Learn from Our Past, Face Our Present, Press On to the Destiny of Our Future - August 28, 2020

 Morning by Morning, August 28 - Learn from Our Past, Face Our Present, Press On to the Destiny of Our Future

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart so I can walk in Your steps and live in Your ways today. ...

 

"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind" (Philippians 3:10-15).

 

As we come to know You more, we come to know Your resurrection power more. In humility and faith, in the light of Your power and love, we don't have to hide our past, deny our failures, or try to cover up our mistakes -- whether as a person, as a people, or even as a nation. We can bring it all to the foot of the cross in confession and under the blood of Jesus in repentance (1 John 1:9). We can learn from our past, fearlessly face our present, and boldly press on to the destiny You've determined for our future with the hope You've sealed in our hearts.

 

When the Apostle Paul speaks of letting go of his past, "forgetting what lies behind" so he can devote his heart and focus "forward to what lies ahead," he's not denying his past. Like all of us, he had a past. And despite the good things of his past, his past was also full of the sins and failures of violence, racism, religious pride, persecution, injustice, oppression, cruelty, and even murder in the name of God (Acts 7:58; 8:1-3; 9:1-2; 22:3-4; 26:9-11). And at the same time, he didn't let his past define him or limit him or disqualify him from "the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" upon his life and destiny.

 

That's resurrection power! That's the power of the blood of Jesus to change our hearts and even the course of our lives, to set us free from the chains and shame of our past, so we can learn from our past and even let our past become our testimony to Your love and power and grace for us all!

 

It was true for Paul. It's true for every one of us. It's true for people; it's true for cities; it's true for nations.

 

When all nations are judged -- and all nations will be judged as either "sheep" or "goats" (Matthew 25:31-46) -- we want to be judged as "one nation under God" who has acknowledged and repented of the sins of the past and did not get stuck in the past, but chose to "press on" in her "heavenly call" in the mercy of God and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ! (Philippians 3:14)

 

Father, let me and my nation be found faithful, "forgetting what lies behind" because we've acknowledged it, repented of it, learned from it, and let it go, so that we can be about our Father's business, "straining forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13). 

 

We can't make any of that happen in our power or wisdom or goodness apart from You. Apart from You, we can do nothing (John 15:5). It's only by Your grace and mercy. And it's only available to those who earnestly seek "to know Christ and the power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). Lord, let it be so -- here in my heart and here in my nation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be set free from your past, letting the Lord redeem it all into a testimony of His resurrection power to fulfill the heavenly calling of God in your life and your nation, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

  

Healing Academy in Fredericksburg, Texas

Wow! What a powerful start to our Healing Academy at the Bride Church in Fredericksburg, Texas this week! Thank you for your prayers! Please keep us in prayer as Rocio and I travel to Fredericksburg, Texas each Tuesday night for the next several weeks teaching our Healing Academy. I'll be teaching from the principles of my book, 

Free to Be Like Jesus!

-Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance

   

Amazon.com/AuthorTommyHays

New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

August 27 - "Battleground States"

 Morning by Morning, August 27 - "Battleground States"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...

 

At election time, they talk about "battleground states" -- the places of the greatest battles because they're the most strategic battles that can decide the election. Each side devotes tremendous energy, attention, and resources to overcome the opposition and establish a position for victory. Victory in these battles prepares the way for victory in the war, so that the election is won. 

 

And our human soul is the greatest "battleground state" of all. This is where the strategic battles are fought and the wars are won.

 

In the words of the Apostle Peter: "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles (where you are passing through this world as strangers in a foreign land which is not your home) to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among (your neighbors), so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when He comes to judge (1 Peter 2:11-12).

 

And the words of the Apostle Paul: "I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me" (Romans 7:22-23 NLT). And this: "Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other" (Galatians 5:16-17).

 

How do we position ourselves for victory in the battleground state of our soul? As the Apostle found, when he humbly sought the answer to this battle in his own soul: "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25 NLT)

 

Come, Lord Jesus. Come by Your Holy Spirit -- "the Spirit of Christ" -- who comes to live and abide in our hearts to rule and to reign as Lord in our souls (Romans 8:9). The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, giving us life and victory in You (Romans 8:11).

 

In this battleground of my soul, my victory is won through my surrender to You. By the power of Your grace at work within me, "I die daily" to my flesh and surrender daily to Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:31). Day by day, battle by battle, my flesh is put to death and Your Spirit arises in new life in me. "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him" (Romans 6:8). 

 

I want to come to the place where I experience and proclaim Your victory in my soul: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!" (Galatians 2:20) That's the victory I seek and the victory I have in You! "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:57) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be victorious in the daily battleground of your soul, putting death the flesh and surrendering more and more of you to more and more of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ abiding in you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  

Healing Academy in Fredericksburg, Texas

Wow! What a powerful start to our Healing Academy at the Bride Church in Fredericksburg, Texas Tuesday Night! Thank you for your prayers! Please keep us in prayer as Rocio and I travel to Fredericksburg, Texas each Tuesday night for the next several weeks teaching our Healing Academy. I'll be teaching from the principles of my book, 

Free to Be Like Jesus!

-Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance

   

Amazon.com/AuthorTommyHays

New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Both Prophecy and Prayer. Both Trust and Obedience. Both Prayers and Action. - August 26, 2020

Morning by Morning, August 26 - Both Prophecy and Prayer. Both Trust and Obedience. Both Prayers and Action.

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. And with You in my heart, help me listen for what is on Your heart today. ...

 

"After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth'" (1 Kings 18:1). ... "Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.' So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.' He went up and looked, and said, 'There is nothing.' Then he said, 'Go again seven times.' At the seventh time he said, 'Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand is rising out of the sea.' Then he said, 'Go say to Ahab, 'Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain" (1 Kings 18:41-45).

 

You gave Elijah a prophetic word that the three years of drought were over, that it was time to rain again on the land. And he delivered that prophetic word to the king. But Elijah did not passively wait on Your prophetic word to be fulfilled. He prophesied and he also prayed. He prayed and he also acted.

 

He didn't say in his heart, "Well, God has spoken his word, so let's wait and see what happens." He didn't say in his heart, "If God wants it done, God will do it." No, he understood that in the sovereignty of God is also the invitation of God to join with the will of God by the Spirit of God to prophesy and to pray and to act.

 

In Your sovereignty, You've chosen to move on this earth through Your people. There are things You will not do unless we do our part. Like when Your Word says, "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). Like when Your Word says, "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's; but the earth He has given to the children of men" (Psalm 115:16). Like when Your Word says, "We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

 

So Elijah faithfully delivered the word of the Lord. And then he prayed for that word to come to pass. Then he acted in obedience to the leading of Your Spirit.

 

Elijah acted when he confronted the false gods of the land and the fire of God fell upon the altar he prepared (1 Kings 18:20-38). He acted when he confronted the false prophets of the land and put to death their idolatry, their blasphemy, and their rebellion against the one true God (1 Kings 18:40). He acted with courage instead of complacency, with determined action instead of spiritual passivity, when he both trusted and also obeyed. And he saw the hearts of the people turn back to God, so that You could pour out the rain of blessing upon their land again, as "they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord indeed is God! The Lord indeed is God!'" (1 Kings 18:39)

 

Elijah knew it was time for the rain, because You said it was time for the rain. He proclaimed Your prophetic word, but he also prayed Your word to come to pass. When he told Ahab that You said, "I will send rain on the earth," there were things that still had to be done (1 Kings 18:1). When he told Ahab to "Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain," there were still things that had to be prayed (1 Kings 18:41).

 

Before Elijah prayed, there was no sound of rushing rain. Before Elijah prayed, there was not even a cloud in the sky. Even though he has already prophesied the true word of the Lord, he still humbled himself to pray Your word to come to pass. And he didn't just pray once. It wasn't a "once and done" kind of prayer. He persisted in prayer. He persisted in fervent prayer (1 Kings 18:43). And then the clouds came. Then the sounds of the rushing rain came. Then the word of the Lord came to pass -- through prophecy, through prayer, through action! Through one who was willing to proclaim and to pray, to pray and to obey, to actively take his part in Your word coming to pass.

 

Father, we know it's Your will to heal our land. We know it's Your will to bring order and peace to our land, as we humble ourselves in prayer and repent of our sins and turn our hearts to You. You've spoken many prophetic words of harvest and revival to come, even when it's hard to see how it will come in the midst of all that's going on. But You've given us voices and votes. You've given us prophecies and the power of prayer. And You've given us the freedom to choose to be an active part in what You desire to in our world or sit back and see what our world will do to us.

 

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). As for me and my house, we will believe the prophetic word of the Lord, but we will also pray. We will pray, but we will also vote. By the power of Your grace, we will trust but we will also obey. We will not sit back in passivity but will speak up and step out in action. We will proclaim with authority and we will pray with humility, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). 

 

"The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest" (James 4:16-18).

 

Lord, let it rain! Lord, let the earth yield its harvest! As we seek Your heart and Your face, as we repent and pray, as we trust and obey, as we pray and proclaim, Your kingdom come! Your will be done! Here on earth, here in our hearts, here in our land, as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be bold with your voice and your votes and humble in your prayer, to both believe the prophetic word of the Lord and also pray it to come to pass, to both trust and also obey in taking action as the Holy Spirit leads according to the values and principles of God's Word, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

Healing Academy in Fredericksburg, Texas

Wow! What a powerful start to our Healing Academy at the Bride Church in Fredericksburg, Texas last night! Thank you for your prayers! Please keep us in prayer as Rocio and I travel to Fredericksburg, Texas each Tuesday night for the next several weeks teaching our Healing Academy. I'll be teaching from the principles of my book, 

Free to Be Like Jesus!

-Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance

   

Amazon.com/AuthorTommyHays

New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Preferring One Another to Love One Another - August 25, 2020

 Morning by Morning, August 25 - Preferring One Another to Love One Another

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and the forefront of my mind, as I begin my day seeking to follow You and be more like You today. ...

 

"We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. For Christ did not please Himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on Me.' For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glory the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:1-6).

 

Lord, show me where I think I'm strong but am really weak. Show me where I think I'm weak but am really strong. And all the while, show me how to take my eyes off of myself and lift them up to You. Then as I look to You, You'll show me how to see my neighbors around me and all in relationship with me with Your eyes, how to encourage them with Your words, how to love them with Your heart.

 

As we seek to do that for one another, each will be seen, each will be encouraged, each will be loved, as each one needs. Then we can "have hope" in the good things and certain promises You've set before us. Then we can "live in harmony with one another." Then "together (we) may with one voice glorify the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

This is one of the ways we're to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). This is one of the ways we're to "be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another" (Romans 12:10). This is one of the ways we're to "fulfill the royal law according the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (James 2:8). And this is one of the ways we're to "come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.... Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ ... as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:13-16).

 

In our human condition and daily journey of death to our flesh and life to our spirit, we desperately need You to show us Your boundaries and give us Your balance. You desire to set the boundaries for us in pleasant places and with the right spirit (Psalm 16:6). We need Your wisdom as much as we need Your love. So we ask for it, trusting the promise of Your Word to receive Your wisdom in the measure we need, as we humble ourselves to ask (James 1:5).

 

As I've heard one of my spiritual mentors speak many times, "Scripture tells us all to humble ourselves before the Lord, but never tells us to humble somebody else." True humility is one of the greatest indications of spiritual maturity. As we humble ourselves in Your sight, You will lift us up (James 4:10). As we humble ourselves in Your sight, we don't have to build ourselves up or pull anybody else down; You will build us up. And as we walk in humility with one another, bearing with one another, preferring one another, loving one another, seeking Your boundaries and right balance with one another, we will grow and mature with one another into "the measure of the full stature of Christ" we are called to be. As You are, so are we to be in our 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 be lifted up in God's love and grow in God's grace, as He gives you wisdom for good boundaries and love for good relationships, while you humble yourself in His sight to ask for His help, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  

    

Praise Report: Pakistan Skype Internet Ministry Yesterday!

Thank you for all your prayers and support! We're praising God for what He has done in our Pakistan Meeting and excited to share this Praise Report from Pastor Fazal who partners with us to set up these Outdoor Evangelistic Crusades in a different village every month through our Skype Internet Ministry: "Thanks very much to share Wonderful Message with people of Pakistan in Village. Thanks Lord 359 Souls are Saved and 18 People healed from different things! God Bless You More and More Pastor Tommy."

Praise God! Thank You Lord Jesus! Thank you for all your prayers for us and our ministry, my friend! God bless you!

Healing Academy in Fredericksburg, Texas

Please keep us in prayer as Rocio and I travel to Fredericksburg, Texas for a Tuesday Night Series the next several weeks teaching our Healing Academy at Bridge Church. I'll be teaching from the principles of my book

Free to Be Like Jesus!

-Transforming Power of Inner Healing & Deliverance

   

Amazon.com/AuthorTommyHays

New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

The Leprosy of Loneliness and the Disease of Distance - August 24, 2020

 Morning by Morning, August 24 - The Leprosy of Loneliness and the Disease of Distance

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust this day and my life into Your hands and Your will -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

 

I went into the grocery store this weekend and noticed the big sign on the door, "Face Mask Required." And of course, everyone was wearing their mask. But though we were all together in a crowded place, albeit six feet apart, it still felt really lonely. Gone were the warm smiles and welcoming greetings we're accustomed to in our part of the world, even among strangers. And it felt a little like we were all suffering from the leprosy of loneliness through this disease of distance.

 

The Scripture came to mind of the Old Testament leprosy laws: "The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp" (Leviticus 13:45-46).

 

Lord Jesus, we need You to come into our loneliness. We need You to heal our disease of distance. Connect us in love. Cure us with kindness. Cause our eyes to smile even when our mouths can't or at least can't be seen. Fill us afresh with a joy that can't be silenced and a hope that can't be suppressed.

 

And just as this disease and these masks seem to separate us from one another, there is no greater sickness or disease than the sin that separates us from You. There's no deeper loneliness than living a life apart from You -- for these few moments on earth and for every moment of our eternity.

 

Without You, we'll be forever "unclean." And without You, we'll be forever lonely. So even use all we're going through in our world to draw every soul who will respond into the embrace of Your love and the mercy of Your grace. You're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance by turning to You and receiving Your healing, saving love (2 Peter 3:9). "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" (John 3:16).

 

Give me eyes to see the unclean and the lonely around me today. With a smile in my heart, with the kindness of my eyes, with the power of a prayer or with the encouragement of a word, let another soul come to know You and Your love today. May they live out the rest of their lives on this earth and throughout all eternity with no leprosy of loneliness and no disease of distance between You and them, where no mask is required. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be filled with a joy that cannot be silence and a hope that cannot be suppressed, letting the kindness and love of the Lord flow through you -- wether through your prayers or in person -- to touch the life of someone who feels lonely or unclean today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

    

Pakistan Skype Ministry Today!

Today will be our Next Outdoor Evangelistic Crusade in Pakistan where we have seen hundreds saved by the Lord, with much healing and freedom, every month in our partnership with Pastor Fazal in a different village outreach each month through our Skype Internet Ministry. It will be morning for us and evening for them, after work. Please keep us in prayer an outpouring of God's Holy Spirit and Power and Love!

New Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays

Messiah Ministries

17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407

San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Messiah-Ministries.org

Please share this word to encourage a friend!