Wednesday, March 04, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 4 - Deeper Intimacy with God as the "Descendants of Zadok"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Order my steps, align my mind, guide my heart to walk in Your ways today. ...
 
"He said to me, 'This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to Him'" (Ezekiel 40:45-46).
 
Among the Levitical priests, those called and set apart to serve in the temple of God, some were called to "have charge of the temple" and some were called to "have charge of the altar." Those called to "have charge the altar" were those called out from among all the other Levitical priests to a deeper, more intimate calling. Among all the other Levitical priests, only these were allowed the honor and authority, along with the responsibility, to "come near to the Lord to minister to Him." These were "the descendants of Zadok."
 
Under our New Covenant in Christ, we are all Your priests, servants of God, as well as sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:16). "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" (Revelations 1:5-6). "(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 and into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
 
In our priesthood of servanthood, to "have charge of the temple," under the New Covenant in Christ the temple is now the Body of Christ, just as our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. "(Our) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within (us), which (we) have from God, and (we) are not (our) own" (1 Corinthians 6:19). And at the same time, You invite us closer still; You call us deeper still -- to "have charge of the altar," to come near to the Lord to minister to Him," even as "the descendants of Zadok."
 
Yes, we serve; but we first serve You. Yes, we are holy, set apart, consecrated unto You for service in Your Kingdom; but our first service is to You. We shall have no other gods before You (Exodus 20:3) -- not even the good things or the God-ordained things, such as tending to the temple, to the needs of the people, to make disciples and grow disciples, to minister healing and freedom, to help grow them up to maturity, equipped in every good work for the glory of the King and the Kingdom. Even those great and godly things must not be first.
 
You must be first. Our ministry to You must be first. Our response to Your calling and invitation "to come near the Lord to minister to Him" must be first.
 
Come, Holy Spirit of God. We can be as near to God as we desire to be. As Your Word invites every one of us, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 8). "Abide in Me, as I abide in you" (John 15:4). "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
 
I desire to be as near to You, Lord God -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit in every dimension of Your Being -- as I can possibly be. I desire to come near to You, to come to know You, to become one with You, "to come near to (You) to minister to (You)" first and foremost, before all others and before all things. In that sense of deeper surrender, deeper intimacy, deeper relationship, deeper experiences and encounters with You, I desire to be one of Your called-out ones, one of Your chosen ones, one of Your most intimate ones, one of  Your "descendants of Zadok" (Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; and 44:15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend, may you be stirred in your spirit by the Holy Spirit of God to draw as near to God as you possibly can, in deeper intimacy with Him, to know Him and become one with Him in every dimension of His Being as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, 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, March 03, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 3 - God is Good! --No Matter What We Face
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart, here in my mind, here in every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in a rushing flood. He will make a full end of His adversaries, and will pursue His enemies into darkness" (Nahum 1:7-8).
 
God is good! All the time! And all the time, God is good!
 
I like to keep my theology simple -- God is good; Satan is bad. God desires good things for my life; Satan desires bad things for my life. God is for me; Satan is against me. God is my friend; Satan is my enemy. As You said, Lord Jesus, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that (you) may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
 
But even when my enemy comes against me -- whether by virus or disease, by persecution or tribulation, by deception or fear or anything else to try to steal my peace, my hope, my confidence, or my joy -- You stand up for me. "Even in a rushing flood," You are my Refuge, my Protector, my Defender. "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19 NKJV). You protect those who take refuge in You.
 
You told us, "In the world (we will) have tribulation, but take courage: I have overcome the world," saying, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace" (John 16:33 NASB). So in You, I find my Refuge; in You, I find my Peace; in You, I find my Courage to not fear, to not worry, to be anxious for nothing, for You are with me and Your Spirit abides within me (Philippians 4:6-7).
 
No matter what I endure in this broken and fallen world where there is an enemy who comes against me in every way he can to steal and kill and destroy, none of that will have the last word, none of that will have the final say, none of that will stand. You'll even use the attacks of my adversary to drive me closer to You, to give me opportunities to turn to You and trust in You, to even promote me on the battlefield and equip me for the battles to come. As someone has said, even my setbacks are just setups for You to come and display Your goodness and Your grace, to cause all things to work together for my good because You love me and called me according to Your purposes (Romans 8:28).
 
O Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- You are good! And You are God! And You are sovereign over my life! So I take heart with great courage, great hope, and great faith that the promise of Your Word will come to pass in my life through every battle I fight, every setback I overcome, and every rushing flood of my enemy I endure:  "The God of peace will shorty crush Satan under (my) feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us all)!" (Romans 16:20) 
 
By the power of Your grace at work within us, as we abide in deep relationship with You, we will "continue in the faith (for) we must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22 NKJV). But at the same time, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Romans 8:37) 
 
God is good! And God is for us! And if God be for us, nothing can stand against us! (Romans 8:31) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you be confident in the truth that our God is good, no matter what we face; and He will turn every setback into a setup to dimply His glory through our lives as we trust and abide 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
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, March 02, 2020


Morning by Morning, March 2 - Forever Changed and Forever Being Changed into the Image of the Son of God
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Make me more like You today (Romans 8:29). ...
"When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another ("from glory to glory" KJV); for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
As I behold You, You are changing me. As I behold You each day, You are making me more like You each day. My worship welcomes Your Spirit. Then Your Spirit moves in my spirit to worship You more, for we become like the One we worship.
When I turn to You, when I seek You, when I pursue You, when I open up my spirit to You to fully surrender to You and acknowledge You and You place of authority as Lord of my life, I worship You. And the more I worship You, the more You change me into Your image -- "from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (KJV).
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- as I worship You and welcome You into every area of my life "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23), You remove every "veil" between us. You remove every distortion of how I see You and see myself. You remove every sense of distance that would separate us from the deep intimacy of Your Presence You created me to have with You. We are to be "one" with no veil -- no distortion and no distance -- between us. "This veil can be removed only by believing Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:14 NLT). Every "veil" of separation is torn and removed in You, Lord Jesus (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-22).
Lord Jesus, as You walked this earth as the Son of Man, in perfect communion with the Father and filled with the Holy Spirit, You expressed the heart of God for us all:  "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" (John 17:21-23).
Come, Holy Spirit of God. Draw me near to God in deeper surrender, deeper revelation, deeper worship, deeper intimacy with no veils, no distortions, no distance between us. In the deep Presence of God, I am forever changed. And at the same time, You keep on changing me, You keep on transforming me, into the very image of the Son of God, "from one degree of glory to another," "from glory to glory" -- making me more like Jesus each day (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). "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). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend, may you be forever changed and forever being changed into the image of the Son of God -- moved by the Spirit of God in deeper surrender, deeper revelation, deeper worship, and deeper intimacy with no veils, no distortions, and no distance between you and the Lord your God, being one with Him, 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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Friday, February 28, 2020

Morning by Morning, February 28 - See and Say the Vision of the Lord
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Order my steps and lead me throughout the moments of my day in the joy of my salvation -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what He will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said:  Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time...." (Habakkuk 2:1-3).
 
I will look to see what You say, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart to see with Your vision, to see with Your eyes, to see with Your heart. "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give (me) a spirit of wisdom and revelation as (I) come to know Him, so that, with the eyes of (my) heart enlightened, (I) may know what is the hope to which He has called (me), which are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power for us who believe, according to the working of His great power" (Ephesians 1:17-19).
 
As I see it, let me say it. As I see it, let me write it. Write Your vision plain on the tablet of my heart, so I can read it and run with it and express it to all who need to hear it -- beginning with me in my own heart, now in my own generation. "My ears You have opened" (Psalm 40:6). "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You" (Job 42:5). "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 3:22). "Bless are (our) eyes, because they see; and (our) ears, because they hear. 'For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what (we) see, and did not see it, and to hear what (we) hear, and did not hear it" (Matthew 13:16-17). 
 
In the sovereignty of Your grace, in the fullness of Your time, "there is still a vision for the appointed time" (Habakkuk 2:3). And that appointed time is today! "For He says, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" (2 Corinthians 6:2)
 
So by Your grace, I will see and I will say what You have for me and for my generation today. "I will stand at my watchpost" (Habakkuk 2:1) -- which is the place of prayer, the place of deep intimacy in communion with You -- spirit to Spirit, heart to Heart, deep to Deep. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). "I will station myself on the rampart" (Habakkuk 2:1) -- which is the place of repentance that prepares the way of the Lord in my heart and in my land, as I turn away from myself and my selfishness and my self-centeredness and my sinfulness to turn to You with all my heart and mind and soul and strength (Matthew 22:37).
 
I see repentance before revival. I say repentance before revival. I bow my knees and humble my heart to turn wholeheartedly to You -- for myself and my land, which is all You've entrusted to my care, to my watch, with responsibility and with authority. I do see and I do say, "Revival is coming!" along with all who are joining in prayer and joining in proclamation for Your heart in our hearts, for Your heart in our land, for Your heart in our day (2 Chronicles 7:14). Lord, let it be so! "Revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You!" (Psalm 85:6) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you take your place at your watchpost and on your rampart, in the deep place of intimacy in prayer, to hear and to see and to say the vision of the Lord in all the spheres of responsibility and authority He has entrusted to you at this appointed time, 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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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Morning by Morning, February 27 - Believe and See. Stand Firm and Succeed.
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart. ...
 
"Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, 'Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets and you will succeed!" (2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV)
 
Through faith, we believe. Through prophecy, we see. When we believe, we stand firm. When we see, we succeed. 
 
Come, Holy Spirit of the Living God! Stir in our hearts to believe. Stir in our spirits to see. Empower us to stand firm in faith to believe; anoint us to see the truth of Your will and succeed. 
 
Almighty Father God, let us see what You're doing. Let us hear what You're saying. Let us join in the heart of heaven to see the Kingdom of Heaven made manifest here on earth as it is in heaven. Through prayer and prophecy, may we become more intimate with You and become more faithful to You, to know Your will and obey it. Let us see what You're doing and do it; let us hear what You're saying and speak it. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
 
Dear Lord Jesus, abide in us as we abide in You, for apart from You we can do nothing (John 15:5). But as we abide in You, we hear Your voice and receive Your words so we can speak out Your will and live in Your ways to bear much fruit and glorify God. As You said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples" (John 15:7).
 
It was "early" in the morning when King Jehoshaphat was moved to speak the army of the Lord, when he encouraged them to believe and to see, so they would stand firm and succeed (2 Chronicles 20:20). And "early" in the morning, Your Spirit moves in our spirits to draw near to You, to listen for Your leading, to hear what You're saying and see what You're doing, as we offer the first-fruits of each day to You. You invite us to "Seek first the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33).  Then we can pray it; then we can prophesy it; then we can live it -- because we believe it and we've seen it. Then we can stand firm in it and succeed in it, as Your Kingdom comes and Your will is done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
 
Just as You gave Jehoshaphat and the army of the Lord great victory as they sang praises of Your faithfulness and love, You'll give us great victory over whatever stands between the Kingdom of Heaven in our hearts and in our world (2 Chronicles 20:21-26). Early every morning, let us pray and let us praise; let us believe and let us see; let us stand firm and let us succeed -- for that's where the battle for our day will be fought and that's where the victory of our day will be won! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you believe and see, may you stand firm and succeed, as you draw near to God in the depths of prayer and the heights of praise, with great victory in the battles of 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
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Morning by Morning, February 26 - Standing in Faith Between the Living and the Dead with the Incense of Prayer
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and call on Your name to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
 
"On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, 'You have killed the people of the Lord.' And when the congregation assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting; the cloud had covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Get away from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.' And they fell on their faces. Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer, put fire on it from the altar and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.' So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped" (Numbers 16:41-48).
 
The stories of the Old Covenant speak to us about spiritual principles of the New Covenant. "Now these things occurred as examples to us, so that we might not desire evil as they did" (1 Corinthians 10:6). An evil desire that arose in the hearts of the Israelites, as Moses and Aaron led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, was the desire to rebel against God and His leadership of the people through Moses and Aaron. First, Korah spoke against Moses and assembled the people in rebellion, but suffered the consequences of his rebellion and disobedience at the hands of the wrath of God (Numbers 16:1-35). And now, "the whole congregation" were joining in rebellion against God and His leaders, accusing them of being the hand of God's wrath against Korah and his followers (Numbers 16:41). They too would now suffer the wrath of God in response to their rebellion, as a great plague began to move throughout their camp, taking the lives of those who stood in rebellion -- "for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun" (Numbers 16:46).
 
Even then, Moses and Aaron did not join in accusation against the people for their rebellion against God and His leaders. Instead, they turned to God (Numbers 16:42), they "fell on their faces" in humility and prayer to make intercession for the people that mercy would triumph over judgment, even when judgment was deserved (Numbers 16:45).
 
The thought came to Moses' heart to send Aaron with his censor of fire and its burning incense from the altar of the Tabernacle into the midst of the people to "make atonement for them" (Numbers 16:46). "(Aaron) stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped" (Numbers 16:48).
 
There are many spiritual principles to learn from this account. But one that speaks to me today is the power of prayer in the face of a plague. No matter the source of the plague, even if we are the ones who have opened the door to our own destruction in our lives or in our world, the heart of God is to call us to prayer. The burning incense speaks of intercession. Carrying the censor from the Tabernacle to the place of the plague speaks of putting action to our prayers and running to the battle instead of hiding in fear. Standing between the living and the dead speaks of standing in our place of authority in the name of the Lord to speak against the plague, the sickness, the disease, the destruction, and the death that would seek to consume us. And that the plague was stopped speaks of the mercy of God, that mercy triumphs over judgment, that prayer prevails, that's there's authority of life over death, that faith in God overcomes whatever we face.
 
In this Old Covenant story, Aaron the priest went among the people to "make atonement" for the sins of the people and to stop the plague (Numbers 16:46). Under our New Covenant in You, the Blood of Jesus has made atonement for us. "For in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him 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 1:19-20).
 
Through the Blood of Your Cross, You have taken upon Yourself every plague or virus, every sickness we endure and every sin we allow, that we could humble ourselves before You in prayer and take our stand with You in faith against all we face. "Surely He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgression, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6 fulfilled in Jesus Christ, Matthew 8:16-17). "He Himself bore our sins on His Body on the Cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds (we) have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Draw us to the deep place of intimate prayer, to the humble place of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You alone, to the trusting place of believing in faith that You see every form of sickness or death, virus or plague, in our hearts or our bodies or our world, coming against us to destroy us. Rise up within us to take our stand, with authority and prayer in the power of the name of Jesus and in the mercy of the atoning Blood of our Savior, even between the living the dead. Let our prayers arise like burning incense; let Your mercy triumph over judgment (James 2:13); and let life in You prevail over the sickness, disease, and death of this world (John 10:10). The Coronavirus cannot trump the Crown of Christ! 
 
In the authority of Your name, let us run to the battle and not hide away in fear. Let us declare in the authority and power of Your name, "This far and no more!" (Job 38:11) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you run to the battle for your family and all the Lord has entrusted to you with responsibility and authority in the name of Jesus to take your stand with the incense of prayer and see His mercy triumph and His life prevail over whatever you face, 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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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