Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 30 - Fullness of Joy in the Presence of God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for leading -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body rests secure.... You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:7-11).
 
When I lie down and when I rise up, You are there. At my right hand and my left, You are there. You're with me when I'm sad and with me when I'm glad. You're with me when I need counsel and You're with me when someone seeks mine. I can rest secure in the confidence and assurance that You never leave me and never forsake me, that You're always with me. And in Your presence, there is fullness of joy.
 
Fill me with Your joy this morning, as You set me feet on the path of life. As I head out the door and into my day, let my heart be glad and my soul rejoice that You've gone before me, You're watching out behind me, and You'll be right here with me at every step. Just like You always said, just like You always are (Matthew 18:20). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will experience the fullness of joy in the presence of God throughout every moment of your day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 29 - Overcomers in Christ
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be the Center of my day and the Center of my life.  ...
 
"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son" (Revelation 21:7 NKJV).
 
We're not overcomers unless we've had something to overcome.
 
So help me see every challenge as a catalyst for my success. Help me see every problem as an opportunity to learn to persist and prevail in the power of Your grace. And help me even see every failure as a reminder that You are faithful to be with me forever through everything I face in this broken, fallen world, while You never miss an opportunity to make me more like You each day (Romans 8:29). "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5)
 
So set me free from the spirit of whining. Deliver me from the demons of murmuring and complaining. Crush the spirits of criticism and comparison, passivity and complacency, bad attitude and bad breath under my feet. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.... And my God shall supply all (my) need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:12-29). "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
 
By the power of the grace of God, I will overcome today. I choose to believe I am more than a conqueror in Christ today. In You, I will overcome "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of (my) testimony" (Revelation 12:11).
 
As You make me stronger and You make me better and You make me more like You while You encourage me and empower me to overcome, I will give You thanks and praise for being with me through it all and being at work within me through it all.
 
I can overcome because You have overcome. As You said long ago, "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)  I can overcome, because the Overcomer lives in me! (Colossians 1:27) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will overcome in Christ today, as Your Father in Heaven continues to form Christ in you by the power of His Holy Spirit at work around you and within you through all you encounter, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, September 28, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 28 - Feast of Tabernacles
 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open my eyes and ears to see and hear all that You would show and speak as I begin my day focused on You.  ... "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, saying:  'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord.... Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.... It shall be a statute forever in your generations.... You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in the booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt:  I am the Lord your God'" (Leviticus 23:33-43 NKJV). On the Biblical calendar of the cycle of seasons, we've entered into the Feast of Tabernacles, known as Sukkot, for the seven-day feast of rejoicing and remembering all our God has done for us. Every feast and festival, every law and prophecy, and every cycle and season of the Biblical calendar ultimately finds fulfillment in You, Lord Jesus (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27). In tents or tabernacles or booths made of branches and boughs, the children of Israel would move out of their homes and into the fields. They would remember that the Lord brought them out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. They were on a journey and they were desperately dependent upon You, learning to be both thankful for their deliverance and expectant for their inheritance. Through Christ, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of all, we have been "grafted in" to the olive tree of this faith that's fulfilled in Jesus to share in these roots of heritage (Romans 11:17). "In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham (has) come upon (us), that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14).  Like Israel's celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, we're also learning to be both thankful for our deliverance and expectant for our inheritance. And we're also rejoicing that our God is with us through every wilderness and as we're resting in the faith the He will protect us and provide for us as He comes to "tabernacle" and dwell among us every day of our journey (John 1:14). May we and all our generations know that You are the Lord our God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will rejoice as you remember all God has done for you, thankful for your deliverance and expectant for your inheritance, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Friday, September 25, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 25 - "Increase and Abound"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You into the center of my life and these first moments of my day.  ...
 
"And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may He also strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13).
 
I hear in my heart the invitation of Your Spirit to "increase and abound." Not in my power or wisdom, not in my good deeds or any righteousness of my own, but by the power of the grace of God at work within me, may I increase and abound in this season ahead. 
 
May I increase and abound in love for You and for others, in humility and holiness of heart and life, in understanding my calling and place for such a time as this, in knowing my identity in You and fulfilling my destiny through You, in the assurance of Your promises and the abundance of Your provision, in aligning with those You've chosen for me in all the personal and strategic relationships of my life, in my freedom from all that would hold me back from being all You've created me to be and empowered me to do in the glory of Your name. In every way You will, may I increase and abound, according to the word You're speaking to me. And I pray the same for all who are stirred by Your Spirit to embrace this word with me in the agreement of prayer, in the name and the power and the Presence of Jesus (Matthew 18:19-20).
 
As You said through Isaiah:  "Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns" (Isaiah 54:2-3). As you said through Jabez:  "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!" (1 Chronicles 4:10) As You said through Jude:  "May mercy, peace, and love be (ours) in abundance" (Jude 2). So You've said through Paul:  "May the Lord make (us) increase and abound" in every way You desire (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
 
Lord, let it be so, as You will. As Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to Your word" (Luke 1:38). You said, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63). Let these seeds of Your words of spirit and life You've spoken into my spirit keep "growing up and increasing and yielding" all that You've purposed in Your heart for my life (Mark 4:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will increase and abound in every way the Lord desires for you according to His great plan for the destiny of your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 24 - Every Written Word is Fulfilled in the Living Word
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be high and lifted up, here in my heart and throughout my day.  ...
 
"Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:22).
 
All the Scriptures speak of You, Lord Jesus -- all the law and the prophets, all the psalms and the proverbs, all the hopes and the prayers. Every jot and tittle, every stroke of every letter, begins and ends with You, for You fulfill it all (Matthew 5:17-18). "For in (Jesus Christ) every one of God's promises is a 'Yes.' For this reason it is through Him that we say the 'Amen,' to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 1:20). You are the Word of God; You are every Scripture fulfilled (John 1:14). Every written Word is fulfilled in the Living Word.
 
So as I read the words of Your Scripture and hear the words of Your Spirit, let my heart burn within me. Like the two disciples who experienced the power of Your Presence on their journey to Emmaus, open my eyes to see You and awaken my spirit to experience You more deeply each day than the day before. "When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.... They said to each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:30-32). 
 
Thank You for this indescribable, incomprehensible gift You so freely offer to me and every son and daughter of Yours to welcome You at our table and walk with You on our journey every day, as the Living Word of our Living God comes alive in us. Forgive me for every day I've taken that for granted. And thank You for always seeking to remind me of what a gift I have in You and every word of Your Scripture. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will see and experience the Living Word, our Living God, with you always throughout every moment of your days, as the Word of God burns within you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 23 - Day of Atonement, Day of "At-one-ment"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me and make me more like You today (John 17:22-23).  ...
 
On the Biblical calendar of the cycles of seasons, today is the Day of Atonement. "It shall be a holy convocation for you:  you shall deny yourselves and present the Lord's offering by fire; and you shall do no work during that entire day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.... It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your settlements" (Leviticus 23:27-31). Even to this day, for the Jewish people, this is the most high and holy day of the year, called Yom Kippur. 
 
Every feast and festival, every law and prophecy, and every cycle and season of the Biblical calendar ultimately finds fulfillment in You, Lord Jesus (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27). You are our Atonement. You are our Sacrifice. And we rest from our works and trust in Your grace that our salvation is in You alone.
 
Father God, as we offer our lives to You through Jesus Christ, believing in You and trusting in Your love and grace for us, we "present the Lord's offering by fire" and fire of Your Spirit consumes us (Leviticus 23:27). As we completely commit and fully surrender our lives to You, You "baptize (us) with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). In communion with You and embracing all You have done for us by Your sacrifice of love, we "present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is (our) spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).
 
Lord Jesus, You are our Sacrifice and You are our High Priest. It's not our blood or the blood of any sacrifice by human hands that saves us and atones for our sins, but the blood of Christ alone. "But when Christ came as a High Priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), He entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!" (Hebrews 9:11-14)
 
So by the grace of God and all You've done for us, every day is our Day of Atonement. "For He says, 'At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.' See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" (2 Corinthians 6:2)
 
Your eternal sacrifice for us is Your expression of Your eternal love for us.  And Your atonement is Your provision for our "at-one-ment" with You, as we abide in You and embrace Your Spirit and the power of Your love and Your grace to abide within us. "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.... By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit.... God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them" (1 John 4:9-16).
 
My Father God, my Daddy Abba, in response to Your love and Your grace through the atoning sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ, I offer my life a living sacrifice to You. Continually come abide in me now and forever. Send the fire of Your Holy Spirit into my heart this day and every day. Let me be consumed with a passion for You, filled with thanksgiving and praise to You and all You have done for me, O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I celebrate this day and every day as my day of atonement, my day of "at-one-ment," and my day of salvation in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be consumed in the love and grace and fire of God as a holy, living sacrifice in Christ through God's sacrifice of love for you, this day and every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 22 - "Prepare the Way of the Lord"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me hear Your voice and sense Your leading to walk in Your steps, now and throughout the moments of my day.  ...
 
"In the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, 'See, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight,' John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.... He proclaimed, 'The One who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit'" (Mark 1:1-8).
 
Come, Lord Jesus. Just as John was preparing the way of the Lord before Your first coming, Your Holy Spirit is preparing the way of the Lord for Your second coming. He's making Your paths straight into our hearts and into our homes and into our land. He's stirring us to repentance, cleansing us in forgiveness, and drawing us near in spiritual hunger, that we can fully embrace "the Lord God, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).
 
Repentance is returning to You -- in humility and faith, seeking to trust You and entrust our lives to You as the only Source of our salvation. This is "the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ" (Mark 1:1). 
 
But there's so much more! The more we know You and trust You, the more we want to surrender and entrust our lives to You. As we decrease in our will, You increase in Your will. As we decrease in our control and our lordship of our lives, You increase in Your control and lordship of our lives (John 3:30).
 
Thank You for the baptism of water that marks our repentance. Our lives will never be the same. And by the power of the grace of God through the good news of Jesus Christ, we'll live forever with You! (John 3:16) But at the same time, there's more. You don't only want us to go to heaven when we die, You want the fullness of heaven in us now. You not only want to baptize us with water, You want to "baptize (us) with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8)!
 
Come, Holy Spirit! Prepare the way of the Lord! Let the "Spirit of Christ" rule and reign in my heart, taking more control and more lordship of more areas of my heart and my life than I've ever entrusted to You before. I want to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). I want to "be baptized with the Holy Spirit" in deeper measures of surrender and trust than every before (Acts 1:5). I want to come to the place in my heart where I can truly say, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). It to be God's honest truth that by the power of grace at work within me I passionately and persistently "love the Lord (my) God with all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength!" (Mark 12:30)
 
This day and every day, let me hear Your voice crying out to my heart, "Prepare the way of the Lord!" One day soon, You'll be coming again in the clouds of glory (1 Thessalonians 4:16). But every day between now and then, You want to come in Your glory into my heart (1 Peter 3:15). 
 
Come, Lord Jesus! "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let everyone who hears say, 'Come!' And let everyone who is thirsty come!" (Revelation 22:17). "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled!" (Matthew 5:6) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Lord will stir up a deeper hunger and thirst to be filled with the Spirit of Christ in deeper measures of your heart every day, that you may display His nature and move in His power, fully baptized in His Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, September 21, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 21 - Sound the Trumpets!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Give me eyes to see what You're doing and ears to hear what You're saying, as I wait and watch for Your leading, O Lord my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  Make two silver trumpets; you shall make them of hammered work; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation, and for breaking camp.... When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, you shall sound the alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the Lord you God and be saved from your enemies. Also on your days of rejoicing, at your appointed festivals... you shall blow the trumpets.... they shall serve as reminder on your behalf before the Lord your God:  I am the Lord your God" (Numbers 10:1-10).
 
On the Biblical calendar of the cycles of seasons, we're in-between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:24). Every feast and festival, every law and prophecy, and every cycle and season of the Biblical calendar ultimately finds fulfillment in You (Matthew 5:17). And in the Spirit, Your trumpets are sounding.
 
Your trumpets are sounding the call to gather Your people -- to gather them to You and to one another. You've giving us the grace to search our hearts and allow You to remove every barrier that keep us from drawing near to You and drawing near to one another. It's in the unity of the Spirit that You command Your blessings (Psalm 133:1-3).
 
And as we are strengthened and empowered in the unity of the Spirit, You are strategically positioning us to hear Your trumpets sounding the call to go to war in our land against the adversary of our souls. Through the Atonement of the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away our sins and heals our wounds and breaks our chains, You prepare us for battle and declare over us Your victory!
 
Let us hear Your call to come. And Let us hear Your charge to advance. Let us hear the sound of Your trumpets awaking our spirits to rejoice in the victories we will see before our eyes in the name of the Lord our God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will hear the sound of the Lord's trumpets calling you to gather to Him and to His people, ready to advance the Kingdom of God, in your heart and in your land, through the victory of the Lord. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Friday, September 18, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 18 - More Joy!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wait now in the silence of surrender for the leading of Your Spirit.  ...
 
"So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!" (Isaiah 51:11).
 
You've ransomed me and redeemed me. You've forgiven me and freed me. And You invited me come up to the mountain of the Lord in prayer and praise every moment of my day. And as I remember what You've done and embrace what You're doing, my heart is filled with joy and gladness. Sorrow and sadness must flee away!
 
Lord, I pray for more joy today. Fill me with Your joy that draws people to You. Look the look on my face be a reflection of what You've done in my heart. Let my eyes sparkle and shine with the hope and happiness You stir up inside.
 
Some wear the mask of joy. Some hold on to a faint memory of joy. And some seem to live in a Spirit of Joy every day, no matter what's going on around them. Sorrow can't steel it; sadness can't defeat it. It seems to be as resilient and radiant as the kingdom of God itself. "For the kingdom of God is... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Come, Holy Spirit. May Your kingdom advance in me today with more righteousness, more peace, and more joy! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will be filled with more joy today! May sorrow and sadness flee away in the name of Jesus! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 17 - Guided by the Spirit of Jesus
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. My Good Shepherd, let me hear Your voice as You tend my heart before I go out into my day (John 10:14).  ...
 
"They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatian, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia they went down to Troas..." (Acts 16:6-8).
 
Paul and his companions were on a spiritual journey and "the Spirit of Jesus" -- the Holy Spirit of the Living God, living in their hearts and directing their steps -- was their Spiritual Guide. They trusted Your Word and listened for Your Spirit; they looked to see what You were doing and listened to hear what You were saying. They believed Your promise to be their Ever-Present Companion:  "And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21).
 
They were obeying Your command to "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). And at the same time, they were going into that world one step at a time, day by day and morning by morning, as Your Spirit led. 
 
Cleary it was Your will that all of Asia would hear the good news of Your mercy and grace, but not that day through these disciples. They knew their Scriptures and believed Your Word, but they also needed to hear Your living words spoken by Your Holy Spirit for each day's journey. They didn't presume upon Your will and Your grace, believing they knew enough of Your will and Your ways to go about their journey without taking time to seek Your face and listen for Your voice. Instead, they chose to live each day seeking Your guidance and embracing Your Presence in a deeply personal, intimate relationship of faith and trust in You.
 
That's how I want to live my life. I believe Your Word and I also embrace Your Spirit. I want to begin my mornings and continue through the moments of my day seeking Your face and listening for Your voice. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose to live my life in a deeply personal, intimate relationship of faith and trust in You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be drawn every morning and live every day seeking the face of God and listening for the voice of God, believing His Word and embracing His Spirit. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 


Friends, tonight we'll finish our Level 1 School of Ministry at Rapha God Ministries with prayers of impartation and anointing for ministry (Romans 1:11, 1 Timothy 4:14). Rocio and I have been especially excited this time to have Elijah, Melissa, and Migue with us from our family! And I pray for the Holy Spirit of the Living God to equip and anoint you for the ministry to which you are called and to go where the Spirit of Jesus leads you every day of your journey. God bless you!

We have DVDs of our Schools of Ministry, Spiritual Retreats, and other messages and resource for healing and hope for your personal spiritual journey or ministry to others through Rapha God Ministries and Messiah Ministries.



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 16 - Worship the One True God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day.  ...
 
"In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. People shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say:  'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.... For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever" (Micah 4:2-5).
 
O Lord, my God, You are the one true God. Be exalted here in my heart. Be enthroned here in my praises (Psalm 22:3). I don't want to have any gods before You. I don't want anything or anyone to have the place in my life that You alone deserve as Lord and God.
 
Teach me Your ways. Lead me in Your paths. Stir in my spirit to come up to the mountain and worship Your name. Yours is the name above every name (Philippians 2:5). "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). 
 
There's power and peace, forgiveness and freedom, goodness and grace in Your name alone. "Lord, there is none like You! For You are great, and Your name is full of power" (Jeremiah 10:6 NLT). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will go up to the mountain in your heart to worship the one true God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. I pray you will learn His ways and walk in His paths, all in the power of the grace of God. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

  



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 15 - Divine Distinction from the Judgments of God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Take me by Your hand and lead me by my heart into the way that leads to life in You today.  ...
 
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord:  Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. For if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies; so also the land where they live. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land. Thus I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow'" (Exodus 8:20-23).
 
In the days of judgment against the land of Egypt and its leadership, You also made a divine distinction between Your people and the people of the land. When the judgment of pestilence against the livestock came, You said through Moses to Pharaoh, "the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt" (Exodus 9:4). In the judgment of the hail can raining down over all of Egypt, You make a distinction with Your people, so that "only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail" (Exodus 9:26). And when the judgment of darkness came over the land, "all the Israelites had light where they lived" (Exodus 10:23).
 
In the final judgment of death that passed through the land, Moses declared to Pharaoh death would not come upon the people of God "so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel" (Exodus 11:7). So the Lord commanded the first Passover, as the people of God took the blood of the lamb without blemish and applied it the doorways of their homes. And the judgment of death passed over the people of God (Exodus 12:1-32).
 
All that happened in the story of the journey of the people of God under the Old Covenant "serve as an example" to us in our journey under the New Covenant where all things are fulfilled in Christ, as "they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). When judgments come and even if the shaking the land is severe, we can trust that You make a divine distinction for the people of God, all by the power of the grace of God.
 
In the power of Your grace, may we seek Your heart and pray for the people and the land where You have positioned us, even when judgment may come. "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29:7). You are "not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). And even in Your judgments, we know it is Your heart to remember mercy, as Your Word declares that "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).
 
Lord, let my heart be set apart for You. Deliver me out of "Egypt" and deliver "Egypt" out of me. By the grace of God, I embrace the grace of Your divine distinction for the people of God. And I pray for people and the land where You have strategically positioned me for such a time as this, along with my fellow disciples and travellers on this journey of faith "on whom the end of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). "For God so love the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will rest in the peace of the Lord's divine distinction for the people of God, in Jesus' name. May you thrive as salt and light in the midst of your world, as a witness of faith and the mercy of God to all around you that need to know the mercy and grace of our God that triumphs over judgment. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
 
  



Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Monday, September 14, 2015

Morning by Morning, September 14 - "Year of the Lord's Favor"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Awaken my soul to seek Your face, here in these first moments of my morning with You in the communion of prayer.  ...
 
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor..." (Isaiah 61:1-2).
 
This is Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the New Year according to the Biblical cycles of the Jewish calendar. And many would say this year marks the fiftieth year, called the Year of Jubilee, following the cycle of seven sets of seven years of Sabbath rest for the people and the land. "And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you" (Leviticus 25:8-12). This is the year of the Lord's favor.
 
Lord Jesus, You are the fulfillment of the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27). You are the fulfillment of the promise of Jubilee, proclaiming release and liberty throughout the land and into the hearts of all who would humble themselves to call on Your name (Luke 4:18-19). As You declared at the beginning of Your ministry in the power of the Spirit of the Lord, "This Scripture has been fulfilled" (Luke 4:21).
 
By the power of the grace of God, I choose to trust in You, to rest in You. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I willingly choose to be desperately dependent on You alone. I seek Your face and trust in Your favor. I'm excited and expectant to see what this year will hold for all who trust in the One who proclaims the year of the Lord's favor in this Year of Jubilee in Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be blessed by the favor of God throughout this year and every moment of your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
 


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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