Monday, November 27, 2023

Embracing a Life of Love--Drawing Near to God as He Draws Near to Us - November 27, 2023

 

Morning by Morning, November 27 - Embracing a Life of Love--Drawing Near to God as He Draws Near to Us

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I draw near to You, in prayer and worship, in spirit and truth, and welcome You to draw near to me--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

 

Though You take the initiative in our creation and our salvation, You also offer Your invitation for us to willingly choose to draw near to You in spiritual intimacy with a trusting heart. And even then, You take the initiative to give us the grace for that to be our desire and to make that choice, as Your Word says, “He gives more grace” (James 4:6).

 

Thank You for the grace to draw near. Thank You for Your love that desires for me to draw near, along with every son and daughter of God. For You are Love; and You have created us for a relationship of love, founded in trust and growing in intimacy.

 

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

 

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:7-9).

 

Our life of love--living in You and You living in us--begins with You and Your love for us. And our life of love continues as we keep willingly choosing by the grace You give to keep drawing near to You--in the increasing depths of our hearts and throughout the moments of our days.

 

“Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.... By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.... And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:10-16).

 

So by the power of Your grace at work within me, I willingly choose to draw near to You today--beginning now in these first moments of my morning and throughout the moments of my day in this life of love You’ve prepared for me and daily set before me. Keep me aware of Your abiding Presence, here within me and all around me, “with (me) always,” just as You promised and just as You desire to do (Matthew 28:20). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you keep drawing near to God by the moving and power of His grace within you in this life of love He sets before you every day, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Mailing Address:

412 S. Adams Street #148

Fredericksburg, Texas 78624


Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free at:

https://messiah-ministries.org


My Books on Inner Healing, Spiritual Freedom and Spiritual Intimacy with God are Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Setting hearts free to be all they were created to be

--Free to Be Like Jesus--

secure in their identity, growing in maturity, fulfilling their destiny"

Please Keep us in Prayer for These

Messiah Ministries Events


December 3

Speaking at a Tamale Making Fellowship Gathering in San Antonio, Texas with my wife Rocio's Handmade Tamales!


December 6 - New Wine Worship!

7PM at The Gateway Gathering Venue on Luckenbach Road in Fredericksburg, Texas. First Wednesday of the Month. All are Welcome! https://www.gatewayfbgtx.com


January 13, 2024

Speaking at Canyon Lake, Texas Aglow Ministries Gathering


January 20, 2024

Speaking at Bastrop, Texas Aglow Ministries Lighthouse


January 22-30, 2024

Ministry in Morelia, Mexico with our Ministry Partner there, Pastor Fernando Tovar at Rey de Reyes Iglesia Christiana and Morelia House of Prayer


February 2024

Ministry in Bangalore, India with Rev. Samuel and Pastor Pramila Jeyaraj at Jubilee Revival Worship Center


March 8-10

Leading a Free to Be Like Jesus Conference at the House of Prayer in Montpelier, Ohio


Contact Me for a Conference or Retreat in Your Church or Community: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


March 2024

Planning a ministry trip in person to Pakistan with our ministry partners there. Please pray about contributing this amazing ministry opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Pakistan!


Tuesday Nights at 6PM

Teaching our 9 Month Equipping Course on Tuesday Nights at 6PM at The Bridge Church, Fredericksburg, Texas based on my books Free to Be Like Jesus! and First the Spirit.

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Wednesday Mornings

Joining with MorningStar Ministries to Lead Online Restoration Ministry Sessions for Online Connect Groups from around the world.

 

Personal Ministry Appointments

Spiritual Direction Sessions and Personal Prayer Ministry Sessions of Inner Healing & Spiritual Freedom by Appointment and as the Holy Spirit leads. Please keep us in prayer for spiritual breakthrough and transformation! Let us know if you'd like to set up a session: 

tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

 

Sessions are without cost and all contributions help support the calling and vision of Messiah Ministries.

https://messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Free On-line Video Series: Setting Hearts Free!

My Core Teaching and Ministry

https://messiah-ministries.org/resources

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays

Friday, November 24, 2023

“Looking Up in a World Lashing Out” - November 24, 2024

 

Morning by Morning, November 24 - “Looking Up in a World Lashing Out”

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I seek to begin my day centered in You, grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit, I look and listen with the eyes and ears of my spirit, waiting for Your leading--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

 

While I’m waiting, I hear these words in my spirit, rising up to my mind: “Keep looking up in a world lashing out.” ...

 

And this Word from Your Scripture immediately comes to mind:

 

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2)

 

We’re living in a world deeply divided opinions, coming from deeply divided perspectives, that keeps deeply dividing us from one another. And not only that, also lashing out at one another--even among family and friends, even among spiritual families and “Facebook friends”--not to mention among religious divides, political divides, and cultural divides.

 

It's hard to hold your peace. It’s hard to know when to be silent, when to speak, when to pick your battles or when to just step back and walk away. It’s hard to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), hard to turn the other check (Matthew 5:39), hard to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), and hard to trust that love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), even as we fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12).

 

So You speak to our hearts to keep looking up. You remind us to keep seeking Your heart, letting You put Your thoughts in our minds and Your desires in our hearts. You encourage us to let Your Spirit put Your words in our mouths, to show us what to say and when to say it or what not to say and when not to say it (Luke 12:12)--not some organization’s talking points coming from the spirit of the world instead of the Spirit of God (James 3:15). “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

 

By the power of Your grace, keep my heart looking up to You, even if someone is lashing out at me or at the things I believe or at the One in whom I trust. By Your Spirit--not by my own power or might--I choose to keeping looking up and to keep from lashing out (Zechariah 4:6). “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you keep looking up to the One you can trust, even in a world that's lashing out, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Mailing Address:

412 S. Adams Street #148

Fredericksburg, Texas 78624


Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free at:

https://messiah-ministries.org


My Books on Inner Healing, Spiritual Freedom and Spiritual Intimacy with God are Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Setting hearts free to be all they were created to be

--Free to Be Like Jesus--

secure in their identity, growing in maturity, fulfilling their destiny"

Please Keep us in Prayer for These

Messiah Ministries Events


December 1-2 Postponing Men's Retreat


December 3

Speaking at a Tamale Making Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas with my wife Rocio's Handmade Tamales!


December 6 - New Wine Worship!

7PM at The Gateway Gathering Venue on Luckenbach Road in Fredericksburg, Texas. First Wednesday of the Month. All are Welcome! https://www.gatewayfbgtx.com


January 13, 2024

Speaking at Canyon Lake, Texas Aglow Ministries Gathering


January 20, 2024

Speaking at Bastrop, Texas Aglow Ministries Lighthouse


January 22-30, 2024

Ministry in Morelia, Mexico with our Ministry Partner there, Pastor Fernando Tovar at Rey de Reyes Iglesia Christiana and Morelia House of Prayer


February 2024

Ministry in Bangalore, India with Rev. Samuel and Pastor Pramila Jeyaraj at Jubilee Revival Worship Center


March 8-10

Leading a Free to Be Like Jesus Conference at the House of Prayer in Montpelier, Ohio


Contact Me for a Conference or Retreat in Your Church or Community: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


March 2024

Planning a ministry trip in person to Pakistan with our ministry partners there. Please pray about contributing this amazing ministry opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Pakistan!


Tuesday Nights at 6PM

Teaching our 9 Month Equipping Course on Tuesday Nights at 6PM at The Bridge Church, Fredericksburg, Texas based on my books Free to Be Like Jesus! and First the Spirit.

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Wednesday Mornings

Joining with MorningStar Ministries to Lead Online Restoration Ministry Sessions for Online Connect Groups from around the world.

 

Personal Ministry Appointments

Spiritual Direction Sessions and Personal Prayer Ministry Sessions of Inner Healing & Spiritual Freedom by Appointment and as the Holy Spirit leads. Please keep us in prayer for spiritual breakthrough and transformation! Let us know if you'd like to set up a session: 

tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

 

Sessions are without cost and all contributions help support the calling and vision of Messiah Ministries.

https://messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Free On-line Video Series: Setting Hearts Free!

My Core Teaching and Ministry

https://messiah-ministries.org/resources

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

“Flourishing Finish” with Thanksgiving and Joy - November 22, 2023

 

Morning by Morning, November 22 - “Flourishing Finish” with Thanksgiving and Joy

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for Your Presence here in my heart, as I abide in You and You abide in me (John 15:4). ...

 

We returned home last night from our two weeks of ministry through Spain and Belgium, sharing the love of God in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. We loved the people we met and ministered to all along the way, seeing You continue Your ministry of healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free -- Free to Be Like Jesus in spirit, soul, and body -- seeing You set Your people free to be all that would hold them back from being all they were created to be in You (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-3; John 8:36; John 20:21; 1 John 4:17).

 

And between this first day home and the next day tomorrow when we celebrate the Day of Thanksgiving, my heart is full of thanksgiving for who You are and all You’ve done and all You’ll continue to do. I thank You for every seed of You’ve sown of Your words of spirit and life and truth. I thank You for every heart You’ve healed and life You’ve changed in Your power and love.

 

I’m always amazed by the grace You give for hearts to be so open to You and so trusting of us to minister Your love to them. And now, as we continue to entrust and release every person and the work of Your ministry to You -- into Your care and into Your hands -- I’m reminded this morning of the heart of the Apostle Paul whose heart was filled with peace and hope and trust in all You would bring to fulfillment in Your perfect time and Your perfect way:

 

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:3-6).

 

Yes, Lord. You’ll be faithful to complete it. Every word You’ve sown, every word You’ve sent forth in the authority of Your name and power of Your love, will not return empty, but will fully accomplish all You intend:

 

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

 

I love the way The Message version describes Paul’s heart of thanksgiving to You for Your ministry and for all those who joined with Timothy and him through all their prayers and encouragement. I join with him in Spirit in expressing that same heart today:

 

“Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the followers of Jesus in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.

 

“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears!” (Philippians 1:1-6 The Message).

 

With thanksgiving and joy, I thank You with a glad heart, knowing Your “flourishing finish” is sure to come from all You have done! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My Friend, may you be filled with thanksgiving and joy, trusting in God to be faithful to bring to completion all the good work He has done in you and through you, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Mailing Address:

412 S. Adams Street #148

Fredericksburg, Texas 78624


Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free at:

https://messiah-ministries.org


My Books on Inner Healing, Spiritual Freedom and Spiritual Intimacy with God are Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Setting hearts free to be all they were created to be

--Free to Be Like Jesus--

secure in their identity, growing in maturity, fulfilling their destiny"

Please Keep us in Prayer for These

Messiah Ministries Events


November 4-21 - Thank you for all Your prayers for us on our Ministry Trip through Spain and Belgium! We are thrilled for all the Divine Appointments and Relationships Established!

Inner Healing and Spiritual Freedom Encounter Sessions at Churches in Spain and Belgium, and ministry along the way. Teaching and Ministering based upon the Spiritual Principles of my book Free to Be Like Jesus!

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


December 1-2 Postponing Men's Retreat


December 6 - New Wine Worship!

7PM at The Gateway Gathering Venue on Luckenbach Road in Fredericksburg, Texas


January 13, 2024

Speaking at Canyon Lake, Texas Aglow Ministries Gathering


January 20, 2024

Speaking at Bastrop, Texas Aglow Ministries Lighthouse


January 22-30, 2024

Ministry in Morelia, Mexico with our Ministry Partner there, Pastor Fernando Tovar at Rey de Reyes Iglesia Christiana


February 2024

Ministry in Bangalore, India with Rev. Samuel and Pastor Pramila Jeyaraj at Jubilee Revival Worship Center


March 8-10

Leading a Free to Be Like Jesus Conference at the House of Prayer in Montpelier, Ohio


Contact Me for a Conference or Retreat in Your Church or Community: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


March 2024

Planning a ministry trip in person to Pakistan with our ministry partners there. Please pray about contributing this amazing ministry opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Pakistan!


Tuesday Nights at 6PM

Teaching our 9 Month Equipping Course on Tuesday Nights at 6PM at The Bridge Church, Fredericksburg, Texas based on my books Free to Be Like Jesus! and First the Spirit.

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Wednesday Mornings

Joining with MorningStar Ministries to Lead Online Restoration Ministry Sessions for Online Connect Groups from around the world.

 

Personal Ministry Appointments

Spiritual Direction Sessions and Personal Prayer Ministry Sessions of Inner Healing & Spiritual Freedom by Appointment and as the Holy Spirit leads. Please keep us in prayer for spiritual breakthrough and transformation! Let us know if you'd like to set up a session: 

tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

 

Sessions are without cost and all contributions help support the calling and vision of Messiah Ministries.

https://messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Free On-line Video Series: Setting Hearts Free!

My Core Teaching and Ministry

https://messiah-ministries.org/resources

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays

Monday, November 20, 2023

The Cultures of the Kingdom - November 20, 2023

 

Morning by Morning, November 20 - The Cultures of the Kingdom

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart in the middle of every moment of my day. ...

 

“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:

 

“You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:8-10).

 

In “every tribe and tongue and people and nation” of our world, You’ve called out Your people and positioned them in their identity in Christ as “kings and priests to our God.” They are “kings” who rule and reign in the spheres of influence You’ve entrusted to them and “priests” who minister to You and minister Your heart to the people. And You’ve not left Yourself without a witness of Your heart and Your Presence in any land (Acts 14:17).

 

In the mystery of faith and the moving of Your grace, the King of the Kingdom of God dwells in us--“Christ in (us), the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27); the Spirit of the Living God, living in us (Romans 8:9). That’s one of the ways, as well as many others, that the domain of Your Kingdom extends to the ends of the earth in every tribe and tongue and people and nation, for by Your grace we are “the body of Christ” in our world (1 Corinthians 12:27).

 

We’re seeing such a vivid representation of the multifaceted cultures of Your Kingdom during our ministry in Europe these past two weeks. In Spain, You brought the nations to us, as we ministered in personal ministry sessions for people from Spain, Portugal, Columbia, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexico, Gibraltar, and Brazil. On Saturday night we prayed in the home of an African pastor from Barundi leading a French-speaking church in Belgium. And Sunday morning, we were preaching and ministering in a French-speaking church lead by an Italian pastor here in Belgium.

 

Despite where we were born or where we live, in the culture of Your Kingdom, there is One King in our hearts. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Though we are many and multifaceted, we are one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, for “there is one body and one Spirit” (v. 4). Though we speak many languages of many tongues, we speak with voice, “that together (we) may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6).

 

Thank You for the gift of this culture of the Kingdom. Thank You for giving us this opportunity to experience Your Kingdom and express Your Kingdom in the nations of our world. “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come!” (Matthew 24:14) And may You give us Your grace to return and reacclimate to our own culture, as we go back home tomorrow carrying the people of this culture in our hearts as we go. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


Be encouraged today. In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you be filled up and overflowing with the culture of the Kingdom of God everywhere you are and everywhere the Lord sends you, in Jesus' name. God bless you, my friend! And you have a great day!


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Mailing Address:

412 S. Adams Street #148

Fredericksburg, Texas 78624


Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Anyone can sign up for free at:

https://messiah-ministries.org


My Books on Inner Healing, Spiritual Freedom and Spiritual Intimacy with God are Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Setting hearts free to be all they were created to be

--Free to Be Like Jesus--

secure in their identity, growing in maturity, fulfilling their destiny"

Please Keep us in Prayer for These

Messiah Ministries Events


November 4-21 - Thank you for all Your prayers for us on our Ministry Trip in Belguim this Week!

Ministry in Spain and Belgium. Inner Healing and Spiritual Freedom Encounter Sessions at Churches in Spain and Belgium, and ministry along the way. Teaching and Ministering based upon the Spiritual Principles of my book Free to Be Like Jesus!

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


December 1-2

Speaking at our Sons of Thunder Mens' Retreat at the Opry House at Mountain Home, Texas in the Hill Country just North of Kerrville.

https://sons-of-thunder.com


December 6 - New Wine Worship!

7PM at The Gateway Gathering Venue on Luckenbach Road in Fredericksburg, Texas


January 13, 2024

Speaking at Canyon Lake, Texas Aglow Ministries Gathering


January 20, 2024

Speaking at Bastrop, Texas Aglow Ministries Lighthouse


January 22-30, 2024

Ministry in Morelia, Mexico with our Ministry Partner there, Pastor Fernando Tovar at Rey de Reyes Iglesia Christiana


February 2024

Ministry in Bangalore, India with Rev. Samuel and Pastor Pramila Jeyaraj at Jubilee Revival Worship Center


March 8-10

Leading a Free to Be Like Jesus Conference at the House of Prayer in Montpelier, Ohio


Contact Me for a Conference or Retreat in Your Church or Community: tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org


March 2024

Planning a ministry trip in person to Pakistan with our ministry partners there. Please pray about contributing this amazing ministry opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Pakistan!


Tuesday Nights at 6PM

Teaching our 9 Month Equipping Course on Tuesday Nights at 6PM at The Bridge Church, Fredericksburg, Texas based on my books Free to Be Like Jesus! and First the Spirit.

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays


Wednesday Mornings

Joining with MorningStar Ministries to Lead Online Restoration Ministry Sessions for Online Connect Groups from around the world.

 

Personal Ministry Appointments

Spiritual Direction Sessions and Personal Prayer Ministry Sessions of Inner Healing & Spiritual Freedom by Appointment and as the Holy Spirit leads. Please keep us in prayer for spiritual breakthrough and transformation! Let us know if you'd like to set up a session: 

tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org

 

Sessions are without cost and all contributions help support the calling and vision of Messiah Ministries.

https://messiah-ministries.org/partner/contribute

Free On-line Video Series: Setting Hearts Free!

My Core Teaching and Ministry

https://messiah-ministries.org/resources

https://www.amazon.com/author/tommyhays