 and 5:15) to begin a new sermon series on Heaven http://www.centenarylex.com/ Please come join us anytime you can and please keep us in your prayers. May our hearts be prepared for heaven! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: http://www.shop.messiah-ministries.org/

"Life in His Name" 5-23-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Living Word, bring Your Word to life in me. ... "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31). What does it mean to have life in Your name? Your name speaks of Your nature -- "Jesus" means "the salvation of the Lord." Salvation is the fullness of life. You said You came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). And we embrace that life as we trust in Your name and embrace Your nature. As we behold You and embrace You, we become more like You (2 Corinthians 3:18). And this book of Your Word reveals Your truth and Your nature. These signs of Your love, recorded through men by Your Spirit for us reveal Your will for us and Your heart for us. And while we do not worship Your written Word, we do worship the One who is revealed by Your Word. These written words lead us to the Living Word, in whom we have life. "You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.... That word is the good news that was announced to you" (1 Peter 1:23-25). Thank You for writing these words and speaking them to my heart by Your Spirit. Help me grow in understanding of the truths You reveal and nature of Your name through Your Word. Help me grow in understanding the One who is the Word, the One who is the Truth, and the One who is my Life (John 1:1 and 14:6). There is life "no other name" (Acts 4:12). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm excited to be preaching at my home church in Lexington this Sunday at two of our services (9:45 and 5:15) to begin a new sermon series on Heaven www.CentenaryLex.com Please come join us anytime you can and please keep us in your prayers! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"The Light of Life" 5-22-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Living Word of the Living God. Come live in me by Your Spirit today. ... "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me? My vows to You I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling so that I may walk before my God in the light of life" (Psalm 56:10-13). Thank You for the comfort of Your word and the encouragement of Your truth. Thank You for the light of life that leads me through every dark valley of the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are with me. I will not turn back but keep pressing on, for Your love compels me. My vow to You is that I choose to entrust my life to You. Give me grace to trust You more each day. Give me perspective to thank You for the grace of each day You give me to walk before You in this journey of my days through earth and toward heaven. And while "we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord," You call us each to do our part in the time we have to fulfill Your will through our lives (2 Corinthians 5:8). So let me not take a day for granted, but offer each day as a thank offering to You. As I live out "the measure of my days" to fulfill the plan and purpose You've chosen for my life, "let me know how fleeting my life is" (Psalm 39:4). As I follow the light of life, remind me what a gift and opportunity You have given me with Your deliverance of my soul from death another day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come join us if you can Tonight, 5/22, for Prayer, Care, Share in Lexington 7-9 pm, Crown Plaza/Campbell House sponsored by Lexington Leadership Foundation: "Connect -- Unify -- Mobilize -- Transform" our City for God. During the breakout sessions, I'll be speaking on racial reconciliation and healing for unity in the body and partnership in ministry. Please spread the word and come join us for this significant city-wide event. Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Victory of Life over Death 5-21-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Welcome into my heart and into my day. ... "Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, He himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, this is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). I hate death. And so do You. Your Word promises, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26). Death is the work of the devil, "the one who has the power death" according to the Word of God. But You have defeated him through the victory of Your cross. And You destroy his works through the power of Your blood. "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). One day, "Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more" (Revelation 21:4). "Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14). And I can't wait for that day. Yet You willingly endured death so that we might live with You forever (John 11:25-26). In You, "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54). I thank You for the teaching us the truth that death is not our friend, You are our Friend. Death is a valley to go through and death is an enemy to defeat. And the power of Your love and the grip of Your life leads us through the valley and into victory. And until that day, keep giving me Your hatred of death and Your passion for life (John 10:10). In the authority of Your name and the power of the Your blood, I want to be part of the fulfillment of Your Word that we will "raise the dead" as disciples of Christ (Matthew 10:8). I hear of Your miracles being released on the earth today as never before. I want to be part of Your end-time revival and the world-wide harvest of souls into the glory of Your kingdom. I look forward to the increase of Your glory upon the earth and upon Your people (Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 60:1-3). And one day soon when You return in the glory of the clouds of heaven, we will see Your world-wide display of the victory of Life over Death (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that day, let me be found faithful, fighting Death and embracing Life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come join us if you can for Prayer, Care, Share this Thurs Night 5/22, 7-9 pm, Crown Plaza/Campbell House in Lexington sponsored by Lexington Leadership Foundation: "Connect -- Unify -- Mobilize -- Transform" our City for God. During the breakout sessions, I'll be speaking on racial reconciliation and healing for unity in the body and partnership in ministry. Please spread the word and come join us for this significant city-wide event. Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"These Little Ones" 5-20-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I call on Your name I come into alignment with Your will for my day. ... "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10, NKJV). You are the Advocate for all the little children who cannot speak for themselves, the Defender for these little ones who cannot defend themselves. With a fierceness of love You fight for their right to draw near to You, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs" (Matthew 19:14). And with that same fierceness of love You warn those who would harm them in any way, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in Me, if would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drown in the depths of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). Lord Jesus, You love the little children, all the children of the world. You love those who joyfully sing the praises of Your name and You love those who do not yet know it. You love those who spirits are filled with Your breath of life and You love those who are created and carried in their mother's womb before they breathe their first breath. Your angels watch over them and fight for them until the day You gather them out of this broken, fallen world into the arms of Your presence to see Your face forever. "Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong." Thank You for the strength and power of Your love. Nothing can ever separate us or any of these little ones from the strength and power of the God who is Love (Romans 8:37-39; 1 John 4:8). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please pray for the family of Rob and Mary Adams today as we honor the life of their stillborn child, Samuel Robert Adams. These are times we especially need to know the unfailing love of God and the comfort of His steady presence through these valleys of the shadow of death. And I pray for each of you as you go through those valleys in the journey of your lives. God bless you. Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"The Ears of the Deaf Unstopped" 5-19-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in Your glory in my soul and in all the earth. ... "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad.... They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.... Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a dear, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy...' (Isaiah 35:1-6). At our Prayer Revival last night for south central Kentucky, the daughter of a Methodist minister gave testimony to Your heart and power to heal Your people and display Your glory. You unstopped the deaf ears of her son! And while he does not yet hear perfectly, we believe as we persist in prayer You will bring to completion all You have begun in him and in us (Philippians 1:6). You taught us to pray "Your kingdom come, You will be done here on earth as it is in heaven." In heaven, there is no deafness, no blindness, no sickness or disease, no sin, no pain, no death and no devil. Lord, give us courage and faith to keep praying in obedience to Your command, believing You and expecting You to answer these prayers You've taught us to pray. Your kingdom is coming. Keep anointing us with Your Spirit to keep preparing the way of the Lord. The days of Your kingdom are at hand. The Methodist revivalist Charles Wesley believed Your Word and proclaimed the coming of these days in worship and prophetic song long ago in his famous hymn of praise: O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace. Jesus, the name that calms my fears, That bids our sorrows cease, ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’Tis life and health and peace. He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me. Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb, Your loosened tongues employ; Ye blind, behold your Savior come; And leap, ye lame, for joy. My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread thro’ all the earth abroad, The honors of Thy name. And so we shall. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for us at this Prayer Revival and I pray for a revival of prayer that prepares the way of the Lord in your community. We're all beginning to experience a foretaste of the world-wide awakening of the glory of God to come. Let's keep persisting in prayer for one another and proclamation of the power of the Lord and the healing love of God, as the honors of His name "spread thro' all the earth abroad." God bless you! Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Renewed in the Spirit of My Mind 5-18-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy are You, Lord. And worthy is Your name. You are worthy of my praise and worthy of the surrender of my day. ... "For surely you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to become renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:21-24). As You renew the spirit of my mind, You realign my mind with Yours. You bring my thoughts into line with Your thoughts, my desires into line with Your desires, so that my choices come into line with Your choices. This is how the old self becomes the new self, crucified in the flesh and alive in the Spirit. This is how I embrace my new and true identity in Christ. By the grace of God, this new self is "created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Though I am forever in need of Your grace, my core identity is no longer a sinner, but a saint. I no longer keep looking at my past, but turn my eyes to my destiny in You. I no longer linger in my thoughts on who I was, but embrace the truth of who I am. "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!... For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). This is the truth that is in Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"Set Free" 5-17-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Lord of every area of my life this day. ... "Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, 'Woman, you are set free from your ailment.' When He laid hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.... 'And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?' (Luke 13:10-16). This is the Word You brought to my heart at our Prayer Revival last night. And these are the questions You led me to ask in response to Your Word: What are the things that cripple me? What holds me back and trips me up from running the race into the fullness of the destiny You've set before me? What has me so bent over and so weighed down that I can't look up. What spirit has Satan sent to torment me and steal from me the love and life and peace and joy You died on the cross for me to have? Whatever it is, I ask You to speak to my spirit and lay hands on my body. I ask You to command it to go in the authority of Your name and the power of Your blood. In Christ, I am a son of Abraham (Galatians 3:28). In Christ, I am a son of God (Galatians 3:26). In Christ, I am "set free from this bondage." And I stand up straight and worship You, my Savior, my Healer, and my Deliverer. You are the God of peace who has crushed Satan under my feet (Romans 16:20). Give me courage and faith to keep looking up to You and living into this truth of Your Word every moment of every day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Continually Clothed in Christ 5-16-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Apart from You, I can do nothing. Apart from You, I am nothing. But by Your grace, I am never apart from You. You never leave me and never forsake me; You are always with me. ... "I also said to the people at that time, 'Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.' So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off their clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand" (Nehemiah 4:22-23). In these days of both the threat of great darkness and the promise of infinitely great light, we must be ready. We must be continually clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27). We must be praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We must be wearing the whole armor of God, never taking it off, ready to stand firm in security of Your light and the power of Your strength against the darkness that comes to steal and kill and destroy (Ephesians 6:10-18). Like watchmen on the wall, let us be watching out for one another, as we also watch out for the coming of our enemy and watch out for the coming of our King. "Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). Clothed in You, in the constant communion of prayer, we will "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of (Your) power" to face together anything that comes (v. 6:10). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be leading a community-wide Prayer Revival this weekend at the Columbia United Methodist Church in south central Kentucky (7 pm Fri, Sat, Sun night; preaching Sun morning). I'll be teaching on a one day intensive School of Spiritual Ministry on Healing and Deliverance Saturday (9-12 am; 1-3 pm; CEU credits for pastors and leaders). All are welcome! 202 Burkesville St; Columbia, KY (270-384-2276). I'll be on the radio this morning at 8:30 on 92.7 FM The Wave talking about the revival. Please keep stand with us in prayer and I pray for revival in your community as well. God bless you! Come to the Fountain! This Friday Night 5/16 at 7 pm -- the 3rd Friday Night of every month -- for our ministry's monthly gathering of people from many different churches and streams of the body of Christ across our city for prayer, praise, and healing worship. This month Sandra White will lead in healing prayer ministry and speak on the Kingdom of God while Jeff Green will lead in worship. Hosted in the chapel of Centenary: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY. Please come early for Intercessory Prayer at 6:15. Contact Marilyn at dirofministries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

The Day "No One Shall Miscarry" 5-15-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. For these next moments of silence in the surrender of contemplative prayer, I seek to focus my thoughts and my heart on You alone. ... "You shall worship the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from among you. No one shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days" (Exodus 23:25-26). I spent time at the hospital last night with some friends whose baby died in the mother's womb. Though every circumstance and every family that faces the death of a child is unique, I couldn't help but remember those times when it was my child who was lost before the first breath of life. They were young lives who could not fulfill the number of their days on this earth, so we entrusted them and released them into the arms of our Father in heaven, through the blood of our Savior, only by the strength and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Grief and sorrow are such painful reminders that we still live out our days in a broken and fallen world where the kingdom of heaven has not yet fully come to earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, there are no miscarriages, no barrenness, no sickness, no lack of bread or water, and no death. And it is Your desire to see heaven come down to earth, to see life triumph over death, healing triumph over sickness, abundance triumph over poverty, and joy triumph over sorrow. That's the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. That's what You taught us to seek and to pray for and to hold on to in the midst of the this broken, fallen world where Your kingdom is still in the process of coming and Your will is still in the process of being done here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10 and 6:33). So until the day this covenant in Your blood is fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven, "we do not lose heart" (2 Corinthians 4:16). But at the same time, sometimes our hearts break. And those are the times we need You to just come and be with us and hold our broken hearts in Your bloody hands. Only by Your wounds, are we healed (Isaiah 53:5). Only by Your grace can we keep holding on and pressing in until the day we see Your kingdom fully consummated and manifested here on earth as it is in heaven. On that day, "sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:10). Until that day of ultimate fulfillment, let Your kingdom come in me and in my world more every day by the power of Your grace. Despite the days when it seems the opposite is true, give me courage and faith to pray it and proclaim it until the day I see it as it should be and as You have said by the covenant of Your Word, sealed in Your blood that it will be. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep this couple in prayer as we pray together for all who are broken and saddened with grief and sorrow. Even now, I pray for life in Jesus' name (Matthew 10:8). We won't see the kingdom come unless we're willing to pray in faith for it to come. Our part is to keep praying, despite all the spiritual opposition to the will and ways of God (Daniel 10:12-14). Come to the Fountain! This Friday Night 5/16 at 7 pm -- the 3rd Friday Night of every month -- for our ministry's monthly gathering of people from many different churches and streams of the body of Christ across our city for prayer, praise, and healing worship. This month Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries will lead in prayer on The Kingdom of God while Jeff Green will lead in worship. Hosted in the chapel of Centenary: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY. Please come early for Intercessory Prayer at 6:15. Contact Marilyn at dirofministries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! I'd appreciate your prayers for us this weekend as I lead a Prayer Revival hosted at the First Methodist Church in Columbia, Kentucky (Fri, Sat, Sun nights) and teach on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry all day Saturday. All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"A Mind to Work" 5-14-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By the power of Your grace, I choose to be dead to self and alive to Christ, as I begin this new day with You. ... "So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6). One of the most fascinating principles of the kingdom of God is that in Your sovereignty as our Creator, You have chosen to empower those You have created to rule and reign with "dominion" over Your creation (Genesis 1:26). "You have given them dominion over the works of their hands; You have put all things under their feet.... O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is Your name!" (Psalm 8:6-9). "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16). With that authority, comes responsibility; with that calling, comes the power to accomplish Your purposes as we faithfully seek the guidance of Your will and humbly depend upon the strength and wisdom of Your ways (Luke 9:1). As we choose to die to our own will and choose to submit to Your will, You give us the desire and the power to fulfill the calling You've placed in our minds and stirred in our hearts, "for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). It was in Your heart to rebuild the wall and the city of Jerusalem. So You put that desire in the hearts of Your people and empower them to accomplish Your purposes. Yet they had the choose to seek You, to depend upon You, to persevere in trusting faith with You, or not. They "rebuilt the wall" because You chose to rebuild the wall through them, because You were at work in them, enabling them both to will and to work for Your good pleasure. And at the same time, each of them had a choice to obey or not, give in to frustration and fear or not, press on in the power of Your strength and the guidance of Your wisdom or not. By Your grace, "the people had a mind to work." Lord, give me a mind to work -- to work for You, to work empowered by You, to work with the tools and weapons You've given me, and to work only at the tasks You've placed in my mind and stirred in my heart in obedience to the calling You've given me. The mind to work according to Your will and Your ways, trusting in Your guidance and Your power alone is "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). And that's the mind I ask You to form in me, a little more each day (Romans 12:2). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night 5/16, the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Phil Jackson will be leading in worship. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"Revive the Stones" 5-13-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me, teach me, change me, and use me today. ... "Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. He said in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of heaps of rubbish -- and burned ones at that?" (Nehemiah 4:1-2). You will revive the stones. You will clean out the rubbish and gather the stones that have been burned and broken. You will restore the foundations and rebuild the wall of security, honor, and peace. You will "build up the ancient ruins," "raise up the former devastations," and "repair the ruined cities" (Isaiah 61:4). And the stones that You have revived will cry out in praise to welcome You as King of king and Lord of lords. We are Your "living stones" being "built into a spiritual house" to the praise of Your glory" (1 Peter 2:5). You will build Your house and revive Your people "in the presence of (our) enemies" to display Your power over them and Your love for us. You will silence their taunts and establish Your people firmly and securely in the land You have given us to prevail and to prosper for the glory of Your kingdom. So in certain hope and trusting faith, we will not "lose heart" but will "pray always," as we entrust our broken and burned hearts to You, knowing the day of revival will come. Our God will arise and our enemies will be scattered (Psalm 68:1). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! this Friday Night, the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Ready to Rally 5-12-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I behold You, I want to become more like You. ... "And each of the builders had his sword strapped to his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And (Nehemiah) said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, 'The work is great and widely spread out, we are separated far from one another on the wall. Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us" (Nehemiah 4:18-20). Lord, You position us and empower us all the walls of our city each day with our tools of ministry and our weapons of warfare. You give us courage to advance Your kingdom and courage to withstand the advance of the kingdom of the enemy. It is Your Spirit within us who builds and Your Spirit within us who fights. And as we build and as we fight, we must listen for the sound of Your voice. It is Your Spirit within us who sounds the trumpet and Your Spirit within us who rallies us to respond. Some want to focus on building, some want to focus on fighting, some want to focus on sounding the trumpet, and some want to focus on listening for the sound of Your voice. All are good, but we must each grow up in all. The builder must also know how to fight, and the fighter must also know how to build. The intercessor must also know how to speak Your Word, and the preacher must also know how to pray. And at a moments notice, we all must be ready to rally to the battle and fight alongside one another for the people and places entrusted to our care in the power and Spirit of the Lord. As You lead us and empower us to do our part to be prepared, we can rest in the faith of knowing "Our God will fight for us." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm excited to be going to Columbia, Kentucky in central Kentucky this weekend to lead a Prayer Revival, joining in all the Lord is already doing there. I pray for a Prayer Revival in your heart and in your land to prepare the way of the Lord, as He prepares us and empowers us to rally to His voice and join in the victory of His kingdom. God bless you! Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Honoring a Mother's Love 5-11-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this Mother's Day, I turn to You and thank You for the gift of life through the gift of my mother. ... "For it was You who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13). Of all the places of all creation, You chose the womb of a mother to be the place of creation for every child. In the safety and shelter of a mother's love, You form us and shape us, then breathe life into us so that we become a living soul -- all in the womb of a mother. No other has such an honor. No other is entrusted with so much. So we honor our mothers (Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:4). And they are worthy of our honor and love. Even those who cannot honor and love their mothers for all they have done can still choose to honor and love their mothers for who they are -- the person God chose in whom to form and birth their life. "The breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb" (Ecclesiastes 11:5). As we chose a heart of honor, it will go well with us and we will live long upon the earth (Ephesians 6:2-3). Thank You for my mother. Thank You for loving me through her mothers' heart. As a mother comforts her child, so You have comforted me through her mothers' arms (Isaiah 66:13). While You are the fountain source of life and love, she is the stream You chose to carry Your life and love to me. And I love her and honor her for who she is to me today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Rumble and Roar! 5-10-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Life of God, come live Your life through me today. ... As I wait in the silence, centering my thoughts and my heart on You, I hear in my spirit, "Rumble and roar." Lord, what does this mean? ... "At this also my heart trembles, and leaps out of its place. Listen, listen to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, and His lightning to the corners of the earth. After it His voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice and He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard. God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things that we cannot comprehend" (Job 37:1-5). It seems I hear You say, "I will rumble and roar. I will not restrain the power of My Word as all My earth trembles at My voice. I let loose My lightning; I release My thunder. I am shaking all that can be shaken so that only what cannot be shaken will remain. Hold on to Me, My people, for I alone am the security of your strength and the rock of your refuge. All will tremble and see that I am the Lord." Yes, Lord. "At this also my heart trembles, and leaps out of its place." There are times to listen for the still small voice and there are times when Your voice does come in the earthquake, in the thunder, and in the fire. "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved" (Romans 8:22-24). We've been waiting in hope, groaning in labor, longing for the day You would rumble and roar. O God, let us be ready. Let us prepare the way of the Lord; let us be prepared for the day of Your glory and display of Your power as never before on the face of the earth. "O that You would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at Your presence -- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil -- to make Your name known to Your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence!" (Isaiah 64:1-3). Yes, Lord. Come, Lord Jesus, come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays My friends, it is my prayer and the cry of my heart that you would be prepared for the coming of the Lord in His revival power and resurrection glory in your heart and in your land. Please pray the same for me. Let us be completely emptied of ourselves so we can be completely filled with Him. Let us be cleansed and freed of all that hold us back from entering in to the fullness of His presence in the days to come and in these days that are here. Prepare the way of the Lord. God bless you! I'm excited to be going to Columbia, Kentucky in central Kentucky next weekend to lead a Prayer Revival, joining in all the Lord is already doing there. I pray for a Prayer Revival in your heart and in your land to prepare the way of the Lord, as He begins to rumble and roar in the heavens and in the earth as never before. O Lord, that You would tear open the heavens and come down! God bless you! Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Up in Smoke 5-9-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let the sound of Your name fill my home and my heart as I begin this new day. ... "The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odor to the Lord" (Leviticus 17:6). Your blood redeems all things. Your blood turns fat into smoke, turns bondage into breakthrough, woundedness into healing, sin into salvation, challenges into opportunities, and heaviness into praise. Where we were victims, You make us victorious; where we were beaten down, You lift us up; where we were lost, You make us leaders to find others and lead them to You. That's the power of the blood of Jesus. There is life in Your blood (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:14). "In (You) we have redemption through (Your) blood" (Ephesians 1:7). But it's "at the entrance of the tent of meeting" that we find "the altar of the Lord." This is where we plead and apply the blood of Jesus. As we humble ourselves in prayer to depend on You and call on Your name, trusting in You alone rather than in our own flesh that will always fail, Your blood redeems all things as we entrust all things to You. This is the sacrifice of self -- self-will, self-centeredness, self-reliance. This is the sacrifice that slays our pride and releases the power of Your grace, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). This is the sacrifice that is "a pleasing odor to the Lord" as the fat of our flesh burns in the fire of Your Spirit, rising up in smoke to You as the incense of prayer (Revelation 8:4). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to the Mountain! every Monday night at 7 pm to pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray of our ministry. Hosted in the upstairs community room of First Southern National Bank at 3060 Harrodsburg Rd in Lexington. Contact Doris at bndmccray@windstream.net All are welcome! Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

"So We Prayed" 5-8-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Saturate my soul with Your Spirit. ... "But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Amorites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as protection against them day and night" (Nehemiah 4:7-9). Confusion is a demonic strategy. When the enemy of our souls see us going about the business of the kingdom, obeying the commands of the King, building up the broken and strengthening the walls of our resolved to be faithful to the One who is worthy of our obedience and trust, he fears. And out of his fear, he seeks to frustrate. And out of frustration, he seeks to bring confusion. He tempts us to listen to his voice and question Yours -- "Did God really say that? Did He really call you to that? Did He really promise you He would be with you no matter what and lead you through no matter how hard it would be or how long it would take?" (see Genesis 3:1). Deception, doubt, frustration, confusion -- these are the weapons of his warfare. But You have given us "the weapons of our warfare" and have empowered us to "wage war" with "divine power," to "destroy arguments" and "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). As in the days of Nehemiah, this is our divine strategy -- "So we prayed to our God." Not "so I prayed," but "so we prayed." There is a power in corporate prayer, coming together to seek Your face, listen for Your voice, testing the spirits and testing our hearts, and remembering the words You have spoken and promises You have made. This is how we "set a guard as protection" against the strategy of confusion. This is how Your perfect love casts out fear and clears up confusion. As we take our place with one another "behind the wall" of prayer we are encouraged and empowered by Your assurance, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes" (Nehemiah 4:13-14). Then by the power of Your grace, the enemy's plan will be "frustrated" and we will faithfully return to our calling, "each to his work" (v. 4:15). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Building the Church, Despite the Challenges 5-7-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my King and I am Your servant; You are my Father, and I am Your son; You are my Head and I am part of Your body. I wait and listen for the leading of Your Spirit. ... "I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, 'Let us start building!' So they committed themselves to the common good. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Gesham the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, 'What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?' Then I replied the God of heaven is the One who will give us success, and we His servants are going to start building, but you have not claim or share or historic right in Jerusalem" (Nehemiah 2:18-20). As with each one of the children of God, Your hand is gracious upon me. You have called me by name, anointed me with Your Spirit, and sent me with Your authority to do my part in my generation to build Your church and see Your kingdom come. You build Your church and You establish Your kingdom, but in Your sovereignty and grace, You have chosen to do it through Your people (Matthew 16:18-19). But it will not go unchallenged. The enemy of our souls and Your kingdom will mock us and ridicule us; he will threaten us and challenge us every step of the way. So we must fight as we build, with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. We will press on, knowing, "Our God will fight for us" (Nehemiah 4:15-20). You will "give us success" because our success is already established through the victory of Your cross. So give us courage to stand firm, to resist the enemy, and keep building -- with our hands and on our knees -- until we see Your kingdom and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org

Circumcision of the Heart 5-6-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I bow low and look up high and enter in deep to this time of communion in prayer with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ... "Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.... Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him" (Genesis 17:24 - 21:5). Faithful surrender to Your will in trusting obedience to Your word prepares the way for the fulfillment of Your promises. Abraham's circumcision was a cutting away of his self will and a surrender to Your will. He was willing to bring his flesh into submission to Your Spirit. "So shall My covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:13). This was "a sign of the covenant" between You and Abraham and his children to come throughout all generations (v. 17:9-12). Yet this physical sign points the greater spiritual significance -- the circumcision of the heart. "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts (Jeremiah 4:4). Lord Jesus Christ, You are the fulfillment of the covenant; and all the promises of God are fulfilled in You. As children of Abraham, children of faith, our response of obedience to prepare the way for Your promises has to do with the surrender of our hearts and the commitment of our faith in You. "For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). This is our "spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ" (Colossians 2:11). Lord, I want to see every promise fulfilled. Strip away my flesh wherever it is rebellious; soften my heart wherever it is hardened. The child of Your promise to Abraham came when he obeyed Your word in faith. By Your Spirit, I want to obey Your word in faith, that all Your promises to me and to my generations may be fulfilled through our relationship with You. "For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts if faith working through love" (Galatians 5:5-6). By the grace of Your Spirit and in the power of Your love, I will obey Your word and see Your promises fulfilled. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org