Morning by Morning, June 15 - Sabbath of Complete Rest and Complete Trust

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Light and my Salvation, my Hope and my Hero, my Father and my Friend. I welcome You into my heart as Lord of my life this day and every day.  ...

"The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying:  Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:  When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord:  you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine:  it shall be a year of complete rest for the land" (Leviticus 25:1-5).

Every seventh day was a day of rest and every seventh year was a year of rest (Leviticus 23:3). By commanding a complete rest for the land and complete rest for Your people, You were teaching them complete trust in You as Sovereign Lord. "I the Lord am your God; follow My statutes, and be careful to observe My ordinances, and hallow My sabbaths that they may be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God" (Ezekiel 20:19-20).

Today, all the statutes and ordinances of the law, including the law of sabbath, are fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17; Romans 10:4). Today, You teach us Your ways through the spiritual principles revealed by Your law; and the physical journey of the children of Israel leads us by example in our spiritual journey with You. "These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Forgive me and the people of my land for the ways we have not honored You and Your sabbath by choosing to completely rest and completely trust in You alone. Forgive us for the ways we've continued to work and strive in our own power, in our own wisdom, in our own ways, as if we were our own gods. Even now, would You stir in our hearts by Your Spirit to lead us to the repentance that forgives us and frees us by Your mercy. "While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will have the world judged in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).

"Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest is still open, let us take care that none of (us) should seem to have failed to reach it.... Since therefore, it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of their disobedience, again He sets a certain day -- 'today' -- saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, 'Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.' ... Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs" (Hebrews 4:1-11).

Come, Holy Spirit. Forgive me and the people of my land for failing to fully enter into the complete rest of the Father, by completely trusting in Jesus as Lord. As a remnant of God, we welcome You into our hearts and into our land as a people and a nation under God (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May you embrace the sabbath of complete rest and complete trust the Father has provided for you in Jesus Christ as Lord of all, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 12 - The Battle at the Gate

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead my heart and guide my steps on the adventure You've planned for me today.  ...

"In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of His people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate" (Isaiah 28:5-6).

Give me courage to turn back the battle at the gate -- at the gate of my heart, at the gate of my mind. Then by the power of Your grace, give me courage to turn back the battle at the gate of my city, at the gate of my nation, at the gate of Your church.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May you be strengthened and empowered to take your stand in Jesus, as Jesus takes His stand in you, through every battle at every gate in your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Please keep us in prayer at the Annual Conference of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church the new few days, where I am a clergy delegate from my extension ministries appointment beyond the local church.

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 10 - Morning by Morning He Wakens Me

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my eyes upon You. As I behold You, You are changing me into Your image by Your Spirit, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).  ...

"The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning He wakens -- wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught" (Isaiah 50:9).

Since I woke up this morning of my fifty-fourth birthday, You've been flooding my mind with memories of moments of my life. And the first thing that comes to my heart is:  "There, but for the grace of God, go I." You've always been with me -- especially in the very moments when I thought You were the farthest. I look back and see Your hand upon my life -- especially in the very moments when I deserved it the least.

You've also been speaking to me and reminding me of the words of encouragement and comfort, from You and through Your sons and daughters, of my identity and destiny, of my calling and purpose. And You've been reminding me that "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).

I'm forever in need of Your grace. And I thank You that I'll always have it. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble myself to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone for all of my life. I know I'm in good hands -- hands forever scarred with Your forever love for me.

I'm excited to see what You have in store in these next years to come in this great adventure we're on! I'm a servant and a son of God, a child and a friend of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Keep waking me every morning in Your mercy and grace to seek Your face and listen for Your voice to share the words You put into my heart. And thank You for all those You've woken and spoken Your words into their hearts to speak into my life along the way. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May the you awaken every morning seeking the face and listening for the voice of the Lord, your God, to start your day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit, to know your identity and fulfill your destiny in the power and grace of our faithful God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer!

www.messiah-ministries.org
 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again in the teaching and equipping sessions this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 9 - "Choose this Day"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Come into my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

"Choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

As best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to serve You. I choose to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). I choose life instead of death, blessings instead of curses, humility instead of pride, truth instead of deception, peace instead of chaos, encouragement instead of criticism, a positive attitude instead a negative one, Your ways instead of my world's, and Your Spirit instead of my flesh (Deuteronomy 30:1-20).

So come, Holy Spirit. Empower me from the inside out to desire what is right and do what is right. I need You to give me Your heart if I'm to live in Your ways. I need Your desire and Your power at work within me, "for it is God who is at work in (me), enabling (me) both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). "You desire truth in my inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:6-10). I admit I need it. I admit I need You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will choose this day to serve the Lord, as you embrace His Holy Spirit to be at work in you to give you the desire the power to will what is right and to do what is right, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be speaking again this summer at the Aldersgate 2015 National Conference on Spirit Filled Living at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Please come join us July 9-12, 2015 www.aldersgate2015.org

God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 5 - By the Great Mercy of God, I Thrive!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up in my heart and throughout the moments of my day.  ...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice..." (1 Peter 1:3-6).

As I worship You, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and welcome You and Your Word into the place of authority in my life to begin my day, I sense You writing a new song of salvation in my spirit:

In new birth, I come alive 

In living hope, I arise

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

Out of the darkness and into Your Light

Out of my sin and into Your Life

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

To my inheritance in Christ, I take hold

Unfading, forever in hope

By the great mercy of God, I thrive!

Thank You, Lord. In the great mercy of God, I "have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood. May grace and peace be (mine) in abundance" (v. 1:2). I believe in You and "rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for (I am) receiving the outcome of (my) faith, the salvation of (my) soul" (v. 1:8-9).

This kind of "indescribable and glorious joy" cannot be explained. Like so many of the things You've prepared for us as we open our hearts to truly believe in You, it can't be taught; it must be caught.

But by the great mercy of God, I've caught it and I'm not letting it go! May I carry this new birth into a living hope everywhere You send me today "by the power of God through faith" (v. 1:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will thrive by the great mercy of God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, Thank You for your prayers for us as we began our Level 2 School of Ministry last night in Fredericksburg, Texasthrough our ministry partnership between Rapha God Ministries and the Fredericksburg Campus of Oak Hills Church to equip their prayer team for inner healing prayer ministry. The Holy Spirit moved tenderly and powerfully even in our model demonstration of the healing power of God! Please keep us in prayer as we continue on our seven week course on Thursday nights. God bless you and the ministry of God through you!

 

I'm excited for the recent release of my updated book on inner healing prayer ministry Free to Be Like Jesus! endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reece, and Randy Clark. Now available for order through our ministry.

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 4 - Trust God or Trust Ourselves

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're my Lord and Savior, my Healer and Deliverer, my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, my All in All. So put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as I begin my day looking to You and proclaiming Your name.  ...

"Thus says the Lord:  Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of the drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

Your Word draws a dividing line between those who trust in themselves and those who trust in God, between those who trust in the ways of the world and those who trust in the ways of the Lord, between those who draw upon their own strength, their own wisdom, their own resources and those who willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. One will wither and the other will flourish. One will merely survive and the other will thrive.

We don't know all that this day may hold, let alone tomorrow. So much of our lives are out of our hands, no matter how much we may prepare or plan. So how much better to entrust our control to Your control, to put our lives into Your hands. "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.... But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation say continually, 'Great is the Lord!'" (Psalm 40:4-16)

Great are You, Lord! Though storms or droughts may come, I choose to trust You. Though everything is shaken that can be shaken, I choose to trust You. Come hell or high water, I choose to trust You. I choose to put my life in Your hands -- Your nail-scarred hands. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you flourish and thrive, as you trust in the Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- secure in His hands and empowered by His grace, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

Friends, Thank You for your prayers for us last night at our First Wednesday Worship & Healing Service at Oak Hills Church with Max Lucado. We deeply experienced the healing Presence of the Lord in spirit, soul, and body. I pray the same for you. God bless you!

 

Please keep us in prayer as we begin our Level 2 School of Ministry tonight and over the next seven weeks in Fredericksburg, Texas through our ministry partnership between Rapha God Ministries and the Fredericksburg Campus of Oak Hills Church to equip their prayer team for inner healing prayer ministry.

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Max Lucado & Tommy Hays - Healing Service Tonight 7pm in San Antonio

Please join us Tonight June 3rd if you can in San Antonio or join us by prayer if you can't for the First Wednesday Healing & Worship Service at 7pm at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus on I-10 in San Antonio, Texas:  www.oakhillschurch.com

I'm excited to be joining Max Lucado to share a message on hope and healing. Our Rapha God Ministries Prayer Team will be joining the Oak Hills Prayer Team to offer personal prayer ministry following the worship and message in English and Spanish.

May the name of Jesus be high and lifted up as we encounter the healing love of God in spirit, soul, and body. May you also experience the Lord's power and presence in your church and community. Thank you for your prayers!

Morning by Morning, June 3 - Boldness of Intimacy with God

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...

"Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and do what pleases Him" (1 John 3:21-22).

There's no sin You will not forgive, no wound You will not heal, no chain You will not break, as we welcome You into our hearts. You draw near the brokenhearted and save the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).  You cleanse our hearts from all unrighteousness as we entrust our hearts to You in confession and repentance of all that's less than Your heart for us (1 John 1:9). You create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us (Psalm 51:10). "For God is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20). 

Then with "clean hands and pure hearts" we "ascend the hill of the Lord" and are welcome to "stand in His holy place" (Psalm 24:3-4). There we "receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of (our) salvation. Such is the company of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 24:5-6).

This is the intimacy I desire. That You would forgive me and heal me and free me. That You would change me from the inside out, taking away my hardened heart and giving me a tender heart that loves You with all my heart and mind and soul and strength (Ezekiel 36:26). That You would fully and forever free me to come boldly before Your throne of grace (Hebrews 4:6). Not just one day, but every day. Not just in one moment of prayer, but in a lifetime of constant communion of deeply intimate fellowship with You -- You abiding in me and I abiding in You (John 15:7).

Come into my heart this day and every day, Lord Jesus. Continually fill me with Your Holy Spirit and Your ever-abiding Presence (Ephesians 5:18). I believe this is Your heart and Your will for me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May you experience boldness of intimacy with God this day and every day, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

Friends, I'm excited to be preaching with Max Lucado to share a word of hope and healing tonight at the First Wednesday Worship & Healing Service at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio. If you're in the area, please come join us at 7 pm.  Our Rapha God Ministries Team will be joining the Oak Hills Church Prayer Team to pray for anyone after the worship and message. God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 2 - Set Your Mind on Things Above

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust the moments of my day into Your hands -- hands scarred by the nails that forever mark the sacrifice of Your love for me.  ...

"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not at things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is you life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).

I want to start my day seeking the things that are above -- seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:30). Before I start to seek the calendar, seek the news, seek breakfast, seek exercise (just kidding, Lord), or anything else, I want to seek You first.

To set my mind on the things that are above it to make a deliberate choice where to direct my thoughts. All the world battles for my thoughts. And, of course, there are many things I'll need to think about today, whether for me for others. But first, I choose to think about You. First, I choose to look up to the things that are above, before looking after the things that are below. First, I choose to look to You.

And then, "all these things will be given to (me) as well" (Matthew 6:33). Then, You "will make straight (my) paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). As I look to You, You go before me to "make a path for (my) steps" (Psalm 85:13). As I first delight in You, You delight in me. "Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand" (Psalm 37:23).

Some say we shouldn't be so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly good. But Your Word says to first seek what's above before seeking what's below. And Your Word says the heavenly-minded are the wisest of all. "For the wise, the path of life leads upward" (Proverbs 15:24). Thank You for moving in my heart today to look upward. Thank You for the wisdom and the power of Your grace to first set my mind on the things that are above. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray the Holy Spirit will lead you and empower you to start each day looking above, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

Friends, I'm excited to be preaching with Max Lucado to share a word of hope and healing tomorrow night at the First Wednesday Worship & Healing Service at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus in San Antonio. If you're in the area, please come join us at 7 pm on June 3rd.  Our Rapha God Ministries Team will be joining the Oak Hills Church Prayer Team to pray for anyone after the worship and message. God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, June 1 - Beautiful Wedding of Love and Respect

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name that is above every name, as I begin this day embracing the Presence of God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

"'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband" (Ephesians 5:22).

Our great friends of many years gave away their little girl, who's now all grown up, to the little boy who grew up to be her husband this Saturday. It was a beautiful sight, as the rainy skies rolled back just in time for the heavens to open up and shine on their vows of commitment in love and respect to one another forever. The two became one in the power of Your Word and the seal of Your Spirit.

They ran down the aisle of white rose petals under their feet, away on their adventure that will last a lifetime in the grace of God. Joy erupted in their hearts and ours!

At the same time, there may be days to come, every now and then, when the rainy skies don't seem to roll back as quickly as they'd like, when the sun won't seem to shine as brightly as they wish, and the storms of life seem to roll through for awhile. There may even be days when it doesn't always seem like there are rose petals under their feet in the steps of their journey ahead. But as they keep loving and respecting one another, as they keep loving and respecting You, they will continue to grow as one with You and one with one another. No matter what comes, they can always return to the joy that's always ready to erupt in Your heart and theirs, as they turn to You and embrace the gift of love always available to them in the power of Your grace.

Marriage is a picture and promise of Your heart for us -- a man and a woman, Christ and the church, our God and Your people -- committed to each other in love and respect, forever and ever. Thank You for painting a picture of that promise so beautifully on the canvass of Your creation. By the wedding of love and respect in our hearts for You and one another, the heavens always open up and the Son always shines on Your beautiful bride. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will continually grow in the beautiful wedding of love and respect in your personal and intimate relationship with God, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, please join with me in praying the Lord's blessings of joy upon the marriage of Taylor Watts Miller and Matt Miller! Thank you and God bless you!

 Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Miller

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, May 29 - Our Only, but Certain Hope

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as You guide my steps through the moments of my day.  ...

"Remember Your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles" (Psalm 119:49-50 NLT).

Flash floods and torrential rains, raging winds and waters have rolled across the land in waves this past week. Our hearts are broken in grief and lifted up in prayer for those swept away in the waters of flooded rivers and for those left facing the devastation left behind.

But You are with us. You never leave us nor forsake us. You promise us to hold on to us and guide us through whatever devastation we face in this broken, fallen world, not yet fully redeemed and restored as it will be one day (Acts 3:21).

Your Word warns us there will be troubles and trials we'll have to face, but also encourages us that we'll never have to face them alone:  "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk though fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Do not be afraid, for I am with you... I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior" (Isaiah 43:3-11).

As we go through the waters and rivers and fires, through all the troubles and trials of this world, give us grace to hold on to You and give us grace to remember You never let go of us. "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you" (Deuteronomy 31:8). "For He will conceal me there when trouble come; He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me" (Psalm 27:5-6).

No matter what troubles come, no matter what devastation we face, they will not have the last word if we continue to look to You and Your Word. You are the Living Word who takes hold of our broken, hurting hearts to always bring us through whatever we endure until that day comes when "sorrow and mourning will disappear" and we are "filled with joy and gladness" (Isaiah 35:10). I

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today no our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39). 

That's the promise we have. That's our only, but certain hope. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will hold on to our only, but certain Hope, through whatever storms you encounter and endure, always remembering the One who never lets go of you, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, please join with me to continue to pray for the families devastated by these recent flash floods in South Texas, including those whose loved ones have not yet been recovered. Thank you and God bless you!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, May 28 - The Nature of Christ by the Power of the Spirit in the Will of the Father

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, I welcome You into my spirit, soul, and body, as You make me more like You today (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  ...

"My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you know and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you" (Galatians 4:19-20).

You came into Paul's life and radically changed his heart. Then You gave him a heart for Your people -- a father's heart to see the nature of Christ formed in Your sons and daughters, even like a mother's heart that travailed in the pangs of childbirth until it was done.

That's an expression of Your heart for us. That's an expression of Your Father heart of God to see nature of Christ formed in each of us by the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit at work within us. Only You can do it; and You only do it in the hearts of those who've opened their hearts to You, "for it is God who is at work in (us), enabling (us) both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). 

It's an expression of Your love for us and Your will for us that we can welcome Your Spirit to be at work within us to make us more like You each day. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:4-5). Thank You, Lord, that in the power of Your grace, we are "strengthened in (our) inner being with power through (Your) Spirit, that Christ may dwell in (our) hearts through faith, as (we) are being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:16-17). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray that according to the will of the Father, the Holy Spirit will form the nature of Christ in you, more and more every day, as you are being rooted and grounded in the love of God, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, May 27 - Both Faithful and Fulfilled

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek You first as I seek to begin the moments of my day in trusting faith and humble submission to You, my God -- embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...

"See, I am coming soon; My reward is with Me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13).

Lord, let my work be a reflection of my heart. And let my heart be a reflection of my faith and trust in You as my Lord and Savior. Let the moments of my life make a difference, not wasted in selfishness or squandered away on the things that don't matter. 

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been build on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

One day soon, You will come again. And I thank You that I'm saved because You are in my heart. Words can't express the joy of the assurance of salvation in Christ. And at the same time, I don't ever want to settle for merely living like a survivor, just barely saved from the fires of hell (Jude 1:23). No, I want to live like a son, living into the fullness of my inheritance as a child of God, filled with the Spirit of God, living my life for the glory of God. "For all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:10). As You said long ago, "The Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay everyone for what has been done" (Matthew 16:27).

We're saved through faith alone, by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). And as I grow in my faith, I grow in my desire to seek You and please You and live my life for You (2 Peter 3:18). As I do, it doesn't make me more saved or make me more loved. But I do find it makes me more fulfilled (Philippians 1:9-11). "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).

In some of his final words at the end of his life on this earth, the Apostle Paul said, "As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only me but also to all who have longed for His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Lord Jesus, I long for Your appearing. And though I believe have many more good fights of the faith to fight between today and the Day of the Lord, I want every day to count. I want to seek You first and Your kingdom and Your righteousness, with all my heart, as best as I can, and all by Your grace (Matthew 6:33). And like Paul and all those who put all their hope and faith fully in You alone as Lord and Savior, I want to be able to say, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is not longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now life in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:19-20). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will be faithful and fulfilled, all by the power and the grace of God at work within you to make you more like Jesus each day, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, May 26 - Good Morning, Lord Jesus

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open wide my heart and welcome You into my day.  You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit; come be One within me today and every day.  ...

As I wait on You in the silence of surrender, listening for the leading of Your Holy Spirit, I hear You writing a new song of surrender and trust in my heart. ...

Good morning, Lord Jesus

Good morning, my King

You are my Savior

My Lord and my Friend

I welcome Your Spirit

Abiding in me

Make me more like You

Holy and free

You are my Father

Creator of all

You give my life purpose

As I answer Your call

Take me by the heart now

Lead me by Your hand

Send me where You will, Lord

In You I will stand

I am in You

And You in me

I am in You 

And You are in me

You are my Vine

And I am Your branch

You are my Vine

And I am Your branch

Let my life bear

The fruit of Your love

Yes, let my life bear

The fruit of Your love

Good morning, my Lord

Good morning, my King

I am Your child

And You are my Everything

Yes, Lord. O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- I embrace this gift of the certainty and assurance of Your love and Your grace for me each day. 

"Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and do what pleases Him. And this is His commandment, that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. All who obey His commandments abide in Him, and He abides in them. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit that He has given us" (1 John 3:21-24).

By the grace of God, I trust You, Lord. And by the grace of God, give me the desire and the power to obey You, Lord, as Your Spirit abides in me. I want to have that boldness before You and that intimacy with You that Your Word invites me to embrace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will embrace the boldness before God and intimacy with Him that He desires for you each day with every dimension of His Being -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Orders for my Devotional Book

can be made at 

 www.messiah-ministries.org 

 Morning by Morning, A Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays

A 365 Day Devotional with One Year's Worth of My Morning Prayers 

 to start each day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and 

 filled with the Holy Spirit

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, May 25 - Memorial Day Prayer

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in my heart and my world today.  ...

"Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your home.... Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us" (Nehemiah 4:14-20).

On this Memorial Day in America, I want to remember the men and women who heard the sound of the trumpet in their hearts to stand and fight for our nation. I thank them and honor them and remember them for their sacrifice and for their service. And I thank You for fighting for us and through them that we might have the security and freedom You desire for every nation.

God bless America. And God bless the men and women who have loved her and fought for her. May she continue to turn to You with a repentant heart, humble faith, and courageous boldness to be and to do all You've destined for her -- only by the power of Your grace, as a nation under God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

May you remember our great and awesome God and those He has empowered and guided to fight for you and the freedom you have, in Jesus' name.  Please pray the same for me. I join with you to remember those who are on your heart. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!