Favored one of God 7-6-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn to You and call on Your name. I lift my eyes to the heavens and turn my soul to You. I start this day with You so that You will know I welcome You to walk through this day with me. ... "Remember me, O Lord, when You show favor to Your people; help me when You deliver them; that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory in Your heritage" (Psalm 106:4-5). Your favor is Your hand of grace -- Your protection, Your provision, Your power. When I fall far short of Your glory, Your favor lifts me up and presses me on. When I disappoint myself and others, Your favor reminds me to hear Your words of encouragement, that I am still Your child and there is much You have done and much more You will do through my life that the others and I can't always see. When I feel confused about the uncertainties of the present and the anxieties for the future, Your favor reminds me that I am one of Your chose ones -- those who have chosen to receive Your free offer of grace and love to all -- and that You have chosen me to fulfill a purpose and calling and destiny that depends much more on You than on me. So as best as I can and all by Your grace, in humility and in faith, I ask for and I receive Your favor. I choose to find my glory in Your heritage, to be available to You to use my life as You will. Just keep letting me know that You remember me. Just keep reminding me that You love. Just keep encouraging me that You have chosen me. Deliver me from all discouragement and doubt. Establish me in the confident hope and unfailing grace of Your favor. You are all the protection, the provision, and the power I will ever need. In You, I am a favored and chosen one of 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Sound and Blameless" 7-5-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Lord of my spirit, Lord of my soul, Lord of my body. Be Lord of all. ... "May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). You are faithful and You will do this. By Your healing power, You will keep me sound. By Your forgiving grace, You will keep me blameless. As I keep choosing to keep submitting and surrendering my life into Your hands, You keep sanctifying me -- purifying my heart and cleansing my soul, preparing me for the coming our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the life-long process of spiritual transformation -- conforming my will to Your will and my nature to Your nature. "For this is the will of God, your sanctification" (verse 4:3). When will You sanctify me, Lord? When will I be sound and blameless before You? Only when I get to heaven? No. Your Word says You desire to sanctify me now -- "at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." You are a holy God, and You are coming for a holy people, surrendering by Your grace to Your will and submitting by Your grace to Your Lordship in our spirits and souls and bodies. As we choose this, You are faithful and You will do this. "And may He so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (verse 3:13). Strengthen my heart in holiness today. Keep giving me the desire to be sound and blameless at Your coming. Conform my will to Your will and transform my nature into Your nature more every day -- all by Your grace and all in Your power. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Birth of a Nation 7-4-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the ruler of the nations and one day all will walk in Your light and bow to Your glory (Revelation 21:24). All by Your grace, I choose to walk in Your light and bow to Your glory today. ... "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). Today we celebrate the birth of our nation on July 4th, 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. From the recorded journals and writings of those who made history at that time, history cannot deny that You were on their minds. In signing their names and sealing their oaths of independence on that day, they also affirmed their dependence upon You: "And for support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance upon Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." You are Divine Providence. And there is no honor that is not sacred honor. Blessed is the nation and blessed is the people who remember to honor You. "And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done" (General George Washington, private prayer of June 1779 from his headquarters on the Hudson River). Restore us in Your righteousness; forgive us of our sins; remind us of our calling and destiny as a nation who proclaims liberty, fights for freedom, and lives in honor. Like all people of all nations, we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But You desire Your mercy to triumph over judgment. And You desire to redeem and restore as You remind us of Your hand of Divine Providence that reaches out to every nation who will humble herself to take it. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12, NKJV). In our celebrations today, may we also remember to humble ourselves to take Your hand and praise Your name for the blessing of our birth and the faithful fulfillment of our destiny. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries. orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Seeing is Believing 7-3-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By the Holy Spirit of the Living God living in me, I come to the Father through Jesus the Son. Lord my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- I want to seek You more deeply and find You more completely in the journey of growing in relationship with You. ... "Then Jesus cried aloud: 'Whoever believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And whoever sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me should not remain in the darkness.' " (John 12:44-46). You have not created me and called me merely to understand You or assent to the doctrines about You, but to seek to see You. And in seeing You, I come to know You and to believe in You. As the old sayings go, "Seeing is believing" and "I'll know it when I see it." But the darkness of this broken, fallen world blinds our eyes to the truth of Your presence and Your nature, keeping us from seeing You and knowing You as You truly are. Father, You are Spirit, and those who seek to know You and worship You must seek You in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). So You have entered our darkness in the nature of Your Son. As Your Spirit prophesied of Your coming long ago, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined" (Isaiah 9:2). Now through Your Spirit, You are pushing back the darkness to open the eyes of our hearts to see You and believe You (Ephesians 1:17-19). In the nature of Your Son who has lived among us to show us Your face and who is living among us by Your Spirit to seek Your face, You are "the light of the world" (John 8:12). Darkness has to hide by the coming of the glory of Your light. "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). Father God, as I see Your Son, I see You. As I see His nature, I know Your nature, for the Father and the Son "are One" (John 10:30). I know You as I see You. And then seeing is believing. 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 and cd's on inner healing, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Belief and Obedience 7-2-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak Your name and seek Your nature. ... "The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath" (John 3:35-36). There is an inseparable connection between belief and obedience. We cannot really believe without also obeying and we cannot really obey without believing. Faith in the Son of God includes both trusting and obeying. Lord, help me trust more; help me obey more. Father, draw me more deeply into Your love of Your Son by Your Spirit. Keep giving me the grace to trust Him and obey Him. As I keep putting my faith in Your Son, His life becomes my life and His nature becomes my nature. And I grow in my understanding of my identity as a son of God -- created to endure Your pleasure and not Your wrath. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

My Life-line 6-30-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I turn my eyes to challenges of they day, I first turn them to You. Now is when I receive the wisdom and the strength that will carry me through this day. ... "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4). On a popular television game show, the contestants try to give the right answer to the questions in order to keep progressing to the end. When they really get desperate, and no longer think they can make the right choice on their own, they turn to one of their "life-lines" for help. There have been many times when I have live my life like that game show -- trying to do it on my own until I get desperate enough to ask for help, to use my life-line. But You have been teaching me the peace that comes with desperately depending upon You from the very beginning. You are my Life-line. You are the right answer to every question I will encounter this day. I don't want to even try to answer the questions and meet the challenges I will face today in my own wisdom or strength apart from You. And I don't have to. I turn my face and my heart to You in desperate dependence upon Your help and Your life, for I have chosen for my life to be hidden in Your. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Buildings of Blessing 6-28-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me get quiet and listen for Your leading as I spend the first moments of this morning with You. ... Our church needs a new roof. The estimates for repair have been staggering, and the idea of diverting funds from ministry to materials is overwhelming. But as we use the building You have entrusted to us, You are reminding us it is not a building we honor, but You. It's not a building we serve but the people You bring to the building as a place and a means of Your ministry to them. Our building is a blessing only to the degree we use it to bless those outside our building who need to come inside a living and personal relationship with You. As we were praying about that and the other challenges we face as a church yesterday, the image came to me of another building where You were ministering. That building was an obstacle to ministry for the friends of a paralyzed man who couldn't get in to see You and receive Your healing words and Your healing power. So they tore the roof off of that building (Luke 5:18-19). Lord, tear the roof off of everything in our lives and our churches that hinder us from our mission of sharing You and Your Word and Your power with all who need You. Remove the false ceilings, break down the barriers, and open up the heavens over our heads -- even if You have to tear the roof off to do it. Let this challenge not be a distraction but a means to our destiny. In the ways of Your kingdom, You'll give us a new roof as we pray for open heavens. Long ago, a torn-up roof led to a mighty demonstration of Your power to forgive sins and heal lives. "Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe" (Luke 5:26). We glorify You for Your goodness. We stand amazed in Your presence. We are filled with awe at Your grace to forgive and Your power to heal. Let our lives be Your temple and let our hearts be open to Your heavens, so that our buildings will be blessings for all people. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Welcome 6-27-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Father God. Good morning, Holy Spirit. I welcome You, Lord, in every dimension of Your Being here into dimension of my being this day. ... "Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him" (Luke 8:40). In the original language of this verse, the word "welcomed" means to receive gladly. Every day, I want to be waiting for Your return and every day I want to be receiving You gladly into my life. One day You will return in glory in the skies, and every day between now and then You want to return in glory in our hearts. Your glory is Your manifest presence. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- come manifest the glory of Your presence in my life today. I wait for You eagerly and welcome You gladly. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Riches of Life 6-26-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call You Lord, because I choose to submit to Your lordship in every area of my life, as best as I can and all by Your grace. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Be my King. Be my Lord. ... "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19). The two riches men in the world recently announced they are giving incredible proportions of their time and their riches to help the lives of others. Whatever their motives or their circumstances, one thing seems clear -- they are seeking to find fulfillment in something other than what they have. And they each seem to have so very much. In the journey of my life, there have been times when I have been rich and times when I have been poor. But You have shown me over and again the measure of my wealth is not the measure of my joy. My treasure is found in trusting You. You know just what I need to find fulfillment, peace, and joy. And when I am willing to trust You in that, letting my focus be Your focus and my priorities be Your priorities, You richly provide everything I need for my enjoyment of life -- "the life that really is life." That kind of life may be lived out even in the most horrendous circumstances and challenging struggles, but it is a life of the joy of Your presence and Your pleasure that I have found my "good foundation for the future" in the treasure of trusting 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 and prayer dvd's and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Power of the Word of God 6-25-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are mighty. You are powerful. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I trust in the might of Your power. I submit to the authority of Your name. ... In the struggles of ministry, Moses questioned the extent of Your power, and therefore doubted the authority of Your word. But You simply looked at him and loved him, then You resolved to show him the power of Your name and the faithfulness of Your word. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not' " (Numbers 11:23). Forgive me for the times I question Your power and doubt Your word. Forgive me for the times I look at the struggles longer than I look to You, submitting to their lordship rather than Yours. You are not a weak God, nor a complacent God. You are involved in every area of my life and in the lives of those around me. You are mighty and You are powerful. And every word You have ever spoken to me in my spirit and to me through Your Scripture will come to pass. In Your perfect timing and in Your perfect way, I will see that Your word for me is true. I will see the glory and the power of Your Word and my King. "For the Kingdom of God depends not on talks but on power" (1 Corinthians 4:20). 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Steady as a Rock 6-24-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the old song says, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."... "I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" (Psalm 18:1-2). Like a solid rock that never moves, You are steadfast and true, unchanging and unmoving. I find my strength in Your strength, my courage in Your courage. As I look to You, my heart is steadied and still. I am comforted and encouraged in the security of the stronghold of Your covenant with me. In You, "I shall not be moved" (Psalm 62:6, NKJV). In You, I take my stand to face with faith whatever comes -- steady as a rock, stead in the Rock. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Love Casts Out Fear 6-23-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. By Your grace and in Your power, I choose to depend on You. Be my wisdom, be my strength. Be my Father and my Savior. Be my Lord, my God, and my Best Friend. ... "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ -- if, in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:14-17). It is the spirit of slavery that always tries to draw me back in to fear -- fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of trusting. But it is the Spirit of Adoption -- the Holy Spirit of the Living God living in me -- who is always trying to draw me forward into the fullness of the future to fulfill my calling and destiny in You. I am a son of God, and You are my Father. I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Your Spirit bears witness with my spirit of the deepest bonds of relationship with You in every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By grace, You have chosen to identify Yourself with me; and by faith, I have chosen to identify myself with You -- in suffering and in glory, in failure and in success, in this world and in the world to come. Keep giving me faith to live in this truth. Keep giving me grace to live in this bond of trust by Your love for me as Your child. Faith in Your love for me breaks the power of all fear and delivers me from every spirit of slavery. "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:17-18). Abba, Father! Keep casting out my fear and keep filling me with Your love. As You do, You are casting out every unholy spirit and filling me with Your Holy Spirit, for You are Perfect Love. "God is love, and those who abide in God abide in love, and God abides in them" (1 John 4:16). Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- keep abiding in me as I keep abiding in You, all by Your grace and all in Your love. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Friends of Tommy Hays and Messiah Ministries, Please prayerfully consider giving joyfully and generously to the ministry of the Lord through Messiah Ministries as He leads you. Like a missionary, I raise my own funds for the work of our ministry. Our calling and vision is to do our part in the power of His Spirit to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free (Isaiah 61; Luke 4)! Messiah Ministries ... Ministering the Healing Love of God, Preparing the Way of the Lord. Our Address for Contributions and Ministry is: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Our website: www.messiah-ministries.org Thank you and God bless you! Subscribe/Unsubscribe at MessiahMin@aol.com Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Kingdom is Near 6-22-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I submit and entrust my life to You, let there be more of You and less of me, more of Your nature and less of my nature -- morning by morning and day by day. ... You sent out seventy disciples -- not just twelve -- into Your harvest of souls, saying, "Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves" (Luke 10:1-3). But even though You warned them You were sending them to "the wolves," You told them to begin their ministry to the people by speaking words of peace rather than judgment, first giving people the chance to welcome Your disciples and Your message of hope and life through faith. "Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you" (verse 10:5-6). The peace of Your presence is within us, as Your disciples. As we go to the places You send us, we are not offering people ourselves, we are offering them You. But at the same time, we offer them You through us -- through the peace of Your presence living in us and flowing through us by Your Holy Spirit. As we abide in You and allow You to abide in us, our nature becomes more like Your nature, our words become more like Your words, and then the peace we offer is Your peace You are offering through us. It's all about You -- but amazingly, You offer Yourself through us -- those You have called and discipled and sent to proclaim with authority and to demonstrate with power that "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (verse 10:8-9). By the grace and the mystery of Your Spirit living in us, You said, "Whoever listens to you listens to Me, and whoever rejects you rejects Me, and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me" (verse 10:16). And there are consequences for our choices -- the choices we make to go where You send us and to do what You command us, as well as the choices they make to welcome us or reject us, to share in Your peace or not. There will come a day of Your "judgment" for each of us, based upon the choices we make in the light of Your grace (verse 10:14). Lord, give me grace to choose well -- first in welcoming and receiving those You send to bring Your peace, and then in going out into Your harvest to share the peace of Your presence I have welcomed into my soul with others -- even to "the wolves" You warned me I would encounter along the way. Keep me close to You, starting each day and continuing each day in You, so that it is more and more Your true nature and Your true message that others have a chance to welcome or reject. Let it be Your kingdom and not my kingdom that "has come near" (verse 10:9 and 10:11). 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Laborers of the Harvest 6-21-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I entrust my life and this day to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ... "After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He himself intended to go. He said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest' " (Luke 10:1-2). Lord of the harvest, send out laborers into Your harvest. Send us out ahead of You to every town and place where You intend to go. Send us out in pairs, teamed together in relationships of interdependence and trust, complimenting one another's gifts and callings, temperaments and strengths. You don't just tell us to go, You also tell us to pray -- to pray for the others who will labor with us in Your harvest. And as we answer Your call, we become the answer to the prayers of others who are asking for Your harvest. For a great harvest, there must be ripe grain and ready laborers. Lord, let the grain be ripe and let the laborers be ready. Prepare their hearts and prepare ours. Your Word seems to say the harvest is already plentiful, but it is the laborers who are not ready. The laborers are few. This day we pray for the laborers. I pray for those called to labor alongside me, and I pray I would be ready to labor alongside others, as You send us ahead of You into Your harvest. 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Friends of the Bridegroom 6-18-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Form Your thoughts in my thoughts, Your desires in my desires. Cleanse me from my sin and fill me with Your Spirit. Make me more like You each day. ... John the Baptist "grew and became strong in the Spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day He appeared publicly to Israel" (Luke 1:80). He listened for Your leading and prepared for Your coming. Some thought he was the Messiah, but his calling and ministry was always to point others to the Messiah. Some came to listen to the leading of his voice, but he always called others to listen for the leading of Your voice. He said, ' "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of Him.' He who has the bride is the Bridegroom. The friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly at the Bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease " (John 3:28-30). Help me mature and grow in Your Spirit, Lord. Let me be one of Your witnesses preparing for Your coming in my heart and in our land and throughout the earth. Let my voice lead others to Your voice. Let my words lead others to Your Word. You are the Bridegroom coming for Your bride -- a bride made "holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the Word, so as to present the church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind -- yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). Let me stand and hear You, rejoicing greatly at Your voice. Help me grow in a relationship of trust and obedience to You as a "friend of the Bridegroom." As I wait this morning for Your leading and the inspiration of Your Spirit, it seems I hear You say: "Awaken, arise. Do not hesitate; do not look back. Look to Me and follow My lead. Be still and listen for my leading, then move quickly at the command of My voice. Many pieces are in place; many more are coming into place. Your part is to make sure your piece is in place. Only I see all the pieces in all their places, but I am opening the eyes of My children to see more than they have ever seen. You will need to see more to see where I am leading in these days. Fear not, and follow Me." Yes, Lord. Help me stay in a place of stillness in the silence of surrender to listen for Your leading. Help me find my place and do my part as You call others to find their places and do their parts. Fit us together and purify our souls. You are calling Your bride and preparing her for Your coming -- coming first in our hearts and one day in the fullness of Your glory to receive the glorious bride You have prepared. Those who will come to follow Your lead and learn Your ways, You call Your "friends" (John 15:15). As we do our part in our generation -- all by Your grace and Your Sprit, preparing Your bride for Your coming -- we are Your friends, friends of the Bridegroom. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' " (Revelation 17:17) 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 and cd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Rooted and Built Up in Him" -- 6-16-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my spirit with Your Spirit, draw me up into the heavenly dimension of Your presence I pray. ... "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7). We've been staying with my mom in the little village of Ruidoso tucked away in the mountains of central New Mexico. It's a unique setting of rocky mountains covered with tall, cool pines, surrounded on every side by vast desert. This region is ruggedly beautiful, but suffering a severe drought. Though the rocky soil is hot and dry, the pine trees seem to smell just as fresh and stand just as tall as they do every summer when we come out here. They've been built up be the cycles of winter snows, spring rains, and summer droughts for years. Their roots sink deeply into resources of water beneath the surface of current circumstances. Keep teaching me how to live my life in You, rooted and grounded in the faith, built up in praise and prayer. Teach me how to flourish with the fragrance of Christ even in the dry seasons -- "the fragrance that comes from knowing Him" (2 Corinthians 2:14). Teach me how to abound in thanksgiving for the hidden resources of Your Word and Your Spirit that sustain me and empower me to stand firm in the faith through every season until the rains of blessing come again. 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 and cd'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. http://www.messiah-ministries.org Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 6/16 -- the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel at Centenary United Methodist, 2800 Tates Creek Rd in Lexington. All are welcome!

"The Present Age" 6-15-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. The closer I get to You, the closer I want to be. The more of I see of Your glory, the more I see how far I fall short of Your glory and how much I need You and Your grace every day. But here You are -- answering my need and my desire. ... "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11-14). There is a present age and there is an age to come. While I wait with eager anticipation for the age to come, I don't want to be passive or complacent about my part in my generation of the present age. By Your grace and love, You desire to bring "salvation to all" and then to convict us and redeem us from "all iniquity" as You purify us and empower us to live our lives for Your glory and Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. As the body of Christ on earth, being cleansed from our sins and being filled with Your Spirit, we are created and called to be "the manifestation of glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." We wait for the hope of Your coming, but at the same time, we embrace the coming of Your kingdom and Your nature in our lives now. This is "the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Thank You, Lord, for saving me and forgiving me. Thank You for purifying me and redeeming me. Thank You for convicting me of my need for Your grace every day. Thank You for calling me and empowering me to keep welcoming the glory of Your presence in my heart and my life a little more each day. Make me more "zealous for good deeds" for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done in my life and through my life for the hope of Your glory. 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 and cd'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. http://www.messiah-ministries.org Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 6/16 -- the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel at Centenary United Methodist, 2800 Tates Creek Rd in Lexington. All are welcome!

Multiply the Moments 6-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before the day begins, it's good to come away with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I give to You my first thoughts, my first emotions, my first words. ... As I watch and wait for Your leading in the silence of surrender, it seems I hear You say, "Multiply the moments." I think of these moments with my children and family during our time away. Yes, Lord. Multiply the moments -- these moments together with one another, set apart from the intensity of our regular daily lives. Multiply the investment of love and time in these moments with my children. "Then Peter said, 'Look, we have left our homes and followed You.' And He said to them, 'Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life' " (Luke 18:28-30). These few weeks near the beginning of each summer have become some of the most important weeks of my life. These are the times when I "get back very much more in this age" some of what I seem to have lost "for the sake of the kingdom of God." As those who have known me in the journey of my life and those who have come to know me in the journey of my prayers have found, I share the pain and the joy of both a broken family and a blended family. After my first year of ministry in the transition of my worlds from lawyer to minister and from Texas to Kentucky, my first wife divorced me, despite all the counseling and prayers and offers to return to the our old world. My three older children from that first marriage -- Elizabeth, Zachary, and Madison -- are only able to be with me part of the time now. So this block of time when I bring them "back home" to see my family out here in Texas and New Mexico and to spend uninterrupted weeks rather than days and hours with them carries a significance far beyond a family vacation. These moments of talks and laughs, arguments and prayers -- these moments of real life together -- are worth their weight in gold. This year has been a little harder without my two youngest children -- Elijah and Josiah -- since it seemed a little too early to travel for my wife with our newborn son. But at the same time, it's allowed a little more focused time with my older children in a rare gift we seldom share. Somehow by the power of Your grace and Your love, You have brought us through and are bringing us through the journey of brokenness and healing, blending our old life into our new life -- our redeemed life. I have no idea how anyone could try to make it through this kind of journey without You and I'm so glad we have never had to try. Multiply the moments, Lord. Thank You for putting this prayer of Your will on my heart this morning. Do in these moments what might otherwise take months that we no longer have to give and to share with one another. Thank You for the gift of "very much more." 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 and cd'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. http://www.messiah-ministries.org Daily archives: http://morningbymorning.injesus.com Come to The Fountain This Friday Night 6/16 -- the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer and worship in the chapel at Centenary United Methodist, 2800 Tates Creek Rd in Lexington.

The Breath of Your Spirit 6-13-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I come away from the world for a moment to seek You alone and wait in the silence to listen for the leading of Your Spirit. ... "We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). I cannot see the air I breathe, but it is real. And it is essential for my life. I cannot see You, but You are real. And You are essential for my life. If in my pride I were to stubbornly insist that I would not allow air into my lungs because I could not see it and therefore could not believe it was real, I would surely die. Having known the Breath of Life, I know my life would be as dry as a bone and my spirit would surely die if I were to stubbornly refuse to allow the life breath of Your Spirit to fill me afresh every day. The same Hebrew word for breath is the same word for spirit -- ruach. As the worship song says, "You are the Air I breathe. I'm desperate for You." From the very the beginning, we have lived by the breath of God alone: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). You are Spirit (John 4:24). And Your Spirit brings new life to dry bones and weary souls. "Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live" (Ezekiel 37:5). By Your grace and my faith, I choose to believe and I choose to receive the breath of Your Spirit, the breath of Your Life. Breathe Your life into my spirit afresh and let these bones live for You today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.orgCome to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Before All Things" 6-12-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me see You in Your Word and hear You in my spirit. ... "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He himself is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything" (Colossians 1:15-16). Come to "have first place" in my life, Lord Jesus. I know there are still so many areas where I turn to myself and my will before turning to You and Your will. There are still so many times that You come in second -- or far worse -- on my list of priorities and guiding principles for my decisions. Not only is that sin, it's also foolish, because in You "all things hold together." When things are not holding together well in my life, I know it's time reorder my priorities, seek the wisdom of Your ways, and look to You and Your leading "before all things." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com