Morning by Morning, December 17 - Emmanuel -- God With Us

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for the leading of Your voice -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel,' which means, 'God is with us'" (Matthew 1:22-23).

 

You are Emmanuel -- not just God in Heaven, not just God who looks down upon us or watches over us, not just God who created us and expects us to obey Him as He commands us, not just God who dwells far above us or far away from us or far in the future from us where we may see Him some day if we're good enough, submissive enough, or faithful enough for Him to accept us -- You are God with us. You are Emmanuel.

 

Lord, help me know more what that means. Help me embrace and experience all that means. You are in Heaven, but You're also here on Earth. You have created us, but You're also continuing to create us and encourage us to be all You've created us to be. You do expect us to obey You, but You also invite to welcome Your Spirit within us so that we desire to obey You and trust You that You know what's best for us and how best to fulfill us. You are the God of the future where we'll experience You one day in ways we can only imagine now, but You're also with us now in every moment of our days, just as present with us today as You will be on that day we see You face to face. You are God with us. You are Emmanuel.

 

So in the words of the ancient Christmas hymn, we sing to You, "O come, O come, Emmanuel." But even as we cry out for You to come, we can know that You are here. "Rejoice! Rejoice!" for our God is Emmanuel. "Rejoice! Rejoice!" for our God is with us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will embrace and experience the presence and power of our God who is Emmanuel, our God who is with us, 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, December 16 - "Whoever Believes"

 

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

 

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves Him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:1-5 NKJV)

 

I believe in God, my Father, Creator of heaven and earth. And I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, both fully God and fully man. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the promise of my Father who brings the love and life of God into my heart through Jesus Christ every moment of every day. 

 

I believe I'm loved by God as a child of God, created and called to love God and love others as an expression and personification of the love of God through my life in this world. That's the faith that overcomes this world. And that the power that transforms this world, that the kingdom of God may come, that the will of God may be done, here on earth as it is in heaven -- through my life and the lives of all who believe.

 

In this season of celebration of the birth of Christ, I celebrate the love of God breaking into our world, like a great light bursting into the darkness, to awaken every heart with faith to believe in the God who is love and loves every one of us (1 John 4:8). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17). That's what makes Christmas merry to me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be filled with faith to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that the love of God may flow through your life to overcome and transform the world around you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 15 - Prophetic Alignment

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. O Lord, my God -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- I worship You in spirit and truth, as I welcome You into my thoughts and desires.  ...

 

"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.... All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He was to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a Child" (Luke 2:1-6).

 

Caesar had no idea his choices and commands were fulfilling intricate details of Messianic prophecy -- that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), that He would be from Galilee (Isaiah 9:1), that He would be descended from David (Isaiah 9:7), that He would be of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), that He would come as a Child who was destined to be King and Lord of all as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace to ultimately establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven in eternal righteousness, peace, and joy (Isaiah 9:6-7).

 

And as Mary and Joseph chose to make their way to Bethlehem, they were fulfilling those same prophecies. Mary was expecting a Child and God was preparing a Savior -- all "in the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4). In the both the sovereignty of God and the freedom of will, human choices and Divine plans converge in prophetic alignment for eternal purposes.

 

Strategically align me with Your prophetic promises for Your Divine purposes. Give me expectant faith for all Your desire to birth in me. No matter what choices I make or what choices are made for me by those who affect me and influence me, give me the peace to know You are at work in it all to fulfill Your purposes and plans (Romans 8:28). "The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps" (Proverbs 16:9). "The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established" (Proverbs 19:21). 

 

Every Word of Scripture will be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).  And so will every word of God spoken over my life (Isaiah 55:11). You're always faithful to watch over Your word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). By the power of the grace of God, may I be faithful to believe it and obey it, being in alignment with it for all Your purposes through my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be in prophetic alignment for every Divine purpose though your life, filled expectant faith for all the Holy Spirit is birthing in 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, December 14 - Filled with the Spirit for the Birth of Christ

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start my day right -- with You right in the center of my morning and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"Then (John's) father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:  "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has looked favorably on His people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from old.... And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.' The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel" (Luke 1:67-80).

 

Just before Your birth on this earth as the mighty Savior and awaited Messiah, it seems everyone who would be part of the story of Christ was being "filled with the Holy Spirit" -- Mary (v. 35), Elizabeth (v. 41), John (v. 15), and Zechariah (v. 67). In excited anticipation of great joy, they found themselves laughing and leaping and speaking of the mercy and salvation of God through Jesus Christ.

 

Lord, in this Christmas season, let it be true in our hearts as well. Despite all the darkness in the world around us and all the troubles of these challenging times, fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit each day. Let nothing steal away the joy and gladness of our hearts that are forever wide open in wonderment to welcome You as Savior and Lord in Your mercy and grace. Let Your dawn from on high break upon us anew every morning. And let there be laughing and leaping, with much sharing of the hope that's always in the hearts of all who believe. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be filled with the Holy Spirit afresh every day, as the dawn from on high breaks upon you each morning with Jesus Christ in your heart, 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, December 11 - Blessed When We Believe

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. O come let us adore You, Christ the Lord.  ...

 

"After those days (Zechariah's) wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 'This is what the Lord has done for me when He looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.... In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord" (Luke 1:24-45).

 

We are blessed when we believe. Elizabeth believed and Mary believed. They were "filled with the Holy Spirit" and both of the sons in their wombs -- John and Jesus -- were full of joy in the unfolding fulfillment of the promises and plans of the Lord through their lives (v. 41).

 

At the fulfillment of Your word, both Elizabeth and Mary were freed from the feelings of disgrace from their past. Elizabeth had felt disgraced from the barrenness of her womb and no doubt Mary had felt disgraced from the doubts about the life of the child growing in her womb. But in the fullness of time and in fulfillment of Your word, You set them from deep disgrace and blessed them highest honor.

 

In that moment when the child in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy at the presence of the Child in Mary's womb, Mary couldn't contain her praise:  "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name!" (Luke 1:46-49)

 

And in the at moment, perhaps Elizabeth sensed a measure of the fulfillment of Your prophetic word through Isaiah:  "Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the Lord.... Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more!" (Isaiah 54:1-4)

 

When we choose to believe, You change our shame into praise and our sorrow to joy. You redeem every place of our disgrace into a place of honor. The Mighty One does great things for us! (Luke 1:49) "For nothing for will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:35). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Lord will change every place of shame into praise and sorrow to joy, as you believe in Him and the blessing of His plans 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, December 10 - Generation of Zechariah Preparing the Way for the Generation of Elijah Preparing the Way for the Lord

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Awaken my soul to rise and follow You. Let me hear what Your Spirit is saying to me as I begin my day in the communion of prayer.  ...

 

"Once when he was serving as priest before God ... (Zechariah) was chosen ... to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense.... Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord.... When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before Him, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord'" (Luke 1:13-17).

 

The generation of Zechariah prepares the way for the generation of Elijah; and the generation of Elijah prepares the way for the Lord. Zechariah was a priest, chosen and faithful to serve God and the people of God. He had supernatural encounters in the presence of God, yet also found himself struggling with fear at the same time (v. 12). He also struggled with faith to fully believe the promises of God, even in the midst of these powerful encounters (v. 18). But in the end, by the power of the grace of God, he learned both obedience and faith through all he suffered and endured to fully embrace his strategic destiny in the unfolding of the plans of God (v. 63).

 

As the generation of Zechariah overcomes fear and doubt and unbelief to be faithful and true in their calling and destiny to raise up the next generation of sons and daughters of the faith, their generation will rejoice (v. 58). They will look with eyes of wonder and faith upon this generation of Elijah, expectantly asking, "What then will this (generation) become?' For, indeed, the hand of the Lord is with (them)" (v. 66).

This generation of Elijah is "filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 15). And "with the spirit and power of Elijah," this generation of Elijah will "turn many people ... to the Lord their God ... (and) turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (v. 15-17).

 

By the Holy Spirit of God within us, we are both the generation of Zechariah and the generation of Elijah. By the power of Your grace, we overcome everything with us that would hold us back from being all You've created us to be and we look beyond ourselves to those You've entrusted to us to help raise up into their calling and destiny as well. By the same power of Your grace, we also go in Your spirit and Your power to turn many hearts to You to prepare the way of the Lord -- here in our hearts and here in the earth. We are the priests who serve You and the prophets who proclaim You; we are the children of God, sons and daughters of the King, who honor You and love You (1 Peter 2:9). And we prepare the way for You.

 

Come, Lord Jesus. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let everyone who hears say, 'Come!' And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift" (Revelation 22:17). As the generations of Zechariah and Elijah, we prepare Your way and long for Your coming. In obedience and faith, we believe Your promise:  "The One who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon" (Revelation 22:20). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit to know your identity and fulfill your destiny, to raise up the generation entrusted to you, and that the spirit and power of Elijah will arise within you to prepare the way of 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, December 9 - Healing and Hope for Discouragement and Disappointment

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My spirit comes to attention as I speak out Your name and welcome You in to my morning and the moments of my day.  ...

 

"In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in age" (Luke 1:5-7).

 

When know the rest of the story -- of how the angel Gabriel would come and encourage Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth would miraculously have a child, even in her old age, who would "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (v. 17). But at the same time, it's also good to see the first part of their story -- the years and years of longing and praying for a child that never came, though they both faithfully served God and sought to walk in His ways.

 

Sometimes we're discouraged and disappointed by unanswered prayers. Sometimes we look around and we're envious of the favor and blessings upon the lives of others, when it seems like we are trying to be just as faithful and committed, if not more. And if we let ourselves admit those thoughts and feelings are there, no matter how hard we try not to have them or try to keep them suppressed, we also see how we can be tempted to give in to self-pity, jealousy, and resentment.

 

But like with Zechariah and Elizabeth, You are always at work in ways we don't always see. Their lives -- even the hard seasons of their lives -- were part of Your unfolding story. You were never blind to the burdens that broke their hearts and never distant to cries of their hearts in prayer. Every word from Your heart "would be fulfilled in their time" (v. 20). And in the fullness of time, they would be filled with "joy and gladness" and their son, John, would be "filled with the Holy Spirit" to great Jesus the Messiah even from his mother's womb (v. 14-15, 41).

 

As we remember the old Christmas stories of those who have gone before us, let us also be encouraged for the stories of Christ unfolding before us in the journey of our lives and our faith every day. Let discouragement, jealousy, self-pity, or resentment have no place in our hearts. But rather, keep filling our hearts with Your Holy Spirit and the hope of the joy and gladness that come in the moments our encounters with You all along the way. That's the gift of healing and hope You invite us to embrace through faith in You and Your words for us. "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23 NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray your heart will be filled with Holy Spirit and the hope of the joy and gladness to come in the unfolding of God's story through your life, 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, December 8 - Generations of Faithfulness Leading to Jesus

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me in Your ways today.  ...

 

"An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah.... and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah" (Matthew 1:1-16).

 

Through the genealogy of generations, the plans of God were at work. Before the foundations of the earth the Father eternally determined the day and place and family of Your birth as His Son and our Messiah -- both fully God and fully man, to fully redeem all mankind in the fullness of time. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children" (Galatians 4:4).

 

Father God, You are patient to take Your time through the generations and You are faithful to bring every promise to pass according to Your plans, all in Your way and all in Your time. Give me patience and faith to believe Your plans are also at work within me. Morning by morning, day by day, precept upon precept and line upon line, You are at work to make me more like You (Romans 8:29). 

 

Just as You are at work within me, You are at work in our world, seeking to redeem all who would embrace the fullness of Your grace through Jesus Your Son and our Messiah. "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life. Indeed God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:16-17).

 

Come, Holy Spirit. In this season of Christmas, when You move in hearts and minds around our world to consider the Messiah, Christ Jesus the Lord, lead us to see Your love for us and Your redeeming grace available to all. "Many will see and fear, and put their trust in Lord. Happy are those who make the Lord their trust" (Psalm 40:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I join with you in prayer to our Father for a move of His Holy Spirit in this Christmas season to lead many to faith in the Son of God and to move in our hearts to make us all more faithful to 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, December 7 - "His Star in the East"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome Your Word and Your Spirit here in my heart and the moments of my day.  ...

 

"Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him'" (Matthew 2:1-2 NKJV).

 

Long before the day of Your birth, the heavens were proclaiming Your coming. Long before Christmas day, wise men from the East began their journey to seek and worship the newborn King. They saw the signs of Your coming in the heavens and were moved to worship in their hearts.

 

And though that guiding star no longer lingers over Bethlehem, Your creation still proclaims Your glory and moves us to worship the One who stills comes into every heart that seeks You. "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is not speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4 NRSV).

 

Open my eyes to see the stars that shine and the mountains that stand and the seas that roar to declare Your glory and Your Presence. As I behold Your creation I'm filled with anticipation. And I'm moved to seek and to worship the One who still comes into our world and into our hearts in the unfolding story of Your glory in the midst of our lives, O Emmanuel -- God with us (Matthew 1:23). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you'll be moved to seek and to worship the One whose glory is proclaimed in all creation around us and by His Spirit within us, 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, December 3 - Shhh.... Waiting in the Silence for the Fullness of Time to Come

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. God the Father, God the Son, the God the Holy Spirit -- You are One; and You are holy; and You are here. As I begin my day in the communion of prayer, I welcome You here into my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because (we) are children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So (we) are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God" (Galatians 4:4-7).

 

For the four hundred of silence of Scripture between the prophecies of Malachi and pronouncements of Matthew, all heaven and earth awaited the fullness of time to come. Like in the days of Amos, but with regard to the writings of Scripture during this time, "there was a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). No doubt You were speaking to the hearts of those who were seeking You and the fullness of Your salvation to come, like Anna (Luke 2:36) and Simeon (Luke 2:25), but Your written Word was silent.

 

In a way, it seems as if Your Spirit was speaking through the silence of Scripture, "Shhhh.... Just wait. Wait for the One to come. Wait for the One who is My Son. Wait for the One who will reveal My heart in human flesh to set all things right between you and Me, My children"

 

Come, Holy Spirit. In this season of preparation for the coming of Christ, stir in my heart with deeper hunger and thirst for Your Word and Your Presence. Give me grace to live in the tension of both the patience of waiting and also the eager anticipation of welcoming the One to come. Even though in the birth of Christ the fullness of time has come, may I never stopping longing for more -- more of You in my life, as I entrust more of my life to You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Holy Spirit will stir in your heart with a deeper hunger and thirst for the Word and the Presence of 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!

Max Lucado & Tommy Hays - Healing Service Tonight in San Antonio

Please join us Tonight if you can in San Antonio or join us by prayer if you can't for the First Wednesday Healing & Worship Service at 7pm at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus on I-10 in San Antonio, Texas:  www.oakhillschurch.com

I'm excited to be joining Max Lucado to share a message of hope and healing. Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team to offer personal prayer ministry following the worship and message in English and Spanish.

May the name of Jesus be high and lifted up as we encounter the healing love of God in spirit, soul, and body. May you also experience the Lord's power and presence in your church and community. Thank you for your prayers!

God bless you,

Tommy Hays

 

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

Founder | Messiah Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

 

Morning by Morning, December 2 - See the Great Light

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Awaken my soul, let my spirit arise, as I begin my day in the communion of prayer in the presence of God.  ...

 

"But there will be no gloom for those who are in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time He will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them a light has shined.... For a Child has been born for us, a Son given for us; authority rests upon His shoulders; and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:1-6).

 

You are the Great Light that breaks into our darkness. You are the Joy that casts off our gloom. You are the Child of Bethlehem and the Man from Galilee. And You are our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace.

 

Almost eight hundred years before You birth as the Son of God who humbled Himself to also be the Son of Man, Your Spirit spoke through Your prophet Isaiah to a people who sat in darkness, desperately needing a word hope for the Light to come. You invited them to look with the eyes of faith through the darkness of their day to see the One who would be their Great Light to come. 

 

You promised, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this" (v. 9:7). And You did (Matthew 4:13-16 fulfilling Isaiah 9:1-6 in Jesus Christ). You broke through our darkness to be "the Light of the world," forever proclaiming, "Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

 

Your Holy Spirit still speaks to our hearts, inviting us to look through the darkness with our eyes of faith to see the Great Light. You're still inviting us to seek the One who breaks "the yoke of (our) burden" and "the rod of (our) oppressor" to free us for joy, as we "rejoice before You as with joy at the harvest" (Isaiah 9:3-4).

 

Lead us, Wonderful Counselor. Free us, Mighty God. Love us, Everlasting Father. And fill our hearts with the peace that surpasses all understanding in the shalom of God, our Prince of Peace. Come shine in our land and in our hearts, Great Light of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Great Light of Jesus Christ will break into your heart and fill you with joy as you keeping seeking Him with your eyes of faith -- our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

   

Friends, I'm excited to be sharing a message of healing and hope with Max Lucado this Wednesday Night, December 3rd, at the First Wednesday Worship & Healing Service at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Crownridge Campus at 7pm. Our Rapha God Ministries team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team to pray for everyone personally. Please come join us! All are welcome! 

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, December 1 - Seeking "the One of Peace"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're welcome in my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days. Therefore He shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of His kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they shall live secure, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and He shall be the One of Peace" (Micah 5:2-5).

 

In the cycle of the seasons of our culture, we turn our hearts from Thanksgiving to Christmas. And despite all the discussions of the origin of the holiday and literal day of the birth of Christ, it's still a season when people of faith from every tribe and tongue and nation turn their attention to the coming of the Messiah of Israel and Christ of all nations. In our hearts we long for the One of Peace.

 

Your Spirit spoke through the prophet Micah long before the day of His birth that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6). The "one who is in labor" would be a young girl named Mary, with her husband Joseph of the family of David, who would give birth to her Child in a humble barn that seemed hardly fit for a King (Luke 2:6). And there in Bethlehem, three kings from the east ("magi") would come follow His star to bow down before Him and lay gifts at His feet (Matthew 2:11). They would find the Child who was destined to be the One of Peace -- the One eternally "named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

 

In this season, I pray Your Holy Spirit will lead me again on a spiritual journey to seek more deeply the One of Peace. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm thankful for all You are and all You've done; and now I look forward with excitement and anticipation for all You will do and all You'll reveal. In Jesus' name Pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Holy Spirit will stir in your heart to lead you on a spiritual journey more deeply seeking the One of Peace who's name is Jesus -- our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

   

Friends, I'm excited to be sharing a message of healing and hope with Max Lucado this Wednesday Night, December 3rd, at the First Wednesday Worship & Healing Service at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Crownridge Campus at 7pm. Our Rapha God Ministries team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team to pray for everyone personally. Please come join us! All are welcome! 

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!