Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 13 - Pursing Holiness of Heart
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Align my heart with Yours, my mind with Yours, my words with Yours.  ...
 
"Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
 
Your Holy Spirit is what makes me holy -- not what I do or don't do, not what I eat or don't eat, not what I wear or don't wear. Your Holy Spirit at work within my spirit -- changing my heart, changing, my mind, changing my words -- is what makes me holy. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
 
Your part is to do it and my part is to choose it. By the power of Your grace at work within me, I must freely choose to "cleanse (myself) from every defilement of body and of spirit" and freely choose to allow You to make me holy. You don't force me, but You do invite me. You won't make me, but You will embrace me. I can't make holiness happen, but You can give me "the desire and the power" to embrace the One who makes holiness happen in me. "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). 
 
"And this is the secret:  Christ lives in (me). This gives me assurance of sharing His glory" (Colossians 1:27 NLT). This is the secret to seeking to live in holiness, to live into the fullness of my salvation -- "a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes (me) holy through (my) belief in the truth" when "(You) called (me) to salvation (to embrace) the Good News; now I can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 NLT).
 
So keep changing my nature into Your nature, my ways into Your ways, as I keep yielding my will to Your will and my spirit to Your Spirit. You continually invite me -- morning by morning and moment by moment -- to keep choosing and embracing the way of holiness by the work of Your Spirit at work within me:  "Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God -- truly righteous and holy" (Ephesians 4:23). 
 
May I "not bring sorrow to (Your) Holy Spirit by the way (I) live. (But rather) remember, (You) has identified (me) as (Your) own, guaranteeing that (I) will be saved on the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30 NLT). Instead, by the power of Your grace my I "pursue peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). May I bring joy to Your heart as I allow You to make my heart more like Yours every day. "The Lord's delight is in those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love" (Psalm 147:11 NLT). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you pursue holiness of heart -- morning by morning and moment by moment -- all by the power of God's grace and God's Spirit at work within you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

          

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! 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, August 12, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 12 - Just Say No!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my heart afresh with Your Spirit today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. And Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.' But Naboth said to Ahab, 'The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance'" (1 Kings 21:1-3).
 
King Ahab was not a good king -- he "did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him" (1 Kings 16:30). And his wife, the infamous Jezebel, was even more wicked, controlling, and evil, at the expense of everything and everyone that stood in the way of whatever she wanted (1 Kings 16:31-33 and 18:4). So when Ahab came home to Jezebel "resentful and sullen" because Naboth stood his ground and refused to give up his inheritance from his father, Jezebel conceived an evil plan to destroy Naboth and steal his inheritance (1 Kings 21:4-7). She set him up with false witnesses to be slandered and then stoned to death so she could steal what was his (1 Kings 21:8-16).
 
What a prophetic picture of the enemy of our souls -- "the thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). He relentlessly seeks to slander our name and steal our blessings. He'll use any means necessary to take away our Father's inheritance to deny us our identity and destroy our destiny as the children of God we are (Romans 8:14-17).
 
Naboth said No! And the Spirit of God is rising up in the hearts and souls of the children of God to say No! No, you can't have my Father's inheritance! No, you can't deny my identity and destroy my destiny! This is my Father's vineyard and He will produce His fruit in the good soil of my heart. He will have His harvest through my life!
 
Naboth paid for his resistance with his life. But You've already paid for our resistance with Your life. And now our lives are hidden with You in Christ. The enemy of our souls can't kill us because we've already died to all he would do when we died to this world in order to live in You -- "for (we) have died, and (our) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1). We were "bought with a price" -- by the blood of the Lamb who has forgiven us and free us to live into the fullness of our inheritance in You (1 Corinthians 7:23). "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
 
In that boldness we can just say No! As we entrust ourselves to You, we can "resist the devil and he will flee!" (James 4:7) By the victory of the cross, we say No! to him and Yes! to You. And by the power of Your grace, we can live into the fullness of the abundance of our inheritance in You -- secure in our identity and fulfilling our destiny. "Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more that all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you just say No! to the enemy of your soul and every plan to steal your Father's inheritance as you say Yes! to Jesus and your life in Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

         

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! 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, August 08, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 8 - Christ Supremacy
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Make me more like You today. ...
 
"(Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:15-20 NKJV).
 
In the kingdom of God, there is no white supremacy or black supremacy, no progressive supremacy or conservative supremacy, no democrat supremacy or republican supremacy, no pro-life supremacy or pro-abortion supremacy, no pro-gay supremacy or pro-straight supremacy, no pro-gun supremacy or pro-gun-control supremacy. There is only Christ's supremacy. The One to whom our Father has entrusted with "preeminence" over all things (Colossians 1:18).
 
There is one name that is above every name. There is one name before whom all heaven and earth, all issues and positions, all races and sexes, all cities and nations must bow. "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11). "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
 
That's my position statement. That's my political agenda. That's my Constitution and Bill of Rights with every Amendment. That's my declaration of where I stand because that's my exaltation of the One before whom I bow.
 
When our hearts and homes, our mindsets and mouths, our thoughts and prayers are filled with "the Spirit of Christ" there is no room for hate, no room for evil, no room for racism, no room for any of the wickedness or lawlessness or darkness of this broken and fallen world to take root in our souls or soul of our nations (Romans 8:9). For me and the people of our land and the nations of our world, I join in this ancient prayer: "Create in me a clean, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and renew a right spirit within me" (from Psalm 51:10-12 KJV). 
 
As we yield to Your Spirit and bow to the supremacy of Christ, Your truth and Your love with triumph in us and through us. As You make a difference in us, we will make a difference in our world (Acts 17:6). "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.... But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malic, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:1-11). 
 
May the supremacy of Christ rule and reign in me! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may the supremacy of Christ rule and reign in you, as you are filled with the Spirit of Christ to make a difference in your world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

       

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! 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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Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Morning by Morning, August 7 - The Source of Good and The Source of Evil
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, Your words in my mouth, as I abide in You and You abide in me (John 15:4). As I watch and wait for Your leading, let me see what You're doing and hear what You're saying, so I can pray and proclaim Your kingdom and Your will on earth as it is in heaven   -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...
 
"We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:19-20).
 
When I see wickedness and evil in our world, when I my mind wants to wonder why You allow it and my heart wants to ask where You are in the midst of it, Your Spirt points me to Your Word -- "the whole world lies under the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Sin and evil are never Your will. You're never the source behind the manifestations of wickedness and evil in our world. No, it's just the opposite. You said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). The Source of good is never the source of evil. You're the Source of life; its' the thief who is the source of death. You're the Source of all that is right and good and holy and true; it's the thief who comes to steal that from us and destroy that within us and among us.
 
This wickedness and evil in our world are the works of the devil, as he works in the hearts and minds of those who embrace the principles of his kingdom instead of embracing the principles of Your kingdom (Ephesians 6:12).  And at the same time, Your Word says "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). It's the so-called "god of this world (that) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). You called him "the ruler of this world" who must "be driven out" (John 12:31). And as we choose You and Your kingdom and Your will, he is driven out of our hearts, out of our minds, and out of our world:  "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" James 4:7-8).
 
This is how we overcome! This is how we change our world as we let You change us! This is how we come into agreement with the victory of the Cross and the power of the Blood in the name of Jesus! (Revelation 12:11; Colossians 1:20; Philippians 2:5-11) This is how You are fulfilling the promise and proclamation of Your Word -- "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15)
 
So in the midst of the battle and as You continue to enforce the victory of Your Cross and advance the power and glory of Your kingdom in my heart and in my world, I take courage and find peace in Your words:  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NKJV). "The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (Romans 16:20). 
 
Lord, let it be so, in me and in my world. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.... Deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever" (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be take courage and find peace in knowing the One who is advancing His kingdom in your heart and in our world, as we embrace the One who is the Source of all that is good and holy and right and true, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

      

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! 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, August 06, 2019








































Morning by Morning, August 6 - The Power of Our Thoughts and Prayers in the Face of Tragedy
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to You, O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...
As I wait upon the leading of Your Spirit this morning, what comes to mind are the recent events going on in my world. There's terror and murder, wickedness and evil, taking place here in my home state of Texas and across the country in Ohio. It's not only here at home but also in varying measures across our land and around our world in these darkening times. Your Word prophecies that evil, lawlessness, and darkness will increase (Isaiah 60:2; Matthew 24:12). And so it is.
In the throughs and turmoil of another national tragedy, there's much anger and angst, fury and fear, chaos and clamoring for change and for control of what seems like a world spinning hopelessly out of control. But when everything is being shaken, Your Word and Your Spirit remind us to look to the One who is never shaken (Hebrews 12:27). 
Your Word and Your Spirit remind us to look to the Rock who is our Strength -- "The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer, my God, my Rock in whom I take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my Salvation, my Stronghold.... In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears" (Psalm 18:1-6). And when we pray, when we cry out to You in desperation and in faith, You hear us, You answer us, and move mightily on behalf of us -- "The Lord also thundered in the heavens and the Most High uttered His voice. He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; He flashed forth lightnings and routed them ... and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O Lord! (Psalm 18:12-15)
Not only to You move mightily on our behalf, You stir us to action to do our part in Your power -- "For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock besides our God? -- the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe. He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.... For You girded me with strength for the battle.... The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation! .... You delivered me from the violent! For this I will extol You, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name!" (Psalm 18:31-49)
Yes, terror and murder, wickedness and evil, are increasing in these darkening times. But at the same time, our God reigns! And our God arises! And not only do You reign and arise for us, You also reign and arise through us, as we call on Your name and answer Your call to display Your light and Your glory here in the midst of the darkness of our world -- "Arise! Shine! For your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn!" (Isiah 60:1-3)
So Father, I'm a little put out with the people who say they're offended by my thoughts and prayers. I'm a little irritated by their insinuations and innuendos that my faith is without action, that my thoughts have no meaning, and that my prayers have no power. The truth is I am the light of the world because the Light of the world lives in me! (Matthew 5:14) The truth is my prayers move mountains because my faith moves Your heart! (Mark 11:22-25) The truth is when we humble ourselves in prayer and take our stand in faith, as the people of God who are called by Your name, You move in our hearts, You speak through our thoughts, You arise in our spirits, and You heal our land! (2 Chronicles 7:14) 
Our thoughts and our prayers, expressed in humility and faith, choosing to trust You and praise You through every tragedy we face are the most powerful "weapons of our warfare" we have! (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) So "Let God arise! Let His enemies be scattered! Let those who hate Him flee before Him! ... So let the wicked perish at the Presence of God but let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God! ... To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old. Indeed He send out His voice, a mighty voice! Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! (Psalm 68:1-35) 
As You arise, we arise because You arise within us (Colossians 1:27). You will give us the courage and the wisdom we need to display Your glory through our lives and in our land. We are not defeated but more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We will not be overcome for we are overcomers in You (Revelation 12:11). As You encourage us long ago, You continue to encourage us today -- "In the world you will have much tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). 
So by the power of Your grace, I will not be intimidated or afraid. And I will not be backing off of my thoughts and prayers for suffering people of my land or for hope of my world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, may you be unintimidated and unafraid in your thoughts and your prayers, trusting in the One who has overcome and is overcoming through you the murder and terror, the wickedness and evil, in these darkening times of our world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

      

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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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