Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 12 - Look and Love
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome here in my heart and every moment of my day. Now I listen and wait for the leading of Your Spirit, here in the embrace of my Father.  ...
 
"Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow Me'" (Mark 10:21). 
 
You know what it is in each of our hearts that holds us back from fully following You. For some, it's wealth or pride. For others, it's loss and lack. For some, it's the shame and regret of our past. For others, it's the fear and uncertainty of our future. But whatever it is, You look at us and You love us. You never turn away from us, but encourage us to entrust all that we are and all that we have completely to You.
 
And just as You look at us and love us, You want to give us that same heart toward those around us. We're not to stare and judge; we're to look and love. As I pray, I hear Your Spirit writing a song in my heart of You call to us to look and to love with Your eyes and Your heart. ...
 
You look and you love
And the arms from above
Will reach around you
Will love right through you
 
As You look and you love
He'll be more than enough
He will reach around you 
He will love right through you
 
Just give Him your heart
He will give you His eyes
And wherever you are
You'll be His sight
 
To look and to love
With His arms from above
To the lost and the least
To heal and set free
 
In the power of His love
His Kingdom will come
As He opens your eyes
To look and to love
 
Yes, Lord. Let it be so. Just as You look at me, but reach out and love to me, let me do the same -- as best as I can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you live look and love with the eyes and heart of Jesus today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 
Friends, Thank You so much for your prayers for us last night when I had a chance to share about inner healing prayer ministry and minister live on Radio Air Jesus on the Monday Night Emerge program with Lee and Vanessa Rios. There were tears and joy in the ministry and the message of encouragement went out to over a hundred nations. Praise God! We thank God for this ministry that touches nations and allowed us to be a part!

Please join us for our 
 2016 Inner Healing Conference of Rapha God Ministrieson April 22-14 in San Antonio
 From Brokenness to Breakthrough!

I'm excited to be preaching a message on Inner Healing at
The Vineyard Church of San Antonio. I'll be preaching thenext two Sunday mornings at 10:30. Please keep us in your prayers! www.vineyardsa.org God bless you!


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!

Posted by at

Monday, April 11, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 11 - "Let Love be Genuine"
 
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.  ...
 
"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Romans 12:9-18).
 
Lord, is my love genuine? Does it come from a heart that's been wholly surrendered to You? Does it honestly express a true desire to be genuinely concerned for the needs and hopes of those around me You bring into my life? Or do I only love to be loved; do I only give in order to get; do I only act like how I think I ought to look in the eyes of others; do I only say what I think someone wants to hear if it will advance my cause and serve my plans? Or is it a little of both?
 
If I'm really honest with You and honest with myself, I'd have to admit I still have a long way to go to have a heart like You, completely genuine in love. "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse -- who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).
 
But at the same time, "(You) test the mind and search the heart" (Jeremiah 17:10). You long to "create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). And Your Spirit pours Your love into my heart to make my heart more like Yours every day that I continue to open my heart to You (Romans 5:5). So by the power of the grace of God, "(I) do not lose heart. Even though (my) outter nature is wasting away, (my) inner nature is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). 
 
Throughout the moments of my day, You offer me the choice to embrace the heart of genuine love You continually offer to me. You continually invite me to live into the truth of the new and clean heart You've created in me. "For the love of Christ urges us on ... So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:  everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) Even my heart and the genuineness of my love -- "all this is from God" (2 Corinthians 5:18). Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you live into the genuine love a the renewed heart given to you by the grace of God through Jesus Christ today, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 
Friends, I excited to be speaking and ministering live on Radio Air Jesus tonight at 9pm EST on the Monday Night Emerge program with Pete and Vanessa Rios.  radioairjesus.com/index.php/programs/monday-night-emerge


Friends, Thank You for your prayers this Sunday, preaching a message on Inner Healing at The Vineyard Church of San Antonio. I'll be preaching the next two Sunday morningsat 10:30. Please keep us in your prayers! www.vineyardsa.org

Please join us for our 
 2016 Inner Healing Conference of Rapha God Ministrieson April 22-14 in San Antonio
 From Brokenness to Breakthrough!


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!
Posted by at

Friday, April 08, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 8 - The Birth of Caleb and A Caleb Generation

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me through the communion of prayer as I start my day seeking Your face and listening for Your voice.  ... 

"But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it" (Numbers 14:24). Caleb had "a different spirit."

He lived in a time when even the people of God tested You and resisted You and would not obey You (v. 22). They leaned on their own understanding; they depended on their own strength and wisdom. And so they were limited by fear, restricted to only what they could accomplish in their own abilities, and subjected to failure. They couldn't enter into the fullness of the inheritance You longed for them to embrace. Instead, in their stubbornness and pride, they were self-determined -- and therefore, self-destined -- to wander in a wilderness of something far less than the promised land of Your Father heart for their lives (v. 23). 

But Caleb had "a different spirit." He sought You and pursued You and followed You "wholeheartedly" (v. 24). His spirit was a foreshadow of a generation to come (Colossians 2:17). The passion of his life spoke of a passionate people of God, filled with a different, "filled with the (Holy) Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). His life inspires us to be a people of a generation - a Caleb generation - "baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5) and set ablaze with a fiery passion in our hearts that's unrestricted, unrestrained, and unafraid from embracing the fullness of our inheritance of identity and destiny in You (Matthew 3:11). May we be a generation of those who pursue and passionately "love the Lord (our) God with all (our) heart, and with all (our) soul, and with all (our) mind, and with all (our) strength" -- wholeheartedly devoted to You (Mark 12:30).
 
Yesterday morning, at 10:54 am on April 8, 2016, Caleb was born. Caleb Michael Miller -- the first child of our dear friends Taylor Watts Miller and Matt Miller, and the first grandchild of my ministry partner, Tammy Watts and old law partner, Mikal Watts -- has entered this world to take it by storm. May Caleb live into the fullness of the calling of his destiny in his identity of all that his name implies and inspires.  

And may the birth of Caleb be a birthing of a fresh passion in the hearts of the people of God -- a people of "a different spirit," filled with the Holy Spirit, unrestricted, unrestrained, and unafraid, wholeheartedly devoted to You. With that different Spirit in our hearts, may we share the Good News of Jesus Christ, with all the grace and mercy and power and love of our God to the ends of the earth, that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 28:18-20). 

May God bless Caleb. And may God bless this Caleb generation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


I pray you will be filled afresh, baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, wholeheartedly devoted to God, embracing the fullness of your identity and destiny in Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. And please join with me in praying for God's blessings upon the life of Caleb Michael Miller and his family. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 
Friends, I'm excited to be preaching at The Vineyard Church of San Antonio the next three Sunday mornings at 10:30. Please keep us in your prayers! www.vineyardsa.org

Please join us for our 
 2016 Inner Healing Conference of Rapha God Ministrieson April 22-14 in San Antonio
 From Brokenness to Breakthrough!


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!
Posted by at

Thursday, April 07, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 7 - "Where Was I?"

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. Your name is above every name. Let Your name be above everything I'll encounter and experience today.  ... 

"But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told Him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But He said to them, 'Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe'" (John 20:24-25). Thomas wasn't there when You came. Thomas wasn't there when You spoke peace into their spirits and said to them You were sending them out in the same way the Father sent You (v. 21). 

Thomas wasn't there when You "breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (v. 22). And sometimes we're like Thomas. Sometimes we look around at what we missed and think "Were was I?" Sometimes we start to compare ourselves with others and think "Were was I when all the good gifts were given out, when all the good stuff happened? I'm always last, I always the least, I always left out." 

But You're not a God who leaves us out or leaves us behind. You love us all and You are at work within us all. And You know just what each of us needs. Thomas needed to have a chance to put his finger in Your hands and put his hand on Your side. Before he could take hold of Your promises in faith he felt he needed to take hold of You in the flesh. 

And sometimes, aren't we just like Thomas too? Don't we find it hard to believe what we haven't seen, hard to be encouraged by what we haven't yet experienced? But in Your mercy and love, You came to meet Thomas where he was. And in one encounter of Your presence, all his doubts turned to faith. When he heard Your voice speaking to his heart, he cried out in faith "My Lord and my God!" (v. 28) His words stand today as the most direct declaration of the Deity of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. 

Thank You that I can encounter You every day. Thank You that You that You know my needs and encourage my faith and You never leave me out or leave me behind. Thank You that You are forever "my Lord and my God!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will hear Jesus speaking His peace to your heart and filling you with faith as you encounter His presence every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 
Friends, I'm excited to preaching at The Vineyard Church of San Antonio the next three Sunday mornings at 10:30. Please keep us in your prayers! www.vineyardsa.org
 


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!

Posted by at

Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 6 - The Joy of Jesus for the Journey
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Make me more like You today.  ...
 
"When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord! Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (John 20:19-23).
 
The doors were locked for fear, and here came. Their hearts was heavy with grief, and here You came. You came into their fear and grief, into their disappointment and discouragement, into their doubts and unbelief to give them peace, to give them hope -- perhaps even more, to give them joy. They "rejoiced when they saw (You)!" because "in Your presence there is fullness of joy!" (Psalm 16:11) You restored to them the joy of Your salvation! (Psalm 51:12)
 
And it was in joy that You sent out on their journey. As the Father sent You, so You sent them (John 20:21). You breathed on them Your Breath of Life, the "Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). You had promised them that Your joy would be within them and that their joy would be complete in You (John 15:11). And now Your promise was coming to pass -- they "rejoiced when they saw (You)" and they would rejoice as You sent them (John 20:20).
 
As they received Your Spirit, You were sending them to share Your Spirit. As the Father sent You to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, You were sending them to proclaim the coming of that Kingdom in Christ. And there is no true expression of the Kingdom of God without the expression of joy. "For the Kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me afresh today with Your Breath of Life, the Breath of Christ. Fill me afresh with the righteousness and peace and joy of the Kingdom of God -- the Kingdom of God that is within me because You are within me (Luke 17:21). Fill me with the joy of Jesus for my journey in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be filled afresh with the joy of Jesus for your journey in Him every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 

Friends, I'm excited to be joining Max Lucado to share a message of hope and healing at the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus Tonight in San Antonio at 7pm. Our Rapha God Ministries team with be joining with the Oak Hills Church prayer team to offer personal prayer ministry after the worship and message. All are welcome! Please come join us if you and pray for us if you can't! 

Max Lucado and Tommy Hays
 


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!
Posted by at

Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 5 - "Some Doubted"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Lord and Savior and Best Friend. I welcome You into the journey of my day.  ...
 
"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted" (Matthew 28:16-17).
 
Sometimes it astonishes me just how blatantly honest the Word of God can be. Here, all twelve of Your first disciples -- except for the one who betrayed You -- saw You and worshiped You in Your resurrected glory. Yet even then, "some doubted."
 
If the stories of the Bible were written by men -- rather than by the Holy Spirit of God writing through the men chosen by God to express the truth and heart of God -- surely they would have left out these words of doubt and unbelief. But the words of Your Scripture are faithful and true, raw with reality, unafraid to fully express authentic struggles with faith.
 
Yes, according the Word of God, some of Your closest followers, those who knew You best, stood in Your presence, fell down to worship You, and then doubted the truth in their hearts. But before we're so quick to judge, don't we also have to admit in the raw reality of our own struggles of faith that sometime we doubt too? Don't we also, at times, doubt the truth of Your presence and the power of Your resurrection. One moment we're worshiping and the next moment we're doubting?
 
Thank You for the freedom to be real -- to be blatantly honest when we doubt in our hearts and struggle with our faith. Thank You for the freedom from the false fantasy of some kind of fairly tale faith that says we're never allowed to admit the truth of our struggles and doubts, our questions and fears, even though we worship You and welcome Your presence in our lives.
 
But in that moment of truth when "some doubted," You didn't call down fire from heaven on their heads or deliver them over to the wrath of God for their stubbornness of doubts and unbelief. Instead, Your very next words were:  "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (v. 18).
 
Wow! What a merciful God! What a God who is always faithful even when we are faithless. What a God who doesn't cast us aside when we're not constantly consistent in our faith and trust in the One who loves us and gave His life for us.
 
You met them in their place of doubt, but You didn't leave them there. You filled them with Your Spirit and sent them out to be Your witnesses into all the world. The ancient traditions forever tell the stories of how each of these eleven disciples carried Your words of truth and life to the ends of the earth, even willing to lay down their lives for their faith in You. "Some doubted," but Someone greater never gave up on them. You gave them faith to believe and faith to live their lives for You, making disciples of all nations, and passing on a legacy of faith to every generation since. May we do the same, as best as we can and all by Your grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will be filled with faith to overcome the moments of fear and doubt to keep going in the grace of God to make disciples of Jesus Christ through your life each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 
          
 

Friends, please come join us for the First Wednesday Service of Worship and Healing at Oak Hills Church, Crownridge Campus this Wednesday Night in San Antonio at 7pm.  I'll be sharing a word of hope and healing with Max Lucado. Our Rapha God Ministries team with be joining with Oak Hills Church to offer personal prayer ministry after the worship and message. All are welcome!
 


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!
Posted by at

Monday, April 04, 2016

Morning by Morning, April 4 - Short Walk to Emmaus, Life-long Journey of Faith

 Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the risen Christ. Arise and come to life in Your glory and power in every moment of my day, every day of my life.  ... 

"Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.... As they came near the village to which they were going, He walked ahead as if He were going on. But they urged Him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.' So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took break, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 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 24:13-32) 

Those two disciples on their walk to Emmaus that day were discouraged and disappointed. Things hadn't worked out as they had planned. They "had hoped" that the Jesus they had seen nailed to a cross was the Son of God, their Messiah and Savior, come to rule and reign in their land and their lives (v. 21). They "had hoped" the One who had been "a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people" would be the One would be mighty to save, healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free, proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God for all the world to hear (v. 19).  

Their hopes were dashed and their hearts were heavy. They believed in the cross and the power of death all too well. But they had not yet embraced the power and the glory of the empty tomb. They were "slow of heart to believe" (v. 25). And in their lack of faith in the promises of God, "their eyes were kept from recognizing (You)" even when "(You) came near and went with them" (v. 15). 

But in Your mercy and love, You came alongside them in their sorrow and grief. You shared with them the Bread of Life, "beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (You) interpreted to them the things about (Yourself) in all the Scriptures" (v. 27). As they allowed Your words of life from the Word of God to sink into their souls, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized (You)" (v. 31). They felt their "hearts burning within (them)," as You fanned the dying embers of their faith back into flame! (v. 32) 

They ran to tell the others "what had happened on the road, and how (You) had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread" (v. 35). Then as they spoke of all You had done and said in the testimony of their encounter with You, You came and "stood among them and said them, 'Peace be with you'" (v. 36). Even then, "in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering" (v. 41). But You kept speaking to them Your words of life and reminding them of the Word of God "that everything written about (You) in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled" (v. 44). 

As they listened with their hearts, "(You) opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (v. 45). Now, filled afresh with faith in both the power of the cross and the empty tomb, they would be filled with Your Spirit, the Promise of the Father, "clothed with power from on high," to be "witnesses of these things" for the rest of their lives (v. 48-49). 

Lord Jesus, open the eyes of my heart to see You. Come alongside me today and every day in the fellowship of Your Presence, turning my doubts into faith and my disappointments into joy. My heavenly Father, I embrace Your Word and the Promise of Your Spirit, as the child of God that I am by Your grace. Come, Holy Spirit; and let Your words of life sink into my soul, as You imbue me with Your power from on high to be Your witness of the power and love of Jesus Christ for the rest of my life. Let my walk to Emmaus be a life-long journey. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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



I pray you will be clothed with power from on high, as you journey with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, embracing the promises of the Father, to be a faithful witness of the mercy and love of God through Jesus Christ every day 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!
Posted by at

Friday, March 25, 2016

Morning by Morning, March 25 - A Good and Awful Day
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this Friday we call Good, I want to take some time to look to the One whose goodness and grace means the world to me.  ...
 
"It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified Him.... When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' ... Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed His last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said, 'Truly this Man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:-25-39)
 
I believe You are the Son of God. You are my Savior and my Lord. And I believe my Father's heart was torn in two like the temple curtain when You died on that cross in my place for all my sins and the sins of the world.
 
I also believe that death had no victory and hell had no say on that good and awful day. The grave would never hold You and the heavens would enfold You. And all who believe You, who embrace and receive You, stand in awe of You and all You were willing to for us in Your love.
 
But before I hurry on to the joy of Your resurrection, I want to take time to remember today the sacrifice of Your crucifixion. In that moment, You were forsaken so that I would never be forsaken; You bore my sin and shame so that I could be forgiven and free. You were crucified in the flesh so that my flesh could be crucified in Christ. You died in my world so I could live forever with You in Yours. And in that sense, that awful day was a good day indeed. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray your spirit would arise in thanksgiving and praise as you look upon the One who loves you so and His sacrifice for 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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Posted by at

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Morning by Morning, March 24 - The Blessing of the Blood of Jesus
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Give me the grace to hear what You say and to follow where You lead.  ...
 
"Pilate said to them, 'Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah? All of them said, 'Let Him be crucified!' Then he asked, 'Why, what evil has He done?' But they shouted all the more, 'Let Him be crucified!' So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.' Then the people as a whole answered, 'His blood be on us and on our children!' So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified" (Matthew 27:22-26).
 
It's so ironic that the crowds that called down a curse upon themselves and their generations -- that the blood of Jesus be upon them and their children -- were actually speaking of the greatest blessing we could ever receive -- the blessing of the blood of Jesus.
 
The curse of the cross would become the blessing of Christ. "Through (Jesus Christ) God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hands on a tree' -- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).
 
We draw near to God and receive the blessings of God only "by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). We "are now justified by (Your) grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who m God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood, effective through faith" (Romans 3:24-25). 
 
Lord Jesus, Your sacrifice gave us eternal life; Your crucifixion became our salvation; and Your curse became our blessing -- the blessing of the blood of Jesus. "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). So by the power of the grace of God, may the blessing of Your blood be upon us and on our children, now and for every generation to come. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray the blessing of the blood of Jesus  -- the forgiveness of your sins and the power of God's grace -- be upon you and your children for all generations, 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!
Posted by at

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Morning by Morning, March 23 - From Gethsemane's Garden to Calvary's Cross
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're the Savior of the World and the Savior of my soul. My soul waits to see where You'll lead me in prayer as I begin my day in the communion of prayer with You.  ...
 
"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' ... He said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with Me.' And going a little farther, He threw Himself on the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not what I want but what You want'" (Matthew 26:36-39).
 
As the Son of Man, the only sinless man, You willingly chose to submit Your will to the Father's will. Even as You cried out to the Father "If it is possible," You must have remembered Your own words "For God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Yet it seems, even in the sovereignty of God, it was not possible for me and my world to be forgiven of our sins apart from the sacrifice of Your life. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; (but we) are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood, effective through faith" (Romans 3:23-25).
 
Knowing in Your heart what was to come of Your life, You knelt and agonized and cried out to God the Father in passionate prayer in the garden that night -- the Garden of Gethsemane, named for the place where the olives from the trees were crushed into oil. We can't even begin to fully comprehend what it means to say You were "deeply grieved, even to death" (Matthew 26:38). "In (Your) anguish (You) prayed more earnestly" until even Your "sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44).
 
Your willing crucifixion on Calvary's cross was the ultimate manifestation of Your willing surrender to the will of the Father in Gethsemane's garden. You were willing to be "crushed for our iniquities" in incomprehensible pain so that "upon (You) was the punishment that made us whole" as "the Lord laid on (You) the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).
 
In the freedom of Your will, You could have chosen another way (Luke 4:5-8). You could have chosen to resist drinking from the cup (Matthew 26:39). You could have chosen to call down "legions of angels" to deliver You from all You were about to endure (Matthew 26:53). And we can't begin to comprehend the depths of Your anguish and all You endured on our behalf as You cried out from the cross, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" -- "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)
 
Through the gift of prayer I only have by Your grace, I say Thank You, Lord Jesus. And I know my weak words can never begin to express the debt of gratitude I eternally owe to You. But I do thank You. And I do praise You. And on this day, I do remember You and all You've done for me through the agony of Your prayers in Gethsemane and the suffering of Your sacrifice on Calvary. "By grace (I) have been saved through faith, and this is not (my) own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). And as they say, Your grace is free, but it was not cheap. Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



I pray you will embrace the grace of all God has done for you through the incomprehensible sacrifice of Jesus Christ, with eternal gratitude in your heart to Him, 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!

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)