War in the Heavenlies 8-3-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You call me to draw near to You in the morning in the intimacy of prayer so I can rise and go forth into the battle of the day in the authority of Your presence. Now is when I listen, so that I will be ready when You call me to speak. Now is when I bow low in humility before You, so that I will be ready to rise and take my stand in faith to follow You. … There is war in the heavenlies, and that war is being manifested in the realms of the earth. Israel is ground zero, as You have prophesied in Your Word from the beginning and through the end. Though the nations gather for destruction and war, true peace will come, but only after a false peace comes first. Let us not be deceived and let us not be complacent. Let us be ready and vigilant with our eyes to the heavens and our ears to Your heart to pray and war in the Spirit as Your lead. "For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape. But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of light and children of the day, we are not of the night or of darkness. So than let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober, for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, as indeed you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:2-11). You are my Breastplate; You are my Helmet. You are my Warrior and my Peace; my Encouragement and my Hope. Let me be awake and alive in You to obey Your command in the war at hand. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

God at Work 8-2-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, my Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. I settle my soul to seek Your face and listen for the leading of Your voice. … "From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:4). What an amazing thought! My God works for me as I wait for Him. Of course, You are not working for me in the sense that I am Your boss and You are at my command -- that would be arrogant blasphemy. But as I wait for You, You are at work moving in my life, ordering my steps, preparing the path before me for Your purposes. Yet if I fail to wait, I won't leave room for You to work to prepare the way. If I hurry to go my way, it will be my way rather than Your way that I'm going. So give me the grace of patience to wait -- to sit in the silence of surrender before You, to humble myself in Your sight, to listen for the leading of Your voice, then to rise and follow in the path You have prepared in Your work for me this day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Possessing the Land, Embracing the Kingdom 8-1-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Each day is another day of being conformed to the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in submission to the will of my Father God (from Romans 8:29; 12:1-2). … "Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you, thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised" (Deuteronomy 6:18-19). The literal realities of the events of those living under the Old Covenant also speak of the spiritual encounters of those living under the New Covenant. "These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). Under the New Covenant, my true enemies are not the human beings but the spiritual beings who will be at work to try to hinder and delay, to defile and distort Your purposes in my life today. "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). And the true land You have given me to possess is not marked by metes and bounds, rivers and mountains; it is the land of living in the kingdom of God. And Your kingdom comes in the hearts of all who bow to Your will and Your ways as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. "But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Give me grace to do what is right and good in Your sight today. As I submit my heart and mind to Your will and ways today, let my enemies be scattered and let me enter in to the good land of Your promise and provision. To possess the land is embrace Your kingdom. Then it will go well with me, despite all I may encounter and all I may endure. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, in my life today. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Peace like a River" 7-31-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me in to Your presence, my Father. Come, Holy Spirit. Lord God, I seek all of You with all of me -- as best as I can and all by Your grace. … "Peace like a river." You brought these words to mind to pray into someone's spirit last night during the prayer time of our New Life Community -- our gathering of a couple of small groups that meet on Sunday nights from my home church. With these words came an image of a gently flowing river, but the waters were flowing underground in an underground stream. It seemed You were saying, "Beneath the surface of Your life, I am always here, always moving like a steady flow of peace no matter what things look like on the surface. Don't worry. Be anxious for nothing. Receive my peace like a river." Yes, Lord. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). You are my Peace, Peace like a River flowing through my life -- steady and pure, always moving, always there, always ready to carry me through every trouble I face. Help me not resist Your flow, but freely give myself to You in trusting surrender and to flow with You wherever You take me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Desert Place of Prayer 7-30-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are One and You are the One I seek in the quiet of the morning and in the desert place of prayer. … "In the morning, while it was still very dark, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed" (Mark 1:32). My deserted place for prayer is most often the deserted hours of the early morning, while it is still very dark because no one else is up yet. Here in my prayer chair with my laptop journal and my Bible, You meet me in the communion of prayer. Here I can get quiet in my soul -- my mind, my will, and my emotions -- and my spirit can rise into the heavenly places of prayer where I am seated with You, by being seated in You through the communion of Your Spirit and in submission to Your Lordship at the right hand of my Father. "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He has loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7). Out of these desert places of surrender in the silence of prayer as I wait for Your presence and listen for Your leading, Your living waters of life begin to flow. The desert makes me thirsty and desperate for the life of the water of Your words. "For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and steams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water" (Isaiah 35:6-7). Here in the wilderness, I watch and wait for You alone. Here in the desert, I thirst for Your words of life and Your will for my life. And here Your living waters break forth. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). You are my Righteousness and I thank You for filling me afresh with Your living waters in the desert place of prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"To Know Christ" 7-29-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to know You and hear You and follow You. … "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10). To become like You in Your death is the key to knowing the power of Your resurrection -- not just resurrection from the dead when I die, but the power of Your resurrection living in me every day. And to become like You in Your death is to be completely submitted in trusting surrender to the will of our Father no matter what the cost. "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who … humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross" (verse 2:5-8). The words of complete submission and trusting surrender are: "Nevertheless not my will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42 NKJV). Help me know You and become more like You every day -- in obedience to the will of our Father. As I do, by Your grace, I will know the power of Your resurrection in my life more every day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"To Know Christ" 7-29-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I want to know You and hear You and follow You. … "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10). To become like You in Your death is the key to knowing the power of Your resurrection -- not just resurrection from the dead when I die, but the power of Your resurrection living in me every day. And to become like You in Your death is to be completely submitted in trusting surrender to the will of our Father no matter what the cost. "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who … humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross" (verse 2:5-8). The words of complete submission and trusting surrender are: "Nevertheless not my will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42 NKJV). Help me know You and become more like You every day -- in obedience to the will of our Father. As I do, by Your grace, I will know the power of Your resurrection in my life more every day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Pleasing God, not People 7-28-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Form Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Guide my steps in the way that pleases You today. … "For to the one who pleases Him, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy" (Ecclesiastes 2:26). Show me how please You with my life today. Let that be my standard and my goal. I need Your wisdom and knowledge; I want to experience Your joy. Let me focus not be pleasing people but pleasing God. As I please You, some people may be pleased and some may not. Give me the grace and the wisdom to know that I will only find joy as I seek to please You above all else. Anything less will only steal my joy. Disappointed people that I have not made it my aim to please may condemn me, but my heart will not condemn me if I seek to live my life to please You. "Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and do what pleases Him" (1 John 3:21-22). So, we should not make it our aim to please others; "we make it our aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9). Then let others be pleased that they see me seeking to please You above all else. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Protector of Widows" 7-27-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I began this day flying home toward the glorious sun rising in the east over the Texas plains. You are the Son of glory and I thank You for the gift of beginning every day flying in my spirit toward You in prayer. … "Sing to God, sing praises to His name, lift up a song to Him who rides upon the clouds -- His name is the Lord -- be exultant before Him. Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land" (Psalm 68:4-6). You are a Father to the fatherless and You are a Husband to the widow. In her time of rejoicing for my grandfather's spiritual healing and in her time of grieving for the loss of his physical presence, I know You are holding my grandmother near in Your strong arms and tender mercies. Nanny is eighty-seven years old and the day before PaPa's funeral was their sixty-eighth anniversary of marriage. You have filled their long lives with much grace and mercy. I pray that Nanny's later years will be even greater than her former years (from Haggai 2:9). Edna Marie Hays is amazingly active and deeply spiritual woman of God, still full of much life to give. Give her the grace to live out the richness and fullness of these grandest years of her life for Your glory. "And the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your Husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called" (Isaiah 54:4-5). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Go Rest High" 7-26-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Good Shepherd. Your sheep hear Your voice and follow where You lead -- from day to day, from one life to the next. Take my hand and I will follow Speak Your words, I will obey. Lead me on and I will follow Every step of every day. … Thank You for that song, Lord. You said it this way in Your Word: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cups runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever" (Psalm 23). This morning we will return my grandfather's body to the dust. PaPa has no more need of it now. He has heard the voice of His Good Shepherd and he has followed. Now he's resting in Your green pastures, beside Your still waters. You have lead him through the valley of the shadow of death, and he has had no need to fear, for You are with him. The last few days, I've been thinking of song written by Vince Gil that makes me think of PaPa's passing form this life to the next: "Go rest high on that mountain. Son your work on earth is done. Go to heaven a shoutin' Love for the Father and the Son." Walking with him through this journey of earthly life, through the fleeting grip of death, into Your arms of eternal life have made me realize even more deeply the critical significance our relationship with You. How else could we face death with peace and even joy? And every day between this day and that one in my own journey, I can come to You in prayer by Your Spirit. Every day in prayer, I can "go rest high on that mountain." Every day in prayer, I can "go to heaven a shoutin' Love for the Father and the Son." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Away from the Body 7-25-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my mortal body with fresh breath of Your Holy Spirit, as I look to You and listen for the leading of Your voice. … "So we know that we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord -- for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:5). These earthly bodies of flesh and blood are not our true home. They are but dust (Psalm 103:14). And one day, these mortal bodies of dust will return to dust -- "the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). These bodies are Your means for us to live out our earthly lives until the joyful day we come "home with the Lord." We were never meant to take up permanent residence in these bodies subject to decay and the weight of sin and death in a broken, fallen world. We are not permanent citizens of this world. "But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, by the power that also enables Him to make all things subject to Himself" (Philippians 3:21-22). My grandfather's faith has become sight because he is now "away from the body and at home with the Lord." He can now hear and see perfectly, his mind is clear and his heart is pure. He has run his course and fought "the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). He has heard Your words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter in to the joy of your Lord!" (Matthew 25:23). Until that day comes for me, give me grace to keep running my course and fighting my fight, doing all with the aim to please You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy In honor of my grandfather Nolan Bradford Hays (January 13, 1909 - July 23, 2006). His body will be buried on Wednesday in Lamesa, Texas, but his spirit is at home with his Lord in heaven. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Resurrected into Life 7-24-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You said to Martha in the midst of her grief from the loss of her bother and friend, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die" (John 11:25). I believe in You. So did my PaPa. And in You, we know we will never die, but live forever in the power and the glory of Your resurrection and life. … Yesterday morning, as I finished my morning prayer, so did PaPa. In a little while I realized he had breathed his last breath on earth. He passed effortlessly through the hands of death into the arms of eternal Life. "For this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:53-56). Nolan Bradford Hays lived out his ninety-seven years on earth with us and now he will live out eternity in heaven with You. Father, You have given him the victory of life over death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God! His lungs no longer strain to breathe. His aged body no longer strains under the weight of this world. He is home and he is free. Like Abraham, he "breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people" (Genesis 25:8). Ninety-seven is pretty good old age. He is now gathered up with that "great cloud of witnesses" cheering us on to live our lives in the fullness of our years for Your kingdom and Your glory, all by Your grace. Like PaPa, one day we will be resurrected into eternal life; but even now, let the power of Your resurrection Life live on in us (Romans 8:11). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Friends, thank you for your prayers for my family through this time of both grief and joy, of death and resurrection. My grandmother has asked me to preach at PaPa's funeral at the First Baptist Church of Lamesa, Texas this coming Wednesday morning, July 26th. I would appreciate your prayers for all of the friends and family of Nolan and Edna Hays. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

PaPa's Song 7-23-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. My brother Greg and I have been taking turns keeping the night watch over my PaPa as he draws nearer to the fullness of Your glory with each passing breath. As the night watch moves into the morning watch today, I am moved by the sense of Your watch over our lives every night and every morning and every day. … "He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by Him you were called into fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:8-9). Thank You, Lord, for Your persevering faith and unfailing grace that has strengthened PaPa and kept him near to You to the end. In these last days and moments of Your earthly grace, we are not able to see all he sees nor hear all he hears of Your heavenly grace. But in that realm that he is surely now beginning to experience in a measure far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine, I know he is finding deep assurance of Your forgiveness of sin, complete cleansing from shame of any failures or regrets, healing from the brokenness and pain of ninety-seven years of life through a broken and fallen world, and the sense of peace in the final fulfillment of every promise of Your Word to him. Sometimes You heal us in the power and glory of a moment, sometimes in the process of a journey in the means of grace You choose, and sometime You heal us in the glory of our resurrection into the fullness of Your presence. You are the Healer and Savior of our spirits and souls and bodies, sanctifying us fully in the joy and peace of Your presence (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Life is a journey of faith, "but the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13). Thank You for holding my PaPa safe and sound in the grip of Your grace to the end. In the fading strength of his earthly body, PaPa can't pray with words anymore. So I join with him in my prayers to You, spirit to spirit, deep calling to deep, in the strength of Your Spirit. As I include him in my morning prayer today, I seem to sense Your Holy Spirit rising up in his human spirit in a trusting song of peace: You are my Healer You heal my hurt and pain You are my Healer You heal my brokenness and shame. Sometimes You heal in power Sometimes You heal in glory And sometimes You heal in the glory to come. You are my Savior You save me from my sins You are my Savior You save me through the end. Sometimes You save in power Sometimes You save in glory And Sometimes You save in the glory to come. So come now and heal me Heal me in the wholeness of Heaven So come now and save me Save me in the fullness of Your glory to come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

Resting in the Promise of Resurrection 7-21-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I journey through the moments of my life, You are with me. As we begin the journey today, I welcome Your wisdom, I trust in Your truth, and I rest in the promise of Your resurrection power. … "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 love and steadfast 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). With just a little strength of life left in one lung, my PaPa finds strength in these last steps of the journey in You alone. Amazingly, there is still strength in his hugs and firmness in his handshake. Through ninety-seven years of life, he is a soul who has been blessed with Your goodness as long as he has lived. Thank You for the many blessings seen and the countless blessings unseen. Thank You for the benefits of being a son of God through faith in You -- forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, mercy, and fulfillment. In Your perfect timing and in Your perfect way through the mercy of faith in You, his youth will be renewed in the full measure of Your glory. "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the Man of heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:41). Because we trust You and Your Word, we join in faith with PaPa in committing and commending his spirit and soul and body to You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Friends, thank you for covering our family in prayer as we walk out the last steps of the journey with my PaPa. At home, our ministry will still be leading The Fountain this Friday Night 7/21 at 7 pm. Doris McCray will lead in prayer and Paul Cooper will lead in worship. Please come if you can and join in prayer if you can't. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Each Day 7-20-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Prince of Peace. I welcome Your peace in my soul this day. … "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out gather enough for that day" (Exodus 16:4). Thank You for the grace we need each day. Thank You for a peaceful night for PaPa and thank You for the grace of Your peace this morning as we continue to entrust him into Your hands. As one of his favorite old songs goes, "One day at a time." You give us each day our daily bread as we welcome You to walk through each day with us (Luke 11:3). You are "the Bread of Life" that rains down from heaven (John 6:35). You are enough for every day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Praying Friends, thank you for all your prayers and notes. Though I probably can't respond to them all any time soon, I'm grateful for each one of you in the journey. With much love, Tommy To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

Into Your Hands 7-19-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I entrust myself and my family to You this day. … "In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being" (Job 12:10). My first thoughts were turned to phone instead of to prayer this morning and now I'm on a flight from Kentucky to Texas. Sometime around 3:00 this morning, I got the call from my grandmother, Nanny, I knew would come one day soon. My ninety-seven year old grandfather, PaPa, is experiencing massive internal bleeding. He seems to be slipping from this earthly life, through the fleeting grip of death, and into the fullness of eternal life. We have chosen to entrust his life completely into Your hands and Your care, with no artificial means of preserving his life on earth -- only our faithful prayers in trusting surrender to Your perfect will. Death is our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). And in Jesus' name, we rebuke death from having any say in this matter, and we entrust PaPa into the hands of Life. You are Life and we trust You to snatch him out of the grip of death and deliver him into the hands of his Father in Your perfect timing and in Your perfect way. I pray You would steady the heart of my grandmother and give her the peace of Your presence. Calm my spirit and focus my thoughts as I travel to join her in these hours of uncertainty and stress. Give me Your words to speak and Your prayers to pray. Father, I pray for Your favor and grace as we make arrangements for the rest of our family to come alongside my grandparents in these sacred moments of time. They have no living children and as the oldest grandson, I will bear much responsibility. Help me to bear these burdens to You and follow the paths of Your leading through these delicate days. Into Your hands, I entrust the spirit and soul and body of my grandfather and Your son. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

"All Day Long" 7-18-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Before I begin to think about my day, before I even begin to pray for others, I seek You and offer You the first moments of my morning. No matter where this day will lead, I will know I began it here with You. … "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for You be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all day long" (Psalm 25:1-5). I can't wait for You "all day long" unless I wait for You now. I can't follow Your leading "all day long" unless I begin to follow You now. These first moments of the morning set in motion the journey of my day. By Your grace, draw me near to You and focus my thoughts on You. Form Your nature in my nature as I willingly choose to submit myself to You. I seek the mind of Christ, the Father heart of God, the anointing of Your Holy Spirit. "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul" -- my mind and will and emotions. As I do, You will keep teaching me Your paths and leading me in Your truth "all day long." In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! this Friday night at 7 pm for our ministry's monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship in the chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Road in Lexington. Come be refreshed and renewed as we drink deeply from the Living Waters. I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper from Liberty Worship will be leading in worship. All are welcome! Call us for information at 859-317-1591. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

"Drenched in God's Holy Spirit" 7-17-06

Good Morning, Lord Jesus. Cleanse my soul in the washing of the water of Your Word. Fill my heart with the fullness of the life of Your Spirit. By Your grace, I choose to begin this day submitted and surrendered to You. … "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit' "(Acts 11:15-16). At the close of prayer ministry time at the Aldersgate conference in Springfield, Illinois Saturday night, a close friend of mine who pastors a church in Indiana brought his family up for us to pray together. His little boy had just come from the youth service and he was still grinning from ear to ear. I asked him what happened to him. He said, "God drenched me with His Holy Spirit!" He told me when one of the youth leaders began to pray for him, he started to cry for a long time, but they were good tears. Then we prayed for his sister to be "drenched in God's Holy Spirit" and little tears started to flow down her face. After a while of gently praying for her, I asked her if they were good tears and she nodded. Then her daddy kneeled down and held her tight for a long time while they cried good tears together -- along with all the rest of us. This was a wonderful picture in the natural realm of what was taking place in the spiritual realm. Lord Jesus, as we seek You and the fullness of Your presence in our hearts, You fill us with Your Holy Spirit and drench us in the love of God, as our heavenly Father holds us tightly in His powerful embrace. "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). Keep pouring Your love into our hearts, Lord. Keep drenching us in Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come join us for the Aldersgate conference on the Holy Spirit next summer in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas: www.aldersgaterenewal.org Come to The Fountain! this Friday night at 7 pm for our ministry's monthly gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship in the chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Road in Lexington. Come be refreshed and renewed as we drink deeply from the Living Waters. All are welcome! Call us for information at 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

Out of the Desert Places 7-15-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I bow to You as King of my heart. I submit to You as Lord of my life. Rule and reign in me today. Come let me hear what You are saying to me today. … "Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress; He led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wonderful works to humankind. For He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry He fills with good things" (Psalm 107:4-9). In these days apart to seek Your face and welcome Your Spirit at the Aldersgate Conference, You have released a hunger and a thirst for Your presence and Your power. The more we seek You, the more You surface our need for You. Times of intense worship are followed by times of intense ministry. Like Isaiah, the more we behold Your glory, the more we see how much we are undone and broken, in need of Your tender mercies, healing grace, and mighty power. But as we cry out to You in our troubles, You deliver us from our distress. You are satisfying our thirsting souls and filling our hungry hearts. We are being changed in the power of Your presence. Lord, what You are doing in us in these days, I pray You would do throughout the earth. Pour out a thirst and a hunger for Your presence and Your power. Lead every wandering soul out of the desert places of loneliness and isolation, out of brokenness and pain, out of anxiety and fear, out of doubt and unbelief, out of sin and shame, and into the place of Your power and Your presence. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for us at Aldersgate. The Lord is emptying us of ourselves and filling us with Himself. I pray that blessing for each of you. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org

Waves of His Will 7-14-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Here in the silence of surrender, I entrust myself to You in these first moments of my morning. Draw me into Your presence as I welcome Your presence in me. You say, "I am the Vine." I say, "I am one of Your branches. I abide in You as I welcome You to abide in me" (from John 15:1-5). … When I practiced law in Corpus Christi beside the Gulf of Mexico, I liked to spend some time at the beach every now and then. It was nice to relax in the sun and walk in the sand along the edge of the water. Stress seemed to wash out to sea with every wave. Sometimes I would wade out a little deeper and I could feel the draw of the water back into the sea after every wave would wash onto the beach. As I tried to walk, I would have to almost dig in with my steps to resist the flow of the water trying to draw me out to sea with the waves. So sometimes I would lay back in the water and kick up my feet with no resistance, just to flow with waves. These morning times of prayer are kind of like that the washing of the waves along the shore of my soul. There will be time to walk through the resistance of all the challenges that will come with the day, time to dig in and take a stand, time to press on when everything seems to flowing the other way. But these first moments of the morning are a time to lay back in Your arms, kick my feet up in trusting surrender to the flow of Your Spirit, and let You draw me out into the deeper waters of Your presence. Let the morning sun of the Son of God shine on my soul, and let the waves of Your Holy Spirit wash away the stress and strain of my own strength. Draw me out into the flow of the will of my Father today, as I abide in You and welcome You to abide in me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I would appreciate your prayers this week while I'm ministering at Aldersgate in Springfield, Illinois. Today I will be teaching and ministering on the topic of Freedom from the Chains of our Past. I am also ministering on the prayer team and word gifts team for the general sessions. I wish you were all here in Springfield, Illinois with me! So please be with me in the Spirit through prayer. The Lord is moving powerfully! God bless! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "... Preparing the Way of the Lord, ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.org