More Than Words Can Say 1-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I thank You for the grace and mercy through the blood of Your sacrifice that allows me to come into Your presence in the communion of prayer, despite all the sinful things of my past. Let me never take that for granted. ... "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, by now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" (1 Peter 2:24-25). For some reason, I remembered some of those sinful things of my past in a restless night last night, and for a moment I started to linger on regret. But then, You moved in my heart to get up early and come spend some time with You in prayer. Little by little, You have been lifting from me the thoughts of regret and shame, and somehow in Your grace and Your power, You are bringing me a sense of peace and actually a measure of joy -- joy to know the depths of Your mercy and forgiveness and love. Not joy that I sinned, but joy that even though I sinned, You wanted to forgive me when Your love convicted me, and You wanted me to receive the fullness of Your forgiveness. You gave me the choice to receive it or not. And through the years, You have taught me how to receive it with a thankful and grateful heart. You have taught me how much it breaks Your heart in the times when I don't. This is the freedom You sacrificed so much -- more than words can say -- for me to have. You can’t get that in a book or a bar, not anywhere in the world, not even in a church, unless you get that in your heart. Thank You, Lord, for getting that in my heart. Thank You, Lord, for reminding me of Your mercy, as You welcome me into Your presence again today, forgiven and free. ... I can’t really put this into words. It seems like more than words can say. So I won’t try. I’ll just sit here for a while and receive Your undeserved mercy and Your unbelievable love. ... In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Renewed and Restored 1-13-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I embrace Your purpose and plan for my life this day. ... "For surely you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:21-24). At home, I have an old, handmade rocking chair where I come to meet You morning by morning in the communion of prayer. It used to be painted white when was sitting in the living from of dear friends, Greg and Connie. Greg was one of the pastors at our home church before You called them to ministry in Cambodia last year. Before they left, they gave away most of what they owned. This old rocker seemed to fit me just right, so its where I always sat when we went to their home. A few days before they left for Cambodia, they brought it over and gave it to me. But it wasn’t painted white anymore. Greg had stripped away all the layers of paint, sanded it down, varnished it, and restored it to its natural beauty of solid oak. Connie said it took Greg a long time, especially sanding away all the tight places around the carved spindles on the back. But he said it was a labor of love and we were all thrilled to see what beauty was hidden beneath all that paint. What a gift! Thank You, Lord, for Your labor of love. It hurts at times, as You strip away all the layers of the old self that people have put on us and we have received onto ourselves -- our pride and ego, our insecurities and fears, and all the other ways we've allowed ourselves to become somebody different than who we really are inside. But in Your patience and love, You take time with us, even in the places where we make it the hardest to reach. You renew us and restore us into the true self You created us to be -- according to Your likeness, but in a uniqueness of beauty made by Your hands, like no one else in the world. What a gift! In Jesus' name, I pray. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Where Righteousness is at Home" 1-12-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for the gift of Your constant presence. ... "But, in accordance with His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by Him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our brother Paul wrote to You according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters" (2 Peter 3:13-16). This week, You have called me to get away from my daily duties and write down some spiritual principles and stories of Your healing love in the lives You have touched through our ministry. May all that I write be according the wisdom You have given me. As I write, I continue to see how every story of Your healing and deliverance in someone's life, including my own, is a story of striving to be found by You at peace, without spot or blemish. Healing is wholeness, and wholeness becomes the holiness of heart and life in our spirit and soul and body, where righteousness is at home (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This is the experience of the kingdom of God in our hearts and souls being manifested in our bodies and relationships. This the fullness of our salvation in You, as we watch and wait for the fullness of Your kingdom to be established here on earth as it is in heaven. Continue to teach me Your Word and Your ways, that I may continue to live and serve others in Your healing love and power, according to the wisdom You give me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please cover me in your prayers to hear and write as the Lord leads these principles of inner healing and deliverance through the process of sanctification of spirit, soul, and body. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our Website: http://messiah-ministries.org Our address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Available to You Today 1-11-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Like the old hymn says, "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long." Let the story of my life today be a song of praise to You. Let me begin this day well, that I may finish it well -- walking with You all the day long. ... Some old friends invited me to have lunch at their cafe up on the mountain in Alto, New Mexico yesterday. They probably have the best chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy anywhere outside of Texas. Pete and Cheryl are the real thing. You've taken the pain and struggles of their past, cleansed it all in Your blood, and given them a joy to share Your love and grace with everybody who wanders in to their cafe. On Thursday nights they serve a free meal and a message of hope to anybody who will come eat and listen. And many do. Sitting at the counter, Pete was telling me how they try to start every day saying, "I'm available to You today, Lord. Use me however You see fit." He said it's a really dangerous prayer, because that's just what happens. How thrilling it was to hear some of the stories of salvation and deliverance since the last time I saw them, as You answered their prayers. What an adventure to just give every day to You and see what You do with it! Lord, give me the courage and grace to be available to You every day. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I belong to You, Lord. May the story of my life today glorify You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." www.messiah-ministries.org Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Sing to God" 1-10-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the song in my heart and the joy in my spirit. ... "Sing to God, sing praises to His name; lift up a song to Him who rides upon the clouds -- His name is the Lord -- be exultant before Him!" (Psalm 68:4). My grandfather Hays -- we call him PaPa -- will turn ninety-seven this week. It's been good to see him on my trip out west. We've been very concerned about him since he almost died last summer from continual bouts with pneumonia. Amazingly, he has adjusted to receiving his meals through a tube by a hole in his belly going directly into his stomach. He's not very active any more, spending most of his time sitting in his recliner; but he still desires to live every day, one day at a time. I think he has it in his mind that he wants to live to be one hundred. He used to lead the singing in the little country church near their farm in west Texas, back in the days when "worship leader" mostly meant that you sang a little louder from your hymn book than everybody else. He can't hear very well or talk very well these days, but I bought him some headphones and a CD player, with some old gospel songs I knew he had sung a million times. When I left him yesterday morning, he had a broad smile across his face, with the volume turned up on his headphones about as high as it goes, waiving his arms in the air like a music conductor. We could barely hear, but we could make out the song of praise being released from his heart -- "This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the day long..." Thank you, Lord. There is no telling what happens in the spiritual realm when a ninety-six year old man, barely alive on a feeding tube, is still singing praises to Your name. Heaven must rejoice and hell must tremble as they behold the sight of a frail human still praising You to the end of our final breaths. Like PaPa, give me the grace to never take the gift of my breath and the songs of the Lord in my heart for granted. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I will be at my mom's in the New Mexico mountains this week working on a book on prayer ministry. I would appreciate your prayers. God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com; website: www.messiah-ministries.org

"A Lamp to My Feet" 1-9-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Saturate my mind in Your Word and fill my heart with Your Spirit, as I narrow my thoughts upon You alone. ... "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). Let Your Word become the way that I think, let it be the guide for the choices I make in the twists and forks in the paths before me. Let Your Holy Spirit bring it to life with wisdom and understanding, with discernment and truth. I pray for the "spirit of wisdom and revelation" that comes from knowing You, spending time with You, and listening to You as Your Spirit reveals Your Word. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"A Lamp to My Feet" 1-9-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Saturate my mind in Your Word and fill my heart with Your Spirit, as I narrow my thoughts upon You alone. ... "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). Let Your Word become the way that I think, let it be the guide for the choices I make in the twists and forks in the paths before me. Let Your Holy Spirit bring it to life with wisdom and understanding, with discernment and truth. I pray for the "spirit of wisdom and revelation" that comes from knowing You, spending time with You, and listening to You as Your Spirit reveals Your Word. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Listen to Him in the Temple" 1-8-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up the eyes of my heart to seek You and open the ears of my spirit to hear You, watching and waiting for Your leading. ... "And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to Him in the temple" (Luke 21:38). My body is a temple of Your Holy Spirit. As Your Word says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). So I welcome You into Your temple to listen for Your voice, as You teach me and lead me, now and throughout my day. ... It seems You are saying, "Seek to have My thoughts. Seek to have My desires. Believe by faith that I am answering your prayers, for I am. This is My will and you are asking as I lead you to ask in accordance with My will, so it will come to pass. Only believe." Yes, Lord. Now You are leading me to Your written Word to conform the living word You have spoken into my spirit: "And this is the boldness we have in Him, that if we asking anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him" (1 John 5:14-15). Seeking to have Your thoughts and Your desires is according to Your will. So I know that I have obtained the answer to my prayers, as I ask believing in faith that I have received it. I know this is a process -- the process of Your transformation of my soul as You are renewing of my mind. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). Continue Your process of my transformation, as You continue to fill Your temple with Your Spirit. Continue to speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays http://messiah-ministries.org To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Through Many Tribulations 1-7-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I entrust my life and this day to You. ... "We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4). The faith and love of the believers at Thessalonica were growing abundantly and increasing, despite persecutions and afflictions. They were steadfast and unwavering in their commitment to press through every challenge as they continued to look out for one another in their bond of love. In their afflictions, Paul encouraged them by reminding them that God was not the sources of their pain and that "the righteous judgment of God" would come with "vengeance" upon those who were (verse 1:5-8). Even so, God would not be wasting a moment of their suffering as they continued to look to Him in faith and stand by one another in love through every challenge. God used the opportunity of their suffering to make them "worthy of the kingdom of God" (verse 1:5). Lord, use the challenges of my life to make me worthy of Your kingdom. Though I have not yet faced anything like the persecutions and afflictions that they endured in Paul's day and that many more endure in our day, I pray You would use these that I do face to prepare me for those that may come. Teach me how to be steadfast in the faith. Give me grace to look to You in the midst of every struggle, no matter how small or large, as you are making me worthy for the kingdom. "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22 NKJV). Let me not waste any my tribulations, but see every challenge as an opportunity to advance in Your kingdom, by Your grace. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for praying for laptop yesterday. I didn't have any more trouble and was able to work on my book all day. Please continue to keep us in prayer. I pray for victory through every challenge you are facing in Jesus' name! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Our New Website: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Remember Your Roots 1-6-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Vine and I am one of Your branches. Let the Life in You flow through me as I abide in You and You abide in me. ... It's good to remember your roots and the dirt where you were planted. The dirt out here is mostly red sand in the cotton fields and cattle ranches of west Texas, where I've come home for a few days to see my family and work on a book. I supposed remembering where we're from helps us to understand a little better where we are and where we're going. It has a way of humbling our pride and adjusting our perspective, maybe even reminding us of what's important and the ones who inspired us to begin the journey in the first place. "Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then feeding you with manna, with which you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). I've been on the journey through the wilderness of this world for forty-four years now. In my lawyer days many years ago, I remember one of my adversaries reminding me of my roots from the other side of his fancy conference room table in his downtown Houston office, "You're a long way from Lamesa, boy." He was right. Along the way, I've spent time in the slums of sin where I should have never been; and by Your grace, I've spent time in the heights of the heavens where even angels fear to tread. But through the times when I was bound-up back in Egypt and the times when I crossed over into Jordan, You were with me, sustaining me and leading me -- whether I knew it or not -- by Your Word and Your Spirit. I had the gift of a family, as broken as we were, who loved me and disciplined me, trying to ground me in Your Word and Your ways out here in this country where everything that's not rooted and grounded gets blown away in the sandstorms that will strip the paint right off your pickup. As they say, hard country makes for hearty people. As I look back and remember, I thank You for the struggles that made me more strong, for the brokenness that made me more humble, and for the discipline that made me Your son. Keep leading me through this wilderness and give me grace to keep following. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, come see our new website: http://www.messiah-ministries.org Please pray for my laptop -- it kept shutting down on me this morning -- so surprise since I am writing a book on healing and deliverance ministry. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world by the power of the Blood of the Lamb! Thank you for covering my back in prayer! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

False Fears of Mephibosheth 1-5-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My eyes are on You, Lord. ... Mephibosheth was the crippled grandson of Saul and the son of Jonathan. He must have been living in fear of his life after David became king of Israel in Saul's place. When David sent for him, he "fell on his face and did obeisance" trembling in fear before David, probably expecting the worst for himself and the worst from the king. But David's heart was one of mercy and grace, not wrath and revenge, saying, "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always" (2 Samuel 9:1-7). How many times do we fear the worst when You desire for us only Your best? How many times do we tremble in fear of what we think is going to happen or what we think someone thinks of us? We fear a reality that is not reality at all. Someone taught me long ago that "F-E-A-R" is "False Evidence Appearing Real." But Mephibosheth was not only crippled in his body, he was crippled in his spirit as well. Even in light of the mercy and kindness of the king, he would still bound by his wounded and distorted self-image. He responded to David, "What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?" (v. 9:8) But the king backed up his promise with his power, and honored him with favor, restoring and redeeming all that was lost. "Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons" (v. 9:11). Lord, deliver me from the oppression of fears that will never come to pass, that are based on assumptions of the experiences of the past, but are not founded upon Your promises of my future. Heal me from the wounds of rejection or shame that try to cripple my identity and my destiny. Give me the humility and the courage to receive the gift of Your grace and Your favor. You have not created me and called me to eat from the scraps under the table, but sit at the place You have prepared for me at Your table as a son of the King. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please join me in praising God for my alma mater -- the University of Texas Longhorns who won the National Championship of college football last night! I will be flying back to Texas today to see my family in Texas and New Mexico and to get away to work on a book on prayer ministry. I would appreciate your prayers. With the earlier time zones, my devotional will be coming out a little later for the next week and a half. Thank you and God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Be Holy" 1-4-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You perfectly reveal the heart of my Father. Father, You and Your Son abide in my heart by Your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, You are always turning my heart to Jesus, who is always perfectly revealing the heart of my Father. Lord, You are One and You are holy. Make me more like You each day as I become more one with You each day. ... "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 my become participants of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-5). "As He who has called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy' " (1 Peter 1:15-16). Lord, give me courage and grace to embrace Your "divine power" to become a participant of Your "divine nature" in the humility of surrender and in the faith of commitment to which You are calling me by Your Word. You are everything I need "for life and godliness." I want to grow in holiness of heart and life. I want my nature to become more like Your nature. Though I have so far to go, this is the journey I choose by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Third Day 1-3-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart into Your will for my life this day. ... Take me by the hand, Lead me by the heart. Let the world around me know, Just how great Thou art. You're my Savior and my Lord, My soon and coming King. I rise to follow You, Wherever You will lead. This is the third day of the new year, which speaks of the resurrection power of God to arise and fulfill the destiny and calling of our lives. This the promise and power of God, "that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The same Holy Spirit that raised You from the dead on that third day is now living in me to lead me into my destiny and my calling. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). This third day, I rise to follow You, wherever You will lead. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Aroma of Christ 1-2-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Abide in me as I abide in You, I pray. ... We prayed in my Sunday School class yesterday that this year would be a year of deliberately drawing nearer to You than ever before. In this year, let every veil that separates us become thinner by the day -- the veil between heaven and earth, between the supernatural and the natural, between how things should be and how they are. Let wishful thinking become fulfilled obedience. Let hope deferred become dreams come true, as You increasingly invade the realm of the earth with the presence of heaven. Then, Tricia and I were taking a little Sunday afternoon nap on our day of rest -- she in one end of the house and I in the other. We both woke to the strong aroma of fresh hot bread -- but there was no bread in the natural realm. Then we both remembered that was the very phrase You had given me in prayer on New Year's Day about living our lives this year as a pleasing aroma to You. We are convinced this was a simple sign of confirmation that there will be an increase of the awareness of Your Presence with us and with the body of Christ this year. Praise You, Jesus! Come Holy Spirit! "Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I Am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the Bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I Am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this Bread will live forever; and the Bread that I will give for the life of this world is My Flesh" (John 6:47-51). Lord Jesus, You are the Bread of Life who comes down from heaven to live in us by Your Spirit. "For we are the aroma of Christ to God;" and in You, we are "a fragrance from life to life" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). This year and every year, please keep filling my home and my heart with the aroma of Your Presence and let others be drawn to the Bread of Life living in me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's on Biblical, spiritual principles of inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Everything has become New!" 1-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Happy New Year! I begin this new day of this new Year with You. ... "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) The first day of a new year speaks of the joy and freedom of a clean slate and a fresh start. Some see it as a day to enter in to new commitments and resolutions to try harder and do better in this year what couldn't be done last year and the years before. But in Christ, neither the shame or regrets of the sins of the past nor the temptation to rest in the complacency of victories and success has any hold upon what You can do in me and through me in this day and every day ahead. By the power of the blood of Jesus, old things have passed away and everything has become new. Paul asked, "Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). In this day of celebration, I praise You for cleaning out the yeast of flesh and sin, shame and regret, disappointments and failures by the blood of the Lamb. Rather than enter in to any form of bondage of resolutions that are not likely to be kept in the power of human strength and will, I celebrate my freedom from the past and the anticipation of my future in You. I entrust the whole batch of the dough of my heart to the kneading of Your hands and the filling of the yeast of Your Holy Spirit. Arise in my soul my Lord. Like fresh hot bread, let my life be pleasing aroma to You through this new year and in every year to come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Day of Transition 12-31-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You, Lord, in every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- with every dimension of my being -- spirit, soul, and body. ... New Year's Eve speaks to me of the day of transition -- from yesterday to tomorrow, from last year to next year, from the past to the future. It reminds me of a passage of Scripture on the importance of embracing our times of transition: "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" (Philippians 3:13-14). I bring before You all that lies behind. I lay down the crowns of every act of obedience by Your grace to Your Word and Your Spirit. I lay down every burden of heaviness and yoke of oppression, every disappointment and discouragement, every failure and sin. I lay down any desire to linger too long in the satisfaction and celebration of the moments of victory and triumph in the power of Your Spirit to the glory of Your Name. I bring it all to the foot of the Cross and under the Blood of Jesus. Now in this day of transition, I choose to turn and set my sights on the days to come. I choose to press on in Your power to live my life for Your purpose. This is my heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. By Your grace, I choose to answer Your call. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Be Thou My Vision" 12-30-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I hear the words of an old hymn as I wait in the silence of surrender before You -- "Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart."... It seems I hear You saying, "As you see Me, you begin to see as I see. I desire to impart My vision to My people. There are two dimensions to My vision -- first, to see all things clearly as they are and second, to see all things as they should be. Ask for My vision and I will give you eyes to see as I see." Yes, Lord. As I behold You, You change me to become more like You -- to have Your heart and Your vision (2 Corinthians 3:18). I ask for Your heart and Your vision. Let Your vision become my vision, let me see as You see. Teach me how to see the true reality of the current circumstances, and also how to look more deeply to see these circumstances as You intended and as You intend. You are the "God who gives life to the dead and calls things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17, NKJV). You are the God who gave Ezekiel eyes to see the valley of dry bones as they were -- dead bodies, and also gave him eyes to see them as they were intended to be -- a living army filled with the breath of God (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Lord, fill my spirit with Your Spirit. Show me the dead places in my soul and my church and my community where You want me to see with Your vision and call things that are not as though they were in the power of Your name. Teach me how to "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live" (Ezekiel 37:4-5). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Write the Vision" 12-29-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open my eyes to see where You are leading and open my ears to hear what You are saying. I watch and wait in the stillness of the morning. ... Habakkuk's looked to see the wickedness and destruction, injustice and oppression all around him in his generation. The desire to see change turned his heart to You in the cries of his prayers. The more his heart broke with what he allowed himself to see, the more determined he became to pray through until he heard You answer. In the holy tenacity of persevering faith, he declared, "I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what He will answer concerning my complaint" (Habakkuk 2:1). You heart became his heart as the burdens of Your heart became the burdens of his heart. You answered his questions and his cries, commanding from heaven, "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and it does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay" (v. 2:2-3). You will come in power to set things right as You come in the glory of the brightness of sun with rays of Your might bursting forth from Your hand (v. 3:4). The earth will shake and the nations will tremble (v. 3:6). "It will sure come, it will not delay." Yet, at the same time, You will reveal Your glory and confront the wickedness of the nations through Your people who are empowered by Your Spirit to accomplish Your will (Isaiah 60 and 61). As Your body and Your people, filled with Your Spirit, we are Your answer to the problems and challenges You open our eyes to see in our generation. Lord, write Your vision on my heart. Let the burdens of Your heart become the burdens of my heart. Give me a holy tenacity and a persevering faith. Let me take my stand in unwavering obedience until I receive Your word, and once I receive it, let me read it as I run to take my place in Your Kingdom to do Your will in my church and my community in my generation. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Your Word Without Contradiction 12-28-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before interceding, I want to enter in to the intimacy of the communion of prayer in the silence of surrender before You. Before thinking of myself or others, I want to begin my day thinking only of You. Before listening to voices of my family, I want to listen for Your voice alone. I give You first place in my day and in my life, by Your grace. ... In reading the stories about Your birth again this year, I see three different prophecies about three different places relating to Your earthly origin. According to the prophet, You were to be born "in Bethlehem of Judea" (Matthew 2:4-6). After Your birth, Your earthly father, Joseph, carried You away to Egypt until Herod's murderous threats passed with his death. "This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I have called My Son' " (v. 2:15). When Joseph was guided by a dream to return to Israel, "he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He will be called a Nazorean' " (v. 2:22-23). Each of these places -- Bethlehem of Judea, Egypt, and Nazareth of Galilee -- appeared in the earlier Scriptures as prophetic declarations relating to Your birth and early life. Any one of these prophecies taken alone would tend to exclude the others. They could have been seen by some as contradictions within the Word of God. Denominations and sects could have formed around the beliefs of the place of Your birth. But by the moving of Your Spirit in accordance with Your will, the prophecy of each place was fulfilled without contradiction, only highlighting in another way the uniqueness of the identity of this Child, the details of whose birth were prophesied hundreds of years before His birth. Forgive me, Lord, when I have let the things that seem to be contradictions in Your Word cause me to stumble with doubt and unbelief. Forgive me for the times when my lack of faith has let me fail to see that there are no contradictions -- only seeming contradictions that I do not yet understand. As You said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18). Give me faith to believe every word of Your Scripture is true and can be trusted -- without contradiction and without fail. And every written word is perfectly fulfilled in You, the Living Word. Give me courage to stand against the doubts of others and perseverance to not waiver in the stand I take by Your grace. On this side of heaven, it may not all make sense to me. So, on this side of heaven, the gift of faith is required and received. By Your grace, I choose to receive Your gift of faith afresh again today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's on personal transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Religious Spirit of Herod 12-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my thoughts to You and open my spirit to the leading of Your Spirit. ... Not everyone celebrated Your birth, Lord Jesus. "When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men" (Matthew 12:16). The false spirit of religion is always threatened by true spiritual relationship. The counterfeit is always threatened by what is real, and seeks to destroy it. Yet, Father, You see the end from the beginning and You know the hearts of men and devils. You sent Your angel to warn Joseph, "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the Child to destroy Him" (v. 12:13). Father, You entrusted Your Son to the earth and You have entrusted Him into my heart. Give me wisdom to discern the enemies of God who would try to destroy the live of God within my heart. Increase my discernment and sensitivity to Your Spirit to hear Your warnings and obey Your leading. Then the Life You have birthed in my heart will continue to grow into maturity -- into a vibrant and true spiritual relationship with You and never into the lifeless religion that fears the move of Your Spirit in the earth and in my heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please remember Messiah Ministries in your Year-End Giving. Your tax-deductible contributions to the Kingdom through our ministries of prayer are deeply appreciated and truly needed. We are completely supported month by month by those the Lord has touched through our ministry. Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Please give generously and may God bless you in overflowing abundance! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on healing and wholeness, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com