Idols of Wood and Stone 9-9-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Surrounded by spiritual darkness, I pray for the light of Your glory to arise in my spirit. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. Greater is the light of Your Holy Spirit abiding in me than the darkness that surrounds me. I worship You in my heart and in the place. ... We have traveled to southern region of Tamil Nadu, India to the city of Madurai. They call this "the temple city" because of the huge temple in the center of the city and smaller temples literally everywhere else. The people go to the temples every day to bow down to the thousands of gods at each one, to offer their sacrifice and money they don't have to give to idols of wood and stone painted in grotesque images. They worship what they fear to appease the gods, to bring good luck, and to protect them from bad luck. How it must break Your heart. "We know that no idol in the world really exists, and that there is no God but one. Indeed even though there may be many so-called gods in heaven or on earth -- as in fact there are many gods and many lords -- yet for us there is one God, the Father from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1 Corinthians 8.4-6). These temples of wood and stone give access to the presence of the so-called gods and lords who masquerade as the true God, demanding worship and ritual that does not bring love, but brings fear. Our Lord is what we submit to lord over us. Our God is what we worship. Your heart is that we be free from the power and dominion of every false god and every false lord. So in Your love and Your mercy, You have commanded us to worship the Lord our God, and no other. "What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you and be your Father, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6.16-18). Let our hearts be the city of Your temple. "We are the temple of the living God." Come dwell in power and glory in the temples of Your people. Let us shine as light in the midst of the darkness because the glory of Your manifest presence is shine in the midst of our hearts. Then wherever we go, darkness must flee from Your light. And the eyes of the people will be opened to see their true Father, the true God, who longs to call them sons and daughters. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

From Oppression to Blessing 9-8-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You must increase and I must decrease. In every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- guide my steps and direct my path. Whether You lead me to use words or not, let me communicate the truth of Your love to everyone I encounter this day. ... Racial oppression and forced labor was the sin of Egypt at the hands of Pharaoh that moved Your heart to deliver Your people. Like the caste system of India, those in power abuse their power to suppress and oppress those they judge to be beneath them as a people in dignity and worth. It became a means of control through abuse and fear for selfish gain, generation after generation, until the hope of change was crushed from the spirits of Your people. "Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed upon them" (Exodus 1.11-14). You heard the cries of their suffering and rose up to enforce justice against their oppressors. You came to bring deliverance to those bound in captivity -- yet not only to deliver them out of the land of their oppression, but also to place them in a land of blessing. "Then the Lord said, 'I have observed the misery of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3.7-8). Today, we will go down to a southern region of Tamil Nadu, India with the Aftercare Team of International Justice Mission to encourage a people who are coming to know the God of their deliverance. For generations they were oppressed by upper castes who said they were untouchables, only worthy to labor in the fields and brick kilns under the oppression of forced labor and abject poverty. Then You sent Your deliverance and enforced Your justice to set the captives free and liberate the oppressed. You not only set them free from the places of oppression, but established them in places of blessing. Now their generations will learn freedom and not oppression, as they are free to work for their own families. You have even blessed them with their own brick kiln in a community of free people. You are the God who is faithful to complete all You begin and You do all things well in Your perfect timing and in Your perfect way (Philippians 1.6). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

God's Gifts Make Room 9-7-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I turn my thoughts to You in the first moments of this day. Be my strength and my wisdom; order my steps and my thoughts; use my words and my prayers. Accomplish Your will in my life and through my life this day. All of that begins here in these first moments of trust and surrender. ... Under the law of India, when a family is set free from forced labor in bonded slavery, they have the right to receive a plot of land and some government funds to begin to build a new life. Without an advocate, the families are never set free and the land and funds are never received. Under the injustices of the Hindu caste system, the inevitable attitude is that this is as it should be -- to live out life in one's caste without hope of change and in payment of the sins of the past lifetime is to be embraced as the means of moving up to the next caste in the next life. So when someone arises to speak up for the victim, the governmental system is slow to respond and justice is delayed. Justice delayed often becomes justice denied. Yesterday You called us to speak for a family set free over a year ago, yet still living in the crowded hut of friends who had no room to begin with, because the promised land was not yet released. But You were the Advocate for this family. As we came into the governmental building in Your Spirit in our hearts, this time was different. There was incredible favor. For a year, phone calls and letters had gone unreturned at the hands of lower officials in the chain of command, in the absence of the grease that is traditionally used to move the wheels of justice in the form of bribes. But the Kingdom of God was in our hearts; and when we walked into the building, the Advocate in our spirits rose to speak on behalf of this family. In a crowed governmental building, we were advanced to the front. Chairs of honor where brought to the desk for us to wait to see the highest official. Within moments we were brought into the highest office to be greeted with respect and honor. As our Indian brother Selvan with the local International Justice Mission team began to speak for the victims we were sent to represent, the highest official began to sign papers and stamp documents. This family will have their land within ten days. Praise God! "A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men" (Proverbs 18.16, NKJV). Your Presence in our hearts is our Gift. Your Holy Spirit living in us is the Advocate who speaks for the victim and pleads the cause of the oppressed to establish Your justice. As You said to Your first disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, He will testify on My behalf" (John 15.26). On Your behalf, this family is now not only free from bonded slavery, but they are free to begin a new life. And they will come to know the Advocate who came to seek their justice and speak on their behalf. Thank You for the honor of being Your vessels to bring Your justice. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Thank you for your prayers for our team and our families as we continue our mission in India through September 11th. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Plead the Cause of the Poor 9-6-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I add my voice to the growing number of voices across India who are calling upon Your name this morning and Savior and Lord. As we lift our voices and our faces to You, we are welcoming You in our hearts and in this land. ... There are times when You send us to stand before the authority of the governments of men. You call us in humility and in faith to boldly speak the words that You place on our hearts. Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh (Exodus 5.1-5). Paul stood before Agrippa (Acts 26.1-32). As the Son of Man in the days of Your flesh upon the earth, You stood before Pilate (Matthew 27.11-14). On the surface it would seem that none of this encounters went well. Pharaoh refused to let Your people go. Paul was sent in chains to Rome. You were nailed to a cross. But You were at work in the midst of every encounter, causing all things to work together for good, despite the decisions of men in the authority of their power in government. You redeem all things to accomplish Your purposes. By the stories, You give us faith to have an eternal perspective beyond the immediate decisions and circumstances. We need not fret about the outcome of these encounters, but to trust You and obey You as we respond to Your call. If we do, Your Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak and that Your purposes may be accomplished and Your will may be done -- eternally, if not immediately (Luke 21.14-15). Today, I will join Richard, one of my brothers in Christ who is an Indian attorney with the International Justice Mission, to stand before the Assistant Police Commissioner of this city with a population greater than New York. We will present our case and plead our cause for the prosecution of justice and for the freedom from oppression. We go in response to Your call and we ask You to go before us. You are the Advocate and may Your Spirit give us Your words to speak to accomplish Your purposes -- eternally, in not immediately, but we do pray for "immediately" as well as "eternity." "Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1.17). "His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins" (Isaiah 11.3-5). Yes, Lord. We receive our call and our spiritual authority to speak for the victim and plead the cause of the poor. We know You go before us and You go with us -- to bring freedom to the captives and justice to the wicked. Cause it all to work together for good, to redeem the lives of the righteous and the wicked, to bring them all to You in Your timing and in Your way. Sometimes immediately, but always eternally, You are causing the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our God (Revelation 11.15 and 12.10). Use our words and our prayers to be vessels of Your will to do our part in our generation for the glory of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please continue to cover us on our International Justice Mission here in Chennai, India. We are strengthened and encouaraged and protected by the power of God through the prayer shield that surrounds us. My teamate Gerry Calvert will also go with another Christian Indian Attorney to speak with another governmental official today. Thank you and God bless you! We also join with all of you in continuing to pray for the suffering and oppressed in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, and that He will use it all to draw people to Him. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries mailto:--MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: http://www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com/ andhttp://www.morningbymorning.injesus.com/

Abounding in Hope 9-5-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the personification of the Father heart of God. You and our Father are One, and You come to dwell in our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, bringing the fullness of hope and joy and peace in our lives by the power of Your love. ... "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15.13). You are the God of hope. We saw the hope that brings joy and peace through believing in You in the eyes and faces of the people and heard it in the songs of the children as we worshiped You in tiny villages of India yesterday. Though in the world's eyes, they had nothing, in their hearts they had everything. How humbling. How beautiful. How inspiring to see the power of lives changed by the love of God in Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit filling their souls and praising Your name, they were literally abounding in hope. Hope is contagious. We went from village to village with Your servant Ghuna Kumar to pray with and encourage his pastors and evangelists and the people of these humble village churches where Your light was shining in the midst of the darkness, where Your hope sprang up like a fountains of living water in the hearts of the believers. Their songs of praise and prayers from the heart were like a fresh streams in the drought of a desert. Four years ago, they had never heard of Jesus Christ, but one soul at time, they had come to believe and come to receive of the living waters of hope. Their tiny huts and buildings can't hold them and their neighbors who don't yet believe can't silence them. This is the power of the Holy Spirit, this is the power of abounding hope in Jesus Christ. You sent us here on one mission to join with Christian lawyers of this nation to set captives free from the oppression of bonded slavery. Yet You've been on a mission to put a love for these people in our hearts. Though the people of one of these villages had never seen a white person until we joined our hearts with theirs in prayer, they embraced us as their brothers in Christ. And we embraced them as one family in one Spirit in the Lord. Continue to fill them, as You have filled us, with all joy and peace in believing. Let us forever abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Freinds, please join us in prayer for the people of these villages being touched the Love of God through the ministry of Ghuna Kumar and Gospel Friends. The Lord sends them only to the villages where the gospel has never been preached. They build the churches slowly through relationships one soul at a time, shepherding the people and embracing them as family through tall the persecution and hardships they endure in a nation of extreme persecution of Christians. We are to judge a tree by its fruit and the fruit of this ministry is amazing to see on the front lines of the spiriutal battle for the hearts and souls of those who have lost hope. If you would be interested in knowing more about the ministry of Gospel Friends, please send a note to my friend Ghuna at GhunaKumar@yahoo.com Please continue to pray for Gerry Calvert and me as we join with International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org) this morning to begin our mission with them this week. The Lord has already blessed us beyond belief, and we pray He will use us to be a blessing to others. We are also continuing to pray to the God of Hope for those in America who suffering such destruction. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Love Casts Out Fear 9-4-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You are Lord, that You are my Lord. ... There are literally millions of gods in the common Hindu faith of India. There are large temples built to honor these gods in the large cities and there are small temples on almost every block. In a simple sense, the people worship and bow down to what they fear -- the elephant god, the snake god, the monkey god, the countless others that they believe may punish and manipulate their lives in harmful ways if not appeased and worshipped. My friend Ghuna Kumar and his evangelists and pastors with the ministry of Gospel Friends work among the villages of the people in southern and central India where the people bound in darkness and fear have never heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last night he took us to pray on the top of a mountain overlooking Chennai where the Apostle Thomas was martyred for his faith in Christ and his courage to proclaim Him as Lord. We stopped to pray at the very place where Thomas was lanced through with a spear by a Hindu follower to silence the gospel, but his blood only sowed more seeds of life. From the top of that mount you can see crosses on many churches that courageously shine like lights in the midst of the darkness. Today we will travel with Ghuna to one of the villages a few hours north of this city where the gospel had never been preached. Despite the incredible persecution and incomprehensible sacrifice that a decision of the heart for faith in Christ requires among these villages, many families have come together to be baptized in the faith of Christ as the light of their lives. Today we will be honored to stand with them in the dedication of their church -- the first church ever in the history of this village and have the honor of preaching a message of the love of God in Jesus Christ at this dedication. Though I will preach with words for a day, these courageous families will preach with their lives every day. The seed from the blood of the martyrs continues to bear fruit. The light of the glory of the gospel of Christ continues to shine forth. The God who is Love is continuing to shine in the midst of the darkness, overcoming the gods of fear. "And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent His Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love castes out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4.14-19). Fill our hearts with Your love and deliver us from all fear. We love You because You first loved us. Let the power of Your love and the light of Your life go forth to every dark place to free those who are oppressed from spiritual darkness. You laid down Your life for us. Give us courage to lay down our lives for others. Thank You for the testimony of faith and courage in the hearts of those who have gone before us to prepare the way to share the love of the gospel of Your truth in Jesus Christ our Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please cover us in your prayers. Today the Lord will use us to proclaim spiritual freedom from oppression in the church with the ministry of Ghuna Kumar and Gospel Friends. Next week the Lord will use us to proclaim physical freedom freedom from oppression in the marketplace with International Justice Mission. God bless you! To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Casting Down the Castes 9-3-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the sun rises over India this morning, let the Son arise in my heart and in the hearts of all people throughout all the earth. ... Last night, we had dinner on the top of a roof overlooking the city of Chennai. Two thousand years ago, You sent Thomas the Apostle to the people of this very city to share the good news of salvation in Your love. Many heard and received, but most did not. They listened for awhile, and then they killed him -- to silence him and the message he was sent to bring. There remains a heaviness in the spirit that seems to hang over this city to this day. "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But all who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God" (John 3.19-21). There is a darkness of oppression, fueled by a culture and a religion that imposes a judgment of value upon every person -- not based upon what is in their heart but upon where and to whom they were born. They are taught from birth that one's caste, and therefore one's worth, is set at birth. The lower castes are to serve the desires of the higher castes, no matter how oppressive. This is the penance of the sins of the former life, to be paid by living out a life with no hope of change until the next life, in an endless cycle of reincarnation. There is no forgiveness of sins, only punishment that lasts until the next life, where one will begin to pay for the sins of the last life. It is a religion that crushes hope. As they always do, men will find a way to exploit one another for their own gain. The evils of bonded slavery, child labor, and forced prostitution have as much to do with religion as they do with money. But the light of Your truth brings all things out of darkness and into the light. You have come to bind up the broken hearted and set the captives free -- free from the oppression of our sins and free from the oppression of those who would enslave us by their own. But a culture is not changed in a night. And darkness is only expelled by the shining of the light. Freedom from oppression, like salvation from sin, comes one soul at a time, but it's worth the effort and it's worth the wait. You have created India, and the people of every nation, with great purpose and destiny that awaits Your light to push back the darkness. Set us free to be all You have created us to be. There is but one life to live, let us live it in the light of Your glory and in the hope of freedom in Your love. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

The Destination of the Journey 9-2-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You Lord, in spirit and in truth -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ... We changed planes in Frankfort, Germany. How amazing that we made it all the way to Europe after eight hours in an airplane, only to be half way there to our destination. What a sea of people from every tongue and tribe and nation, from every culture and every religion. Though we are all different, we are all on a journey. Though we may have many different destinations in mind, our true destination and the true purpose of our journey is about a Person and not a place. The journey of our lives is to seek You and to find You, to come to know You in ever increasing depths of understanding and intimacy in a relationship of love with You. Anything else is a distraction and a detour, but even the distractions and the detours become Your means of teaching us and leading us to You. When You called Abraham and sent him on his journey, he must have thought he was going to a place, but really he would be coming to know a Person. There is something about the process of the journey that removes us from where we are, that awakens us to a sense of purpose, and reminds us of our dependence upon the One who has called us and sent us. You didn't tell Abraham where, You just told him, "Go." You didn't tell him so much about what he would do, You told him what You would do through him if he obeyed the called to go (Genesis 12.1-3). Give us the faith of Abraham as we arise and follow Your leading along our journey this day. We may not see how You will use us, but we can know that You will if we trust and obey the call to go. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"To the Nations" 9-1-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As the worship song declares, "From every nation, all of creation, bow before the Ancient of Days. ... Every tongue in heaven and earth shall declare Your glory...." ... You've sent me again to the nations -- from America to Germany to India, and every nation in between as we have flown through the skies between heaven and earth. Who knows what eternal effect it has to worship You and proclaim Your dominion and Your glory over the nations as we pass over. Yet I've sung the song of the Ancient of Days in my spirit over many nations this day. May it bring You glory and may it remind me of the One who has sent me to the nations. O, Lord, give me Your heart for Your people. Let every song I sing, every prayer I prayer, and every word I speak be for Your glory. Empower me to be one of Your ambassadors. Let Your compassion guide my heart, let Your zeal empower my spirit. Let me walk in humility of dependence upon You and in the boldness of faith in communion with You. "So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5.20). Give us grace to represent You well wherever You send us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our team as we fly to Chennai (Madras) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India for ministry with International Justice Misssion. God bless you! I'm catching up by sending out my prayer journal a few days late. We are safely in India, but adjusting to the culture and recovering from the 24 hour flight. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

No Fear 8-31-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let faith overcome fear. You are our strong tower, our fortress, and our refuge, not matter what comes. ... "But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" (Isaiah 43.1-3). You have not promised us that there will be no suffering in this journey through a broken and fallen world. All creation groans under the weight of the burden of sin throughout the generations and throughout the nations. Instead, You have warned us that we will pass through the waters, the rivers, and the fires -- and all that these things speak of in a world that has opened the door to the evil one, who comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10.10). Even so, we need not fear, for You have overcome the world (John 16.33). As You have encouraged us in the times when we face the destructive forces that come rushing in like a flood through the doors we've left open throughout the generations, "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Isaiah 43.5). As we stand in You and You stand in us, we overcome all that would try to overcome us. No matter our physical circumstances, no matter the personal tribulations we face in a broken and fallen world, we are overcomers in You. "Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4.4). But woe to those who do not stand in You and have not received You to stand with them when the waters, and rivers, and fires come. We were never created to withstand this world without You. Draw them near to You now, that they may stand in You then, no matter what comes. Use even the sufferings of this age and use even the evils of this present darkness to awaken us all to our desperate need of You -- our need for the God who longs to draw near, who longs to be our refuge and our strength in every circumstance we face. You are the God "who makes a way in the sea, a path through the mighty waters" (Isaiah 43.16). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, we join our hearts and prayers with those around the world for the people suffering in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast. May they find spiriutal and physical refuge in the Lord, and may we answer the call to help as He leads. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Days of Noah 8-30-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be my quiet in the midst of the storm; be my high tower in the midst of the flood. By Your grace and in response to Your love, I put my hope and trust in You moment by moment and day by day. ... We pray for those who are devastated by the storms and floods at New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Many have lost everything, even their lives. Others will only come to find out in the days ahead of the depths of destruction. In a moment, the lives they knew were changed forever. Some see You now face to face and others wish they could. Some were prepared for eternity and some were not, yet eternity came. In the places of refuge and shelter, let those who know You as their source of security and peace bring hope and peace to those who don't. Use every moment of this tragedy to lead them into the security of Your arms. Let those of us who are not there reach out in prayer and in labor as You would lead in Your love. You are a loving and merciful God "who desires everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2.4). So let us each be prepared in our hearts and souls for the days of the storms and floods that will come bursting into our lives as they did into theirs. "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot; they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them -- it will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it" (Luke 17.26-33). We do not know when that day will come and we do not know when our day will come. But we do know we can be prepared. If we have our lives entrusted to You, even though our earthly lives and all we know of life on this earth be washed away in a moment, yet shall we live forever secure in You (John 11.25-26). "The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as King forever. May the Lord give strength to His people. May the Lord bless His people with peace" (Psalm 29.10-11). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Rescued from Darkness 8-29-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Show me Your will and lead me in Your ways, as I commit my life into Your hands again this day. ... "May you be strong with all the strength that comes from His glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1.11-14). We joyfully give You thanks, our Father. You love us and pursue us to rescue us from all the dark places and the dark things that keep us from fully knowing the light of Your glory. Forgive us when we begin to take for granted our lives of freedom in the light of the kingdom of Your Son. Deliver us from the self-pity, impatience, dissatisfaction, and grumbling that can set in when our blessings become our curse because we have forgotten how cursed we were in the darkness before You rescued us and delivered us into Your light. Remind of how bound we were so we can be thankful for how free we are. As we remember Your great mercy and power with thankful hearts of praise, turn our thoughts and hearts to others who are still bound by the darkness. Open our ears to hear their cry, soften our hearts to answer. Let us be Your heart and Your hands in Your power to rescue them from the power of darkness, as You used others to rescue us. This is "the inheritance of the saints in the light." In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Loose the Bonds of Injustice" 8-28-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in to the holy of holies in the intimacy of communion in prayer. Put on my heart what is on Your heart, bring to my mind what is on Your mind. ... "Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? " (Isaiah 58.6). Yes, Lord. Free us from false religion. Deliver us from the comfort of passive spirituality. Let Your desires become our desires and Your actions become our actions. Let the things that break Your heart break our heart, and let the things that bring You joy bring us joy. Open our ears to hear the cry of injustice; open our eyes to see the suffering of the oppressed. Empower us to answer by the leading and anointing of Your Spirit. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, 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). Whether we answer Your call to go to the nations or to go to our knees, let us take our place and answer Your call. You are a God of justice and mercy. You are a God who delivers those who are bound and frees those who are oppressed. "For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, You have broken as on the day of Midian" (Isaiah 9.4). And in Your sovereignty, You have chosen to do this through Your people whom You have anointed with Your Spirit, in answer to Your call, to bring glory to Your name. Let us hear Your call and let us answer -- all by Your grace, all in Your power, and all for Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this Sunday morning my home church (Centenary United Methodist in Lexington) will commission Gerry Calvert and me to join a small team of Christian lawyers with International Justice Mission in Tamil Nadu, India August 31 through September 11 (www.ijm.org). We will work with the laws of that nation to fight for the freedom from oppression of many who are illegally held in bonded slavery, including women and children. Please stand with us in prayer as the leaders of our church lays hands on us and pray for the commissioning of the Holy Spirit this Sunday (Acts 13.1-3). And I pray the Lord will call you and commission you and empower you for His calling and purpose for this season of your life. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Can You Hear? 8-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me get quiet; help me listen for the leading of Your Spirit. ... Can you hear the cries of My people? Can you hear them calling on My name? Can you hear them praying for deliverance? Can you hear them seek My face? Will you go in My name? Will you go in My power? Will you tell them that I love them? Will you show them in this hour? You are My body and My church; You are empowered to do your part. You are filled with My Spirit; You are My hands and My heart. "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you still a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12.27-31). Yes, Lord. Help us be humble enough to hear and obey Your word. Help us be faithful enough to arise in Your power and go forth in Your name -- wherever and to whomever You send us. Make us one with You, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Let us each find our part and answer our calling, continually growing in maturity, that we may be Your body, in the power of Your Spirit, to the glory of Your name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this Sunday morning my home church (Centenary United Methodist in Lexington) will commission Gerry Calvert and me to join a small team of Christian lawyers with International Justice Mission in Tamil Nadu, India August 31 through September 11 with (www.ijm.org). We will work with the laws of that nation to fight for the freedom from oppression of many who are illegally held in bonded slavery. Please stand with us in prayer as the leaders of our church lays hands on us and pray for the commissioning of the Holy Spirit this Sunday (Acts 13.1-3). And I pray the Lord will call you and commission you and empower you for His calling and purpose for this season of your life. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

From Doubting to Declaration 8-26-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Healer and Deliverer, Savior and Lord, You are my Rock and my Fortress, my Power and my Strength. I worship You and welcome You into my heart and my life. ... As we seek You and behold You, You strengthen our trust and encourage our faith. You remove all doubt and unbelief of Your goodness and Your power. Thomas doubted until He saw You face to face in Your resurrected power. Then You changed his doubt and unbelief into a powerful declaration of faith. Thomas said to the others, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands, and put my finger in the mark of His nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe." Then he saw You. In a moment his doubt was consumed in the glory of Your presence. You told Thomas, "Put your finger here and see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in My side. Do not doubt but believe." As he beheld You, he believed You. He welcomed You and worshiped You, declaring to You and to all, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20.24-28). You commanded Thomas not to doubt; You called him to believe. The blessing of believing came as he reached out to You and beheld You in the glory of Your presence. Help us reach out to You. Help us behold You. Open the eyes of our hearts to see You as You are in Your resurrected power -- the power that changes our doubts into faith. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"To Destroy the Works of the Devil" 8-25-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You must increase and I must decrease. I surrender all again to You this day. ... "The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3.8). C.S. Lewis said the devil's most effect strategy is to convince us that he does not exist. In human pride and worldly naiveté, Your own church is often confused and deceived into believing we are wiser than Your Word and we have advanced beyond the truths of Scripture to understand how the world really works. We think we have learned that there really is no devil, but only psychosis, imagination, and chemical imbalance. Yet the Word of God says this is the very purpose for which the Son of God was revealed, "to destroy the works of the devil." This is not a marginal or an ancillary part of Your ministry, this is the very heart of Your ministry. You commissioned us to continue Your ministry in the power of Your Spirit: "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20.21-22). This was why the Father sent You, the is why You have sent us. "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using My name they will cast out demons...." (Mark 16.15-17). One of Your children is suffering under the works of the devil. He's grown weary of listening to the lies from the voices in his head. These are not Your thoughts and these are not his thoughts that try to get him to lose his hope, renounce his faith, and end his life. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10.10). As Paul warned the Christian believers at Corinth, we can be "deceived" by "the serpent" so that our "thoughts will be led astray from a pure and sincere devotion to Christ" to the point that we even "receive a different spirit than the One we received" (2 Corinthians 11.3-4). Help us set aside our pride and the world's wisdom to remember in humility it is Your church that You taught to pray, "Deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6.13, KJV). It is Your church that Your word warns, "Like a roaring lion, your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5.8). But today, the true Lion -- the Lion of the Tribe of Judah -- will roar! The enemy of this young man's soul will be scattered by the power of Your Spirit to the glory of Your name. We overcome our enemy "by the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12.11). As his mother and his pastor and those who love him enough to fight for him come with him to call upon Your name in the power of Your Spirit, the Son of God will be revealed and the Son of God will destroy the works of the devil. You came to "proclaim release to the captives" and "to let the oppressed go free" (Luke 4.18). You have not changed and Your mission has not changed. Neither has ours. As the Father sent the Son, so You have sent us, in the power of Your Spirit. We thank You now for the victory of the cross You will enforce in his life and in ours, all for Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, this family and this church is asking for prayer. Please join us in prayer for Johnathon today and each day as he walks out the victory Jesus has already won for him at the cross. Let us pray for one another, that we would be delivered from evil as the Lord Jesus Christ continues to destory the works of the devil, enforcing the victory of His cross by the power of His blood through His Spirit in His church for His glory. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

Vine and Branches 8-24-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are welcome to abide in me; help me to abide in You. You are my vine; let me be one of Your branches. Let my life and this day bear fruit that pleases You. ... I believe I hear You say to us, "I am the vine. You are My branches. I extend My heart through you, My word through you, My will through you. Live and move and have your being in Me so that I may live and move and have My being through you. I fill you, as you are emptied of yourselves. I increase as you allow My will and My desires to become yours, and you decrease as you entrust your mind and heart to Me. This is how you are transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is how your mind becomes like the mind of Christ. This is how I remove your heart of stone and give you My heart of flesh -- a heart that is tender to My will and filled with My love." Yes, Lord. Let us be Your branches that bear Your fruit (John 15.1-11). Let our minds by renewed to think more like You think, so that we may love more like You love (Romans 12.1-2). Remove our hearts of stone and give us Your heart of flesh. As You said to Israel long ago, and as You continue to speak to Your people from every tribe and tongue and nation who are called by Your name, "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you, and make you follow My statutes and be careful to observe My ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be My people and I shall be your God" (Ezekiel 36.26-28). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

Teaching, Preaching, Healing 8-23-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the healer of our hearts, the restorer of our souls. As best as I can, and all by Your grace, I commit my heart and soul to You this new day. ... You spoke the words of our Father's heart when You preached of the kingdom of God at the sermon on the mount. You began to preach and teach when you "saw the crowds" (Matthew 5.1). But we often forget the context of why those crowds were there to hear about the message of the kingdom. You not only taught of the kingdom, You demonstrated the coming of the kingdom in the power of God. "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He cured them. And great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan" (Matthew 4.23-25). You never intended Your teaching to be separate from Your power. Forgive us Lord, in the body of Christ today, for trying to teach of Your kingdom in our wisdom and trying to preach of Your kingdom without Your power. Let Your Word be proclaiming and let Your power be revealed. You said, "the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do" (John 14.12). Forgive us for our sin of disobedience. Forgive us for the false humility that has led us to disobey Your command to do Your works in Your power. In large measure, we have failed to teach what You taught and we have failed to do the works that You did. We have settled for an "outward form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3.5). Convict us of our sin as the body of Christ, that we may repent and return to our calling to be Your true ambassadors of Your true nature in a world that is literally dying to see the presence and power of God demonstrated in their lives. As You forgive us, release us in the anointing of Your power to teach and preach and heal in the power Your name, as You have commanded us to do. These are the works that You did, this is the work You've called us to do (John 14.12; Mark 16.15-18; Isaiah 61). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, thank you for your prayers for our Healing Prayer Seminar last weekend. The Lord taught us and moved among us in power. Please pray for the continuing process of healing of spirit, soul, and and body in the lives of each one. I pray the same for each of you. Thank you for your prayers for The Fountain. A very precious, elderly black woman with the love of God shining from her face was led to go to each person and pray words of propecy that spoke directly to each person heart, bring incredible encouragment and peace. Let us welcome God's word and His power in our midst. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Come to The Fountain the 3rd Saturday night of every month. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Beginning of Birth Pangs" 8-22-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I dedicate and consecrate my life and this day to You, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ... With the unfolding of the events in Israel and in Babylon, with the shaking of the heavens and of the earth in famines and earthquakes, with the increase of violence and darkness and lawlessness throughout every tongue and tribe and nation, we need You now as never before. As we declared in worship Sunday, "People need the Lord." We are experiencing "the beginning of the birth pangs" (Matthew 24.7). But we need not fear, we need not run, we need not hide. We need not sit back passively waiting for everything to fall down around us until we catch the glory train passing through in the middle of the night as our ticket of escape out of here. You are preparing Your people to shine as light in the midst of the darkness, to be the arms of Your security and Your love in the midst of the confusion and fear. Prepare us now that we may stand firmly and securely in these days that the seeds of both evil and righteousness are coming to full maturity in the lands of the earth and in the souls of men. You glory is Your manifest presence. And Your glory is present in the hearts of Your people whom You have prepared for this present darkness of these days. We do not stand alone, we stand in You as You stand in us. These are the days prophesied long ago: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn" (Isaiah 60.1-3). Let us not withdraw but advance in these days of the beginning of the birth pangs. Let us not sit back passively in resignation, retreat, and self-centeredness, but let us be Your light in the midst of the darkness, let us be rooted and grounded in Your love and firmly established in trusting faith. Let us be Your place of refuge for those who would humble themselves to come to You and call upon Your name. Let the nations see Your light shining in us, let them see the brightness of Your dawn rising in us at the dawn of the day of the Lord. "But how are they to call on One in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim Him? And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" (Romans 10.14-15). You are the Good News. Let it be written on our hearts and lived out in our lives for all to see, as You draw the nations to You through the people You have prepared in these times of great tribulation and of great harvest. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come" (Matthew 24.14). Come, Lord Jesus, come -- into our hearts and into our world. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com

"Let God Arise!" 8-21-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are glorious, mighty, and powerful. And You live in my heart. Praise You, Lord! ... "Let God rise up, let His enemies be scattered; let those that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy!" (Psalm 68.1-3). Arise in our hearts, O Lord. By the blood of the Lamb, we are cleansed of our sins and in You, we have become "the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5.21). The power of the enemy is broken by the victory of Your cross. Let our enemy be scattered -- scattered from our minds, our bodies, our lives. "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6.12). Let the enemy of our souls be driven away by the fire of Your glory arising within us. " 'Now I will arise,' says the Lord, 'now I will lift Myself up; now I will be exalted' " (Isaiah 33.10). If God be for us, who can stand against us? As You arise within us, we arise in the joy of Your victory. We celebrate the routing of our enemy by the glory and might and power of our God. This is the joy of the Lord that is our strength (Nehemiah 8.10). In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." Our address for ministry and contributions: 2800 Tates Creek Rd.; Lexington, Kentucky 40502. Daily archives: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com andwww.morningbymorning.injesus.com