Morning by Morning, August 10 - "This is My God, and I will Praise Him!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone.  ...

 

"Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: 'I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider He has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my might, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is His name.... The Lord will reign forever and ever!" (Exodus 15:1-18)

 

I sing the song of Moses -- the song of victory and deliverance and salvation of my God. I join in the eternal of song of all who have seen the mighty hand of God move mightily on their behalf in their darkest hours and toughest battles, to make a way where there seemed to be no way, and to make Yourself known and show Yourself faithful in Your constant and certain presence through it all. "This is my God, and I will praise Him!"

 

Praising You lifts my eyes up to the hills where my strength comes from. Praising You reminds me of the One who is greater than anything I'm facing. Praising You proclaims Your victory even before the battle is fought. And praising You shifts the atmosphere of everything around me for the kingdom of heaven to break in to the kingdom of my world.

 

So I will praise You. I will trust You. I will worship You in spirit and truth, as I sing this song of victory and deliverance and salvation over my day, even before the battles are fought, believing in faith that in You my victories are already won. "This is my God, and I will praise Him!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you the song of victory and deliverance and salvation rising up in your spirit, as you praise our God through every battle you face, knowing your victory is won in Him, 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, August 9 - God Will Make a Way

 

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

 

"I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19).

 

You're the God who makes a way where there seems to be no way. And while You're making a way, You call me to wait. It's in the waiting that I'm learning to trust You and allow You to make the way in Your wisdom, Your power, and Your timing. It's in the waiting that I'm learning to "trust in the (You) with all (my) heart, and lean not on (my) own understanding; in all (my) ways acknowledge (You), and (You) shall direct (my) paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to wait for You to make a way in the places where I look but can't see a way. Open the eyes of my heart to see the One who is the Way -- "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). With my eyes on You, with my heart set to wait on You, trusting in You, I'm choosing to believe You will make a way. And that way will be good and right and true, because it's made by You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be filled with trust and faith as you wait on God, trusting in Him with all your heart, to make a way for you in the places where there seems to be no way, 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, August 8 - "I Will Look and See the Salvation of My King"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart, come lift up my spirit, come shape my thoughts, come guide my steps in the way that leads to life in You today.  ...

 

"You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you!" (2 Chronicles 20:17).

 

My heart is stirred with the words of a song of trust and praise You're writing on my heart this morning.  ...

 

I will look and see

The salvation of my King

There's nothing I can do

There's nothing I can be

It doesn't rest on me

I don't have the strength

But trusting in Your power

Trusting in Your Word

Trusting in the One

Who's with me in this hour

I will have no fear

I will not retreat

I will look and see

The salvation of my King

 

Yes, Lord. By power of Your grace, I will look and see the salvation of my King. My position in the battles I face is not to get stronger or get smarter. It's not to be Father of the Year, Husband of the Month, Boss for the Day, or Winner of the Lottery. There's nothing I can do to win the battles I face every day of my life but turn it all over to You. You are Lord. And I am not. You're my Savior and my King; and You alone sit on the throne of my life and my world.

 

So I will position myself for the battle -- here in my heart, here on my knees, here in worship and remembrance and gratitude for who You are and all You've done. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I will trust in You as I entrust it all to You. Apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:5). And the Good News is that I'm never apart from You, that You are with me always, that You've already gone before me to fight and win my battles in the ways that have already won the victory for me in all the ways that really matter (John 15:7). So as for me, I will look and see the salvation of my King. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you are filled with hope and faith and peace, as you position yourself in your heart and on your knees to look and see the salvation of our King in every battle you face, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Friends, some days just seem a little bit overwhelming with all the pressures and responsibilities around us. I woke up kind of feeling that way today. I'm thankful the Holy Spirit lifted my heart and my eyes to look and see the salvation of my King and embrace the love and presence of my Father today. I feel much better now as I send out my morning prayer than when I began. I praise God for the way He's ready to do that every time we turn to Him in trusting surrender. Thank you for joining with me in this daily journey of prayer, this daily journey of life. I pray you are strengthened and encouraged by the Spirit of the Lord in your life today and every day. God bless you! --Tommy

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, August 7 - Treasure the Word

 

"With my whole heart I seek You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. I treasure Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You" (Psalm 119:10-11).

 

Is Your word truly a treasure to me? Do I treasure Your word in my heart? Or is it some kind of obligation, some list of all the dos and don'ts of a legalist, religious life?  Is Your Scripture my treasured authority to judge right from wrong, what is good and what is evil, how to live a life that honors You and delights in You? Are the words I hear in my heart, as I seek You with my whole heart, to welcome Your Spirit to guide my steps like precious jewels more valuable any treasure this world has to offer me? ... Or am I just pretending to believe You and follow You?

 

Come, Holy Spirit. May I truly treasure the word of God. May God's word be "spirit and life" to me (John 6:63). May it be like the kingdom of heaven to me -- "like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44). May it be like a precious pearl to me -- "like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46). "For where (my) treasure is, there (my) heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).

 

You have blessed me as Your very child. You've called me by name and told me I'm Yours. You've given me Your written Word as the authority for my life, and every day, You speak to me Your living word to lead me and empower me to live it out in the mercy and love of Your grace. May I truly treasure what I have and never take it for granted. By the grace of the One who is the Word made Flesh, now living in me to live out Your word through me life, may I "guard the good treasure entrusted to (me), with the help of the Holy Spirit living in (me)" (2 Timothy 1:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you are stirred by the Holy Spirit to treasure God's word in your life today and every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, August 4 - Morning Mercies

 

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

 

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.... The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him" (Lamentations 3:22-25).

 

There's something about the morning. No matter the troubles of a challenging day before or even the anxieties of a restless night before, there's something about the dawn of a new day. When the sun comes up, my spirit lifts up. When my heart opens up to You to wait for You in my morning prayer, when my soul seeks You to worship You in spirit and truth in the offering of my first fruits of the my morning, it seems all is well with my soul.

 

You use the freshness and quietness of these morning moments alone with You to simply remind me that Your mercies are "new every morning," that "great is Your faithfulness," that Your "steadfast love ... never ceases," that Your "mercies never come to an end." These are my morning mercies. And I'm so thankful for them. 

 

No matter how hard the day before, no matter how hard today or tomorrow may be, no matter that sorrow or anxiety may have lasted for the night, Your joy and mercy and peace come with the morning in my morning mercies of God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray all is well with your soul, no matter what you may be going through, as you begin this day revived and refreshed in the morning mercies 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!

Morning by Morning, August 2 - Standing Firm in Faith and Moving Forward in Action

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You and I need You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. So I welcome You here in my heart, here in my thoughts, here in every dimension of my life and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord.... But Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground' " (Exodus 14:10-16).

 

You told the Israelites to "stand firm" but also "go into the sea." Your Word says it would be "the deliverance that the Lord (would) accomplish" for them, but You told Moses to "lift up (his) staff, and stretch out (his) hand over the sea and divide it." At one level, my heart wants to ask, "Which is it, Lord? Do we stand still and see the deliverance of God or do we move forward? Do we trust You to part the waters or do we lift up our staff and stretch it out over the waters to divide it?"

 

And as soon as I ask the question, this answer comes to my heart:  "Apart from Me, you can do nothing. But hear the good news, you are never apart from Me. I am with you always. I lead you forward, as you stand firm in Me. I part the waters, as You lift up the staff of your faith to believe Me and trust Me to move mightily on your behalf. Faith is not passive, but active. Faith is obedient to move with action as you boldly trust Me with a stillness in your soul and a steadiness in your heart."

 

Yes, Lord. You defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians that day. You alone were their Deliverer. But You moved mightily on their behalf as they actively participated with You in response to Your commands with the faith You supplied -- the Israelites as they chose to go forward and Moses as he chose to lift up his staff.

 

The battle belongs to You. And so do all glory, honor, and praise. But at the same time, You call us to actively participate with obedience and faith. And when we do, we can look back one day by the power of Your grace and know that all that pursued us to destroy us, we will never see again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you stand firm in faith, trusting God alone as your Deliverer, and moving forward with obedience and action in the power of His grace to see the enemy of your soul defeated, as you cross over into all the Lord has prepared for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

       

  

Friends, I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing at the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Prayer Tonight, August 2nd, in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus, pastored by Max Lucado at 7pm. All are welcome! Please come join us in the South Room Worship Center. 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, August 1 - God's Words in My Mouth

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Lord of my life and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"Listen to Me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord.... I have put My words in your mouth, and hidden you in the shadow of My hand" (Isaiah 51:1-16).

 

Before I step out into my day, I first want to come away with You in the intimacy of worship and the communion of prayer to seek Your face and listen for Your voice. Give me a heart that pursues You first, above all else. Remind me to seek first the kingdom of God and Your righteousness. Then everything else, then all that I need and all You've place in my heart to desire will be added unto me (Matthew 6:33).

 

As I seek You, I'm also aligning my heart with Yours. As I behold You, You're changing my thought and my desires, my character and my nature, my perceptions and my attitude -- making me more like You, "transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

 

And as You put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, You're also putting Your words in my mouth, as You hold me in the shadow of Your hand (Isaiah 51:16). Then You send me out into my world to speak Your words of spirit and life and truth. 

 

So with all my heart, I want my words to be Your words -- purified in Your fire and sanctified by Your Spirit, to speak life and not death, to speak blessings and not curses (James 3:9-10). You have high standards and high expectations for every word that comes out of my mouth. As You said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.... I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:33). And as Your Word confirms:  "The words of the mouth are deep waters.... From the fruit of the mouth one's stomach is satisfied; the yield of the lips brings satisfaction. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits" (Proverbs 18:4-21).

 

By the power of Your grace, may I be a faithful servant and good steward of all the power of my words You've entrusted to me as a child of God and disciple of Christ. "Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. The Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever!" (1 Peter 4:10-11) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Holy Spirit stirs you with a passion to pursue God and His righteousness, as our Father holds you in the shadow of His hands and fills your mouth with His words to speak His spirit and life and truth into your world today, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

       

  

Friends, I'm excited to be sharing a message of hope and healing at the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Prayer tomorrow night, August 2nd, in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus, pastored by Max Lucado at 7pm. All are welcome! Please come join us in the South Room Worship Center. 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, July 31 - "Think On These Things"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You, as I still my soul and listen for Your voice.  ...

 

I believe I hear You saying in my heart:  "Think on these things" (Philippians 4:8 KJV).

 

Yes, Lord. I can't choose the certainty of all my circumstances or predetermine the parameters of all my challenges, but I can choose -- by the power of Your grace -- the focus of my thoughts. And Your Word encourages me to think on the good things, to focus a little more on the best things, on the things that help me look up instead of down, to look forward instead of backward, and to start off my day on the right path, with my best foot forward, with a good attitude and a healthy perspective:  "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.... Then the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8 NLT).

 

There will be plenty of time to deal with the daily stuff, but right now I'm going to take a little time with the Holy Spirit. I can gird up and go out into battle in a minute, but right now I'm going to settle in for some quiet time in the communion of prayer, centered in You, and surrounded in Your Presence. I'm going to open up my spirit and lift up my heart and welcome You into every thought in my mind, every desire in my heart, and every moment in my day.

 

I'm going to think on You and all You've done for me. I'm going to think on Your love for me, Your power within me, Your plans before me, and Your grace to sustain me through whatever comes. And then, when I have to start thinking about all the other things that will become a part of my life today, I'll not forget these good and precious things that You've sealed in my heart, here at the start of my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Lord will fill your mind an your heart on the good things of God in your life, as you begin your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

       

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 28 - Love and Obedience

 

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

 

"If you love Me, obey My commandments.... All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn't love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. I am telling you these things now while I am with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as My Representative -- that is, the Holy Spirit -- He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you" (John 14:15-26 NLT).

 

Does loving You also include obeying You? Or does loving You only include receiving Your mercy and grace and the freedom to do what seems right in my own eyes to follow the leading of my own heart in the logic of my own reasoning? Will Your Holy Spirit lead me in love without leading me in obedience? ...

 

I sense there is something You want me to hear about love and obedience.  ...

 

It seems I hear You speaking in my spirit:  "My son, your desire to obey Me is a mark of your desire to love Me. It's a matter of the nature of faith -- faith that trusts Me to know and to desire what's best for you. To love Me is to trust Me, and to trust Me is to obey Me. This is the nature of love and obedience I want you to come to understand. Seeking to love Me without the desire to obey Me is loving some idea of Me that is crafted by human minds, not by My sovereign will."

 

Yes, Lord. Help me understand this more deeply. Help me test what seem to be Your spoken words against Your written Word. "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 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" (John 15:8-11).

 

There is a connection between love and obedience, between living in faith that trusts You and Your Word and the complete joy we're created to experience in our loving relationship with You and one another.

 

A Scripture that comes to mind now is from Galatians 5:3-6:  "For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love." And this:  "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:13-21).

 

Truly loving You will lead me to seek to obey You because I trust You. And You've given me Your Spirit who is at work in me, changing my heart to love You more, trust You more, obey You more, and become more like You every day (Romans 8:29).  "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). As the old song says, help me "trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray your joy will be made complete as you grow in the desire to love and obey the Lord our God in ever-increasing, trusting faith in Him, 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!