Morning by Morning, January 5 - Holy Fire, Holy Bride

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I worship You, O Lord my God, in every dimension of Your Being -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- from every dimension of my being -- spirit, soul, and body.  ...

 

"May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

 

You are the God of peace, the God of shalom. You are the God who desires to set me at a peace with You, at peace with others, at peace within myself.

 

And it is Your heart to sanctify me entirely, wholly, completely in every dimension of my being -- in my spirit and my soul and body. You want me sound -- healthy, healed, whole, and free. And You want me blameless -- holy, forgiven, cleansed, and pure.

 

But it's not by my might or my power, but by Your Spirit. The One who calls me is faithful and You will do this. You part is to do this in Your power according to Your will. My part is to willingly choose to freely embrace Your will, as I wholly surrender to the power of Your Holy Spirit at work within me.

 

It's true that one day, when I die, and join You in heaven in the place You've prepared for me to see You face to face and embrace You heart to heart, I will be sanctified entirely, sound and blameless, whole and holy. But at the same time, You also desire that for me now, here on earth as it is in heaven. It's not only in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ once we get to heaven that You desire to work this in me; it's also now, also here in my heart, here in my everyday life, that You also desire to work this in me, that I may be "sound and blames at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

 

I can't make myself be sound and blameless, healed and free, holy and whole, sanctified entirely. But I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to welcome this work of Your Spirit in me. At any moment of my life, at every moment of my life, I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to give as much of me to You as I can. And to that degree, I can choose, as best as I can and all by Your grace, to receive as much of You within me as I can. You have to do it, but I have to choose it. You don't ever override my free will, but You forever invite me to entrust my will to Your will. That's the model of complete trust and complete surrender of our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane -- "not My will but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

 

Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Spirit of Holiness. Come with Your holy fire and set me ablaze with a passion for purity. Come in Your consuming fire and burn everything out of me that is not yet like You. Give me the grace to fully embrace Your will for my life. "For this is the will of God, (my) sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). By the power of Your grace, bring me to place -- moment by moment, with breakthroughs along the way -- where I love You with "all (my) heart, and with all (my) soul, and with all (my) mind, and with all (my) strength," where I "love (my) neighbor as (myself)," and where I love myself in the way You will (Mark 12:30).

 

In that way, by Your power at work within me, make me more like You (Romans 8:29). It has to be Your Spirit at work within my will encouraging me and empower me to will what is right and to do what is right for Your good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). As I seek You and surrender to You, as I worship You and welcome You to be at work within me, transform me into Your image, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Make me holy as You are holy (1 Peter 1:16). Perfect me in Christian love (Matthew 5:48). Sanctify me entirely (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Set me free to be like Jesus! (1 John 4:17)

 

My flesh does not desire this; my flesh cannot desire this; for my flesh is opposed to Your Spirit (Galatians 5:17). But by the power of the grace of God at work within, I'm no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit to the degree that I submit my flesh to Your Spirit (1 Peter 4:2). Let my flesh be crucified and let Your Holy Spirit arise within me, so that it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

 

Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit and Your holy fire (Matthew 3:11). You are a consuming fire who comes to consume our hearts with Your holy fire and a passion for Christ (Hebrews 12:29). The Father has sent His Holy Spirit to prepare a bride for His Son -- that she may be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). Those who have willingly chosen to prepare the way of the Lord in their hearts and lives, to seek to be made "sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

 

Grant me the desire and the power to be part of Your remnant, the body and bride of Christ, that yearns for Your coming and has made myself ready, all by the power of the grace of God at work within me (Revelation 19:7). "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" (Revelation 22:17) Come, Lord Jesus! Make me more like You each day! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you be consumed with holy fire of God and a passion for Jesus to be part of His holy bride, sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

 

God bless you, my friend! Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer, morning by morning and day by day. 

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification"

-- to be conformed the image of the Son of God through the Holy Spirit of the Living God at work within you and me every day

(1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 8:29). 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, January 4 - And So It Begins

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. Make me more like You today.  ...

 

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:3-6 NKJV).

 

And so it begins.... 

 

We begin a new year. In many ways, it feels like a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning. And from the very beginning, I want begin well. To begin well is to willingly choose to be desperately dependent upon You alone. This is the way of humility instead of pride, depending upon You instead of myself, trusting in Your plans instead of mine, embracing Your will instead of insisting upon my own. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

 

So as I begin by seeking to humble myself in your sight, I can trust that You will lift me up (James 4:10). As I allow You to be at work within me, I know I can confidently trust Your promise that He who began a good work in me with be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). "For it is God who works in (me) both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

 

Come be at work within me this new year, Lord God. By Your Holy Spirit at work within me, make me more like You each day. Cause me to will what is right and to do what is right, all for Your good pleasure, as You put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart. 

 

I thank You for all You've already done and for all that is eternally done. But at the same time, I thank You for all You are doing and will be doing in me now and throughout this year. "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press to toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind..." (Philippians 3:12-15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will joyfully trust the One who began a good work in you to be faithful to complete it, making you more like Him each throughout every day of this new year, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

God bless you, my friend! Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer, morning by morning and day by day. 

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification"

-- to be conformed the image of the Son of God through the Holy Spirit of the Living God at work within you and me every day

(1 Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 8:29). 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, January 1 - Your New Years Blessing

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. On this first day of the year, I make You the first priority of my life. May everything else be centered in and flow out from my personal relationship with You. Help me start my spiritual journey of this year in the communion of prayer -- embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3 John 1:2 NKJV).

 

Father God, I believe it is Your will for Your children to prosper and to flourish. And I believe it's by the measure that our soul prospers and flourishes that everything else in our life prospers and flourishes. As Your Holy Spirit wrote those words to express this spiritual principle of life through John, he found he had "no greater joy" than to know his children in the faith were walking in the truth, that their souls were prospering and their lives were flourishing (3 John 1:4).

 

The heart of blessing to prosper and to flourish is an expression of Your Father heart of God toward us as Your children:  "The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God" (Psalm 92:12). Your heart and Your will is that Your children prosper and flourish, to "produce fruit" throughout all the ages and seasons of our lives, "always green and full of sap," passionately vibrant, fully alive, and faithfully true.

 

And with Your Father heart, filling me with Your Holy Spirit, in the mighty name of Jesus, I feel led to pray and speak a New Years Blessing for all my friends who join with me on this daily journey of prayer:

 

My Friend, may you prosper in all things and be in good health just as your soul prospers. May you prosper and flourish, producing good fruit, always green and full of sap throughout this year and season of your life. May you be passionately vibrant, fully alive, and faithfully true. May you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that all these things that are in your Father's good heart to give you may be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

 

May you awaken every morning to the tender mercies and steadfast love of the Lord our God that never ceases and never comes to an end in His faithfulness for you (Lamentations 3:22-23). May you know and experience the unshakeable, unchangeable, unbreakable embrace of your Father's arms around you, with the fullness of His provision and protection, as He reveals and affirms the fullness of your identity and destiny as a child of God (Luke 15:20). May you hunger and thirst for righteousness as You grow in Your hunger and thirst for a deeper intensity and intimacy in Your personal relationship with Jesus, as Savior and Lord of every dimension of your life (Matthew 5:6). May you be filled afresh and overflowing with the Holy Spirit every day, as you keep surrendering your life and entrusting your heart to the One who fills your life with the righteousness and peace and joy of the fullness of the kingdom of God (Romans 14:17).

 

May the mighty right hand of the Lord be lifted high over every moment of your life and every encounter you face, with His power and love to uphold you and encourage you and empower you, as He does mighty things for you (Psalm 118:16). May the hand of the favor of God be upon you and go before you, to bless you and prosper you, as you flourish and thrive with the fruit of His righteousness for the glory of His kingdom (Proverbs 3:3). May the Lord give you the desires of your heart, as you humbly, trustingly delight in Him and allow Him to fashion His desires in your heart (Psalm 37:4). May you pray more boldly in faith, not doubting in your heart, but centered in Christ, to receive what you ask in the name of Jesus (Mark 11:23). And my the power of your words, flowing from the heart of the Father, speak spirit and life everywhere He sends you in the authority of His name (Ezekiel 37:10; 1 Peter 4:11; Mark 11:23).

 

May you deeply abide in Christ, as He deeply abides in you, bearing much fruit as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ (John 15:4). May you know and embrace the truths of God and be set free from everything that would hold you back from being all your Father created you to be (John 8:36). May you make it your aim to please God in all you do, doing all things to the glory of God, with a heart filled with joyful obedience in a life of praise (2 Corinthians 5:9). And may your joy be made full and complete, as you sense the pleasure and joy of the One who created you for joy (John 15:11).

 

May the holy angels of the Lord lift you up into His presence and surround you with His protection and war for you in the heavenly realms with His victory (Psalm 91:11). May the Lord stretch out your stakes and enlarge the site of your tent, with the wisdom and authority to prevail and prosper in all He has entrusted to you (Isaiah 54:2). May He bless you and increase your territory, with His hand upon you to protect and empower you, to express His heart and power and love and grace through you to the glory of His name (1 Chronicles 4:10). And may He give you as a possession of your inheritance every place where  the soles of your feet may touch and where the prayers of your heart may reach, to the full measure of His plans and purpose for your life and through your life (Joshua 1:3).

 

May you hear the voice of God more clearly with more certainty than ever before (John 10:3). May you be renewed and restored in your journey with God to walk with Him and talk with Him in the coolness of the day and the intimacy of His garden in the depths of  your spirit as deep calls unto deep (Genesis 3:8). May you be led by the Spirit of God as a beloved child of God (Romans 8:14). May you know the fullness of joy in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). And may you know that you are not created and called to be merely an obedient servant of God, but a beloved child of God and a faithful friend of God (John 15:15).

 

May you prepare the way of the Lord in your heart and allow your words and your prayers and your life to help prepare the way of the Lord in the hearts of others (Mark 1:3). May you be sanctified in spirit and soul and body, sound and blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, wholly surrendered and wholly committed to the Lord your God (1 Thessalonians 5:23). May you be conformed into the image of Christ, free to be like Jesus, to allow Him to display His glory through your life (Romans 8:29). May you be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may know and embrace and live into the perfect will of God for your life (Romans 12:2). And may you be changed into the very image of God, from glory to glory, as you seek Him and behold Him and give yourself fully to Him, without reservation or hesitation (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

May you be continually baptized with the Holy Spirit and the holy fire of the living God, set ablaze with a passion for Jesus and burning with unquenchable zeal to see God's kingdom come and His will be done here on earth, and here in your heart, as it is in heaven (Acts 1:5). May the anointing and power of the abiding presence of God be upon you and within you always (1 John 2:27). May you be one the Lord uses to turn this world upside down with the glory of God! (Acts 17:6) And when it's all be said and done, may you hear the words of your Father spoking into your spirit, "Well done, My good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!" (Matthew 25:21)

 

Now, my Friend, by the power and the grace of God:  "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace!" (Numbers 6:24-26) Happy New Year! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray you will fully embrace and passionately live into all the Lord has already done and already is in you this year, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! Happy New Year!

 

If this New Years Blessing rings true in your heart,

 please share it and speak it over those you love 

as the Holy Spirit leads!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 31 - New Years Revelation

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name, open up Your Word, and listen in for the leading of Your Spirit.  ...

 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:3-6).

 

It's New Years Eve. And there's much anticipation in the air of what is to be, as we move out of the old and into the new. In prophetic circles we often hear words filled with expectancy of what is to come -- "You're about to enter into a season..." or "You will begin to..." or "I see you becoming..." And I thank You for every word of edification and comfort and exhortation You've ever spoken into my spirit through Your children (1 Corinthians 14:3). But what I hear in my heart this morning speaks more of what has already come. Instead of a New Years resolution, I'm sensing a New Year's revelation, embracing one of Your eternal truths more deeply than before.

 

It seems I hear You speaking in my heart:  "My son, look and see who I am in you now. Look and see what I have done in you and for you already. Live into the fullness of who you are, whom I have created you to be."

 

Yes, Lord. Father God, Your Word says You have already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). It's already true; it's already mine; it's already a part of who I am "in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). In the realm of "the heavenly places," all that will ever be is already true. It's always, ever-present before You, without limitation of time and space in that spiritual dimension. And now by faith, You invite me to embrace all You've already done "in the heavenly places" here "in the earthly places" of my everyday life, that I live out morning by morning and day by day in the chronological unfolding of time, so that Your will is done and Your kingdom comes here on earth, here in me, as it is in heaven, as it already is "in the heavenly places."

 

This New Year, by the power of the grace of God, may I become fully alive to all You've already done in me. You are "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). And at the same time, You are in me, "since the Spirit of God dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9). As I come to the end of this year's journey of prayer and look forward to beginning the next, may I fully embrace all You already are in me -- "the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will fully embrace and passionately live into all the Lord has already done and already is in you this year, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! Happy New Year!

 

     

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 30 - Dedicated as Holy to the Lord

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Draw me deeply into the communion of prayer, as I begin my day seeking Your face.  ...

 

"When the time came for the their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought (Jesus) up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it was written in the law of the Lord, 'Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord'), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons'" (Luke 2:22-24).

 

Under the law of the Old Covenant, the firstborn was dedicated and set apart to the priesthood of God. The living sacrifice of the firstborn was a life given over completely to service of God above all else. And now, under the New Covenant in Christ, we are all the firstborn of God. Jesus was "the firstborn among many" (Romans 8:29 NLT). 

 

Through Christ, each one of us is "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1). Each one of us is set apart, holy to the Lord, wholly surrendered to Him as "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that (we) may proclaim the praises of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV). And each one us holds the inheritance and birthright of the chosen children of God -- "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17).

 

Father God, in the name of Jesus, I offer my life as a living sacrifice to You. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, as You set me apart as "holy to the Lord," wholly surrendered to You. I embrace my inheritance as a child of God, an heir of God, a priest of God to proclaim the praises of the One who call me out of darkness and into Your marvelous light. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you completely embrace the fullness of your inheritance and your calling as a child of God, a firstborn in Christ, dedicated and holy to the Lord, wholly surrendered to Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

    

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 29 - They Called Him "Jesus"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, I worship You and welcome You here in my heart and every moment of this day.  ...

 

"After eight days has passed, it was time to circumcise the Child; and He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb" (Luke 2:21).

 

Jesus was given the name chosen by God the Father. His name expressed His nature, His identity, His destiny. Jesus, the Son of God -- Yeshua in Hebrew, Iesous in Greek -- means the Salvation of God. As the angel told Joseph concerning the Child in Mary's womb, "she will bear a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

 

Through Jesus, God saves us, heals us, and delivers us into the forgiveness and freedom and future we have in Christ. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is not other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). The name of Jesus is "that name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV).

 

Lord Jesus, I bow my knees and open my heart to speak Your name and confess You as Lord. Be Lord of my thoughts and desires, Lord of my identity and destiny, Lord of my hopes and dreams, Lord of my relationships and fellowships, Lord of my provision and protection, Lord of my ministry and vocation, Lord of my gifts and calling, Lord of every dimension of my spirit and soul and body, Lord of every aspect of my life. All that I am and all that I have, I entrust to Your Lordship of my life. "(My) help is in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 124:8). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May Jesus be Lord of every area of your life, as you call on His name and trust in Him as the Salvation of God, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

   

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my friend! Be filled with the joy of the Spirit of Christ and blessed with the favor of the blessings of God!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 28 - The Empty Manger -- Christ is Born and Lives in Me!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. In the communion of prayer, I want to start my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (1 John 5:1).

 

Lord Jesus, You've been born in me, in the manger of my heart. Now live through me in the moments of my day, every day of my life, by the abiding presence of Your Spirit. "(I am) not in the flesh; (I am) in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (me). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in (me), though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in (me), He who raised Christ from the dead will give life to (my) mortal body also through His Spirit that dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9-11). 

 

Just like the empty tomb on Calvary, there's an empty manger in Bethlehem. By the power of the love and grace of God, Christ is born and lives in me -- "the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in (me), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray the Spirit of Christ fills you afresh every day, that the power of the love and grace of God flows mightily through your life each day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

   

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, my friend! Be filled with the joy of the Spirit of Christ and blessed with the favor of the blessings of God!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 24 - Yearning for the Coming of Christ

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and lead me into the center of Your will.  ...

 

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their King. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days" (Hosea 3:3 NKJV).

 

There was a yearning in the hearts of children of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. And there's a yearning the heart of every child ever created for that same coming. We all need Jesus in our hearts.

 

On this Christmas Eve, there's a yearning in the hearts of children around the world for the coming of Christmas morning. They long in joyful anticipation for all that awaits them. It's true for grown-ups as well, all in the traditions of our times. And tonight, candles will be lit and songs will be sung on this holy night when we remember the anticipation of the birth of Jesus on that first Christmas morning. But that yearning and anticipation is just an expression of a much deeper spiritual longing. We were created to long for the coming of Christ -- here in our hearts, here in our world.

 

Father God, awaken that yearning for Christ in my heart again. Stir up a deeper spiritual longing with joyful anticipation of all that awaits me in my spiritual journey in Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. On this Christmas Eve, focus my thoughts and desires of my heart to Jesus the Christ -- the Messiah of Israel and Lord of all. O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May the Holy Spirit stir in your heart and focus your thoughts on Jesus the Christ, with an awakening of spiritual hunger for the One you were created to seek and embrace, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 23 - Treasure and Ponder the Word of the Lord

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Glory to God in the highest. Be glorified here in my heart.  ...

 

"But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).

 

The angel Gabriel told Mary she had found favor with God (v. 1:30). He spoke to her of her calling and destiny, that she would give birth to a Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit in her womb, whom she would name Jesus, the Savior of all the world (v. 1:31). 

 

Now it was all happening. The story of her life and the plans of God were all unfolding. She "believed that there would be a fulfillment of hat was spoken to her by the Lord" (v. 1:45). And with every day and every encounter, she treasured every word and pondered the meaning and purpose of every experience in her unfolding story of God's plans through her life.

 

Lord, help me take time to remember the words You spoken to my spirit and ponder them in my heart. Give me faith to believe Your word and Your plans for my life. Every day may not be filled with extraordinary miracles and angelic encounters, but every day is a step in the journey of faith You've chosen for me.

 

"In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of Him who accomplishes all things according to His counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hop on Christ, might live for the praise of His glory. In Him, (we) also, when (we) had heard the word of truth, the gospel of (our) salvation, and had believed in Him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:11-14).

 

Speak Your word to my spirit today, I pray. In faith and wonder, give me the wisdom and grace to treasure them and ponder them in my heart. And in obedience and anticipation, may I respond with trusting faith like Mary, "Here I am, 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

I pray you will treasure and ponder the word of the Lord in your heart, as the purposes and plans of God are fulfilled in the unfolding story of your life, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 22 - Go and See!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let my soul awaken as I speak out Your name and lift up my heart in the communion of prayer with You, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.' So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Child lying in a manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about the Child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them" (Luke 2:15-18).

 

The shepherds couldn't wait to go and see what God had done! They "went with haste" to see what was said. The word of the Lord, spoken through the angel of the Lord, who broke into their loneliness of life "living in the fields" changed their fear to faith and they said, "Let's go now" and see! (v. 8)

 

And when they had seen the Child who brought such "good news of great joy for all the people," they couldn't wait to go spread the word (v. 10). "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen" (v. 20).

 

As I read the words of the Christmas story again this season, awaken my soul again with the excitement of faith. Stir up my spirit to go share all You've done for me. Forgive me for holding back the good news of great joy that turns fear to faith and loneliness to praise. And let the ones who are amazed at all You have done be excited to go and see this God who longs to bring that same good news and great joy into their lives. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

I pray the Holy Spirit will awaken your soul with an an excitement of faith and a passion to tell all the God of good news and great joy has done for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, December 21 - Good News of Great Joy!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look and listen for Your leading, O Lord, my God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you:  you will find a Child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom He favors!'" (Luke 2:8-14)

 

There's "great joy" because there's "good news."  This is the "good news of great joy" for all people. We have a Savior who loves us and saves us, who comes to live with us and abide within us. We have a Father in heaven, who sent us His Son here on earth, whose name is Jesus, to live here in our hearts by the ever-abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

And whenever our world seems dark or our journey seems hard, we can always look up and sing "Glory to God!" When we look up to You, we can have peace in our hearts and good will toward men. When we worship our Savior and remember the good news of all You have done, Your Spirit fills our hearts with the great joy that nothing in this world can ever take away. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you experience the good news of great joy in your spirit every day that only comes from Jesus, our Savior, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

  

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!