Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 24 - Abiding and Abounding!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin this day and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:7).
 
Help me live each day abiding and abounding -- abiding in You and abounding in thanksgiving. You are the vine and I am one of Your branches; You're abiding in me and I'm abiding in You (John 15:5). 
 
Without the flow of Your life in me every day, I would shrivel and die in my spiritual life. So let me never take that for granted; let me never take You for granted. Let me abide and abound in thanksgiving and joy for Your gift of grace and the fullness of life I have in You each day. "For (I) have died, and (my) life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is (my) life is revealed, then (I) also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:3-4).
 
Remind me of my life without the fullness of Your life in me. Open my eyes to see those in the world around me whose lives feel meaningless and empty inside without Your Spirit in their hearts. They need You, just as I need You. But by the love and the grace of God, I have You and You have me. The life of "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
 
So I will not merely acknowledge You in thanksgiving with intellectual assent of the truth of my faith, I will abound in thanksgiving! I will not merely acknowledge Your role as my Creator and ask for Your blessing as my Provider when I sit down for a meal or lay my head down to sleep, I will abound in thanksgiving!
 
You've saved me life! You are my life! You bring joy and peace, a deep sense of security in my identity and excited anticipation of my destiny every day. So I will abound in thanksgiving! With a thankful heart and a joyful spirit -- all by the grace of God -- I will be abiding and abounding in You all day long, my whole life long. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will abide in Jesus and abound in thanksgiving for the fullness of life He pours into your life each day and that it would be contagious to all who are around you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

   

Ministering in Lexington, Kentucky Area March 4-5
Please join us for the Power of Love Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore, where I'll be teaching and ministering with 
 Dr. Steve Seamands, Pastor Amy Barkman,
and Jeff Rogers of Wellspring Prayer Center
Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may be attending with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net or
Please Spread the Word!

Ministering in Southern Indiana Area Feb 28-March 2
Please join us for 4 Nights of Inner Healing 
hosted at Pfrimmers Chapel UMC 
with my great friend, Pastor Tim Johnson


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, February 23, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 23 - Alive to Thrive!
 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Arise and shine, in my spirit and through my life today, I pray.  ... "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.... For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert" (Isaiah 35:1-6). We're created to thrive. So there are times when we need to be refreshed and revived. As I pray, I hear Your Spirit writing a new song in my heart ... 
Refreshed and revived
I'm coming alive
Awakened from the slumber of the night
 
Filled up inside
Alive to thrive
Spreading my wings to take off in flight
 
Revive me!
Come alive in me!
Arise and shine through me!
 
This winter will pass
This desert won't last
For my God is alive and living in me!

 Yes, Lord. You're alive and living in me. So "(I'm) not in the flesh; (I'm) in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9). In the power of Your grace, You free my spirit and strengthen my body. You "strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. (You) say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is you God!'" (Isaiah 35:3-4). You fill me afresh with "everlasting joy" as "sorrow and sighing flee away" (Isaiah 35:10). Thank You for Your "streams in the desert" and Your "water (that) break forth in the wilderness" (Isaiah 35:6). Thank You for Your word of command to my spirit, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will sine on you!" (Ephesians 5:14) I'm alive to thrive in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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



I pray you will come alive and thrive in the joy and strength of the grace of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  
 

Ministering in Lexington, Kentucky Area March 4-5
Please join us for the Power of Love Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore, where I'll be teaching and ministering with 
 Dr. Steve Seamands and Pastor Amy Barkman.
Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may be attending with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net or
Please Spread the Word!

Ministering in Southern Indiana Area Feb 28-March 2
Please join us for 4 Nights of Inner Healing 
hosted at Pfrimmers Chapel UMC 
with my great friend, Pastor Tim Johnson


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, February 19, 2016

Power of Love Healing Conference
March 4-5, 2016
Francis Asbury Society in Wilmore, Kentucky


Please join us for the Power of Love Conference 
hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore, Kentucky south of Lexington

I'll be teaching and ministering with
Dr. Steve Seamands and Pastor Amy Barkman

Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may be attending with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net or

Please Come and Spread the Word!



God bless you,
Tommy Hays

Founder | Messiah Ministries
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

 

 
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Morning by Morning, February 19 - "First Fruits of All"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be exalted as Lord in my heart and all the moments of my day.  ...
 
"Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine" (Proverbs 3:9-10).
 
As I rise to begin my day, my first thoughts belong to You, my first desires belong to You, my first words belong to You. I offer to You the first fruits of all I have and all I am. It's sort of like a down-payment of my declaration that all I have and all I am belong to You. It's another way of saying I "seek first the kingdom of God and (Your) righteousness" (Matthew 6:33 NKJV). It's another way of saying, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
 
Thank You for reminding me to start this day well so that it may go well throughout the moments of my day. Offering my first fruits to You helps prepare the way for You to display Your fruit through my life this day (Galatians 5:22-23). 
 
Thank You for filling my barns and my vats, for filling my spirit and my soul, with the extravagant abundance of Your grace. Thank You, most of all, for filling me with "God's love has been poured into (my) heart through the Holy Spirit that has been given to (me)" (Romans 5:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray the Lord will fill your barns and your vats, your spirit and your soul, with the extravagant abundance of His grace and fullness of His Spirit and His love, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  
 

Ministering in Lexington, Kentucky Area March 4-5
Please join us for the Power of Love Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore, where I'll be teaching and ministering with 
 Dr. Steve Seamands and Pastor Amy Barkman.
Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may be attending with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net or
Please Spread the Word!


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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Thursday, February 18, 2016


Morning by Morning, February 18 - Good Stewards of God's Gifts
Good morning, Lord Jesus. All I am and all I have belong to You, O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So speak to my spirit, that I may be a good steward of all You've entrusted to me today. ...
"Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:10-11).
It still amazes me how in all Your sovereignty and majesty You choose to express Your glory and power through Your sons and daughters. Each of us has received gifts of God. They're spiritual gifts because they are expressions of Your Holy Spirit abiding in us, anointing us with Your Presence, and flowing through us with Your power and love.
When we're living in communion with You, allowing the deep of our human spirits to call unto the deep of Your Holy Spirit in "prayer to the God of life," You speak through us with Your words and serve through us with Your strength (Psalm 42:7). It's not us; it's You. But it's not You instead of us; it's You through us. It's "Christ in (us)" (Colossians 1:27). 
Together, in the mystery of faith, we are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are filled with the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). And by Your "manifold grace" and spiritual gifts, we are speaking and serving and loving and giving with heart of Christ -- even "as one speaking the very words of God," just as Your Word says we "must do ... so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 4:10-11).
So come, Holy Spirit. Fill me afresh today (Ephesians 5:18). Let "the anointing that (I) received from (You) abide in (me)" deeply today (1 John 2:27). And let me be a good steward and faithful servant of the gifts and graces You've entrusted to me -- secure in my identity as a beloved child of God and confident in my destiny as a life member of the body of Christ. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be secure in your identity and confident in your destiny, filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and empowered by God to be a good steward of all the gifts and graces He has entrusted to you today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, please keep us in prayer as I teach on spiritual giftstonight at our Rapha God Ministries "Boot Camp" for our new prayer ministry team members at our base in San Antonio. I pray the Lord continues to equip and empower you to know your calling and fulfill your destiny as well! God bless you!

Ministering in Lexington, Kentucky Area March 4-5
Please join us for the Power of Love Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore, where I'll be teaching and ministering with 
 Dr. Steve Seamands and Pastor Amy Barkman.
Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may be attending with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net or
http://www.voiceofjoyministries.com/events.html
Please Spread the Word!


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, February 17, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 17 - "Something Greater"
 Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.  ... "(Jesus) said to them, 'Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had know what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath'" (Matthew 12:3-8). The building of the temple, the bread of the Presence, the law of the Sabbath -- they are all physical objects pointing toward something greater. "These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:17).  You are the Something Greater. As our great Temple, You are the center of our worship. As our great Bread of Life, You are the abiding Presence of God with us. As our great Sabbath, You are the place of peace and rest from all our striving and straining with all our rituals and rules, trying to be good enough or do enough good to be accepted and loved. Our personal relationship with You as Lord of the Sabbath and Lord of our souls is something greater than anything else in all creation. No religiousness, no self-righteousness or works-righteousness, but only Christ-centeredness is "the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13).  The goal to "come to know God, or rather to be known by God" is the desire for destiny You've set in our hearts (Galatians 4:9). And just as You've always intended, we'll never be satisfied with something lesser than knowing the Something Greater You've created us to pursue with all our hearts for all our lives. At the same time, in this great pursuit of Something Greater, we rest confidently in the assurance of Your Word, "When you search for Me, you will find me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me, says the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays



Tommy,  I pray you will be know and be known by the Lord our God, as you passionately pursue Him with all your heart all your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
Ministering in Lexington, Kentucky Area March 4-5
Please join us for the Power of Love Conference hosted by Voice of Joy Ministries at the Francis Asbury Society headquarters in Wilmore with Dr. Steve Seamands and Pastor Amy Barkman.
Registration is free but please let Pastor Amy know if you may attend with an email to her at  amyb_love@att.net
Please Spread the Word!


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, February 16, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 16 - "Manifestation of the Glory"
 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me hear Your voice and listen for Your leading, as I begin this day in the communion of prayer with You, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ... 

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is He who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11-14). 

Lord Jesus -- "our great God and Savior" -- manifest Your glory today. I know one day You will return in a spectacular, indescribable, world-wide manifestation of Your glory for all to see (1 Thessalonians 4:16). But at the same time, I know You also desire there to be a manifestation of Your glory here in my heart and in here through my life every day. "Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossian 1:27). 

You forgive my sins and purify my soul. You fill me with Your Spirit and anoint me with Your presence and power and purpose (1 John 2:17). And You send me out into my world, zealous for You with a passion for my Father's kingdom to come and will to be done, here on earth and here through my life, "to display (Your) glory" as one of those "called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord" (Isaiah 61:3). When You walked this earth to show us the way to honor God with our lives, You said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples" (John 15:7-8). 

So Father God, in Jesus' name, I embrace Your Holy Spirit to manifest the glory of Christ through my life in my world today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be continually filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God, abiding in Jesus and His word, that your life may be a manifestation of the glory of Christ in your world 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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Friday, February 12, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 12 - Empowered to Overcome
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life.  ...
 
"Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it down, and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great; they killed none of them, but carried them off, and went their way. When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with them raise their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep. David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:1-6).
 
Just as David faced his physical enemies in the Amalekites, we face our spiritual enemies in "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). Like David, we are under attack from "the thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). Our spiritual enemy is "like a roaring lion (who) prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). And sometimes in the pressure of the attacks and the confusion and grief of the loss, even those around us can turn against us "bitter in spirit."
 
But like David, we must strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God (1 Samuel 30:6). Though others forsake us and abandon us, turn against us and attack us, You never will (Hebrews 13:5). Though the enemy of our souls seeks to devour us and destroy us with everything dear to us, Your Word reminds us "the One who is in (us) is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You encourage us with Your words "that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NKJV).
 
David didn't panic and David didn't give up. David didn't decide to take the advice of Job's wife in the face of Job's spiritual battle and personal devastation to "curse God and die" (Job 2:9). No. He did quite the opposite. 
 
David "strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6). Then he "inquired of the Lord" (v. 8). And in the guidance and strength of the Lord his God, he "went on pursuit" to take back what the enemy stole from him (v. 10). "David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled" (v. 17). And when the smoke cleared and the battle was over, "David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David brought back everything" (v. 18-19).
 
And by the same power of the grace of God, may we strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God in the face of every attack from the enemy of our souls. May we be empowered to overcome. May we remember to seek You instead of sink in self-pity. May we be empowered to arise and pursue instead of turn tail and flee. And may we remember and experience the truth of Your Word that "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us ... convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be strengthened in the Lord, empowered to overcome through every battle you may face, taking back all the enemy ever tries to steal from 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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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 11 - In the Morning Surrender of My Morning Prayer
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look and listen; I watch and wait for the leading of Your Spirit to begin this day embracing and abiding in the presence of God.  ...
 
"O Lord, in the morning You hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch" (Psalm 5:3).
 
Thank You for listening and hearing my heart. Thank You for allowing me to plead my case, to state my needs, to express my concerns, to acknowledge my fears, to lay down my burdens, and to share my dreams. Thank You for the invitation of Your Word expressing the nature of Your heart:  "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you" (Psalm 55:22). "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
 
As I speak them out to You, You gather them up and lift them from me. And in the gentleness of Your mercy and the security of Your love, You say to my soul, "Now, let it go. Entrust it to Me. I care for You. I will take care of you."
 
And now I watch. Now I trust. Now I allow You to put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart as You guide my steps and direct my paths. Now I receive the gift of faith to believe that You will do Your part, and at the same time, that You will show me and empower me to do my part. "From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eyes has seen any God besides You, who works for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:4). 
 
What a good way to begin my day in the morning surrender of my morning prayer. Now give me the grace to live this out throughout all the other moments of day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will watch and see what God will do with all you surrender to Him in your morning prayer, 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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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 10 - The Mark of Ashes
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Lord and my Savior. As I begin this day, I embrace Your salvation and surrender to Your lordship, as best as I can and all by Your grace.  ...
 
"Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. The Lord call to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side; and said to him, 'Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it" (Ezekiel 9:3-4).
 
On the cycle of seasons that mark Christian traditions, today begins the season of Lent, marking the spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Around the world, many will receive a mark of the cross in ashes upon their forehead as a sign of the mark of the cross upon their hearts. As I understand it, it's a mark that speaks of humility and repentance, turning away from our sins and turning to God. It's an outward sign of an inward grace, a physical indication of a spiritual dedication.
 
No matter our tradition, whether we receive the imposition of ashes on our foreheads or not, whether we participate in the season of Lent or not, we are all invited to set our lives apart as holy unto the Lord. We are all invited to stand out from our culture, to identify ourselves with Christ, not merely with outwards symbols or statements of belief, but also with the deep commitment of our hearts that manifest through our actions in the daily choices of our lives. "Everyone therefore who acknowledges Me before others, I also will acknowledge before My Father; but whoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before My Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).
 
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved" (Romans 10:8-10).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Help me live a lifestyle of humility and repentance, before My Father in heaven and My Savior in my heart, turning away from the stains of sin in my soul and my culture to embrace the truth of the love and grace of God -- not just for the forty days before Easter, but for every day of my life. In Christ, I am "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14). "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who has faith" (Romans 1:16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a lifestyle of humility and repentance in the truth of the grace and love of God through Jesus Christ, 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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Tuesday, February 09, 2016

Morning by Morning, February 9 - Rocks to Remember
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start this day and every day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua:  'Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.' Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. Joshua said to them, 'Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God in to the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever'" (Joshua 4:1-7).
 
 If I had a stone for every time You showed up and set me free, every time You saved my soul from what I deserved, every time You showed me the way where there seemed to be no way, I'd have a such a pile of rocks it would be bigger than a barn. And whether we recognize it or not, whether we take time to acknowledge You and thank You for it or not, we all would. Those are rocks to remember.
 
We ought to take every chance we get to tell our kids and tell our neighbors and tell everybody who would listen what our great God has done for us. We ought to take time to tell it to ourselves and remember the moments of deliverance and healing, provision and protection, hope and encouragement, and every other way You've shown up and showed off in another extraordinary display of Your love and grace.
 
Those rocks from the river from where Israel passed over into the their land of promise where to be "a memorial forever" of the faithfulness of God (Joshua 4:7). And now the story of those rocks is eternally inscribed in the very Word of God that we can read to our kids and believe in our hearts that what You did for Your people then is exactly what You will do for Your people today. You are "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
 
As I remember the piles of rocks in my life, as I remember "(You) alone (are) my Rock and my Salvation, my Fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. (I will) trust in Him at all time" (Psalm 62:6-8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the moments our God's miracles and grace in your life to share with others as He leads, 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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