Monday, January 26, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 26 - Not Good to Be Alone

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Fill my spirit with Your Spirit and my day with Your plans.  ...

"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.' ... So the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and close up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.' Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:18-25).

Sometimes we say things like, "I only need God." It sounds humble and holy. But it's not true. We need You above all. We need You first and foremost. But You've also created us to need one another. 

It's not good for us to be alone. We need a helper. "Surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life" (Psalm 54:4). "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6) And You give us Your abiding Presence, Your Holy Spirit as our heavenly Helper (John 14:16). But we also need a helper in human flesh and blood -- not just a helper as in someone to make life a little easier or a little less lonely, but someone we can't live without, someone who becomes a part of us, as much a part of us as our very bones and our very flesh (Matthew 19:6).

"Two are better than one ...  (and) woe to one who is alone" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). We need the encouragement and companionship. We need the counsel and correction. We need the challenge to our selfishness and self-centeredness. "The one who lives alone (can become) self-indulgent, showing contempt for all who have sound judgment" (Proverbs 18:1). 

So You give us the gift and the command to "love one another" (John 13:34). You encourage us to serve one another (John 13:14). And You challenge us to "outdo one another in showing honor" to each other (Romans 12:10).

We need You and we need each other. We need Your help and we need to help each other (Romans 14:19). That's how You created us from the beginning. And that's why You still love to heal us and free us from loneliness to align us and unite us in the relationships You've chosen for us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Lord will align you and unite you in the relationships He has chosen for you, and that you would be deeply loved as you deeply love the ones on the journey with you. 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, January 23, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 23 - Choose the Tree of Life

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are one and You are holy. I welcome You to be one within me today.  ...

"And the Lord commanded the man, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

You create us for freedom and obedience. You give us the freedom to trust You or not, to follow Your ways or make up our own, to yield to Your will or insist on ours. 

You give us the right to choose, but You invite to choose well, according to Your word. You allow us to seek our own wisdom and give us power to obtain our own knowledge if we decide to choose for ourselves what is right or wrong, what is good or evil, apart from seeking You and trusting You. 

There are consequences for our choices. With freedom comes both authority and responsibility. But You don't take away our freedom to choose even when the consequences of our choices can mean life or death, blessing or curse, for our lives and for generations to come.

We are created in Your image for a relationship of love -- a relationship of love with You and with one another. But love requires freedom. Unless we have the freedom to choose to love, it's not really love. And unless we have the freedom to choose to obey, it's not really obedience. So You give us the freedom that our relationship of love requires, but You also give us the grace to choose to trust You with our freedom. And thankfully, mercifully, You also give us the grace to repent and return to trusting You again when we don't choose well, rebel from Your will, and suffer the consequences of our choices.

Lord, give me wisdom to use my freedom well. Give me humility to trust You and obey You in the freedom of choice You've given to me. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I want to choose life and eat of the fruit of "the tree of life" (v. 2:9). I want to learn to trust You to know what's best for me. I want to learn to allow You and Your word to determine for me what is good and evil, instead of seeking to be my own god and make my own choices by the knowledge I attain apart from You (v. 3:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you that as best as you can and all by God's grace you will choose well in the freedom you have to trust and obey God, eating and enjoying the fruit of the tree of 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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Thursday, January 22, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 22 - Relationship and Responsibility

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.  ...

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15).

You create us for relationship and responsibility. You create us with a need to be productive, not passive. And You give us a sense of joy, security, and direction as we put our hands and heart to the work You've prepared for us.

Adam was to till the soil, to prepare the ground and prepare the way for the blessings of fruit and harvest to come. He was to keep it and tend it, to take a sense of ownership in it, as he cultivated and cared for what You entrusted to him.

You didn't need that garden to give You fruit in heaven. Adam needed that garden as a means of Your grace to bring fruit and fulfillment into his life. Adam needed identity and direction. He needed relationship and responsibility. And as he cultivated his garden, You were cultivating his heart. As You were teaching him the principles of seedtime and harvest, You were teaching the principles of spirit and life in the kingdom of God.

Thank You for the garden You've given me. Thank You for my relationship with You as a son of God and the responsibility You've entrusted to me as a servant of God. I pray You will favor and prosper the work of my hands as You continue Your work of ministry in the spiritual maturity of my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you experience deep joy, security, and direction, as you are about your Father's business, caring  for and cultivating all He has entrusted to you and growing in your relationship with Him. 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, January 21, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 21 - "Breath of Life"

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

"Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7).

You give me the breath of life. "It is the Spirit that gives life" (John 6:63). And Your Holy Spirit abides in my human spirit. I am "in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9). Your divine power is at work within me, empowering me to be like You, to live in You, conforming me into Your image (Romans 8:29).

By the power of Your grace, I am a living being, fully alive and fully free to willingly choose to open wide my human spirit and welcome in Your Holy Spirit to fill me afresh with the fullness of life in You. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (me) free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me afresh with the life and breath of God today (Ephesians 5:18). It is Your "very Spirit bearing witness with (my) spirit that (I am one of Your) children of God" (Romans 8:16). And as a child of God, filled with the Spirit of God, I choose to arise from this intimate time of worship and prayer to "walk in newness of life" with You throughout the moments of my day (Romans 6:4). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you will be filled afresh with the breath of life though God the Holy Spirit, empowering you to walk in newness of life and grow in the nature of Christ every day. 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, January 20, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 20 - Enter the Kingdom of Heaven

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I watch to see and listen to hear the leading of Your Spirit, I wait quietly but expectantly in the communion of prayer. ...

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many deeds of power in Your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from Me, you evildoers' " (Matthew 7:21-23).

Be Lord not only in my words but also in my heart. And as You are Lord in my heart, You will be Lord in my actions. I will do the will of the Father because the Father's will will be the desire of my heart.

 Free me from all self-deception. Remind me that my salvation is never in what I say or do, even in the power of Your name, but in my personal relationship of knowing You. The more I give myself to You to truly know You, the more You give Yourself to me to make me more like You -- seeking to do the Father's will, only doing what You saw Him do and only speaking what You heard Him speak.

Father God, in the power of Your grace, I want know Jesus and I want to do Your will. I want to enter the kingdom of heaven. And I want the kingdom of heaven to enter me -- now and forever. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you will enter the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of heaven will enter you every day, through your personal relationship of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And by the power of the grace of God, may you do the Father's will. 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, January 19, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 19 - Knowing God is Eternal Life

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Centered in Your presence, grounded in Your truth, I want to begin my day intentionally entrusting myself to You.  ...

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

If eternal life is knowing You, free me, Lord, from everything less I've been living for. Everything else must find it's place somewhere down the list from my personal relationship with You.

Knowing You is not the most popular priority, but it's Your priority. "For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:14). But I'm asking for the grace to be one who finds it. The road that leads to life is the road that leads to You -- not just serving You, not just giving to You, not just trying to impress You or somehow deserve You, but knowing You.

I want to know You, Lord. I want to know Your Word, know Your Spirit. I want to hear what You're saying and see what You're doing. I want to experience Your presence coming alongside me and abiding within me every day of my life, every day of my eternal life with You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


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


My Friend,  I pray you will know the Lord our God, the only true God, more personally and intimately every day. 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, January 16, 2015


Morning by Morning, January 16 - "Brighter and Brighter"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart every moment of every day.  ...

"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day" (Proverbs 4:18).

As the light of this new day dawns out my window and over the hills, pushing back the darkness and shining forth in radiance, I lift my eyes to You. Let Your light shine on my face. Let Your radiance envelop my countenance. And set my heart on Your path.

If I'm on Your path, I should see Your light shining brighter and brighter. If I don't see Your light shining brighter throughout the moments of my day and along the steps of my journey of faith, it should be an invitation for me to ask You if I've stepped off "the path of the righteous."

Give me eyes to see the path and wisdom to follow it. Give me discernment to realize it when I stray and humility to return. As someone has said, "The wrong road never becomes the right road. The only way to get back on the right road is to go back to the place we left it and start on the right road again."

I want to be on the right road, Lord. Thank You for every time You've confirmed my steps with the brightness of Your light. Thank You for correcting my steps every time the path became dark or cloudy to show me it's time to turn around and get back on track. And thank You for every dawn of a new day, when Your mercy and love covered my sins and corrected my paths to empower me with the grace to continue on in my journey with You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Lord will confirm your steps on the path He has prepared of you as it grows brighter and brighter every day. 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, January 15, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 15 - "Listen, Children"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I settle in to my daily place of prayer, I settle in to Your embrace. I lift up my spirit and open up my heart and listen up for Your leading.  ...

"Listen, children, to a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight.... Let your heart hold fast to my words; keep my commandments, and live" (Proverbs 4:1-4).

Teach me, my Father. I have so much to learn. Instruct me with Your insights and inspire me with Your wisdom. Empower me to hold fast to what I hear and to live out what I learn.

I ask You to make my spirit more attentive to Your leading. Help me get more quiet, get more still, lean in more closely, wait more patiently so I can arise more confidently from my time of prayer knowing I've heard from my God.  ...

As I wait on You, it seems I hear You say:  "My son, My desire is for you to desire to know Me. I delight in you when you delight in Me. When you purposefully press in to Me, you position yourself to be led by Me. Trust Me that as you go about the moments of your day, I will be speaking to your spirit to guide you in the path I have purposed for you."

Yes, Lord. You are my Father, my Lord, and my Teacher. Thank You for Your Word You're bringing to my mind to confirm what I believe You're speaking to me:  "... your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it" (Isaiah 30:20-21). 

As far as Your grace will go, I want to see You and know You. I want to hear Your voice, teaching me and leading me throughout the moments of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Holy Spirit will draw you into the place of prayer to begin your day listening to voice of the Lord our God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And I pray you will arise and go forth through the moments of your day, lead by the voice of the One who is always with you. 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, January 14, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 14 - Seeking Deeper Humility

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You, as I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

"All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).

Teach me how to humble myself more deeply this year.

We often begin our years asking for great things --to increase, to prosper, to advance. We often find something in us that wants to be exalted. But You said it's the one who humbles himself whom You exalt. And You said all who try to exalt themselves, to build their own kingdoms, pursue their own plans, in their own power, in their own wisdom, apart from You, whom You humble. 

You oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble (James 4:6). And apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

So Lord, I don't want to be apart from You. I don't want to exalt myself. I want to learn how to humble myself in Your sight so You can lift me up (James 4:10). If I am to increase, to prosper, to advance, I want it to be by Your hand and not mine, coming from a humble heart that seeks Your will and Your way, not asserting my own. 

Help me get to that place in my heart, more deeply than ever before. Help me learn to humble myself to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. Help me desire to be more teachable, more correctable. Help me be less self-centered, less self-righteous. Set me free from the spirit of pride and fill me up with a Spirit of humility --just like Yours:  "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him" (Philippians 2:8-9). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Lord will empower you to increase, to prosper, to advance, as He exalts you to the place He has chosen for you and as you humble yourself in His sight more deeply than ever before. 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, January 13, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 13 - Plans for the Fullness of Time

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Where will You lead me today? ...

"With all wisdom and insight He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth" (Ephesians 1:8-10).

Lord, You have "a plan for the fullness of time." Give me grace to trust in Your plans for me. Give me patience to wait for the fullness of Your timing. Give me persistence to press on and pray through until I see all Your plans in the fullness of Your time come to pass.

I believe Your plans for me are good, and that's give me hope for the future You've set before me (Jeremiah 29:11). So guide my heart by the leading of Your Spirit. Order my steps and direct my paths, as I trust in You and Your plan for me (Proverbs 20:24). In Jesus' name pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray for God's grace to trust in His plans for the future with hope He has prepared for you in the fullness of time. 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, January 12, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 12 - More like Him

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call on Your name and welcome Your Spirit to draw every dimension of my being into deeper intimacy with every dimension of Your Being --Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Faithful One, do this in me. Sanctify me in "spirit and soul and body." Keep me sound --healthy, healed, whole, and secure. Keep me blameless --repentant of sin, cleansed by Your blood, embracing Your mercy and grace, forgiven and free. 

By the power of Your grace, I "have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood" (1 Peter 1:2). "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:30).

I can't do it. I can't deserve it, earn it, or make it happen. But I can willingly choose to humble myself to be desperately dependent upon You alone to be at work in me. Conform me into Your image. Align my heart with Your desires and my mind with Your thoughts to will what is right and to do what is right:  "For it is God who is at work in (me), enabling (me) both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). 

So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose this day to embrace the standard of Your will and the work of Your Spirit. Make me more like You today (Romans 8:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Spirit of Christ will be at work in you to make You more like Jesus each day. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, thank you for all your prayers for us as we had the honor and joy of teaching and ministering inner healing for he Oak Hills Church missionaries from around the world on a retreat at Horseshoe Bay. They came from Brazil, Haiti, El Salvador, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Mexico, and the United States (oakhillschurch.com/longtermmissions). We truly believe it was a powerful time in the Presence of the Lord with encouragement, healing, renewal and a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit for each of them and all of us. I pray the same for you!

  

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, January 08, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 8 - Passionate Pursuit

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I put my heart in Your hands--Your nail-scarred hands that forever declare Your faithfulness, Your forgiveness, and unfailing love for me. ...

"Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrew 12:14).

I want to see You, Lord. Not just when I get to heaven when I die, but in every moment of every day. I want to see what You're doing, hear what You're saying, go where You're leading. I want to live my moments fully alive to Your presence. 

So reawaken in me the passion to pursue peace and pursue holiness. Not the peace of the world that goes along to get along, compromising with truth, complacent and passive, settling for less than the fullness of the kingdom of God, but the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Not the holiness that's determined by outward appearance or self-righteous religion, but the holiness of heart and life that flows out of a life seeking full surrender to the One who alone is holy and welcomed to be at work within my heart, conforming my thoughts and my desires to Yours, morning by morning and step by step.

Come, Holy Spirit. Rekindle the flame. Reawaken my spirit. Revive my soul. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray the Holy Spirit will rekindle the flame, reawaken your spirit, and revive your soul in the passionate pursuit of the Lord's true peace and holiness of heart and life in you this year. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, please keep us in prayer the next two days as our team of prayer ministers from Rapha God Ministries have the blessing and honor of ministering to the Oak Hills Church missionaries from around the world on a retreat at Horseshoe Bay.They are coming in from Brazil, Haiti, El Salvador, Burkina Faso, North Africa, Mexico, and the United States (oakhillschurch.com/longtermmissions). We'll be ministering to them together and in personal prayer ministry on topics of spiritual alignment, spiritual warfare, forgiveness, and brokenness from trauma. May this be a time of healing, renewal and fresh filling of the Holy Spirit for each of them and all of us. I pray the same for you!

  

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, January 07, 2015


Morning by Morning, January 7 - Thank God for Good Friends

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Lord and Savior, my Master and King, and my faithful Friend forever.  ...

"As for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT).

Thank You, God, for all Your goodness. And thank You for the gift of every faithful friend You've brought into my life. Though they knew my faults, they loved me anyway. Though I went through troubling times, they stood by me anyway. Though they didn't always agree with every choice I ever made, they still believed I was trying my best to follow Your leading even when I misunderstood or missed the mark. I can't help but thank You for each one of them.

Lord, empower me by Your grace to be a faithful friend too. Let me be free to share my thoughts even when I may be wrong, to speak the truth as I understand it to be, to take time to listen, to make time to present, sometimes to patiently endure and always to love. Let me be one who first assumes the best intentions, who easily forgives, who makes no record of wrongs, who's quick to admit my mistakes, and always believes You're always at work to redeem all things we entrust to You with humility in prayer.

Good friends are an expression of the nature and character of our good God (Exodus 33:11; James 2:23). I thank You that You are my Friend and I am Yours (John 15:15). And I thank You for the one You have chosen to journey with me as my best friend for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray.

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


My Friend,  I pray God will grant you the gift of good friends and empower you to be a good friend with the nature of His Spirit in your heart. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, if you're in the area, you're welcome to come join us this afternoon between 4-7:00 at our ministry office in San Antonio for wedding cake and coffee to celebrate the marriage of Tommy & Rocio Hays. Thank you for all the good wishes, prayers, and blessings!

  

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, January 06, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 6 - "Oil of Gladness"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In this communion of prayer, make me one with You, one with the body of Christ, one in ministry wherever You send me, to the ends of the earth, until I feast with You at Your heavenly banquet in final victory. ...

"But of the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions'" (Hebrews 1:8-9).

Holy Spirit, anoint me with the oil of gladness. Let the joy of the Lord be my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). "In Your presence there is fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).

My heart is glad that You are so good to me. You are a good God who loves to give good gifts to Your children (Luke 11:13). And one of Your best gifts is Your joy. "For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your work; at the works of Your hands I sing for joy!" (Psalm 92:4) Joy is such a vibrant expression of the kingdom of God abiding in us by the anointing of Your Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Thank You, O Lord, for restoring my joy--the joy of my salvation (Psalm 51:12). Thank You for anointing me with "the oil of gladness" (Isaiah 61:3). Give me Your grace to share Your joy in the anointing of Your Spirit everywhere You send me today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you the Holy Spirit will anoint you with the oil of gladness and let the joy of the Lord flow out of your spirit today in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
Friends, if you're in the area, you're welcome to come join us this Wednesday afternoon between 4-7:00 at our ministry office in San Antonio for wedding cake and coffee to celebrate the marriage of Tommy & Rocio Hays.


 



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, January 05, 2015


Morning by Morning, January 5 - "The Beginning and the End"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd, let me hear Your voice and sense the leading of Your Spirit.  ...

"See, I am coming soon; My reward is with Me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:12-13).

As I set my face to turn toward this new year, I set my heart to turn toward You, the One who already holds all my days in Your hands. You are the first and the last, the beginning and the end. You are the One who already sees all that will come into my life this year, "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My purpose shall stand and I will fulfill My intention... I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have planned, and I will do it'" (Isaiah 46:10-11).

In the mystery of faith, the freedom of love, and the sovereignty of God, You already see every choice I'll ever make every day of this year, yet fully empower me with the freedom to make every choice in the freedom of my will: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity... I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life..." (Deuteronomy 30:15-30).

So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I willingly choose to follow You on this journey of this new year (John 10:27). You said, "Whoever serves Me must follow Me" (John 12:26). And every day, You invite each one to "choose this day whom (we) will serve" (Joshua 24:15). 

Lord, I want the works of my hands and the choices of my heart to honor You, as I serve You and follow You. So align my will with Your will and my desires with Your desires, that You may fulfill Your intentions and bring to pass all You have planned for my life this year. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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


My Friend,  I pray you will choose to allow God's Spirit to move in your heart with His desires to embrace His will for your life this year. May you prosper in Christ in every way in Jesus' name. Happy New Year! 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, January 02, 2015


Morning by Morning, January 2 - Go in Faith into this New Year

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart. ...

"Now the Lord had 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.' So Abram went, as the Lord told him..." (Genesis 12:1-4).

Abraham began his journey in faith. And his faith in You guided his steps all along the way. Sometimes he faltered, sometimes he failed; but his faith remained. And you honored his faith. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God" (James 2:23).

I'm excited to begin the journey of this new year trusting in You with all the faith You've established in me. Sometimes I literally cry when I think of Your tender mercies, Your unfailing love, and Your relentless grace for me through every time I've faltered or failed. Yet You strengthen my faith every time You pick me up and hold me close and set me back on the path of the journey You've destined for me. "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).

Lord, fill my spirit with expectant faith. Through faith, I am a spiritual descendant of Abraham. "Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham" (Galatians 3:6). And I believe by faith, as I begin this journey of this new year, You will continue to pour out Your blessings upon me and through me everywhere You send me, in ways I could never deserve and never earn--all for the glory of Your name, expressing the nature of Your mercy and love. "For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed" (Galatians 3:9). To God be the glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you will go in faith into this new year the Lord has set apart for You to bless you and bless others through you, all for the glory of His name. In the name of Jesus, be forgiven and freed of every failure of your past to move forward into the fullness of your God-given destiny in Christ. Happy New Year! God bless you, my friend!

 
Friends, Thank You so much for joining with me in this journey of faith, seeking God and seeking to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit morning by morning in prayer. God bless you!

 

 

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, January 01, 2015

Morning by Morning, January 1 - "First"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart and every moment of my day. On this first morning of this first day of this new year, I worship You and welcome You, O God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--into the center and at the foundation of all I am and all I will be.  ...

"Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am first, and will be with the last" (Isaiah 41:4).

Be first in my life, my Lord.

Let Your name be the first word from my mouth every morning. Let Your face be the first thing I seek as I begin each day in the communion of prayer and the fellowship of Your Spirit. Let Your will be my first desire and Your ways be my first choice. Let everything else come second, as I seek first the Kingdom of God, for then I can truly embrace and enjoy every abundant and beautiful blessing You've poured into my life (Matthew 6:33). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend,  I pray you will draw more deeply into the Presence of the Lord, giving Him first place in your life throughout every day of this new year. May you know the abundance of all His beautiful blessings He will be pouring into your life out of His extravagant love for you. Happy New Year!
Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, thank you for all your prayers and blessings for me and my beautiful bride, Rocio Caballero Hays. On December 19th at a small, simple wedding with our families at Horseshoe Bay, Texas, we were so honored for Max Lucado to lead us in our vows and embrace the Lord's great gift of unfailing love for us and for one another.

 We'll be having a simple celebration of coffee and wedding cake with friends at our prayer ministry office in San Antonio on the afternoon of January 7th. You're welcome to join us if you're in town! Please keep us in prayer as we begin this exciting journey of life together as one! Love and blessings to you, my friends, from Tommy & Rocio Hays!

 

 

 


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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