Morning by Morning, October 26 - "Be of the Same Mind"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look and listen; I watch and wait, as begin my day focused on You.  ...

 

"If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete:  be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.... Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:1-5).

 

Lord Jesus, help me think more like You think. I want to be of the same mind and the same love because I'm with the same Spirit that fills Your heart. Let Your compassion and Your joy fill my soul.

 

Let my words and my actions be an encouragement and comfort, speaking the truth in love but also living the truth in love. Give me the humility of heart and motivation of love to "look not to (my) own interests, but to the interest of others," just has You have modeled for me (Philippians 2:4).

Let it be Your name that's lifted up through my life today (Philippians 2:9). 

In humility, I have to admit Your ways are not my ways and Your thoughts are not my thoughts, "for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are (Your) ways higher than (my) ways and (Your) thoughts than (my) thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).  But also in faith, I have to embrace Your invitation to seek more and come up higher in my thoughts and my ways, by the power of Your Spirit at work within me, to "let the same mind be in (me) that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).

So I desperately need You to put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, to fill my spirit with Your Spirit. I passionately desire for You to make me more like You each day. That's a measure of the same mind You're giving me and the same desire You're stirring up within me. And by the grace of God, "I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work (in me) will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will grow in the image of Christ each day by the Spirit of Christ at work in you, putting His thoughts in your mind and His desires in your heart, 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, October 23 - "I AM Your Salvation"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. When I'm centered in You, I'm confident in You. You are my Security and Strength, my Conscience and Companion, my Father and Friend, my "All in All" 

(1 Corinthians 5:28).  ...

 

"Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation" (Psalm 35:3).

 

O, Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- You are my Salvation. You bring me out of darkness and into Your light. You bring me out of death and into Your life. You break every chain and heal every wound. You are the God who saves and heals and delivers, as You say to my soul, "I AM your Salvation."

 

You alone, O Lord, are my Salvation. "There is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). But what a powerful name You have! And what a mighty God You are!

 

So I humble my heart to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. I turn to You and cry out in faith to the God of my salvation. 

 

I speak out the name of Jesus. I proclaim the power of Your name over every battle I'll fight, every enemy I'll face, and every challenge I'll overcome by the power of Your grace and to the glory of Your name. All must bow before the One who forever proclaims, "I AM" (John 8:58). Yours is "the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11 NKJV).

 

You are my Lord and Savior, my Healer and Deliverer, my All in All. And as my soul embraces You and the fullness of Your salvation for me, I will "shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, 'Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of His servant!' Then my tongue shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your praise all day long" (Psalm 35:27-28). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you experience the power of the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior over all you encounter today 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

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, October 22 - "The Soul that Seeks Him"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I start this day speaking out Your name and lifting up Your praise.  ...

 

"'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him" (Lamentations 3:24-25).

 

I seek You with all my soul. In these early moments of every morning, You draw me into my prayer chair and invite me up into the heavenly place You've prepared for me (Ephesians 2:6). You quiet my thoughts and direct my attention to seek Your face, to embrace Your presence, and hear Your voice (John 10:3). You're a God who longs to be sought out and pursued as the Source of our strength and hope by those You've created in love (Isaiah 65:1).

 

Morning by morning, You remind me that You are good, as I experience Your goodness and the security of Your embrace in the communion of prayer to begin my day. You are good to me and it's good to take some time to intentionally, deliberately wait on You and seek Your face. "As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding Your likeness" (Psalm 17:14). "'Come,' my heart says, 'seek His face!' Your face, Lord, do I seek" (Psalm 27:8).

 

You are my portion, and my hope is in You. And now, after this time of pursuing Your presence, I feel strengthened in spirit, more confident in Christ, to go out into my day to overcome whatever comes my way. In a deeply personal and practical way, You've allowed me, once again, to experience "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 13:13). "Such is the company of those who seek (You), who seek the face of the God of Jacob" (Psalm 24:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you be drawn by the Holy Spirit to take some time to seek the Lord and pursue His presence every day, being strengthened and encouraged by the One who is your Hope, 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, October 21 - Created for the Glory of God

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day.  ... "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your (descendants) from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, 'Give them up,' and to the south, 'Do not withhold; bring My sons from far away and My daughters from the end of the earth -- everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made'" (Isaiah 43:5-7). Your Word says I'm called by Your name and created for Your glory. That's my identity and that's my destiny. I'm a child of God, created for the glory of God. So keep reminding me of my identity as I go about my destiny today. "So, (as best as I can and all by Your grace) whether (I) eat or drink, or whatever (I) do, (I will) do everything for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). And whatever I do, I will do it in the confidence that I am a child of God, deeply loved by God. Even if I falter or fail, even if I stumble and fall, You'll still love me, You'll still be with me. And You'll still even use that to work together for good because You love and me and You've called me according to purposes (Romans 8:28). Then even my sins and failures are redeemed for the glory of God as I give them over to You for all the world to see that "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 by the power of the grace of God at work within me, I will not fear. And I will not forget that You are with me and You have called me and created me for the glory of God. I'll keep trusting in You to give me all the grace I need to keep knowing my identity and fulfilling my destiny. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you know you identity and fulfill your destiny today in the confidence of the truth that you are a child of God created for the glory 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, October 20 - Hear the Words of God

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me hear what's on Your heart, so what's on Yours can be on mine.  ... "Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God" (John 8:47). Lord, in these moments of silence in surrender to You, help me quiet my spirit so I can be led by Your Spirit. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14). Help me listen so it's Your voice I hear. You said, "(My) sheep hear (My) voice.... I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me" (John 10:3-14). I'm a child of God, growing in the depth of my relationship with God. I'm one of Your sheep and You're my Good Shepherd. I don't want to just read about You, I want to know You. I don't want to just talk to You, I also want to listen to You. I don't want to just hear about You and what You did a long time ago, I also want to hear You now and experience what You're actively doing in my life today.  Your Word says, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). I want to live and move and have my being in You in a living, vital, active, intimate, passionately personal relationship every day. So open the eyes and the ears of my heart (Ephesians 1:18). Here in the silence of surrender before You, help me hear what Your saying, see what You're doing, and sense Your presence and every way You choose to reveal Yourself to me in these moments.  ... As I listen, it seem I hear Your words in my heart:  "As You seek Me, you will find Me. As You listen, you will hear Me." Yes, Lord, I'm seeking. I'm listening.  ... "I'm stretching you to seek even more deeply. The peace you feel in your heart, the sense of the thickness of My presence embracing you like a hug is My Spirit embracing your spirit, My Spirit in communion with your spirit." Yes, Lord. I receive Your embrace. Hold me in Your embrace and fill me with Your Spirit. I rest in You. This feels to me like "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 13:13).  ... "My son, I am strengthening you in your spirit. I am preparing you in My presence. I'm reminding you of what it feels like to know that I am with you, I'll always be with you, I'll never forsake you, I'm always for you. You never have to question My presence. You never have to doubt My heart. No matter what challenges may come, I've already gone before you and I will always go through them with you. I am the Lord, your God. I am your Rock and Refuge. I am your Good Shepherd. I am your Father and your Best Friend. I Am That I Am. And I Am always with you and every one of My children." Yes, Lord. You always have been. And I know You always will be. You are "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). You are the God of grace and peace "who is and who was and who is to come" (Revelation 1:4). And You are God who always says, "Fear not, for I Am with you" (Isaiah 43:5, NKJV). Thank You for speaking deeply to my heart and embracing me tightly in the arms of Your Spirit today. It feels good to take time to notice Your ever-abiding presence. As the old hymn says, it gives me "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow ... Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord to me." And as Your son and my friend Max likes to say, "The God who spoke still speaks, the God who forgave still forgives, and the God who came still comes." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you hear the words of God today and experience the depths of His ever-abiding presence with you and 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

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 Moring, October 19 - "Sow to the Spirit"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice to begin my day pursuing Your presence.  ... "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:7-9). Like a farmer sowing seeds in his field, what we sow is what we will harvest. Cactus seeds don't grow up into apples and apples don't grow up into cactus. What we sow today determines what we'll reap at harvest. Lord, give me wisdom to sow good seeds today. Give me a heart to sow to the Spirit and not to the flesh. Let me sow words of spirit and life through the words I speak and sow thoughts of expecting good things in the thoughts I think. Let me sow into my spiritual life, spending some time in the Word of God and devoting some time to seeking the presence of God. Let me sow into the lives of those around me through my time and my prayers and all You've entrusted to me. There will come a time of harvest for all that's been sown. And I want my harvest to be good. I want my harvest to matter. I'd rather eat apples than cactus (though my wife loves her nopalitos con huevos, but without all the cactus needles). And I'd rather live in the peace of mind and the expectancy of heart that I didn't just squander away every seed of opportunity I had to make an eternal difference in the fields entrusted to me during my time on this earth. "For all of us 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).  By grace we are saved through faith -- "it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). And at the same time, You invite us to live out our grace every day, to live out our faith every day, as You increasingly move in our hearts with Your desires, growing us up into maturity in Christ (Philippians 2:13). We've been given much; and to whom much has been given, much is expected (Luke 12:48). "On the day of judgment (we) will all have to give an account for every careless word (we) utter; for by (our) words (we) will be justified, and by (our) words (we) will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37). "So then, each of us will be accountable to God" (Romans 14:12). So give me a harvest perspective. Give me an eternal perspective. And from that perspective, give me a heart to sow to the Spirit every chance I get through every opportunity You give. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Tommy,  I pray you will reap a great harvest by the grace of God through all you allow His Spirit to do through your life 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

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, October 9 - “Live and Increase” in the “Good Land”

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me near in prayer, as I begin my day focusing first on You alone.  ...

“This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase, and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised an oath to your ancestors. Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in or der to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell those forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so that the Lord your God disciplines you. Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bring you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barely, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you many eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:2-10).

You are the same yesterday and today and forever. And throughout all Your Scripture, both Old Covenant and New, You are teaching us to trust You and obey You. You’re teaching us to learn to love -- to love You, to love one another, to love ourselves. You’re teaching us to choose to believe You know what’s best and to choose to believe You want what’s best for every one of us. You want us to “live and increase,” to “go in and occupy” the fullness of inheritance as children of God.

Some would say obedience is old-fashioned, Old Covenant. Some would say trust is for children, but we’re supposed to be all grown up now to trust in ourselves, no longer needing anyone to teach us. Some would say it’s about love, not laws; it’s about freedom, not following some words in a Book written a long time ago.

Yet the words of Your New Covenant still affirm Your words of the Old Covenant:  “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And is this the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:2-5).

Lord Jesus, You are the Word made Flesh. You are the fulfillment of every law and commandment, every promise and blessing of God. You are love. And You model for us a life fully trusting the Father, completely obeying the Father. You show us the way of obedience and love, saying, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:10-11).

By the power of Your grace, I want to “live and increase.” I want to love You and trust You and obey You. I want to believe in You and choose to live my life believing You know what’s best for me. Thank you for every way You’ve humbled me and tested me and taught me to be able to trust You more every day. And I know You’ll keep giving me Your grace for the times of humbling and testing and teaching to come all along my journey into the good land You’ve prepared for me -- the land where I live and increase through obedience to You. All of this is so that Your joy may be in me and my joy may be complete. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Morning by Morning, October 8 - Authority and Power in our Hearts and Hands

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart, as You lead me in the path of Your ways today.  ... "The Lord said to (Moses), 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A staff'" (Exodus 4:2). When You called Moses into the next season of his destiny, he found himself feeling guilty of his past failures and afraid of failing again. He felt unworthy and unqualified.  What if people remembered he was the one who killed the Egyptian and ran away? What if people wouldn't believe he had been with You and was sent by You on their behalf? What if his problem of being slow of speech would keep him from speaking the words that would inspire them to follow him where You was leading them? But after You'd heard all his questions and seen all his fear and feelings of unworthiness in his heart, You told him to look into his hand. Instead of letting him get stuck thinking on all the things he didn't have, You led him to see the thing he already had. That staff in his hand represented the power and the presence of God. That staff in his hand spoke of the authority You entrusted to him to fulfill the responsibility You required of him. With that staff in his hand, he would see wonders of God. With that staff in his hand, he would see the judgment of God against his enemies and provision of God for his people. With that staff in his hand, he would learn along with everyone around him that You gave him authority to fulfill every responsibility, that he was a man who had been with You and that You were a God who was always with him (Exodus 4:5). That piece of wood in the hand of Moses pointed to the cross of wood that held our Savior. Through the victory of the cross You empower us with all the authority we need to fulfill every responsibility You require. Through the victory of the cross, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit who arises within us, who speaks through us, who moves in the power and with the authority of Christ in our hearts and through our lives in the mighty name of Jesus (Romans 8:11). None of us are Moses. But everyone of us have places of influence and measures of responsibility where we're called to be Your salt and light in the midst of our world. And like Moses, we don't go alone. Like Moses, we don't go empty-handed. You are with us and Your Spirit is within us. As we listen to You and look to see all You've already imparted to us, there's no feeling of fear or unworthiness that can hold us back from being fully alive to all You've created us to be. You've given us power and authority in the name of Jesus (Luke 9:1). You've put the keys of the kingdom of heaven in our hands (Matthew 16:19). You've sent us to enforce the victory of Your cross in the power of Your name (Romans 16:20). And now You send us out into every place, into every relationship, and into every encounter with the authority we need to fulfill the responsibility You require to be like Jesus in this world everywhere we go (1 John 4:17). You are the Staff in our hands. You are the Spirit in our hearts. And by the power of the grace of God, we will fulfill our destiny in every season of our lives. Your grace is sufficient for us and Your power is mighty for us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will know the authority and power our mighty God has put in your heart and hands to be fully alive to your identity and completely fulfill your destiny, 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, October 7 - "We are the Aroma of Christ"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your words are spirit and life. Speak to my heart as I listen for Your leading and begin my day in the communion of prayer.  ... "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.... For we are not peddlers of God's word ... but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in His presence" (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). Like a fresh, hot loaf of crusty, seasoned bread at an Italian grill, break open my heart and dip it in the pure virgin oil of Your Holy Spirit. I want to soak in Your words and sit awhile in Your presence. I want to "taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in Him" (Psalm 34:8).  

Then I'll be ready to carry the aroma of Christ wherever I go, out into my day. May it be the nature of Your Spirit instead of the nature of my flesh that invites my world into relationship with You -- the God whose presence smells so welcoming and whose words taste so good. "God's kindness is meant to lead (us) to repentance" (Romans 2:4). 

Let my words and my heart, throughout the moments of my day, be an expression of Your words and Your heart that You impart to me as I first soak and rest in Your presence in these morning moments of prayer. "Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing Him!" (2 Corinthians 2:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Holy Spirit will soak you in the heart and words of our Father God, then send you out into your day carrying the aroma of Christ everywhere you go, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

Friends, if you're in the San Antonio area, please come join us at 7pm tonight as I share a message of hope and healing at the First Wednesday Worship and Healing Prayer Service at Oak Hill Church, Crownridge campus. Our Rapha God Ministries team will be joining the Oak Hills team to offer personal prayer ministry for healing of spirit, soul, and body. All are welcome!

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, October 6 - "Nothing but Joy"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by the Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ... "My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4). There's not anointing for maturity. Spiritual maturity is not a spiritual gift. Emotional maturity is not a feeling we can muster up. Just as physical maturity comes with time, we must grow up into maturity -- time-tested and trial-tested. So as the trials come, teach me, as You empower me, to face them with joy and to endure them with grace. Let me "not be surprised" through the testing and trials "as though something strange were happening to (me)" (1 Peter 4:12). But let me embrace You through every one of them and even thank You through every one of them -- thanking You that You're with me and thanking You that You're using every moment to make me more like You.  "In this (I) rejoice, even if now for a little while (I) have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of (my) faith -- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire -- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7). As I endure and mature through every trial, may more of Christ be revealed in me, while You continue to conform me into the image of the Son of God and You continue to confirm to me my identity as the son of God that I am in You (Romans 8:29). My heart and my inheritance may be tested by fire today or any day. But because I know my heart is in Your hands, my life is in good hands, as You cause every trial to work together for my good (Romans 8:28). The will of Your heart is to make me "mature and complete, lacking in nothing." That's what gives me the faith and hope, the courage and conviction, to endure as I mature. That's how, in Your power and love, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I can consider it all "nothing but joy." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

I pray you will be empowered by the love and grace of God to mature as you endure any trial you may face, counting it all nothing but joy, in Jesus' name. Through every moment, may you always know that He is with you and you are in good hands and God's heart. 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, October 5 - We Will Not Shrink Back

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You meet me in the first moments of my morning and take me on the adventure of prayer You've prepared for me each day. Here I am, Lord, ready for my adventure today. ...

 

"For yet 'in a very little while, the One who is coming will come and will not delay; but My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.' But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved" (Hebrews 10:37-39).

 

"Are you a Christian?" was the question put to the students by the killer of the latest school massacre in America at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon just a few days ago. If they said "Yes" they were immediately executed with a bullet to the head. As I heard this news, sickened in my heart from the cruelty and evil, I couldn't help but remember the courage of Cassie Bernall at Columbine High School, martyred for her faith when she said "Yes" to that same question just a few years ago.

 

These are heroes of our faith, no less than those who faced the lions of the Romans or those who will face the inquisitors of the beast to come -- "beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the Word of God" (Revelation 20:4). Whether from sickness of mind or cruelty of heart, there will always be those who hate God and those who love Him. But give us Your grace to never shrink back from speaking the truth and holding firm to our faith, as we trust You to hold firm to us. "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).

 

In the moment of our need, whenever our faith is tested, give us the courage to overcome -- even forgiving our accusers, but never succumbing to the threat of their accusations. May our faith in You be so deeply grounded in Your love for us that we would not waver and never shrink back, holding fast the confession of our hope. We can't do that in human strength or self-will, but we can trust that "He who has promised is faithful."

 

You are faithful to me. I pray the courage and grace to be found faithful to You. You are the God who always reminds us, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). "So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)

 

"What then shall be we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Romans 8:31-39 NKJV) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be so grounded in grace and love of God for you that you will never shrink back and always hold fast to the confession of your hope, 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, October 2 - The Kingdom of Love

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I open my heart to hear Your heart and lift up my spirit to be guided by Your Spirit.  ...

 

"Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21 NKJV).

 

King of kings and Lord of lords, rule and reign in the kingdom of God within me today. You are the King of the kingdom of God. You are the King of my heart and every day of my life and every moment of this day.

 

Establish Your order and put down any rebellion. Raise up the banner of Your kingdom, the banner of love, over me (Song of Solomon 2:4). Let there be peace and joy in the righteousness of Your reign within my thoughts and my desires. "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). And all of Your righteousness and peace and joy is an expression of Your love -- Your love for me and Your love expressed through me. 

 

You are love (1 John 4:8). And love is the law of Your kingdom (Matthew 22:37-40). You are the King of love, and where Your love abides, Your kingdom comes (1 John 4:16). Yours is the kingdom of love. Let Your kingdom come; let Your will be done -- here in my heart and here through my life today.

 

So I open up the gates of the kingdom of my heart that the King of glory, the King of love, my come in (Psalm 24:7). Let the kingdom of Your righteousness and peace and joy -- all these expressions of Your love -- fill my heart today. And everywhere You send me, may the kingdom of God be at hand, may the kingdom of God draw near, for the King of the kingdom of God, the King of the kingdom of love, lives in me (Matthew 10:7). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the King of love will fill your heart with the fullness of His kingdom today, as you carry the love of His righteousness and peace and joy everywhere you go, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

Friends, we had an awesome start to our Level 2 School of Ministry at Rapha God Ministries last night!  Please keep us in prayer for this seven week series on Thursday nights. May the Lord bless you and empower you in every way He has gifted you and called you to love Him and serve His people!

DVDs of our School of Ministry are available on-line through our web site. 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!