Identity and Destiny - June 6

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart and welcome You into my day....

"Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead's wife also bore him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, 'You shall not inherit anything in our father's house; for you are the son of another women.' ... And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.... But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, 'Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father's house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?' (Judges 11:1-7).

The world sees us one way, but You see us another. The circumstances of our lives tell us one thing, but the promises and purposes of God tell us another. On the outside, Jephthah was the just the son of a prostitute, despised and rejected by his own brothers over choices made by other people in his life over which he had no control. But on the inside, he was a mighty warrior, created by God to arise at the right time into his God-ordained calling and purpose and destiny.

Even those who had despised and rejected him, would one day see within him the gifts of God that they needed for their lives to be fulfilled. "A man's gifts make room for him" (Proverbs 18:16, NKJV). And no doubt You even used the pain of his past and all the rejection he felt to shape him and mold him into the man he would become. You love to redeem all things - even the painful things, the shameful things, the sinful things in our lives - to use them all to work together for our good, not wasting a moment of our sufferings and struggles.

His brothers had to humble themselves to ask to Jephthah to come home, and Jephthah had to humble himself to respond. But the mercy of Your grace, You worked forgiveness and restoration of respect in their hearts. With Jephthad leading his brothers as the mighty warrior You created him to be, the battle was won and Israel was saved (v. 11:33).

Lord, remind us of our calling and purpose and destiny. Heal us from the wounds and afflictions of words and attitudes against us and all the circumstances and sufferings we've endured by the wrong choices of others and our wrong choices as well. Use it all to allow us to become all You've created us to be. Give us humble and forgiving hearts. Give us spiritual sensitivity to know when it's time to arise into the moments of our destiny for the sake of our own fulfillment, but also for the fulfillment of Your purposes in the lives of those around us. Let Your words of truth determine our identity and let Your purposes for our lives determine our destiny. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer for our 3 Day Revival Meeting I'm leading at Aledo United Methodist Church in northern Illinois, where my good friend Jeff Bealmear pastors. The Holy Spirit is taking us to deep places of freedom and healing among the people of this community who are deeply hungry for the Presence of God. We're having many personal ministry opportunities and I'll be sharing with area ministry leaders this week as well. Thank you for standing with our ministry in prayer as we minister the healing love of God everywhere He sends us in the power of His name! God bless you.

You're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

"The Weightier Matters" - June 3

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

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:23-24).

Lord, don't let me be a hypocrite or a blind guide. Don't let me be like the Scribes and Pharisees who did everything decently and in order and acted like they obeyed every commandment of Scripture to the letter of the law, but lost Your heart and Your Spirit for people along the way. Their priority became their religion rather than their relationships with You and with the people You called them love and to serve.

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter, but of Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

Obedience is important, but not for obedience sake. Obedience is important because You've created us to be fulfilled when our hearts are right. And a heart that focused primarily on the rules instead of the relationship, primarily on law instead of love, primarily on principles instead of people, will never be right in Your Spirit, even if its perfectly right by the letter of the law.

Justice, mercy, and faith; loving God and loving one another; growing in grace for ourselves and others by embracing Your Father heart for each one of us - these are the weightier matters. These are things that matter. So help me keep my priorities straight and my heart right. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington). Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Lifestyle of Love, Completeness of Joy - June 2

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit; be One with me in the communion of prayer. ...

"As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:9-12).

Abiding love brings complete joy. Loving You, embracing Your love for us, loving one another, embracing one another's love for us - this is the key, according to Your Word, to have complete joy in this world. This is the heart of all You expect and require of us, because this is how You've created us. And joy becomes the expression of the fulfillment of our obedience to Your commandment.

And how amazing that just as the Father loved You, so You love us. It's a bond of perfect love that eternally binds together the three Persons of God as eternally One. Yet that's the love You have for each one of us, and that's the love You desire between each one of us. Lord God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - help me get that. Help me live that. Help me become that.

It's only by the mercy and power of Your grace, that I can even know that this is the goal of our journey to spiritual maturity. And it's only by the mercy and power of Your grace that I can ever hope to grow into this lifestyle of love that alone can bring completeness of joy. So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I ask for this and embrace this. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington). Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested.

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

The Anointing of the Presence of God - June 1

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters in these first moments of my morning, before we arise and go together throughout all the moments of this day. ...

"As for you, the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in Him" (1 John 2:27).

Thank You for the anointing that I have received from You and that abides in me. Lord, give me deeper revelation of what this means. ...

It seems I hear You say in my heart: "My son, My anointing is My Presence. I am with you and I am within you, by My Spirit Who dwells within your heart, soul, mind, and strength. To the degree that you are willing to embrace Me and My anointing, I am at work within you to save and sanctify you, to encourage and empower you, to teach and mature you, to lead and guide you. As you open your heart to abide in Me, so I enter your heart to abide in you."

Yes, Lord. I open my heart wide to welcome You and Your anointing. Help me trust You more each day, open more to You each day, embrace You more each day. Help me grow into the fullness of the promise of Your Word, "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

As You began Your ministry in this world as the Son of Man, anointed with the Spirit of God, You drew Your identity from the Word of God in Isaiah 61, and declared Your destiny of ministry on earth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (v. 4:18).

And as You came to the end of Your ministry in human flesh, anointed with the Holy Spirit of God, You sent forth Your disciples to continue Your ministry in the anointing and authority of Your Spirit, declaring: " 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20:21-22).

In the anointing of Your Spirit, abiding in each of the sons and daughters of God with You in our hearts, we continue Your ministry of proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God and seeing You demonstrate it in Your power through Your people. We see the fulfillment of Your prophetic word, "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do" (John 14:12).

So I embrace the anointing of Your Spirit and the abiding of Your Presence in my life today and every day, as best as I can and all by Your grace. As You are, let me be more like You in this world. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). But anointed by the abiding Presence of Your Spirit, I'll never be apart from You. And I can do all things You've called me and anointed me to do, through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@aol.com (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to our Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Waterford Club House, 6:30-8:30 pm. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Unfailing Word, Unlimited Power - May 31

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

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word shall come true for you or not' " (Numbers 11:23).

Every written and every spoken word of God will come to pass. None will fall to the ground; none will fail to manifest. All will go forth and accomplish their purpose, all in due time, all in Your perfect timing and Your perfect way.

Your power is released in Your word (Genesis 1:3; Matthew 8:16). And Your power is not limited. It's the power of good and the power of love. It's the power of righteousness, justice, and mercy. It's the power of healing and freedom and salvation. It's the power of Your Spirit made manifest in our lives. It's the power of all creation and the power of transformation, restoration, and redemption of all that is broken and defiled in fallen creation.

Your words are true and Your power is unlimited. Help me hear Your words and expect Your power. Let me not waiver in doubting nor complain in waiting. But let me trust in the truth that "(Your) word that goes forth from (Your) mouth; it shall not return to (You) empty, but it shall accomplish that which (You) purpose, and succeed in the thing for which (You) sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@messiah-ministries.org (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to a Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Memorial Day Prayer - May 30

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. Be Lord and King of all I am and all I do today. ...

"The truth is, we have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, 'What right do you have to worship the Lord, the God of Israel?' ... So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices, but as a memorial. It will remind our descendants and your descendants that we, too, have the right to worship the Lord at His sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings" (Joshua 22:24-27).

Today is Memorial Day in America. We remember those who have fought and died that we might live in the freedom we have, only because of their sacrifice and service for us. And this is a day to not only remember them, but also to remind ourselves and our descendants of this great gift of freedom we have - freedom to worship You and speak our mind, even speak Your name wherever we are, to live the life we choose according to whatever values we embrace in this land where our leaders and warriors are sworn to protect and defend these rights of freedom we hold so dear.

In Joshua's day the people of Israel were divided by a river that ran through the land. They were afraid there might come a day that a river might run through their memories and hearts, dividing them from each other and their common heritage of one nation under God (v. 28-29). And in our day, let us remember our common heritage and our common hope to live in a land that still sees freedom as a great gift worth preserving and defending with all we have and all that we are.

Freedom is the redemptive gift of our land, as a witness to this world. Let us repent of every way we have not always honored the great freedom we have or the men and women who have fought and died for us to live in the land of the free. And let us remember the descendants of generations to come who are to have this same gift and godly heritage we are to protect and defend, in the power of Your grace, for them to embrace and enjoy. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Healing Rooms of Lexington Prayer Ministry Team Training, Saturday June 4th. Please send Linda Dulin-Moore a note if you'd like to join us in this ministry: PrayerLead@messiah-ministries.org (our pastor of prayer ministries and associate director of the Healing Rooms of Lexington).

Friends, you're invited to a Saturday Cook-out June 11th in Lexington to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. Please send me a note if you'd be interested. We will also be celebrating my 50th birthday and there's no better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Carrying Along "the Holy Things" - May 27

Good morning, Lord Jesus. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit - You are One and You are holy and You are welcome into my life today. ...

"Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, set out; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival" (Numbers 10:21).

As the Israelites moved through the wilderness, some were assigned to carry the holy things to the next place for the next season along the journey. Others were assigned to go before them to prepare the way and set things right in the place they were to be.

Lord, show me my place in Your Body during every season at every place along the journey. When am I to be a carrier of the holy things and what are the holy things You've called me to carry? When am I to go ahead and pioneer the path or prepare the way for others to come so they can entrust their holy things to You.

Give me eyes to see the other parts of Your Body -- to honor and respect them, to value and appreciate them. They won't all be like me and they won't all have my assignment. But they are all needed. We are all needed, as we moved forward in the journey together, being deliberate to prepare a place for Your holy Presence.

And now, in Christ, by the mercy of Your grace, it turns out that we are the holy things You want carefully carried along to dwell in the tabernacle of Your Presence. "(Christ) has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before Him" (Colossians 1:22). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please send me a note if you'd be interested in joining us on June 10th in Lexington for a Saturday cookout to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. That day will also be my 50th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

Sunrise and Open Heaven at Moravian Falls - May 26

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let God arise! Arise in my heart, arise in my mind, arise in all the moments of my day. ...

Sun rise

In my life

Always here and right

Never a day

That You'd rather say

You'd withhold Your sun from me

Son rise

In my life

Always here and right

Never a day

That you'd rather say

You'd withhold Your Son from me ...

Thank You, Lord, for this new song Your Spirit is singing in my spirit this morning, as I watch the sun rise over the mountains at Moravian Falls. I glory of Your morning light, I want to soak in Your morning embrace. ...

"Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Go and build the sanctuary of the Lord so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 22:19).

The heart of David was to have a place of sanctuary and peace to welcome Your Presence in the house prepared for You. On the top of this mountain this morning, I want my heart to be Your house. I want Your Word settling deep down into my soul to be the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want my voice to be Your holy vessel, cleansed by Your blood and filled with Your Spirit. My security in the certainty of Your mercy and love is my sanctuary of peace. O Lord arise, and take Your place in this sanctuary of my soul I open wide to You this day.

The Moravians worshiped and prayed twenty four hours a day for one hundred years at Hernhutt, Germany. And through their intercession and worship, You led them to the nations. A group came to these mountains of North Carolina and opened the heavens with their prayers in this place down that the Falls at the base of this mountain. Their land was literally deeded to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their spiritual legacy remains palpably present here in the spiritual atmosphere that rests like the glory of the morning mist over this land.

Thank You, Lord, for letting arise this morning to meet the new day in this holy place. And yet it's not the beauty of the mountains or even Your sunrise that make this place of sanctuary and peace so sacred and holy. It's Your Presence. And wherever Your Presence abides, there is an open heaven to us to draw near to You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, I praise God to be invited by my friends Jeffrey and Tina Wanek from Pennsylvania to join them this morning at their cabin retreat for a week on this mountain at Moravian Falls, NC. I pray You woud be surrounded by the beauty and Presence of God this day wherever He has drawn you to be His sanctuary.

Please send me a note if you'd be interested in joining us on June 10th in Lexington for a Saturday cookout to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. That day will also be my 50th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

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My Voice is My Trumpet - May 25

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me look and listen, watch and wait, for the leading of Your Spirit, here at the beginning and throughout the moments of my day. ...

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Make two silver trumpets; you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp.... When you go to war in your land against your adversary who oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the Lord your God and be saved from your enemies. And also on your days of rejoicing, at your appointed festivals, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your sacrifices of well-being; they shall serve as a reminder on your behalf before the Lord your God: I Am the Lord your God" (Numbers 1:1-10).

My voice is my trumpet - a trumpet to sound the alarm, to sing Your praises, to offer my life as a living sacrifice, to gather my spiritual family around me for comfort, for encouragement, for counsel, and to join together when we go to war over all that would seek to oppress us and keep us from being all You've created us to be.

I want the sound of my trumpet to be filled with the breath of Your Spirit. I don't want it to be just another way to toot my own horn or speak out of my own will, my own thoughts and plans, hopes and desires, apart from Yours. It's to be a mighty weapon in the hand of my God and fine -tuned instrument fitted for my Master's purposes.

It's a silver trumpet, like a precious metal refined in the fire. It's been fashioned and formed by a hammered work, like an instrument broken and hammered by the afflictions and battles of all the experiences and encounters that have given it uniqueness and character, wisdom and sensitivity, compassion and mercy. And there are two, because I'm not to be a lone voice, but a voice joined with others in the strategic alignments and divine destinies You've chosen.

Help me be humble, teachable, sensitive, discerning, courageous, and obedient, so that I know when it's time to speak and what to say. Help me never abuse what You've entrusted to me for the sake of Your ministry of encouragement and expression of Your love that honors Your name. "The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning, He wakens - wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught" (Isaiah 50:4).

As best as I can and all by Your grace, I embrace this gift You entrust to Your sons and daughters to hear Your voice and speak by Your Spirit as You lead. "Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever" (1 Peter 4:10-11). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Please send me a note if you'd be interested in joining us on June 10th in Lexington for a Saturday cookout to share about my ministry trip to Africa in August, preaching the gospel in outdoor festifvals and teaching a Pastor and Leaders conference with Wesley Paul Minsitries. That day will also be my 50th birthday and I can't think of a better gift than the encouragement of my friends in my passion to share the love and power of Jesus around the world! tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

www.messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

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Standing with Israel for the Peace of Jerusalem - May 24

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Word of God. Be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path today. ...

"For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you, when your ancestors provoked Me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid" (Zechariah 8:12-15).

Today the Prime Minister of Israel will address a joint session of the United States Congress. May he not be intimidated or afraid to speak the truth in his call for the world to stand for the security of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem. "Jerusalem -- built as a city that is bound firmly together.... Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your wall, and security within your towers'" (Psalm 122:3-7).

You love Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, longing for all to come to know You as Messiah and Lord. And the conflict over this land is complex, painful, and bloody, even to this very day. But Your covenant is everlasting. And Your will, as revealed in Your Word, is clear. It's not open to dispute, despite our compassion for the miseries and injustices suffered for centuries by the people You love on all sides.

So as the one who carries the mantle of David to speak with authority as a king of Israel comes to speak to leaders of our nation today, let them have ears to hear and respect to listen. Remind our political representatives of the many resolutions affirmed among the states of this nation declaring the will of the heart of many Americans who continue to desire to stand with Israel for security and peace. I know, because You led me to write the words of one of those resolutions that was unanimously passed by both houses of our state legislature and recorded as a governmental declaration of our desire as a people a few years ago.

Our security and peace, even our prophetic destiny as a nation, as well as the people of all nations, are aligned with our decisions to stand with Israel's security and peace or not. That may not be politically correct. But it is eternally true: "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed' " (Genesis 12:1-3). That's not an expression of my opinion, my sympathies, or my politics. That's simply the Word of God, that's never be changed - just like Your covenant with the people of Israel and the land You've given them to possess.

Israel has not always done Your will. Like all of us, they have been sinful, self-centered, and selfish at times. And there are consequences for our actions, both personally and as a people, according to the spiritual principles of the Word of God. But Your heart is always to redeem and restore. Your heart is always to call us to return to You, to seek Your face, and call on Your name. One day, all of Israel will, as she embraces her Messiah, with great mourning and repentance for rejecting You (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26). And until that day, we are to pray -- pray for the security of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem, that Your covenant promises and Israel's prophetic destiny will be fulfilled. She will yet be Your blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).

Lord God Almighty, would You speak as the voice of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah this day (Revelation 5:5). Would You awaken and activate the hearts of our representatives and the spirit of our nation to choose to continue to stand with the people of Your covenant. You have said in Your Word that on the day that Israel humbles herself to call on Your name, You would judge the nations that turned against her and refused to stand with her: "And on that day I will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:9). Let this generation of our nation not be found on the wrong side of world history and eternal destiny. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer at the MorningStar Fellowship of Minsitries annual retreat this week outside Charlotte, North Carolina, led by Rick Joyner. I'm a member of this fellowship of ministry leaders from different streams of the river of God and parts of the body of Christ, who join together for encouragement, renewal, and prayer, and prophetic ministry every year. Please especailly pray for the divine encounters, bonds of relationship, and strategic alignments the Holy Spirit has for each of us in this coming season. (www.morningstarministries.org).

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Led by the Presence of God - May 23

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise and shine through my life today. ...

"On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant; and from evening until morning it was over the tabernacle, having the appearance of fire. It was always so: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, then the Israelites would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the Israelites would camp. At the command of the Lord the Israelites would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp" (Numbers 9:15-18).

In Christ, my heart is Your tabernacle (1 Corinthians 3:16). On the day I opened it up by faith to welcome You in with trust, the communion of Your abiding Presence began to cover me like a cloud and burn within me like a fire. By day and by night, from evening until morning and from morning until evening, since that day until now, I've longed for the embrace of Your Presence. There were days, even seasons, when I didn't know that that was what I was longing for, but it always was and it always will be. You've created me that way.

Help me grow more and more sensitive to the moving of the Spirit of Your Presence throughout the seasons of my life and the moments of my day. Let me sense when it's time to camp and time to set out, when it's time to stay and time to go. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14).

And I don't want to go anywhere Your Spirit is not leading, not stay anywhere Your Spirit has departed. Like Moses said on his journey through the wilderness, "If Your Presence will not go, do not carry us up from here.... In this way, we shall be distinct, I and Your people, from every people on the face of the earth" (Exodus 33:15-16). And that's what I say on my journey of eternity, through this season of wilderness in this world. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please keep us in prayer at the MorningStar Fellowship of Minsitries annual retreat this week outside Charlotte, North Carolina, led by Rick Joyner. I'm a member of this fellowship of ministry leaders from different streams of the river of God and parts of the body of Christ, who join together for encouragement, renewal, and prayer, and prophetic ministry every year. Please especailly pray for the divine encounters, bonds of relationship, and strategic alignments the Holy Spirit has for each of us in this coming season. (www.morningstarministries.org).

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"Not One Thing Has Failed" - May20

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start today and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...

" 'And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you that not one thing has failed of all the good things the Lord your God has promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, no one of them has failed'" (Joshua 23:14).

When all is said and done in my life on this earth, let it be said that not one thing has failed of all the good things the Lord my God has promised concerning me. Let them all come to pass in Your timing and in Your way.

That will never happen because of my strength, my wisdom, my goodness, or even my good intentions. That will never happen because I got it all right, never stumbled, never faltered, never failed. And that will certainly never happen just by chance.

But it will happen. It will happen by the grace of God Who has the power to redeem. It will happen by the will of God Who sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end, Who never changes the facts of our history, but can always change the effect of our history, when we humble ourselves to call on Your name to set things right. That's how You redeem our ashes for beauty, our brokenness for healing, our bondage for freedom (Isaiah 61). That's how You cause all things to work together for good (Romans 8).

Our choices are real. And so is Your sovereignty to take our choices - good, bad, and indifferent - and work them together for good if we'll entrust our lives to You. "The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

By the mercy of Your grace and by Your power to redeem, direct my steps in the way the leads to a life that fulfills all Your promises concerning me. What could be better when I've run my race and fought the good fight than to hear You say, "Well done" (Matthew 25:21)? I thank You now for that day then that it won't depend at all upon what I do, but upon what You've done. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, 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, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. We will be blessing the Marriage of Linda Dulinand David Moore, married last Sunday. Linda is our Pastor of Prayer Ministries at Messiah Ministries. We will also be blessing Gene and Lisa Baker on thier journey to the next season of life and ministry in Colorado. All are welcome!

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In Honor of Rev. John Therkelsen - May 19

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the way that leads to life today. Over the journey of my days of nearly fifty years, I've learned that there's only fullness and abundance of true life in You. ...

"In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said to him, 'Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.' Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord.... Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears, I will add fifteen years to your life...." (Isaiah 38:1-5).

Several years ago now, John's doctors told Margaret to put their house in order because he would not make it through the night, he was at the point of death, he would not recover. But there was no peace in their hearts that it was his time to go. They turned their faces to the wall and prayed to the Lord. Then Your word came to Margaret's heart that this sickness would not be unto death at this time. And John recovered. John miraculously recovered, as even his doctors had to affirm.

For many years beyond the place they said he'd passed the point of no return, we've enjoyed John -- his gentle spirit, his faithful prayers, his godly counsel, his steadfast love for You, for Margaret, and for all You brought across his path. For so much of his life -- spent serving as a Methodist minister and hospital chaplain, serving You and helping Margaret in her ministry as a spiritual director, spiritual mother, and mentor in prayer to so many of us -- John was known for his compassion, quietly firm faith, and unwavering devotion.

Then early yesterday morning, his spirit left this world to embrace the next. And we were so thankful to You to hear at Margaret's Tuesday Night Prayer Group the night before that John and Margaret were filled with Your peace, that the fullness of Your Presence filled their hearts and their hospice room. Thank You for Your gift of those sacred moments at the end of this sacred season of added years of life for John and added years of his love and ministry to all of us.

The witness of peace at the moment of death is such powerful evidence of Your goodness and Presence in our lives. It's a truth that can't be denied. And it's a truth that John has known and modeled with his beloved Margaret throughout their lives of ministry and love. That kind of peace -- the shalom of God to be at peace with God, at peace with one another, at peace within one's self -- can only come from a deeply personal relationship of trust and intimacy with You. You are the Prince of Peace, the One Who is "named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). And Your Holy Spirit has abided deeply in John's heart throughout his life and now at the moment of his death.

John's life of steadfast love and faithful service inspires me. And John's death in the arms of his Everlasting Father and beloved wife, filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit of the Prince of Peace, inspires me more. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of His faithful ones" (Psalm 116:15). And our faithful friend, the Reverend John J. Therkelsen, was and is and always will be one of Your faithful ones. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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

Friends, please join with me in prayer for Margaret Therkelsen and thier family during this time of both celebrating the homecoming and greiving the loss of our friend and this godly man, John Therkelsen of Lexington, Kentucky.

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, 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, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. We will be blessing the Marriage of Linda Dulin and David Moore, married last Sunday. Linda is our Pastor of Prayer Ministries at Messiah Ministries. We will also be blessing Gene and Lisa Baker on thier journey to the next season of life and ministry in Colorado. All are welcome!

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"Yet, O Lord, You are Our Father" - May 18

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here I am, Lord. Teach me, shape me, empower me, send me into this day according to Your will. Let me decrease in my own will, yielding to the increase of Yours. ...

"You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember You in Your ways. But You were angry, and we sinned; because You hid Yourself we transgressed.... There is no one who calls on Your name, or attempts to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:5-8).

Sometimes we use Your silence as an excuse to sin. Sometimes we allow our disappointments to direct our decisions. Sometimes we let our bad choices led us down the path of more bad choices still-personally, as a nation, and as a people who are prone to wander away from Your will and wallow in our own self-pity, while somehow blaming You. And though it breaks Your heart, You deliver us into our own iniquity, allowing us to endure the consequences of our own choices.

Yet, at the same time, You are our Father. And when we are faithless, You are faithful. When we turn away, You come after us. When we turn inward, You draw us upward. Like a potter with wet clay in Your hands, You use it all to shape us into all You've created us to be-never wasting a moment of our suffering, never wasting even the consequences of our sins, but causing all things to work together for good.

There are some around me, I see going down that wrong path. And it breaks my father heart. Just like I know it breaks Your Father heart when I do the same in my own ways. And everything in me wants to reach out to them, to take hold of them, to awaken them to look up and see You there, to listen up and hear You there, to reach up and embrace You there. And it reminds me to do the same. Because one of the most powerful principles about the mercy and grace of Your Father love is that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

But You won't force us to call. You won't forces us to cry out. Love has to leave room for the freedom to choose or it's not really love. And You are a Father Who loves us, Who's for us, Who wants the very best for us. But we have to choose to embrace You and Your love for us. If we don't, all the love and mercy and grace that fills Your Father heart can't really help us.

So I call on Your name, O Lord-Yahweh, Jehovah, Yahshua. I call on all the names of Your nature, O Lord-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I call on Your name-Lord God Almighty-for myself and for all those who need to know Your Father love. You are our God and we are Your people. Even when we sin and turn away, that never changes-just like the mercy and grace of a Father's love (Luke 15:11-32).

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

Come to the Fountain This Friday Night! May 20th, 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, Lisa Baker will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. All are welcome!

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