Monday, September 16, 2019

Morning by Morning, September 16 - We Can Walk with God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I thank You that Your heavens are always opened over me and Your Spirit is always here within me. ...
 
"Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him" (Genesis 5:24).
 
Enoch was a man of flesh and blood like me. Yet there was something about his deeply personal relationship with You that allowed him to transcend barriers of this earthly realm. Your Word says Enoch "was known as a person who pleased God" and that "it was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying" (Hebrews 12:5 NLT).
 
I think there's more to the story and more of a point to the story than the fact that somebody left this earth without ever dying a physical death. I believe there's also something here about drawing us into a deeper intimacy with You in trusting faith and a daily spiritual journey that opens the heavens to us. 
 
Enoch was "under the Old Covenant" (Hebrews 10:11). "But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better Covenant, which has been enacted through better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). Now, not only can we walk with You, we can abide with You as You abide with us (John 15:4). Now, our hearts can be Your home and our spirits can live in constant communion with Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9). "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). These better promises are part of "the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
 
In that sense, I don't need to be longing for something Enoch had. Instead, I should be celebrating every day, gratefully thankful to You every day for the depth of intimacy and communion we can have in You today which is infinitely greater than anything Enoch could even ask or imagine. Through the New Covenant in Your blood, "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace (we) have been saved -- and raised us up together with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6). 
 
Enoch had to wait three hundred and sixty-five years to be taken up into the heavenly realm, but I can be taken up with You right now! (Genesis 5:23) In a sense -- in the spiritual realm of Your heavenly, eternal dimension -- I'm already taken up, I'm already seated with You, I'm already eternally in Your presence, as I abide in You and You abide in me (John 15:4; Ephesians 2:4-6). In that sense, I'm already dead to this world and fully alive in You. "May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14). "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:18).
 
Lord, give me grace to grow into this depth of intimacy with You You've made possible for me. Teach me how to come up higher, to live up higher, to believe that You've already taken me up higher so that I can daily live from that heavenly place up higher in You. "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33) I'll spend a lifetime, even all eternity growing into the fullness of Your grace and all You've done for me in Your love! But for today, I'm choosing to "walk with God" in Your heavenly realm as best as I can and all by Your grace. Like Enoch, may I be known as one who pleases You and walks with You by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you walk with God by faith in the heavenly realm of intimacy and communion with Him every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
   
My friend , Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to grow in intimacy with God and the character of Christ. Thank you to all those who join with me in support and prayer of this ministry of helping people experience and encounter the Living God through intimate prayer and transformational ministry of healing and freedom in Christ -- "healing from the inside out" of "spirit and soul and body." God bless you!

 
For Speaking Engagement, Spiritual Retreats, Seminars, and Conferences, please contact me at tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org
God bless!


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, September 13, 2019

Morning by Morning September 13 - "Sanctify You Entirely"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, align my spirit, soul, and body with Your will, Your ways, and Your Word today. ...
 
"May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
 
You are faithful. And You are at work within me -- in my "spirit and soul and body" -- to make me more like You, to "sanctify (me) entirely," to make me "sound," healthy, healed, whole, and free, to make me "blameless," forgiven, pure, and clean. I can't do it, but You can. I can be faithless, but You are always faithful. "For God (Himself) is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
 
That's how I want to be in my heart "at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I want to be part of Your passionate and faithful remnant, part of Your people called by Your name who are the "many sons (brought) to glory" (Hebrews 2:10 NKJV) and the "bride" of Christ" (John 3:29; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 22:17). I want to be among those who are sold-out, all-in, fully committed and wholly surrendered, "found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:10) like the wise virgins with oil in their lamps (Matthew 25:1-13) and the faithful stewards of all that's been entrusted to them to spend their lives for Your glory (Matthew 24:45-47).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Sanctify me entirely. Let Your Holy Fire burn out of me all that is not yet like You (Matthew 3:11-12). Make me more like Jesus each day (Romans 8:29; 1 John 4:17). It's already finished and done in the heavenly realm where I'm already raised up and seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6) as the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, at the same time, let it also be so "on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) -- here in this earthly realm of my spirit and soul and body living out the moments of my day, as it is already is in the heavenly realm. "The One who is faithful will do this." So I'm confident of this, He who began a good work in me with be faithful to complete it by the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). Thank You, Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you be sanctified entirely in your spirit and soul and body to be sound and blameless by the power and grace of God at work within you at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. May you be found faithful, fulfilling your destiny, secure in your identity as a child of God and disciple of Jesus Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
   
My friend, Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to grow in intimacy with God and the character of Christ. Thank you to all those who join with me in support and prayer of this ministry of helping people experience and encounter the Living God through intimate prayer and transformational ministry of healing and freedom in Christ -- "healing from the inside out" of "spirit and soul and body." God bless you!

 
For Speaking Engagement, Spiritual Retreats, Seminars, and Conferences, please contact me at tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org
God bless!


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, September 12, 2019

Morning by Morning, September 12 - Healing and Hope on The Day After
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my spirit, as I listen for Your voice (John 10:3).  ...
 
After September 11th comes September 12th. Just like that morning in America in 2001 when we all woke up to a new day after such unspeakable tragedy the day before. You were with us that day, just as You are with us every day -- ready for us to cry out to You, to call on Your name, to seek Your hope and healing that only You can provide.
 
Healing takes time. Hope has to build. Restoration rarely comes in a moment. But when we humble ourselves in Your sight, when we turn our hearts and our ways to You in prayer and faith, You hear us and answer us. Evil doesn't have the last word. Wickedness doesn't win. Death has no victory. Hopelessness and despair have no say. Tragedy does not define us. "I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to Him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (Psalm 34:4-7).
 
Since that day, You have been healing and restoring and answering our prayers. While it's true that many turned to violence and vengeance, that many even turned away from You in their confusion and shock, in their anger and pain, it's also just as true that many bowed their knees and bowed their hearts in more desperate dependence upon You than ever before. Through that seed of national tragedy, a seed fell to ground and died; but at the same time, that seed has germinated and is growing in ways we don't even fully see to produce a great harvest that we can't even image. You explained this spiritual principle long ago, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).
 
There will be a great "harvest" at "the end of the age .... He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:36-43) And I'm one of those who believes with all my heart that we will be part of Your great harvest. I believe You take every tragedy -- whether in our nation or in our lives -- and You turn it all around in Your time and in Your way (Romans 8:28). Even what was meant for evil, You will redeem it and use it for good (Genesis 50:20). Even in the very places where we were defeated and helpless and hopeless, where we were depending on ourselves and our own power and our own wisdom to protect us and provide for us apart from You, You will forgive us and free us and empower us as more than conquers when we turn to You in humility and faith (Revelation 3:14-22).
 
Come, Holy Spirit! Come stir in our hearts -- as a people and as a nation -- with a fresh spirit of intercession, with a fresh spirit of revival and awakening that comes alive in us through humility, repentance, and faith! "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!" (Ephesians 5:14). "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! ... Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice!" (Isaiah 60:1-5)
 
Yes, Lord. Let it be so -- here in my heart, here in my land, and here in my generation to the ends of the earth. Let us be a part of Your great harvest at the end of the age. Let us be a part of the fulfillment of Your Word, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). "And this Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come!" (Matthew 24:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you know the healing love of God and be filled with His hope in a great awakening of your spirit to His light in the midst of the darkness of our world, in Jesus' name. May you fulfill you destiny, secure in your identity as a child of God and as a nation under God. 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, September 11, 2019

Morning by Morning, September 11 - Even "On a Day of Great Slaughter, when the Towers Fall" God is with Us

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

"Truly, O people of Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, 'Away with you.' He will give rain for seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water -- on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow" (Isaiah 30:19-26). 

On this day of 9-11, forever written into our hearts as a nation and sealed with the scars upon our land, may we humble ourselves to seek Your face and pray. In the mysteries of good and evil, of divine protection and divine judgment, of the consequences of both humility and pride, of obedience and rebellion, of hope and despair, may we turn to the One who's heart toward us is to bind up our injuries and heal our wounds. May we listen for the One who longs to speak to us, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 

As I listen, I believe I hear You saying in my heart, to me and to my nation:  "This is the way; walk in it. This is My hand to restore and redeem you; embrace it. This is My desire to honor you as you honor Me; trust it. This is My invitation to lift you up as you humble yourself in My sight; receive it." ...

Yes, Lord.... We need You. Apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5). And by Your mercy and grace, we never have to be apart from You. You never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Though our enemy comes in like a flood, You raise up a banner over us (Isaiah 59:19). Even when we "make room for the devil" by opening doors to the darkness and closing doors to Your Light in our hearts or in our land, even when we "grieve the Holy Spirit" by disobedience or rebellion or indifference, You remind us we are still "marked with a seal for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:25-32). Even when suffer the consequences of our actions in our generation and the generations before us, You always love us and long to restore us (Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 103:8-14).  

You're always calling out to us to remind us to humble ourselves and pray, to repent of our sins and call on Your name, that You may forgive us and comfort us and heal us and restore us to our identity and destiny as the people of God who are called by Your name (2 Chronicles 7:14). You're always speaking to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). Knowing Your heart to redeem and restore, to seek out what was lost, to set things right again, "we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6). 

Even "when the towers fall," You are our security and strength, our resilience and redeemer, because our hope, our faith, and our trust is in You. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; for You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy" (Psalm 61:2-3). "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and they are safe" (Proverbs 18:10). O Lord our God, You are our Strong Tower that shall never fall.  

No, towers may fall, the kingdoms of this world may come and go, but You will never fall (Revelation 11:15). Your love will never fail (1 Corinthians 13:8) and Your word will never fail (Luke 1:37). May we be the ones who fall -- who fall before You in humility, repentance, and prayer, that You may lift us up again to fulfill our purpose and destiny in You (Ephesians 1:11). When we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up (James 4:10). When we are lifted up in You, we can be all You created us to be -- "a light to the nations, that (Your) salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6), a "city built on a hill (that) cannot be hid" (Matthew 5:14). Lord, let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend, may we join together in the humility and repentance of faith for the healing of our land and the fulfilling of our destiny to be a light to the nations and a city on a hill, that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth, in Jesus' name. 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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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Morning by Morning, September 11 - Even "On a Day of Great Slaughter, when the Towers Fall" God is with Us

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

"Truly, O people of Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.' Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, 'Away with you.' He will give rain for seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water -- on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow" (Isaiah 30:19-26). 

On this day of 9-11, forever written into our hearts as a nation and sealed with the scars upon our land, may we humble ourselves to seek Your face and pray. In the mysteries of good and evil, of divine protection and divine judgment, of the consequences of both humility and pride, of obedience and rebellion, of hope and despair, may we turn to the One who's heart toward us is to bind up our injuries and heal our wounds. May we listen for the One who longs to speak to us, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 

As I listen, I believe I hear You saying in my heart, to me and to my nation:  "This is the way; walk in it. This is My hand to restore and redeem you; embrace it. This is My desire to honor you as you honor Me; trust it. This is My invitation to lift you up as you humble yourself in My sight; receive it." ...

Yes, Lord.... We need You. Apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5). And by Your mercy and grace, we never have to be apart from You. You never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Though our enemy comes in like a flood, You raise up a banner over us (Isaiah 59:19). Even when we "make room for the devil" by opening doors to the darkness and closing doors to Your Light in our hearts or in our land, even when we "grieve the Holy Spirit" by disobedience or rebellion or indifference, You remind us we are still "marked with a seal for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:25-32). Even when suffer the consequences of our actions in our generation and the generations before us, You always love us and long to restore us (Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 103:8-14).  

You're always calling out to us to remind us to humble ourselves and pray, to repent of our sins and call on Your name, that You may forgive us and comfort us and heal us and restore us to our identity and destiny as the people of God who are called by Your name (2 Chronicles 7:14). You're always speaking to us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). Knowing Your heart to redeem and restore, to seek out what was lost, to set things right again, "we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6). 

Even "when the towers fall," You are our security and strength, our resilience and redeemer, because our hope, our faith, and our trust is in You. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; for You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy" (Psalm 61:2-3). "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and they are safe" (Proverbs 18:10). O Lord our God, You are our Strong Tower that shall never fall.  

No, towers may fall, the kingdoms of this world may come and go, but You will never fall (Revelation 11:15). Your love will never fail (1 Corinthians 13:8) and Your word will never fail (Luke 1:37). May we be the ones who fall -- who fall before You in humility, repentance, and prayer, that You may lift us up again to fulfill our purpose and destiny in You (Ephesians 1:11). When we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up (James 4:10). When we are lifted up in You, we can be all You created us to be -- "a light to the nations, that (Your) salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6), a "city built on a hill (that) cannot be hid" (Matthew 5:14). Lord, let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend, may we join together in the humility and repentance of faith for the healing of our land and the fulfilling of our destiny to be a light to the nations and a city on a hill, that God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth, in Jesus' name. 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, September 10, 2019

Morning by Morning, September 10 - Ever-Abiding Presence of God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Abide in me and I in You, as I begin my day in the communion and intimacy of prayer -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God (John 15:4). ... 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.... At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:15-23 NKJV). 

What if I were to live this day as if God Himself was right here with me, even right here within me? What if I truly believed every thought in my mind, every desire in my heart, every word from my mouth was seen and known by the One who is holy and pure and undefiled? ... 

The truth is You are here with me. The truth is You are even here within me. Awaken my awareness of Your presence. Sensitize me to the ever-abiding indwelling of Your Spirit. Restore to me a healthy and holy fear of the Lord that stirs me to reverence You with the awe and wonder, with the obedience and faithfulness, with the honor and respect You deserve. My heart is now Your home. My spirit is now one with Your Spirit. You do hear me and see me in all I do and all I am. But You also help me to keep Your word and walk in Your ways, because You are my Helper, my Father, and my Best Friend who abides with me forever. You not only watch over me, You walk with me. You not only surround me, You abide within me.  

My Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- give me grace to believe and embrace this deep truth of Your ever-abiding presence more deeply than I ever have. I am not alone; I am not an orphan. I am a beloved child of God, filled with Spirit of God, called and empowered to live my life each day to the glory of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend, may you be freshly awakened to the awareness of God's presence and sensitized to the ever-abiding indwelling of His Holy Spirit to live your life today to the glory of God by the power and grace of the One who dwells in you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!


Friends, please keep us in prayer for our Rapha God Ministries' Level 1 School of Ministry Intensive. We have DVDs available: Rapha God Ministries Resources for Prayer Ministry

If you can't be with us here in San Antonio for our School of Ministry, I'm available for ministry weekends, seminars, and retreats for churches and groups. Just contact me at tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


Our Level 1 School of Ministry is based upon my book Free to Be Like Jesus, in a comprehensive Prayer Ministry training based on God's Word, designed to inform and provide a Biblical foundation for inner healing and freedom prayer in a casual learning environment. Topics include Biblical Principles of Inner Healing -- "Healing from the Inside Out," Spiritual Gifts, and Potential Barriers to Healing, as well as a brief overview of Inner Healing and Personal Prayer tools. The training includes six, three hour evening sessions over the course of three weeks in the early Fall.


 

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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