Monday, December 23, 2019

Morning by Morning, December 23 - The Sign of a Humble Manger
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I begin my day with my thoughts on You. ...
 
"So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:6-7 KJV).
 
Not a mansion, but a manger. Not in the finest hospital, but in a feed trough. Not among the rich and powerful, but among the peasants and people. 
 
No wonder the angel of the Lord said to the shepherds, "This will be a sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). This was an amazing sign -- that the King of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of All, would humble Himself in this way to enter our world in such a humble way and in such a humble place.
 
As I ponder this amazing sign in my heart, I believe I hear You saying, "The humble place is always where I'll be. I draw near to the humble, to those who humble themselves to seek Me, to need Me, to welcome Me, and to embrace Me. The well have no need of a Doctor. The so-called sinless and self-righteous have no need of a Savior. But I long and I love to come enter into the humble hearts of those acknowledge Me and their desperate need for Me."  ...
 
Yes, Lord. Your Word comes to mind to confirm these words I hear in my heart: "The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.... The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth" (Psalm 145:14-18). "Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble" (Psalm 138:6). "He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and the oppressed" (Proverbs 3:34). "He gives us more grace. This is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:6-10).
 
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I humble my heart before You today. I need You. I'm desperately dependent upon You. And I make room for You, here in my heart and in every moment of my day.  I need You as my Doctor, my Savior, my All in All. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you seek and embrace, with humility of heart, the One who is your All in All, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

              

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer.
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I write these prayer devotionals from my morning prayer time most every day and send them out right away the same morning -- real prayers, expressed and shared in real time from my spiritual life. If you would like to have a collection of these as a 365 Day Prayer Devotional for you or a friend, please order a copy today. 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

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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Morning by Morning, December 19 - Messy Beginnings for Our Messiah
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day. ...
 
"(Joseph) went to be registered with Mary (in Bethlehem), to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a Child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her Child" (Luke 2:5).
 
Mary was a single mom and a pregnant teen. Joseph was stepping in to be a stepfather for a Child he didn't conceive and for a mother he had doubted at first in her faithfulness but came to trust. This seems like a very messy beginning for the holy family of the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. And yet, You were in the midst of it all, causing all things to work together for good -- all at the right time, all in the right place, to set things right in their hearts and ours.
 
Heaven had spoken to their hearts, and they believed. Faith prevailed and love won. All that messiness prepared the way for the Messiah.
 
You're the God who speaks clarity into our chaos, truth into our confusion, and hope into our despair. You take our broken and messy lives to make something so much better, so much more beautiful than we could ever hope or image if we trust in You. 
 
Heaven still speaks into the hearts of those who are listening. And our Messiah, our Savior, is still making beautiful things out of the messy lives of all who need the hope and healing, the freedom and peace, the fullness of complete salvation, that only You can bring. 
 
Mary and Joseph came to the place where they were "expecting a Child" to come and change their lives, to make things whole and set things right (Luke 2:5). And so are we! To that I say, "Amen!" To that, I say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men!" (Luke 2:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you find healing and hope, freedman peace, and the fullness of complete salvation that only comes through our Messiah and Savior, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

             

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer. I write these from my morning prayer time most every day and send them out right away the same morning -- real prayers, expressed and shared in real time from my spiritual life. If you would like to have a collection of these as a 365 Day Prayer Devotional for you or a friend, please order a copy today. 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

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Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Morning by Morning, December 18 - At Just the Right Time in Just the Right Place
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. With all ye faithful, I come and adore You, Christ the Lord. ...
 
"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.... All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, the city of David called Bethlehem, because he descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a Child" (Luke 2:1-5)
 
Jesus of Nazareth would be born in Bethlehem. On the one hand, we might say it was because of the Roman Emperor Augustus. And on the other hand, we know it was because of the Your words and Your will, prophesied long before Augustus was even born, that the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world would come from Nazareth (Matthew 2:23) and be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). 
 
Men make their choices in their free will; and at the same time, in the mystery of Your sovereignty and our will, Your sovereignty sees every choice before it's ever made and unfolds our choices into a supernatural display of Your will. "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (Proverbs 16:9). "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives" (Psalm 37:23). What a mystery and a marriage of our will and Your sovereignty! "O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways!" (Romans 11:33)
 
So Lord, line up my thoughts with Your mind, my desires with Your heart, my ways with Your will. Guide my steps and direct my paths. Get me to the right place at the right time for the right purposes, that all righteousness might be fulfilled according to Your will and plan for my life. Correct me when I'm wrong. Redirect me when I'm lost. Clarify me when I'm confused. Reposition me when I'm out of place. I yield my will to Your will.
 
As the old worship song proclaims, "Take my heart and form it; take my mind, transform it; take my will, conform it -- to Yours, to Yours, O Lord." You're worthy of my trust, my faith, my surrender, and my adoration. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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


My friend, may you be aligned and empowered by God at just the right time in just the right place to fulfill every part of His plan for your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

            

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer. I write these from my morning prayer time most every day and send them out right away the same morning -- real prayers, expressed and shared in real time from my spiritual life. If you would like to have a collection of these as a 365 Day Prayer Devotional for you or a friend, please order a copy today. 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!
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Morning by Morning, December 17 - Prophetic Message of the Messiah and the Virgin Mary
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of all I am and all I do this day. ...
 
"The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.' Then Mary said, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.' Then the angel departed from her" (Luke 1:30-38).
 
Most people don't know many Bible stories. But if they know any at all, they probably know this one -- the virgin would conceive and bear a Son and call Him Jesus. What happened in Mary's life was foretold in the Scriptures by the prophet Isaiah nearly eight hundred years before -- "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14 NKJV). 
 
Mary's Son would be the Messiah -- the Anointed One of God, the Son of God who would set aside the glory of heaven to humble Himself in the likeness of human flesh and blood to reveal the heart of God the Father to us as God the Son among us (Philippians 2:5-11). As Isaiah prophesied, "For a Child has been born for us, a Son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders; and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
 
Lord, let the stories of Your Word come alive in me today. Let Your prophetic Scriptures remind me of Your sovereignty. Just as God the Holy Spirit conceived and birthed what was Holy in Mary, would You conceive and birth what is Holy in me. Fill me with Your Spirit and lead me in Your will, as You unfold Your sovereign plans for my life each day. Give me the grace to see and respond, with humility and faith, filled with Your Spirit, just as Mary did -- "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). In Jesus' name pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you be filled with the Holy Spirit, as He conceives and births what is Holy in you to live out the sovereign plans of God for your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

           

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer. I write these from my morning prayer time most every day and send them out right away the same morning -- real prayers, expressed and shared in real time from my spiritual life. If you would like to have a collection of these as a 365 Day Prayer Devotional for you or a friend, please order a copy today. 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!

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Monday, December 16, 2019

Morning by Morning, December 16 - "Favored One" Like Mary
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I seek Your face and listen for Your voice to begin my day embraced by My Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
 
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to here, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God...'" (Luke 1:26-30).
 
Mary "found favor with God." What does that mean, Lord? ...
 
Does it mean she earned it? Does it mean she was worthy of it? Does it mean she was sinless or perfect or worthy of worship herself? What does it mean for Mary? And what does it mean for me? ...
 
As I ponder my question like Mary pondered her greeting, some Scriptures come to mind:  "The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
 
What did You see when You saw Mary's heart?  ...
 
I think You saw the heart of one who knew they needed a Savior. She sang out, "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!" (Luke 1:47). And I think You saw the heart of one who was quick to rejoice in the One who saves us. I think You saw the heart of one who was humble in Your sight, saying, "He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant" (Luke 1:48). I think You say the heart of one who was thankful and appreciative, not taking anything for granted, but giving You praise in all things, declaring, "The Mighty One has done great things for me and Holy is His name!" (Luke 1:49) And I think You say the heart of one who would be seek to be faithful to You and Your word and Your calling upon her life, responding from her heart, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
 
You're the God "who searches our hearts" (Romans 8:27). You're the God who knows our thoughts (Luke 5:22). "O Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous, Who sees the mind and the heart" (Jeremiah 20:12). You see the end of the beginning and the beginning from the end; You see every desire of our heart, every thought of our mind, and every choice we'll make, even as You give us the freedom to make those choices that flow out of our hearts and minds (Isaiah 46:10).
 
So for Mary and for me and for all Your sons and daughters of God who are called by Your name, we don't earn Your favor or Your grace -- it is the free gift of God (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:9). And at the same time, we are called to be "found faithful" just as we are blessed to be those who have "found favor" (1 Corinthians 4:2). We can't deserve it; we can't earn it -- that only comes by the power of Your grace and the Presence of Your Spirit at work within each one of us -- "For God is working in (us), giving (us) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
 
Lord, I want to be "found faithful" as one who has "found favor" in You. By the power of Your grace, give me the desire and the power to do what pleases You -- with humility, thankfulness, faithfulness, obedience, and praise -- just like Mary. "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you be favored by God, found faithful in Him by the power and grace of His Spirit alive and at work within you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

           

Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer. I write these from my morning prayer time most every day and send them out right away the same morning -- real prayers, expressed and shared in real time from my spiritual life. If you would like to have a collection of these as a 365 Day Prayer Devotional for you or a friend, please order a copy today. 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!

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