Tuesday, December 22, 2020

"We Have Seen His Star!" - December 22, 2020

 Morning by Morning, December 22 - "We Have Seen His Star!"

 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I come and adore You, Christ the King. ...
 
"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2).
 
Last night we looked up into the night sky to see what they call "the Christmas Star." It was a rare and beautiful visual convergence of the two planets Jupiter and Saturn, not seen this close together since the middle ages. Some wonder if it was what the wise men saw that led them to Bethlehem two thousand years ago.
 
Every night we look up into the skies, we can't help but declare Your praise. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands!" (Psalm 19:1) O come let us adore Him!
 
Just as those planets converged to shine like a star, Lord, let Your Spirit converge in our hearts to shine with the light of the glory of God through us. As Your Word declares, with Christ in our hearts as "children of God" we "shine like stars in the world" even in "the midst of a crooked and perverse generation" (Philippians 2:15). Lord, let Your kingdom converge in our world, as heaven invades earth, as Your kingdom comes and Your will is done in our hearts and in our world, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
 
The wise men looked up to see Your star shining in the sky. Now by the grace of God at work within us, may the world look and see Your star shining in us. "Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you shine like a star with the light of the glory of God shining through you every day, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I keep joining with you and so many in prayer, standing firm in faith for our nation and our world through this challenging time. God bless you, my friend! 
 
  

Friends, please consider our ministry in 
Your Year-End Giving! 

Praying you find our ministry to be good soil 
to sow your seed to advance the Kingdom of God 
in our world!


God bless you and Merry Christmas!

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

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Monday, December 21, 2020

The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulder" -December 21, 2020

 Morning by Morning, December 21 - "The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulder"

 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my eyes and open up my heart to welcome You into every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"And the government shall be upon His shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6).
 
How we need "the government" to be upon Your shoulder! How we need You to carry this burden that would crush the soul of our nation and crush the hope of Your believing people who are called by Your name! How we need to look to the One who has come and to the only One who can take this burden and set things right in our hearts, in our nation, and in our world!
 
"Of the increase of (Your) government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon (Your) kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!" (Isaiah 9:7).
 
O Lord come! O Lord move and act upon our behalf! You've come as a Child. You're coming as a Lion. And right now we desperately need You to come as a King! Come in Your zeal and perform this. Come in Your power and establish this "with judgment and with justice" to set things right in the way only You can!
 
You alone are our "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). You alone are the "Child (who) has been born for us, (the) Son given to us" that we might have a government in alignment with Your kingdom in our hearts, in our nation, and in our world (Isaiah 9:6).
 
In our weary world, may we turn to the One, the only One, who can save us. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Give us grace to keep our faith in the only One who can give us life and keep us from perishing. Give us grace to keep our faith in the only One who can bring us out of the darkness and into Your light to the government of God -- the government of God where the Lord our God is King to rule and reign on the throne of our hearts and the heart of our nation and our world (John 3:17-21).
 
Together as Your people who are called by Your name, we entrust our government onto Your shoulders and into Your hands. And we look forward to the day with expectant faith and persevering prayer for the fulfillment of Your prophetic promise, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15) Hallelujah! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you entrust our government to the shoulder of our God with expectant faith and persevering prayer in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you and so many in prayer for our nation through this challenging time. God bless you, my friend! 
 
  

Friend, please consider our ministry in 
Your Year-End Giving!


God bless you and Merry Christmas!

Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

"Eagerly Waiting" on the Prophetic Promises of God - December 17, 2020

 Morning by Morning, December 17 - "Eagerly Waiting" on the Prophetic Promises of God

 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm listening for Your leading and resting in Your Presence to begin my day in the communion of prayer with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"At the time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah" (Luke 2:25-26).
 
Simeon was full of expectant faith. He was "eagerly waiting for the Messiah." He knew the Written Word of the Scriptures that spoke of the One who would come as God's anointed Son to be the Salvation of Israel and a Light to the nations (Isaiah 9:6; 42:1; 61:1-3 and many more). But he also knew the prophetic word that had been spoken into his spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. 
 
Simeon held on in expectant faith and pressed through in persistent prayer all through the years, by the Word and by the Spirit. And then the day finally came when his prayers were answered and the prophetic promises were fulfilled. The goodness of God was worth the wait!
 
Before Simeon died, he not only saw the Messiah with his eyes but embraced the Messiah in his arms. "That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the Child in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord, now let Your servant die in peace, as You have promised. I have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared for all people. He is a Light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the Glory of your people Israel!'" (Luke 2:27-32)
 
As we "eagerly wait for the Messiah" in this season of preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ, remind us of Your written Word and every one of Your prophetic words to each one of us, to our nation, and to our world. Give us the grace of expectant faith and persevering prayer to see Your promises and purposes fulfilled! Give us the grace to wait -- not wavering in faith, not giving up in despair, but eagerly awaiting our Savior, our Messiah, our Fulfillment of Every Promise of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you be embraced by the grace of God to eagerly wait with expectant faith and persistent prayer for the fulfillment of the prophetic promises of God for your life, for our nation, and and for our world, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you and so many in prayer for our nation through this challenging time. God bless you, my friend! 
 
  

My friend, please consider our ministry in 
Your Year-End Giving!



Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

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Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Year-End Giving | Merry Christmas! from Tommy and Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

 "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given!"

-Isaiah 9:6
Jesus Messiah
 
Merry Christmas,  Tommy! 

Jesus is our Messiah, the long awaited Child who is the Son of God and the Savior of All! And we thank you so much for coming alongside us to share the love and hope of our Messiah through Messiah Ministries this year!

Just as the Holy Spirit conceived new life in the womb of Mary, so the Lord has been birthing new life in Messiah Ministries. "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth! Do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)

As you know, earlier this year the Lord called us out of Rapha God Ministries to reactivate Messiah Ministries on a full-time basis again. We're deeply grateful for those years of life-long friendships and life-changing ministry; and we're now filled with expectant faith for the life-changing days of ministry ahead! While we continue the calling of over 22 years of sharing the healing love of God and preparing the way of the Lord at home and to the nations, new doors are opening to step into new opportunities to reach even more people with God's love and power in the name of our Messiah, Jesus!



The Lord is making our ministry much more accessible over barriers of distance, language, and cost. We recently had prayer ministry sessions of inner healing and deliverance in Scotland, Poland, and Sweden, as well as many places across the US -- all through the Internet on Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime in the comfort of people's homes!

Stepping into this new season, we're teaching our Healing Academy and Principles of Inner Healingalongside other ministries like our dear friends at Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Tennessee and alongside other churches like our current courses at Bridge Church in Fredericksburg, Texas and on-line at Olney Methodist Church in Illinois. And we've been so honored to share the word of the Lord with hope and healing, such as the Tent Revival on the Southside of San Antonio, the Central Texas Area Aglow Ministries gathering in Boerne, and our recent Run to the Battle Conference in Kentucky filmed on DVD. We'll be traveling again soon to minister at scheduled conferences in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Canyon Lake Aglow in Texas to start off the New Year.

 
100 Pastors and Leaders in Pakistan received our teaching and encouragement at a recent spiritual retreat through our Internet Ministry presented live through Skype!

Hundreds of souls have come to Christ most every month through our Outdoor Evangelistic Crusades in Pakistan via our Skype Internet Ministry! We reach out to a new village every month through our ministry partner there and help distribute food, clothing and gifts for the children of needy families at Christmas time.

Many are receiving physical and emotional healing, along with spiritual freedom, as we share in this great awakening revival in Pakistan! Praise God! Your prayers make all the difference!

Rocio and I have been leading a weekly on-line group in partnership with MorningStar Ministries and served alongside Max Lucado and city leaders of the PraySA citywide revival prayer meetings. We continue to send out our Morning by Morning daily prayer devotional, to help our friends and prayer partners grow in intimacy with Jesus, and offer words of encouragement and prayer over the phone, in homes, and as the Holy Spirit moves in personal encounters along the way. It's all by the grace of God, as we seek to be more like Jesus in our world through this ministry He has entrusted to us. 

Endorsed by Max Lucado, Randy Clark, and Andy Reese, my book on Inner Healing Prayer Ministry, Free to Be Like Jesus, has now been taught in over 40 Schools of Ministry and is being used as a foundational teaching in several church's prayer ministries. We're thrilled that it's currently being translated into Spanish by the pastor of a ministry in Honduras helping young girls get set free from human trafficking, called Casa de Ester! With Rocio's fluent Spanish, Rocio and I are anticipating new ministry opportunities to share this message in Spanish-speaking countries around the world! 

A Fresh Testimony of the Healing Love of God
Just the other day, a young woman named Brooke sent us this photo of her new Christmas Ornament, beautifully sealed with the date of her prayer ministry session, along with her declaration, "Jesus is the Key."

We're honored and thrilled to share her full testimony of her "Path to Restored Hope and Faith" below. Brooke tells us, "After a decade of gathering pieces to this giant jigsaw puzzle of trying to figure out why I was still stuck, I met with Tommy and Rocio on August 8th, 2020, a day that forever changed my life and the course of my path.... What God showed me during that session was the ultimate affirmation of how involved He had been the whole time, protecting me, fighting for me and gently guiding me to the final battle of victory over the enemy. His timing was perfect!" All glory to God!

We're so grateful to the Lord -- to Jesus our Messiah -- who is still healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free! And we're so grateful to you for joining with us to be a part of all the Lord is doing through your prayers, encouragement, and support that make this ministry possible!
 
As we celebrate the birth of Christ in this season of joy with expectant faith for the season ahead, may the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord pour out His exceedingly abundant blessings upon you as "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, and poured into your lap!" (Luke 6:38)  We thank God for you for your sharing in proclaiming this Good News of His Kingdom with us through Messiah Ministries! (Philippians 1:3-5)

Merry Christmas and God Bless You! 


In the Love of Jesus,
Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries



Tommy's Cell Phone: 210-668-3300
Tommy's Email:  tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org



All contributions of any amount
are very welcome, tax deductible, and greatly appreciated!

Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

-------------------------------

Brooke's Full Testimony
Jesus is the Key; All He Asks is That We Believe
"My Path to Restored Hope and Faith"
 
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future..." Jeremiah 29:11, my favorite bible verse. As a young Christian, I found comfort in this verse, resting in the belief that the Lord was very involved in my life and had hopeful plans that through His perfect will would unfold in His time. I still believe this to be true now; however, it wasn't until my life took a big turn, that this verse became so much more. Those very words became a God given anchor of hope and faith that never let go of me even when I tried to let go of them when my circumstances were filled with overwhelming despair and doubt. 2020 has been such an unprecedented, difficult year for us all, a year filled with pain, loss, fear, and isolation. If you are experiencing despair, doubting the promises of the Lord, feeling attacked by the enemy, or stuck in past wounds, I encourage and hope you will keep reading! 
Each of us have a very special story to tell. A continuous life-long story, shaped with uniquely designed paths that are paved and carved out by our experiences, circumstances, and choices. Some of these paths are joyous and beautiful ones - laced with memories so wonderful and moments too precious that we wouldn't want to choose a different direction on our journey to take. But what happens when you are a victim of trauma, fear, and pain, and your path takes a very sharp turn, in a different direction, one you would never willingly choose to go down. A path that takes you captive, imprisoning you for years, a path so desolate that all you know is suffering, isolation, fear, and despair. For me, the unbelievable restoration of hope & faith through Jesus's constant pursuit of my heart, seasoned with His perfect love, compassion and timing happened. A part of my life I loathed and wanted to be freed from more than anything, was the very place I began to experience more than I could have every asked for or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). 
My story took this sharp turn at 10 years of age when my babysitter told me I could be kidnapped, which instilled in me a level of paralyzing fear that forever changed something in me that day. At a very impressionable age, the only way I knew to escape the overwhelming fear of that happening, was to tell myself to think of something happy and fun in an effort to distract me. I internalized it, thinking I could handle the fear but when other painful moments and wounds happened over the years, I resolved to believing only bad things would happen to me and I would either over self-protect out of fear or go on a relentless problem-solving pursuit trying to figure out why. I spent years on this path looking for an answer but never finding one that stuck, satisfied, or healed these deepest of wounds. All it did was keep me walking around in circles or I would take one step forward, to soon take two steps back... needless to say for someone who wanted so badly to get off that part of the path, I was not getting anywhere... or so I thought! 
By age 22, I was in my weakest and most heartbroken state. The only one who could rescue me was also the very one who I had grown very angry and bitter towards, God. I felt abandoned by Him and that He didn't care about the pain I was experiencing. One day when driving back home, overwhelmed by all of this, and desperate for healing, the words in Jeremiah 29:11 tugged at my heart and I ended up giving it all over to God, telling Him, He had to be the one to fix my broken heart. It was in that very moment of complete surrender, that my time spent on this part of my path began to change. I began pursuing the Lord and my relationship with Him became my number one priority. Over the next year or two, my walk with Him grew more intimate as bonds of trust were being rebuilt; however, many things I had hoped would have changed remained the same - my circumstances, unanswered prayers, and the consistent accompaniment of fear, despair, and doubt. I continued praying relentlessly for answers, healing, wishing for a different set of circumstances and desperately wanting to be rescued all the while being attacked by the enemy from all sides. Looking back now, I can see that I was doing exactly what the enemy wanted me to do - staying trapped in the snare & stuck in the same spot on that dreaded part of my path. I remember thinking if only I had the hope and faith I felt I needed to have, then maybe my circumstances would change and my prayers would be answered. In this dark valley, I realized it was not up to me, I could not do this on my own, my only recourse was to let go. It wasn't long after this season that the Holy Spirit began speaking the truth to my heart and my path to restoration began. Facing the memories that had consumed me with fear, despair, and doubt was not easy and walking through them was not quick, but it was absolutely necessary. 
About 8 years ago, I was introduced to a Christian prayer ministry and went through many prayer healing sessions that have provided such incredible breakthroughs in my walk, and most of all in my relationship with Jesus. Through these healings with every painful memory, every heartfelt prayer, and every surrender in tears, Jesus began unthawing my broken self-protected heart with His love and exposing the lies I was believing about myself and about Him, all of which came from the enemy. Over the years, I would write down the revelations from these prayer healing sessions as well as all of the words spoken to my heart by the Holy Spirit. With each new revelation, that anchor of hope and faith continued to grow stronger and stronger, but something was still keeping me trapped, tangled, and relentlessly trying to figure it all out. 
If there is one thing about God that I will continue to both wrestle with and be completely blown away by, it is His timing. This past August, many years since my moment of surrender, I was reconnected to Tommy Hays. I first met Tommy years ago when I began doing Christian prayer ministry sessions. The perfect timing of our paths crossing again was the biggest blessing and gift from God. After a decade of gathering pieces to this giant jigsaw puzzle of trying to figure out why I was still stuck, I met with Tommy and Rocio on August 8th, 2020, a day that forever changed my life and the course of my path. As I laid out all of my years of sticky notes, painful memories, things I had heard the Holy Spirit speak to me, and the relentless victimizing events that had transpired in my life, I began to see it all with a level of clarity I had never known before. What God showed me during that session was the ultimate affirmation of how involved He had been the whole time, protecting me, fighting for me and gently guiding me to the final battle of victory over the enemy. His timing was perfect, all of the pieces to the puzzle came together at that exact moment because my heart was completely thawed, and I was truly open and ready to receive the truth. The part of my path I was once held captive to that tangled me up with despair, dread, fear, and ensnared by lies, is now a cornerstone representing the victory of the One who freed me, the One who ultimately held the key to my healing and freedom, the One who restored my hope and faith - Jesus. 
As 2020 comes to an end, my heartfelt prayer is that this chapter of my life would remind you of how cared for and loved you are by Jesus and how intimately involved He is in your life. His plans are good, He heals the broken hearted, He restores the years the locusts have stolen, and He longs to show you how loved you are by Him. No matter what your circumstances are or where you are in your walk, I pray that through the His grace and compassion you would be filled with such overwhelming hope knowing you have the best companion traveling with you down each twist and every turn in your life's journey. 
In Him, 
Brooke

Sometimes Isolated but Never Separated from the Presence of God and Fulfillment of His Promises - December 16, 2020

 Morning by Morning, December 16 - Sometimes Isolated but Never Separated from the Presence of God and Fulfillment of His Promises

 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome here in the Bethlehem of my heart and the manger of my spirit -- heart to heart and deep to deep.  ...
 
"After those days (Zechariah's) wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 'This is what the Lord has done for me when He looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I endured among my people'" (Luke 1:24-25).
 
Elizabeth knew the God of miracles had burst into her life to conceive the life of an anointed son in her barren womb. She knew the favor of God had come upon her, even as she still endured the shame and reproach from the people that had come upon her during all the long years of her barrenness. Even so, she "remained in seclusion."
 
Maybe this season of seclusion and isolation came out of a measure of doubt -- choosing to believe this miracle of God, but at the same time just needing to carry this child and feel it move for a few months just to make sure her miracle was real and would last. Maybe this season came out of a measure of shame -- thanking God for all He had done but also afraid of all the people might say, maybe even mocking her or making fun of her for her faith in such a foolish thing to believe she had conceived a child in her elder years. Maybe she even wondered if she had been under the curse of God rather than the favor of God. Or maybe, just maybe, this season, if fact, came out of a deep measure of trust -- choosing to trust the promises of God and the timing of God, the God who takes time to bring to pass His promises at just the right time and sovereignly in His time and His way.
 
The truth is there would soon come a time--in the fullness of time--when Elizabeth, Zechariah, and all the people would look and see what God had done! All would soon see God's promises fufliflled in the birth of Elizabeth's anointed son John, who would "be filled with the Holy Spirit" while still in his mother's womb (Luke 1:14).  Just like the angel Gabriel had declared at the command of the Lord, her son would prepare the way of the Lord "with the spirit and power of Elijah" turning hearts to God and to one another (Luke 1:15-17).
 
Elizabeth's season of seclusion would be turned to joy. Her time of isolation would lead to deeper intimacy. Her days of doubt and disgrace would be turned to celebration and joy in the favor of God for all to see! (Luke 1:25) Her story gives us hope for our story! Her faith stirs up grace for our faith!
 
Lord, give us grace in the seasons of seclusion and the times of isolation. Give us grace to wait on You, to rest in You, to yield to Your timing and trust in Your ways. Give us grace to persevere with expectant faith for the days of fulfillment and favor in Your joy to come. Give us grace to embrace Your Presence while we wait and we pray for the provision of Your promises.
 
Even our seasons of seclusion and isolation are not seasons apart from You. It was during her seclusion that Elizabeth had one of the most powerful spiritual encounters of her life. Her young relative named Mary would come to see her in her place of seclusion -- almost as if to remind her that even though she was hidden away from the world for a season, she was not hidden away from God (Luke 1:36). The miraculous child in Elizabeth's womb would leap with joy in the presence of the miraculous Child in Mary's womb, as "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:39-45). In her great joy, she celebrated the faith and favor of both of their lives as women who trusted the God of miracles in His timing and His ways, shouting, "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord!" (Luke 1:45)
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill us afresh today to sing with joy of the goodness of God. You are always faithful and true. It may not always be in our timing and in the way we would choose, but You're the God of miracles who rolls away all reproach and shame, doubt and worry, frustration and fear, to give us the grace to keep trusting in You and Your promises. 
 
Through every season, Your Presence and Your power are with us and Your favor is upon us, as children of God and disciples of Christ. You never forget us or never forsake us, You never leave us out or leave us behind. And every word of Your promises will be fulfilled -- all in Your time, all in Your way, and all for Your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you be filled with the Holy Spirit and expectant faith as you wait on the promises of God which will certainly be fulfilled in His perfect time and His sovereign way, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I join with you and so many in prayer for our nation through this challenging time. God bless you, my friend! 
 
 

My friend, please consider our ministry in 
Your Year-End Giving!



Mailing Address for Messiah Ministries:

Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Tommy & Rocio Hays | Messiah Ministries

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
Anyone can sign up for free to receive them at:
 

Blue Stripes