Principle of Provision 5-6-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Cleanse my soul in Your blood, purify my heart in Your fire. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to honor my Father with my life this day. ... "You give them something to eat" (Mark 6:37). Your first disciples were always thinking naturally, but You were always calling them to think supernaturally. When it was late and the crowds were hungry, they wanted to send them away to the store to buy bread to eat. But You were teaching them the principle of provision -- we offer to You all that we have and You provide to us all that we need. So five loaves and two fish fed five thousand that day. But You didn't just work Your miracle from heaven. You taught them how to participate in partnership with God. Your power multiplied the food to feed the people, but You chose to use Your disciples to gather what they had and distribute what they needed. As they gave the people something to eat, they were Your hands and revealed Your heart. Lord Jesus, I want to be Your hands and reveal Your heart. By Your grace, I offer all that I am and all that I have, knowing You will provide all that I need. With as much humility and faith as I have, I offer to You my five loaves and two fish. And I ask You to multiply the little that I have, knowing it is just enough for You to use in the lives of others if I entrust it all to You. Thank You for the joy of letting me participate in partnership with You, even in the supernatural provision and power of God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please cover us in prayer for the Lord's provision and power as I preach messages of spiritual renewal and revival in the Ashland, Kentucky area this week (Sunday through Wednesday) at Advance Memorial United Methodist Church in Flatwoods. Many have foreseen mighty moves of God coming from the mountains of eastern Kentucky and I am excited to be a part of preparing the way of the Lord through preaching and prayer. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Proper Protocol for a Royal Visit 5-5-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are King of the heavens and King of the earth. Be King of my thoughts and all of my words. ... "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.... Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory" (Psalm 24:1-10). Queen Elizabeth of England arrived here in Lexington yesterday in advance of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville today. Everyone is excited to be visited by royalty. The newspapers and television were filled with principles of proper protocol should you happen to see the Queen. Should you bow or curtsey? Should you shake her hand or kiss it. Is it ok to ask questions or just smile and wave? Everyone was thrilled at the thought of a moment in the presence of the Queen. And every morning I wash my face and sit in my chair. I open my journal and my heart to humble myself in Your sight and wait in the silence of surrender for the leading of Your Spirit. This is my protocol for my visit with the King -- the King of kings and Lord of lords. I lift up my face and open up my heart that the King of glory may come in -- not just for a visit, but to take up residence; not just a short visitation but a constant habitation. I'm excited about the visit of the Queen, but I'm much more excited about the coming of the King. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ Daily Archives: http://www.morningbymorning.injesus.com/

Treasured Possession, Holy Nation 5-4-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. At Your name, my knees bow and my tongue confesses that You are Lord. ... "Now therefore, if you obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for Me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). Father, thank You for Your covenant with Israel, teaching us through the generations of the nature of Your faithfulness even in the face of our unfaithfulness. No people of any nation can completely obey Your voice and keep Your covenant, nor even desire to, apart from Your grace and power. All will fall short of Your glory and Your will. All will turn, sooner or later and usually sooner, to their own ways instead of Yours. So we all need the Savior who sends His Spirit to lead us back to You in repentance and faith. Israel needed a Messiah, and so do we -- the people of every tongue and tribe and nation. And by the mercy of Your grace, we have One -- "in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14). For ourselves and on behalf of our nations, let us be Your "treasured possession." We are treasured because You love us and gave Your life for us. We are Your possession because we choose to submit our will and our ways to Yours. Through the blood of the Lamb that cleanses our sins and restores our soul, as a people and as a nation, You remind us of our calling and destiny in Christ -- to be a priestly kingdom and a holy nation, to receive all the blessings of Abraham. And through this kingdom and nation of a people redeemed and restored out of every kingdom and every nation, "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). In Christ, the Messiah of Israel and all nations, we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) might proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called (us) out of darkness and into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for joining with us in prayer yesterday for our National Day of Prayer. At our state-wide gathering at the Capitol in Kentucky, we were able to come inside because of the rain, and fill the floor of the Capitol Rotunda with over a hundred people form across our state to pray for our nation. Just outside the Governor's office and in between the chambers of the House and Senate, we boldly worshipped and prayed, proclaiming the mighty acts of God in the name of Jesus in the freedom we have. May the Lord hear our prayers on behalf of our nation. We believe He has -- and so did everybody in our capitol building! God bless you and all the families of the earth! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

National Day of Prayer 5-3-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are "the King of the nations" of the earth (Revelation 15:3). Be King of my nation and my heart this day. ... "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people" (Joel 2:15). Across America today, Your people who are called by Your name will answer the call to come and pray. This is a National Day of Prayer. And as we humble our hearts on behalf of our nation, we pray You will answer our prayers and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). On capitol and courthouse steps, beneath prayer towers and church steeples, in parks and parking lots across our land, we will come together in the unity of the Spirit from all the traditions and streams of the body of Christ to call on the name of our God. We will come together in repentance and faith, tears and joy, proclamation and prayer, on behalf of the people of our nation and on behalf of the people of all nations. We will come as a foretaste and first-fruits of the day when Your Word will be fulfilled: "All the nations You have made will come and bow down before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name" (Psalm 86:9). Convict us and cleanse us of our sins as a nation; humble our pride and heal our hurt; restore us to our calling that we may yet fulfill our destiny as a people of God. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12, KJV). On behalf of our nation and as far as Your grace will go, we proclaim our God is the Lord of our land. O Lord, hear our prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I am humbled to know many of you who join with me in this journey of prayer each day are not Americans. But I ask you to join with us this day to pray for the people of America to know the Lord and obey His will for our lives and our nation. I pray the same for yours. In Christ, together from every tribe and tongue and nation, we are all the people of His "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). For the National Day of Prayer today, Thursday, May 3rd, I will be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky at noon. In Lexington our church will lead a time of prayer at the Prayer Tower at noon at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek, 859-269-2800. Please join the prayer gatherings in your area www.ndptf.org If you are in the Ashland, Kentucky area, I will be preaching messages of spiritual renewal at Advance United Methodist Church this Sunday through Wednesday, May 6-9. Come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Spirit-Possessed 5-2-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and welcome in Your Spirit. ... "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him" (Romans 8:9). Just as unholy spirits seek to possess those who open themselves to what is unholy, Your Holy Spirit seeks to possess those who open themselves to the One who is holy. Holy Spirit of the Living God, You are the "Spirit of Christ," who comes to live in me, who comes to possess me. Just as unholy spirits seek to make us more like their nature as we give them permission and submit to their authority in our lives, You come to make me more like Your nature as I give You permission and submit to Your authority in my life. "But in your hearts, sanctify Christ as Lord" (1 Peter 3:15). Lord Jesus, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I sanctify You as Lord in my heart and every area of my life. I willingly welcome Your Spirit to come into me and consume me, to conform my nature to Your nature and my will to Your will. I am Spirit-possessed -- "bought with a price" by the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20). The Father and the Son are One and You come to abide in me by Your Holy Spirit (John 14:20). Come, Holy Spirit -- "Spirit of Christ" -- and make me more like Jesus each day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays For the National Day of Prayer this Thursday, May 3rd, I am thrilled to be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky at noon. In Lexington our church will lead a time of prayer at the Prayer Tower at noon at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek, 859-269-2800. Please join the prayer gatherings in your area www.ndptf.org Friends, if you are in the Ashland, Kentucky area, I will be preaching messages of spiritual renewal at Advance United Methodist Church this Sunday through Wednesday, May 6-9. Come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Grace and Gifts of God 5-1-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I have so far to go, but I thank You for bringing me this far. Help me keep growing into maturity in my relationship with You through the journey of prayer. ... "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in Him, in speech and knowledge of every kind -- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you -- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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 the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:4-9). Father, as You spoke through Paul to Your church at Corinth, so You speak to us today in every place where we gather into the fellowship of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. By Your grace, You have saved us and You are sanctifying us as You continue to strengthen us "to the end." We are to be "blameless" through the blood of Christ that cleanses our sins and purifies our hearts. We are to be empowered through Your Holy Spirit who releases all Your spiritual gifts through the body of Christ until we are "not lacking in any spiritual gift." Our lives are to be a living "testimony of Christ" because we are living in fellowship with Christ and with one another, growing in the grace of God, enriched by the words and wisdom "of every kind" You share with us through one another. You are faithful. And You will bring to completion all You have begun in us. Lord, keep revealing to me my spiritual gifts from You -- awakening them within me, cleansing them in Your blood, purifying them in Your fire, and maturing them in Your nature. I pray the same for all those with me in the journey of faith in Christ. Let the fellowship of my church and all my relationships of ministry no longer be lacking in any spiritual gift. As You have commanded us in Your Word, let us "pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts" (1 Corinthians 14:1). Let us be "eager for spiritual gifts" and "strive to excel in them for the building up of the church" (v. 14:12). And as we obey Your calling and command to "strive for the greater gifts," let us be prepared and available to be used by You to touch the lives of others in the "more excellent way" of Your nature of love, growing and maturing in us (v. 12:31). "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love" (v. 13:13). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, if you are in the Ashland, Kentucky area, I will be preaching messages of spiritual renewal at Advance United Methodist Church this Sunday through Wednesday, May 6-9. Come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. For the National Day of Prayer this Thursday, May 3rd, I will be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky at noon. In Lexington our church will lead a time of prayer at the Prayer Tower at noon at Centenary UMC, 2800 Tates Creek, 859-269-2800. Please join the prayer gatherings in your area www.ndptf.org Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Word of God, Speak 4-30-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Prepare my heart to hear Your voice. Open my spirit to receive Your Word. Word of God, speak, I pray; and help me hear what You say. ... "Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God" (John 8:47). Lord Jesus, You are "The Word of God" (Revelation 19:13). All Scripture is perfectly revealed and fulfilled in You (Matthew 5:17). The words of Moses and the prophets lead us to You, the Living Word of the Living God (Luke 24:27). As I read my Bible, open my eyes my heart to see You. As I draw near to You in the communion of prayer, open the ears of my spirit to hear You. You call me to hear Your voice and follow You (John 10:27). And I cannot hear and know Your voice unless I spend time with You in the communion of prayer. So here I am to answer Your call to listen for Your voice in the silence of surrender to the Word of God. ... As I wait in the silence, it seems I hear You say, "Even in the silence, I am still speaking, because I am the Word of God. Even in the silence, You hear My Word as you welcome Me, for I am the Word of God." Yes, Lord. I welcome You. I yield my thoughts and desires to Yours. Because Your Word is Your presence, I know You will be speaking to me throughout the moments of my day -- whether I consciously hear them or not -- because I have welcomed You to come along with me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794

To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Guided by the Spirit" 4-29-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You and the Father are One, and You come to dwell in my heart by Your Holy Spirit. I open my heart to You today. ... "Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him what was customary under the law, Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God..." (Luke 2:27-28). I want to be guided by Your Spirit in all things. And the Holy Spirit is always leading us to You -- to embrace You and praise God. As You said of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, "He will glorify Me, because He will take what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14). Come, Holy Spirit. Guide me and lead me to Jesus, Who always draws me into the arms of my Father, Who always pours out the promise of the Spirit. Draw me "into the temple" -- into the place of intimacy and praise. Here in the temple of my heart, I worship You Lord God in the Oneness of each dimension of Your Being -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As Jesus promised, "You will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" (John 14:20). Here in the temple of my heart, I praise You Lord God. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I am excited to be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3rd. Please come join us if you can and pray with us if you can't between 12:00 and 1:00. Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Celebration of Christ 4-28-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. How great is our God! I love You and thank You for Your grace in my life, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ... "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for His Word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly as I should" (Colossians 4:2-4). Last night we honored You. We celebrated Your goodness and grace through the power of Your love in our lives -- stories of healing and deliverance, changed lives, and Your continual calling to communion with You in prayer. You spoke powerfully to us through two the elders of our city who have mentored me as a spiritual mother and father in the faith, Margaret Therkelsen and Tom Monroe. They are as Anna and Simeon in our city -- they have walked faithfully with You throughout their long lives, but they will not taste of death until they see the coming revival of Your presence and power in our city that burns with passion in their hearts. It is only birthed and born in the womb of prayer. I praise You for Tom Monroe's prophetic words that the barriers of resistance are breaking down; the power of Your Word and the fire of Your Spirit are going forth. We are humbled and honored to be a part of it -- to see Your people, called by Your name, filled with Your Spirit, to display Your glory in our generation. You are revealing the mystery of Christ in our midst. Keep us devoted to prayer in persistent devotion to You. And like Anna and Simeon, we will declare our "eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples" (Luke 2:24). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I am excited to be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3rd. Please come join us if you can and pray with us if you can't between 12:00 and 1:00. Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Rain Down Righteousness 4-27-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are alive and You are living in me -- "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). ... "Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it" (Isaiah 45:8). What an amazing week this has been! In times of prayer ministry, I have seen You go deeply to a point of pain and shame in several peoples' lives to touch places they had never let anyone touch before. They each saw You come in the power of Your love and the mercy of Your grace to cleanse and heal and free. Each time we were all amazed by the suddenness of sadness turned to joy! Then as we prayed at our church Wednesday night, we all had the sense that something marvelous has happened in the heavens over us. You have opened the heavens to shower us with grace and rain down righteousness. Salvation is springing up -- the fullness of salvation -- eternal life, healing, deliverance, restoration, and the peace of God with Your people. The kingdom of God has come near, "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Last night in our Celebrate Recovery ministry, I was teaching about repentance and turning to You as the One True Higher Power for freedom and healing. The lady we prayed for on Wednesday gave me permission to tell everyone her experience with you. She had made up her mind to kill herself and started our prayer time with the declaration, "This is my last ditch effort." But in that place of willingness to hold nothing back for the first time in her life, she let You go to the place of her deepest shame. As she spoke out loud the things she had done and things done to her in a day she had dreaded all her life, she saw You come to her. And that little girl part of her came running to You -- forgiven and free, un-rejected and unashamed. The tormenting voices stopped. In the words of the old Wesley hymn, her chains fell off, and she was free; she arose, went forth, and followed Thee. Peace and joy filled her soul. And we were all amazed by Your amazing love. After I told her story, I led everyone who wanted to join me in a prayer of repentance and faith, turning our lives over to You as Lord and Savior. A man was with us for the first time who needed to hear Your Word of hope and receive the power of Your Spirit. When we got together, he turned his life over to You and told us he couldn't quit trembling with joy inside as You began to reorder his mind and will and emotions just as You had reordered his spirit. His chains fell off, and he was free; he arose, went forth, and followed Thee. Peace and joy filled his soul. And we were all amazed by Your amazing love. Perhaps You have opened the heavens over our city or even over all Kentucky or all our nation or all the earth. But I know this today -- You have opened the heavens over these lives! How great is our God! "Song for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have compassion over his suffering ones" (Isaiah 49:13). Truly, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 10:7, KJV). Keep opening Your heavens, O Lord our God, keep raining down righteousness, as we keep opening our hearts to You in repentance and faith, persevering in prayer. What an amazing week; what an amazing God! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I am excited to be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3rd. Please come join us if you can and pray with us if you can't between 11:00 and 1:00. Please cover us in prayer tonight for our 2007 Celebration Dinner -- "How Great is Our God!" Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Increase in Intensity 4-26-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is the name above every name. I speak out Your name in worship and prayer as my first words this new day. ... "But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). Father, it seems I hear You say, "These are days of increase: Increase in intensity of all things -- increase in wickedness and increase in holiness; increase in deception and increase in truth; increase in terror and increase in peace. As a mustard seed increases into a tree, so the kingdoms of this world and its ruler increase into maturity, but so does My kingdom, the kingdom of My Christ. When all things increase into maturity, evil and good full grown, then the reaping of My harvest shall come. Prepare for the reaping of My harvest." Yes, Lord. Teach me to live my life with Your harvest in mind (Isaiah 18:5; Matthew 13:30). "The days are evil," but You are good (Ephesians 5:15). The "ruler of this world" may rage in fury for his final stand, but he "has been condemned" and he is defeated by the victory of the cross (John 16:11). Let me not be discouraged that sin increases, because grace abounds all the more. Let me not be discouraged by the increase in intensity of evil, because the increase in intensity of Your goodness and grace abounds all the more. So by Your grace, I press through the darkness of the night, seeking the light of Your glory to come. It may be darkest before the dawn, but the dawn of the day of the Lord is coming (Malachi 4:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). By Your grace, with all the people of Your kingdom on earth, I am being prepared for the reaping of Your harvest in that day. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I am excited to be leading the state-wide prayer gathering this year on the steps of the state capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky on the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3rd. Please come join us if you can and pray with us if you can't between 11:00 and 1:00. Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"You Complete Me" 4-25-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my peace, and I trust in Your power. ... "Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do His will, working among us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever" (Hebrews 13:20-21). The all-time classic, corny line from a romance movie that makes every guy grimace and cringe is "You complete me." But it's so classic because it's so true. We are created to be completed. You said from the beginning, "It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18). So You use the loneliness and emptiness to draw us to one another and to draw us to You. But even though You love us through one another, it is still, ultimately, only You who can make us "complete in everything good." And I am created and completed for a purpose -- so that I may do Your will, living a life that is pleasing in Your sight. You are the God of peace who knows and tends to my needs as a great shepherd, even laying down Your life for Your sheep (John 10:11). You comfort me and complete me so that my life may be fulfilled in my relationship with You and with those You bring into relationship with me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Free from Anxiety 4-24-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. It's a little too early this morning, Lord Jesus. But I can't seem to sleep, so I'll try coming to pray. ... "I want you to be free from anxieties" (1 Corinthians 7:32). Lord, You created me to be a very positive person -- tending to see the glass half full instead of half empty. And You've even given me a great desire to passionately pray that the waters would rise up and overflow! But Lord, sometimes it's hard to turn off my passions and go to sleep, to entrust to You all the people and prayers on my heart. Sometimes what I like to think of as excitement and passion is what other people call anxiety and stress. You have taught me to teach others how to bear the burdens of others to You, not absorbing them into themselves. Help me live out what I teach in this season of both great excitement and great anxiety. I don't want to give up a single flicker of the flame of the passion and fire that burns my spirit to see Your kingdom come and Your will be done in the earth and in the lives of those You've laid on my heart. But I need Your grace to release it into Your hands so I can rest in Your arms. Even as I write these words and pray them from my heart, I sense You beginning to draw out the anxiety and pour in Your peace. ... "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Thank You, Lord. By the means of Your grace through prayer, You are now guarding my heart and my mind. So I don't have to. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Pleasing to God 4-23-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I commit this day into Your hands. Be Lord of my thoughts and desires throughout the moments of my day. ... "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with victory" (Psalm 149:4). A humble heart, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You, brings a smile to Your face and joy to Your heart. Help me humble myself in trusting surrender into Your hands today, as You put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Help me trust that You will be going before me, guiding my steps and preparing the way for my life to be a pleasing aroma to You today. Help me be and do "that which is pleasing in (Your) sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever" (Hebrews 13:21). You resist the proud, but give grace to the humble (James 4:6). And in Your grace alone, will I find the victory of Your peace and Your power through every challenge I face. As I do, I join those who "lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him" to "bear fruit in every good work" (Colossians 1:10). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Dear Friends, we are getting our final count to the caterer today for our Celebration Dinner this Friday Night, April 27th. Please call Marilyn right away if you are coming and haven't RSVP'd yet. 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com God bless you and please cover this special evening in the life of our ministry in prayer. Come to The Mountain! on Monday Nights for our ministry's weekly prayer for the peace of Jerusalem led by Doris and Bob McCray. 7 pm in the upstairs Community Room at First Southern National Bank on Harrodsburg Rd. in Lexington. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 Come to The Fountain! on the 3rd Friday night of every month for our ministry's gathering of the body of Christ from every tradition and stream to worship the Lord in Sprit and in Truth. Come drink deeply from the Living Waters in the freedom of the Spirit. 7 pm in the chapel at Centenary. All are welcome. Call for details: 859-422-1794 To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Family Days 4-22-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me beside Your still waters, as I focus my thoughts on You and put my hand in Yours. ... "The children of Your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in Your presence" (Psalm 102:28). Thank You for the family days like yesterday to just rest in Your presence and spend time in the presence of one another. These are days to turn off the cell phone and the laptop, play some ball in the yard, go for a drive in the country, wander along the creek, grill some hot dogs at a friend's house, and even eat popcorn on the couch 'til we fall asleep. Lord, help me schedule in a few more days like this -- days to live settled and secure in the peace of Your presence through one another. In a busy, broken world with too much pressure and too many demands, these kinds of family days seem hard to come by. So help me plan them and guard them and savor them as a gift from You -- a gift to me and a gift to them. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Provision and Peace in the Land 4-20-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and I need Your grace. ... "If you follow My statutes and keep My commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the land shall yield their fruit.... And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall make you afraid...." (Leviticus 26:3-6). There are blessings of provision and peace that come to our lives and our land with obedience to Your will. But obedience is impossible apart from You and Your grace. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is no one who is righteous, not even one" (v. 3:10). So I can only "become obedient from the heart" by turning my heart over to You (v. 6:17). Every day, I need Your grace. Every day, I need to call on Your name in humble repentance and trusting faith for my life and for my land to be cleansed by Your blood and find the obedience of righteousness in You alone. This is "the obedience of faith" that comes only "through Jesus Christ" (Romans 16:25-27). Only here is the place of peace where there is freedom from fear -- the place at the foot of the cross, under the blood of the Lamb, and in the arms of God. Here is the place I find the "grace and peace" You have promised "in abundance" to all "who have been chosen by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood" (1 Peter 1:2). Thank You, Lord, for drawing me here to this place of grace where I can know Your provision and peace in my land and my life, even in the midst of unrighteousness and unrest. Here I am not untouched by it, but I am unafraid of it. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! Tonight, Friday 4/20 at 7 pm for Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide 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. Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries and I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper of Liberty Worship Center will be leading in worship. All are welcome! Call us for information at 859-317-1591 Friends, if you are able to come to our Celebration Dinner on April 27th, please RSVP to Marilyn by this Saturday 4/21: DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591. Many thanks and blessings to all who can't come but who will pray for us instead, as we pray for God's provision to fulfill His vision in our hearts! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Life Has Won! 4-19-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I center my thoughts and open my heart in the simplicity of single-minded devotion to You in these first moments of my morning. ... "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19, NKJV). In the same week that death and violence came raging in like a flood on the college campus of Virginia Tech, the Spirit of the Lord has lifted up the standard of the sanctity of life at our nation's Supreme Court a few miles away in Washington. Our Court upheld the law banishing a violent form of abortion. Now there is a crack in the dam of the stronghold of death holding back the free flow of the River of Life from our land. As the abortion doctor who challenged this law limiting the right to abortion prophetically admitted, "I am afraid the Supreme Court has just opened the door to an all-out assault" on the legality of abortion in America. Amen. So be it. The 1973 declaration of death in Roe v. Wade, giving permission in the spiritual realms to the principality of death over our nation, is being revoked and renounced. Sanctity of life is being honored again in our land. Light always triumphs over darkness and good always overcomes evil -- through persistence and prayer that releases the grace and power of God. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). Thank You, Lord. You are healing our land. Life is overcoming death and Light is displacing the darkness. Give us courage to "pursue righteousness" and keep fighting "the good fight of the faith" as we persevere with tenacity and endurance against every form of sin and death to "take hold of eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:11-12). The enemy may come in like a flood, and for a season it may seem like we are drowning personally and as a nation, but our God will always raise a standard -- the battle banner of war against evil to enforce the victory of the cross in our lives. "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I Am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" (Isaiah 43:1-3). By Your grace, we will not fear, but persevere. Your Word will not return void, but will fulfill every promise and every purpose (Isaiah 55:11). In Your timing and in Your way, all by Your power and grace, we will see our nation and all the earth filled with "the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). Lord Jesus, You are Life (John 14:6). And through the victory of Your cross and the glory of Your resurrection, Life has won and death is eternally defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26; Revelation 20:14). Enforce Your victory in our hearts and throughout the earth, to the glory of our Father in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, f you are able to come to our Celebration Dinner on April 27th, please RSVP to Marilyn by this Saturday 4/21: DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-317-1591. Many thanks and blessings to all who can't come but who will pray for us instead, as we pray for God's provision to fulfill His vision in our hearts! Come to The Fountain! this Friday night 4/20 at 7 pm for Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide 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. Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries and I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper of Liberty Worship Center 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 -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Evil and Goodness Full Grown 4-18-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Abide in me as I abide in You. ... "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.... Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn' " (Matthew 13:24-30). These are dark days where the seeds of evil and goodness are full grown into maturity. This week a college student methodically slaughtered his fellow students and teachers in the most horrendous school shooting of our nation's history. Human beings are responsible for their choices, and at the same time, there are influences of both good and evil upon those choices. The influences of darkness and evil in our broken and fallen world are coming to maturity. And humans will be making choices of increasingly unimaginable evil as the day of harvest grows near. The enemy of our souls has sown his seeds, but the Savior of our souls has sown His. Seeds of compassion and mercy, of goodness and light, are also sown in the fields of the world. So when tragedy strikes through evil in the world, there is goodness in the midst of it. For every shattered soul in Virginia, there will be comforting hands and healing hearts. Darkness may seem to triumph for the moment, but Light will always overcome the darkness and good will always overcome evil. Through the seeds of souls You have planted through the generations for this time of harvest, as the evil of sin abounds, the goodness of grace will abound even more. Though darkness may cover the face of the earth and deep darkness the people, Your light will arise and shine through Your people in the midst of the darkness (Isaiah 60:1-2). In this way, all that is intended for evil at the end of this age, will be turned around and used for good by Your principles of redemption in the great harvest of souls to come in the kingdom of God in our midst (Genesis 50:20). You will cause all things to work together for good for all who love You and are called by Your name (Romans 8:28). Keep reminding us of the goodness and power of Your light, as You keep reminding us to be the vessels of Your light shining in the midst of the darkness. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays If you are able to come to our Celebration Dinner on April 27th, please RSVP to Marilyn by this Saturday 4/21: DirOfMinistries@aol.com 859-317-1591. Many thanks and blessings to all who can't come but who will pray for us instead, as we pray for God's provision to fulfill His vision in our hearts! Come to The Fountain! this Friday night 4/20 at 7 pm for Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide 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. Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries and I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper of Liberty Worship Center 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 -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

God Desires Godly Offspring 4-17-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit. Lord God Almighty, You are holy and You are One. I worship You in every dimension of Your Being -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- from every dimension of my being -- spirit, soul, and body. ... "Both flesh and spirit are His. And what does the one God desire? Godly offspring" (Malachi 2:15). My Lord God, through faith in You given to me by the mercy of Your love and the grace of Your blood, I am a child of God -- "For we too are His offspring" (Acts 17:28). "For in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26). And I want to be a godly offspring -- growing in the wisdom of Your ways, maturing in the nature of Your Being, and following in the leading of Your Spirit. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). My Father God, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I yield my flesh and spirit to You. Into Your hands -- holy hands scarred by the nails of my sin but reaching to me in love by Your grace -- I commit and commend my spirit and soul and body to You. A little more each day in the journey of faith, make me more like You. "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). Thank You, Lord, for Your patience and Your grace to do this in me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, many have sent notes asking about last Sunday. Thank You so much for praying for us when I preached on waiting and watching and praying in these days "Between the Cross and Pentecost." The Lord had gone before me to prepare hungry hearts for His Word who joined me in prayer for a fresh baptism of His Spirit (Mark 1:8; John 1:33; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5). I pray the same for you and your church in this season of preparation of our hearts for the power of God, the Lord of the Harvest, between the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:5 and 16). If you are able to come to our Celebration Dinner on April 27th, please RSVP to Marilyn by this Saturday 4/21 DirOfMinistries@aol.com 859-317-1591. Many thanks and blessings to all who can't come but who will pray for us instead! Come to The Fountain! this Friday night 4/20 at 7 pm for Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide 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. Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries and I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper of Liberty Worship Center 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 -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com

This "King named Jesus" 4-16-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I seek You, You promise I will find You. ... "After His suffering He presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). From the beginning to the end of Your ministry on earth in the flesh, You were speaking and teaching about the kingdom of God. Your first disciples continually thought You were speaking of an outward kingdom, but so often You were speaking of an inward kingdom (Acts 1:6-8). This kingdom is not so much about place and position, as it is about power -- the power of God living in us by the Spirit of God to be witnesses of the nature of God to all the world. Your first disciples where asking "when," -- "Lord, is this the time?" (v. 1.6). But You were teaching them "how" -- "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (v. 1.8). "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21, NKJV). "For the kingdom of God is not food or drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). You are the King of the kingdom of God. As we submit to Your Kingship and yield to Your Lordship, we are filled with the righteousness and peace and joy of Your Spirit within us; and we are empowered to live lives as witness of Your nature and the glory of Your kingdom. Only then, like Your first disciples, will we be accused of "turning the world upside down" as we proclaim with our lives this "King named Jesus" (Acts 17:6-7). King Jesus, come into Your kingdom in my soul. Rule and reign in my heart. Fill me with Your Spirit and empower me as Your witness. I want to be one of those "turning the world upside down" until "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Messiah" (Revelation 11:15). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Come to The Fountain! this Friday night 4/20 at 7 pm for Messiah Ministries' monthly city-wide 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. Sandra White of Bethlehem Farm Ministries and I will be leading in prayer and Paul Cooper of Liberty Worship Center 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 -- "Ministering the Healing Love of God ... Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com