Walk in the Light You Have 3-5-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the worship song says, "Lord, I give You my heart. I give my soul. I live for You alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord have Your way in me." By Your grace, let this be my desire and by Your grace, let this be my way of life. ... This weekend, You were our Alpha and Omega. Your Holy Spirit met every person where they were and drew them closer to You. Some committed their lives to You for the first time. Some embraced the filling of Your Holy Spirit for the first time. Some released the hard places of their hearts and the bitter places of their souls into Your hands; and some allowed You to touch their hurts and wounds, their burdens and bondages with Your healing hands and living words. Some chose simply to be willing to be willing. But we all encountered the presence of Your light and love in the divine appointments You had for each of us along the way. It seems I hear You saying, "This is the walk I have for you. Walk in the light as I am in the light, and I will give You more light still. My light is My Word and My Spirit. I open the eyes of all who are willing to seek My light and I empower the steps of all who are willing to walk in the journey with Me." Yes, Lord. Keep opening my eyes and empowering my steps. I want to go on with You. I want to keep walking in Your light. As I do, I can't help but be changed by Your light for You are the Light (1 John 1:5-7). No matter how much You have changed me, You want to change me more. No matter how far You have brought me, there is always further to go. And while the destination is very important, so is the relationship we build along the way. 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Alpha and Omega 3-3-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I entrust my life to You again today. Let me begin and end this day with You. You are my Alpha and Omega. ... " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty' " (Revelation 1:8). "See, I am coming soon; My reward is with Me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (verse 22:12-13). This weekend, I will help with prayer ministry on the "Holy Spirit Weekend" of our church's Alpha Course. Over one hundred people have joined the course this time for about ten weeks to ask their questions and discuss their views to try to understand You and Your call to surrender our lives to You. Many have never known You before and have never welcomed You into their hearts. Others have, but are coming to a place of deeper trust and deeper surrender. The group has been learning about God the Father and God the Son. This weekend, they will learn more specifically about God the Holy Spirit. Many will pray to "be filled with the Spirit" as they take a deliberate step of faith to be emptied of themselves and filled with You (Ephesians 5:18). I will be there to minister and pray, but I will also be there to be filled. By Your Holy Spirit, You are always "coming soon" into the hearts of all who welcome You in. But that's only the beginning. You are not only the Alpha but You are also the Omega, and everything in between. As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are our "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). Let me learn to continually begin and end every moment of every day in You and You 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Sacrifice of Surrender 3-2-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your name be the first word I speak today. Let Your praise be the first emotions of my soul today. ... "Through Him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Hebrews 13:15-16). To sacrifice is to surrender -- to give up something I have. To pray is to sacrifice my time. To praise is to sacrifice my attention. To fast is to sacrifice my food. As David said, "I will not offer sacrifices to the Lord that cost me nothing" (from 1 Chronicles 21:24). But the ultimate sacrifice is not only to surrender what I have, but to surrender who I am. It is to surrender my life to You more deeply and more completely each day. That's when the praise of Your name on my lips becomes the substance of Your nature in my soul. And it will cost something -- everything I am. Give me the courage to keeping trusting You and praising You as I keep surrendering to You my life a little more each day. This is the sacrifice "pleasing to God." 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Fasting for Fulfillment 3-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On the morning of this Ash Wednesday, take the ashes of my soul, burned and purified by the fire of Your Spirit, mingle them with living waters of Your Word, and impose them upon my heart and mind as mark and seal of Your redemption of my life. I belong to You, and I submit to You in humility and faith as best as I can and all by Your grace. ... "I humbled my soul with fasting" (from Psalm 69:10). Many of the spiritual leaders of our generation are calling for a season of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter this year -- Francis Frangipane, Mike Bickel, Dutch Sheets, and others. Their call bears witness in my spirit. From the beginning of this year, I have had a sense that this would be a year of fulfillment of many hopes and promises that seemed to have been stuck in a wilderness of delay and hindrance. But this is a year of Your favor, a year of fulfillment (Isaiah 61:1-2). And though it is through many tribulations that we must enter in to the kingdom of God, we will enter in if we keep pressing through in obedience and faith (Acts 14:22). Fasting speaks of humility. It is choice of our will to be emptied of ourselves and to be filled with You, to join in the fellowship and sacrifice of Your sufferings, that we might share in the joy and power of Your resurrection (Philippians 3:10). You purify our souls through obedience to Your call to trusting surrender and desperate dependence upon You alone as the Source and Sustainer of our lives (1 Peter 1:22). "But in your hearts, sanctify Christ as Lord" (verse 3:15). Fasting in obedience to Your call and in faith for the fulfillment of Your promises humbles the pride of our self-sufficiency and self-centeredness. It causes us to hunger and thirst for You alone -- the Bread of Life and the Living Waters which alone can sustain us through the valleys of the shadow of death and into the land of our destiny in Christ. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time" (verse 5:6). Yes, Lord. I choose to answer Your call to fast and pray in the way You will lead for these forty days, until You bring me through my Jordan and into the Land of Your Promises for me. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). Let these days of fasting be a death to my flesh that I may arise into the newness of life in the fullness of Your Spirit (Romans 6:4). 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Knowing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 2-28-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. You are One, yet You reveal Yourself and manifest Yourself in these three interwoven dimensions of Your Being. I want to know You more fully in every dimension. You are my Redeemer, my Creator, my Sustainer. You are my God, my King, and my Best Friend. I want to fear You and follow You. I want to worship You and adore You. And I welcome You here in my heart and in every dimension of my being again today. ... Your heart breaks when I suffer or when I sin, as a father's heart breaks for his son or daughter when he sees the pain or shame of their struggles. You are my Father and I am Your son. "For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26). You know my temptations and my sufferings, because You faced them all for me as You humbled Yourself to be both Son of God and Son of Man. You walk along side me as an elder Brother, having laid down Your life for me in a sacrifice of love I cannot fully imagine or understand on this side of heaven. "For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.... Therefore He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself was tested by what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested" (Hebrews 2:11-18). You never leave me nor forsake me. The very moment I experience anguish or joy, temptation or triumph, You immediately experience it with me as well because You live here within me by Your Holy Spirit. I an amazing mystery humans minds can't fully comprehend, the God of all creation has descended to live in my heart and in the hearts of all who believe and entrust their lives to You. "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one 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" (Romans 8:9-10). You are my Father and my Brother and You have come to make Your home in my heart by Your Spirit. Let me live my more fully aware of the intimacy of Your presence in the moments of my day. Let it bring the fear of God upon me when I'm tempted to sin and let it bring the comfort of God upon me when I'm wounded by the sins of others. What could be better than the amazing peace and joy of Your constant presence in all the challenges and celebrations of my life. 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Walking it Out 2-26-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me be still before You in these first moments of the morning to watch and wait for Your leading as I lay my life before You this day. ... "He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!' And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this, they were overcome with amazement" (Mark 5:41-42). Praise You, Lord, for Your healing power of life over death. Like Jairus' daughter, my friend Tim's little girl, Olivia, was "at the point of death," as both of these fathers came to You in desperation and faith, saying, "Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live" (verse 5:23). So You came and so You did. That little hospital room was filled people from their church ministering the healing love of God through their hugs and prayers. Three days after Olivia was admitted into the emergency room in diabetic shook, nearing a coma that the doctors feared would lead to death that night, Olivia was free to go home! When the nurse came to ask her if she wanted them to carry her out to the car in the little wheelbarrow or the wagon, Olivia said, "No thanks, I'll walk." As her daddy said, that was a prophetic word that by God's grace, she has walked out of this snare of death and will walk out her complete healing from the disease of diabetes in Your power. Lord, we are overcome with amazement and thrilled with joy for Olivia. And we continue to cry out to You in desperation and faith with every mother and father for the healing and abundance of life of their little girls and boys no matter how old and no matter how sick. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, a 12 year old boy named Jackson with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City is fasting today on his 12th birthday to end abortion and for the lives of unborn children throughout the earth. The word is being spread to intercessors around the world. I'm going to join Jackson and I invite you to fast and pray any way the Lord would lead as we take a worldwide stand against death and pray for life today. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Company Store 2-25-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In these first moments of the morning, I choose who will have priority of my thoughts and plans for my day. This day, I choose You. ... Tennessee Ernie Ford used to sing a song of a coal miner's lament, "Sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store." The other day we saw the company store in the Appalachian Mountains of Lynch, Kentucky. It's boarded up now like a lot of those little towns that served the coal mines and the coal mine companies. When the coal companies left, they took the heart and soul of everything that was bound to them. But Lord, You have come to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free. You use the broken and base things of this world as a means to display Your glory. You love to breathe the life breath of Your Spirit into dry bones, and You are still raising the dead. There is new life in Lynch and Benham and Cumberland and little communities throughout the Appalachian region. You are leading those who will follow beside the still waters and restoring the soul of the people and the land. Desperation and faith are producing hope. Salvation is not in a coal mine company or in continuing to live as victims of what happened when the company left town. Salvation and hope is in You. And You are redeeming and restoring, breathing new life into weary souls. Lord Jesus, I owe my soul to You. I am "a slave of Christ" who is "bought with a price," no longer a "slave of human masters" (1 Corinthians 7:22-23). Let my life not be controlled by my work or my mortgage, my church or denomination, or my own goals and ambitions apart from You. Let my life be controlled by You. Let me come to Your company store to receive all I need. As You said long ago, "Therefore I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich" (Revelation 3:18). Let me find my security and riches in You alone, then I will be free to live my life for You alone, unencumbered by the slavery of this world. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we are forming an area of interest fund for the spiritual transformation of the Appalachian Region of eastern Kentucky through the Kentucky Christian Foundation: www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org I serve on their board and help facilitate prayer and giving into ministries of God's Kingdom as an extension of the regional ministry of Messiah Ministries. Please cover us in your prayers and share this with anyone you think might be interested in what the Lord is doing in this region. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Kingdom Come 2-24-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call upon Your name and draw upon Your nature, as I behold You and give myself to You. ... "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done...." (Luke 11:2, KJV) I've heard the phrase "from here to Kingdom Come" all my life, growing up in west Texas and eastern New Mexico. I didn't know it really refers to a little community tucked far away back in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. As they say, "it may not be the end of the earth, but you can see it from here." Yesterday I traveled with a small group of pastors, intercessors, and a missions leader down the "Kingdom Come Parkway" on behalf of the Kentucky Christian Foundation to see what all the fuss was about. Revival flames have been breaking out in pockets of fire across Kentucky. But rather than brush fires, there seems to be a slow burn building as the fires are fanned into flame through prayer. We've been hearing about a regional transformation of new hope and abundant life rising up out of the poverty and depression that has dominated the Appalachian region. But You have been preparing the way for this move of Your power in prayers of desperation and faith for generations, that You display Your glory in the fullness of time. The time has come for Kingdom Come and every little community scattered throughout the hills and hollers of this region. The transformation has begun. Lord, let me be a part of what You are doing in this land. Fresh faith mingled with desperate prayers and new hope prepares the way for transformation by Your power. Give me a burden in my soul to see this region made whole. Remind me of the pain of poverty here in our own backyard of our prosperous nation. And remind me of the joy and life I see rising in the hearts of those You are setting free from the bondage of the past to embrace the destiny of their future. Move my heart in prayer for the fulfillment of the awakening of life You have promised in response to the faithful prayers of desperate generations. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we are forming an area of interest fund for the spiritual transformation of eastern Kentucky through the Kentucky Christian Foundation: www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org I serve on their board and help facilitate prayer and giving into ministries of God's Kingdom as an extension of the regional ministry of Messiah Ministries. Please cover us in your prayers and share this with anyone you think might be interested in what the Lord is doing in this region. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Every Moment Counts 2-23-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best I can and all by Your grace, I entrust my life and this day to You. May I live for You as You live through me today. ... "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.' Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that' " (James 4:13-15). Like a dusting of snow that melts by mid-afternoon or the morning mist that evaporates with the rising sun, my earthly life is but a moment in the perspective of heaven's eternity. Yet every day matters and every moment counts. Like precious jewels, they are more valuable because of they are few in number. One day I will give an account for how I spent my time in the moments and opportunities of my days (Matthew 12:36; Revelation 20:11-15). You are "the One who judges all people impartially according to their deeds" (1 Peter 1:17 and 4:5). The standard will not be about numbers or wealth. It will be about my obedience to Your will and Your way in my walk with You through the journey of the moments of my life. I want You to do all You have intended in me and through me in these few, precious moments I have. 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Pressing In and Breaking Through 2-22-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift my heart to You in praise. Praise draws me out of myself and into You; it takes my eyes off of my problems and leads me to Your promises. Prayers of praise fill my heart with thankfulness for the One who is the maker and the keeper of the promises. ... "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water" (2 Samuel 5:20, NKJV). Yesterday morning, You were reminding me that You are the God of the breakthrough. I heard from many who needed Your word of encouragement to keep pressing in and pressing through to the breakthrough for themselves and for others. There has to be breaking for there to be breakthrough -- sometimes breaking of the barriers between Your kingdom and Your will on earth as it is in heaven, sometimes breaking of the walls of our pride and self-sufficiency, and sometimes breaking the gates of hell that can't prevail against Your church moving in Your power and Your authority in obedience to Your command to overcome. When we breakthrough, we break through from one place to another -- sometimes from our place of our wilderness into the place of Your promises, sometimes from how things are to how things ought to be, and sometimes from "I can't by my power" to "I will by Your grace." We can't break through unless we have the courage and the will to begin breaking what needs to be broken so we can break through from where we are to where we are going. When we strike one blow and the walls come crumbling down, that's a miracle of the instantaneous power of God. When we strike one blow and then strike another blow and then strike another blow until the cracks become crevices and the rocks become rubble, that's the process of persistence through persevering faith in Your promises. Either way, there is no breakthrough without breaking and there is no going through unless we are going forward -- all by Your grace and all in Your power. One of those who called me to stand with him and his family to cry out to You for breakthrough was my good friend, Pastor Tim in Indiana. You've touched many souls through his words and healed many bodies through his hands. He is a faithful disciple of Christ and an obedient instrument of Your grace. But yesterday it was not just a pastor's heart, but a father's heart crying out for breakthrough for his little girl, Olivia. A viral infection lapsed into diabetic shock. She went to the emergency room and her daddy went to his knees. Her doctors fought in the natural realm and her daddy fought in the spiritual realm. Both fought for her life as the medical team told her parents she might not make it through the night. But You are the God of the breakthrough, and little Olivia has broken through! As I write my prayer from her hospital in Indiana this morning, I praise You for her breakthrough as one snatched from the jaws of death to life. Yet we are not satisfied with the promise of life, we keep pressing in and pressing through for breakthrough into Your promise of abundant life. We pray for freedom from every infirmity and healing of every disease, including the diabetes that has been exposed in the failed attempt to destroy her life. And we are pressing in and pressing through in the persistence of prayer for all those who need the power of Your breakthrough. We can't go in the middle of the night to join the fight for breakthrough in person for everyone who needs a breakthrough, but You can. And You will -- as we keep persisting in prayer as You lead and as daddies keep entrusting their little girls into Your arms of love. Sometimes we won't see the breakthrough until the ultimate healing of heaven, but as persist in the power of prayer, we will see more breakthrough of healing on earth. In Jesus' name we 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 for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

God of My Breakthrough 2-21-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the song says, "You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all." ... Lord, all around me people are crying out -- some in praise and thanksgiving, excitement and anticipation, and others in sickness and pain, discouragement and despair. It's as if the enemy of our souls senses an advance of the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of Your people and is unleashing a preemptive strike from the pit of hell. Many are gravely concerned for our governor, Ernie Fletcher, weary and weakened by unrelenting fevers and a raging infection of e coli. It seems to speak of an attack of sickness and disease against our spirits and souls and bodies at every level of our relationships in our region and throughout the earth in this hour. We cry out to You for healing and deliverance, for courage and strength, to preserve in faith through every challenge. Through many tribulations, we enter in to the promises of the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Lift our eyes to You to, as we are strengthened and empowered by the resolve of Your gaze. Send the fire of Your Spirit to consume the fevers of infection and disease. Send the water of Your Word to replenish our souls with the peace of Your presence. Draw our focus off of our troubles and awaken our hearts to fix our gaze on the One who delivers our lives from every pit of destruction and despair, sickness and disease, confusion and discouragement. Remind us of Your Word, for Your Word reveals Your will; and Your will for us is good: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits -- who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:1-5). As I look to You, for myself and for others, let me be honest with my pain, but also honest with Your power. Your power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I hear a song of Your Spirit rising up to lift my spirit and heart, as I entrust every burden to You: Blessed are You, Lord When all around me is pain. Blessed are You, Lord When I'm weary and I'm drained. Blessed are You, Lord When I call upon Your name. Blessed are You, Lord For You are always the same. I need You now And I need Your power I need You to come breaking through Won't You hear me now In this very hour You're the God of my breakthrough Blessed are You, Lord When the enemy comes in like a flood. Blessed are You, Lord For the Living Waters and the Blood. Blessed are You, Lord When all around me seems to give way Blessed ware You, Lord You're my hope and You're my stay. I need You now And I need Your power I need You to come breaking through Won't You hear me now In this very hour You're the God of my breakthrough. Yes, Lord. You are. Give me faith to believe it and perseverance to keep pressing through in prayer and praise until I see it -- in my life and in the lives of those You have put on my heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Praying Friends, let's stand together in prayer and praise for God's breakthroughs in one another's lives and in the lives of those we love through the ministry of intercession. These challenges will become opportunities to advance in to the promises of the kingdom of God this year if we will not lose heart, but keep entrusting our hearts to the Lord. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Galatians 2:20 2-20-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come rule and reign in my heart today. ... As I write today's date of "2-20" the passage of Galatians 2:20 comes to mind: "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 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." This is my desire, my goal, and my commitment. By Your grace, You put this desire in my heart and give me the will to walk it out. My part is to choose the destination, and Your part is to encourage me and empower me to go there. This is the death to self and the life to Christ You call me to choose. I can't do it without Your Spirit and You won't do it without my heart. Crucifixion is a death that takes time. As my wife knows, I have far to go in the process of the crucifixion of my flesh. But by Your grace, I die a little more each day, as I thirst for Your presence and commit my spirit into Your hand. And every morning, You arise a little higher in Your resurrection glory, as I choose again to turn to You and live my life by the faith of the Son of God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we have changed the date for The Fountain to be the Third Friday of every month instead of the Third Saturday. I've had many pastors tell me they would love to come and soak in the presence of the Lord and the freedom of our worship, but Saturday night was a hard night for them. So please come when you can -- and bring your pastor with you. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

An Everlasting Promise 2-19-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me close to You and fill me afresh with the fullness of Your Spirit. ... "Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him' " (Acts 2:28-39). A couple of Asbury College students came to speak and pray with us at The Fountain last night, to share what is going on with the revival in Wilmore, Kentucky. Andrew came to chapel that first morning and stayed past midnight, worshipping and praying as You began to move in power in the hearts of the students. In the atmosphere thick with the fullness of Your presence, he remembered one "far away" who needed You and this gift of Your promise. Andrew called to tell his brother back in Philadelphia, who had been caught in cycles of drugs and alcohol, depression and despair, for over five years. But You touched his heart with a sense of hope he hadn't had in a long time. He caught the next plane to Lexington and was at the revival the next day. The students surrounded him with encouragement and love. That night, he fell on his face in tears of humility and confessions of repentance, hungering and thirsting for Your righteousness, at the altar with hundreds of others. In desperation and faith, he cried out to You. When he finally stood, he was changed -- filled with the faith and hope of Your Spirit, committing his heart and his life to You. Andrew to us his brother is still "on fire" and those flames are now setting hearts ablaze in Philadelphia. Praise You, Lord! Let the Fire continue to fall and to burn in our hearts as the flames spread to those who are near and those who are far away. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, many are asking if the revival is still going on. Andrew says the big crowds are not gathering in the chapel in the evenings as before, but there is an unusually powerful sense of the Lord's presence everywhere, an unprecedented level of prayer and worship across campus, and students are traveling to other cities to spread the Fire. Please keep all of this prayer, as we pray for the Lord to fan the flames! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Come and See" 2-18-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm waking up in our new home in our new town this morning. I sense You have called us to a new place, and I'm excited to see where You are leading and what You are doing. Help me be quiet enough to listen and courageous enough to obey. ... "The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, 'Look, here is the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, He said to them, 'What are you looking for?' They said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which translated means Teacher), 'where are You staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see' "(John 1:35-39). Lord Jesus, You are the One I'm looking for. Open my eyes to see You and to see where You are moving. Open my ears to hear You, when You say to my spirit, "Come and see." You are my teacher. And the things You want to teach me, I can't find only in a book, not even Your Book alone. I have to learn them in relationship with You. These are the things of life I'll learn only as I come and follow You. A follower of Christ is one who follows You. I hear Your Spirit singing in my spirit, as I turn the eyes of my heart seek You: "Come and see, Come follow Me, I will lead the way to life. Come to know, Come and grow, I will teach you all you need to know." Yes, Lord. Here I come as You lead. There is no place I'd rather be, than following You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain Tonight, Saturday night 2/18, for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. We will have some students for the Asbury Revival join us Saturday night to release impartation for revival. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on inner healing, deliverance and spiritual transformation, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries mailto:--MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address is 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ Daily archives: http://www.morningbymorning.injesus.com/

"Do Not Forget the Lord" 2-17-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I thank You for the gift of Your presence that fills my heart and I thank You for the gift of Your grace that allows You to. ... "When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that He swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give you -- a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant -- and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Deuteronomy 6:10-12). Lord, You have given me so much that I do not deserve, so I much I could never earn, so much I could never repay. All that I am and all that I have belongs to You. You have moved ahead of me in the power of Your righteousness and in the principles of Your justice in ways I cannot fully see and ways I cannot fully understand on this side of heaven. Give me the faith to trust You in this, the humility to obey You in this, the courage to follow You in this, the gratitude to thank You in this. As You bring me into the land of fulfillment of Your promises to me and my generations, let me "not forget the Lord." Let me not forget it's all by Your grace and Your power. When there is opposition to the fulfillment of Your promises, let me press through and press in with persevering faith and a believing heart that sees every challenge as an opportunity to enter in to my inheritance in You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain this Saturday night for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. We hope to have some students for the Asbury Revival join us Saturday night to release impartation for revival. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on inner healing, deliverance and spiritual transformation, 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 Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Joy of Giving 2-16-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You gave Your all for me. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I give my all for You today. ... Father, You are the ultimate Giver: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...." (John 3:16). Because You are One as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You did not give a sacrifice of someone else for us to be restored in relationship with You, You gave Your very Self in the humility and sacrifice of the cross, in a mystery too deep for us to fully comprehend on this side of heaven. "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Today, You are sending me to the Regional Generous Giving Conference in Lexington to learn more of Your principles of giving generously of all I am and all I have for You, because You have given generously of all You are and all You have for me. You call each of us to give of ourselves to You and Your Kingdom in "the privilege of sharing in this ministry" with "eagerness" (verse 8:1-15). This is the "abundant joy" of giving that "overflows in a wealth of generosity" (verse 8:2). You call each of us to give the same, no matter how much we have -- out of the abundance of the gift of life You have given us, "according to what one has -- not according to what one does not have" (verse 8:12). You call us each to give our all, as You lead. And all that we have belongs to You anyway. We are blessed to be Your stewards of Your resources to give and to receive as You lead for Your purposes of Your kingdom. "Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work" (verse 9:7-8). Lord, make me a cheerful giver. Remind me of the abundance that You have given me and let that abundance overflow in generosity to others. I want to experience the joy of giving and I want to share abundantly in the ministry of Your kingdom in every good work as You lead. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, part of the regional ministry calling of Messiah Ministries is to work in ministry and prayer with the Kentucky Christian Foundation (www.kentuckychristianfoundation.org) to gather the resources of God's kingdom and help distribute them to the front lines of ministry as He leads. Many of you gave generously to our fund for Katrina disaster relief and over $200,000 was collected and distributed by our team in a short time! We are forming another team focused on the needs in Eastern Kentucky. Please let me know if you could help introduce me to generous givers and ministry leaders with a heart for the ministry of God's kingdom in Kentucky and our region. Come to The Fountain this Saturday night for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. We hope to have some students for the Asbury Revival join us Saturday night to release impartation for revival. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching dvd's on inner healing, deliverance and spiritual transformation, 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 Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Go 2-15-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let everything else fade away in these first moments of the morning, as I turn my heart and thoughts to You. ... "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you....' So Abram went as the Lord told him" (Genesis 12:1-4). We became citizens of Wilmore, Kentucky yesterday, purchasing our property and home at the edge of the city that is home to Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary, where my wife and I received training for the ministry of the Kingdom of God. With our ministry in Lexington and our home in Wilmore, it seems You are expanding our territory to cover with our hearts and our prayers. With what You are doing in the awakening of a revival in the hearts of the students at Asbury, it seems we are moving into revival and our soon-to-be-born son will be birthed in revival. You are on the move and we're moving with You. A friend of mine said the other day, the journey with God is not really even day by day, it is step by step. In every moment of every day, I want to learn to hear and obey, to follow wherever You lead. Let me know as much about my mission when I get there as I need to know now. But mostly, it is not what I need to know as much as it is Who I need to know. Thank You for the grace of knowing You, Lord, in every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Help me to know You more deeply and obey You more completely day by day and step by step in this journey of relationship and obedience. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Saturday night for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! 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 Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

A Day of Love 2-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the worship song says, "I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me; Jesus, You're all this heart is living for." I offer as much of me as I can and receive as much of You as I can. Help me offer more of myself today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today. ... "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Today, much of the world will celebrate Valentine's Day as a day of love. Somewhere among the cards and candies and everything else the day has become, we will likely forget it is a day named for a saint who was martyred for his faith in Christ by a Roman Emperor. Valentine was pierced in his heart with a love of God that would not deny his loyalty to You even in the face of death. Perhaps he died, declaring his undying love with his face turned to heaven, singing to the God of unfailing love, "I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me. Jesus, You're all this heart is living for." Today I'll say, "I love you" to the one You've given as gift to love me. It's her favorite day. But any love I have to give that is pure and true is only because You have first loved me. You have pierced my heart with Your unfailing love. Thank You, Lord, for pouring Your love into my heart through Your Spirit. Let Your love pour out of me today to my wife and my children and all those You will love through my life today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Saturday night for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

Awakening a Craving for God 2-13-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for the gift of starting the day with You. Take me by the hand and lead me by the heart, as I awaken and arise to follow You. ... "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:9-13) The meaning of "ask" in this passage carries the idea of craving, desiring, and even requiring. Lord, the revival You are releasing at Asbury and throughout the land is an awakening of a craving for You. You are the gift we long to receive. You are giving us a taste of Your presence -- not to become satisfied with an experience of the moment, but to hunger and thirst for even more. Your Spirit is moving in our hearts to keep on asking, to keep on seeking, to keep on knocking. We want more than a flash in the pan of the gold of Your glory, we want the fullness of the presence of Christ conforming us to Your nature and transforming us to our destiny. Holy Spirit, keep releasing a craving for the presence of God in my soul. Give me the persistence to persevere in prayer, taking hold of You and never letting You go. Let the taste of Your presence only make me hungry for more. By Your grace, I will keep on asking and keep on receiving; I will keep on searching and keep on finding; I will keep on knocking and keep on opening. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Lexington area, please Come to The Fountain this Saturday night for our monthly, citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship -- 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary, 2800 Tates Creek Rd. People come from all traditions and denominations for a time of intimate worship in the presence of the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads. Our prayer ministry team will be available throughout the evening for prayer ministry. Come and bring a friend. All are welcome! To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgDaily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Tear Open the Heavens" 2-12-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Cleanse my heart and soul by the mercy of the blood of the Lamb, as I enter in to the holy place of Your presence in worship and prayer this morning. ... "O that You would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at Your presence -- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil -- to make Your name known to Your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no eye has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 6:1-4). Father, You are the God who works for those who wait for You. As we wait for You, we humble ourselves from the striving and straining of our own labors. As we wait for You, a longing for Your presence takes hold in the yearning of our souls. As we wait for You, we begin to desire You -- to hunger and thirst for You, to be filled by Your Spirit and the fullness of Your presence. And when You see hungry hearts yearning for Your presence, crying out to You more than we are crying out for food or entertainment or the praises of others or anything else but You, You tear open the heavens and come down! The mountains quake and the nations tremble at Your presence; the fire of heaven falls and sets our hearts ablaze. Our spirits bubble and burst like boiling water, purified and cleansed by the flame of the fire of Your Spirit. Then the awesome deeds of Your power are released as we embrace Your presence -- passion for God, salvation of souls, healing and deliverance of every dimension of our being, holiness of our hearts and lives, and transformation of our communities. These are the blessings of Your presence. Yet they will not come without a fight. Your adversaries are at work as well to keep heaven from touching earth in our hearts and souls. Your adversaries are our adversaries, doing all they can in the short time they have to keep us from waiting on You and seeking the fullness of Your presence above all else. The distractions and destructions of the spiritual forces of wickedness working through fallen flesh and fallen nature are all strategically intended to keep us from seeking Your face and waiting for Your presence. Lord, give me grace to press through and press in, to keep my eyes as fixed as the sun on Your face and insisting on the fullness of Your presence. "But as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him' -- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). I love You, Lord, and I am watching and waiting for You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace. Tear open the heavens and come down! May I receive the fullness of all You have prepared for me and all those who love You and wait for You. In Jesus' name I pray. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I would appreciate your prayers. I will be preaching at Faith in God Fellowship in Russellville, Ohio this morning -- my wife's hometown. The Lord has just given me my message and I pray there will be a release in Ohio of what the Lord is doing in Kentucky at the Asbury revival. I pray He will release a hunger and thirst for His presence with a persistence to press through all resistance everywhere our words and prayers touch by His grace. To subscribe/unsubscribe, or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's for spiritual transformation through inner healing and deliverance, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502.On the Web: http://messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month (the 3rd Friday starting in March) at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel. Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com