The Resurrection Side - April 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me live with You on the resurrection side of whatever cross I’ll bear. …

“‘Remember how (Jesus) told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must first be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb, they told all of this to the eleven and to all the rest” (Luke 24:6-9).

All that You said came to pass. You knew there would be a day of day of great suffering, but also a day of great joy. Beauty would rise from ashes, sorrow would be turned to dancing, what was sown in tears would be reaped in joy.

On the resurrection side of the tomb, the women remembered Your words of hope You’d sown into their hearts on the suffering side of the cross. In the challenges of a broken, fallen world, we will have our days of disappointment and discouragement. Our plans will not always unfold as we envision in our minds. Rarely is there anything of lasting value that comes easily without trying circumstances that test our faith. And of course, there can never be resurrection with death, just as we can never truly know the heights of joy without the depths of sorrow, nor the brightness of the dawn without the darkness of the night.

Lord, remind me of all You’ve sown into my heart. Let hope arise when I’m tempted to doubt and tested in faith. All that You’ve spoken will come to pass. Not one of Your words will fall to the ground. Give me the grace of persevering trust and tenacious faith. Even when it looks like all has failed, remind me that You’re the redeeming God, Who causes all things—even death on a cross—the work together for good if we keep believing Your words and entrusting ourselves to the One Who’s conquered the grave and lives in our hearts. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, I'm praying for you to live in the hope and joy of the resurrection side of all you've been enduring through whatever seasons of suffering and death you've had to face. On this day after Easter, I'm excited to have my oldest son, Zach come from college to join me in a charity golf scramble to benefit The Refuge for Women, that our ministry encourages and supports in healing prayer ministry (www.RefugeForWomen.org ). My younger sons Elijah and Josiah will be along as caddies. Please pray for sunshine! God bless you and thank you for joining me in the journey of pray.


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He is Risen in Me! - April 24

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise, my soul, arise—Arise into newness of life this Resurrection Day and every day the Resurrected One arises in me. …

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!” (Luke 24:1-5)

The stone has rolled away
All darkness is gone
The light of Your glory
Breaking forth at dawn

You’re alive
You arise
You live inside of me

I have new life
When You arise
And live inside of me

Darkness thought he’d won
Putting to death the Son
But death couldn’t hold
The power of life and love bestowed
Upon the One Who is alive

You’re alive
You arise
You live inside of me

I have new life
When You arise
And live inside of me

Lord Jesus, You’re alive. And You’re life is my life, because You live in me. The same Spirit that raised You from dead is the same Spirit that raises me into newness of life every day (Romans 8:11).

This Resurrection Day is world-wide display of Your victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of forgiveness over sin, of hope over despair, of all that is to come over all that has been. For great is glory and mighty is Your name. You have risen in the earth and You have risen in me! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

God bless you and Happy Easter on this day we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!


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Perversion of Justice into the Righteousness of God - April 21

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I stand amazed in Your Presence; I bow low in honor of Your mercy; and I draw near in response to Your love. …

“Then (Pilate) answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify Him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed Him over to be crucified” (Mark 15:9-15).

It wasn’t right they rejected Your life and dishonored Your name.
It wasn’t right they perverted justice and condemned an innocent Man to die.
It wasn’t right they betrayed Your trust, scorned Your love and despised Your grace.
It wasn’t right they stripped Your honor, mocked Your glory and inflicted Your pain.
It wasn’t right they would receive Your mercy and grace as You hung on their cross.
… And mine.

Nothing about it was right. And yet, it was all perfectly right, because it was all within Your eternal plan to lay down Your life for us as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, once for all, that we might live forever with You. “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 1:19-20).

As Your Spirit declared through the prophecy of Isaiah eight hundred years before it happened: “He was despised and rejected by others; a Man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; as One from whom others hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him of no account…. He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed…. By a perversion of justice He was taken away… although He had done no violence and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of God to crush Him with pain ... because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:3-12).

In Your perfect righteousness You redeemed this greatest perversion of justice. In the form of Christ, You set aside the glory of heaven to humble Yourself in human flesh and blood to bear our sins for us on the cross, so that we could be forever cleansed of all the jealousy, selfishness, and pride in our hearts that nailed You there (Philippians 2:5-8).

Pilate was wrong; the chief priests were wrong; the crowds were wrong. Yet, in the power of the blood of Jesus, their wrongs were redeemed to fulfill all righteousness. “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).

You are the King of the Jews and the King of all. You are the King who came down off Your throne to be nailed to a cross out of Your love for me and for all, longing for us to allow You to be King of our hearts. You are my King who turned this perversion of justice into the righteousness of God. And I honor You with my thanksgiving and love for You this day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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Jesus was “I Am” - April 20

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re my Father, my Friend, and my Faithful Companion. I love You because You first loved me. I welcome You into my life because You first welcomed me into Your world. Guide my steps and direct my path, as I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit today and every day. …

“‘Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I Am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:56-59).

You claimed to be “I Am”—the Everlasting, Eternal God, Who appeared to Moses in the wilderness and Who created the universe long before calling Abraham to be set apart to birth a chosen people to become known as the Jews and a light to the nations (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 49:6). You claimed to be the Messiah of Israel, humbling Yourself as God Almighty clothed in human flesh as the Anointed One and Savior of the world.

But the religious leaders in their self-righteous, self-centered, religious hearts could not hear it or bear it: “So the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you plainly, and you do not believe…. The Father and I are One.’ The Jews took up stones again to stone Him…. The Jews answered, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone You, but for blasphemy, because You, though only a human being, are making Yourself God.’ Jesus answered, ‘… the Father is in Me and I Am in the Father.’ Then they tried to arrest Him again, but He escaped from their hands” (John 10:24-39).

They wanted to stone You to death for claiming to be God. But You had already determined before the foundation of the world that You would willingly choose to embrace the suffering and shame of a cross in Your eternal sacrifice of love on our behalf. You said, “I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). Only when they saw You crucified and raised again would their eyes be open to see the truth of Who You were and Who You showed Yourself to be: “So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am He’” (John 8:28).

By grace, You’ve opened my eyes to see Who You are. You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Holy One of God, both Son of God and Son of Man, the Word made flesh, One God in Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—“the Alpha and the Omega… the Lord God, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). And by faith I believe You laid down Your life for me on the cross in a sacrifice of love I can’t begin to fully understand, but in humility and gratitude choose to receive. Let no self-righteousness or self-centered pride keep me from fully embracing Your great gift of mercy and love for me and for all who choose to believe. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

As we remember the journey of Jesus to the cross this Holy Week, may the Holy Spirit fill you afresh with a true passion for Christ as we embrace the gift of His passion for us. God bless you, my friend! Please pass along these prayers to any of your friends who may be encouraged by them in their journey of faith.


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The Greatest Deed of Power - April 19

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me follow You wherever You lead me today. …

“As (Jesus) rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As He was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’” (Luke 19:36-38)

The multitudes praised You for Your deeds of power. But they couldn’t see that the source of Your deeds was the power of Your love. And when the day would come when You were no longer moving the power they praised, their praises of “Bless him as a king!” would soon turn to “Crucify him like a thief!” (v. 23:21) You saw their true hearts hidden from their own eyes, as You wept over them, crying out to them: “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes…. you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God” (v. 19:42-44). Yet You loved them still, and continued Your journey to the cross.

The deeds of Your power came out of the heart of Your love. And You were willing to die a shameful death for souls everyone of them—for those who would praise, for those who would judge you, and for those who would do both, depending on the pressure of their peers and the mood of the crowd. They didn’t have eyes to see that You were never for powerful than when You willing chose to be crucified in weakness. And the greatest deed of power was the power of Your love. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

I praise You, Lord Jesus, for all Your deeds of power in my life—for saving me, for healing me, for freeing me, for changing me. And I praise You for the power of Your love displayed in every deed of Your power—especially the deed of Your power over two thousand years ago when You willingly chose to lay down Your life for me on a cross. Let me not be swayed by the crowds or intimidated by my peers to turn away and deny Your love. Let me be found faithful to You, forever praising You for Your faithfulness to me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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Untrained and Untested, but Needed - April 18

Good morning, Lord Jesus. More of You and less of me; more of Your will and less of mine. I’ve come to know that You know best. …

“When He had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it? Just say this, ‘The Lord needs it’” (Luke 19:29-31).

The colt had never been ridden. He had no prior experience and no prior training for the incredible honor and responsibility that was to come that day in the fullness of time and in the fulfillment of his destiny. But this colt was created to carry the King of kings and Lord of lords into Jerusalem for the Holy Week before the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

And not only did You create him and choose him, Your Word also says You had need of him. In the mystery of the sovereignty of God, the Creator of the universe needed this donkey to fully accomplish Your purposes. And there he was, tied up and untested, but available and ready to be used at just the right time for just the right task.

As we enter in to this Holy Week, I want to remember that You’ve created me and chosen me with calling and purpose and destiny, like all Your children (Ephesians 2:10). I may feel inadequate and insecure, untrained and untested for all that You’ve purposed in Your heart to accomplish through my life. But I want to be available and ready, whenever the times may come that You choose to have need of me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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O Glorious Day! - April 14

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—You are mighty to save, mighty to forgive, mighty to heal, mighty to love, and mighty to lead me through whatever I will encounter and experience today with You. …

“Some sat in darkness and gloom, prisoners in misery and irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down with no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress, He brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder! Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wonderful works to humankind. For He shatters the doors of bronze, and cuts in two the bars of iron!” (Psalm 107:10-16)

I thank You, Lord, for letting me see Your mighty power to change lives in front of my eyes. We drove away from the little farm house at the Refuge for Women last night at midnight, having prayed for the last woman, set free from a spirit of destruction. What an awesome end to a glorious day! What a day of Your power and might and love we saw. A young woman came to faith in Christ. Another was delivered from demonic oppression crushing her spirit and then filled with joy. Two had miraculous healing in their bodies and freedom from chronic pain. Many experienced deep emotional healing from years of sexual abuse and self-rejection. And all that was as You were equipping and teaching us how to pray for healing and freedom of spirit, soul, and body in the power of Your love and the name of Jesus.

We started the day singing the song, “O Glorious Day!” And by the end of the day, we couldn’t wait to sing it again in high praises of Your glorious name! I can’t wait to go out this morning to see what You have for us today. You are mighty to save all who will humble themselves to cry out to You in our trouble and call on Your name in trusting faith.

You love to shatter the doors of bronze and cut in two the bars of iron. You long to deliver us from darkness and gloom to break our chains of bondage to everything that would hold us back and shut us down from all You created us to be. With the Father’s heart, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, You love to heal the broken and set the captives free. Praise Your holy name! In You, every day is glorious day! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.


Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, Thank you for your prayers! Please keep us in prayer today, as we go out to the Refuge for Women to teach our School of Spiritual Ministry with their prayer team, leadership team, and women in residence. This is a powerful ministry dedicated to the rescue of women from the adult entertainment industry, to help them find Jesus and be equipped to live a life that honors Him in the power of His Spirit (www.RefugeForWomen.org ). And like our ministry in many places at home and abroad, Your prayers and financial support for Messiah Ministries enable us to minister to others who need our help. Freely we've received and freely we give. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us in our ministry together to those who need to know the healing love of God in Jesus Christ ( www.messiah-ministries.org ).

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! April 15th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

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“To Seek Out and To Save” - April 13

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Resurrection and the Life. Come live in me and live through me today. …

“For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost” (Luke 10:10).

You didn’t just wait for the lost to come to You. You went to them. You sought them out. You didn’t judge them or shame them; You reached out to them, speaking the truth in the love of God with them. And they heard what You said because they saw what You lived.

It seems Your ministry was not limited to building a nice building or preparing a beautiful service of worship in a welcoming atmosphere. You spoke in the synagogues, but You also searched in the streets. Love compelled You. Mercy overwhelmed You. You wanted all to know they were loved by God, created for a life of so much more than they knew.

And we are Your Body. We have Your Spirit. So let us not merely sit back in our buildings and services, waiting for the lost to find us. Let love compel us to go seek them out, for them to see Your heart in us for them. At work, at school, next door, in the store—open our eyes to see them, our hearts to love them, and our mouths to share with them the saving love of God. Just like somebody shared Your love with us. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep me in prayer this week, as I go out to the Refuge for Women to teach our School of Spiritual Ministry with their prayer team and leadership team. This is a powerful ministry dedicated to the rescue of women from the adult entertainment industry, to help them find Jesus and be equipped to live a life that honors Him in the power of His Spirit (www.RefugeForWomen.org ). And like our ministry in many places at home and abroad, Your prayers and financial support for Messiah Ministries enable us to minister to others who need our help. Freely we’ve received and freely we give. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us in our ministry together to those who need to know the healing love of God in Jesus Christ ( www.messiah-ministries.org ).

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! April 15th, our Messiah Ministries’ monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

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“The Help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” - April 12

Good morning, Lord Jesus. How I need You every hour—from the first moment to the last moment and every moment in between. …

“Yes, I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (Philippians 1:18-21).

I thank You for the prayers of my friends who lift me up to You. And I thank You for the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ at work within me, guiding me and empowering me to try to live a life that honors You. I need the power of Your grace to keep me from failing, and I need the power of Your grace to forgive me when I do.

As the choices of my life have proven so many times, I am powerless to live the life You desire for me without You. And I thank You that I never have to be without You, that You are always at work within me, forming Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, conforming my character to Your nature (John 15:4). Thank You for Your patience with me in this life-long process, with breakthroughs in the power of Your grace along the way. “For it is God Who is at work in (me), enabling (me) both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

O how I need You every hour. And O how You hear my cry and answer my prayer and the prayers of those who love me in the power of Your grace to keep me on the journey. This is my eager expectation and hope in the help of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Thank you for joining with me in the journey of prayer!

Friends, please keep me in prayer this week, as I go out to the Refuge for Women to teach our School of Spiritual Ministry with their prayer team and leadership team. This is a powerful ministry dedicated to the rescue of women from the adult entertainment industry, to help them find Jesus and be equipped to live a life that honors Him in the power of His Spirit (www.RefugeForWomen.org ). And like our ministry in many places at home and abroad, Your prayers and financial support for Messiah Ministries enable us to minister to others who need our help. Freely we've received and freely we give. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us in our ministry together to those who need to know the healing love of God in Jesus Christ ( www.messiah-ministries.org ).


Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! April 15th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
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Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Delight in the Fear of the Lord - April 11

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of all I think and feel and do this day. …

“His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:3).

I made it to the meeting last night just in time for the end of the message and the altar call. It was an invitation to come and embrace “a baptism in the fear of the Lord.” I don’t remember ever being challenged and encouraged with that call before. And if I have, I don’t think I’ve ever received it and embraced it, and certainly never manifested it, so deeply in response to a move of Your power in my spirit, soul, and body as I experienced it last night.

But it’s part of the call to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).It’s part of the nature of Christ that Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah to come, Who would be filled with the seven-fold Spirit of God: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2; Revelation 3:1). And “His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:3).

Lord, let that be my delight. Let my delight be to fear You—to honor You, to reverence You, to give my life completely to You. Let me be sensitive to Your convictions and eager to embrace Your corrections, having my conscience clear and my heart pure, that I don’t even desire to turn to anything less than Your will throughout the moments of my day. Let it not be something I have to strive to do or make myself perform, but something that just becomes a part of who I am.

The children of God are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). The sons and daughters of God are consumed by the Spirit of God—baptized in the fire of the fear of the Lord (Hebrews 12:29). We are called to pursue in our hearts “the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). With many on our faces at the altar of Your Presence, I believe You baptized me in that fire last night in a way I’ve never known before. Lord, keep Your holy desire and Your holy fire burning in me (Matthew 3:11). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! April 15th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and Linda Dulin be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

Subscribe: www.messiah-ministries.org/home
Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
Order our Resources: www.messiah-ministries.org/resources
Give to the Vision and Calling of Messiah Ministries:
www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

“Love Never Fails” - April 8

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are in me and I am in You. Form Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as You guide my steps throughout this day. …

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though all have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).

The mountains may tremble and the seas may roar, but Your love never fails. Earthquakes may rock our world and economic tsunamis may wash away everything not built upon the solid rock of a security in You alone, but Your love never fails. And Your love is in us—moving us with compassion for the broken, courage to stand with the fearful, tenacity to endure with the hopeless, because Your love never fails. “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NLT).

When we love, we cannot fail. We may make mistakes; we may sin. But by the mercy of Your grace, You redeem our mistakes and forgive our sins. You keep on loving us and keep on loving through us. Your love is the greatest power in the world—the power to change us and the power to change the world through us. And with that thought in our minds and that desire in our hearts, we cannot fail, because love never fails. “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT).

In the power of Your love, every catastrophe becomes an opportunity for Your nature to be manifested through our lives. Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. And the foundation of Your kingdom, Your power, and Your glory is love. “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8). It’s a kingdom of love that will never end (Daniel 7:14). And it’s a kingdom of love that’s here now, within us (Luke 17:20-21). This is the kingdom of Your love that will never fail. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, I join with you in prayer for the people of Japan, enduring the devastation of yet another earthquake. May these catastrophes in their lives and any in our lives become opportunities to love and be loved in the power of God through the people of God. God bless you and thank you for joining with me in the journey of prayer for one another and for our world.

Thank you for praying for us at our Power and Love Conference this week in Lexington. We've been going out in the city all week, praying for people and coming back to share amazing stories of God's love and power moving among us. I pray for the move of God in the power of His love in Your city and region as well!


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Beautiful Feet Bringing Good News - April 7

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Conform me into Your image. …

“For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ But how are they to call on One in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One of Whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:13-15)

It really is good news You send us to share. Forgive us when we don’t share Your good news with love in our hearts and smiles on our faces from all the amazing grace in our lives. It’s not meant to be bad news of condemnation, judgment, self-righteousness, and spiritual arrogance. It’s meant to be good news of Your tender mercies and powerful love, restoring and redeeming our lives to be all You created us to be—sons and daughters of the Living God. It’s the good news of the free gift of God available to all who will open their hearts to entrust their lives to You. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

Lord, let my feet be beautiful today, as I walk in Your steps in the ways You will lead. Let my face reflect the joy of my salvation and my spirit reveal my gratitude for Your grace, as You send me to share the good news of Your mercy and love. “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). As I arise from my place of prayer and go out into my world to my places of ministry, let everyone who sees me know that I have been with You and Your Spirit is within me, reaching out to them in the power of Your love (Acts 4:13). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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School of Power and Love - April 6

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the communion of prayer, I want to start this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. …

“‘And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy child Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place in which they had gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29-31).

For the next four days, we’ll be gathered together in Your Presence and in Your name at “The School of Power and Love,” co-hosted by our ministry and six other ministries and churches in our city. We’re hungry to grow in our understanding and experience of sharing the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the healing power of God outside the walls of our churches and everywhere Your Spirit leads us. We want to live and work in the everyday moments and everyday relationships of our ordinary lives, filled with Your extraordinary power, to lead our neighbors to You (Romans 8:9-11).

Let the place where we gather together be shaken. Let the strongholds of darkness be shaken. Let everything be shaken that can be shaken so that only that which cannot be shaken remains (Hebrews 12:27). Awaken Your Bride, the Body of Christ, in our city to arise and shine, to share Your love and Your power and Your Word with boldness. Let the renewal and revival in our hearts engulf our community and all the earth, until “the earth (is) filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea!” (Habakkuk 2:14) In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep us in prayer at our School of Power and Love this week, at Lexington United Methodist Church. Over 150 have registered from all different churches and traditions in our city, and the evening sessions are open to the public ( http://www.powerandlove.org/schools/ky2011 ). I pray for great renewal and revival in Your city and region through God's power and love in Jesus' name.


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Blessing God with Great Joy - April 5

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes, open up my heart, and welcome You into my spirit. Christ in me now and throughout the moments of my day. …

“Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up His hands, He blessed them. While He was blessing them, He withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:50-53).

You’re in heaven and You’re also in me. I worship You on high and I also worship You within. You lead me each day as far as I am to go. You lift up Your hands over me and stretch out Your hands through me. My heart is Your altar and my body is Your temple—“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

You fill me with Your Holy Spirit; and my human spirit is continually blessing God with great joy, because Your Presence ever abides within me. “This is the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him because He abides with you, and He will be in you…. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:17-20).

This day is that day. Every day that I open my spirit to Your Spirit, yield my will to Your will, allow Your voice to lead me and Your Spirit to fill me is that day. It’s a day of blessing God with great joy, a day of my great God blessing me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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I’m All In - April 4

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wait in the silence, centered in Your Presence, to begin my day in the communion of prayer with You—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. …

“For we are what He has made us, created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Ephesians 2:10).

I am who You have made me to be—this is my identity. I do what You have created me to do—this is my destiny. I live and move and have my being in You—this is my way of life. It’s all by Your grace, as I trust in You by faith to be Lord of all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (v. 2:8-9).

Keep revealing to me my identity. Keep awakening within me my destiny. Keep leading me in the ways that lead to the life I can only know to the degree I’m committed to follow You. I’ve come too far to turn back now. I’ve seen too much to doubt Your truth. So give me courage to press on and passion to press in. As Your first followers came to understand in their journey of faith with you, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

So there’s nowhere else I want to go, nothing else I want to do, no one else I want to be than all that You’ve purposed in Your heart for me. I’m all in. Help me live like it—as best as I can and all by Your grace. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I no live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-20). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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Love in the Image of God - April 1

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice. ...

"Then God said, 'Let Us make humankind in Our image, according to Our likeness'.... So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit--You are One God in three Persons, eternally One in the perfect bond of Your perfect nature of holy love (1 John 4:8). You've created us in Your image, according to Your likeness--to love and to be loved, to love You and love one another, to be loved by You and be loved by one another (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-40). This is how we are to live life in the image of God, as You forgive us and cleanse us from every way we fail to love You and love one another.

"God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is perfected through us" (1 John 4:9-12).

In the journey through these forty days of fasting and prayer in preparation for the week we remember together Your journey to the cross and Your resurrection from the tomb, it's good to remember to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing is that You are the God Who is love, expressing Your love to us and through us. Everything else we ever do or say, we ever teach or learn, we ever think or believe, must be grounded in this foundational truth. "So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them" (1 John 4:16).

Lord Jesus, You perfectly revealed the love of the Father through the nature of the Holy Spirit living in You. And now You live in me and in the hearts of all who trust and believe in You by grace, through faith (Colossians 1:27). We are in the daily process of the journey to the cross and the resurrection, being conformed into the image of the Son of God, into the nature of the love of God (Romans 8:29). This journey of death and resurrection is the journey of following You into the growing nature of Your love.

As You said to Your first disciples and all Your disciples to follow: "If any want to be My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). This is our life of love for the sake of God--for "the only thing that counts is faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). To the degree that we love--allowing You to express Your love through us--we reveal we are created, redeemed, and restored into the image of our God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

God bless you in your journey through this season toward the Holy Week we especially remember the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. May He make us more like Him each day, all in the power of His grace -- Your friend, Tommy

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Angels Encamped About Me - March 31

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings, King of all, Lord of lords. Lord of all, be King and Lord of my life and every moment of my day. …

“Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him; and when Jacob saw them he said, ‘This is God’s camp!’ So he called that place Mahanim (meaning two camps)” (Genesis 32:1-2).

Let the angels of the Lord encamp about me. I can’t see them, but I know they are there (2 Kings 6:17). Thank You for those who have watched over me, in that heavenly, unseen realm of the spirit, since the day I was born—watching my back and beholding Your face (Matthew 18:10). They lift me up and guard me with care, warring in the heavenly realm in ways I don’t always know and fighting for me in battles I could not win (Psalm 91:9-14). They are Your “spirits in divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation;” and encamp about Your people at Your command wherever we go because You go with us (Hebrews 1:14).

So wherever I go on my way, the angels of God go with me. And there are always two camps—the one I see with my natural eyes, and the one I believe by faith with my spiritual eyes. “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:7-8). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


Friends, I'm excited to be making arrangements for ministry in Africa this summer. Please let me know if you'd like to join in prayer or support: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org Let me know if you'd like to donate frequent flyer miles to our ministry for a tax-deductible contribution. That would make a huge difference for us to be able to travel more with the messages the Lord has entrusted to Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God."

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Continually - March 30

Good morning, Lord Jesus. May my eyes be as fixed as the sun on Your face, as watch and wait for leading of Your Spirit to begin my day with You. …

My eyes be as fixed as the sun on Your face
My ears be as sensitive as a violin to Your voice
My spirit be as deep as a river with Your Spirit
My heart be as open as an ocean to Your love …

“O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name, make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him, tell of all His wonderful works. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and His Presence continually” (1 Chronicles 16:8-11).

With my eyes and ears, with my spirit and heart, I seek You now and welcome You with me throughout the moments of my day. I embrace Your Presence continually. If I’m tempted to sin, remind me You’re watching. If I’m tempted to grumble, remind me You’re listening. If I’m tempted to be indifferent to the sufferings around me, remind me You’re within me. My life is no longer my own, and all the moments and encounters of my day belong to You. I am continually Yours and You are continually mine. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep us in prayer tonight. I'll be teaching and ministering on healing prayer during the Wednesday night series on Prayer Encounters led by Laura Beach at my home church ( www.CentenaryLex.com ). All are welcome!


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“Sacred Portion” - March 29

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You, Lord—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and I thank You for loving me. …

“When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the fruit of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘Today, I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into a land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us” (Deuteronomy 26:1-3).

Every morning when I wake up to breathe the fresh air of a new day, I’ve entered into the inheritance You’ve given me to possess. Every evening when I look up at the stars and lay down to sleep in security and peace, I’ve entered into the inheritance You’ve given me to possess. Let me never take it for granted. And even in the mornings when it seems the air is not so fresh and in the evenings when it seems there’s not so much peace, let me remember that You are with me, at work within me and at work for me to keep entering into my inheritance. And to be ready to help others enter into their inheritance as well.

Under the New Covenant, fulfilled in Christ, You are my Priest and I am the place You have chosen as a dwelling for Your name. All that I am and all that I have belong to You. Every good thing that You accomplish through my life is the fruit of the ground and the harvest from the land. The basket from the abundance I gather and offer to You as my “tithe” is the thanksgiving in my heart with the praises of my mouth that You are the Source of every good thing in my life (v. 26:12).

My tithes are not offerings to that which is lifeless, fruitless, or “dead” but to the One in Whom I live and move and have my being (v. 26:14). This is my “sacred portion”—my part You give me to give back to You, out of the overflow of Your blessings (v. 26:13). And out of my offerings of my heart, my time, my money, and all that I am, You take it and multiply with the offerings of Your children to provide for the ministries of Your Kingdom to the lives You touch—to “the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows” (v. 26:13). With thanksgiving and praise that You accept our offerings and use our lives to fulfill Your will, we “celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord (our) God has given to (us) and to (our) house” (v. 26:11). Now, O Lord, “Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel (and all who also now join in the inheritance of all the blessings of Abraham through the New Covenant in Christ) and the ground that You have given us, as You swore to our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey” (v. 26:15; Galatians 3:14). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


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“Come and See!” - March 28

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the ways that lead to life today. …

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, He said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is not deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you get to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man’” (John 1:45-51).

Philip found Jesus—the Messiah, the Christ, the One they longed in their hearts to see and to know, Who would fulfill all the law and all the prophecies, Emmanuel, God with us. And Philip couldn’t wait to share his faith with Nathanael: “Come and see!”—“Come and see the One Who’s forgiven my sins, the One Who heals the brokenhearted and sets the captives free, the One Who knows everything about us and loves us anyway, the One who makes my heart sing and my spirit soar!”

But Nathanael wasn’t so sure. He had his doubts and he had his questions. But he soon found that You already knew everything about him. You weren’t offended by his doubts or put off by his questions. You loved him and welcomed him, and then spoke to him of how his life was about to change, how he was now going to experience life in way that he could have never known without knowing You. The heavens were open over You, and now the heavens would be open over him and over all who put their hope and trust in You.

I saw two more set aside their doubts and come to the end of their questions to ask You to come into their hearts as Lord and Savior this weekend on our church’s Alpha Course. Friends invited them to “Come and see.” And now the heavens are open over their hearts and their lives are changed forever. Many others received deep healing and spiritual freedom. You healed one lady dramatically of her pain from years of fibromyalgia and chronic pain, as we gathered around her in prayer and her husband spoke blessings into her spirit in the authority of Your name. And so many received a fresh filling of Your Holy Spirit. Some even sang in tongues the high praises of God!

You’re the God who knows everything about us. You know our doubts and our questions, our insecurities and fears, even our sins and shame. But You keep loving us and calling us to come know You, to come let You change our lives in the power of Your love and the mercy of Your grace. Then we can’t wait to go get our friends and say, “Come and see.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, thank you for praying for us at our weekend retreat on our Alpha Course this weekend. God moved in might ways! I was excited to get to share three talks on the Holy Spirit, which is one of my favorite parts of Alpha ( www.AlphaUSA.org ), one of the evangelism ministries of my home church ( www.CentenaryLex.org ). Cyndi, the lady who was healed by Jesus from years of chronic pain from fibromyalgia, said she's love to write a testimony to share with our ministry and encourage our intercessors and supporters. Praise God! Healing is not always so sudden and dramatic, but it's really exciting when it is. And salvation of the soul is always the greatest healing of all! So we are all praising God for His mighty hand in our lives on this weekend away. And I pray for His mighty power to move in your life and lives of your friends you reach out to say, "Come and see" and lead them to Him. God bless you!


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On the Mountains and Through the Fires - March 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit, as I begin my day in the communion of prayer with You. …

“The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire” (Deuteronomy 5:4).

You delivered Israel out of the bondage of Egypt. You led them through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. And at Your holy mountain in the desert, You expressed Your heart for their lives to Moses and all the people. Your heart was that “it might go well with them and their children forever” (v. 5:29). Yet it was hard for them to hear Your heart because they were so afraid of Your Presence (v. 5:23-27).

“Indeed our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrew 12:29). And You are a holy God Who is worthy of a healthy and holy fear of the Lord, but it’s not a fear to make us afraid and hold back from You. It’s a fear of honor and respect, that we would not try to hide our true heart, hopes, struggles, and sins from You, but willingly open all our heart and soul to You. It’s Your holy fire that purifies our hearts for the very purpose of drawing near to You with “clean hands and pure hearts” to “receive blessing from the Lord” as we “seek the face of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 24:3-6).

You want to speak to us “face to face”—personally, intimately. And You speak to us when we draw near to You in the mountain of Your Presence, in the high place of Your glory, when we lift up our hearts to You in prayer. But You also speak to us in the fire. Sometimes it’s the fire of the One Who is consuming everything in us that is not yet like You, that we may draw closer still. And sometimes it’s the fire of the challenges and circumstances we endure through this broken, fallen world, suffering under the burden of its “bondage to decay” and sin, not yet fully redeemed and restored to all it will be one day (Romans 8:18-23).

Thank You for speaking to me on the mountains. And thank You for speaking to me in the fires. Thank You for speaking to me when I feel enveloped by a cloud of the glory of Your Presence, face to face and heart to heart. And thank You for speaking to me when it seems everything in me and around me is being consumed in a fiery furnace, heated up seven times from the fires of hell (Daniel 3:19).

Thank You for speaking to me when I can clearly hear Your words in my heart; and thank You for speaking to me when it doesn’t seem I can hear You at all. No matter what, You’re always here, always near. And Your heart toward me is always the same—calling me to hear and trust and obey, that it may go well with me and my children forever. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! in the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep our team in prayer as I give three talks on the Holy Spirit at the weekend retreat of my home church's Alpha Course this weekend ( www.AlphaUSA.org ). The topics are "Who is the Holy Spirit?", "What does the Holy Spirit do?", and "How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?" This is one of our main evangelism ministries at my home church, and many with come to faith in Christ this weekend, and many will be filled with the Holy Spirit I believe (www.CentenaryLex.org ).

Friends, please keep my family and Messiah Minstries in mind, as the Lord leads you. We appreciate so much all your prayers, encouragement and support to fulfill our calling and vision of "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" at home and abroad. Please let me know if I could ever talk with you or your church about our vision, our hopes, and our needs. Like a missionary, I raise my own support to fulfill what I believe the Lord has called me to do through Messiah Ministries: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org These are challenging financial times, but our hope and trust is in the Lord Who will bring us through every fire and draw us near to Him in the mountain of His Presence! I pray that for you and thank you for praying that for me!

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David’s Messiah and Living Hope - March 24

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You’re my Savior and my Lord. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, as I start this day centered in You. …

“For David says, concerning Him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your Presence’ … David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah” (Acts 2:25-31).

You are the resurrected Messiah. You are our Living Hope. Though You were crucified, dead, and buried as the Son of Man in human form on this earth for our sins, You were not abandoned by the Father to Hades and never knew the corruption of Your body in death. Instead You descended into the deepest depths of hell itself, victoriously declaring the gospel of truth and life even to those who were bound there by their sin and rebellion (1 Peter 4:5-6). And then the Father raised You from the dead and into the heights of the heavens to rule and reign in glory and victory over all (Acts 2:24).

Though David lived a thousand years before Your birth, death, and resurrection on this earth as the Son of Man, living in the flesh, he looked ahead with prophetic hope for the Holy One Who was to come. And though David’s life was not was not always holy and pure, though his hands were stained with blood and his heart was stained with sin, he knew his God. Though he lived through troubled times, when the promises of God often seemed delayed and impossible to be fulfilled, he was a man “after (God’s) own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

David’s intimacy with You encouraged him and sustained him. You were ever before him in his thoughts and ever with him by his side. So he was not shaken. His heart was glad and his tongue rejoiced, whatever the battles he faced and the circumstances he endured, because he lived in the hope You had sealed in his heart. You taught him and led him in Your ways of life and made him full of gladness with Your Presence.

By Your mercy and grace, his failures did not cause You to forsake him and his fears did not paralyze or overwhelm him. He kept looking to You, trusting in You, singing songs of praise and writing prayers of hope, as he led others to You—and still does by his words that are now forever recorded in Your Word.

David’s Messiah—his Savior, Lord, and Living Hope—is ours as well. Jesus Messiah—the Anointed and Holy One of God—You’re my Lord and the Lord of all. You are the Holy One Who is to come; and at the same time, You are the Holy One Who is always here. As You have said, “I Am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). Yes, You are. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep our ministry in mind, as the Lord leads you. We appreciate so much all your prayers, encouragement and support to fulfill our calling and vision of "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" at home and abroad. Please let me know if I could ever talk with you or your church about our vision, our hopes, and our needs. Like a missionary, I raise my own support to fulfill what I believe the Lord has called me to do through Messiah Ministries: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org These are challenging spritual times and challenging financial times, but the Lord is our Living Hope!

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Secure Refuge in Everlasting Arms - March 23

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. I worship You, O Lord, my God in every Dimension of Your Being with every dimension of my being and welcome You into every dimension of my life and this day. …

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27, NKJV).

You are my security, my rock and my refuge. Your arms are strong and Your embrace is everlasting. You are the ancient of days and the author of time. You hold our lives in Your hands—hands scarred by the nails of our sins and stained by the blood of Your mercy. So no matter what we may endure, we are in good hands and strong arms. All that I am and all that I have, I commit to You because all my hope and trust is in You. “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust” (Psalm 40:4).

Trusting in You, You steady my heart and guide my steps. You fill my mind with Your thoughts and lead me in the paths of Your security and wisdom by Your Spirit. Help me take time to listen, to trust, and to obey. I willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone, as best as I can all by Your grace. You are my secure refuge in the everlasting arms in my eternal God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I'm standing with you in prayer, as we trust in our God, confident in the power of His mercy and love through these troubling times. He sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. May these world crises be opportunities for us to love and lead others to Him as never before, as we allow Him to embrace us as never before. God bless you! --Tommy


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A Heart Set Right - March 22

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Walk with me and talk with me along the steps of my day. …

“It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor” (Psalm 112:5-9).

The righteous are those who allow You to set their hearts right. And out of a right heart, the thoughts of their mind and the actions of their hands move in right alignment with the desires of their heart, that they’ve allowed You to form and shape. A righteous heart is steady, secure, unwavering, and unafraid. A righteous heart is generous and just, endearing and enduring. It’s triumphant over foes of fear and pride, self-righteousness and pride, confusion and deceit, jealousy and greed. And it’s the heart that You honor with Your blessing and favor.

These are challenging days. And the days ahead will grow more challenging still. So Lord, set my heart right now, so I can trust Your leading through my heart in the days to come. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as You guide my steps in the paths of Your righteousness—not mine or anyone else’s. “I implore Your favor with all my heart, be gracious to me according to Your promise” (Psalm 119:58). Blessed are they whose hearts are right and whose hope is secure, by the power of the grace of our God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

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“The Beginning of the Birth Pangs” - March 21

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me start this new day centered in Christ, embraced by the Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit. …

“When He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs’” (Matthew 24:3-8).

It seems that much of this world is laboring in the throes of birth pangs. We’ve experienced wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquakes in this broken and fallen world for thousands of years, yet it does seem the contractions are growing with both frequency and intensity. No one knows but the Father, the day and the hour when this age will end and the new age of the new heaven and new earth will begin (v. 24:36; Revelation 21:1). Regardless, our focus is not be on the end of days but on You. We’re not to be filled with fear, but with faith.

Let no one lead us astray. No government, no religion, no stockpile of emergency rations or precious metals can be our savior or messiah. That place in our hearts and lives is reserved for You alone. No matter what we may endure, You will be with us “always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And as we abide in You and You abide in us, You will be helping and healing, loving and leading, through us, as the hands and feet of the Body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ in this world throughout this age.

The nations may war and the seas may roar, but we will keep turning to You, trusting in You to be our Security and Savior. “The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt; the earth heaves before Him, the world and all who live in it…. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in the rushing flood” (Nahum 1:5-7).

Today is the day for each of us to find our refuge in You, because none of know what wars or storms tomorrow may hold. This age may come to an end for any of us, so let our hearts not be filled with fear of what may happen to our mortal bodies, but with the faith that assures us of the certainty of what will happen to our eternal souls. Even let the beginning of the birth pangs bring as many as will choose to humble themselves in trusting faith to enter into the new birth by Your Spirit (John 3:5). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, thank you for praying for us at The Fountain this weekend. We had salvation, healing, and deliverance, with testimonies of God's love and power all night! Come join us whenever you can on the 3rd Friday Night of every month, with believers from the different streams of the River of God in our city, and please keep us in prayer when you can't. I pray the same for you and the moving of God in your city! God bless you and thank you for joining with me in the daily journey of prayer!

Please let me know if you'd like to talk with me about supporting my ministry trip to Africa this summer to preach the gospel and minister the healing love of God to thousands in Kenya: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


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Lips and Life Aligned - March 18

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be with me, before me, behind me. Be within me, beneath me, above me. Be on my right and on my left. Be my breadth, length, height, and depth. Be all around me, yet always calling me to more surrender to Your will and trust in Your ways. Be Lord of all my life. …

“Because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in Your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, ‘No one who believes in Him will be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on Him. For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Romans 10:9-13).

I do call on Your name. I do put my hope and trust in You alone for my salvation. But also let every area of my heart align with the words of my lips. Let me not say one thing and do another; let me not live one way when I’m with some people and another way when I’m with others. Let me be grow in the authenticity of my faith. Let my words reflect with integrity the nature of my heart.

This is the fullness of salvation—to join in the journey every day of continuing to choose the way of Christ. “But in your hearts, sanctify Christ as Lord” (1 Peter 3:15). That’s not just a prayer one day in a desperate moment of nowhere else to turn—though it can certainly begin there. It’s living a lifestyle of continuing to call on the name of the Lord, continuing to believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that I willingly choose to completely belong to You, out the deepest desires of my heart. “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Lord, let my lips and life be aligned in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! March 18th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month and I'll be leading in prayer as Jennifer Warren leads in worship this month. All are welcome!

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St. Patrick’s Prayer and God’s Power - March 17

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Holy are You, Lord, and worthy of all my praise and all my trust, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I commit this day and my life into Your hands. …

“My speech and my proclamations were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

As You walked this earth, everywhere You went, You were proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God and demonstrating the power of God by the Spirit of God (Acts 10:38). And so we are to follow “in (Your) steps,” with the authority of Your name in our words and the authenticity of Your nature in our hearts (1 Peter 2:21). That’s how You spread the love and power of God revealed in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God through the apostle Paul. That’s how You spread that same love and power through the life and ministry of Saint Patrick, the evangelist who lead all of Ireland to Christ, with signs and wonders and miracles in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, while living daily under threats of violence and murder from the pagan kings and their druidic witches. And that’s how You continue spread Your good news to move the hearts of men and women to embrace Your grace and Your love in trusting faith today.

Last night was an exciting night of evangelism in the love and power of the Spirit of God. I was really excited be invited to share the Alpha Course talk on the question “Does God heal today?” with the group from Embrace United Methodist Church in Lexington. They meet Sunday mornings in the old Kentucky Theater down in the heart of the city. And their evangelism team holds their ten week Alpha Course, discussing questions of faith with those who don’t yet believe, next to the bar at Casanova’s Italian Restaurant downtown—literally meeting people where they are, welcome to come as they are. (The owner even let one of the women who works in the bar join our discussion!).

It seemed every story I told seemed to touch some point in the life of one of the women there. I joined with her small group discussion table to pray for her after the talk. As in one of my stories, one of her legs was shorter than the other and she had lots of pain in her crooked hips and back. As we surrounded her in the love of God in prayer, she also began to release some deep emotional pain, as her muscles in her shoulders and back began to relax. In the hands of one of her Alpha friends, as we prayed for healing in the name of Jesus, her leg grew out! All her pain went away!

Though another man wasn’t healed last night from his double vision, his spiritual eyes were drawn closer to You, through the love of God he experienced through his friends, willing to risk disappointment, to pray for him. We’ll keep praying for him too, as Your Word compels us to pray for the healing of one another to be set free from suffering and sickness in the power and authority of Your name (James 5:13-18). I’m so glad we didn’t let disappointment keep us from continuing to pray last night or we would have surely missed the encounter and experience of Your joy as we prayed for the lady who’s leg grew out before our eyes.

So as all of the world join with the Irish to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day today, let them remember Saint Patrick as he truly was. He was a humble man filled with Your Holy Spirit, powerful faith, and a passion for Jesus, who led a nation to Christ, not merely with “plausible words of wisdom,” but with demonstrations of Your miraculous signs and healing power in the love of God. And so should we, in the ways You uniquely lead each of us and with the personality You’ve given each of us (John 20:21; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; John 14:12; Acts 4:30; etc.).

As Saint Patrick, Your healing evangelist and lover of people, passionately prayed: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, my friends! Please keep my friends at Embrace Church, their evangelism team, and their Alpha Course in prayer with me, that every seeker would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior( www.facebook.com/EmbraceChurch ). Please pray for the Alpha Course at my home church, Centenary Church, as well. I'll be excited to give the talks on the Holy Spirit at the weekend retreat on their Course coming up soon ( www.CentenaryLex.org ).

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! March 18th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month and I'll be leading in prayer as Jennifer Warren leads in worship this month. All are welcome!

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Angels and Men Worshipping God - March 16

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today.  …

“For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten you?’ Or again, ‘I will be His Father and He will be My Son?’ And again, when He brings His firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship Him.’ Of the angels, He says, ‘He makes His angels winds, and His servants flames of fire.’ But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of Your Kingdom’” (Hebrews 1:5-8).

I praise You, Lord, for Your holy angels. They move like the wind at the word of Your command and burn with fiery passion, releasing an atmosphere of worship and praise wherever they go. They are “spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (v. 1:14). They war in the heavenly realms against the spiritual forces of wickedness, that Your word and will may reach the hearts and minds of the sons and daughters of men (Daniel 10:13). They are near to Your throne, majestic in beauty, mighty in power, unseen by natural eyes, yet as real and present as the air we breathe.

But in all their beauty and power, they are not God. They bow down and worship the One Who is. They worship You in every dimension of Your being—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And out of their worship, they obey the King of Angels and the King of kings. You stretch forth Your scepter of righteousness and they go forth swiftly to battle for it in the earth, alongside the sons and daughters of God to display the righteousness of God in the earth (2 Corinthians 5:21). You send them forth to guard and protect those who are called by Your name and drawn near to Your Presence (Psalm 91:11-13).

Like the mighty angels, I worship You. We worship You and serve You together, as You send us forth at Your word and command to do Your bidding in the earth. As we minister and war together for You in the spirit on earth, so we will worship together before You in heaven forever and ever (Revelation 7:11). For “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

 

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! March 18th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month and I'll be leading in prayer as Jennifer Warren leads in worship this month. All are welcome!

 

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“By His Powerful Word” - March 15

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day centered in Christ, embraced by the Father, and filled with the Holy Spirit. …

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by the Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom He also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and He sustains all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Lord Jesus, You perfectly reveal the Father’s heart in the Father’s Spirit, for You and the Father and the Holy Spirit are One (John 17:20-23). You sustain all things by Your powerful word. You created the worlds in the power of Your word. And You desire to speak Your word to our hearts to create our lives to be all You’ve intended them to be. We are to listen for Your leading, hear Your voice, and obey Your word (John 10:27). You are the Word of God (John 1:1).

As I wait on Your Spirit to speak Your word, it seems I hear You say: “My son, My son, you are a son of God, created to display My glory through your life. This is My heart for all My children. I in you and you in Me, one in the Spirit, one in the Lord. Yield your will to My will and I will cause your ways to align with My ways. Listen for My voice throughout the moments of your day, and I will say to your heart, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’”

Yes, Lord. Make me more sensitive. Help me take time to be more quiet and help me continue that quietness of spirit, attuned to Your Spirit, as I go about my day. I want to follow You, yielded to Your will, walking in Your ways. Correct me when I’m wrong, convict me when I sin, redirect me when stray. I want my journey through this time You’ve given me on earth to honor You and fulfill me.

Only by Your grace can I ever dream to “display (Your) glory” through my life, given all my sins and failures and insecurities along the way (Isaiah 61:3). But I praise God that I have Your grace to cover my sins, redeem my failures, and heal my insecurities as You choose to walk with me through this journey. So I choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to listen for Your powerful word and walk in the way that leads to the life You’ve intended for me and continue to create through me—step by step, morning by morning, day by day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! March 18th, our Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship with the family of God as one, from many different churches and traditions under the name of Jesus. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters, to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of God, as we worship Him and welcome Him to heal us and free us in spirit, soul, and body. We meet monthly in the Chapel at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, Kentucky at 7 PM. We have various worship leaders from our area lead us in worship each month and I'll be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

To Reply: TommyHays@messiah-ministries.org
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All Changed in a Moment - March 11

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Rock, my Refuge, and my Redeemer. My hope and security is in You alone. …

“Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Our world could all change in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Like the people of Japan, for whom our hearts grieve in the midst of their devastation, everything in our lives could suddenly be shaken to its core and washed away in a flood of overwhelming circumstances. Whether it’s a tear in the earth that unleashes a tsunami of water or a tear in our hearts that unleashes a tsunami of pain, whether it’s a meltdown of nuclear reactors or a meltdown of our hopes and dreams, our world can suddenly change without a moment’s notice.

But rather than withdraw in worry and fear or idly stand by, paralyzed in passive complacency, You call us to set things right now. Love well today, for there may not be a tomorrow. Give our hearts to You now, in humility and faith, for there may not be another chance. Let every moment of every day count, because our days may be shorter than we think and our time to make a difference may be running out faster than we imagine.

And each of us can make a difference wherever we are and whatever our circumstances. Each of our lives can count in what counts the most—for “the only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). One day, our world as we know it, will end in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. So let us be found full of faith and full of love. Let us not shrink back in fear, but keep pressing on and pressing in with the time we have. Let us not hold back, but keep giving You all we have, as best as we can and all by Your grace. By the power of the love of God living through us, the moments we have can matter and our lives can count for the things that really matter. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, thank you for keeping us in prayer at our School of Spiritual Ministry last week. The Lord's Presence with us was incredibly thick, as the Holy Spirit moved mightily among us in deep healing and freedom, as well as equipping and anointing for ministry to others. We had many testimonies of great breakthroughs, especially in deep places of inner healing from wounds and bondage of the past.

DVDs are available for you to experience the teaching and ministry from our Schools and Healing Prayer Weekends if you're not able to join us here in Lexington. And you can make plans not to come join us for our upcoming schools in May and August, or our monthly healing service, The Fountain, on the 3rd Friday Night of every month:
www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar

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Turn-around God - March 11

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be glorified in my heart and through my life today. …

“Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as He is doing today” (Genesis 50:20).

You are the turn-around God. You turn all things around for good if we will entrust them to You. What people intend for harm, You will use for good. What the devil intends for evil, You will use for good. Even the heartaches and sufferings, the sins and failures of our broken lives, You will cleanse in Your blood, refine in Your fire, and shape with Your hands to create beauty from the ashes and treasure from the trash.

That’s all part of how You cause all things to work together for good, if we’ll humble ourselves to call upon Your name and entrust all things to Your care (Romans 8:28). You don’t will all things—You never will the sin, the evil, the injustices, the cruelties of this broken and fallen world, suffering under the oppression and rage of the one You called “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31). But You will use all things—even using the very injustices and sufferings we endure to prepare us and purify us to rule and reign with You as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” in Christ (1 Peter 2:9). That’s part of how Your conform us to the nature of the kingdom of God, as Your kingdom comes in us and Your will is done through us, that kingdoms of this world may become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15).

Turn-around God, turn around my life. Turn around my heart, my attitude, my perspective from everything that’s anything less than all You intend for me. Keep turning me away for the world, the flesh, and the devil and keep turning me to You, every moment of every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep us in prayer the next 4 days for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, that I’ll be leading on behalf of Messiah Ministries at our home base city of Lexington, Kentucky ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). Please make plans to join us for the next one! DVDs can be ordered from our web site of our School and other events.

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Spirit of Humility - March 10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as You guide my steps throughout my day. …

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born of human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

You humbled Yourself. You became obedient to the point of death. As the Son of Man, in human form, You only did what the Father told You to do; You only said what the Father told You to say. You surrendered Your will to the Father’s will and Your ways to the Father’s ways. You willingly chose to be desperately dependent upon God alone. That’s our living example of true humility.

Only Your Spirit can give us that spirit. Everything in us resists humility. Everything in us, apart from You, wants our will and our way and our time. Which is the living example of human pride. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). And how we need the power of Your grace in every area of our lives.

We can’t afford the price of pride—the heart of pride that says, “I’m gonna do what I wanna do, when I wann do it and however I wanna do it. I’m gonna do whatever I think I need to do to take care of myself because I’m not trusting God or anybody else to take care of me. It’s all up to me.”

Pride blocks Your grace. Pride leaves us to fend for ourselves. And Your spiritual principles have a way how well that’s working for us. Pride goes before a fall. And sooner or later, we find ourselves falling to our knees, humbled again in the sight of the Lord. But in Your steadfast love and tender mercy for each one of us, You even turn that around to work for our good. Because it’s when we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord that You lift us up (James 4:10). Lord, give me grace to embrace Your Spirit of humility, to have this mind that was in You, Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Friends, please keep us in prayer the next 4 days for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry – Level 1, that I’ll be leading on behalf of Messiah Ministries at our home base city of Lexington, Kentucky ( www.messiah-ministries.org/calendar ). With our other students, we’re very excited to have with us a team of leaders from The Refuge for Women, a local ministry we’ve partnered with for healing prayer ministry to women being rescued from the adult entertainment industry ( www.refugeforwomen.org ). Please keep their ministry in your prayers as well.

DVDs can be ordered from our web site of our School and other events.

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