Morning by Morning, May 1 - Grace to Withstand the "Scoffers" of God and Authority of His Word

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd, let me hear Your voice and follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit, as I begin my morning in the communion of prayer embraced by my heavenly Father.  ...

"But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles and of our Lord Jesus Christ; for they said to you, 'In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts.' It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies. Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 17-25).

Some say that the ones "who are causing divisions" are those who believe the Word of God as the authority for our lives, who trust in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior, who seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, who willingly submit to the loving correction and godly discipline of our heavenly Father to grow up into maturity as sons and daughters of God. But Your Word says "the ones causing divisions" are the "scoffers," the ones who insist on "indulging their own ungodly lusts"  (v. 18).

They may be "worldly people," fitting well into the culture and ways of this world that seems "hell-bent" on rejecting God and God's authority from every corner of their lives and imposing their will on everyone else in the name of their own personal liberty. But according to Your Word, they are "devoid of the Spirit" (v. 19).

So what are we to do? We are to pray (v. 20). And we are also to act in each situation according to leading the Holy Spirit, whether to have mercy in silence or have mercy by "snatching them out of the fire" or have mercy by keeping our distance (v. 22-23).

"The proud, haughty person, named 'Scoffer,' acts with arrogant pride (Proverbs 21:24). And the heart of pride is the arrogant insistence on our own will and our own way instead of Yours. "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). The heart of humility is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone.

Lord, give me the grace to humble myself before You, to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. Give me the grace to trust You and Your Word and Your wisdom to know what's best for me and my life and my world. Show me how to have mercy and walk in love toward those who would scoff at me and scoff at You. Empower me with the courage and the grace to "build (myself) up on (my) most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep (myself) in the love of God, and look forward to the mercy of (my) Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life" (Jude 21). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you be empowered with the courage and grace to withstand the scoffers of God and the authority of His Word, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, please join with me in prayer for our nation and every soul in our world to turn to God, trusting in the mercy of His love and grace through Jesus Christ and trusting in His wisdom to know what's best for each of us.

I'm excited to be traveling to teach at the Fredericksburg, Texas campus of Oak Hills Church this weekend in our strategic partnership between Rapha God Ministries and Oak Hills Church to provide equipping and training for healing prayer ministry. Please keep us in your prayers and I pray for the Lord to equip you and your church for His vision and purposes through you life. God bless you!

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 30 - "We Proclaim Jesus"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lord. Be King and Lord of my life today.  ...

"For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:5-6).

 Throughout the moments of my day, let me proclaim Jesus. With the countenance of my face and the attitude of my heart, let me proclaim Jesus. With the choices I make and the temptations I face, let me proclaim Jesus. With the challenging conversations I'll have and the opportunities to proclaim myself instead of You, let me proclaim Jesus.

Let it not be "another Jesus" -- a false Jesus, a self-righteous or selfish Jesus, a condemning or shaming Jesus, a complacent or appeasing Jesus, a compromising with the truth Jesus, a judgmental or unjust Jesus -- but only the true Jesus that they see in me (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Let all who see me see Jesus in me; let all who hear me hear Jesus in me -- Christ in me (Colossians 1:27). So I desperately need Your Spirit to fill me and make me like You. I desperately need You to fill me with "the Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:17), "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9), "the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4), that "the Spirit of God" may dwell in me (Roman 8:9).

Let the love of God shine through my heart and upon my face everywhere You send me throughout my day with "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:4). "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). So let Your light shine on me and shine through me to proclaim Jesus today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you be filled with Spirit of Christ as you proclaim Jesus through your life today, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 29 - "With Unveiled Faces"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me near; draw me deep, deep to deep, into the communion of prayer as I begin my day looking to You.  ...

"But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

Come, Holy Spirit of the living God. Come remove the veil. Remove everything that distort my vision or distract my prayers from seeing You as You are. Let me seek You with an unveiled face. Let me see You "face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

As I see You as You are, Your Spirit is changing me into Your image. I'm being changed, "transformed into the same image" from glory to glory. It's not by anything I've done or deserved; it's all by Your grace, all from Your love. You love me and want me to become more like You. So as I pray, as I worship, as I let You remove every barrier and filter and veil between us, I become like the One I worship. 

Lord Jesus, make me more like You today. In Jesus' name I pray Amen.

 

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

May you be changed into the image of Christ, from glory to glory, as you seek the Lord in worship and prayer with an unveiled face, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 28 - One Pearl of Great Price

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

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45 NKJV).

Thank You for all the fine pearls in my life, all that You've provided for me and lavished up me -- forgiveness and mercy, eternal life, healing and deliverance, provision and protection, redemption of all my sins and failures into places of compassion and authority for others, a confident sense of identity and hopeful sense of destiny. But what is worth all I have? What is the one pearl of great price to me?

I think it has to be Your loving presence. Not just Your love, but also Your presence. Not just Your presence, but also Your love. 

After all, that's how You created me. You created me to desire You and Your loving presence: Like every baby desperately desires the loving presence of their mother and father. Like every teenager, no matter where they are on their emotional journey to independence, deep down inside, no matter how much they may hate to admit it at times, longs for the loving presence of their parents. Like every man and woman, no matter what they've been through or how rocky their relationship may have been, misses the loving presence of the ones who gave them life when they pass on or are no longer around. All of these are measures and expressions of our deepest desire for intimate relationship with You, for the loving presence of God.

David discovered this pearl of great price when he cried out, "One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple... 'Come,' my heart says, 'seek His face!' Your face, Lord, do I seek" (Psalm 27:4-8). With words and songs, he tried to express this insatiable need:  "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? ... Deep calls to deep" (Psalm 42:2-7). And You responded to this deep longing of all who believe in You and recognized our God-created need for You and loving presence in our lives when You said, "I Am with you always" (Matthew 28:20).

Lord, let seeking Your face be my passion. Let knowing You and loving You and experiencing Your love for me in the depths of my heart every moment of my life be my deepest desire. Let Your loving presence be worth selling all I have and being at the heart of all I am. Let Your loving presence be my pearl of great price. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you know what is the one pearl of great price in your life; and may you give all you have and all you are to have it, that you may live forever in the loving presence of our God, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 27 - Hidden Treasures of God's Wisdom

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and listen for Your leading, O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"My child, if you accept my words and treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures -- then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:1-5).

Father God, I do need Your wisdom, Your understanding, and the insights of the hidden treasures of Your words. Speak to me by Your Word; speak to me in my heart. "Then (I) will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into (my) heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to (my) soul; prudence will watch over (me); and understanding will guard (me)" (v. 2:9-11).

The wisdom and the ways of this world are confusing and inconsistent. They're often self-centered and self-destructive. They seem to change with the tide, bowing to the pressures of culture, rising and falling with the discourse of public opinion or political popularity. But Your Word withstands the tests of time. Your wisdom endures forever. "I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before Him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

So I lean in to hear and set my heart to listen. I seek after Your hidden treasures and search for Your wisdom like silver. This is the wisdom that will last; these are the ways that are eternal. Let me settle for nothing less. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the Holy Spirit of the living God stir in your heart to seek out the hidden treasures of God's wisdom every day, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 24 - "Abound in Hope"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the heart and lead me on the path that leads to life in You today.  ...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

You are the God of hope. And it's in believing -- in trusting and committing and totally surrendering myself to You as best as I can and all by Your grace -- that I position myself to be filled by You with all joy and peace. That's the hope that I have because that's the promised You've made.

According to Your Word, it's "the power of the Holy Spirit" that causes me to "abound in hope." My part is not to make myself hope or make myself joyful or make myself peaceful. My part is to choose to believe, as best as I can and all by Your grace. And when my faith to believe is weak or growing weary, my part is to cry out to You in prayer with as much sincerity of heart as I have in that moment, "I believe, help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). You meet me where I am; You love me where I am; and You help me where I am. In fulfilling Your part according to Your promises, You move in Your power of the Holy Spirit in my mind and my heart to empower me to believe so that I can abound in hope.

Come, Holy Spirit. Move in me to abound in hope today. Fill me with all joy and peace in believing. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the God of hope cause hope to abound in you today by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within you, empowering you to believe and filling you with all joy and peace, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 23 - "Good Treasure of the Heart"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my heart with Yours.  ...

"The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).

You've given me Your Spirit to change my heart. You save me and heal me and free me as You transform me from the inside out. Your Word says, "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). 

Your love is the good treasure in my heart. Your love is what produces good in my life and through my life. Your love is what causes good thoughts to come into my mind and good words to come out of my mouth.

So I need You to pour the good treasure of Your love into my heart every day. Apart from You, there's nothing good in me. "We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). You're the Potter and my heart is Your clay (Isaiah 64:8). Mold my heart with Your nail-scarred hands and fill me up with the good treasure of Your love today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the Holy Spirit fill your heart with the good treasure of God's love today, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 22 - Pursuing Christ

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

"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8 NLT).

Nothing compares with You, Lord Jesus. Nothing is to have a higher place in my heart. Thank You for family and friends, for provision and purpose, for the love of my life and all the good things I could never imagine I'd experience in this world. But above all, let the passionate pursuit of knowing You consume my life. 

As I pursue Your Presence and listen for Your voice in these first moments of my morning, it seems I hear You say:  "I am your Treasure. I am your Prize. Pursue Me with all your heart. My greatest gift to you in an insatiable hunger for Me."  ...

Yes, Lord. Give me a greater hunger still. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I willingly choose to passionately pursue You with all my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you be filled with an insatiable hunger to pursue Christ, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 21 - Called to Be Like Jesus

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your words of spirit and life saturate my soul, as I begin my day in the communion of prayer with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"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 4:17).

I am to be like You in this world. I'm to love like You and to live like You. There is no other standard; there is no other goal. And as I look in my heart and look at my life, I see how far I have to go.

So I need more of You -- more of Your Spirit, more of Your Word. I need more of Your love and more of Your power. And I am forever in need of more of Your grace, which is the power of God at work within me to make me more like You. "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). 

Let me never settle for less that all You created me to be. "Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you be empowered by the grace of God at work within you by His Spirit to make you more like Jesus each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

   

Friends, Thank You for all your prayers for us this weekend for our Breakthrough Prayer II Conference at Bear Creek United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas where I was teaching on healing prayer ministry. I spent all day Sunday in 30 minute prayer sessions to model prayer ministry. Please join me in prayer to see breakthrough  and transformation, with healing from the inside out in every life and situation we brought before the Lord. And I pray for a fresh awakening of prayer and healing ministry through your church and the Body of Christ. God bless you!

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 17 - Impartation of Spiritual Gifts

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. I love You because You first loved me.  ...

"I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you -- or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine" (Romans 1:11-12).

Thank You for the gift of my salvation. Thank You for the gift of life and then the gift of new life. Thank You for the gift of the Father's love and the Father's blessing and the Father's favor. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit living in me and Your spiritual gifts flowing through me. And thank You for the gift of getting to give away all You've given to me in the never-ending flow of Your life through my life. This is all part of our inheritance as children of God, as we grow in our understanding of our identity and live into the fullness of our destiny in Christ (Romans 8:17).

One of the ways You equip us and empower us to live our lives for Your glory is through the impartation of spiritual gifts. Paul said he was longing to come encourage the believers in Rome and to "impart" to them spiritual gifts (Romans 8:11 NKJV). What You had done in him, what You had poured into him, he wanted to give away to them. "Freely (we) have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8 NKJV). That's an expression of the heart of a spiritual father, an expression of the heart of our heavenly Father.

Near the end of his life, Paul reminded Timothy of the spiritual gifts that were imparted to him:  "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders" (1 Timothy 4:14). And in the parting words of his last letter, Paul spoke to Timothy as "my beloved child" to leave a legacy of encouragement and spiritual confidence in the heart of his spiritual son (2 Timothy 1.2). He spoke again of the impartation of spiritual gifts:  "For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Timothy 1:6).

You give us Your Holy Spirit, and You give us spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7).  And, at the same time, You also impart spiritual gifts to us through one another as You will. Thank You for those who were willing to share with me and impart to me all You desired to pour into me through them. And thank You for the opportunities to go and do likewise, freely receiving and freely giving, for the glory of Your name, for the coming of Your kingdom, and for the maturing of Your bride. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you freely receive and freely give all the gifts of God He pours into you and through you for His glory through your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

   

Friends, I'm excited to be returning to Bear Creek United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas this weekend to continue speaking on Inner Healing Prayer Ministry and equipping prayer ministry teams during our Level 2 Training. Please keep us in prayer, and I pray for a fresh awakening of prayer and healing ministry through your church and the Body of Christ. God bless you!

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 16 - God's Words in Our Mouths

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and wait for Your leading to begin my day in the communion of prayer -- embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...

"I have put My words in your mouth, and hidden you in the shadow of My hand, stretching out the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are My people' " (Isaiah 51:16).

Let Your words be in my mouth. Let Your thoughts be in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Conform my nature into Your nature. Make me more like You today.

Lord Jesus, You are the Word of God (John 1:1). You are the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Now by Your Spirit living in my heart, renewing my mind, conforming me into Your image, speak forth Your word through my flesh today (Romans 8:29; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 5:23). In that way, let my life become an expression of Your word in my world each day.

Sanctify my tongue and put Your burning coal from Your heavenly altar to my lips (Isaiah 6:7). As I talk or teach, as I prophecy or preach, as I exhort or encourage, let my words be Your words, secure in the knowledge that the One who is the Word lives in me, putting Your words in my mouth. Give me both the humility and the confidence to fulfill Your promise and obey Your command:  "Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 4:11). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May your heart and mind, your tongue and words be sanctified by the Spirit as the Lord expresses His words through your life today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Friends, I'm excited to be returning to Bear Creek United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas this weekend to continue speaking on Inner Healing Prayer Ministry and equipping prayer ministry teams during our Level 2 Training. Please keep us in prayer, and I pray for a fresh awakening of prayer and healing ministry through your church and the Body of Christ. God bless you!

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 15 - Burning Heart

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Lead me in the way that leads to life today.  ...

"Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.... When he was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He opened the Scriptures to us?' " (Luke 24:13-32).

Lord Jesus, as I speak of You, would You come near to me? As read of You, would You cause my heart to burn within me? 

The words of Moses and the words of the prophets speak of You, the One who fulfills the promises of God (v. 24:27). The words of the Scriptures of God prepare the way of the Lord in my heart to encounter the Presence of God. And You come near. You open my eyes to see and awaken my faith to believe.

In the communion of Your Presence, grounded in Your Word, let Your Spirit burn in my heart. Set me ablaze with a passion for You in these first moment of my morning and let my heart burn within me throughout the moments of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

Friend,   May your heart burn within you as Jesus comes near by His Spirit and through His Word, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Friends, I'm excited to be returning to Bear Creek United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas this weekend to continue speaking on Inner Healing Prayer Ministry and equipping prayer ministry teams during our Level 2 Training. Please keep us in prayer, and I pray for a fresh awakening of prayer and healing ministry through your church and the Body of Christ. God bless you!

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 13 - "My Lord and My God!"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe You and I trust You. Help me live like it today.  ...

"But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.' And week later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in My side. Do not doubt but believe.' Thomas answered Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe' " (John 20:24-29).

The highest declaration of the Deity of Jesus Christ recorded in all of Scripture -- "My Lord and My God!" -- came from the lips of the one who had doubted the most. Thomas said, "I will not believe." But when he saw Your hands, scarred by Your love, and heard Your voice, inviting him near, all his doubts were flooded with faith.

Years ago, I was honored to preach near the place in southern India where Thomas laid down his life in the sacrifice of his love for You as his Lord and His God that never waivered from that moment forth. I was humbled to remember how blessed we are by the power of Your grace to believe. We're not able to see You in the flesh and put our fingers in Your hands, but we are able to trust You in our hearts, as You turn our doubts to faith and we come to believe.

Lord, give me greater compassion for those who find it hard to believe. In one sense, they are fighting a battle they didn't choose:  "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Let them see Christ in me. Let them hear Your voice reaching out to them in Your love through me. "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let their minds be freed and their eyes be opened to see You for who You are for all of us -- our Lord and our God. In Jesus' name I pray Amen.

 

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

Friend,   May you grow in the confidence of your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and your God, sharing the light of the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ through your life every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Friends, thank you for your prayers for us last weekend in Lexington, Kentucky at our conference with Voice of Joy Ministries. We saw miracles and experienced the powerful presence of the Lord! I pray the same for  you everywhere Christ send you!       

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 7 - Saved and Sent

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my risen Savior. Come live in my heart today.  ...

"When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' And after this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained' " (John 20:19-23).

After Your resurrection, You came to Your disciples to give them peace for their souls and fire in their spirits. You saved them and You sent them. You never intended for them to become complacent in the peace of their salvation, but to be empowered by the breath of Your Spirit.

Just as the Father sent You, so You sent them. They were to go in Your name and the power of Your Spirit -- teaching what You taught and doing what You did in the power You had. The same Spirit that anointed You, empowered You, and raised You from the dead, would be with them.

Now in every generation since that first generation, You still send Your disciples in the power of Your Spirit (John 14:12). "Because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). We are the Body of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, continuing the ministry of Christ, throughout the nations and throughout the generations to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 12:12).

Lord, breathe the breath of our Spirit upon Your Body today. Let us come alive today, as You send us in Your name -- saved and sent in the power of God for the glory of God. 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 Christ and go in the name of Christ to teach what He taught and do what He did in the power He had, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

 

Friends, if you're in the Lexington, Kentucky area, please come join us April 10-11 at All Nations United Methodist Church for the Walking in the Spirit Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries. I'm excited to be preaching Friday Night and joining many old friends in times of teaching, worship, and ministry. All are welcome! Register Online at www.VoiceOfJoyMinistries.com

         

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 6 - "The Resurrection and the Life"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Fill me with Your life, teach me Your truth, and lead me in Your way today.  ...

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?' She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One coming into the world'" (John 11:25-27).

Before the journey to the cross, You knew the journey of fulfillment of all the plans and promises of God would take You through death and into life. You knew that there would be a day of the cross, but also a day of the empty tomb, a moment of death, but also an eternity of life.

You promise the same journey for all who believe -- through death and into life.  Believing in You, we follow You through the death of relying on ourselves into the life of completely trusting in You, through the death of being led by our flesh into the life of being led by Your Spirit, through the death of all the empty promises and unfulfilling dreams this broken, fallen world has to offer us and into the life of being more than conquerors, overcoming this world because the One who has overcome this world now lives in us. 

"(We) have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer (we) who live, but it is Christ who lives in (us). And the life (we) now live in the flesh (we) live by faith in the Son of God, who loved (us) and gave Himself for (us)" (Galatians 2:19-20). 

Yes, Lord. I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. You've come into my world and into my heart. Now as I journey through this world, I journey by faith in the Son of God and with the Spirit of the living God living in me. "The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:11). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

My Friend,   May you go in the way of Christ through your world today with His resurrection life and power in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

 

Friends, if you're in the Lexington, Kentucky area, please come join us April 10-11 at All Nations United Methodist Church for the Walking in the Spirit Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries. I'm excited to be preaching Friday Night and joining many old friends in times of teaching, worship, and ministry. All are welcome! Register Online at www.VoiceOfJoyMinistries.com

         

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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 5 - Christ Arise!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in my heart today!  ...

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again" (Luke 24:5-7).

Today, we remember and celebrate Your resurrection. And everyday You invite us to remember and celebrate we are also alive in Christ. "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!" (Ephesians 5:14)

Come, Holy Spirit -- You are the Spirit of the living Christ, living in me (Romans 8:9). Make me more like Jesus today. Let the light of Christ shine in me and the love of Christ flow though me. This is the resurrection power of the resurrected Christ. Let Christ arise in me so that everywhere I go everyone knows Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

Friend,   May the Spirit of Christ arise in you and the love of Christ float through you in resurrection power, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, April 3 - "What is Your Verdict?"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I draw near to You in intimacy, I first bow before You in humility. Thank You for forgiving me of all that would ever separate me from You. Thank You for Your sacrifice of love for me through the cross of Christ. ...

"Those who arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered.... No the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put Him to death, but they found none, through many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, 'This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" The high priest stood up and said, 'Have You no answer? What is it that they testify against You?' But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to Him, 'I put You under oath before the living God, tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God.' Jesus said to Him, 'You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.' Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard His blasphemy! What is your verdict?" They answered, "He deserves death." Then they spat in His face and struck Him; and some slapped Him, saying, 'Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck You?'" (Matthew 26:57-68).

It sickens my stomach as I read and remember all they did. And it saddens my heart as I read and remember all You did. And this day, before I hurry on to the joy and celebration of Your resurrection and mine, I want to take time to reflect how much the joy of my salvation and resurrection cost You. "For the sake of the joy that was set before (You, You) endured the cross, disregarding its shame" -- all for me and for all You love so much to save.

They didn't believe You. They didn't receive You. They mocked You and cursed You and spit in Your face. They handed You over to be tortured to death in the cruelty of the cross (Matthew 27:1-2). And even as You hung on the cross, innocent as a Lamb, for their sins and mine, rejected and despised despite all Your love, You still cried out in Your dying breaths for the mercy of God: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

How ironic that they stood to judge You, the One "who (now) stands ready to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5). In their arrogance and pride that blinded them from seeing who You were and what You were sacrificing for them, they defiantly asked of themselves, "What is your verdict?" And their mistaken response was "He deserves death."

Yet that is the question You set before us:  "What is your verdict?" From heaven's throne, seated at the right hand of Power, You ask each one of us, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15)  The rightful response is "We deserve death." But by the grace and the power of God through Your love and sacrifice for us, You have overcome death and its judgment for sin for all of us. "For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring (us) to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).

My verdict is that I am guilty, but You are my Savior. Now I am forgiven and free, alive in the Spirit, because Your Spirit lives in me. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). And on this day we remember the sacrifice of the cross, I proclaim to You with all my heart the mystery of faith, "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

My Friend,  I join with you this day in remembering all Jesus has done for us. May you know with all your heart you are forgiven and free through the sacrifice of Christ, in Jesus' name. 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 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!