Sacrifice for Breakthrough 9-18-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up in my heart and life today. ... "When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not. Then he took his firstborn son who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And great wrath came upon Israel, so that they withdrew from him and returned to their own land" (2 Kings 3:27). The wrath released against Israel from the murderous and cruel sacrifice of a father's own son was not the wrath of God. "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction" (Exodus 22:20). The power released was the power of witchcraft -- the use of spiritual means for selfish control, manipulation, and influence. According to Your Word, "witchcraft" is one of "the works of the flesh" and "those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:20-21, KJV). We are to worship You alone, "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). And the sacrifice You desire is a willing heart, yielded to You, out of love and not fear, faithfully entrusting control of our lives to You. "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17). The king of Moab was willing to sacrifice for "break through" in his circumstances to accomplish his will and have his way. So he sacrificed his son to a false god, to "the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). He offered a life and released death in his act of worship to "the god of the world (who) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Like the king of Moab, we all want "break through" in our circumstances. But You call us to willingly trust Your will and Your way, to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, to freely worship the one true God, who is love and who releases the power of Your love into our lives, no matter the circumstances (1 John 4:8). You are our Sacrifice for Breakthrough. "God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10). God our Father, humbling Yourself in the nature of God the Son, You are the God who died for us that we may live in You through God the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:15). Lord, forgive us when we've turned to false gods in our own will to get our own way. Forgive us as a people and a culture for every time we've sacrificed our own children in the sin of abortion and the sins of neglect. Forgive us for releasing the power of death and destruction in our hearts and our land, instead of choosing life and releasing the power of love. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. (You) came that (we) may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). As we come to worship You in the humility of brokenness, a broken spirit and a contrite heart You will not despise. But You will hear from heaven, and forgive our sins, and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). And as we grow in knowing the God who is love, we will know the God of break through. All that was "devoted to destruction" shall be redeemed into "newness of life" (Romans 6:4). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain Tonight, Friday, September 18th at 7pm. The Fountain is a monthly gathering our ministry (Messiah Ministries) leads on the 3rd Friday Night of every month in the unity of the city-wide church for praise and healing worship. Come drink deeply the Living Waters of the One who wants to fill our hearts and flow through our lives by His Holy Spirit. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. Hosted in the Chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky. Contact Marilyn Walker, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! Please come and spread the word! You can order my books on-line, Free to be Like Jesus -- Transforming Power of Healing & Deliverance and Morning by Morning: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org or from www.amazon.com All proceeds go to support the vision and calling of Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God". If you would like a copy of our recent Messiah Ministries Newsletter, Messiah's Messenger, in hard copy or by email, please send me a note at MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

God's Power through Our Worship 9-16-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Welcome into my heart and into my day. ... "But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?' Then one of the servants of the king of Israel (Jehoram) answered, 'Elisha son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah is here.' Jehoshaphat said, 'The word of the Lord is with him.' So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom when down to him.... Elisha said, '.... get me a musician.' And then, while the musician was playing, the power of the Lord came on him" (2 Kings 3:11-15). Our praises go up and Your blessings come down. As we lift our hearts to You, You turn Your heart to us. Worship is a means of Your grace that aligns our hearts and minds with Yours, in the holy communion of prayer and praise. You open our ears and change our hearts as we behold Your glory. "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). In worship, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha. In worship, the prophet of God heard Your voice in order to know Your will. "Let me hear what the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His faithful, to those who turn to Him in their hearts" (Psalm 85:8). "O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. O that today you would listen to His voice!" (Psalm 95:6-7). We worship You because You are worthy of all praise. We worship You because we honor You and love You, because we give our hearts and our lives to You. In worship we humble ourselves to admit we need You and put our hope and trust in something infinitely greater than ourselves. And something happens to us as we worship. You equip us and empower us to lead us into victory over whatever would seek to overcome us: "Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the faithful.... For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with victory.... Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two edged-swords in their hands.... Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 149:1-9). Lord, I worship You today. Let the music of heaven rise in my spirit throughout my day. As I come to You in praise, would You come to me in power through my life and in Your world today. "Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before Him all the earth. Say among the nations, 'The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.' Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the forest of the trees sing for joy before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with all His truth" (Psalm 96:9-13). Come, Lord Jesus, come (Revelation 22:20). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain this Friday Night, September 18th at 7pm. The Fountain is a monthly gathering our ministry leads on the 3rd Friday Night of every month in the unity of the city-wide church for praise and healing worship. Come drink deeply the Living Waters of the One who wants to fill our hearts and flow through our lives by His Holy Spirit. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. Hosted in the Chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky. Contact Marilyn Walker, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! Please come and spread the word! You can order my books on-line, Free to be Like Jesus -- Transforming Power of Healing & Deliverance and Morning by Morning: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org or from www.amazon.com All proceeds go to support the vision and calling of Messiah Ministries -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God". If you would like a copy of our recent Messiah Ministries Newsletter, Messiah's Messenger, in hard copy or by email, please send me a note at MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

The Gift of Powerful Words 9-15-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I simply, but deliberately look to You alone in these first moments of my morning. ... "(Elisha) went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came of the city and jeered at him, saying, 'Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!' When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys" (2 Kings 2:23-24). Lord, this is one of those stories that I wish weren't in the Bible. Though I know it's just as true as all the other stories, and teachings, and principles of Your Word. The man of God, anointed by Your Spirit as Your prophet had just been an instrument of Your grace to bring great healing to the land (v. 2:19-22). And then, almost in his very next breath, he lost his temper; and with that same authority You entrusted to him to speak words of blessing to bring life, he spoke words of cursing to bring death. Yet all that the people of Israel did and experienced under the Old Covenant are written in Scripture "to serve as an example" for us, to teach us and convict us of the nature we see in our own souls, even as we try by Your grace to lead lives that honor You under the blessings of our New Covenant in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:11). So Elisha's sin, between one mighty experience of kingdom ministry and the next, teaches us much: Even men and women of God, anointed by God and moving faithfully in their gifting and calling and destiny, can still sin. Even their spiritual gifts, given sovereignly by God, can be tainted and distorted to be used for evil instead of good, out of the free will of a human heart and out of the sinful nature of human flesh. None are righteous, apart from You, and all of us always continually need the mercy of our Savior and the leading of Your Spirit (Romans 3:10). And whenever we first turn to our own will and ways in self-centered pride, instead of first turning to You in God-centered humility, we are likely to sin in our flesh rather than following the leading of Your Spirit. Then even our God-given gifts can be used against us and others, releasing the kingdom of darkness on earth instead of the kingdom of heaven, "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). One of the gifts You've given us is the power of our words. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). It's one of the ways, in a sense, You created us "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27). But You call us to continually allow You to sanctify this gift You've given us as we allow You to continually purify this new nature and new heart You've given us in Christ. "But no one can tame the tongue -- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who were made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so" (James 3:8-10). Only You can tame our tongues, as we entrust our hearts and words to You. Then the words we speak can be led by Your Holy Spirit -- for building up and not tearing down, for encouragement and not discouragement, for comfort and not torment, for godly edification and not ungodly destruction (1 Corinthians 14:3). It's true that You are our ultimate example, as You walked this earth as Son of Man, in perfect relationship with the Father and perfect submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are to follow "in (Your) steps" (1 Peter 2:21). And without sin, You cursed the fig tree that did not bear fruit, using it an example to teach Your disciples the power of their words spoken in faith (Matthew 21:18-22). Perhaps Your words were a confirmation of what was already true -- that what is unfruitful is already cursed, failing to embrace all the blessings of God to be a blessing for others. And we all need Your grace to change our curses into blessings. But You only did what You saw the Father doing (John 5:19); and You only spoke the words the Father gave You to speak (John 8:28). That way, Your words were always "spirit and life" according to the purposes of our Father (John 6:63). And so should ours. Lord, thank You for the gifts of God You've given me. As with each of us, You want us to discover the gifts You've given us to live into the purpose and calling and destiny for which You have created us. But I admit my need for You to convict me of my sin when I misuse the gifts You've me out of my flesh instead of Your Spirit, for my purposes instead of Your kingdom. Keep purifying my heart and sanctifying my tongue, that my words may be more and more like Your words and my nature may be more and more like Your nature. "His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Thus He has given us, through these things, His precious and very great promises, so that through Him (we) may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.... For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for (us)" (2 Peter 1:3-11). You've given us the gift of powerful words. Let us use them well as You lead to live fruitful lives for the glory of Your kingdom, speaking abundant blessings into the lives of those created in Your image. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain this Friday Night, September 18th at 7pm. The Fountain is a monthly gathering our ministry leads on the 3rd Friday Night of every month in the unity of the city-wide church for praise and healing worship. Come drink deeply the Living Waters of the One who wants to fill our hearts and flow through our lives by His Holy Spirit. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. Hosted in the Chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky. Contact Marilyn Walker, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! Please come and spread the word! If you would like a copy of our recent Messiah Ministries Newsletter, Messiah's Messenger, in hard copy or by email, please send me a note at MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

New Hearts, Filled with Salt and Light 9-14-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I look to the heavens and wait in the silence, I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit. ... "Now the people of the city said to Elisha, 'The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.' He said, 'Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.' So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, 'Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; for now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.' So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke" (2 Kings 2:19-22). As soon as Elisha received the mantle of anointing from Elijah, he began to step into his new season of life and ministry. You called him to hear Your voice and speak Your words by the leading of Your Spirit. He couldn't speak the word of the Lord unless he took time apart with You to hear the word of the Lord. Your Spirit rested upon him because You taught him to rest in You. You gave him eyes to see that the people of the land were affected by the purity of the land, and the purity of the land was affected by the purity of the water. The nature of where we live can begin to affect the nature of what lives in us. What we drink into our spirits is often expressed through our bodies. You positioned Your people in a good city in a good land, to live wholesome lives of abundance and blessings, not full of sickness and death in a barren and unfruitful land. So You spoke Your word to the heart of one who was listening, and moved on the hearts of Your people to listen and trust and obey Your word and follow Your wisdom. Elisha asked for a new bowl. We are new creations in Christ. "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17). He had the new bowl filled with salt. We need to "be filled" -- to be continually refilled, to be being filled -- with the salt and light of Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:17). We are to be clean vessels, raised up into newness of life, with cleanse hands and pure hearts, seeking You in worship and hearing You in prayer, living in personal, intimate relationship with the One who wants to fill us up and pour us out. Elisha poured out the bowl of salt into the spring of water. You didn't call us to purity and holiness of heart and life by the cleansing of Your blood and the washing of the water of Your word for us to be hidden away and keep to ourselves (Ephesians 5:26). We're filled up to be poured out. "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is trampled out and thrown under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16). And Elisha didn't just pour out the bowl of salt anywhere, he poured it out into the most strategic location -- at the spring, at the headwaters, at the place with the most potential for impact and transformation. You have called each us of us as Your disciples, gifted each of us with the salt and light of the Presence of Your Holy Spirit living within us to express Yourself through us. And You have strategically positioned each of us in the way and in the place bested suited for us to impact the earth and all that is in it. Jesus Christ is our Father's plan of redemption (John 3:16). And the Body of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ, continuing the salt and light ministry of Christ, is our Father's plan of transformation of the earth into the kingdom and will of God on earth as it is in heaven: "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you" (John 20:21). You created our hearts to be cleansed, pure and wholesome -- to be holy, healed, and free -- so Your Spirit could flow freely, like "rivers of living water" through our lives to touch and change our world by the power of Your love in Your Spirit (John 7:38). And wherever that wholeness, living water flows, it brings life to all it touches (Ezekiel 47:9, ultimately fulfilled in Revelation 22:1-2). "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones that Thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy Presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee" (Psalm 51:7-13). Yes, Lord. Let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please Come to The Fountain this Friday Night, September 18th at 7pm. The Fountain is a monthly gathering our ministry leads on the 3rd Friday Night of every month in the unity of the city-wide church for praise and healing worship. Come drink deeply the Living Waters of the One who wants to fill our hearts and flow through our lives by His Holy Spirit. This month, Jeff Green will be leading in worship and I will be leading in prayer. Hosted in the Chapel of Centenary United Methodist Church, 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky. Contact Marilyn Walker, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries at DirOfMinistries@aol.com or 859-422-1794. All are welcome! Please come and spread the word! If you would like a copy of our recent Messiah Ministries Newsletter, Messiah's Messenger, in hard copy or by email, please send me a note at MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Cry Out for Awakening 9-11-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise in my spirit, shine through my life today. ... "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14). Across America today, people will join together for prayer, hand in hand and heart to heart, at noon at county courthouses in every county of every state. Our prayers will not only mark the tragic death of so many lives in the terrorist attack against our nation on September 11, 2001, but our prayers will cry out to You for another spiritual awakening in our hearts and across our land. In times of great desperation and in response to times of great prayer, You have sent Your great awakenings to remind us of our great God and our great calling to proclaim the good news of Your kingdom "to all the nations" (Matthew 24:14). We cry out for a great awakening in our day. "Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord" (Joel 1:14). On behalf of our nation, we join together today from every tongue and tribe and denomination as one body in the humility of prayer, confession, and repentance before You to turn from our wicked ways and turn again to You, that You may hear from heaven, heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). O God, remind us and restore to our prophetic destiny as a nation, to be a voice of liberty and freedom in the earth, and advocate for the oppressed, and a light to the nations. You are alone are the Source of that light. You alone are the Source of that voice that declares "Freedom!" to the souls of men. So the awakening we seek is an awakening of our hearts to be yielded to Yours. And we pray the same for all people of every nation, until the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, for information on Noon Prayers today, 9-11, at county courthouses across America: http://www.awakeningamerica.us/ I'll be joining the group at the Fayette County Courthouse in downtown Lexington. And I will be in agreement in prayer with you at your courthouse, and in agreement with my friends in other nations for spiritual awakening in your nation. If you would like a copy of our recent Messiah Ministries Newsletter, Messiah's Messenger, in hard copy or by email, please send me a note at MessiahMin@aol.com Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

The God of Elijah and Elisha 9-10-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Good Shepherd. Let me hear Your voice and follow Your lead today. ... "(Elisha) picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, 'Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha' " (2 Kings 2:13-15). As Elisha stepped into his calling for the next season of his life, he knew the Source of his anointing was from You alone. Carrying the mantle of Elijah on his shoulders meant nothing without carrying the God of Elijah in his heart. Elijah had gone before Elisha, just like Moses had gone before Joshua, preparing the way for the next generation to go further than the last. You even prepared the way for Your disciples to go further than You in the power of Your Spirit: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in Me will do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.... And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him because He abides with you, and He will be in you" (John 14:12-17). As the Spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, let the Spirit of Christ rest on me. Let Your Holy Spirit of truth abide with me and abide within me. I thank You for the mentors of wisdom and mantles of authority You've given to me and imparted to me along the way, but I know none of that means anything apart from You: "Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5). You are the Lord, the God of Elijah. And Your Spirit anoints me, empowers me, and abides within me, along with all who believe in You, to fulfill the calling and purpose and destiny You have for me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm attaching our newsletter, Messiah's Messenger--Newsletter for the Friends of Tommy Hays & Messiah Ministries. Please pass this on to anyone who may be interested in knowing more about our ministry. Thank you for all your encouragement, prayers, and support. Thank you for joining me in the journey of prayer. God bless! Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Victory of Life over Death 9-9-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I am Yours and You are mine. ... "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.' Elisha said, 'Please let me inherit a double portion share of your spirit.' He responded, 'You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.' As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, 'Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!' But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces" (2 Kings 2:9-12). Elijah never died. He came to the end of his journey. He faithfully fulfilled his calling and destiny, lived out his divine purpose for his generation, and imparted an increased, double portion his anointing to the next generation. He was caught up into the heavens in the rushing, mighty wind of Your Sprit and in the presence of the consuming fire of Your glory. His work on earth was done, but his ministry from heaven had just begun among the "great cloud of witnesses" who have gone before us in the faith (Hebrews 12:1). We know part of that ministry was to speak encouragement to You with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration before the day of suffering and sacrifice at the cross (Matthew 17:3). He was still preparing the way of the Lord, turning the hearts of the people to the Lord their God and declaring the heart of God that is always turned toward His people to "restore all things" (Matthew 17:11). And there will be a generation of Your disciples on the face of the earth who will never die, "who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matthew 16:28). There will be a generation who will faithfully fulfill their calling and destiny, living out their divine purpose for their generation, who will be caught up into the heavens with You. "Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed....then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory' " (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). "For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Lord, let me and my generation be found faithful, fulfilling our destiny, preparing the way of the Lord in the Spirit of Elijah for the coming of that day. If it's not our generation to see Your coming in glory, let us be found faithful to impart all You've given us, with increase of a double portion and more, to the next generation, and on to every generation until the one comes who will not even taste of death. That will be a worldwide display of the victory of Life over death. That day will be the fulfillment of Your word that though there is a thief who comes "to steal and kill and destroy," You came that we "may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26). But our enemy and adversary of Your kingdom will be destroyed, along with all forms of death in sin, sickness, disease, destruction, and defilement of Your creation (Hebrews 2:14). The victory of the cross will be enforced when "Death and Hades" are "thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14). Then there shall be "a new heaven and a new earth" where Life reigns forever victorious in the hearts of all, and "death will be no more" (Revelation 21:1-4). Lord, "when the Son of Man comes," may You "find faith on earth" to believe Your words are true and they can be trusted (Luke 18:8). May You find a people who are found faithful to be preparing the way of the Lord in the Spirit of Elijah, in our hearts and in all the earth (Malachi 4:5; Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3). And let us see and live Your victory of Life over death even now through the life of "Christ in (us), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --mailto:--MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: http://www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com/

Come and Follow 9-08-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Flood my spirit with Your Spirit until my life flows with Your Life. ... "So (Elijah) set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, 'Let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.' Then Elijah said to him, 'Go back again; for what have I done to you?' He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant" (1 Kings 19:19-21). You sent Elijah to anoint Elisha as a prophet -- one who hears and speaks the word of the Lord -- to be ready to take his place in his generation to fulfill his destiny in Your kingdom (v. 19:16). Through Elijah, You didn't force Elisha to accept his calling. You offered the mantle of authority and responsibility that comes through submission to Your means of discipleship. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master" (Matthew 10:24-24, NKJV). It was Elisha's choice of will to follow or not, to enter into the plans and purposes You had ordained for his life or not. And in the mystery of both Your sovereignty and our free will, though You've known eternally Elisha's choice, it was Elisha's choice to make. You set before him the choice You set before each of us: "Choose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). Elisha chose well. His surrender to Your call would mark his life and ministry with a "double portion" of Spirit of Elijah, in the fullness of Your timing and purposes (2 Kings 2:9, NKJV). And in Your compassion and mercy, You allowed Elisha room to honor those he loved, entrusting them to Your care; but You also called him to come away on the journey where they would not be able to follow (1 Kings 19:20). You required of him the cost of all he had; but You also used it all to serve others, not wasting anything of the experiences and resources of his life to that point (v. 19:21). Lord, open my eyes to see the teachers You're bringing into my life to disciple me in Your ways. And also to see those You're bringing into my life for me to disciple. Open my ears to hear Your call. Give me wisdom to count the cost of discipleship, faith to know it's worth the price to be fulfilled in the plans You've purposed for my life, and courage to follow wherever You lead in the journey. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). "Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 10:37-39). Like Elisha, and Elijah before him, and all who have counted the cost to come and follow You wherever You lead, it's my choice to make, in the sovereignty of Your will and purpose for my life. Help me choose well. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15, NKJV). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Rest from Our Labors 9-7-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be the focus of my day and the foundation of my life. ... "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV). Today we celebrate Labor Day in America. Though it's not officially so, I tend to think of it as a day of transition from the summer season to the fall season. Summer vacations are ending and school is beginning; sticky, humid mornings begin to give way to cool, crisp dawns. If nothing else, it's a shifting of seasons in my mind and spirit. And on this day of transition of seasons, I want to consciously, deliberately shift all of my burdens to You. You want to bear my burdens and lift my load, as I bring my soul under the rest of Your yoke. I want only the burdens You bring to my heart, with all the grace You bring to carry them. And as You lead me to bear the burden's of any other in this next season, I want to bear them only to You -- not taking them into myself, not ignoring them, but bearing them to the One who is the very best burden-bearer. "Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Today I will rest and enjoy this day of grace and peace in the loving and life-giving blessings You've given me. And as I shift in my spirit into the next season, I shift every false burden and false responsibility onto You, just as You have invited me to do. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you" (Psalm 55:22). "Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you" (1 Peter 5:7, NLT). As I do, I will rest from my labors and enter only into Your labor of love; I will let go of my burdens and only take on the burden of the Lord with Your grace to bear them to You; I will come out from under every yoke that would drag the past along behind me and allow You to fasten me securely into Yours alone. God willing, and I believe You are, I will transition into this next season rested and ready to advance with You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

"Go, Return on Your Way" 9-4-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up in my heart and throughout my day. ... "Then the Lord said to (Elijah), 'Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu has king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah in your place..." (1 Kings 19:15-16). Elijah was on a mission from God, anointed and led by the Spirit of God, when he boldly confronted the blasphemous governmental authorities and the idolatrous religious authorities of his nation (v. 18:17-40). He was flowing in the Spirit, travailing in prayer and prophetic intercession, used by the Lord as a weapon of Your warfare and an instrument of Your grace. You moved him to fervently, passionately pray for the drought to end and the rushing rains to come, breaking the curse upon the sickness of the soil of the land so that the cleansing rains, abundance of Your blessings, and revival to their destiny could come again to the people of his land (v. 18:41-46). But the enemy of his soul and the people of God was greatly displeased at the humility of Elijah's heart in his prayer before God and the boldness of his faith in his witness before man. The blasphemous submission and idolatrous worship of Baal by both government and religion throughout the land was ultimately the worship of Satan himself, as is all false worship and false religion. And Satan moved through every means of access and influence he had in the heart of Jezebel to stir up radical hatred and violent rebellion against Elijah and Your Spirit of breakthrough, revival, and awakening in the land, as You used him to prepare the way of the Lord in hearts of the people. The Spirit of Jezebel both fears and hates the Spirit of Elijah. And in her fury and fear, Jezebel mustered every measure of power she had to strike fear into the heart of Elijah to distract and destroy the man and the mission of God to restore the hearts of the people to their God, the one true God (v. 19:1-2). And in that moment, despite all the mighty victories of God and abundant fruit of Elijah's ministry in the Spirit, the Spirit of Jezebel seemed to prevail over the Spirit of Elijah. In the weakness of his human flesh and blood, it turns out "Elijah was a human being like us" (James 5:17). His flesh was not yet fully crucified; his sprit was willing, but his flesh was weak. "Then he was afraid, and he got up and fled for his life" (1 Kings 19:3). But You are the God who never leaves us nor forsakes us. You never let go. You are always with us -- even when we give in to the forces of fear and the weakness of flesh, fanned into flame by the fallen spiritual "powers of this present darkness" (Ephesians 6:12). And You were with Elijah -- providing for him, strengthening him, encouraging him to come the place where he could continue his journey, into his calling and destiny for his generation (1 Kings 19:4-14). You called him by name and asked him to look deep inside himself, to see where he had come in fear so he could hear where he should go in faith (v. 19:13-14). You were reminding him that You loved him and that Your hand was upon him (v. 18:46). In the embrace of Your arms and the glory of Your presence, Your love cast out his fear, and Your Spirit lifted off his discouragement and despair. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Your That's when You told him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness ..." (1 Kings 19:15). That's when You reminded him of his calling and destiny to prepare the way of the Lord. "A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.... Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken' "(Isaiah 40:3-5). You met Elijah where he was, but You didn't leave him there. You healed him and freed him, refreshed him and renewed him, then You returned him on his journey in fulfillment of his destiny. In fulfilling his calling and destiny in his generation, You would use to him to call forth and "anoint" the calling and destiny of others for their generation (1 Kings 19:15-18). Then in Your timing and in Your way, through Your people called by Your name and anointed in Your power, the kingdom of Ahab would come down (v. 22:37-38). And the Spirit of Jezebel would be flung down and crushed under foot (2 Kings 9:30-37). Lord, give us humility to wait in the silence and listen for the leading of Your voice. Give us faith to believe You're always with us, freeing us, healing us, reminding us of our calling and destiny in You, and returning us to our place and purpose on the journey. Let us "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of (Your) power" (Ephesians 6:10). Though we may face governmental opposition, religious deception, and human retribution, remind us that "our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). But we need not fear, "for the One who is in (us) is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Continually speak into our spirits, "In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33) In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our Prayer Revival in central Kentucky this week. Our final night, the pastors brought in busloads of children to hear about the prayers and the God of Elijah and many received Jesus into their hearts for the first time! Praise God! Thank you for all the ways you are a part of our ministry with your prayers, encouragement, and support. I pray for breakthrough, revival, and awakening in your spirit, your land, and all the burdens of the Lord on your heart! Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

The Sound of Silence 9-3-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, my Heavenly Father. Good morning, Holy Spirit of the Living God. I seek You and worship You, Lord God Almighty, in every dimension of Your Being, as I welcome You into every dimension of my being. ... "He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence" (1 Kings 19:11-12). Is there a sound of silence? I know many versions of the Bible translate these words to mean Elijah heard a gentle whisper or a still, small voice. But the Hebrew word of the original language seems to clearly mean "silence, the complete lack of sound of any kind." It's not until the next verse that He then hears You speak to him in the still, small voice: "When Elijah heard it (the silence), he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' " (v. 19:13). Why is it so hard for us to believe in the power of Your silence? What is about silence before the Lord, waiting on the Lord, that our spiritual enemy and our own human flesh fear so much? We can believe You come in the power of mighty rushing winds, the trembling and shaking of great earthquakes, and all-consuming fire. But can we believe that there are times that You come in the power of the sound of silence? And are there times when the most powerful and effective thing we can do is to simply answer Your call, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)? Elijah experienced Your sensational power. But it was when he experienced Your sheer silence that he came out of his cave, stood before Your presence, and heard Your voice. Then in the gentle whisper and the still, small voice of the Father heart of God, You allowed Elijah to see where he was and then showed him where he would be (1 Kings 19:13-18). You are the great God of power and might who is also the gentle God who speaks to His sons and daughters in the steadfast love of Your tender mercies. You often use the sensational and dramatic experiences of our lives to get our attention and remind us of Your sovereignty and power and presence. But it's often in the silence of surrender and quiet stillness before You that You transition our lives from one season to the next. Sometimes we may feel "alone," but You remind us there are others (v. 19:14). Sometimes we may feel "afraid," but You assure us You're with us (v. 19:3). You strengthen us for the journey and remind us of our destiny (v. 19:8). You encouraged us that through the battles for the advancement of Your Kingdom on earth and the advancement of Your Kingdom in our own souls, You have plans and purposes, calling and destiny for our lives that never change through the circumstances of our battles (v. 19:15-16). "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29), they are "without repentance" (KJV). Open the eyes of my heart to see the mighty right hand of Your power in the circumstances all around me. But also help me not be afraid of the silence. Make me more sensitive to listen for the sound of silence. Then let my spirit arise to stand in Your presence and hear Your voice and obey Your leading into the journey of the next season in the life and ministry of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our Prayer Revival in central Kentucky this week. Last night, our final night, the pastors brought in busloads of children to hear about the prayers and the God of Elijah and many received Jesus into their hearts for the first time! Praise God! Thank you for all the ways you are a part of our ministry with your prayers, encouragement, and support. I pray for breakthrough, revival, and awakening in your spirit, your land, and all the burdens of the Lord on your heart! Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Run Like Elijah to the Place of Battle 9-2-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth. Be Lord of my life and Lord of my day. ... "In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel. But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel" (1 Kings 18:45-46). "Prayer prepares the way for the battle. Our prayers run ahead of the enemy to the place of battle to declare the victory of the Lord before the battle even begins. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah and the Spirit of Elijah prepares the way of the Lord. The Lord's hand is stretched out in our day, in this generation, to prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts and in the earth. He is anointing those who will travail in prayer to birth the promises of God, praying fervently, passionately, tenaciously for the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven...." Words like this came flowing out of my spirit and out of my mouth last night during our Prayer Revival in central Kentucky. These were all words I never planned to say, but they were burning in my spirit and they felt like tongues of fire as I spoke them. I never made it to the message I had planned to speak from the next chapter of the story of Elijah. As soon as I said "the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his lions and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel," I had a vision in my spirit of Elijah supernaturally running past and then ahead of Ahab in his chariot trying to outrun the rushing rain. I had wondered before what this part of the story could mean about Elijah running ahead of Ahab, and suddenly, Your revelation and insight came to me in the flash of a moment and I felt I knew at least part of what this means: It speaks of a day to come. You brought to remembrance my trip through the land of Israel and that the Jezreel Valley, off to the east of Mount Carmel, is the Valley of Armageddon. "Har Meggido" from Hebrew means "Mount Meggido" and it stands in that valley where wars have been fought since the beginning of time. They say the city of Meggido has been built and destroyed at least twenty-five times. It's probably the most strategic battlefield on the face of the earth. Generals who have fought there include Gideon, Deborah and Barak, Saul, Jehu, and Josiah. Other Generals who fought in the valley of Jezreel include Napoleon, Ptolemy, Saladin, and Allenby, among many others. And it will be the sight of the final battle to come. Demonic spirits sent from Satan, his antichrist, and his false prophet will gather "the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty... at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon" (Revelation 16:12-16). But though the kings of the earth, deceived and confused by the enemy of our souls, will gather together to try to destroy Israel in a worldwide display of the destruction of the covenant promises of God, You will return in glory and power to destroy the one who seeks to destroy the people of Your covenant. "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of His coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:9). The lawless one, the antichrist, who seeks to lead the nations astray will be destroyed by the manifest glory of Your presence at Your second coming. A generation standing firm in the faith through persecution and tribulation will caught up with You in the skies to see it. "For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). On that day, the Day of the Lord, the great battle of Armageddon will never be fought. It will end before it even begins in the light and the fire of the glory of Your coming. We'll see it from the sky, where You've called us up high with You to see Your victory over the enemy of our souls and the adversary of Your Kingdom. And at the same time, as Your Word declared long ago, the people of Israel will look and behold the coming of their Messiah. "Then the Lord will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and march forth.... On that day the Lord God will save them for they are the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown, they shall shine on His land" (Zechariah 9:14-16). "And I will pour out My Spirit of compassion and supplication on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the One whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a first born.... On that day a Fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I shall remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit" (Zechariah 12:10 - 13:2). On that day at last, the people of Your eternal covenant will look up in their darkness moment of what seems as the final solution of the evil one for their immanent and ultimate destruction and see the One whom they have pierced coming in the mercy and might of Your glory for their salvation. As with one face they will look up see their Savior come and as with one voice they will shout and proclaim, "Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 23:39) "And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, 'Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins' " (Romans 11:26-27). In this hour You are awakening Your people to pray. Your Holy Spirit is anointing us and empowering us to pray like Elijah and run ahead of the enemy to the place of battle, declaring Your victory before it's ever fought. Warriors run to the sound of the battle, and we will be warriors in prayer who run to the battle even before the sound of battle begins. It's true for that final battle. And it's true for every battle we may face between now and then -- in our own lives, in the lives of the ones we love, and in the lives of those of the nations You put on our heart with the burden of prayer and intercession. In the Spirit of Elijah that prepares the way of the Lord, Your mighty right hand is upon us and Your Holy Spirit is within us to "gird up our loins" and run in the power of prayer to take our stand and see the victory of our Lord. You are anointing Your people who are called by Your name in this day to prepare the way of the Lord, in our hearts first and in all the earth. You sent John the Baptist in the Spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord for Your first coming, and I believe You are doing the same in our day for Your second coming (Matthew 17:10-13). You are healing us, freeing us, and empowering us to lay aside every weight that would press us down and every sin that trip us up, so that we can "run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1-2). In the Spirit of Elijah, as we "wait for the Lord" in prayer, we will "mount up like with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). We will be victorious in the battles that already belong to You, "for the battle is the Lord's" (1 Samuel 17:47). And every day will be the day of the Lord for us -- "the great and terrible day of the Lord" -- great for us who are being saved by Your grace and terrible for the enemy of our souls. "And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.... Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes...." (Malachi 4:3-5). Lord, keep stretching out Your hand, sending Your Spirit, preparing our hearts and the way of the Lord, as You anoint us and empower us to gird up our loins and run in the Spirit to place of battle, where the victory is already won. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I know my morning prayer have been a little longer and a little deeper these past few days. I think the Lord is doing something deep in me during this Prayer Revival, and I pray for Him to be doing a deep work in you, for the revival of your spirit and the people of your region. Thank you for joining me in the journey of prayer and this great adventure with God. As always, please discern and test all that I share, remembering that I write these morning prayer before I've had my morning coffee! "Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). As we say in Texas, where I'm from, "take the meat and leave the bone." Please keep us in prayer as I'm leading a Prayer Revival this week each night at 7pm through Wednesday at Westside Community United Methodist Church south of Danville, KY. If you're in the area, come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. We're expecting a major spiritual breakthrough in Kentucky this year, and I pray the same for your region and nation. I think I'll be sharing many of these same themes of prayer and revival when I'm ministering across the Country of Estonia in Northeastern Europe in October and would appreciate your prayers or preparation for us now and all the Lord may desire to do. God bless you! Our Monday Night Prayer for Israel Group is hosting a Worship & Praise Service this Friday Sept 4 at 7 PM at Pathway Church, 2601 Clays Mill Rd in Lexington, KY (formerly called Southland Evangelical Methodist Church). Pastor Krista Hampton from River of Life Church in Paris will bring a message with the River of Life Praise Team; Hebrew Music by Vicki Welch, Shofar by Belinda Sanchez. Please come and spread the word! Contact Doris McCray for details: bndmccray@windstream.net Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Fervent, Passionate, Tenacious Prayer 9-1-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Show me Your way, teach me Your truth, lead me into the fullness of Your life. Let me hear what Your Spirit is saying to Your Church, let me hear what the Good Shepherd is saying to Your sheep, let me hear what my Lord and my God is speaking to me. ... "Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.' So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees" (1 Kings 18:41-42). You moved in Elijah's heart to declare to Ahab that the season of drought was over, that the season of rain was on its way. But at the time of his bold declaration in the faith of Your word, the land was still dry and the sky was still clear. So You moved in his heart to pray what was prophesied. Ahab went to go eat, but Elijah went to go pray. Elijah did not take it for granted that the prophecy of breakthrough would passively come to pass. He knew he was called to not only prophesy but also to pray. And as James, the brother of Jesus, would later recount to encourage to the Church in times of trial to pray like Elijah, "he prayed fervently" (James 5:17-18). With his head to the ground and his face between his knees, Elijah prayed until that prophecy came to pass. Like a woman pregnant with the promises of God, he travailed in prayer and pushed to birth the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. As they say, to "PUSH" in prayer is to "Pray Until Something Happens." The breakthrough in the heavens in power was dependent upon the breakthrough on earth through prayer. In Your sovereignty You have chosen to move on earth in response to prayer. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, the I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). So Elijah was never content to only prophesy the truth, he fervently, passionately prayed for Your truth to be expressed, for Your kingdom to come, and for Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Even as he prayed, at first he saw nothing (1 Kings 18:43). So he continued to pray. To pray "fervently" is to pray passionately from the heart, believing Your word will come to pass and Your promises will be fulfilled. So he looked again, through the eyes of his servant, as he kept his face to the ground and his spirit engaged, but still saw nothing. But he didn't give up and didn't give in. He didn't doubt whether he had heard You wrong. He didn't question whether his words of breakthrough and prayers for awakening were wishful thinking or false prophecy. He just kept praying -- fervently praying, passionately from his heart with His faith in You. He looked again. Nothing. Just dry ground and clear sky, just like it had been for a long time. Maybe he was even tempted with the thought from the enemy of his soul and the adversary of Your kingdom to think "Things will never change" or "Things are bad and they can only get worse" or "If God was going to show up and do something, surely He would have done it by now." Would he give up or would he pray? Would he look at the circumstances or look to God? Would he doubt or would he believe? Elijah, whose very name means "The Lord is my God", just kept praying -- fervently praying, fervently pushing until something happened. Six times he looked and six times there was nothing. Six times Elijah had a chance to give up the promise and give in to doubt, but every time, Elijah persisted in persevering prayer. He was stubbornly tenacious, like a bulldog in the Spirit -- just like when the widow's son died and he kept on praying, refusing to give up, until he had stretched out in prayer three times, calling life again to arise in the dead body of the boy until the breakthrough came (1 Kings 17:21). What was dead became alive, awakened into newness of life, revived and resurrected for the glory of God. Elijah knew that breakthrough comes through prayer -- fervent, passionate, tenacious prayer that keeps on believing the assured certainty of God's eternal word more than the seeming certainty of present circumstances. "Happy are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God" (Psalm 146:5). Elijah looked a seventh time. Seven speaks of completion. He prayed until it was done. A cloud appeared out of nowhere, as if rising from the sea (1 Kings 18:44). What was always there in the provision of God in the spiritual realm, the heavenly realm, became manifested in the natural realm, the earthly realm. Yet even that cloud was but a first sign of the mighty abundance of a rushing rain to come. But Elijah knew he had prayed through, that breakthrough had begun, and that the rain of Your breakthrough blessings was on its way. Filled with faith, he told Ahab he better run because all heaven was about to break loose and come pouring down (v. 18:44-45). Even then, it was still "a little while" until "the heavens grew black with clouds and wind" until "there was a heavy rain" (v. 18:45). But Elijah knew he had persevered and pushed through in prayer until the promise and prophecy of God was birthed on earth, in the natural realm of earth as it was in the spiritual realm of heaven. He was an example and forerunner of the responsibility and authority You've entrusted to us as children of God and disciples of Christ (Psalm 115:16; Matthew 16:18-19). The circumstances of great darkness and barrenness in a dry and thirsty land became the opportunity for a great display of the glory and goodness of the God of Elijah. So it is in the circumstances of our day. And so it is our call to pray -- to pray like Elijah -- fervently, passionately, tenaciously for the breakthrough in the heavens and the awakening in our land that we've prophesied and prayed so long to see. Like Elijah, who knew that the Lord is God, let us not give up, not give in, but keep pressing through the circumstances and pressing into God, persevering and pushing in prayer until something happens. This is the first day of the ninth month on our calendar. Nine speaks of the final month of preparation for birth. Lord, let it be so in this day. Give us a holy tenacity to persevere in fervent prayer until we see the birth of this new day in the Spirit, the day of breakthrough and awakening. When we don’t yet see it, let us keep praying. Even when we see the first signs of the cloud of Your presence and fulfillment of Your promise, let us keep praying. Before Elijah could ever see it with his eyes, he heard it in his spirit -- "the sound of rushing rain" (1 Kings 18:41). "O that You would open up the heavens and come down.... When You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:1-4). "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). O Lord, let us hear the sound of rushing rain as we persevere by Your grace in fervent, passionate, tenacious prayer. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm leading a Prayer Revival each night at 7pm through Wednesday at Westside Community United Methodist Church south of Danville, KY. If you're in the area, come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. We're expecting a major spiritual breakthrough in Kentucky this year, and I pray the same for your region and nation. I think I'll be sharing many of these same themes of prayer and revival when I'm ministering across the Country of Estonia in Northeastern Europe in October and would appreciate your prayers or preparation for us now and all the Lord may desire to do. God bless you! Our Monday Night Prayer for Israel Group is hosting a Worship & Praise Service this Friday Sept 4 at 7 PM at Pathway Church, 2601 Clays Mill Rd in Lexington, KY (formerly called Southland Evangelical Methodist Church). Pastor Krista Hampton from River of Life Church in Paris will bring a message with the River of Life Praise Team; Hebrew Music by Vicki Welch, Shofar by Belinda Sanchez. Please come and spread the word! Contact Doris McCray for details: bndmccray@windstream.net Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Pray Like Elijah 8-31-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. Be King and Lord of my life and throughout my day. ... "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest" (James 5:16-18). You used Elijah's life to turn the hearts of many people to You. And it comforts me and encourages me to remember that he was just a man, "a human being like us." But You led him to pray Your Kingdom prayers and You led him to speak Your Kingdom words. You gave him courage to speak boldly to governmental authorities (1 Kings 17:1). You gave him compassion to speak hopefully to the weary and suffering (v. 17:13-14). You gave him tenacity to confront the spiritual forces of wickedness in the authority of Your name, dependence upon Your power, and reliance upon Your strategies (v. 18:20-40). And at the same time, he wrestled with his own fears and insecurities at times (v. 19:3). Sometimes he even wrestled with discouragement and doubt (v. 19:4). Though he was one of Your prophetic voices to the people his generation, he didn't have all the answers and sometimes was mistaken about the answers he thought he had (v. 19:10). "Elijah was a human being like us." But in Your sovereignty You have chosen to move on the earth through the prayers of Your people. "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16; see Matthew 16:18-19). You want our words to be anointed and our prayers to be "powerful and effective." And it's no excuse to say, "I'm no Elijah," because he was just a human being like us. It's no excuse to say, "I can't pray the prayers of the righteous, I'm not righteous," because the blood of the Lamb "cleanses us from all unrighteousness" when we turn our hearts and turn over our sins to You, so that in Christ "we might become the righteousness of God" (1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). So "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Give us both humility to know "we do not know how to pray as we ought" and the faith to know "the Spirit helps us in our weakness" (Romans 8:26). Like Elijah, we are just human beings, but we are also sons and daughters of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. And the children of God will be led by the Spirit of God, as we pray the prayers You move on our hearts to pray and speak the words You move on our hearts to speak (Romans 8:14). All by Your grace, we trust and we obey. That's how Your Kingdom comes and Your will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Like Elijah, let us be found faithful to do our part in our generation with the words and prayers You desire to release through each of us. Teach us how to pray like Elijah. And teach us how to pray like the sons and daughters of God we are. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'm leading a Prayer Revival each night at 7pm through Wednesday at Westside Community United Methodist Church south of Danville, KY. There was incredible city-wide unity last night that always brings the blessing and anointing of the Lord (Psalm 133). If you're in the area, come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. We're expecting a major spiritual breakthrough in Kentucky this year, and I pray the same for your region and nation. God bless you! Our Monday Night Prayer for Israel Group is hosting a Worship & Praise Service this Friday Sept 4 at 7 PM at Pathway Church, 2601 Clays Mill Rd in Lexington, KY (formerly called Southland Evangelical Methodist Church). Pastor Kendra Hampton from River of Life Church in Paris will bring a message with the River of Life Praise Team; Hebrew Music by Vicki Welch, Shofar by Belinda Sanchez. Please come and spread the word! Contact Doris McCray for details: bndmccray@windstream.net Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Go Through the Gates 8-28-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. All by Your grace, I want to begin this day and every day centered in Christ, embraced by our Father, and filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit. ... "Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples. The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, 'See, your salvation comes; His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.' They shall be called, 'The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord'; and you shall be called, 'Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken' " (Isaiah 62:10-12). We are not forsaken, we are beloved. We are not abandoned, we are sought out. We are not condemned, we are redeemed. With hearts turned to You and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, we are holy and wholly Yours. With spirits hungry for Your presence and longing for Your coming -- in the skies one day and in our hearts every day -- we seek the fullness of our salvation in You, the reward of Your eternal embrace, and the recompense of Your justice, as You set all things right in both Your justice and Your mercy. By the courage You inspire and the faith You supply, we will go through the gates You set before us. The gates of the Kingdom of God are open to us and the gates of the kingdom of hell will not prevail against us (Matthew 16:18). Lift high the banner of Your cross over us, as You lead us on and lead us through every gate before us. Give us humility to allow You to expose and remove every stone of obstruction to our journey into the fullness of Your Kingdom -- coming here on earth and here in our hearts, as it is in Heaven. Let us be a people prepared, helping prepare the way for others to come along with us, and preparing the way of the Lord to come in the glory of Your presence now and forever. "Open the gates, so that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Those of steadfast mind You keep in peace -- in peace because they trust in You.... The way of the righteous is level; O Just One, You make smooth the path of the righteous. In the path of Your judgments, O Lord, we wait for You; Your name and Your renown are the soul's desire" (Isaiah 26:2-8). We have no righteousness, personally or as a people or nation apart from You. But we are not apart from You. Through Christ, the Messiah and Savior of God, we are sons and daughters of God. "See I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.... You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you might proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:6-10). Yes, Lord. As we allow You to coming into the gates of our hearts and our land, we will keep going through the gates of Your righteousness You set before us. And even the gates of hell will not prevail against us. These are the mighty acts of Your marvelous light, overcoming the darkness in our souls, in our land, and in all the earth until the light of glory of Your coming covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be leading a Prayer Revival this coming Sunday through Wednesday at Westside Community United Methodist Church south of Danville, KY. If you're in the area, come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. We're expecting a major spiritual breakthrough in Kentucky this year, and I pray the same for your region and nation. God bless you! Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please prayerfully consider joining us as Isaiah 35 Covenant Partners. I'll be glad to speak with you personally about our sense of calling and vision for purposes of God and His Kingdom. Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

Cloud of the Lord's Presence 8-27-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Walk with me and talk with me today. ... "So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days' journey with the ark of the covenant of the Lord going before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them, the cloud of the Lord being over them by day when they set out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, 'Arise, O Lord, let Your enemies be scattered, and Your foes flee before you.' And whenever it came to rest, He would say, 'Return, O Lord of the ten thousand thousands of Israel' " (Numbers 10:33-36). You led Moses and the tribes of Israel through the wilderness by the cloud of Your presence, always resting over the ark of the covenant. When they saw the cloud of the Lord stop, they stopped and waited; when they saw the cloud of the Lord move forward, they moved forward. You were teaching them to be sensitive to Your presence and obedient to Your leading. You taught them not to advance when it was time to rest and not to rest when it was time to advance. All the lessons You were teaching Your people in the physical realm of the Old Covenant, You are teaching to us in the spiritual realm of the New Covenant (1 Corinthians 10:11). The cloud of the Lord now dwells in the heart of every believer who has welcomed Christ into our hearts, into the ark of Your covenant with us. You're still teaching us to be sensitive to Your presence and moving of Your Spirit. You want us to know that as You arise within us, our enemies are scattered, as the light of the glory of God dwelling in us goes forth and always overcomes the darkness. "May you be made strong with the strength that comes from His glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance by the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:11-14). And You want us to know that as Your Spirit rests upon us, we can rest in You, in the safety and security of love and Your ever-abiding presence. As You abide in us, we abide in You (John 15:4). So whether we are at rest or moving forward, let us keep growing in sensitivity to Your Spirit and obedience to Your leading. We are to be children of God, led by the Spirit of God throughout the moments of our days (Romans 8:14). And in You, "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I'll be leading a Prayer Revival this coming Sunday through Wednesday at Westside Community United Methodist Church south of Danville, KY. If you're in the area, come join us if you can and pray for us if you can't. We're expecting a major spiritual breakthrough in Kentucky this year, and I pray the same for your region and nation. God bless you! Order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at:www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please prayerfully consider joining us as Isaiah 35 Covenant Partners -- giving to the vision and calling of our ministry just $35 per month as "streams in the desert" and a steady flow of God's provision to fulfill our destiny in Christ at home and abroad. Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com

"After the Suffering of Those Days" 8-26-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and listen for the leading of Your Spirit. I want to hear what the Spirit is saying to me and to Your Church. ... "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, at the very gates" (Matthew 24:29-33). To understand the coming sequence of end time events, to recognize the season of Your second coming, You told us to look to You and Your Word. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (v. 24:35). It seems to me too many of us are too quick to look to their favorite Bible teacher or book series or turn to their own wishful thinking, without first turning to You and Your Word for the answers to our questions about end times. Lord, give us the grace of humility and obedience to seek You, to search Your Word, and to listen to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church in this hour for our generation. In recent church history of the past hundred and fifty years or so, a new idea has been taught that Christians will not have to endure tribulation on the earth before Your second coming. But Your own words tell us that we will and warn us to be prepared. You clearly taught that it was "immediately after the suffering of those days" that we would see You return, "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." What "suffering" were You talking about? All the "suffering" You speak of in the twenty-eight verses before You teach us in verse twenty-nine that it's "immediately after the suffering of those days" that we will see You coming in glory (v. 24:1-28). It will include -- according to Your Word and not wishful thinking or mistaken teaching -- false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution, martyrdom, lawlessness, the abomination of desolation in the temple prophesied by Daniel, and all that You specifically indentified as the signs of the fig tree we would see in order to recognize the season of Your second coming. During that time, "many will fall away" and "the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved" (v. 24:10-13). So we must be preparing now to endure then, instead of wishfully thinking we'll be raptured out of this world any moment before "the suffering of those days" that You told us would come. It's in the midst of that "great suffering" that we will be a people prepared, a holy people and glorious Bride preparing the way of the Lord for the coming of the King (v. 24:21). We will be light and salt in the earth, standing firmly in the faith, so that through us, the "good news of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come" (v. 24:14). This is the great "harvest" at "the end of the age" that will follow the great awakening of Your people who have grown into maturity in Christ (Matthew 13:36-43; 2 Corinthians 9:10). I believe it's Your Holy Spirit moving in my spirit with such conviction that we are to do our part in our generation to prepare the way of the Lord -- in our own hearts first and then in all the earth -- for the coming of our King and the fulfillment of Your Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the Church to Himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind -- yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). "Let us rejoice and exult and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). So our focus in these end times and last days, in this season of "the beginning of birth pangs" should be on preparing for Your coming instead of wishing and worrying about our going (Matthew 24:8). "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) Will You find a people prepared, a holy Bride moving in the power of God teaching the things You taught, doing the things You did, in the power that You had as You promised and commanded? (John 14:12) Or will we still be trying to interpret the Scriptures in some way to somehow say that we will not have to endure any suffering or tribulation in this broken, fallen world being kindled for the fire of Your Spirit and the glory of Your coming? (Luke 12:49) When the day comes that You return in glory for Your glorious Bride, we will not have to endure the "bowls of God's wrath" poured out upon the earth (Revelation 16:1 and 6:12-17). "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" (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). It is "Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming" (1 Thessalonians 1:10). But we will, according to Your Word, endure "great suffering" and much tribulation as Your faithful witnesses to the love of God and peace of Christ that only You can give and that You long for all to have. "We must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22, NKJV). So we must be prepared, by Your grace, to endure to the end. I believe this is a season of acceleration, to both prepare and to grow into maturity. Darkness is growing into full maturity to cover the face of the earth, but so is the Light of the glory of Your presence arising upon Your people in the midst of the darkness (Isaiah 60:1-3). There will soon come a day when You return in glory for Your glorious Bride: "For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encouraged one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). This will be the day of great rapture for God's people on the earth and, at the same time, the day of great destruction and God's wrath for the agents of the evil one -- both "the great and terrible day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5). It's only in the light of the glory of Your coming, that the earthly agent of the evil one, the anti-Christ, is confronted and destroyed. His presence on the earth, his rebellion against God, and his persecution of the Church must come first, according to Your Word. "As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.... Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.... And then the lawless one will be removed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of His coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8). But by God's grace, we will "stand firm and hold fast" through the darkness that will come and the persecution and tribulation that we will endure, all for sake of Christ who suffered in His love for us to live forever with Him (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Christians have suffered terrible tribulation and great suffering for the sake of their faith since the beginning. Are we to be any different? Does God love us any more or less than these? As You both encouraged and warned Your first disciples, so You both encourage and warn us: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, NKJV). Thank You, Jesus. "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let everyone who hears say, 'Come.' And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift... The One who testifies to these things says, 'Sure I Am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17-20). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I know many do not share my understanding of Scripture about the sequence of events in the end times, but I do believe we must use our days now to wisely prepare in our hearts and in the earth for the coming of the Lord. The focus of our ministry is to help "Prepare the Way of the Lord" by the cleansing and empowering of the Bride of Christ through ministries of teaching, preaching, writing, and prayer. Thank you for all your encouragement, support, and prayer, as we seek to do our part in our generation "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" in the lives and places where He leads. Please order my books, Free to Be Like Jesus and Morning by Morning and our other Messiah Ministries Resources or Contribute to Our Ministry on-line at: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please prayerfully consider joining us as Isaiah 35 Covenant Partners -- giving to the vision and calling of our ministry just $35 per month as "streams in the desert" and a steady flow of God's provision to fulfill our destiny in Christ at home and abroad. Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502Devotional Archives at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com