Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 25 - "In the Days of His Flesh"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I invite You into my thoughts and desires and every moment of my day.  ...
 
"In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered; and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchilzedek" (Hebrews 5:7-10).
 
Though You are eternally, fully God, You are also eternally, fully Man. You are "the Son of God" -- in the nature of God; and You are "the Son of Man" -- in the nature of Man. Though You dwelled with the Father in the heavens in Your glory, You also chose to dwell with us on the earth in "the days of (Your) flesh" in Your humility. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14 NKJV). As Your Word explains, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with god as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, begin born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).
 
"In the days of (Your) flesh," during those thirty-three years You walked this earth, You taught us Your ways as You lived out Your life before laying it down as a living Sacrifice on our behalf. You shouted and cried. You passionately prayed. You sought the mercy of God and yielded to the will of God. You modeled for us a life of joyful obedience and steadfast faith, even to the point of death on a cross. You trusted in the ultimate sovereignty and goodness of God, even as You "learned obedience though what (You) suffered" and You were "heard because of (Your) reverent submission." 
 
In the days of my flesh, give me the power of Your grace to live out my life that way as well. According to Your Word and in the mystery of faith, I am both a son of God and a son of man. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are" (1 John 3:1). Help me grow in the graces of learning obedience, even through what I suffer, and the reverent submission that willingly, humbly chooses to yield my will to Your will and my ways to Your ways, trusting Your sovereignty and Your goodness. 
 
As You were in "the days of (Your) flesh," so are we to be in the days of our flesh in this world -- as best as we can and all by Your grace (1 John 4:17). "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). "His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Thus He has given us, through these things, His precious and very great promises, so that through them (we) may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-4).  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



May you live out the days of your flesh in the power and grace of God, learning obedience and reverent submission, as you become a participant in His divine nature, being conformed into the image of the Son 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
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, July 24, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 24 - Eyes Lifted High

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day.  ... 

"So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.... He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5). 

O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Renew me day by day. Remind me every day to lift my eyes to the hills of Your heavens, where my help comes from (Psalm 121:1), to open the eyes of my heart to see You as You truly are (Ephesians 1:18), and to turn my eyes upon You to seek Your face with an unveiled face, as You continually change me into Your image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

By the power of Your grace, I will not lose heart, but allow You to keep filling my heart with a deep sense of the ever-abiding presence of Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). And though I'll not be blind to the brokenness of the world around me with all of its very real problems and struggles, including those in my every day life, I'll also not be blind to "the eternal weight of glory beyond all measure" You've prepared me.  

May my eyes be lifted high. With my eyes on You and with my heart set on what You have set before me, I will "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). "To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens" and right here in my heart (Psalm 123:1). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May your eyes be lifted high to see with the eyes of your heart the One who has prepared an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure for you, in Jesus' name! May you be encouraged today, renewed day by day, in the power of His love for you and the peace of His eternal plans for you. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

      



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

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Friday, July 21, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 21 - The "Victorious Right Hand" of God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In You, I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand!" (Isaiah 41:10)
 
The hand lifted high in the ultimate declaration of victory is also the hand that was nailed to the cross in the ultimate sacrifice of love (Colossians 2:13-15). The Lion of Judah who roars from the heavens is also the Lamb of God who was slain on this earth without a word. "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth" (Isaiah 53:9).
 
Your victorious right hand that upholds me is forever scarred for my sins and forever pierced in Your mercy. "Through (Christ) God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20). That same love that moved You to lay down Your life for me is the same love that promises me, " 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?' " (Hebrews 13:5-6)
 
So in that kind of love, I will not fear. In that kind of mercy, I will not be afraid. I will trust the One who saves me and strengthens me, who upholds me and empowers me, who is always with me and will always love me. That's the victory You've won for me in the sacrifice of Your love for me! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you never be afraid of whatever you face, as you always remember the God who upholds you with His victorious right hand is the same God who loves you with all His heart and laid down His life for you 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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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 19 - Making God's Name Known

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good Shepherd of my soul, help me hear Your voice and follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit, here in the strong, secure embrace of my heavenly Father. ... 

"So now, Father, glorify Me in the Your own presence with the glory that I had in Your presence before the world existed. I have made Your name known to those whom You gave Me from the world" (John 17:5-6). 

Lord Jesus, when You said You made the Father's name known to Your disciples, I don't think You were speaking primarily of any particular "name" of God, such as Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:9-14), Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:16-24), Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26), or even the great I AM (Exodus 3:13-15). I think You were making the Father's name known by making His nature known in all that You did and all that You said and all that You were, for as You said and as You revealed with Your life and Your heart, "The Father and I are One" (John 10:30; 17:11 and 22). 

You are "the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very Being" (Hebrews 1:3). You are "the image of the invisible God" and "in (You) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Colossians 1:15-19). Though You were One with the Father in heaven, You willingly chose to humble Yourself in the likeness of human flesh and blood on this earth to reveal to us the Father heart of God through Your life as the Son of Man (Philippians 2:5-11). 

As the Son of Man on this earth, You lived Your life in total trust and complete surrender to the will and the word of the Father, doing what You saw Him doing and speaking what You heard Him saying, to make His nature and His name known to us all (John 5:30 and 8:28). You were the Son of Man, Jesus of Nazareth, born from the human womb of a virgin and anointed by the Father with His Holy Spirit with the power and presence of the love and mercy of God (Acts 10:38). In the Oneness of Your heart and nature with the Father, You proclaimed, "Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). 

And now Your Spirit -- "the Spirit of Jesus" (Philippians 1:19), "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9), "the Holy Spirit" of the Living God (Acts 1:8) -- fills our hearts to live our lives to make the name and the nature of our God known through us. By the grace of God, together with You and one another, we are "the body of Christ" on this earth (1 Corinthians 12:27). And by Your grace and Your presence in us, You are still making God's name known in every generation to the ends of the earth (John 17:23). Just as the Father sent You in His nature, so You send us to reveal His nature into our world, by Your Spirit in us (John 17:18; 20:21). "Christ in (us), the hope of glory" -- God's glorious name and nature reveled through us for all the world to know (Colossians 1:27). 

So come, Holy Spirit. Come and fill me (Ephesians 5:18). Come and make me more like Jesus today, as You continue to conform me into the image of the Son of God, who is forever the exact image of the Father (Romans 8:29). Make God's name and nature known through me, as You keep crucifying my flesh and filling me with Your Spirit so that I can come to say in truth, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:19-20). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



May you know and make known the name and nature of the Lord our God through your life in Christ 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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Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 18 - Intimacy Evangelism

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Savior and Strength, my Comforter and Counselor, my Father and Friend, my All in All -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  ... 

"As You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given them, so that they may be one, as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that those also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:21-24). 

There's a oneness of intimacy that I desire because You've created me to desire it. There's a longing for trusting relationship that burns in my bones because it burns in Your heart. You created me for a relationship of love, just as You created me in Your image, because You are Love and it's the nature of love to be lived out in the intimacy of relationship (1 John 4:16). 

Lord Jesus, You knew and You know that depth of intimacy with our Father, as both Son of Man and Son of God, both on earth and in heaven. And it's the longing of Your heart -- just as we hear in the yearning of Your prayer when You walked this earth as a model of intimacy with God for us -- that we would have that depth of intimacy as well. 

We often read Your prayer "that (we) may be one" as a cry and a call for the oneness of unity among the church of Jesus Christ, among all believers from every tongue and tribe and nation throughout the world and throughout every generation. And no doubt, that is Your heart. But I also believe that the heart of Your prayer is a cry and a call for oneness of intimacy between our God and our hearts -- "that (we) may be one" with our Father, just as You were one with our Father (John 17:22). 

This kind of intimacy with our Father can only come through our intimacy with You. As Your Word explains, in the expression Your prayer, "I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one" (John 17:23). It's when we experience that depth of intimacy, in the communion of our relationship with You -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- that "the world may know" that God the Father sent Jesus, the Son, to love us just as the Father loves the Son (John 17:23).  

In this sense, seeking to live our lives in intimacy with You is the most powerful means of evangelism we have to reach the hurting and the lost with Your message of healing and hope in the power of Your love. As You said, "I in them and You in Me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me" (John 17:23). You have "so loved the world" that You came into our world as Son of Man and Son of God to show us the life we can live forever in the eternal intimacy of a deeply personal relationship of love with You (John 3:16). As You said, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).  

I've heard of "power evangelism" and "relationship evangelism." Maybe this is an expression of "intimacy evangelism." But for the sake of those who are lost, as well as for the sake of those who have been found, may we all come to know You and Your love for us more deeply, more intimately every day. That's my prayer. And I believe that was Your prayer to our Father for me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you experience the depth of intimacy of the same love the Father has for Jesus, knowing He has that same love for you, in Jesus' name! Through your experience of "becoming completely one" in Him, my your world around you come to know that the Father has sent His Son to love and to save every one of them. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

  

Friends, it's good to be back with you on our daily journey of prayer after I've been away for a time of intensive ministry and then family vacation. Thank you for all your prayers for me and my family and our ministry. I pray God's blessings of rest and return, as well as a growing depth of intimacy with Him for you. Thank you for joining with me in the journey! 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, July 17, 2017

Morning by Morning, July 17 - Rhythms of Rest and Return

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and all of my life.  ... 

"Now during those days He went out to a mountain to pray; and He spent the night in prayer to God. And when the day came, He called His disciples and chose twelve of them, whom He also named apostles.... He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch Him, for power came out of Him and healed all of them" (Luke 6:12-19). 

Lord Jesus, You are our Savior and Healer and Deliverer. You are also our model for ministry, as we continue Your ministry of healing and hope as Your body, filled with Your Spirit, in the power and authority of Your name (1 Corinthians 12:27). And You modeled for us the rhythms of rest and return -- resting in the presence of God in prayer and peace so we can return with passion to pursue our mission of ministering Your healing and hope to the hurting and lost, full of Your heart of love and power. 

Thank You for the seasons of rest, and thank You for the seasons of return. Help me grow into the place of intimacy and maturity where I'm always at rest in You, even as I return to ministry in You -- Your Spirit always abiding in me, always doing Your work of ministry through me -- whether I'm away on the mountain or in the midst of the crowds. This is the rhythm of rest and return You have for me -- resting in You, as Your Spirit flows through me (Hebrews 4:1). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


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


May you always rest in the peace and presence of the Lord, even as you return each day to passionately pursue your mission and ministry in Him by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit in you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

   

  

Friends, it's good to be back with you on our daily journey of prayer after I've been away for a time of intensive ministry and then family vacation. Thank you for all your prayers for me and my family and our ministry. I pray God's blessings of rest and return for you. Thank you for joining with me in the journey! 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 30, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 30 - Hunger to Know the Power of God

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. I embrace Your tender mercies and steadfast love, my heavenly Father. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill me, transform me, and overflow through me today with the love of my Father in the power of the name and the nature of Jesus, I pray.  ... 

"Brothers and sisters, God loves you, and we know He has chosen you, because the Good News we brought to you came not only with words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with sure knowledge that is true" (1 Thessalonians 1:4-6). 

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your Power. Thank You for the Good News of Your forgiveness and favor, mercy and love, healing and deliverance, encouragement and strength, all by the power of Your grace. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith" (Romans 1:16). 

I pray to see more of Your power in my life today. I pray to see You changing lives, saving souls, healing hearts and bodies and relationships, breaking the chains of darkness, and displaying Your glory in the power of Your name. "I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead!" (Philippians 3:10 NLT) "All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!" (Jude 25 NLT) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you experience the power of God in your life today -- in you and around you -- giving all glory, honor, and praise to Him alone, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  

  

Friends, I'm excited be teaching on inner 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. This year's theme is "The Power of God!" The evening worship and ministry sessions are open to the public at 7pm. Please come join us if you can! Please continue to keep us in prayer. 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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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Morning by Morning, June 29 - He Makes Bitter Waters Sweet

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to align my steps with Your path for my life.  ... 

"Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?' He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet" (Exodus 15:22-25). 

In You, we're on a spiritual journey out of the bondage of Egpyt, through the wilderness, and into the promised land of our destiny. And along the way we can grow weary and worn. We can give in to the negative attitudes of murmuring and complaining and criticizing. We can let our faith waiver as we begin to forget Your faithfulness for salvation and deliverance so many times before and start to lose our vision and hope for the destiny You've set before us. And sometimes we have to admit all that happened just yesterday! 

But You are the God who makes our bitter waters sweet. Just like You showed Moses a piece of wood, You remind us of Your cross. The power of Your cross and Your sacrifice of love for every one of us is the power of God for our salvation, for our healing, for our deliverance that refreshes us and renews us to continue the journey. Just as You showed the children of Israel that day, You show us every day You are Jehovah Rapha, "the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26). 

In You, I can "taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Psalm 34:8) In You, I can remember that just as You were with me before, You are with me now, and You will be with me through whatever I face on the journey ahead. You are "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). You'll "never leave (me) or forsake (me)" (Hebrews 13:5). You are "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End ... Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty!" (Revelation 1:8 NKJV) You are "I Am!" (Exodus 3:14) And You're always with me -- always making my bitter waters sweet! (Matthew 28:20) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


May you drink deeply from the Living Waters every day, from the One who makes the bitter waters sweet, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  

  

Friends, thank you so much for your prayers for us in ministry in Kentucky this week. Last night I was honored and excited to join dear friends, Brooke and Shannon Barrett, to launch a monthly worship and prayer service at their home church, River of Life Foursquare Church in Berea, Kentucky. They were led to call it "The Water's Edge" and the I believe the Lord gave me this prophetic picture the bitter waters made sweet last night to speak of this place to come and be refreshed and renewed along the spiritual journey. We had a wonderfully deep and intimate time in the Presence of the Lord last night, wth much freedom and testimonies and expression of God's good gifts for His children in an atmosphere saturated in worship, praise, and the healing love of Jesus Christ. I pray the same for you!

 Now 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 Centerin Lexington, Kentucky. Please continue to keep us in prayer. 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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