Morning by Morning, October 3 - In the Shelter of the Most High

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Every morning is a good morning in You. No matter what's going on in my world, You're always here in my heart. As you said long ago, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 NLT).  ...

 

As I enter in to our time of communion in prayer this morning, my heart is still heavy with the massacre of so many in the Las Vegas shooting so fresh in all our thoughts and prayers. The music turned to mayhem with nowhere to hide from a hailstorm of bullets out of a hell-storm of hatred and cowardice and evil. They'll try to find out what darkness filled his mind, but we know all too well and see all too often the darkness that seeks to invade any of our hearts to turn us against God and one another and ourselves. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10 NRSV).

 

Ultimately, evil is not a person, but a spiritual force of darkness looking for every opportunity to divide and conquer and destroy. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). So it's only in You and the mercy of Your grace and the power of Your name that we can find the security and peace we need in these dark days to "stand against the wiles of the devil" through every onslaught of his hatred, cowardice, and evil (Ephesians 6:11).

 

The only true shelter we have is "the Shelter of the Most High" as we seek to "abide in the Shadow of the Almighty," choosing to humble ourselves and call on Your name, to "say to the Lord, "My Refuge and my Fortress; my God, in whom I trust" (Psalm 91:1-2). You alone are our Comforter and Healer. You alone are our Redeemer of all that doesn't make sense and is so out of our control.

 

You never intend or will the evil in our world. But at the same time, You are never unaware of our suffering and our needs, our fears and our fights. And You never leave us nor forsake us through whatever we endure in our lives or in our land through the darkness of these days. Evil will never have the last word or the find say. And You never back down from the promise and the hope of Your Word to those who choose to find Shelter in You:  "Those who love Me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know My name. When they call to Me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them My salvation" (Psalm 91:14-16 NRSV).

 

Here in my heart, here in our land, be our Shelter again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you be safe and secure in the shelter of the Most High, knowing God is with you through whatever you endure, making sure His Word will have the final say over your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. I join with you in prayer for all who are suffering or shaken by what has happened in Las Vegas and happening in our land. Together we call upon the name of the Lord who hears us when we call to answer us and lead us to His salvation. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be publishing my new book -- 

Free to Be Like Jesus! (Updated and Revised 3rd Edition) endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese and Randy Clark. 

Click Here to Order One Today through Amazon/CreateSpace

 

Endorsement from Max Lucado:

"Tommy Hays has spent a lifetime studying the place of prayer in inner healing. I have personally benefitted from his teaching, writing, and encouragement. This book gathers a wealth of helpful insights and experiences into one volume. I am honored to have it on my shelf and honored to call Tommy my friend."

Endorsement from Andy Reese,

Author of Freedom Tools:

"Tommy Hays combines a lawyer's keen logic with a spiritual intuition to bring inner healing to a practical, effective, and applied level. His proven techniques have been used in hundreds of ministry settings and can serve as simple yet profound tools in the hands of even the novice minister."

Endorsement from Randy Clark,

Global Awakening:

"Free to Be Like Jesus! will take you on a journey to learn more about the inner healing ministry. This book has many foundational spiritual truths and will help you if you want more healing in your own life, or if you want more tools to assist you in your inner healing ministry."

 

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, October 2 - God Goes Before Us and With Us

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the start and the center of all I am and all I do this day.  ...

 

"I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name" (Isaiah 45:2-3).

 

You go before us. You anoint us with Your presence and power, Your wisdom and guidance, Your favor and blessing. You clear the way of all that would stand between us and the calling of our destiny that You have chosen for each of us. And at the same time, You go with us. You grasp us by hand and lead us by the heart "to open doors before (us)" (v. 1). "(You are) the Lord, and there is no other; besides (You) there is no god" (v. 5).

 

Thank You for going before me today. Thank You for going with me today. Thank You for opening the doors aligned with Your will and giving me the courage to step through them. Thank You for blessing me with Your favor and grace and giving me the humility to embrace and know that it comes from You alone. Awaken me in Your righteousness to walk rightly before You in the straight paths of Your will today -- as best as I can and all by Your grace (v. 13). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you be anointed with the presence and power, the wisdom and guidance, and the favor and blessing of the Lord our God to walk in His will to fulfill your calling and destiny, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm excited to be publishing my new book -- 

Free to Be Like Jesus! (Updated and Revised 3rd Edition) endorsed by Max Lucado, Andy Reese and Randy Clark. 

Click Here to Order One Today through Amazon/CreateSpace

 

Endorsement from Max Lucado:

"Tommy Hays has spent a lifetime studying the place of prayer in inner healing. I have personally benefitted from his teaching, writing, and encouragement. This book gathers a wealth of helpful insights and experiences into one volume. I am honored to have it on my shelf and honored to call Tommy my friend."

Endorsement from Andy Reese,

Author of Freedom Tools:

"Tommy Hays combines a lawyer's keen logic with a spiritual intuition to bring inner healing to a practical, effective, and applied level. His proven techniques have been used in hundreds of ministry settings and can serve as simple yet profound tools in the hands of even the novice minister."

Endorsement from Randy Clark,

Global Awakening:

"Free to Be Like Jesus! will take you on a journey to learn more about the inner healing ministry. This book has many foundational spiritual truths and will help you if you want more healing in your own life, or if you want more tools to assist you in your inner healing ministry."

 

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, September 29 - "Treasures in Heaven"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to guide my steps along my journey of faith in You today.  ...

 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also" (Matthew 6:29-21).

 

My heart will be in the right place when my treasure is in the right place. What I treasure most is what get's the most of me -- my time, my attention, my resources, my passion. And You said my treasures should be in heaven.

 

Lord, what are "treasures in heaven?"  ...

 

It seems I hear You speaking in my spirit, "Treasures in heaven are the things that are treasured most in the kingdom of heaven. They are not treasures of silver or gold or diamonds or rubies. They are treasures of humility and faith, obedience and love, kindness and joy. They are treasures of all I treasure most in your heart as you allow Me to form My heart in you. For the kingdom of heaven is within you, and My desire is to see the treasures in heaven become My treasures in you."  ...

 

Yes, Lord. Grow these treasures in me. Store them up in me. Give me the grace to grow and embrace humility and faith, obedience and love, kindness and joy, and everything else that You long see maturing in me. Let this be my treasure and let this be my heart. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

May you treasure what Jesus treasures, and may His treasure grow in you every day, as you keep growing in Him, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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, September 28 - The Law of Love, not the Letter of the Law

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit -- let me begin my day looking to You and following Your lead.  ...

 

"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:4-6).

 

The new covenant we have in Christ is not a covenant of rules but of relationship, not a covenant of the letter and legalism of the law but of the heart and Spirit of the law. It's not about how we have heard that it was said, but how we hear by Your Spirit and live by Your example (Matthew 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (us) free from the law of sin and death!" (Romans 8:2)

 

Come, Holy Spirit. Give me a right heart and right spirit, as You fill me and lead me in the way that leads to life in Christ today. "When (I) cry 'Abba! Father!' it is (Your) very Spirit bearing witness with (my) spirit that (I am a child) of God" (Romans 8:15-16). Even as I seek the truth and speak the truth, lead me and empower me to be "speaking the truth in love (as I am living the truth in love) that (I) may grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). 

 

This is the law of love, for "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10). This is living by the Spirit who brings hope and life rather than trying and failing to live by the letter of the law that can only bring discouragement and death (2 Corinthians 3:6). This is the "new commandment" You give us through our new covenant in Christ -- "that (we) love one another" just as You have loved us" and "by this everyone will know that (we) are (Your) disciples, if (we) have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). "For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you live and experience the law of love in Christ today, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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, September 26 - Alert and Firm, Courageous and Strong - All in Love

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my heart and open up my spirit to welcome You into the moments of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13).

 

Alert and firm, courageous and strong -- all in love. Lord, help me live my life like that today. Let me be a light like that in my world today.

 

If I begin to grow complacent, make me alert, as You awaken my spirit and revive my soul. If I begin to waiver in faith, losing hope or giving in to doubt, empower me to take my stand, reminding me of all those who have stood firm before me to never surrender and never retreat. If I begin to shrink back in worry or fear, or feel helpless or alone, remind me of the One is always with me, always upholding me with Your mighty right hand until I'm courageous and strong in the power of Your grace once again. And if I begin to lose my love or let it grow cold, rekindle the coals to my soul and stoke the flames of my spirit until the fiery love of God burns with passion for You and for all You put on my heart again in the power of Your love that never fails. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will live your life today in the power of God's grace alert and firm, courageous and strong, all in love in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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, September 19 - "I Shall Not Be Moved"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're One with the Father, One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me today, as I entrust my life completely to You -- as best as I can and all by Your grace.  ...

 

"I keep the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure" (Psalm 16:8-9).

 

Always before me, always encouraging me, strengthening me, inspiring me, and empowering me. You are Emmanuel -- the God who is always with me (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). And by the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit, You're always here within me (Romans 8:9).

 

That's why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. That why I don't lose heart and my hope doesn't fail. There's nothing I'll ever face that You've not already faced and nothing I'll ever endure that You've not already endured -- all on my behalf, all because You're for me, all because You love me. "Let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:14-15).

 

Because You're immovable, I can be immovable in You. Because You're unshakeable, I can be unshakable in You. That gives me hope. And that steadies my soul and gives me peace, as live out my journey of faith "looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of (my) faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

 

With You always before me and Your Spirit always within me, I shall not be moved. "(I) shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. (I) shall not fear when heat comes, and (my) leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought (I am) not anxious, and (I) do not cease to bear fruit" -- all in the power of Your grace (Jeremiah 17:8). That encourages my heart. That makes my soul rejoice and allows my body to rest secure, with my hope and faith secure in You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will not be moved, being firm and steadfast in your faith, even flourishing through whatever you endure, with the Lord Jesus ever before, with our heavenly Father always embracing you, and His Holy Spirit always filling you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, Rocio and I will be traveling today for a destination wedding in Cancun for my stepson Ray and his beautiful bride, Clarissa. I'm so honored to be the officiating minister. Please keep us in prayer for a wonderful wedding and time away with family this week. Depending on our schedule, my morning devotionals may not be as regular the rest of this week. God bless you and thank you for joining with me in this journey of prayer!

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, September 18 - Discernment and Determination

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I'm waiting and listening for Your leading, as I begin my day in the communion of prayer.  ...

 

"There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).

 

There is a right way, among many alternative ways. But all ways are not the same. And all ways do not have the same end. There is a way that leads to life and there is a way that leads to death. And according to Your Word, the way that leads to death can seem like the right way to us. 

 

We can be deceived. We can be confused. So we need discernment and determination -- discernment to know what's right and determination to do it; discernment to find the way that leads to life and determination to follow it.

 

So how do I discern the right way that leads to life? ...

 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

 

Lord, continue to renew my mind every day. Put Your thoughts in my mind; put Your desires in my heart. Align my thoughts with Your thoughts and my ways with Your ways, so I can rightly discern the right way that leads to life. Give me the desire and the power to seek "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Humbling myself to seek Your mind -- the mind of Christ rather than the mind of this world -- is the only way that leads to life, for You alone are "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). And as I discern it, empower me to do it -- day by day, step by step, decision by decision. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you will be transformed by the renew of your mind, discerning the will of God for the direction of your life that leads to the fullness of life in Christ every day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of 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, September 15 - Healing Hope in the Times of the "Bread of Adversity" and "Water of Affliction"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit -- You are One God and You are my God. I welcome You into the moments of my day and embrace Your presence to help me walk in Your ways.  ...

 

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:18-21).

 

In these devastating days of turmoil and tribulation, many wonder where's God. Many wonder whether we are under the judgment of God or spiritual attack of our enemy. But even under judgment, Your heart is always that we would return to You, to call on Your name, to humble ourselves in Your sight, that You may lift us up. Even if we eat the bread of affliction or drink the water of affliction, You are ready to hear and ready to answer the who looks to You, who waits for You, who returns to You. 

 

Personally or as a people, You're always calling us to turn to You -- if we have sinned, You call us to repent; if we are under siege, You call us to cry out. Regardless of whether we are under judgment or under attack, the answer is the same -- to call on the name of the Lord our God in faith and trust, in repentance and obedience, with hope in our hearts, resting in the promises of Your Word. "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (v. 15). No matter what we endure and no matter why we are enduring it, You will answer the one who turns to You "on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of His people, and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow" (v. 26). 

 

Lord, let us turn to You today -- in our hearts and on behalf of our land. Rather than the bread of adversity, may we eat of the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Rather than the water of affliction, may we drink deeply from the Water of Life (John 7:38-39). May even adversity and affliction lead to repentance and revival in our hearts and in our land. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray, seek My face, and turn form their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray you would experience the healing hope of Jesus Christ, in returning and rest, as you turn to the Lord and call on His name through whatever adversity or affliction you may ever endure, whether in your heart or in your land, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

We celebrated graduation last night at our School of Ministry Level 1 Prayer Ministry Training, learning and experiencing the Biblical principles for hope and healing through prayer ministry. Thank you for your prayers for us. We'll begin Level 2 on practical prayer ministry in a couple of weeks. Our books and DVDs are available as well:  RaphaGodMinistries.com

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, September 14 - No Need for Troubled Hearts Here

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ... 

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:26-27 NKJV). 

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit -- the One who comes from our Father in the power and the presence of Your name to help us and comfort us and remind us that You're always with us. You never leave us nor forsake us, so we never have to be afraid. You keep filling us with Your peace, and Your perfect love keeps casting out all fear (1 John 4:18).  

There's no need for troubled hearts here -- here in Your peace, here in Your presence, here in the so-slip grip of Your grace. I'm reminded of what David came to know in his life-long journey with You through every hardship and injustice, through every heart-breaking disappointment -- whether in himself or the world around him or even in You at times. Through it all, his heart continued to turn to You in trusting faith and the steadfast peace that only You can provide, saying for all to hear throughout all generations, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1-4 NKJV). 

Lord, through it all, let it be so. Let it be well with my soul, as You keep me close and steady in Your peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV). There's no need for troubled hearts here. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

I pray your heart is not troubled through whatever valley or struggle you or those you love may be going through, as you keep trusting in the One who is always with you with His peace and comfort and help, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friend!

 

Friends, I'm joining with you in the agreement of prayer for all who are recovering from these hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, along with every storm and every shaking any of us are facing in our lives or in our land. May hope in our God abound, and may His love and grace be evident to all through His people who are there to pray and to help as the heart and hands of Jesus Christ. God bless you!

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!