Morning by Morning, July 1 - "For Him"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start my day right -- letting You set my heart right. I want to start this day and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...

"For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that One has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Lord, can I sincerely say in my heart that I'm living my life for You? Or is the truth that I'm living my life for myself? ...

Ouch. ... I'm not sure I like to think about that question. But I suspect, in all honesty, that the answer is it's a little of both, some days more than others, some days less than others. But as much as I seek You and love You and thank You for all You've done in me and for me, most days I think I'd have to admit I'm still a long way off from being able to say with the Apostle Paul that I "live to God," that "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is not longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:19-20).

So come, Holy Spirit. Would You move in my heart to give me a heart like that? Crucify my flesh so that "the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who love me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Deliver me from the sin and the spirit of pride that tries to consume me with self-centeredness and selfishness until my life is all about me (Matthew 6:13; James 4:7). Be at work within me to enable me and empower me to both will what is right and to what is right because You've set things right deep down in my heart (Philippians 2:13). 

Give me the desire and the power to live my life "for Him" -- for the One who saved me and raised me, who healed me and freed me, to live my life for the glory of God instead of glory in my flesh. Lord Jesus, when it's all been said and done, I want to be able to say I lived my life for You, that I lived my life worthy of You -- as best as I could and all by the power of Your grace (Colossians 1:10). You died for me; I want to live for You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

 

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

I pray the Holy Spirit will continue to give you the desire and the power to live your life for Christ, to the glory of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

(From a Day of Baptisms in the Upper Waters of the Jordan River in Israel)

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, June 30 - "United in the Same Mind and the Same Purpose"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and listen for Your voice  --Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by Him you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose" (1 Corinthians 1:8-10).

As we seek the mind of Christ and remember the purpose of our calling, we are united and strengthened to the end. Together in the fellowship of Christ, we are one in the Spirit and one in the Lord. "For in the one Spirit we are all baptized into the one body -- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free -- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).

So come, Holy Spirit. Stir in the heart of every believer in the body of Christ to seek the mind of Christ and remember our purpose in Christ. Put the thoughts Christ in our minds and the desires of Christ in our hearts until "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Then we can truly be Your "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

You didn't call us and send us to go and make disciples of the world, but to go into the world and make disciples of Christ (Matthew 28:19). By the power of the grace of God at work within each one of us who are called by Your name, unite us together with that "same mind and same purpose" (1 Corinthians 1:10). This is our identity and this is our destiny -- conformed to the image of Christ and continuing the ministry of Christ to a broken, fallen world desperately in need of the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. "For the love of Christ urges us on ... so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the Holy Spirit stir in you to give you the thoughts of Christ in your mind and the desires of Christ in your heart, together with all the body of Christ as one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, 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, June 29 - Our Cornerstone and Plumb Line in the Midst of Change

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I begin my day in the communion of prayer, help me hear Your heart and follow the leading of Your Spirit.  ...

"Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:  'Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness..." (Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT).

Though cultures may change, You never do. Though our opinions may waiver, Your Word never does. You are our cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Your righteousness is our plumb line (Amos 7:7-9). You are "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

And while You never change, You've created us to change -- to change every day, from the inside out, to be more like You -- not more like our culture, more like You (Luke 6:40; Romans 8:29 and 12:1-2). As we look to You as our standard, You change us into Your image (2 Corinthians 3:18). And Your image is the perfect balance of both truth and love (John 14:6; 1 John 4:8).

Teach us how to speak the truth in love and to live the truth in love, as You change us and mature us into the image of Christ in the midst of our culture (Ephesians 4:15). Give us the courage to align our lives with the cornerstone and the plumb line of Your authority, Your will, and Your ways, no matter what goes on in the world around us -- "holding fast to the word of life" and letting the love of God hold fast to our hearts (Philippians 2:14-16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the Holy Spirit empower you to hold fast to the word of life, speaking and living the truth in love, with Christ as your cornerstone and plumb line, 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, June 26 - Live Like It's True

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Go before me, go with me, go within me throughout every moment of my day.  ...

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age' " (Matthew 28:18-20).

What if I were to live my life as if these words of Yours were true? What if I really believed that You are with me always? What if I didn't doubt that the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth is at my side and even within my heart? ...

These words are either true or they're not. You intend me to live my life like this everyday or not at all. And all of this is either pretty words of poetic expression to inspire my imagination in a fairytale fantasy or its intended to be at the center of my understanding of the normal Christian life.

Give me the grace to believe it's true; give me grace to live like it's true -- that You are who You say You are, that You do what You say You'll do, that the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with me always. ...

Yes, Lord Jesus. I believe You are the One who is forever "Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:10). I believe Your words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). So empower me by Your Spirit within me to live my life this day and every day into the truth of Your faithful words (Romans 8:11). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

May the Holy Spirit empower you to believe and to live out the faithful words of Jesus Christ that He is with you always in every moment of every day of your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

  

Friends, I'm excited my updated book Free to Be Like Jesus is now published and available through our ministry. I'm so grateful for these books endorsements by trusted Christian leaders Max Lucado, Andy Reese, and Randy Clark:

"Tommy Hays has spent a lifetime studying the place of prayer in inner healing. I have personally benefitted from his teaching, writing and encouragement. This book gathers a wealth of helpful insights and experiences into one volume. I am honored to have it on my shelf and honored to call Tommy my friend."

Max Lucado

"Tommy Hays combines a lawyer's keen logic with a spiritual intuition to bring inner healing to a practical, effective and applied level. His proven techniques have been used in hundreds of ministry settings and can serve as simple yet profound tools in the hands of even the novice minister."

Andy Reese

"Free to Be Like Jesus will take you on a journey to learn more about the inner healing ministry. This book has many foundational spiritual truths and will help you if you want more healing in your own life, or if you want more tools to assist you in your inner healing ministry."

Randy Clark

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, June 25 - Boundaries of Grace and Obedience

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Cleanse me, heal me, free me, transform me and empower me from the inside out, as I open my heart wide to Your Spirit, here in these first thoughts and words of my day.  ...

"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.... You are My friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:8-14).

According to Your Word, there is a bond between love and obedience, that abiding in Your love also means obeying You in love, that friendship with God, also includes submission to God. And You want us to learn the boundaries of this bond and live in the tension of both grace and obedience so that our joy may be complete.

A powerful river flowing freely is very beautiful but also very destructive if it overflows its banks. And the free grace of God in Jesus Christ is very beautiful but also very destructive if we try we try to live in grace without the boundaries of obedience. Sadly, Ananias and Sapphira made themselves our eternal examples of the personal destruction that overflows from a heart that tries to receive the blessings of the grace of God without also choosing to live in obedience to God. The rivers of grace outside the boundaries of obedience can cost us our lives and our witness (Acts 5:1-11).

Help me learn to live in the tension of grace and obedience, both abiding in Your love and also obeying Your command to love. Let my joy be complete, as I learn to live completely submitted to You as a disciple of Christ and a friend of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May your joy be complete as the Spirit of Christ at work in your heart empowers you to live and love, fully abiding in the grace of God within the boundaries of obedience, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

Friends, please keep us in prayer as we continue our Level 2 School of Ministry tonight in Fredericksburg, Texas through our ministry partnership between Rapha God Ministries and the Fredericksburg Campus of Oak Hills Church to equip their prayer team for inner healing prayer ministry. God bless you and the ministry of God through 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, June 24 - "Repay" or "Reset"?

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart and every moment of my day to make me more like You today.  ...

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far He removes our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:8-12).

We tend to think You're determined in Your judgment to repay us for our sins, but the truth is You're steadfast in Your mercy to reset our souls. Your Word says You do not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities (v. 10). So why do we say things like, "God forgives your sin, but you'll still have to suffer the consequences"? Your Word says Your mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:3). So why do we say things like, "You've had your chances, now suffer the consequences; you've made your bed, now lie in it"?

We have much to learn about mercy and grace. We have much to learn about the steadfast love of the Lord. We still don't get it about just how far the east is from the west. We still insist upon "repay" instead of "reset" when You've already paid it all. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds (we) have been healed. For (we) were going astray like sheep, but now (we) have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of (our) souls" (2 Peter 2:24 fulfilling Isaiah 53:4-6).

By the mercy and grace of God, I choose Your "reset" instead insisting on "repay." Give me Your heart of steadfast love -- toward myself and everyone else. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

I pray you will embrace God's reset for your soul instead of trying to repay and live out the consequences of your past apart from the fullness of His mercy and grace for you, 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, June 23 - Hearing and Healing

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I speak out Your name, my spirit comes to attention to listen for the leading of Your Holy Spirit, here in the embrace of my Father.  ...

"(Moses) said, 'If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give heed to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you'" (Exodus 15:26).

You are a healing God. And at the same time, You call us to be a hearing people. When we're willing to listen for Your voice and obey Your ways, we're bringing our lives into alignment with Your spiritual principles and under the hand of Your divine protection. Your heart is that we would hear and be whole. 

In the healing ministry of Jesus, revealing the heart of the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit, You physically came "to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, 'He took our infirmities and bore our diseases'" (Matthew 8:17, fulfilling Isaiah 53:4-6). You want us to hear because You want us to heal. You want us to bring our lives into alignment with all You have already done for us in Christ. "Upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

You are Jehovah Rapha -- the God who heals (Exodus 15:26). And though we endure much in this broken, fallen world because sickness and death entered this world through sin many thousands of generations ago, You long to set us free and make us whole through "the abundance of grace" we have in Christ (Romans 5:12-17). So empower us by Your Spirit to align ourselves with life, to seek to hear Your voice and be whole, to embrace Your ways and be healed -- as best as we can and all by Your grace.

Sometimes healing comes in the miracle of moment, sometimes in the grace to persevere until the Kingdom of God has fully come on earth as it is in heaven, as You taught us to pray, and sometimes in the healing of the resurrection when we finally stand completely whole and forever free in Your Presence (Matthew 6:10). But You invite us to align our will with Your will (Matthew 8:3). You invite us to align our hearts with Your heart for us -- with the heart of Jehovah Rapha -- the God who heals (Exodus 15:26; Palm 103:3; Psalm 107:20; James 5:16; and many more). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

I pray you will seek to listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, embracing His grace for hearing and healing, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm available for spiritual retreats, revivals, conferences, and ministry engagements through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad, especially on topics of spiritual maturity and transformation, inner healing prayer ministry, and spiritual authority in Christ-- ministering the healing love of God and preparing the way of the Lord. I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living hosted this year in Lexington, Kentucky. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 18 - Wait for the Lord and Soar Like an Eagle

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I speak, I want to listen; before I look out, I want to look up; before I go out, I want to wait -- here in my heart, in the communion of prayer with You.  ...

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Everlasting God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- renew my strength, as I wait upon You. Align my thoughts and my desires with Your will, as I entrust my will to Yours. Go before me into the moments of my day. Open Your doors and order my steps to walk in the way that leads to life.

As I wait for You, I'm yielding to You, I'm trusting in You, I'm surrendering my will to Your will and committing my day to Your plan for my life. And as I wait, You are strengthening me, empowering me, anointing me, and filling me afresh with Your Spirit to go out into my day and my world soaring like an eagle. "From ages past no one heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:4). O Lord, do Your mighty work in me today, as I wait for You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

I pray you will wait for the Lord and be filled with His Spirit to soar like an eagle throughout the moments of your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, please keep us in prayer as our Rapha God Ministries team travels to Fredericksburg, Texas to teach tonight on inner healing and equipping for prayer ministry at Oak Hills Church, Fredericksburg Campus in our strategic ministry partnership with OHC. This is our 7 week series of Level 2 Prayer Ministry Training.

I'm available for spiritual retreats, revivals, conferences, and ministry engagements through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad, especially on topics of spiritual maturity and transformation, inner healing prayer ministry, and spiritual authority in Christ-- ministering the healing love of God and preparing the way of the Lord. I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living hosted this year in Lexington, Kentucky. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 17 - "Companions of Jesus"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the communion of prayer, make me one with You, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

I want to have such a boldness of faith and character of spirit that everyone knows I'm a companion of Jesus. I don't want to be known for education or accomplishments, for status or wealth, but by the seal of the Spirit of Christ that marks my life (Romans 8:9).

By the grace of God, I'll not be ashamed of the gospel and I'll not be embarrassed to be known as a man of God, a man of faith, a man of prayer who passionately loves my Lord and seeks to walk with Jesus every day. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (Romans 1:16).

In the power of Your mercy and love, I'm a servant and a son, a companion and a friend, of the One created me and calls me by name to join with Him in the journey of faith every day (John 15:15). So fill me afresh with Your Spirit today so that all know that I've been with You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

I pray you will be filled afresh by the Holy Spirit, centered in Christ, and embraced by the Father, so that everyone knows you are a companion of Jesus, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, I'm available for spiritual retreats, revivals, conferences, and ministry engagements through Messiah Ministries at home and abroad, especially on topics of spiritual maturity and transformation, inner healing prayer ministry, and spiritual authority in Christ-- ministering the healing love of God and preparing the way of the Lord. I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living hosted this year in Lexington, Kentucky. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 16 - Listen and Trust the Voice of God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Good Shepherd. Help me hear Your voice, as You lead me beside Your still waters, here in the communion of prayer in these first moments of my day.  ...

"O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For His is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. O that today you would listen to His voice!" (Psalm 95:6-7)

As I worship and bow down, as I look up and listen, let me hear Your voice for me today.  ...

It seems I hear You say in my heart:  "My son, I am the One who stirs in your spirit. I am the One who lifts up your heart. I draw you near to Me for I am always drawing near to you. I am always with you. By My Spirit, I am always within you. Yet you can always choose to listen and choose to trust what you hear. Trust Me, My son. Trust that I know what's best and I want only the best for you. Trust Me that it brings Me joy to bring joy to you, that I'm teaching you to delight in what delights Me, that I'm making you more like Me as you choose to listen to Me and trust Me, My son."

Yes, Lord. Your Word says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7). Your Word says "the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as He delighted in prospering your ancestors, when you obey the Lord your God by observing His commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 30:9-10). Your law is written on our hearts (Romans 2:12). And Your Spirit guides our hearts (Romans 8:14). "And when (we) turn to the right or when (we) turn to the left, (our) ears shall hear a word behind (us), saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:21).

Thank You for speaking into my spirit today. I know You'll keep speaking and leading. Help me, by the power of Your grace, keep listening and keep trusting throughout the moments of this day and every day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you listen and trust the voice of God, speaking to your heart and guiding your steps by the leading of His Spirit today and every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 15 - Sabbath of Complete Rest and Complete Trust

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Light and my Salvation, my Hope and my Hero, my Father and my Friend. I welcome You into my heart as Lord of my life this day and every day.  ...

"The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying:  Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:  When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord:  you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine:  it shall be a year of complete rest for the land" (Leviticus 25:1-5).

Every seventh day was a day of rest and every seventh year was a year of rest (Leviticus 23:3). By commanding a complete rest for the land and complete rest for Your people, You were teaching them complete trust in You as Sovereign Lord. "I the Lord am your God; follow My statutes, and be careful to observe My ordinances, and hallow My sabbaths that they may be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God" (Ezekiel 20:19-20).

Today, all the statutes and ordinances of the law, including the law of sabbath, are fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17; Romans 10:4). Today, You teach us Your ways through the spiritual principles revealed by Your law; and the physical journey of the children of Israel leads us by example in our spiritual journey with You. "These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Forgive me and the people of my land for the ways we have not honored You and Your sabbath by choosing to completely rest and completely trust in You alone. Forgive us for the ways we've continued to work and strive in our own power, in our own wisdom, in our own ways, as if we were our own gods. Even now, would You stir in our hearts by Your Spirit to lead us to the repentance that forgives us and frees us by Your mercy. "While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will have the world judged in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).

"Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest is still open, let us take care that none of (us) should seem to have failed to reach it.... Since therefore, it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of their disobedience, again He sets a certain day -- 'today' -- saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, 'Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.' ... Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs" (Hebrews 4:1-11).

Come, Holy Spirit. Forgive me and the people of my land for failing to fully enter into the complete rest of the Father, by completely trusting in Jesus as Lord. As a remnant of God, we welcome You into our hearts and into our land as a people and a nation under God (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May you embrace the sabbath of complete rest and complete trust the Father has provided for you in Jesus Christ as Lord of all, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 12 - The Battle at the Gate

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead my heart and guide my steps on the adventure You've planned for me today.  ...

"In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of His people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate" (Isaiah 28:5-6).

Give me courage to turn back the battle at the gate -- at the gate of my heart, at the gate of my mind. Then by the power of Your grace, give me courage to turn back the battle at the gate of my city, at the gate of my nation, at the gate of Your church.

 

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

May you be strengthened and empowered to take your stand in Jesus, as Jesus takes His stand in you, through every battle at every gate in your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Please keep us in prayer at the Annual Conference of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church the new few days, where I am a clergy delegate from my extension ministries appointment beyond the local church.

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 10 - Morning by Morning He Wakens Me

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You. As I behold You, You are changing me into Your image by Your Spirit, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).  ...

"The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning He wakens -- wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught" (Isaiah 50:9).

Since I woke up this morning of my fifty-fourth birthday, You've been flooding my mind with memories of moments of my life. And the first thing that comes to my heart is:  "There, but for the grace of God, go I." You've always been with me -- especially in the very moments when I thought You were the farthest. I look back and see Your hand upon my life -- especially in the very moments when I deserved it the least.

You've also been speaking to me and reminding me of the words of encouragement and comfort, from You and through Your sons and daughters, of my identity and destiny, of my calling and purpose. And You've been reminding me that "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).

I'm forever in need of Your grace. And I thank You that I'll always have it. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble myself to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone for all of my life. I know I'm in good hands -- hands forever scarred with Your forever love for me.

I'm excited to see what You have in store in these next years to come in this great adventure we're on! I'm a servant and a son of God, a child and a friend of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Keep waking me every morning in Your mercy and grace to seek Your face and listen for Your voice to share the words You put into my heart. And thank You for all those You've woken and spoken Your words into their hearts to speak into my life along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

May the you awaken every morning seeking the face and listening for the voice of the Lord, your God, to start your day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit, to know your identity and fulfill your destiny in the power and grace of our faithful God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer!

www.messiah-ministries.org
 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org 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, June 9 - "Choose this Day"

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

"Choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

As best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to serve You. I choose to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). I choose life instead of death, blessings instead of curses, humility instead of pride, truth instead of deception, peace instead of chaos, encouragement instead of criticism, a positive attitude instead a negative one, Your ways instead of my world's, and Your Spirit instead of my flesh (Deuteronomy 30:1-20).

So come, Holy Spirit. Empower me from the inside out to desire what is right and do what is right. I need You to give me Your heart if I'm to live in Your ways. I need Your desire and Your power at work within me, "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). "You desire truth in my inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:6-10). I admit I need it. I admit I need You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

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

I pray you will choose this day to serve the Lord, as you embrace His Holy Spirit to be at work in you to give you the desire the power to will what is right and to do what is right, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org

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, June 5 - By the Great Mercy of God, I Thrive!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up in my heart and throughout the moments of my day.  ...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice..." (1 Peter 1:3-6).

As I worship You, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and welcome You and Your Word into the place of authority in my life to begin my day, I sense You writing a new song of salvation in my spirit:

In new birth, I come alive 

In living hope, I arise

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

Out of the darkness and into Your Light

Out of my sin and into Your Life

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

To my inheritance in Christ, I take hold

Unfading, forever in hope

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

Thank You, Lord. In the great mercy of God, 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. May grace and peace be (mine) in abundance" (v. 1:2). I believe in You and "rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for (I am) receiving the outcome of (my) faith, the salvation of (my) soul" (v. 1:8-9).

This kind of "indescribable and glorious joy" cannot be explained. Like so many of the things You've prepared for us as we open our hearts to truly believe in You, it can't be taught; it must be caught.

But by the great mercy of God, I've caught it and I'm not letting it go! May I carry this new birth into a living hope everywhere You send me today "by the power of God through faith" (v. 1:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

 

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

I pray you will thrive by the great mercy of God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, Thank You for your prayers for us as we began our Level 2 School of Ministry last night in Fredericksburg, Texasthrough our ministry partnership between Rapha God Ministries and the Fredericksburg Campus of Oak Hills Church to equip their prayer team for inner healing prayer ministry. The Holy Spirit moved tenderly and powerfully even in our model demonstration of the healing power of God! Please keep us in prayer as we continue on our seven week course on Thursday nights. God bless you and the ministry of God through you!

 

I'm excited for the recent release of my updated book on inner healing prayer ministry Free to Be Like Jesus! endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reece, and Randy Clark. Now available for order through our ministry.

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!