Friday, November 08, 2019

Morning by Morning, November 8 - Divine Alignment
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart, step by step, choice by choice, throughout the moments of my day and morning by morning, throughout every day of my life. ...
 
"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossian 3:1-4).
 
I need a divine alignment. I need my mind to be in line with the mind of Christ, who is my life. How do I do that, Lord? ...
 
I believe I hear You speaking in my heart: "My son, My beloved one, seek Me and pursue Me as you surrender to Me. You can't make this happen, but You can allow Me to make this happen in you. For you, close your eyes, open your hands, open your spirit, and pursue Me with your heart. Wait in the silence. Listen for My leading. Let My Scriptures come to your mind. Let My Word enter your heart. Let My Spirit lead your thoughts. I am transforming you by the renewing of your mind. I am aligning your mind with My mind, your desires with My desires, so that your ways become more like My ways and your nature become more like My nature."  ...
 
Yes, Lord. Let it be so. As best as I can and all by Your grace, this is how I choose to begin my day and entrust my life into Your hands and Your heart. I receive Your divine alignment. I receive the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). I embrace Your transformation of my ways and Your renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). I embrace Your nature within my nature. "Thus (You) have given (me), through these things, (Your) precious and very great promises, so that through them (I) may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and become (a) participant of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).
 
Thank You for all Your grace and patient with me in this life-long process of making me more like You each day. "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this:  when He is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). "Because as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you embrace your divine alignment throughout the moments of your day and morning by morning every day of your life, as God's Holy Spirit makes you more like Jesus each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  


Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to begin each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It's my fervent prayer these devotionals are a blessing and encouragement to you!  Please pass them on to someone who could use the blessing and encouragement of God's Word and Spirit!

 

  
 



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!

Thursday, November 07, 2019

Morning by Morning, November 7 - Friends and Children of God as the Body and Bride of Christ
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I need You today. Apart from You, I can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible. You are with me and I am with You, right now in this communion of prayer and also with me throughout every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. You did not choose Me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask Him in My name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another" (John 15:15-17).
 
We're no longer servants, but sons. We're no longer slaves, but free. We're no longer stuck in our sins, but saved by Your grace. We're no longer just anybody, but the body of Christ. We're no longer orphans, but adopted as heirs into the family of God. We're no longer alone and available to be used and abused by the world, but the very bride of Christ.
 
We are who You say we are. And we will do what You say we will do. We go in the power and authority of Your name and in the nature of Your character of love to bear fruit that will last. In Your grace and for Your glory, we are anointed and appointed, chosen and called, sent forth to display Your glory through our lives that are laid down and wholly surrendered to You and filled with Your Spirit.
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Give me eyes to see myself and see those around me with Your eyes and Your heart -- my fellow friends and sons and daughters of God, Your beloved bride and body of Christ. Your Spirit bears witness in our spirits that that is who we are! "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For (we) did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but (we) have received a Spirit of Adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be gloried with Him" (Romans 8:14-17).
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you see yourself as God sees you -- a friend and child of God, part of His body and beloved bride, display His glory 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 daily journey of prayer, seeking to begin each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It's my fervent prayer these devotionals are a blessing and encouragement to you!  Please pass them on to someone who could use the blessing and encouragement of God's Word and Spirit!

 

  
 



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!


Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Morning by Morning, November 6 - "Let Justice Roll Down!"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be my Vision, with Your character being formed in my heart and Your words flowing out of my mouth. ...
 
"Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream!" (Amos 5:24)
 
Justice is important to You. And so is righteousness. You don't justify wrong and You set right what is wrong. "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne" (Psalm 89:14). 
 
You are a Father to the fatherless and a Comforter to the widow and the orphan (Psalm 68:5). You are our Advocate and Voice, who speaks up and speaks out against injustice (John 14:16). And You call us to do the same, in the power of Your grace and the authority of Your name. "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy" (Proverbs 31:8-9).
 
Evil and injustice, wickedness and wrongdoing, may seem to have their way for a season, but they will not have the last say. You will have the last word, as we cry out to You and call on Your name. Your Word is the final word (Daniel 7:9-14). You set things right and call us to do the same for one another in the opportunities You provide -- "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke" (Isaiah 58:6).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Stir in my heart today. Open my eyes to injustice and my heart to Your answers. Give me courage to take a stand, to speak up and speak out and not hold back. For that's what You require of us all each day -- to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). Then Your justice will roll down like waters and Your righteousness like a mighty stream! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you experience the power and protection of the One who speaks up and speaks out for you, and may you go and do the same for others as He leads you in the power of His grace, in Jesus' name. Let His justice roll down like water and His righteousness like a mighty stream for you! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
  

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to begin each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It's my fervent prayer these devotionals are a blessing and encouragement to you!  Please pass them on to someone who could use the blessing and encouragement of God's Word and Spirit!

 

  
 



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!

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Morning by Morning, November 5 - Anointing Oil and Cleansing Blood, Both Spirit and Word
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit, to flow in Your anointing and carry Your presence wherever You send me.  ...
 
"Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments" (Leviticus 8:30).
 
The priesthood and the tabernacle, all the rituals and the practices of the law of the Old Covenant are prophetic pictures of the spiritual principles that are fulfilled in Christ in the New Covenant. "The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves" (Hebrews 10:1 NLT). "For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality" (Colossians 2:17 NLT).
 
In Christ, "(we) are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). "To Him who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever!" (Revelation 1:6).
 
Aaron and the priests under the Old Covenant were anointed with the oil and with the blood by Moses. "In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their garments holy" (Leviticus 8:30 NLT). Under the New Covenant in Christ, Father God, You cleanse us in the blood of Jesus and anoint us with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, You are the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). You set us apart and make us holy to serve You and proclaim You as priests of the Kingdom of God. "(We) have an anointing from the Holy One.... As for (us), the anointing which (we) received from Him abides in (us)" (1 John 2:20-27).
 
By the grace of God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- I am holy and set apart for You -- cleansed by the blood of Jesus and anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. By the blood and by the oil, I am saved and filled and sent forth. You ground me in Your Word and fill me with Your Spirit, secure in my identity as a beloved child of God to fulfill my destiny as a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. Here I am, Lord. Send me today (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you go forth today, grounded the Word and filled with the Spirit, carrying the presence of God every where the Lord sends you as a beloved child, dedicated disciple, and anointed priest of the Kingdom of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to begin each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It's my fervent prayer these devotionals are a blessing and encouragement to you!  Please pass them on to someone who could use the blessing and encouragement of God's Word and Spirit!

 

  
 



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!

Monday, November 04, 2019

Morning by Morning, November 4 - "Let the Favor of God Be Upon Us"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. In humility and faith, in surrender and trust, I look to You and listen for Your leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands; yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).
 
I do need Your favor, Lord. I need Your wisdom and Your guidance, Your power and provision. I need You to open the doors that no man can close and close the doors that no man can open, as You order my steps and direct my path (Revelation 3:8). Apart from You I can do nothing (John 15:5).
 
And at the same time, even as my spirit rests in You, in desperate dependence upon You alone to be the Source of everything I need and everything I receive, You set my hands to work. Whether typing a prayer on my laptop or casting out a demon by the finger of God in our prayer room (Luke 11:20), let the work of my hands be an extension of Your hands at work through me into my world. "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
 
Whether our work is in a prayer room or a conference room, whether picking up a briefcase or a lug wrench, let all we do be done for the sake of Christ. "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17). By Your Holy Spirit who abides in our spirits, we are Your body, about our Father's business (1 Corinthians 1:27).
 
You stretch out Your hands and speak out Your words through us, as Your ambassadors, commissioned in Christ, anointed by Your Holy Spirit to be Your people who display Your glory in the desires of our hearts and the work of our hands. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
 
So I do pray for Your favor to fulfill all You've put in my heart to do through the work of my hands today. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). By the power of Your grace, empower me to walk uprightly in the steps of Your will through the doors You open today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you walk in the favor of God in all you do for the sake of Christ today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to begin each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It's my fervent prayer these devotionals are a blessing and encouragement to you!  Please pass them on to someone who could use the blessing and encouragement of God's Word and Spirit!

 

  
 



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!