Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 28 - Running and Resting, "Looking to Jesus"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Potter and I am Your clay. Mold me and shape more into Your image today.  ... 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart" (Hebrews 12:1-3). 

This race of faith I'm running is more like a marathon rather than a sprint. And it's more like cross-country -- persevering over rough terrain that's constantly changing -- rather than running around a nice smooth track with clearly marked lanes in front of the grand stands with everyone cheering you on. But by the power of Your grace, I do not grow weary or lose heart as long as I keep "looking to Jesus." 

You already "endured" it all. You've already run the race before me. You've already taken my sins and failures, my sorrows and disappointments, every time I've been tempted to grow weary or lose heart, all "for the sake of the joy that was set before (You)." Then You sat down, taking Your seat at the right hand of the throne of God, because You said "It is finished" (John 19:30).

Your race is run. And now You give me the grace to run mine, resting in You. How do I "run" and "rest," Lord?  ... 

It seems I hear You saying in my heart, "My son, you run your race by resting in Me. You run your race by trusting in Me that I have made the way for the fullness of your salvation and for the abundance of your life in Me. As you look to Me, I am changing you into My image, filling you with My Spirit, empowering you with My will to walk in My ways to display My glory through your life. Keep letting me lift off the weights and wash off the sins so you can run your race of faith trusting in Me and My love and My grace for you -- all for the sake of the joy that I have set before you." 

Yes, Lord. Teach me how to rest and to run. Help me grow in my understanding what seems like a tension of both resting and running -- just like it seems like a tension of Your kingdom coming while it's already here and the tension of embracing both the truth that "It is finished," while at the same time trusting with all my heart the truth that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it, to "continue (Your) work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" (Philippians 1:6 NLT). 

By the power of Your grace, I will not grow weary, I will not lose heart. By the power of Your grace, I will trust in You and I will rest in You and all You have already done -- forever for me and forever in me. May this bring You joy! It was all for the sake of this joy that You "endured the cross, disregarding its shame" -- all for me and for all who believe." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


May you run your race, looking to Jesus and resting in Jesus -- trusting in Him and all He has done for you and continues to do in you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

  
Friends, please keep us in your prayers this week. I'm excited to be ministering with old friends, Brooke and Shannon Barrett, at River of Life Foursquare Church in Berea, Kentucky. Tonight will be the first night of "The Water's Edge" monthly service of healing worship, as we worship the Lord and allow Him to minister His healing love and grace to us. Then for the rest of the week and through the weekend, I'll be teaching on healing and deliverance prayer ministry and joining the prayer ministry team at the Aldersgate Conference of Spiritual Renewal at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky. I'm excited to see what God will do, in us and in you! God bless you!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 27 - Eyes of Faith to See the Deeper Reality of Truth

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

"When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, 'Alas, master! What shall we do?' He replied, 'Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.' Then Elisha prayed:  'O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:15). 

When You open my eyes of faith, You don't close to my eyes of reality. You just help me see the deeper reality I hadn't seen before. You let me see the truth that You are with me, that You are mighty, that You are in control, that Your victory is already won (Colossians 2:15). "For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the word but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5). "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Romans 8:37) 

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, that I may see You and Your truth and Your provision and Your power (Ephesians 1:18). There may be a "thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy, (but You) came that (I) may have life, and have it abundantly!" (John 10:10) 

Even though I may see and acknowledge my very real enemy, You give me eyes of faith to see my very real Savior! The enemy may have his armies, but the Lord of hosts, the God of angel armies, has His! My battles are real, but so is Your victory. "Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.... Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" (Psalm 24:8-10) And the King of glory has already given me victory over every enemy I'll ever face! (1 Corinthians 15:57)  

"Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as Head above all!" (1 Chronicles 29:11) "May we shout for joy over Your victory!" (Psalm 20:5) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you see the deeper reality of the truth of God's victory for your life no matter what battles you're facing, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
 

  
Friends, please keep us in your prayers this week. I'm excited to be ministering with old friends, Brooke and Shannon Barrett, at River of Life Foursquare Church in Berea, Kentucky and then teaching on healing and deliverance prayer ministry at the Aldersgate Conference at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky. I'm excited to see what God will do, in us and in you! God bless you!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, June 26, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 26 - This God of Ours
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Guide my steps on the path of life in You today.   ...
 
"I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.... How kind the Lord is! So merciful, this God of ours! ... Let my soul rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.... And so I walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth.... O Lord, I am Your servant; yes, I am Your servant, born into Your household; You have freed me from my chains! I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord! ... Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 116:1-19 NLT)
 
You're not a God who's distant, but very near. You're not a God who's indifferent, but attentively engaged. You're not a God who's angry or bitter or uncaring or rude. No, You're my Maker and my Master; You're my Savior and Lord; You're my Constant Companion and my Best Friend. So I will thank You and praise You! I will worship and adore You! I will daily choose to live my life for You -- for this awesome God of ours! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you be filled with awe at this God of ours who loves you so -- your Maker and Master, your Savior and Lord, your Constant Companion, and your Best Friend, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  
Friends, please keep us in your prayers this week. I'm excited to be ministering with old friends, Brooke and Shannon Barrett, at River of Life Foursquare Church in Berea, Kentucky and then teaching on healing and deliverance prayer ministry at the Aldersgate Conference at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky. I'm excited to see what God will do, in us and in you! God bless you!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Friday, June 23, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 23 - Mount of Transfiguration, Spirit of Transformation
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my heart and guide my thoughts, as I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.  ...
 
"Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!' Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus" (Mark 9:2-8).
 
Father God, Your cloud overshadowed the disciples who were called apart to came away and be with Jesus. And from the cloud of Your Presence, You spoke to their hearts to listen to Jesus. Then their eyes were opened to see Your glory manifested in Your Beloved, Your only begotten Son, Jesus. And in that moment, they saw nothing else, "but only Jesus."
 
It seems that's a picture of these morning times of contemplative, centering prayer, as I seek to begin my day with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You call me apart from everything else. And before I descend into my daily responsibilities, You lead me up on the mountain of prayer to come away with Jesus. You overshadow me in the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit and lead me to listen for the voice of Jesus, encouraging me, "Listen to Him!" You open the eyes of my heart in these first moments of my morning to see nothing else, "but only Jesus." 
 
As my Beloved Jesus is transfigured before me, my spirit in transformed within me. "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 3:17-18).
 
Lord, let me live on this Mountain of Transfiguration. Let me daily embrace -- morning by morning, moment by moment -- Your Spirit of Transformation -- embraced by my Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you be transformed from glory to glory, morning by morning and moment by moment, beholding the Lord in His ever-abiding Presence -- embraced by Your Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 22 - The Shining
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day well -- embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life" (Philippians 2:15-16 NLT).
 
Clean me up and shine me off, Lord. Get more of the life of this world out of me so more of Your word of life can shine through me. I'm not better than anyone, but I do want to become better than who I am -- being transformed by Your renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2), being conformed into Your image (Romans 8:29), being changed from the inside out, from glory to glory, to be more like You each day (2 Corinthians 3:18).
 
You are "the Word of Life" (1 John 1:1). You are "the Light of the World" (John 8:12). And You want Your words and Your life and Your light to fill me up and then flow out and shine through me. Though You said You are the Light of the Word, You also said of us, as Your disciples and children of God, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). That's because "the Spirit of Christ" is in us (Romans 8:9). Christ is in us, shining through us (Colossians 1:27). In You, we are the shining -- shining ones, reflecting Your glory and Your hope to all who desperately need to encounter and embrace the Word of Life in our world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you shine with the light of the glory of God shining through you with His hope and 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
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 21 - The "Brighter and Brighter" Path

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- help me begin my day in the conscious communion of Your Presence.  ... 

"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.... Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil" (Proverbs 4:18). Lord, keep my path straight. Let my steps be sure and let my path be clear -- growing "brighter and brighter." Take me by the hand. Lead me by the heart. Fill me with Your thoughts and Your desires so I can walk in the way You've chosen for me. Your Word says, "Your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:20-21). 

As I keep my eyes on my Teacher, as I keep my heart open to Your Spirit, as I allow You to keep transforming me by the renewing of mind, as I remember I am a child of God, living into the fullness of my destiny and seeking to grow into the completeness of maturity, I can trust that You will keep me on Your path. It's all in Your righteousness, not mine. It's all by the power of Your grace, not my will power. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13). 

"Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.... Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land" (Psalm 37:23-34). Lord, make my steps firm today, so You can delight in my way and lead me in the way that leads to the fullness of life in You. "You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your Presence!" (Acts 2:28)  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you walk in the path of life that grows brighter and brighter before you each day, bull of gladness in the Presence of our God who is with you always, every step of the way, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 20 - "We Must Grow Up"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today.  ... "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:14-16).

"No longer children ... we must grow up." Give me grace to grow up, Lord. From every place where I've been stuck in the development of my mind and will and emotions, help me grow up. From every place where I allow myself to be tossed to and fro by the winds of doctrine or the will of others trying to impose their will or their sense of truth or their plans for my life on me, help me grow up. From every place where my selfishness and my self-centeredness and my self-righteousness wants to rear its ugly head in pride rather than humility or insisting on my way rather than fully surrendering to Your way, help me grow up. From every place where I'm tempted to compromise with Your truth out of some sense of false compassion or settle for something far less than Your very best out of complacency, laziness, lukewarm-ness, sloth, or self-pity, help me grow up. 

There's not spiritual gift of spiritual maturity; it must be developed and deepened on the daily journey of faith. There' not anointing or impartation of spiritual maturity; it must grow from seed to harvest, through every season along the way -- both the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. But it does come to those who seek it, to those who seek You, to those who embrace the call and command of Your Word that "we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). 

The Apostle Paul expressed his spiritual journey like this:  "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became and adult, I put an end to childish ways" (1 Corinthians 13:11). He did that by growing in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). He did that by embracing and "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). And he grew in love and truth because he grew in grace -- the power of Your grace alone that can grow us up into all You've created us to be in You -- by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). 

Lord, help me "grow in grace" so I can grow in truth and love (2 Peter 3:18). I want to grow "to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" through every opportunity You set before me on my journey of faith through this world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


I pray you keep growing in grace, growing up into Christ, more like Jesus each day, into the spiritual maturity of the child of God and disciple of Christ you were created to be, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, June 19, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 19 - "By Every Word"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me, as You live through me today. ... 

"It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:3). On their journey through the wilderness, You fed the Israelites with food that came by the power of Your grace alone, not the provision of their own hands (Deuteronomy 8:3). Moses told them, "(The Lord) humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you" (Deuteronomy 8:3-5). All the while, You were "bringing (them) into a good land ... where (they would) lack nothing," as they learned the humility of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You alone (Deuteronomy 8:7). 

Lord, keep teaching me these same lessons. All that happened to Israel was to teach me. "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). I want to "lack nothing" and live in "the good land" You've prepared for me as my inheritance and destiny, secure in my identity as a child of God, loved and disciplined by my good Father, providing all I need and even extravagantly blessing me with "the desires of (my) heart" (Psalm 37:4). 

Keep leading me to learn more every day how to live in the humility of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You alone. Help me learn to live by every word that comes from Your mouth into my heart, by all You've expressed by Your written Word, now alive in me by Your living Word, by Your Holy Spirit leading my human spirit. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). 

"Now to Him who by the power at work with us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


I pray you are led by God's Spirit and blessed by God's Word on your journey with Him into the fullness of your inheritance and destiny in Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 15 - Lose Your Life to Save It

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your leading.  ... 

"If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:34-38). 

Lord, what does it mean to lose my life for Your sake and for the sake of the gospel?  ... 

I believe I'm hearing in my heart, "To lose your life for Me is to willingly choose in the freedom you have to fully entrust your life to Me. It's allowing My will to become your will, My thoughts to become your thoughts, My desires to become your desires, My ways to become your ways, so that My nature becomes your nature. It's your choice. And it's a daily choice. It's a journey. And it's a daily journey. But it's the choice that will make all the difference for the journey of your life. Come; follow Me. Come; and keep following Me. It has been and will forever be the best choice you could ever make." 

Yes, Lord. By the power of Your grace, give me the desire and the power to choose well this day and every day. "God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). Choice by choice, day by day, on my journey of faith, You are conforming me into Your image (Romans 8:29). As You give me the desire and the power to keeping losing my life for You, to keep entrusting my life fully to You, offering my life as "a living sacrifice" to You alone, You are freeing me to be all You created me to be (Romans 12:1-2). 

It's only in Your will that I am free. It's only as I lose my life for Your sake that I can truly live into the fullness of all You long for me to be. Help me grow in my understanding of this truth. As best as I can and all by Your grace, help me grow in my complete trust and full surrender of my life to You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


I pray you live into the fullness of all you were were created to be -- willingly choosing to lose your life for the sake 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
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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