First Day of First Grade 8-13-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By the Holy Spirit, I come to the Father, through Jesus, the Son. I give You all glory for all great things You have done. ... "God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day" (Genesis 1:5). Today is the first day of the first grade for my son, Elijah. We walked him to school this morning at Wilmore Elementary, and entrusted him to the care of his teachers. I know not all parents have the gift we have of Christian teachers for our child, with a Christian principal, full of teachers and administrators who pray for the students, in a public school built on land soaked in prayer from generations of holiness camp meetings. But that's part of why we chose to live in this little town with such a rich heritage. So we receive and rejoice in this gift You've given us. And I’m thankful for Your Spirit in our nation, where our teachers have the freedom to pray for the children entrusted to their care -- not imposing their faith on others, but fully free to affirm their faith in You. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (Constitution of the United States of America, First Amendment). "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). At the same time, I pray for the children and parents of faith You have gifted in other ways, but who will feel more like light shining in the midst of the darkness today in their public schools, rather than soaked in the light of Your Presence. But Your grace is sufficient and perfectly-fitted for each child and each parent to be Your light and bring Your light into every dark place. Wherever Your children go, the light of Your glory shines through them and the power and the glory of Your kingdom draws near, for their King and Your kingdom is within them (Luke 17:21). This first day and every day, let Your light shine in the hearts of our children and the hearts of the teachers, helpers, administrators, and all who are called by Your name and strategically positioned for Your purposes in the schools of our nation and all the earth. No matter where I children go to school, no matter who their teachers are or what faith they have, we remember Your words as we entrust them to the care of their schools: "You call Me Teacher and Lord, for that is what I am" (John 13:13). So we know our children are in the good hands of the perfect Teacher. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Order my book, Morning by Morning, and our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night 8/15 -- 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. Come early for intercessory prayer at 6:30. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 or send a note to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com 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

Trust Issues 8-12-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I watch and wait for the leading of Your Holy Spirit and settle in to the embrace of my Father. ... "But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in Me, to show My holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them' " (Numbers 20:12). Our trust is important to You. "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). In the desert wilderness, You wanted to show Your holiness to Your people through the provision of water and the power of Your word spoken through Your servants. Even in the midst of the peoples' murmuring, doubting, and complaining, You wanted to reveal the glory of Your mercy. So You commanded Moses to "command the rock before their eyes to yield its water" (Numbers 20:8). But Moses waivered in faith and failed in obedience; he "did not trust" in You. Rather than speaking to the rock with the word of the Lord as You commanded, he took the matter into his own hands and struck the rock twice with his staff, while chastising the people with an angry heart (v. 20:10-11). You released living waters from the rock but Moses did not release living faith from his heart. One time before, the people were thirsting and complaining and You commanded Moses to "strike the rock at Horeb" for water to come out (Exodus 17:6). Maybe Moses' sin was looking to the past or looking to a formula of faith, rather than living in the fresh faith and tender mercies of each new day. Maybe it was his heart that hardening against the people and he couldn't believe You could have mercy and grace for them even in the midst of their complaining and sin. Maybe in striking the rock twice, he revealed his lack of trust and lack of patience. "Through faith and patience" we "inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:12). In any event, Moses doubted and did not trust, so Moses did not enter into the land of promise. Lord, forgive me for my times of doubt and unbelief. Forgive me for the times I fail to trust You. Forgive me for the times I've tried to make good things happen out of my own power or with the wrong heart. You said, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive" (Matthew 21:21-22). Help me not take matters into my own hands. Help me not rely on yesterday's faith or depend on formulas or rituals, rather than relationship with You. Help me trust You and obey You. Help me seek You and sense the leading of Your Spirit in each moment or mountain I encounter. Give me faith to speak Your word to the rock or the mountain or whatever You choose as the means of Your grace to provide for my needs and those entrusted to my care. Let Your living waters flow through a life surrendered to You in faith (John 7:38). I want to honor You by trusting You, as You show Yourself holy, faithful, and true. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Order my book, Morning by Morning, and our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night 8/15 -- 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. Come early for intercessory prayer at 6:30. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 or send a note to Marilyn at DirOfMinistries@aol.com 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

Everlasting Love, Unfailing Covenant 8-11-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be the first thought I think and the first name I speak on this new day. ... "At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.... I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you.... See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together, a great company, they shall return here" (Jeremiah 31:1-8). These are exciting days of the fulfillment Your words You have spoken and written through Your prophets thousands of years ago about the return of the families of Israel to their land. You said, "In the latter days you will understand this" (v. 30:24). These are those latter days. You are beginning to open the eyes of the world and even Your church to understand that Your Word will never return void, Your covenant will never be broken, and Your everlasting love will never fail. Every prophecy of the return and peace of Your people will be fulfilled. And by Your grace, since the miraculous reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948, we've been seeing it happening before our eyes in these latter days -- whether we have known or acknowledged what we have seen or not. All the journey of the Jewish people You chose from before the foundations of the earth is a journey to teach us all Your nature and our nature, Your faithfulness and our unfaithfulness, Your steadfast, everlasting love and mercy and our eternal need of it. "These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the age have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). And through their example, we see You are faithful to Your Word and faithful to Your people, for "God is faithful" (v. 10:13). Last night, we stretched out our hands and hearts to our dear friends with our ministry, Bob and Doris McCray, to be commissioned as the state-wide representatives for Ezra International Ministries in Kentucky. You've been using this ministry to bring Your people home "from the land of the north" and "from the farthest parts of the earth" (Jeremiah 31:8). Just over the last few years, You've used this ministry to bring over 70,000 Jewish people home to Israel from the north land of the former Soviet Union such as Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and many others. Among them are the poorest of the poor. Though "with weeping they shall come," You gather them to the land You have prepared for them where "they shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:9-12). You are fulfilling Your promise, "I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all My heart and all My soul" (v. 32:41). In the land of their ancient home, knowing the fulfillment of every covenant promise, You are opening their eyes of Your people to see You as You are. As is already beginning to happen in astounding moves of Your Spirit, one day all Your people who are called by Your name will see You and embrace You their faithful Messiah and coming King. "And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the One whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn.... On that day a fountain shall be opened for the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.... They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is our God' " (Zechariah 12:10 - 13:9). "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 'Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.' And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27). Thank You for choosing to allow us to be alive in these exciting days when all prophecies are beginning to be fulfilled, when Your Spirit is moving in the hearts people of all nations to prepare the way of the Lord. Thank You for letting me and our ministry be a part of Your ministry of everlasting love to Your chosen people and all people who put their hope and trust in You (John 3:16). You are the Messiah of Israel, the Christ of all nations, our soon and coming King (Revelation 22:12-21). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we are excited about this bonding in this dimension of our ministry, through Bob and Doris McCray, with Ezra International Ministries: http://www.ezrausa.org/ Bob and Doris will be traveling with Barry Wagner to Kiev, Ukraine next month to gather Jewish people from that region to return to Israel. Please join us in praying for God's peace, protection, and wisdom to all the people of this land (Psalm 122:6). Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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

Wisdom to Trust God and Succeed 8-10-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, come fill the spirit, soul, and body of my person with Your Presence. ... "The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind" (1 Kings 10:24). This wisdom I seek is the wisdom You would put into my mind. The love I seek is the love You would put into my heart. The power and provision and protection and all else I might ever seek is that which You would put into my life. I trust You to know what's best for me. And I don't trust that I do. You alone see my life from beginning to end and beyond. You alone know the mountains of joy I'll climb, the valleys of grief I'll walk through. You alone know all I need for You to put into me for me to become all You created me to be and to do all You created me to do. So I choose to trust You -- to look to You, to lean upon You, to desperately depend upon You this day and every day. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8, NKJV). As I go on in this journey, I choose to take nothing with me but what You provide and impart to me now and along the way, through the means of grace You choose (Luke 9:1-6 and 10:1-12). I entrust all success or failure into Your hands, knowing with the attitude of trusting submission You put into my mind and heart, I have already succeeded in all that will ever matter most. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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 Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos.

Harmony 8-9-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my thoughts and desires with Yours, as You set the path for the steps of my day. ... "May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:5-6). Harmony was the theme of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China last night. It reveals the universal yearning for peace and harmony within our souls and within our world. Even in the midst of all the confusion, chaos, and conflict of our present world, deep inside we all yearn in hope for the peace and harmony that only You can provide. You are love and You call us to love one another, to "cloth (ourselves) with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:14). Unlike ancient philosophies of men that seek oneness out of an emptiness of the individuality of ourselves, so that all things move into a forced harmony of bland uniformity, Your harmony is indescribably creative. You bring our hearts and lives into a harmony of great diversity, with a unity of infinite individuality. WE are one body only in Christ (1 Corinthians 12). With one voice we glorify You through our oneness in Christ, but the sound of our voice is a harmony of the many unique and distinct voices of those praising You with "a new song," as Your "saints from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). The Chinese chose to begin the Olympics at the eighth minute of the eighth hour of the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of this century. From ancient times, they have a sense of the significance of this day and year. Lord, bring us all into this new season of new beginnings, for which all people of all generations have yearned and hoped. Move in the power and glory of Your Spirit in the hearts of the people of all the earth to sing a new song with one voice to see and honor the one true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Filled with hope, let a parade of nations walk together as one in the perfect harmony of Your steadfast love and peace. 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 Cane Ridge yesterday. Many gathered at this ancient well of revival to pray as one voice from many diverse voices of intercessors and watchmen from many different churches and cities from our region to pray for revival in this new season. And we magnify those prayers out to every place where people are hungry for more of God. God bless you! Come tonight in Lexington if you can to hear Barry Wagner of Ezra International Ministries speak about the prophetic destiny of Israel and the Church coming together "one new man" in these last days. Here is a note from Doris & Bob McCray with our ministry who lead a time of prayer for Israel every Monday night about an important event this Saturday Night 8/9/08: "Everyone wants to know what is happening in Israel and where we are in prophecy being fulfilled in our day. This Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. at First Southern National Bank, 3060 Harrodsburg Rd., Messiah Ministries' “Come To The Mountain” has invited Barry Wagner from Ezra International to share an evening of prophecy of God’s end time plan for Israel, the Jewish people and the church. Barry will share from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Daniel and many other prophets who wrote of a day just prior to the return of Messiah, when God would gather His chosen people from the four corners of the earth. Jeremiah tells us that this exodus would be so large it would eventually overshadow the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Come hear Barry Wagner share about Ezra’s International's work in the former Soviet Union of rescuing the Jewish people and enabling them to make aliyah back to Israel. Barry will help us, the church understand how to pray and how we can help in Israel’s final return. Please contact Bob & Doris McCray at: bndmccray@windstream.net Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Eighth Day, Dawn of New Beginnings 8-8-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of this thousand year season, I embrace the reign of Your kingdom in my soul and in all the earth. ... "On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised" (Leviticus 12:3). "Seven days you shall present the Lord's offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord's offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations" (Leviticus 23:36). Many say that the occurrence of the number eight is biblically symbolic of new beginnings. You called the Hebrew children to be circumcised of their flesh on the eighth day, speaking to us of the cutting away of our human flesh and the embracing of Your Holy Spirit. You called Your people to a celebration of the festival of tabernacles for eight days, speaking to us of the celebration of thanksgiving for the Son of God who has come to dwell among us and live within us by the abounding Presence of Your Holy Spirit. You called the subjects of the kingdom of Israel to sanctify and cleanse the temple of the Lord for eight days, speaking to us of cleansing our souls in the blood of the Lamb and embracing the sanctifying grace of Your Holy Sprit, filling our hearts as Your temple (2 Chronicles 29:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16). Lord, let this eighth day be the dawn of new beginnings, a new day and a new season of life in Your Spirit. Rend open Your heavens and pour out Your Spirit as we rend open our hearts (Joel 2:12-13, 28-29). Endue us with the power of the presence of Your Holy Spirit from on high as we go through the gate of Your righteousness into this next season of our destiny in Christ (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). You are "the Gate" (John 10:9). You are "the Power of God" from on high (1 Corinthians 1:24). For myself and for all of Your people who are called by Your name, cut away our flesh, fill us with Your Spirit, and empower us as Your people to enter into this new season of the reign of Christ on the earth through the reign of Christ in our hearts. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you to all who felt led to join with me to fast and pray for this first eight days of this month for breakthroughs in our lives and in all the earth. It will be exciting to see all the Lord has done and will continue to do for the glory of His name! Many of us are going up to Cane Ridge on Friday 8/8/08 to pray for a fresh flow from this ancient well of revival where the Second Great Awakening in America was birthed in revival here in 1801 in an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit that sent fire to the nations from Kentucky. Contact our friend Gerry Morford for details to meet at his house in Lexington at 1:00 and travel to Cane Ridge for prayer and worship about 2:15. 859-619-6897 gerry.morford@ky.gov Cane Ridge Meeting House is located at 1655 Cane Ridge Road (KY State Highway 537) near Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Please join us if you and pray for us if you can't. Friends, here is a note from Doris & Bob McCray with our ministry who lead a time of prayer for Israel every Monday night about an important event this Saturday Night: "Everyone wants to know what is happening in Israel and where we are in prophecy being fulfilled in our day. This Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. at First Southern National Bank, 3060 Harrodsburg Rd., Messiah Ministries' “Come To The Mountain” has invited Barry Wagner from Ezra International to share an evening of prophecy of God’s end time plan for Israel, the Jewish people and the church. Barry will share from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Daniel and many other prophets who wrote of a day just prior to the return of Messiah, when God would gather His chosen people from the four corners of the earth. Jeremiah tells us that this exodus would be so large it would eventually overshadow the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Come hear Barry Wagner share about Ezra’s International's work in the former Soviet Union of rescuing the Jewish people and enabling them to make aliyah back to Israel. Barry will help us, the church understand how to pray and how we can help in Israel’s final return. Please contact Bob &Doris McCray at: bndmccray@windstream.net Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

My Neverforsaker 8-7-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me up and in to the holy of holies of prayer. ... Lord come and fill me And heal me And lift me up with You Lord come and lead me And feed me And make me more like You You are my Savior And my Anchor And I find my strength in You You are my Maker And my Neverforsaker And I face each day in You As I wait in the silence of surrender, I hear these words of this song of hunger for Your Presence and trust in Your security. Many faces come to mind of people I've been praying for who are holding in to You in faith, persevering through their trials, and seeking the assurance of Your voice. You speak to us in many ways, and I pray You would speak to each one of them now in the way they need just as You are speaking to me now through this simple song of trust. Yes, Lord. You never leave us and never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). "So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid' " (v. 13:6). You are very near, very present to all who call upon Your name, who cry out to You in their distress, and put their hope in You alone (Psalm 107). As I will humble myself to seek Your face and call on Your name, I never have to be afraid of ever facing a day without the assurance of Your Presence. Through every moment of every trial, You are with me (Isaiah 40:1-7). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, many of us are going up to Cane Ridge on Friday 8/8/08 to pray for a fresh flow from this ancient well of revival where the Second Great Awakening in America was birthed in revival here in 1801 in an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit that sent fire to the nations from Kentucky. Contact our friend Gerry Morford for details to meet at his house in Lexington at 1:00 and travel to Cane Ridge for prayer and worship about 2:15. 859-619-6897 gerry.morford@ky.gov Cane Ridge Meeting House is located at 1655 Cane Ridge Road (KY State Highway 537) near Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Please join us if you and pray for us if you can't. Friends, here is a note from Doris & Bob McCray with our ministry who lead a time of prayer for Israel every Monday night about an important event this Saturday Night: "Everyone wants to know what is happening in Israel and where we are in prophecy being fulfilled in our day. This Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. at First Southern National Bank, 3060 Harrodsburg Rd., Messiah Ministries' “Come To The Mountain” has invited Barry Wagner from Ezra International to share an evening of prophecy of God’s end time plan for Israel, the Jewish people and the church. Barry will share from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Daniel and many other prophets who wrote of a day just prior to the return of Messiah, when God would gather His chosen people from the four corners of the earth. Jeremiah tells us that this exodus would be so large it would eventually overshadow the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Come hear Barry Wagner share about Ezra’s International's work in the former Soviet Union of rescuing the Jewish people and enabling them to make aliyah back to Israel. Barry will help us, the church understand how to pray and how we can help in Israel’s final return. Please contact Bob &Doris McCray at: bndmccray@windstream.net Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Daily Archives: http://www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com/

Hidden Faults and a Cleansed Heart 8-5-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the way that leads to everlasting. ... "But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults" (Psalm 19:12). Many years ago, I asked You to help me craft the words of a simple and powerful prayer that I could teach my children to pray every day. As Your Spirit formed the thoughts in my mind and shaped the words of my prayer, it came out like this: "Dear Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day." In the years since then, their prayer has been my prayer. In one way or another, every one of my morning prayer is some variation of that same theme and heart's cry. But as I've found with every passing day, the way You answer that prayer is often to reveal to me in the course of my day another area of my soul that is not yet like You. Our hearts are deceitful, but in Your mercy You reveal our self-deceit and so You can cleanse our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10). In my words, my actions, my encounters with others, my moments left alone to my own thoughts, You reveal to me another hidden fault. Not to condemn me, but to cleanse me; not to shame me but to show me that You're still answering my prayer -- my version of David's prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). Some days are better than others, some faults are more not all that hidden, but in Your way and in Your time, You are bringing all things out of darkness and into light, cleansing my soul, and purifying my heart. Yes, I have so far to go on one hand. But, at the same time, the truth of Your Word is being worked out in me: "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 5:21). Help me see myself as the righteousness of God -- cleansed, holy, and pure, by the blood of the Lamb who has taken away all sins -- while not being too blind or too proud to let You cleanse me of all unrighteousness every day (1 John 1:9). Thank You Lord Jesus, keep making me more like You each day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, here is a note from Doris & Bob McCray with our ministry who lead a time of prayer for Israel every Monday night about an important event this Saturday Night: "Everyone wants to know what is happening in Israel and where we are in prophecy being fulfilled in our day. This Saturday, August 9 at 7 p.m. at First Southern National Bank, 3060 Harrodsburg Rd., Messiah Ministries' “Come To The Mountain” has invited Barry Wagner from Ezra International to share an evening of prophecy of God’s end time plan for Israel, the Jewish people and the church. Barry will share from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Daniel and many other prophets who wrote of a day just prior to the return of Messiah, when God would gather His chosen people from the four corners of the earth. Jeremiah tells us that this exodus would be so large it would eventually overshadow the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Come hear Barry Wagner share about Ezra’s International's work in the former Soviet Union of rescuing the Jewish people and enabling them to make aliyah back to Israel. Barry will help us, the church understand how to pray and how we can help in Israel’s final return. Please contact Bob &Doris McCray at: bndmccray@windstream.net Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Silent Witness 8-4-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In You I find my rest and my strength, my calm and my courage. ... "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4). The heavens about us are a silent witness to Your glory. Yet their witness is as powerful as any voice ever heard or any word ever spoken. They don't have to say or do anything. By their very presence, the declare the knowledge that there is a God who is the Creator of all things with greatness and power beyond our comprehension. And though we have much to say and do, we also can say much without doing anything at all; and we can do much without saying anything at all in the power of our silent witness. When we keep trusting in You in the face of suffering, we are Your silent witness. When we hold on to Your promises in the face of what seems like delayed answers to our prayers, we are Your silent witnesses. When we go about the daily matters of our everyday lives carrying the Presence of Christ within us, we are Your silent witnesses. In Christ, Your Holy Spirit dwells within us, Your Father heart of God flows through us, and Your kingdom advances among us -- all whether we ever lift our voice or speak a word or not. In You, "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). And with all Your heavens and all creation, the silent witness of our lives declare "the knowledge of the glory of the Lord" (Habakkuk 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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

Sharing the Fellowship of His Sufferings 8-3-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be the center of my heart and soul today. ... "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11). Lord, our praise went up and Your glory came down last night in ways that words can't describe and our covenant of confidentiality won't allow. But we will never be the same. One thing I can say is that You were speaking to us and showing us how much we honor You and glorify Your name beyond our imagination when we keep looking to You in the midst of our sufferings. You suffered for us in ways we can't begin to comprehend, and as we share in the fellowship of Your sufferings by offering them up to You as You bring us through them, we honor You. This is the power of resurrection life from the dead, life through the death, destruction, sorrow, and grief of a broken, fallen world. Your resurrection power is released in the heavenly realms and poured out in the midst of this earthly realm when we embrace Life even in the midst of death and all that is less than the fullness of the abundance of life. You are the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). So in the power of Your grace, we are not to embrace and accept our sufferings, but offer them to You as You bring us through them, out of death and into life. "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing in Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when His glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:12-13). As we persist in faith, encouraged and empowered by Your Spirit, even in the face of the sharing of the fellowship of Your sufferings, we honor You. "He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that enables Him to make all things subject to Himself" (Philippians 3:21). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for covering us in your prayer during our spiritual retreat in the Shepherd's Pen as we seek to know our Shepherd, hear His voice, and follow His leading more fully and faithfully in our lives. I pray the same for you. God bless you! Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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

Upward Path 8-2-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your Word be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. ... "And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it' " (Isaiah 30:21). You have set before me a path in perfect alignment with Your will and plan for my life. And Your plan is perfectly suited for who You created me to be and all You created me to do. I can trust You and trust Your plan. "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). To walk this path, You've given me Your Word. It is a lamp to show me the very next step for my feet and it is a light to shine the way forward into the next season (Psalm 119:105). Cause me to love Your Word and learn Your Word, to lean on Your Word as my staff in the journey as You give me the grace to trust and obey Your Word. But along with Your written Word, You've also given me Your spoken word -- the words You speak with Your still, small voice to lead and to guide (1 Kings 19:12). This is the voice of Your word I hear behind me, nudging me to walk in the way You've set before me. If I step to the right to follow my own way or to the left to follow someone's else's way, You are gracious to correct me and nudge me back onto Your way. You call me to "walk in it" because You know what's best for me, what will fulfill me and the plans You have for me. Yet Your love always leaves the choice to walk in Your way or not. With every step, You set before me the choice of looking to Your Word open before me and listening to Your word speaking behind me or not. There is always a step that leads me in righteousness -- right relationship with You and with others and within myself -- or a step that leads me off Your path out of step with Your plan. "In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death" (Proverbs 12:28). "For the wise the path of life leads upward, in order to avoid Sheol below" (Proverbs 15:24). Help me look and listen for the guidance of Your words throughout the moments of my day, so I can choose the path the leads upward to life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer this weekend for the overnight spiritual retreat Laura Beach and I will be leading to learn to hear the Shepherd's voice and follow His leading in our lives (John 10). I pray the same for you. 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! Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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

First Eight Days 8-1-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble myself before You, silencing the voice of my self and the voice of my spiritual enemy, so that I hear the voice of my Good Shepherd alone (John 10:3). ... "They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves, and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things they had found.... They began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord; then for eight days they sanctified the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished" (2 Chronicles 29:17). I've been sensing Your call to fast and pray for the first eight days of this month of August. In eight days, it will be the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of this thousand year age of time, 8-8-8. In the days of the cleansing of the house of the Lord in the reign of King Hezekiah, the priests did as the king commanded to sanctify themselves and bring out all the unclean things from the temple. Now as King Jesus has commanded, the King of kings and Lord of lords, I take my place in the priesthood of all believers to gather my brothers and sisters to answer the call You're putting in our hearts to sanctify ourselves and the temples of our souls and our cities for the coming of Your glory in our midst. Your glory is Your Presence, and we hunger and thirst for the fullness of Your Presence in us and throughout our land. I know many are sensing the same call to be emptied of ourselves so we can be filled with You and the glory of Your Presence as never before. Many are pregnant with expectation, in faith believing, for the birthing of tremendous breakthroughs in the heavens to be manifested in the earth, as it is in heaven, as never before. And the greatest breakthrough of all is seeing more of You in the display of all Your glory in our lives. "Now about eight days after these sayings, Jesus took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face changed.... they saw His glory.... Then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is My Son, My Beloved; listen to Him!' " (Luke 9:28-35). The priests of Hezekiah's day were preparing the way of the Lord, longing for Your glory to come and fill Your temple. So are we. We are Your temple, our hearts are Your house, and we all are Your priests (1 Peter 2:9). You are cleansing and sanctifying the souls of Your people, exposing and bringing out all the unclean things so You can fill us with the fullness of Your Holy Spirit in this age as never before. "For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once more (it is a little while), I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord of hosts. 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts. 'And in this place, I will give peace,' says the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:6-9, NKJV). Yes, Lord. In this age, You are shaking all that can be shaken, so that only what can't be shaken remains (Hebrews 12:26). Father, speak Your Voice from heaven. Holy Spirit, lift our eyes to the Son, the Desire of All Nations, that we may see Him and His glory. As we behold Him, we are changed into His image; and our lives and our land will never be the same (2 Corinthians 3:18). The glory of Your Presence will fill the temples of our souls and the cities of our land with Your Holy Spirit as never before (1 Corinthians 3:16). Your glory is arising upon Your people (Isaiah 60:1). And by the mercy and the power of Your grace, the glory of this latter house of hearts sanctified to the Lord, glorifying Your name by Your Spirit in us, will be greater than any generation before. "To them God will make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please join with me and many others who are fasting and praying in the ways the Lord leads in this days of preparation for the days to come. In our region, many will be going to the Cane Ridge Revival site just north of Lexington, Kentucky where the Second Great Awakening in America was birthed. Many are going to The Call in Washington, DC, led by Lou Engles. Join with the praying people of your city and region as the Lord leads you for these exciting days of breakthrough in the broader context of life-long, ever-increasing devotion to Christ and His Kingdom. To keep up on prayer events in our are, please sign up for our city-wide prayer list at PrayLexington@aol.com that Marilyn Walker of our ministry facilitates. God bless you! We are almost full capacity at our overnight spiritual retreat on hearing the voice of God this weekend. Please contact Marilyn now if you're wanting to come: dirofministries@aol.com or 859-317-1591 Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

Slow Summer Showers 7-31-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to be free to be more like You today. ... "Rain in abundance, O God, You showered abroad; You restored Your heritage when it languished; Your flock found a dwelling in it; in Your goodness, O God, You provided for the needy" (Psalm 68:9-10). Our land has languished from the summer heat and lack of rain. The Kentucky blue grass has been more brown than blue or green. But for two days now, it's as if You've opened Your heavens and showered down a slow, gentle rain. Literally overnight, the brown has turned to green; and the hot, sticky air is almost crisp and cool in July. In Your goodness, You are providing for our needy land and restoring our heritage. I know right now other parts of our county suffer from drought or flood, rather than the soaking of Your gentle rain. And I pray for breakthrough in their land, even as I praise You for the healing of ours. I find it helpful to my soul to focus on what You are doing instead of focusing on what You're not doing, celebrating all the blessings that I do have, instead of grumbling over the lack of blessings I am yet to have. I don't want to live in denial when times are dry or times of overwhelming flood, but I also don't ever want to surrender my perspective of hope and gratitude. I won't always be able to thank You from the experience of a cool morning in the middle of a hot summer, but this morning I can. And so I do. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line Friends, we have just a few places left open. Please sign up right away to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading this weekend, August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend. Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

Without Fear to Hear the Words of God 7-30-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Sanctify my thoughts, purify my words, intensify my passion for You. ... "Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God" (John 8:47). You created us to seek You, to know You, and to hear You. You created us for relationship with You -- a daily, personal, intimate relationship with You. A vital part of that relationship is to take time to listen for Your voice, to linger in Your Presence, and expect You to speak. Remove the fear that You won't. Remove the fear that You will. Let Your perfect love cast out all fear. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:18-20). Part of receiving and embracing Your love is learning to discern Your leading. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). Help me dare to quiet my soul. Help me dare to get still enough to hear Your "still small voice" in the depths of my spirit, rising up into the thoughts my mind and into the ears of my heart (1 Kings 19:12, NKJV). It seems I hear You saying right now living words I recognize from Your written words: "My son, you will find Me as you seek Me with all your heart. You will hear Me as you listen in the center of your spirit where I come to dwell by My Holy Spirit. This My holy of holies within My children. This is My seat of mercy within you. I am Christ within you, within each of you, My children, My son." Yes, Lord. Let every word that is of You seep deep down into my soul and rise up into my conscious mind and influence every moment of my day. Let the awareness of Your constant Presence and Your leading voice keep me accountable and keep me close. By Your grace, don't let me grieve Your Holy Spirit, but fully grasp Your hand as You lead me with Your voice. "Whoever is from God hears the words of God." By Your grace, I am from God and God is with me. The Spirit of the Living God is within me, speaking to me, and leading me -- "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we have just a few places left open. Please sign up right away to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading this weekend, August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend. Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

"Glorious Inheritance" 7-29-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Lord and Savior, my Father and Friend, my God and King. Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit today. ... "In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to His counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:11-12). In You, I have destiny and purpose -- for this day and every day of my life. Yet You set before me each moment the choice to seek You or not, seek Your counsel and will or not, keep setting my hope and trust on You alone or not. By the power of Your grace, I can live each day for the praise of Your glory. Or I can choose to live it for myself. Love always leaves a choice. Love "does not insist on its own way" because then it wouldn't be love (1 Corinthians 13:5). And You are love (1 John 4:8). You created me for a relationship of love with You. You created me in Your image, to be transformed and to grow in Your nature, and to live for the praise of Your glory. This is my inheritance. This is my destiny and purpose. And You will fulfill it in me and through, uniquely and creatively, as in no other. I thank You for this gift and I thank You for reminding me today to appreciate it with a grateful and willing heart. Keep opening the eyes of my heart to know and embrace this hope to which You have called me, my "glorious inheritance" (Ephesians 1:18). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we have just a few places left open. Please sign up right away to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading this weekend, August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend. Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

Know Your Power 7-28-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and listen for Your voice. ... "He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him; yet the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man but of God" (John 10:1-13). I saw where the politician holding the highest ranking position of power in our House of Representatives has written a book called, Know Your Power. I haven't read it, but the title made me think of two things. On the one hand, You have created each one of us with purpose, calling, and destiny. You gift us and inspire us, anoint us and empower us to offer ourselves and the gifts You give us to influence our world around us every day. And on the other hand, the greatest power of all is the "power to become children of God." You freely give that power to every human being. We can't earn it, can't climb a political ladder to grab it, can't fight any war to impose it, can't conjure up our own religion or philosophy to secure our right to have it. That greatest power of all comes to all who will seek You, receive You, and believe in Your name. Lord Jesus, You and my Father are One; and You come to live in me by Your Holy Spirit (John 14:23). I seek You and receive You and believe in Your name. I am a child of God through faith in You. "For in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26). I thank You for the gift of this power, for letting me know my power to become Your child, to entrust my life to You, and allow You to live Your life through me -- all by the power of the grace of God. "And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). 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! Order our Ministry Resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org 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

Live Strong 7-26-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to live strong in You today. ... "No distrust made (Abraham) waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised" (Romans 4:20-21). I saw a slogan yesterday that said, "Live Strong." I've forgotten what company or cause that slogan promotes, but it made me think of You. It made me think of living my life full of faith to believe You are with me, leading me, going before me, empowering me, and using me to make a difference. And at the same time, it made me think of days when I don't feel all that strong, when it seems my faith wavers, and I wonder how You could use my life at all. I know Abraham must have had those thoughts and emotions as well. Your Word records the journey of his life with both times of great faith and time of great doubt, times when he trusted You with all he had and times when he felt he had to take everything into his own hands. But it was through it all that "he grew strong in his faith." Faith was not formed out of thin air or even imparted to him at a miracle service. He "grew" in faith. And faith "grew" in him. It is "through faith and patience" that we "inherit the promises" of God (Hebrews 6:12). And by that faith that You give and grow in me, I will live strong. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for praying for our School of Spiritual Ministry. The Lord is ministering to us deeply and empowering us to minister His healing love and power to others. I pray the same for 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 Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

Power and Authority to Honor the Lamb or the Beast 7-25-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, rule and reign in my heart and life today. ... "And the ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast, they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful" (Revelation 17:12-14). Through the victory of the cross and the glory of the resurrection, You declared to Your disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matthew 28:18). Yet in the matchless sovereignty and eternal wisdom of God, You have chosen to create us "in the image of God" and entrust "dominion" over Your creation of the earth to us (Genesis 1:27-28). Despite Your foreknowledge, now confirmed and established by all generations of man since the first generation, that we would miserably fail in our exercise of dominion, You continue to entrust power and authority to us with the calling and commission to use it for Your purposes and Your glory. "Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal" (Luke 9:1). In a sense, You have made us all to be the kings of the earth. "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16). We can use the power and authority You have entrusted to us to wear our crowns and exalt ourselves and build our own kingdoms or we can cast down our crowns at Your feet and exalt Your name and proclaim Your kingdom. Some will be "united in yielding their power and authority to the beast" driven by demonic lust for their own power, positions, and pleasures. But some will be united as one with You, using all the power and authority You have entrusted to us to serve the Lamb who loves us and laid down His life for us and now sits enthroned in the heavens and in our hearts within us. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing" now and "forever and ever" (Revelation 5:12-13). The choice is ours, but You give us all the grace we need to choose well. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever" (Jude 24-25). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer as I lead our Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry intensive course which started last night (equipping and empowering spiritual leaders to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free in the name of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit for the glory our Father -- Isaiah 61; Luke 4). We're holding this one at our ministry base at my home church in Lexington, Kentucky Thursday night through Saturday night. This is part of our ministry calling to "Prepare the Way of the Lord." We'll be teaching and equipping again in Winchester, Kentucky in August. Write for details if you'd be interested. The DVD's from our last one in January, The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, are available now from our web site: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please feel free to use these in your personal ministry, for group studies, and in helping equip prayer ministry teams in your church. Friends, please sign up soon to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend.Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

"Dawn from On High" 7-24-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. Come be One within me now and always by the grace and the power of Your steadfast love and tender mercies. ... "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79). In see in my spirit the dawn of a new day. Dawn form on high will break upon us with light of Your glory, breaking through the darkness of discouragement, disappointment, and disillusionment of all who have grown weary waiting for this day. You have prophesied and promised the coming of this day through Your Word and through the words You have spoken through Your people. "Surely the Lord does nothing, without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). And all who have been watching and waiting through the watches of prayer at their places on the wall of their cities and spheres of spiritual influence, responsibility, and authority long for the coming of this day. Zechariah "was filled with the Holy Spirit" and prophesied over his son, John, on the day he was set apart for Your purposes of Your kingdom (Luke 1:67). His son was called and empowered by Your grace to "go before the Lord to prepare His way" (v. 1:76). His ministry was the preparation for the dawning of a new day. And today Your Holy Spirit is filling Your people with faith to believe and grace to press through and persevere through the all the darkness that would try to discourage us, disappoint us, and disillusion us that we would not live to see the coming of the dawn of this new day. Your Holy Spirit is going before You to prepare the way for Your coming in great glory. One day we will see You break through the clouds of heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16). One day we will declare the fulfillment of the old hymn, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" But before the dawn of that day breaks forth on the earth, the dawn of Your glory will break forth in us. Your Holy Spirit is preparing a holy bride, bringing many sons to glory, to embrace our coming King (Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:10). "And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.... May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:14-23). You are faithful and You will do this -- You will prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts. You will awaken us from all idleness and deliver us from all discouragement. You will prepare us and sanctify us for the glory of Your coming in our spirits and souls and bodies and one glad morning, in all the earth. On the dawn of that day, "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). Come, Lord Jesus, come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer as I lead our Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry intensive course starting tonight (equipping and empowering spiritual leaders to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free in the name of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit for the glory our Father -- Isaiah 61; Luke 4). We're holding this one at our ministry base at my home church in Lexington, Kentucky Thursday night through Saturday night. This is part of our ministry calling to "Prepare the Way of the Lord." The DVD's from our last one in January, The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, are available now from our web site: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please feel free to use these in your personal ministry and in helping equip prayer ministry teams in your church. Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502

Water Gate of the Word 7-23-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters, refresh my spirit, and restore my soul, as I begin this new day with You. ... "All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.... And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen,' lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (Nehemiah 8:1-6). When the people heard Your Word, they were moved to worship You. Their bodies expressed their hearts as they stood in reverence, lifted their hands, bowed their heads, and kneeled prostrate before You. Hearing Your Word led them to respond with their hearts. We honor with reverence the book of law of Moses and all the books that Your Holy Spirit has led us to bring together and embrace as the Word of God. You call us to love and learn "the sacred writings that are able to instruct (us) for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Every word is faithful and true, but we need Your Holy Spirit to awaken it within our spirits and explain it to our minds. We need Your Holy Spirit to show us the arms of our Father stretched out to us in Your Word and available to us through Your life. We don't worship the book, we worship You. And as we hear the truth of Your Word proclaimed, we are moved and we are changed by the Spirit of the One who gives us Your Word. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17, NKJV). Lord restore Your Word to a place of reverence and honor in our lives. Let it convict us and encourage us, correct us and inspire us, as it always leads us to You. Let us spend more time before the Water Gate of Your Word, where we are cleansed and refreshed "with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). You alone are the Gate of our righteousness and salvation (John 10:9). You alone are the Living Water that fills us with the life of Your Spirit (John 4:10 and 7:38). I thank You for Your Word that leads me to You -- to lift my hands to You, open my heart to You, and bow my face before You in the worship of which only You are worthy. 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 Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Order Tommy Hays' New Book, Morning by Morning, 365 Day Prayer Devotional

Friends of Tommy Hays and Messiah Ministries, I'm excited to have published my first book, Morning by Morning! It's a 365 Day Prayer Devotional collected from my morning prayers over a year's time to start each day centered on Jesus, embraced by the Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit. All sales proceeds go to Messiah Ministries to fulfill our calling of "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" through our teaching, equipping, and prayer ministries of healing, deliverance, and spiritual transformation. Please order your copy today and forward this note to anyone who may be interested.

Thank you and God bless you! Tommy Hays

Click Here to Order On-line Now!

Law and Grace 7-22-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be in charge of my calendar, my conversations, and my commitments today. Be at the center of my focus now. ... "After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, 'The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations.... For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way" (Ezra 9:1-2). When the exiles returned to Israel from their captivity, there was great zeal to obey the letter of the law. They had suffered the judgment of exile to a foreign land and were now returning home with a fresh start for a "new life" (v. 9:9). Yet they could only see this as a "brief moment" of "favor" from a God who was granting "a little sustenance in (their) slavery" (v. 9:8). Someone pointed out the sin if intermarriage with people of foreign religions worshipping false gods, and they chose to take drastic action "to send away all these wives and their children" (Ezra 10:3). Only a few spoke up to oppose this plan (Ezra 10:10). These kinds of passages of Scripture are always hard for me to grasp and understand with the eyes of grace that has now set us free from the law. Under the grace of God through the Christ our Lord, "we know that a person is justified not by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not be doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16). We are not free to sin, but we are free to follow Christ. "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:19-20). Seeing the strictness of the law convicts me of the depths of sin, reminds me of my continual need for a Savior, and fills me with joy for the freedom of the grace of God. "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Holiness under the law before grace through Christ seemed to require that the unbelieving wives and children be sent away. It seems holiness under the grace of Christ is the Holy Spirit of Christ living in us, shining as light through us, in the midst of the darkness of unbelieving cultures and people. We are still called to be joined in marriage to believers, but if we are joined to an unbeliever and who consents to live with us, we are not to send them away (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). By the power of the grace of God, instead of what is unholy defiling what is holy, what is holy transforms what is unholy. "For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy" (1 Corinthians 7:14). I'm still growing in my understanding of law and grace, the truth of the Word of God under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. I'm still wresting with Your teaching of the Sermon of the Mount as You continually addressed the law with the fuller understanding of grace out of the heart of the same God, when You relentlessly said, "You have heart it was said.... But I say to you ..." (Matthew 5:21-48). But unlike Ezra the priest and the people of his day who were looking for only "a little sustenance in their slavery" for the "brief moment" of Your "favor," I live every day under the freedom and power of grace. "For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:5). So let me not pull back from the world to be holy, but send me forth into my world today with the holy light of Your Holy Spirit shining through me, transforming my world by the power of Your grace. 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

Handle the Gold 7-21-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I talk to anyone else, I want to talk to You. Before I hear another voice, I want to hear Yours. ... "Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests.... And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God.... And I said to them, 'You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors" (Ezra 8:24-28). You restored Your people to their land out of their captivity when the judgment of exile was completed. And You restored all that had been stolen from them. Among them were all the vessels of silver and gold taken from the temple and hauled away into the treasuries of the kings of Babylon. But even there, these vessels were to be treated with only honor and respect, as the son of Nebuchadnezzar found out when he read the writing on the wall that prophesied his own judgment for defiling the vessels of the Lord (Daniel 5:1-31). The vessel of his soul was "weighed on the scales and found wanting" (v. 5:27). I think these vessels of the temple of the Lord speak of our souls. God commands they be treated with honor and respect, even in the times of judgment and consequences for our disobedience and sin. His heart is to always to restore us and return us to the place of His honor. And in Christ, we are all his priests as well, called to be holy through the cleansing of Your blood and commanded to handle the vessels of God's people with holy honor (1 Peter 2:9). "You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish" (v. 1:18). Through faith in You, our souls are being cleansed and purified to be "more precious than gold," though "tested by fire," to be worthy vessels of honor. (1 Peter 1:6-7). Today, let me see myself that way and see others that way as well. As the vessels of the Lord were "weighed out" into the hands of Your priests by Ezra, they were called to "guard them and keep them" until they were completely restored into the house of the Lord (Ezra 8:29). Likewise, You've called me and each of us who are called by Your name to be holy priests to You, as we handle the gold of Your people's souls in our hands today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please sign up soon to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend.Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). It's not too late to sign up for our School of Spiritual Ministry intensive this Thurs night, Friday, and Saturday -- equipping and empowering spiritual leaders. My friend, Greg Howard, former commander of vehicle enforcement for the state will be teaching on leadership as well. Childcare available. Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (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

Not Empty-handed 7-20-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I welcome You here in my spirit, soul, and body. ... "All that first opens the womb is Mine .... No one shall appear before Me empty-handed" (Exodus 34:19-20). As I appear before every morning in the communion of prayer, these first moments belong to You. As morning opens to a new day, all that first opens my thoughts, my desires, my words, and my actions belong to You. I will not go through the moments of my day empty-handed, because I've not come before You in these first moments empty-handed. You fill my hands with Your hands and my spirit with Your Spirit. You gladly receive my sacrifice of my self as a willing embrace of Your constant Presence throughout my day. ... As I wait upon You in the silence of surrender, it seems I hear You say, "My Son, you may see these first moments as a sacrifice, but I multiply these moments beyond your imagination. These are the most important moments because all the other moments of Your day are set in motion in these. You have used them well this morning." Yes, Lord. Yesterday morning, I thought I was too tired to come and thought I would just "take a day off," but things didn't quite seem right all day long. But You've used even that to draw me closer to You today. You are showing me that my time is a sacrifice but my time with You is really no sacrifice at all in light of all it does in me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, that you for praying for us at The Fountain Friday night. Please keep Shrae Ning from Cambodia in your prayers as the Lord continues to heal her eyes and empower her testimony. She encouraged us all with her strong faith that allowed her to survive through the killing fields as a child and through all the many trials and challenges since. 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

A Heart for the Word of God 7-16-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I watch and wait in the silence of surrender before You again in these first moments of my morning. ... "Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord our God had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord God was upon him" (Ezra 7:6). Though Your priest Ezra was taken away captive and exiled to a foreign land and subjected to life under the influence of a foreign king, Your Word was never exiled from his heart. And the hand of Your favor never left his head. "For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel" (Ezra 7:10). And when the season of suffering was over and the season of restoration began, Ezra was ready for the move of God in his day, "for the gracious hand of his God was upon him" (v. 7:9). Keep giving me a hunger for Your Word and Your Spirit. Let them fill me and overflow through me. Prepare me for battle and position me to move with authority at Your command, with my hand filled with "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" and with Your hand filled with my heart (Ephesians 6:17). By the power of Your grace, I set my heart to study Your Word and seek the abiding presence and favor of Your Holy Spirit. When I go before courts and kings, sinners and saints, and all who cross my path in the everyday journey of life, let them know by Your gracious hand upon me that I have been with You -- in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we've updated our ministry resources at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org, including my new book and the new release of the dvd's from our School of Spiritual Ministry filmed live in Lexington earlier this year. Please sign up soon to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Sign up soon to join us for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry I'll be leading July 24-26, 2008 (Equipping and Empowering Spiritual Leaders in Prayer Ministry to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of our Father). No fee, but suggested donation of $75.00. CHILD CARE AVAILABLE - Please contact Marilyn Walker for more information (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com) Come to The Fountain! This Friday Night 7/18 (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. I will be there to lead in prayer this month. 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