"One" with God? - September 8, 2020

Morning by Morning, September 8 - "One" with God?

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. I welcome You now to be One within me, in the mystery of faith and only by the grace of God. ...

 

"I ask not only behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one. 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 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 17:20-23).

 

We could spend a lifetime and maybe even all eternity seeking to understand the depths of the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as One God, in three Persons. And we could spend even longer than all eternity (if that were possible) seeking to understand the depths of how we become one with You through Christ. And yet, this is the Promise of the Word of God from the "red letter" words of this prayer of Jesus -- "As You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in Us.... I in them and You in Me."

 

Likewise, Your Word invites us to take hold of Your promise, "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). I think we can't even begin to fully grasp on this side of heaven just how deeply You desire that we become so intimately united as "one" with You -- heart to Heart, spirit to Spirit, from glory to glory. In the same way, I think we can't even begin to fully grasp Your goal of truly making us like You: "His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Thus He has given us, through these things, His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature" (1 Peter 1:3-4).

 

"Participants of the divine nature." Wow, if that were not the very Words of Scripture in the Bible itself, that would sound like blasphemy. How can we, being human, become "participants of the divine nature" with One who is holy Other and wholly Other? You'll always be our Creator and we'll always be Your created; and at the same time, You've created us for a level and depth of intimacy and unity in some dimension of our being it's hard for us to understand and embrace. ...

 

A Scripture that comes to mind for our journey of transformation into Christ-likeness is this: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:19-20).

"Crucified with Christ," I come alive in Christ. And alive in Christ, I become one with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. All this may be beyond our pay grade but it's not beyond the price You paid by Your grace for every one of us to experience:  "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).

 

Lord, let the eternity of seeking to comprehend "the immeasurable riches of (Your) grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" begin. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and this what we are.... 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. And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3).

 

 And even though I don't fully comprehend it, I'm choosing this day to embrace it -- to embrace You, to be united to You, to become one with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. It's all by Your grace and only by Your grace, the grace we have as the gift of God by all You've done for us and all You're doing within us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you become more like Jesus each day, crucified with Christ and alive in Christ, to be united to the Lord and one spirit with Him, by the power of God's grace at work within you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!           

  

Thursday Night, October 1st. Save the Date! 

I'm excited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Central Texas Area Aglow Meetingat the Kendall Inn of Boerne, Texas next to Peggys-on-the-Green. My wife Rocio and I will be ministering the healing love of God after the message, in a deep atmosphere of worship and prayer. Come join us at 7:00 pm and spread the word! More details to follow.

Healing Academy Tonight at The Bridge Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. Friends, please keep us in prayer as Rocio and I continue our ministry on Tuesday Nights, teaching and equipping for healing prayer ministry. May we learn and also experience the power of God's love tonight. Praying the same for you! Let us know if you'd like us to come to your church or community, as we start to make travel plans again!

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!

More Like Jesus Each Day - September 7, 2020

 Morning by Morning, September 7 - More Like Jesus Each Day

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart -- Hand to hand, Heart to heart, Spirit to spirit -- as You lead me in the way that leads to life in You today. ...

 

"Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.... But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you" (Romans 8:5-11).

 

To "set (my) mind on the things of the Spirit" is to entrust my mind to Your Mind, my thoughts to Your Thoughts, my will to Your Will, my spirit to Your Spirit. I decrease, as You increase. I surrender more of me to more of You. I yield more of my ways, so I can walk more faithfully in Your ways. More of my flesh is put to death, so more of Your Spirit can live in me.

 

It's a daily journey. It's a moment by moment choice. "So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:12-14).

 

I'm a child of God, being led by the Spirit of God. I'm a beloved son on the journey of being conformed into the image of the Son of God -- more every day, as I set my mind on You and yield my spirit to Yours (Romans 8:29). And You've given me Your Spirit -- the Holy Spirit, "the Spirit of Christ," the "Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead" -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- to do this in me as I surrender to You. All of me yielding to all of You. And it's Your very Spirit, abiding in me, living in me, fully alive within me, who bears witness with my spirit that I am Your child and I'm on this journey (Romans 8:15-17).

 

Thank You, Lord. Lord, have Your way in me today -- and every day. "We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.... Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness...." (Romans 8:23-26). Help me, Holy Spirit of the Living God --"Spirit of Christ" at work within me -- on my life-long journey to become more like Jesus, morning by morning, day by day, moment by moment. 

 

As I set my mind on the things of the Spirit, "looking to Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2), You'll be changing me into Your image "from glory to glory" by Your Spirit, alive and at work within me (2 Corinthians 3:18). "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). As You are, so am I to be (1 John 4:17). 

 

Lord Jesus, make me more like You each day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be led by the Spirit of God as a child of God, looking to Jesus and allowing His Spirit to make you more like Him each day, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!           

  

Thursday Night, October 1st. Save the Date! 

I'm excited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Central Texas Area Aglow Meeting at the Kendall Inn of Boerne, Texas next to Peggys-on-the-Green. My wife Rocio and I will be ministering the healing love of God after the message, in a deep atmosphere of worship and prayer. Come join us at 7:00 pm and spread the word! More details to follow.

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!

Pursuing the Lord "Face to Face" - September 4, 2020

 Morning by Morning, September 4 - Pursuing the Lord "Face to Face"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In worship and prayer, I wait you're your leading as I seek Your face and listen for Your voice -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ...

 

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

 

I look forward to the day when I will see You "face to face." Not just a fleeting glimpse, not just a reflection in the corner of my eye, not just an indirect glance as though looking through a dark mirror dimly, but "face to face." My eyes looking directly into Your eyes and Your eyes looking directly into mine. My heart completely unveiled to Your heart and Your heart completely unveiled to mine. Nothing between us, nothing of the sin or shame, the fears or failures, the doubt or unbelief -- but fully present in Your presence. "Face to face."

 

That day will come. "Se we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord -- for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:6-10).

 

But before that day comes, You've given us Your Spirit, who moves in our hearts to long for a deeper, more intimate experience of Your presence now. "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:5). Your Holy Spirit stirs in our human spirits with a longing, yearning hunger for more, "longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling" as we're longing to encounter Your heavenly embrace.

 

You've created us to seek You, to pursue You, to be willing to settle for nothing less than You drawing us near to experience You as closely as we possibly can in the place we are in our hearts. Moses did. "The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend" (Exodus 33:11). Abraham did. "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, 'I am God Almighty, walk before Me, and be blameless" (Genesis 17:1). Jacob did, even as he sought to wrestle You until You blessed him, saying, "I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30). Doubting Thomas did, as You changed his doubts into faith in his deeply personal encounter when he cried out the highest declaration of Your Deity in all the Scripture, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Paul did, when You confronted his hardened heart to forever change his life on his Road to Damascus experience (Acts 9:5).

 

You've put it in our hearts to pursue You and seek You, even to seek Your face, even knowing "No man can see (God) and live" (Exodus 33:2). There's something in us that must die, for us to see You. And there's something You're speaking to us about pursing Your presence when You say, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). "Who will ascend the hill of the Lord? And who will stand in His holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts.... They will receive blessing from the Lord.... Such is the company of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 24:3-6).

 

I don't yet understand how it all fits together -- how I'm stirred to seek Your face and pursue Your presence, as those before me have, while yet no one can see God and live. Right now, on the one hand, I can only know in part (1 Corinthian 13:9) and "see in a mirror, dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12). But on the other hand, at the same time, I'm moved to passionately pursue You as deeply, as personally, as intimately as I can on this side of heaven, as with the heart of David: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple... I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:4-13). By the grace of God, I will settle for nothing less. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you settle for nothing less in your passionately pursuit of the Lord than the most intimate encounter you can have with Him on this side of heaven, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!           

  

Thursday Night, October 1st. Save the Date! 

I'm excited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Central Texas Area Aglow Meeting at the Kendall Inn of Boerne, Texas next to Peggys-on-the-Green. My wife Rocio and I will be ministering the healing love of God after the message, in a deep atmosphere of worship and prayer. Come join us at 7:00 pm and spread the word! More details to follow.

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!

"Take Root, Take Hold, and Don't Let Go!" - September 3, 2020

 Morning by Morning, September 3 - "Take Root, Take Hold, and Don't Let Go!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, come rule and reign in my heart and my day. ...

 

I hear in my heart this morning: "Take root, take hold, and don't let go!" ...

 

Yes, Lord. Now this Word comes to mind, as Your Holy Spirit keeps speaking to my heart:

 

"(Jesus) began to teach them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them: 'Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.' And He said, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'" (Mark 4:1-9)

 

Those with no depth of soil, that have no root, will wither away. Those who "refuse to love the truth and so be saved" will not be able to withstand the days of "rebellion" and "lawlessness" before "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gather together to Him."

 

As Your Word warns us to prepare us: "As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first ("a falling away" KJV) and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction ("the son of perdition" KJV). He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And you know what is restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his times come. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, and lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10).

 

Holy Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Do Your deep work within me. Make my heart good soil -- broken up of pride, weeded out of sin, and ready to receive the penetrating, uncompromising truth of the Word of God to go deep and take root. Deeper still, more every day. Let It grow and take hold. And empower me to never let go.

 

Through the withering winds of lawlessness in our world, through the scorching sun of the spirit of rebellion seeking to harden our hearts and weaken our faith, give us the grace and power of Your Spirit for Your Word to take root, to take hold, that we may never let go. Instead, may we even grow and increase in these days of the great harvest at hand, to yield even "thirty and sixty and a hundredfold" -- deeply "rooted and grounded" in Your Word and in Your love, that You may produce through us exceedingly, abundantly far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:14-21). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you let the Word of God by the Spirit of God go deep into the good soil He has prepared in your heart, that you may withstand and increase through these days of both great challenge and great harvest at hand, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

              

Thursday Night, October 1st. Save the Date! 

I'm excited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Hill Country Aglow Meeting at the Kendall Inn of Boerne, Texas next to Peggys-on-the-Green. My wife Rocio and I will be ministering the healing love of God after the message, in a deep atmosphere of worship and prayer. Come join us at 7:00 pm and spread the word! More details to follow.

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!

No More Sorrow, No More Pain! - September 2, 2020

 Morning by Morning, September 2 - No More Sorrow, No More Pain!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the heart and center of all I am and all I do today. ...

 

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them; He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away'" (Revelation 21:1-4).

 

One day to come, we'll dwell in the holy city of our God, in the eternal presence of our God, when all things are made new. No more sorrow, no more pain. The Bridegroom and the bride, our God and Your people -- at home and at peace, at last. O glorious day!

 

But even now, even in this world where we live out our days before that glorious day to come, heaven breaks into the earth and into our hearts, in foretastes and measures, as we turn to You in worship and prayer, with expectant faith. When we pray as You taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," it's our invitation to You for the glory of heaven to come shining into our lives -- like the first rays of dawn before the full rising of the morning sun.

 

When we woke up this morning (in a cozy little cottage some kind, new friends offered for the night while we're ministering out of town), my wife Rocio noticed her back pain was still gone! In a deep atmosphere of healing worship, deeply embracing the presence of the Lord last night at the healing academy we're teaching in Fredericksburg, we were all praying for freedom and healing from pain. With several others, Rocio noticed her pain was gone! But she wanted to "check it out" to see if it was still gone this morning. And it was! Praise God!

 

Thank You, Lord Jesus! You are our Healer! And we thank You for these times when we get to experience of foretaste of the coming of the kingdom of God -- here on earth, here in our hearts, even here in our bodies and places of pain and sorrow. Even these days can be glorious days, when we great each day with expectant faith and worshipping hearts!

 

All will not be healed and freed until You return in the fullness of the consummation of Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. All the tears will not be wiped away and all the mourning and crying and pain will not fully pass from every heartbreak in our broken and fallen world, until that glorious day of "a new heaven and new earth." But right now, we can celebrate all You are doing and every way the light of the dawn of that glorious day to come is already breaking into our lives and our world.

 

So we just cry out to You, "More, Lord! More of You! More of Your presence! More of Your power! More of Your glory breaking in and shining through our lives! Your kingdom come! Your will be done! Here on earth, as it is in heaven! (Matthew 6:10) May the knowledge of the glory of the Lord cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea! (Habakkuk 2:14) In Jesus' name I pray! Amen.

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

My friend, may you experience the kingdom of God breaking into your heart and your life, like the rays of the dawn of the coming glorious day of the Lord, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

             

Healing Academy Last Night.

Friends, thank you so much for your prayers for Rocio and I ministering in Fredericksburg, Texas last night, teaching our Healing Academy at the Bridge Church. We experienced deep healing worship and a beautiful and powerful presence of the Lord! I pray those encounters for you!

I'm teaching from the Biblical principles on healing prayer from 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!