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Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 15 - Behold the Passover Lamb of God
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit and make me more like You today. ...
"While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it He broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out fro many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom' " (Matthew 26:26-29).
Today is Passover on the Hebrew Calendar. And You are our Passover Lamb. You are "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" by the pouring out of Your precious blood upon the cross (John 1:29). You are the fulfillment of the prophetic act of the first Passover, when death passed over the Hebrew people who took the blood of the unblemished lamb and anointed the doorways of their home, just as You call us to anoint the doorways of our hearts with Your blood (Exodus 12:1-28).
The first Passover and every Festival of Passover, celebrated in remembrance of the provision of God, is a foreshadow of things to come, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16). So as I remember the Passover today, I'm remembering the last Passover, the Last Supper, You celebrated with Your disciples during that Holy Week on the night You were betrayed and gave up Yourself for us.
Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your gift of Your Body and Your Blood, given and poured out for me. In You, death passes over and the fullness of life forevermore floods my soul. "Those who believe in Me, even though they die, yet will they live" (John 11:25). Thank You for Your sacrifice of love that takes away the sins of the world, and even more personally, Your sacrifice of love that takes away my sins. Today I remember You and behold the Passover Lamb of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you behold the Passover Lamb of God and all the fullness of life God the Father has provided for you through God the Son. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
| WATCH THE LAMB- RAY BOLTZ-OFFICIAL VIDEO |
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Monday, April 14, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 14 - The Crowds Cry Out
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I journey with You this Holy Week when we remember Your journey to the cross, help me listen and see all You're showing me, as I take up my cross and follow You. ...
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Matthew 23:37-39).
When You came into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey in deep humility, the crowds waived their palm branches and declared You were the Messiah, the Son of David, coming as King, declaring "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (v. 21:6-10). But You already knew in your heart that in a short week's time, those same crowds would be crying out for Your crucifixion on a cross, rejecting Your words and rejecting You as their Messiah (v. 27:20-23). And You knew in Your heart Jerusalem would be destroyed, as a city divided in her heart and denying her Savior (v. 24:1-2).
Yet, even so, You would continue to love her and seek to gather her together again in hope, fulfilling the ancient prophecies of the restoration of Israel and the salvation of Jerusalem at the end of the age (Zechariah 12:1-11). And on that day that will seem like all the nations of the earth are about to finally destroy Jerusalem and all she represents, the crowds of Jerusalem will look up to heaven, to the return of her Messiah, "the One whom they have pierced," in mourning and repentance to declare, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord" (Zechariah 12:10).
On that day the crowds of Jerusalem and all the children of Israel will be cleansed from their sin of rejecting their Messiah in the fountain of Your Living Water (Zechariah 13:1). Your everlasting covenant will be fulfilled. "And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, 'Our of Zion will come the Deliverer; He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.' 'And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins' " (Romans 11:25-27).
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for never giving up on us, for never giving up on me. You are the blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26). You are the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. Despite the sins of our souls and the unfaithfulness of our hearts, You never give up on us. Your steadfast love never comes to an end (Lamentations 3:22).
Though we are no better than the crowds who cried out for Your crucifixion because it was our sins as well as theirs that nailed You to the cross, You continue to cry out for us. And because of Your sacrifice of love, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).
So let me be part of that crowd, from every generation, saved by Your grace, from the cross to the second coming of Christ, who cries out to You, "Blessed in the One who comes in the name of the Lord." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you cry out in your heart to Jesus, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord." And may hear and see all the Lord desires to show you on this Holy Week journey to the cross. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Friday, April 11, 2014
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Thursday, April 10, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 10 - Flourish and Thrive
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, as I deliberately begin my day with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
"I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon. His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. They shall again live beneath My shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon" (Hosea 14:5-7).
When we return to You with all our heart, You overwhelm us with Your goodness, You remind us of our identity, and You restore us into our destiny. When we're once again rooted and grounded in our intimate relationship with You, when we embrace the grace of Your unfailing love, we flourish.
No matter how far we've fallen, no matter how far we've run, You're always longing to renew us and remind us of Your good plans and Your perfect purposes for our lives. We were never meant to wither up and die or shrivel up and merely survive; we were created to flourish and thrive. So You even use the seasons of wilderness away from Your will to make us hungry again to hear Your voice and find Your will, trusting again in Your redeeming love (v. 2:14).
When we listen for Your voice and seek to follow the leading of Your Spirit, as best as we can and all by Your grace, we blossom and bloom. Planted in Your love, surrounded by Your mercy, we release the fragrance of Christ -- a pleasing aroma to our God and to those You're drawing to Yourself through the story of our lives (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). Lord, let me flourish and thrive in Your will for my life today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you flourish and thrive in the will of God for your life. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 9 - Sent to the World
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit and set my heart ablaze with Your Fire. Let me be a torchbearer and Fire-carrier everywhere You send me today. ...
"I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:15-18).
You never called us to huddle up and hide out. You never intended to tuck us away in some tower of tranquility. You sent us into the world, even knowing the challenges we'd face and the temptations we'd encounter and even the persecutions we'd endure (v. 14).
You send us into the world because You love the world (v. 3:16). You're not willing that any should perish, but that all would have life in You. So You send us to be Your expression of Your love for them. Just as the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us in the power and love of the Spirit of God living in us (v. 20:21-23).
"Here I am, Lord. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you be filled with the Spirit of God today, as Jesus sends you into the world to express the Father's heart of love for everyone you encounter. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 8 - Worth it All
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart and into my day with every breath and every step. ...
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44).
Just a taste of Your kingdom makes me hunger and thirst for more. Just a glimpse of Your glory forever ravishes my heart. Every time I encounter the kingdom of heaven and the King of the kingdom, the luster and lure of all this world has to offer fades a little more. You're worth it all.
Thank You that Your kingdom is within me (Luke 17:21). It's "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). I thank You that I'll be to heaven when I die, but I want more and more of Your heaven in me every day. Let me be filled with fullness of the kingdom of heaven today. You and Your kingdom are worth all that I have and all that I am. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you encounter the kingdom of heaven and the King of the kingdom today. May you always hunger and thirst fore more. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Monday, April 07, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 7 - Manifestations of God's Spirit for God's Glory
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are "the Alpha and the Omega" -- the One "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). I worship You and welcome You to come in the almighty power and Presence of God into my heart and every moment of my life today. ...
"To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.... All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses" (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
I'm still processing in my memory and trying to grasp with my mind what all happened in my spirit and all around me this past weekend at the Prayer Minister's Retreat I was helping lead at St. James United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia, near the University of Georgia campus. We were learning and experiencing our spiritual gifts for inner healing prayer ministry. But You opened up the heavens and come down mightily in the power of Your love and Presence of Your glory. Our time of anointing and impartation Saturday night wasn't over until midnight, when we finally had to make ourselves get up from the floor of the sanctuary and try to get some rest for Sunday morning!
To each was given a manifestation of the Spirit throughout our weekend together. Several saw angels. The pastor saw Jesus. Many felt the fire of the Holy Spirit burning in our hearts and going like electricity through our bodies. A young college girl and a lady joining us from another church were supernaturally filled with the overflowing love of God and prayed for each of us. Many were in the floor with waves of tears and waves of joy, overwhelmed by the weighty Presence of the Lord, resting in the Spirit -- including the oldest man in the church, who was baptized in the Holy Spirit at eighty-one years old. I asked him to pray a Father's blessing over me before I left.
Deep healing took place, as live models of ministry for all, with freedom from chains that had held back children of God for years. As You drew up and out the pain and shame, smiles of joy suddenly came over faces streaming with cleansing tears just moments before. Deep healing of the church body took place, from hurts and wounds of the past, as expressions of forgiveness and hope for restoration were passionately prayed and prophetically expressed, to arise and cross over, out of the past and fully advance into the promised land of a new season and the dawning of a new day (Galatians 6:1).
You are so good, Lord God. And You want Your people healed and free, fully alive, to be the Body and Bride of Christ to welcome You're coming in glory in our hearts and on the earth. You've given us gifts to express Your heart for the healing and encouragement of Your people (1 Peter 4:10-11). You're teaching us and equipping us and empowering us to understand them and use them, as the glory of Your Presence manifests in Your children and covers the earth (Habakkuk 2:14).
That's the revival that's breaking out in our day for those who hunger and thirst for more of You (Matthew 5:6). O that You would prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts and send us out into Your harvest in the fullness of Your Spirit (Matthew 13:36-43). O that You would continue to "pour out (Your) Spirit upon all flesh" before the coming of the day of the Lord (Acts 2:17). "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah 64:1) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may the Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on you and rise up within you today in His loving and powerful transformation of your soul. May your life manifest the Presence and glory of God in every way He chooses to express Himself through your life. May your church and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the earth be set ablaze with a revival of God's love and power. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Morning by Morning, April 2 - Inner Transformation of My Soul
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me humble my heart to sit and be still in Your Presence, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?" (2 Peter 3:10-12)
Holy Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me today. Rise up within me today. Change my thoughts and my desires, from the inside out, so that I desire what is right and then do what is right.
You're so patient with me, in Your mercy and grace. You meet me as I am but never leave me as I am, as You help me "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (v. 18). Help me "regard the patience of our Lord as salvation" (v. 15). And help me more fully yield to this inner transformation of my soul until "righteousness is at home" in my heart (v. 13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may the Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on you and rise up within you today in His loving and powerful transformation of your soul . Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Friends, I'm excited to be preaching on healing at the monthlyHealing and Prayer service at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus, in San Antonio tonight at 7pm. My good friend, Sam Warren, Pastor of Care and Discipleship, will be standing in for Max Lucado this month. Please keep us in prayer. Our Rapha God Ministries' Prayer Team will be teaming up with the Oak Hills Church Prayer Team to pray with everyone personally after a message of healing and hope. The community is welcome. Please join us in prayer and by Live Stream at 7pm Central Standard Time www.oakhillschurch.com/live-stream
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Tuesday, April 01, 2014
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Monday, March 31, 2014
Morning by Morning, March 31 - The Truth about Noah
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I yield my spirit to Your Spirit. Make me more like You today. ...
"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie" (Romans 1:25).
I'm still mad when I think about the end of the movie I saw last night and it's perverted portrayal of my God and Creator. In the Hollywood, Russell Crowe perversion, it showed Noah praying and hearing from "God" that he was to murder his own twin grand-daughters, as they were held in their mother's arms, just after birth from her womb. Yet "Noah" decides to reject and defy this command of "God" so he can do the right thing by his own conscience and let them live, refusing to obey this cruel "Creator." Already, I didn't like the movie, but that's when I had to leave. It felt defiling and blasphemous to me.
According to the Word of God, "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; and Noah walked with God" even when "the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:9-11). Noah was to build the ark for himself and all his family, along with two pairs of all the animals for a new beginning through the salvation of God after the great flood (Genesis 7:1-5). The heart of God and the heart of Noah revealed in the Word of God are far from the lies exchanged for the truth about God in this defiling perversion of the truth.
"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?... For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live" (Ezekiel 18:23-32).
Lord God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, You are "patient with (us), not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). You're still sending Your message of hope and peace through the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ for all who would turn to You and call on Your name to find salvation in the ark of Your Presence alone (John 3:16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, I pray the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with the truth of the nature of God and cleanse you from every defilement and perversion of His true nature in this broken, fallen world. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Morning by Morning, March 26 - Taking Time to Turn Aside and See God
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to speak out Your name and welcome Your Spirit into every moment of my day. ...
"Moses ... came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet was not consumed. Then Moses said, 'I just turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.' When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, "Here I am" (Exodus 3:1-4).
It was when Moses "turned aside to see" that You called out his name and spoke to his heart. And though he would soon experience the fear of the Lord, his first response to the Presence of God from the depths of his spirit was not, "I'm out of here" but "Here I am" (v. 6).
You look for a people who will look to You; You long for a people who long for You. You promise us, "When you search for Me, you fill find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me" (Jeremiah 29:13-14).
Lord, You are "a consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29). Let the Fire of Your Spirit burn in me. Awaken within me a consuming passion for Your Presence. Open the eyes of my heart to see You; open the ears of my spirit to hear You. Make me more spiritually hungry and spiritually sensitive to take the time to turn aside and see who You are and what You're doing all around me today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, I pray the Spirit of God would stir in your heart to turn aside and see God. I pray You would hear His voice calling your name and respond in faith to the consuming Fire of His Presence. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Morning by Morning, March 25 - "One Spirit"
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You. Let me sense Your heartbeat and hear Your voice in the intimacy of communion in prayer -- Spirit to spirit, Deep to deep -- in these first moments of my morning with You. ...
"But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.... Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
In the mystery of faith, I'm now "one spirit" with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am Yours and You are mine. I abide in You and You abide in me. My body is Your temple; my heart is Your home; my life is Your life.
Lord, help me understand and embrace all that that means. Help me "live (my) life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ ... standing firm in one spirit ... with one mind for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). May "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with (me and) with all of (those who are called by Your name, seeking Your face, and embracing Your Spirit)" (2 Corinthians 13:13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may you understand and embrace the fullness of the intimacy and communion you have with God in Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Share this word to encourage a friend!
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