Morning by Morning, March 21 - "Carry the Cross and Follow Me"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my heart and order my steps throughout the moments of my day.  ...

"Whoever does not carry the cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:25).

You spoke about "the cross" before there was "The Cross." But the cross You mentioned first was not Your own. It was ours.

Lord, help me understand more deeply what that means. ...

It seems I hear You say, "Your cross is the place of death to your will, apart from the Father's will. Die to self, in this sense, and come alive in Me. You come alive in Me as you allow Me to come alive in you. Follow Me and you will know the Father's will; I and the Father are One. It is Our Holy Spirit drawing you to Us and then abiding in you that empowers you to will this and to do this - to take us your cross and follow Me. There is no resurrection life apart from taking up your cross. But fear not, I have overcome The Cross. And by the power of God's grace, you have too, in Me"

Yes, Lord. In following You to "The Cross," I'm remembering Your words, choosing to take up Your Cross, in absolute trust and ultimate obedience to the Father's will, apart from anything less. "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42, NKJ).

Give me courage to embrace, rather than avoid, the cross You've chosen for me in the circumstances and challenges that I will encounter on the way to embrace Your life in me. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose this resurrection life, so I also choose this cross. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Tommy,  may you be empowered by God to embrace both the cross and the resurrection life He has chosen for you in Christ.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 19 - Jesus His Face Like Flint Toward Obedience

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I yield my will to Your will, my thoughts to Your thoughts, and my desires to Your desires.  ...

"While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 'See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death; then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day He will be raised" (Matthew 20:17-19).

You counted the cost and were willing to pay it. You knew what would to come and went anyway. Though You were secure in Your identity as the Messiah of Israel and Savior of all, You were also certain of Your destiny - both in the hands of men and in the hands of God the Father:  "I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; He who vindicates me is near" (Isaiah 50:6-8, prophesying of the suffering and vindication of the coming Messiah and also all who would become part of the Body of Messiah, the Body of Christ).

Sometimes we seek You for a word. Sometimes we beg and plead to know how it's all going to work out. But in Your mercy and grace, we rarely know the details or the fullness of what lies ahead. If we did, it's likely that few of us would stay the course and pursue the cause. No doubt, we'd rationalize our way out of our obedience. But not You. You "set Your face like flint" toward Jerusalem and all that that would imply.

Lord, give me patience to rest in Your plans and purposes for my journey ahead. Let me know what I need to know and let me let go of what I don't. You've promised us and prepared us that Your disciples are not above our teacher; and as You suffered and endured for Your faith and convictions, so will we in this world (Matthew 10:24). So help me set my face like flint toward You each day, taking one day at a time into my destiny, secure in my identity. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend,  may you be empowered by God to rest in His plans and purposes for your life, secure in You identity in Christ and confident in the fulfillment of the destiny He's planned for you. Know His grace will get you through. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 18 - "Awaken, My Bride"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the quiet place of the communion of prayer, I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice.  ...

I hear Your Spirit writing a new song in my spirit:

Awaken, My Bride

Adorned with My smile

Arise and shine!

Come to life!

No more, My child

Will you shudder and cry

Arise and shine!

Come to life!

That the world may see

All your life's in Me

And all My life is in you

That all heaven may hear

My voice in your ear

And My voice is in you

That all hell may know

Wherever you go

I go there within you

Arise and shine!

Come to life!

Arise and shine!

Come to life!

I Am awakening My Bride.

Yes, Lord. Let the Bride and Body of Christ awaken and arise. Let us shine with the light of Your glory, bursting forth in the darkness wherever You send us, knowing You're always with us. "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14).

In Your time and in Your people, fulfill Your Word:  "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.... You shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice.... I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age.... The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended ... so that I might be glorified.... I am the Lord; in its time I will accomplish it quickly" (Isaiah 60:1-22).

Sing Your song in our spirits. Stir our hearts to awaken and arise to embrace who You are in us and who we are in You (Song of Solomon 8:4). "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.'.... Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17-20) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Tommy,  I pray the Holy Spirit would stir your sprit to awaken and arise, to shine with the light of the glory of God, everywhere you go, knowing your place and fulfilling your part in the Body and Bride of Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 14 - "Get Nearer to My Heart"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.  ...

It seems I hear You say, "Near to My heart. Get nearer to My heart."

Yes, Lord. I want to. I will. How?  ...

It seems I hear You say, "Your part, My son, is to keep surrendering all of your heart to Me. Keep choosing to let Me change your heart into Mine."

Yes, Lord. I want to. Yes, Lord. I will - as best as I can and all by Your grace.

Thank You for the promise of Your Word:  "When you search for Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord..." (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

It seems I hear You say, "This is what it means to passionately pursue Me. This is what it means to worship Me in spirit and truth. This is what it means to become a man after God's own heart. Let My Spirit stir in your heart to pursue Me with all you have and all you are. Your part is to pursue. My part is to make sure You find Me. Your deepest pursuit of Me is your deepest surrender to Me."

Yes, Lord. Help me grow in my understanding of what You're speaking to me and teaching me. Help me live it out every day, in the power of Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend,  I pray the Holy Spirit would stir your heart in passionate pursuit of the heart of God, holding nothing back and surrendering all to Him, more and more every day. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 13 - A Man After God's Own Heart

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the silence of surrender before You, I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit.  ...

"The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart ..." (1 Samuel 13:14).

Lord, I want to have a heart like Yours. I want to be moved by what moves You, to be thrilled by what thrills You. Let the things that break Your heart break my heart and the things that bring You joy bring me joy. I understand the theology of the truth that it's already done for me in Christ, but I also want to live into the reality of that truth in my everyday life because it's real within my heart every day (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

And the truth is I am not yet fully living into the heart of God with all my life. All my thoughts are not yet fully Your thoughts, all my desires are not yet fully Your desires. All my choices are not yet fully all Your choices and all my ways are not yet fully all Your ways. But I want them to be. I want to be a man after Your own heart.

So I need You to keep changing me from the inside out. I need You to put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. A little more each day, I need You to make me more like You (Romans 8:29). As You are, that's how I want to be (1 John 4:17). "With my whole heart I seek You" (Psalm 119:9). So now by faith and through Christ I declare I am a man after God's own heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend,  I pray you would be one who is after God's own heart, passionately pursuing the heart of the One who is in passionate pursuit of yours. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 12 - Pursing the Cause of the Kingdom

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

"And David said, ' ... Is there not a cause?" (1 Samuel 17:29, NKJ).

David heard Goliath's threats against Israel and blasphemies against God, as did all the army of Israel. They were men and he was just a boy; they were warriors and he was just a shepherd. They were cowering in their hearts but he was stirred in his spirit-"For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, the he should defy the armies of the living God?" (v. 26) "Who will confront this enemy of the Lord and 'take away the reproach from Israel?' (v. 26)

David was of a different spirit. "Is there not a cause? Are we not called to stand and be counted? Has our God not said He would defeat our enemies if we would trust and obey Him? And not that His name is slandered and His people defiled, will we not answer the call and respond to the cause?"

David's passion was mocked by his enemy (v. 43). His courage was misunderstood by his family (v. 28). And his confidence was questioned by his leader (v. 33). But he was committed to the cause, courageous in his faith, and confident in his God (v. 45-47).

That day a shepherd boy became a warrior against the army of the enemies of the Lord. That day his enemy "fell on his face to the earth" (v. 49). And that day the enemies of the Lord turned and fled as fast as they could from before the army of the Lord, encouraged and inspired by the passion and faith of this young man who would become a great leader "after (God's) own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).

Lord, is there not a cause in our day? Is Your name not slandered? Are Your people not defiled? Let Your armies arise to pursue the cause of Your Kingdom in our day. Let us be of a different spirit, stirring others to courage and faith, as men and women after Your heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend,  I pray you would be stirred in your spirit with passion and courage and confidence in our God to pursue the cause of the Kingdom. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered from before you! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 11 - "Encouraged and United in Love"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I bow my knees and open my heart to begin my day in the communion of prayer with You - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  ...

"I want (your) hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that (you) may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-4).

Father God, the faithfulness of Your love encourages us. The bond of Your love unites us. And You have revealed the mystery of Your love for us in the perfect expression of Your true nature in Jesus Christ. "He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (Hebrews 1:3).

Now You given each of us the very "Spirit of God" to abide in our hearts as "the Spirit of Christ," uniting us together as the Body of Christ to make us one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world (Romans 8:9-11). Coming to understand the mystery and the riches of this truth is our greatest treasure.

By Your Holy Spirit of our Living God abiding within us, Christ is in us and we are in Christ (Colossians 1:27). Our eternal identity and our eternal destiny are magnificently and mysteriously intertwined. "It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heir with Christ-if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:16-17).

Lord, encourage me and unite me with Your identity and Your destiny, in Your sufferings and in Your glory, in this age and in the age to come. Let Your love and Your nature mature in me and in each one of us who are part of Your Body "until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend,  I pray you would encouraged and united in the power of God's love in your life and through your life. May you grow in the riches, wisdom, and knowledge of the truth that Christ dwells in you and you are an eternal heir of God in Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 8 - Flourish!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with me and within me in spirit, soul, and body. I want all of You filling all of me, now and throughout all the moments of my day.  ...

As I woke this morning, I heard You say in my heart, "Flourish!" And as I pondered what this might mean, this phrase from Scripture came to mind:  "For now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come ..." (Song of Solomon 2:11-12).

Yes, Lord. I'm ready to sing and rejoice. I'm ready to laugh and dance. I'm ready to arise and shine. Like the flowers in the earth that burst forth in the field after the winter has past, I'm ready to flourish!

I thank You for the winter seasons and the fallow seasons. Because even then, when all may seem dead and still on the surface, You are at work in the seed, even as the soil is at rest, for all to flourish and arise in its time. All in Your time.

I don't know what it will be like or even what I will be like when I am fully flourishing and fully alive to all the fullness of my identity in You and Your purposes for my life. But I do take confidence in this Word:  "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this:  when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends,  I pray you would flourish! I pray you would arise from every winter season to blossom and bloom in the radiance and freshness of God's glory in your spirit and upon your life. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

We just finished our Level 1 School of Ministry last night, with an amazing eighty students! Thank you for your prayers for our ministry! Please keep us in prayer for our Level 2 School of Ministry for Sozo Prayer Ministry Training that will begin in 2 weeks on Thursday Nights. If you've had our Level 1 Training or can watch the dvd's of Level 1 in advance, you're welcome to join us for the Level 2 School of Ministry on Thursday nights being hosted at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Send me a note if you'd be interested and I'll get you details.

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 8 - Flourish!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with me and within me in spirit, soul, and body. I want all of You filling all of me, now and throughout all the moments of my day.  ...

As I woke this morning, I heard You say in my heart, "Flourish!" And as I pondered what this might mean, this phrase from Scripture came to mind:  "For now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come ..." (Song of Solomon 2:11-12).

Yes, Lord. I'm ready to sing and rejoice. I'm ready to laugh and dance. I'm ready to arise and shine. Like the flowers in the earth that burst forth in the field after the winter has past, I'm ready to flourish!

I thank You for the winter seasons and the fallow seasons. Because even then, when all may seem dead and still on the surface, You are at work in the seed, even as the soil is at rest, for all to flourish and arise in its time. All in Your time.

I don't know what it will be like or even what I will be like when I am fully flourishing and fully alive to all the fullness of my identity in You and Your purposes for my life. But I do take confidence in this Word:  "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this:  when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Friends,  I pray you would flourish! I pray you would arise from every winter season to blossom and bloom in the radiance and freshness of God's glory in your spirit and upon your life. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

We just finished our Level 1 School of Ministry last night, with an amazing eighty students! Thank you for your prayers for our ministry! Please keep us in prayer for our Level 2 School of Ministry for Sozo Prayer Ministry Training that will begin in 2 weeks on Thursday Nights. If you've had our Level 1 Training or can watch the dvd's of Level 1 in advance, you're welcome to join us for the Level 2 School of Ministry on Thursday nights being hosted at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Send me a note if you'd be interested and I'll get you details.

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 7 - "The Power of the Lord was Present to Heal"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I declare Your name over every moment of my day and welcome Your Spirit into every area of my life.  ...

"Now it happened on a certain day, as (Jesus) was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them" (Luke 5:17, NKJ).

Because the power of the Lord was present to heal, some friends were moved with compassion to carry their friend to Jesus who couldn't get there alone (v. 18). Because the power of the Lord was present to heal, they were stirred with tenacious faith to press through every hindrance and barrier to see their friend made whole and set free (v. 19). Because the power of the Lord was present to heal, that man was forgiven of his sins, healed of his hurts, freed from his bondage, and went away praising God (v. 25). And because the power of the Lord was present to heal, even the scoffers and doubters of Your goodness and power "were all amazed, and they (also) glorified God" (v. 26).

And today, by the Presence of Your Holy Spirit, always abiding in our hearts, always reaching out in compassion, always lifting high Your name and drawing all people to You, the power of the Lord is present to heal. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you" (Romans 8:11).

Lord, let my heart be a place that always welcome Your Spirit, that always welcomes Your Presence, that always welcomes Your power to heal. Your power to heal is an expression of the power of Your love for everyone of us. So heal me and heal through me. Love me and love through me. Bring me to life, fully alive to the purposes of God to be revealed and expressed through the Body of Christ in our generation. "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this:  that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend,  I pray the power of the Lord will be present to heal in your heart and through your life today and every day, by the continually abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit of the Living God. As Jesus was in this world, so will you be as part of His Body of Christ, all by His power and all by His grace. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, thank you for praying for us at our Healing Service with Max Lucado at Oak Hill Church in San Antonio last night (www.oakhillschurch.com) Many said they were able to see it by Live-Stream. If you missed it, I just heard there are plans for us to minister atanother healing service next month on the First Wednesday of April at 7Pm CST. Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Team joined the Oak Hill Prayer Team and Elders to pray personally for everyone at the altar. One exciting things is that there have been two different testimonies of healing from lupus since the healing service last month. I'm so honored and excited to be a part of what the Lord is doing here. And I pray for His mighty hand to be upon you to minister His healing love and power through your life in the unique ways He has called you and sent you as well. 

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Max Lucado & Tommy Hays - Live-Stream Healing Service Tonight at 7PM CST

Please join us tonight by Live-Stream on your computer or cell phone at 7PM CST for our Healing Service at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas.

http://oakhillschurch.com/live-stream/ 

I'm excited to be preaching again with Max Lucado at their Crown Ridge Campus of Oak Hills Church. Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team and Elders to pray personally for everyone at the altar. With great joy, I'll be sharing one of the testimonies of healing from our healing service last month, where a local woman in tremendous pain with lupus was set free and has continued to improve, in the mighty name of Jesus. Praise God!

Come join us if you can and please pray for us if you can't. May the name of Jesusbe high and lifted up as we encounter the healing love of God in spirit, soul, and body. May you also experience the Lord's power and Presence as you join with us remotely, in person, or through prayer.

God bless you, my friend!

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Morning by Morning, March 6 - "Bless the Lord, O My Soul"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to be more like You in my heart.  ...

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits - who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:1-5).

It's in Your heart to forgive me and heal me, to redeem me and crown me, to satisfy me with Your good and renew me with Your Spirit. I'm amazed by Your goodness. And I'm overwhelmed when I understand that You personalize Your goodness toward me, as You do for each of Your children who humble themselves to open their hearts to You. These are the benefits and blessings of the children of God whose faithful, heavenly Father's heart continually overflows with steadfast love and tender mercies that are "new every morning" and never come to an end (Lamentations 3:21-24).

So I will bless You, O my Lord, with all my soul. With all that is within me, I will bless Your holy name. I will not forget You, nor all Your benefits and blessings. I will remember that every good thing in my life comes from You (James 1:17). When I'm tempted to be anxious about tomorrow, I'll remember Your faithfulness in all the yesterdays of my past. When I'm tempted to look at what I feel I'm lacking, I'll remember all You've already poured into my life that I never deserved. When I remember You, all Your goodness grounds me, all Your faithfulness sustains me, and all Your grace overtakes me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

My Friend,  I pray the Holy Spirit will remind you every day of all the goodness of God in your life. And I pray your soul would see all the ways the Lord has personalized His goodness for you, especially in the times when you may be tempted to forget. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm excited to be preaching again with Max Lucado at another Healing Service at Oak Hill Church in San Antonio, at their Crown Ridge Campus this Wednesday Night, March 6 at 7PM(www.oakhillschurch.com) Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Teamwill be joining the Oak Hill Prayer Team and Elders to pray personally for everyone at the altar. Come join us if you can and please pray for us if you can't.

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 5 - Our Spiritual Enemies Swallowed Up in Victory

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart continually. Abide in my heart eternally.  ...

"The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.' You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them" (Exodus 15:9-12).

Like Pharaoh and his army of horses and chariots chasing down the people of God on their way to Your promises for their destiny, we have an enemy who pursues us to destroy us before we ever get there. In his pride and arrogance, he threatens us and taunts us with all he says he'll do to us when he catches us.

That's the nature of the thief of our peace, who "only comes to steal and kill and destroy." But we know the nature of our God, who comes to our defense and establishes us in victory, "that (we) may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). You are our mighty God - majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders for all to see in the very presence of our enemy.

You stretch out Your mighty right hand, You speak out Your mighty right word and the enemy of our souls is swallowed up in defeat by the mighty waters of Your salvation and deliverance. "Some take pride in chariots and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright" - all by the power of the grace of God who has defeated our enemy through the wondrous victory of the cross (Psalm 20:7-8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend,  I pray the Lord our God will swallow up your spiritual enemies in His mighty waters of salvation and deliverance for you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm excited to be preaching again with Max Lucado at another Healing Service at Oak Hill Church in San Antonio, at their Crown Ridge Campus this Wednesday Night, March 6 at 7PM(www.oakhillschurch.com) Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Teamwill be joining the Oak Hill Prayer Team and Elders to pray personally for everyone at the altar. Come join us if you can and please pray for us if you can't.

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 4 - Wide Open Hearts

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King and Lord of all that I am and all that I do this day and every day. ...

"Our heart is wide open to you... open wide your hearts also" (2 Corinthians 6:11-13).

Help us trust one another. Help us open wide our hearts to one another in the Body of Christ. We need right boundaries, the right measure of trust in every relationship, but help us learn to let You set those boundaries and let You set in place who to trust and how much to trust. Our judgments harden our hearts. Our self-righteousness clouds our perspective. Our self-preservation isolates us. Then our fears become self-fulfilling prophecies (Job 3:25).

Free us from the self-centered pride that says, "I will decide what's right for me" and awaken us to the self-surrendering humility that says, "You alone know what's right for us all." For "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

Where our hearts have been hurt, help us trust You to heal them. Where we're afraid to love and be loved within the bonds of the Body of Christ, let Your perfect love cast out our fear (1 John 4:18). And where we've put up the walls that we think protect us but only serve to isolate us, help us let You be the One who guards our hearts. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (our) hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

Tommy,  I pray the Lord himself will guard your heart and empower you to trust Him to set the boundaries of trust in all the relationships of your life. And with God as our Guard, may we as the Body of Christ learn to open wide our hearts to one another without judgment or fear. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, March 1 - "He Will Make Your Vindication Shine"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are mighty to save and mighty to be Everything I need. I entrust life and this day to You, my Lord - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices" (Psalm 37:5-7).

A great friend of mine has been wrongly accused. His name is being slandered and his reputation besieged. But his spirit is strong and his heart is right. He's taking hold of Your Word and the hands of his friends to walk this out in the strength of the Lord. What an encouragement and inspiration to those who love him and his family.

When he's tempted to strike back, give him Your peace. When he's stirred to repay in vengeance what's being heaped upon him in viciousness, steady his spirit and fill his mouth with Your words when he's to speak and Your wisdom when he's to let You speak for him.

Though it may not be over in a moment and it may be hard for a season, You'll get him through this, as You always do. And in the end, You'll cause his vindication to shine forth like the sun. Your Light is in his heart and Your Light always overcomes the darkness (Colossians 1:13). When it's all been said and done, all that the enemy of his soul has intended for evil will only serve to drive Your son closer to You and give him another story to tell for the rest of his life of just how good our mighty God is. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend,  I praise God that He is your Advocate and Defender, that He will guard your heart and speak up for you and your friends to reveal His truth in every area of your lives. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, February 28 - Heavenly Minded

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let my spirit come to attention, as I speak Your name and listen for Your voice.  ...

"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are of the earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-3).

To set my mind on things that are above is I deliberately choose to see my life from that perspective-the heavenly perspective. As things are in heaven, that's how things are to be on earth (Matthew 6:10). So I must choose to see earth from heaven's perspective.

Some would say, "You're so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good." But the truth is unless we choose to be heavenly minded, deliberately choosing to set our minds on things that are above, we'll be no heavenly good in the dominion of this earth You've entrusted to us. "The heaven's are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16).

To be heavenly minded is to embrace heaven's truth, heaven's ways, heaven's wisdom. "The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy" (James 3:17). So Lord of heaven and earth, help me choose heaven's perspective and live this day on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend,  may the Holy Spirit give you eyes to see and ears to hear from heaven's perspective, as you are an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven today in all the spheres of influence the Lord has entrusted His dominion to you on earth. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com    

Morning by Morning, February 27 - "My Strength and My Shield"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I intentionally choose to position myself in the communion of prayer to start my day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Help me listen now, as I welcome Your Presence and wait for Your leading.  ....

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; In Him my heart trusts; so I am helped and my heart exults; and with my song I give thanks to Him" (Psalm 28:7).

I awoke with these words in my spirit and found them in Your Word-"my strength and my shield." You are my strength to stand firm in the faith, to persist in prayer for the promises of Your Word, to resist the temptations and snares of our broken and fallen world. You are my shield to defend me from the schemes of my spiritual enemy, to guard my heart from being led astray for a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, to filter out the accusations and condemnations that would ever want me to believe that I'm anything less than who You say I am.

In You, I trust and I am helped. In You, my heart exults and my spirit sings. And in You, I will arise from this place of prayer, strengthened and shielded in Your Word, anointed by Your Spirit to boldly go forth to meet the challenges of my day. "The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed" (v. 8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend,  I pray the Lord Himself will be your strength and your shield today. Go forth bodily, knowing guards your heart and guides your spirit. He is your saving refuge and you are His anointed. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.messiah-ministries.org 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com