He is not Here, for He is Risen!" - Morning by Morning, April 12, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 12 - "He is not Here, for He is Risen!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wake up this morning of the Resurrection Sunday of Holy Week, during these days of the remembrance and celebration of Passover, to come close to You with excitement and expectancy to hear what You'll say and see what You'll do -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. 

 

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know you seek Jesus who crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said! Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that His is risen from the dead! ..." (Matthew 28:1-7)

 

God's not dead. He is alive!

 

Death and the devil didn't win. Hell couldn't hold You down. The grave couldn't keep You hidden away. The stone couldn't seal You up. You overcame it all in the victory of the cross and the power of the resurrection!

 

And because You overcame, we can overcome. Because You had victory, we can have victory. Because hope and faith won the day by the power of God in You, hope and faith by the same power of God in us will win the day for us!

 

"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11).

 

Father, You sent Your Spirit to raise Jesus from the dead. And You send that same Spirit in that same power to raise us from the dead -- to give is the victory of life over death, of hope over despair, of faith over fear. By the power of Your grace at work in us, at work in our world, hope and faith will win the day! You are our Hope. You are our Faith. You are our Answer and only Hope for all we face, as we put all our faith in You alone.

 

For death is swallowed up in victory! ... Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:54)

 

We're not overcomers unless we've overcome something. We don't have a testimony unless we've been tested. We can't be more than conquerors unless we've had something to conquer. And the empty tomb is the eternal witness of the power of God to empower us to overcome whatever we're going through in our world today and in our world to come!

 

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love" (Romans 5:3-5).

 

Let the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead stir up the hearts of God's people around the world to release Your power of hope and faith to overcome as never before! Let everything we're going through develop endurance and character and hope in us that can be held down or sealed off or shut up. Let Your resurrection life and power arise in us to shine in our world as we remember and celebrate what You have done!

 

Around the world, as we remember the victory of the cross and the empty tomb, let us receive and embrace Your promise and power of faith and hope:  "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!" (Romans 15:13) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you be filled afresh with hope and faith in the One who overcome the grave and the devil so that we can overcome all that we face in the resurrection power of the risen Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Silent Saturday before Resurrection Sunday - Morning by Morning, April 11, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 11 - Silent Saturday before Resurrection Sunday

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this Saturday morning -- during the days of Passover, on this day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday -- I wait and listen for Your leading in our communion of prayer together -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

 

"The next day, that is, after the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, 'Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first.' Pilate said to them, 'You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.' So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone" (Matthew 27:62-66).

 

They sealed Your tomb. Between the stone and the guards, they thought surely You would be silent now. They judged You as an imposter. They were still calling You a liar and lunatic and anything else but Lord of All. And Yet, they were afraid of what might happen, as they remembered Your words of just exactly what You said would happen -- that after three days, You would rise again!

 

To the world it looked like this one who claimed to be God in the flesh as one with the Father -- Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus the Salvation of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Light of the World, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, even declaring "before Abraham was, I Am" -- had finally received his just reward. But what they didn't know, but what was true all along, is this:  God's not dead. He is alive!

 

That silent Saturday, that silent Sabbath, when Your dead body was sealed in the tomb, Your spirit was not dead; and Satan would not have the last word. What looked like a day when there was only silence from heaven was only a dramatic pause for what was to come! It looked pretty dark on Friday. It sounded pretty quiet on Saturday. But Sunday was on the way!

 

In so many ways, that's where we find ourselves today in our world of this global pandemic and plague of Biblical proportions. Here in our homes, "sheltered in place," quarantined in quiet, silenced in solitude, hidden away and out of commission from our everyday world, it can feel like we're sealed off in a dark tomb behind a big stone.

 

But I was so encouraged last night during the Worldwide Good Friday service, connecting our world in the Spirit with the potential to reach a billion souls on our planet, with trusted spiritual leaders leading us in worship and words of hope. America's Pastor spoke as the world's pastor last night, as Max Lucado reminded us, "God's silence is not His absence." As he encouraged us by Your Holy Spirit, "You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good."

 

During these days when we're tempted to give in to fear and anxiety over our health, our finances, and even the future of our world, it may seem like You're silent. It may feel at times like our prayers are not heard, like our hopes have been dashed, and like the life of our faith is dead and buried, sealed shut and under guard behind a stone that can never be rolled away.

 

But Good News is on the way! As it turns out, and as all the world will see, God's not dead. He is alive! And because my God is alive, at work in me and at work in my world, even when it's hard to see it at the moment, in Him the best is always yet to come. He always saves His best wine for last (John 1:10); the glory of the latter house will always be greater than the glory of the former house (Haggai 2:9); there's a worldwide revival and great harvest of souls that's on the way like we've never seen (Matthew 13:39), and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will soon cover the earth as the waters cover the sea! (Habakkuk 2:14)

 

Though Friday looked pretty dark and Saturday seems pretty silent, Sunday is on the way! By the power of Your grace, I believe it even before I see it; and I'm proclaiming it with resurrection faith in my resurrected King! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you believe it and proclaim it by the power of God's grace and resurrection faith at work with in you -- God's not dead; He is alive! and He is powerfully at work in our world to bring us through this and turn it all around for good, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Behold the Lamb, High and Lifted Up - Morning by Morning, April 10, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 10 - Behold the Lamb, High and Lifted Up

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this Good Friday, I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day, because this day is called Good only because You are a good God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- who gave Your life as my Sacrifice on the Cross that I could live forgiven and free, forever with You. ...

 

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself" (John 12:32).

 

You were lifted up from the earth on the Cross. And from that day, people in every generation and every nation have been drawn by Your Holy Spirit to look up to You and all You have done for us. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the word" (John 1:29). "You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9).

 

Before that day came, You prophesied for all to hear, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me" (John 8:28). And when that day came -- as You suffered well to die for our sins in the mercy and love of our Father for us -- even the Roman soldier who stood in Your Presence to witness Your death on the Cross saw the truth and declared that truth to the world for generations to come: "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39) Surely we can do no less.

 

Worthy are You, Lord Jesus Christ! "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12)

 

Worthy are You to be welcomed into our hearts as Lord and Savior. Worthy are You to be high and lifted up in our praise. Worthy are You to receive the full measure of Your reward -- the hearts and souls of all who live, of all who choose to humbly bow and lift You up as Lord of all. "For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). "Jesus Christ -- He is Lord of all!" (Acts 10:36)

 

In three days, we'll remember and celebrate Your resurrection. Throughout the earth, we will acknowledge You as our Resurrection and Life, as the Risen Christ and Lord of all! Be today I take time to behold You as the Lamb of God, who died on the Cross for me. All that should have been upon me was laid upon You in Your sacrifice of love I can't even begin to fully comprehend.

 

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6, fulfilled in Matthew 8:17).

 

As I behold You, high and lifted up, all I can really say in this moment is, "Thank You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for loving me this much." ... In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you take time to look up and behold the Lamb, high and lifted up on the Cross for you, with a heart full of thanksgiving and praise for the One who is worthy of it all, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

"This Cup" of Our Salvation in the Garden of Gethsemane - Morning by Morning, April 9, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 9 - "This Cup" of Our Salvation in the Garden of Gethsemane

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On our journey to the cross this Holy Week, I seek to follow in Your steps and learn from Your ways. ...

 

"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.' And going a little farther, He fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.' ... Again, for a second time, He went away and prayed, 'My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.' ... He went away a prayed for the third time, saying the same words again" (Matthew 26:36-44). 

 

"This cup" of Your sufferings was the cup of our salvation. "This cup" was the offering of Your body and Your blood as the eternal Sacrifice in complete trust and surrender to the will and purposes of God. And in Your prayer of surrender and Your choice of complete trust, You drank of "this cup" for us -- that we could be forgiven and free, healed and whole, restored and redeemed to live forever with You in deeply personal relationship with God through His mercy and love.

 

"This cup" was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah almost eight hundred years before, of the Servant of God who would suffer and die for us, in humble obedience and faithful surrender to the will of God:

 

"He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him.

 

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

 

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken... Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief When You make His soul an Offering for our sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.

 

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:3-12).

 

"This cup" cost You more than we can comprehend. Yet as You wrestled in prayer with our Father in the Garden, You chose the path of obedience, the path of the faithful Servant -- "Nevertheless, not as I will but as You will."

 

In choosing to drink of "this cup" You were showing us the way -- the way of intimacy, humility, obedience, surrender, and trust. Your prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane prepared the way of the Lord for Your victory on the Cross at Calvary.

 

On this day of Holy Week, on a day we remember the Passover and Your journey to the Cross, as we remember so much of what happened that holy day long ago -- the Last Supper, the washing of Your disciples' feet, Your betrayal by Judas, Your arrest by the soldiers -- we remember Your prayer of complete surrender and trust in the perfect will and purposes of God. 

 

As You prepared the way of the Lord for us, in intimacy, humility, obedience, surrender, and trust, may Your Spirit prepare the way of the Lord in us. You show us the way, for You are "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6). May we pray as You prayed, "Nevertheless, not as I will but as You will." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My Friend, may you come to the place of deeper intimacy, humility, obedience surrender, and trust in the perfect will and purposes of God, yielding to His will, in response to all He has done for us, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

        

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Preparing for Passover - Morning by Morning, April 8, 2020

Morning by Morning, April 8 - Preparing for Passover

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Passover begins tonight at sunset; and I thank You that You are my Passover Lamb, that You are the ultimate fulfillment the Passover event, the Passover meal, and the Passover remembrance. It's Your blood over the doorposts of my heart that causes the power of sin and death to pass over me, for You are the Lamb of God who has taken away my sin and the sin of the world (John 1:29). ...

 

"Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.' They asked Him, 'Where do you want us to make preparations for it?' 'Listen, He said to them, 'when you have entered the city a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks you, 'Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.' So they went and found everything as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal" (Luke 22:7-13).

 

As I watch and wait for the leading of Your Holy Spirit, I sense You are saying in my heart, "Prepare for the Passover. Passover is more than an event of the past. Passover is a living and intimate encounter with Me every moment of your life. By the power of My blood, sin and death passes over you and all who humble themselves to trust in Me and turn to Me as their Lord and Savior." ...

 

Yes, Lord. I thank You for the sacrifice and the power of Your blood. I thank You for all You have done for us -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. As I remember the Passover, when the Angel of Death passed over the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, I remember that sin and death passes over me by the power of Your blood as I trust in You, my Lord and my Savior (Exodus 12:1-28; Colossians 1:20).

 

"Through (Jesus Christ) 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 1:20). As You said, "Unless you repent, you will all perish" (Luke 13:5). "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). "The Lord is patient toward (us), not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

 

Today I prepare my heart for Passover -- not just to remember and celebrate an event that happened long ago -- whether the supper of unleavened bread in Egypt or whether the Last Supper You shared with Your disciples in Jerusalem during that Holy Week on Your way to the cross. But I prepare my heart for a fresh encounter with You now -- a living and intimate encounter with You every moment of my life. Because of Your eternal sacrifice as the Lamb of God, my sin is forgiven and You are with me always (Matthew 28:20).

 

In that last Passover meal, the Last Supper You shared with Your disciples, You called them to prepare a place for communion with You in an upper room. You shared with them Your heart and called them to remember that Your heart would always be with them through the living Presence of the Living Christ.

 

My Father, I thank You for the Sacrifice of Your Son for me and for the sin of the world. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).

 

Holy Spirit, come and prepare my heart in the upper room of prayer for a fresh encounter with the living Presence of the living Christ -- today and every day. As I take time to remember the body and the blood of Christ in the intimacy of this deep communion with You in humility, surrender, and trust, I honor and celebrate the mercy and love of my Passover Lamb -- the Lamb of God who has taken away my sin and sin of the world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you prepare for a fresh encounter with Jesus -- with the living Presence of the living Christ -- in the upper room of your heart in remembrance, repentance, and thanksgiving to the Lamb of God who has taken away your sin and the sin of the world, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

        

morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out ...

Preparing the Way of the Lord

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!