Morning by Morning, November 26 - Uplifted and Upheld in the Right Hand of God

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and in the middle of every moment of my day.  ...

 

"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, My friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off'; do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand.... You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you'" (Isaiah 41:8-13).

 

Even the chosen face our challenges. Even the blessed endure our battles. We have no immunity from trails and troubles as we journey though this broken and fallen world. You didn't promise us a paradise with no problems; You promised us that You would be with us through every problem. You promised us You would strengthen us and help us and uphold us through them all. And so You do. You always come through and always get us through.

 

Lord, You already see every battle I'll fight and every challenge I'll face. You've already gone before me and You're already right here with me. So by the power of Your grace, I will not fear and I will move forward. And by the power of Your grace, even everything I face will be an opportunity to overcome and another lesson to learn how to keep putting my trust in the One who always comes through.

 

"I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand (and I am in His), I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let Your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:8-11). In Your mighty, victorious, and righteous right hand where You set things right in Your time and in Your way, I am uplifted and upheld, encouraged and empowered, strengthened and secure. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you know in your spirit and experience through your day that you are uplifted and upheld, encouraged and empowered, strengthened and secure in the mighty, victorious right hand of God who is setting things right for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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, November 15 - Liberation from Leviathan, the Twisting Serpent

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and every moment of my day.  ...

 

"On that day the Lord with His cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will kill the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).

 

The "twisting serpent" -- who tries to twist my words so that others don't hear what I've truly said and how I said it, who tries to twist the understanding of motives and intentions of my heart to mean something else in the mind of the hearer, who tries to divide and conquer, who tries to deceive and confuse, who tries to harden hearts in opposition to Godly unity to keep us from speaking the truth in love or hearing the truth spoken in love, who locks it's teeth around our most vulnerable members and drags us down under the water where there is no breath of Your Spirit to guide our hearts and give us help -- is a wicked serpent. It's a wicked spirit of darkness "looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

 

"Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible! The scales on its back are like rows of shields tightly sealed together... They interlock and cannot be penetrated.... Its eyes are like the red of dawn. Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out.... Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth. The tremendous strength of Leviathan's neck strikes terror wherever it goes. Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated. Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a millstone. When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by its terror.... Leviathan make the water boil with its commotion... Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of the beasts" (Job 41:14-34).

 

This evil entity of darkness is wildly at work in our world -- within our nation, within our relationships, even within our own hearts, seeking to steal our faith, our hope, and our love to make us broken and divided, "double-minded and unstable in every way" so that we can no longer "receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:8). It's full of pride and instills the pride of hardened hearts that can no longer hear truth. It convincing its victims with a certainty they are right in their twisted beliefs and justified in their opposition to all who would deny or fail to embrace their version of truth -- twisted and distorted, though it is. It stirs up strife with its fury and wrath to intimidate and accuse, to judge and condemn, and to crush the life out of its prey.

 

So give us eyes to see, ears to hear, wisdom to understand, and humility to allow You to search out our hearts and our minds to reveal its grip upon us -- upon our nation, our relationships, and our own hearts. And let the "cruel and strong and great sword" of Your Word and Your Truth cut off its head, break its teeth, and silence its voice (Psalm 3:7 and 74:14). Wield Your mighty "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" as You empower us to "pray in the Spirit at all times" to "keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:17-18). 

 

This is a spiritual battle -- to be fought with the spiritual "weapons of our warfare" -- weapons of humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope; weapons of the Word of God, the Name of Jesus, the Power of the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony (2 Corinthians 10:3; Revelation 12:11). "For our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place. Therefore (we must) take up the whole armor of God, so that (we) may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:12-13).

 

Come, Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to see the nature of the battle around us and even within us. Come pierce this writhing dragon, this twisting serpent who seeks to "kill and steal and destroy" (John 10:10). Even in the midst of the battle, let us "Praise the Lord! ... For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with victory! ... Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy.... Let the high praises of God be in their hearts and two-edged swords in their hands ... to execute (Your) judgment decreed. This is glory for all His faithful one. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 149:1-9)

 

Come have Your way in us and in our world. Displace the darkness with Your Light. You're the God to proclaims Your Good News of into our hearts and our world, who comes in Your power and love and truth to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God!" (Isaiah 61:1-2) 

 

We are witnesses of Your glory and warriors in Your Kingdom, with our faith and hope and love in You. "Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my Rock and my Fortress, my Stronghold and my Deliverer, my Shield, in whom in take refuge, who subdues the (spiritual enemies of my soul) under me.... Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out Your arrows and rout them; Stretch out Your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of (my spiritual enemies), whose mouths speak like, and whose right hands are false.... (Blessed) are the people to whom such blessings fall; (blessed) are the people whose God is the Lord!" (Palm 144:1-15)  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you take up the whole armor of God and stand firm to withstand the twisting serpent in every form it manifests itself in your land and your life, to see the victory of the Lord who has defeats our foe with the piercing of His Word the power of His Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Preaching in Pakistan. Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers and support for our evangelistic meetings in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry. Each month, I am preaching in a different village around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. I'll be preaching again this coming Friday (Friday night for them, and Friday morning for me). Despite much persecution in their land, they come hungry to hear the Word of God proclaimed through these outdoor meetings with a big screen and an interpreter in these small villages, where they consistently respond in great faith. Last month, Pastor Fazal reported that over 300 souls were saved and over 50 people experienced healing and freedom in the name of Jesus! Praise God! Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support that makes this dimension of our ministry possible! God bless you!

Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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, November 14 - Life Lessons along "The Long Way"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my spirit, O Lord, My God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let me hear what You're saying and see what You're doing, as I entrust my day into Your hands and Your will. ...

 

"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 is 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 order 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 these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so 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 bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, ... a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing.... You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has give you" (Deuteronomy 8:2-10).

 

Lord Jesus, when You confronted Satan with the Word of God in Your forty days of wilderness, You quoted the Word of God from Israel's forty years in the wilderness, declaring, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:3 quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). Those words of God, from God's mouth into their spirits as they journeyed through their wilderness spoke of humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope. They spoke of learning life lessons along "the long way" through the "wilderness." They spoke of trusting in a God who is always with us, who never leaves us nor forsakes us, and who is always leading us into the fullness of His promises and our inheritance in the "good land" of His grace and mercy and love.

 

Those words empowered You to confront Your enemy, when he came to attack Your identity and destroy Your destiny as "the thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). And those words empower us to overcome him as well (Revelation 12:11). Those words, and all they speak of and all they invite us to live in to, empower us with the humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope we need to overcome and even grow up into maturity in the face of every attack along "the long way" of our wilderness through this broken and fallen world. They are "weapons of our warfare" (2 Corinthians 10:4). They are "keys of the kingdom" (Matthew 16:19). They are words of "spirit and life" (John 6:63). And they are words that go forth from Your mouth and into our spirits that "shall not return to (You) empty, but shall accomplish that which (You) purpose, and succeed in the thing for which (You) sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).

 

My years on this earth, passing through the wilderness of this world, sometimes seem like "the long way" home, "the long way" into the fullness of my inheritance in You. But I pray that by the power of Your grace at work within me, I'll learn every life lesson You desire for me learn and grow up into the maturity of my identity in You and live out the fullness of my destiny in You (Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 2:12).

 

And all along "the long way" of this wilderness, let Your words and Your Spirit fill my heart with this hope and this promise: "This slight momentary affliction is preparing (me) for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because (I) look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary but what cannot be seen is eternal.... He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 4:17-5:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you live by every word that comes from the mouth of God into your spirit, as you live into the fullness of your identity and destiny in Christ, all along "the long way" through the wilderness of this world, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Preaching in Pakistan. Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers and support for our evangelistic meetings in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry. Each month, I am preaching in a different village around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. I'll be preaching again this coming Friday (Friday night for them, and Friday morning for me). Despite much persecution in their land, they come hungry to hear the Word of God proclaimed through these outdoor meetings with a big screen and an interpreter in these small villages, where they consistently respond in great faith. Last month, Pastor Fazal reported that over 300 souls were saved and over 50 people experienced healing and freedom in the name of Jesus! Praise God! Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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, November 12 - How to "Draw Near to God"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You and worship You, here in my heart and throughout the moments of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:6).

 

Lord, how do I "draw near" to You?  ...

 

It seems I hear You saying in my heart, "Surrender and seek. In an attitude of your heart, surrender your heart to Mine, your will to Mine. Allow Me to form My thoughts in your mind and My desires in your heart. To surrender to Me is to rest in Me. As You do, My Spirit stirs in your spirit to seek Me, to passionately pursue Me, to put Me first above all else. In this trusting surrender and seeking pursuit, you draw near to Me, as You give Me room to move in you to desire and to do this very thing I created you to be -- My beloved one."  ...

 

Yes, Lord. May I be Your beloved one (Song of Solomon 5:1; Ephesians 5:1; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; Jude 1:1). May I be one who surrenders and seeks, one who draws near and doesn't hold back, one who presses in through passionate pursuit to be as close to You as I can be. Uproot and remove everything in me and everything between us that would ever separate us (James 4:6b; Romans 8:38-39). And replace that all with the intimacy with You that You've created me to know.

 

May I seek You first and fully abide in You (Matthew 6:33; John 15:4). May I draw near to You and become one with You. "Anyone united to the Lord become one spirit with Him.... (My) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within (me), which (I) have from God" (1 Corinthians 6:17-19). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you draw near to God and become one with Him as His beloved one, just as He created you to be, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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, November 9 - "Fruit that Will Last"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Vine and I am one of Your branches. Let Your light and life and love flow through me today, as I abide in You and You abide in me (John 15:5).  ...

 

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.... I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask Him in My name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another" (John 15:12-17).

 

I come to You to begin my day in the communion of prayer. I look to You; I seek Your face; I listen for Your voice; I wait in the silence of surrender to Your leading; and I rest in Your Presence. Here in the heart of my innermost being, here in the depth of my spirit where deep calls to Deep, I'm embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. This is where You anoint me and empower me to go out into my day to "go and bear fruit, fruit that will last."

 

"Fruit that will last" must be an expression of Your love. This is not the world's love; this is Your love -- "the love of Christ" (Romans 8:35). "For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for them" (2 Corinthians 5:14). This is a love that urges me on to lay down my life for You, my Friend, and to lay down my life for the sake those You love through me. 

 

This is the power of Your love that changes my world. This is the power of Your love that's backed up by the authority of Your name when I ask my Father to love through me with the love of Christ. And this is the power of Your love that bears much fruit -- "fruit that will last."

 

Lord, I want my fruit to last. I want my life to matter. I want to know I make a difference in the moments of my day, instead of wasting my time, just going through the motions, just spinning my wheels, just living for myself and nothing that really matters. 

 

So empower me to love. Show me how to take the opportunities that come to lay down my life for You and for the sake of the ones You'll love through me today. I want to "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that (I) may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19). And in "all the fullness of God" -- because I'm abiding in You and You're abiding in me -- may my life bear "fruit that will last" today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you will bear much fruit today -- "fruit that will last" -- as you abide in Christ, as you're empowered to love, as you're "filled with all the fullness of God," in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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, November 8 - "Look Up! Look Up!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. All to You, I surrender. All to You, I entrust my heart and mind and soul and strength. Align my heart with Your heart and my thoughts with Your thoughts as I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...

 

"To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!" (Psalm 123:1)

 

I hear in my heart this morning, "Look up! Look up!" ...

 

Yes, Lord. I look up to You. I lift up my heart to You; I open up my spirit to You. "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct (my heart and my prayer) to You, and I will look up" (Psalm 5:3 NKJV).

 

As I'm looking up, You're lifting me up in spirit. Your holy angels lift me up and Your Holy Spirit fills me up, as You draw me into "the secret place of the Most High" and invite me to "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" as my "Refuge and my Fortress, my God (in whom) I will trust" (Psalm 91:1-2, 11-12 NKJV).

 

Yes, Lord. By the power of Your grace I "have been raised with Christ, seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (I) set (my) mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for (I) have died, and (my) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1).

 

Yes, Lord. "I lift up my eyes to the hills -- from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let (my) foot be moved; He who keeps (me) will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is (my) Keeper; the Lord is (my) Shade at (my) right hand.... The Lord will keep (me) from all evil; He will keep (my) life. The Lord will keep (my) going out and (my) coming in from this time on and forevermore!" (Psalm 121:1-8). 

 

Lord, keep my spirit looking up throughout the moments of my day. As I do, You will guide my steps, guard my heart, and direct my path to walk in the way that leads to life in You. "You, O Lord, are a Shield around me, my Glory, and the One who lifts up my head" (Psalm 3:3). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, I pray you are moved in your spirit to look up to the Lord and allow Him to lift you up in the joyful pleasure of His Presence now and throughout the moments of your day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

(Looking up in worship from a time of ministry in The Philippines)

Friends, please keep us in prayer tonight for our time of celebration, blessing, and impartation at the closing night of our Level 2 School of Ministry for equipping in personal prayer ministry here in San Antonio. God bless you and your ministry in the Lord wherever He positions you and sends you!

I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today:    Healing Academy

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!