Thursday, March 15, 2018

Morning by Morning, March 15 - I'm Already Home
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I've come to meet with You in our morning place in the deep communion of prayer--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...
 
"So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).
 
Here on earth, here in this earthly dimension of time and space where time unfolds chronologically, day by day, I'm here at my physical home in Texas. But at the same time, I also live in another dimension, in the heavenly dimension of Your Presence, where I also already have a spiritual home in Christ. It's in that heavenly dimension, which is just as real as this earthly dimension, that Your Word is fulfilled that You have "made us alive together with Christ--by grace (we) have been saved--and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:5-6). I'm here on earth in one dimension, but I'm also up there seated with You in another dimension. It's in that heavenly dimension that Your Word is fulfilled that already God "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). 
 
In that heavenly dimension, all of this is already done, it's already finished, it's already accomplished and completed. It's an eternal dimension, not limited by chronological time and space. And in Christ, I'm already a part of that heavenly dimension, as I abide in Christ and Christ abides in me (John 15:5). In that heavenly dimension, I already have a spiritual home, I'm already abiding forever in Your Presence, I'm already home.
 
So here on earth, in this earthly dimension from my physical home, You invite me to pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). And the more I allow You to align my will with Your will, my thoughts with Your thoughts, my heart with Your heart, there more my prayer is being answered as Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, here on earth, here in me and my world, as it is in heaven.
 
Just as You promised Your first disciples long ago, You continue to promise me and every one of Your disciples today:  "In My Father's house here are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). That's not just a place to go when I die, that's a place in You that You've already prepared for me now--the place of Your Presence, where I'm already home. 
 
Thank You, Jesus. You have "put eternity in (our) hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV). It's a deep longing to experience and live into the reality of what's already true in the heavenly realm forever here in the everyday lives or our earthly realm today. "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.... He who has prepared us for his very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Give me grace to live into this eternal reality more every day. Give me grace to embrace the truth that in You, I'm already home. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

 
My Friend, I pray you grow in the grace of embracing God's truth that you are already home in Christ, and may you live into this reality more every day, where God already has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

 

Friends, I'd appreciate your prayers as I continue to put together a book along these lines based upon the Scriptures to be called "The Eternal Dimension."  It will address applications of these spiritual truths and principles for healing prayer ministry and personal transformation. Thank you and God bless you!

Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Morning by Morning, March 14 - Lead Me in Your Ways

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God, I welcome You into every moment of my day and every dimension of my life.  ...
 
"Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all day long" (Psalm 25:4-5).
 
As I wait on You, I hear Your Spirit moving deeply within my spirit to sing a new song of surrender and trust--
 
Lead me and teach me Your ways,
See me in the light of Your rays.
I need You and all of Your grace,
So lead me every step of the way.
 
Yes, Lord. I do need You to lead me. If I make my plans apart from Your will, if I take my steps off of Your path, I know that way leads to far less that all You have for me in Your way. 
 
"Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His decrees... Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose. They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes His covenant known to them" (v. 8-14).
 
Help me learn to be more humble--more desperately dependent upon You each day, more hungry to hear Your voice, to sense Your Presence, to trust and obey Your leading in Your ways. You oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble; and when we humble ourselves in Your sight, You lift us up and lead us on into the fullness of Your grace and the security of Your ways (James 4:6-10). 
 
That's what I need. And by the power of Your grace at work within me, that's what I receive. Lord, put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me in Your paths and Your ways today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

 
My friend, I pray you humbly and passionately follow the leading of the Lord--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God--in His paths of His ways and His best for your life each day, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 


Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Thursday, March 08, 2018

Morning by Morning, March 8 - Overcoming by God's All-Sufficient Grace
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me start my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
 
Whenever I feel sick, You are my Healer. Whenever I feel discouraged, You are my Encourager. Whenever I feel attacked, You are my Defender. Whenever feel weary, You are my Strength. You're with me through it all and none of that have the last word over me.  The power of Your Presence dwelling in me is all I need to endure until I overcome in Your all-sufficient grace.
 
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:36). "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:57)
 
Lord, as You know, I haven't felt well for several days. But You've been with me through it all, standing by my side and abiding in my heart. You're already taken upon Yourself everything that would try to take hold of me, that I could be healed and whole and free (Isaiah 53:4-6 fulfilled by Christ in Matthew 8:17). So by the power of Your grace at work within me, I come into agreement and alignment with Your Word that will not return void and will accomplish Your good will for me (Isaiah 55:11). Your will and Your plans for me are always good (Jeremiah 29:11). So I thank You now for what You've already done and all these good things of Your good will that I will see come to pass (Mark 11:24). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

 
My Friend, I pray you are strengthened and encouraged, healed and free, thanking God now for all He has done and will help you to see and embrace in His good will for you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

I'm sorry to have missed sending out my daily prayer devotionals for several days. I write these and send them out fresh from my morning prayer time each when I'm able. Last weekend I was away leading a spiritual retreat and then started feeling bad for several days, but the the Lord is healing me. Thank you for your prayers and thank you for joining with me in this daily journey!



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Morning by Morning, February 28 - Knowing Both the Word of God and the Power of God
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart and the ears of my spirit, as I begin my day seeking Your face and embracing Your presence.  ...
 
"Jesus said to them, 'Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?" (Mark 12:24)
 
Lord, give me a deeper hunger to know Your Word and experience Your power. Let the Word of God be my authority and the power of God be my testimony. As it was with Your first followers, let it be also with me:  "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word through the accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20 NKJV).
 
Let me have no part in the powerless, life-less form of Christianity Your Word says will come in the last days when some who will claim to be Your followers will insist on "holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:1). Your Word exposes this is as a "counterfeit faith" taught by those who "oppose the truth" (2 Timothy 3:8). 
 
But You are the Truth, and Your ways are the only Way that leads to the Life we can only have in You (John 14:6). And Your ways are grounded in Your Word and confirmed by Your power. "The Word of God is living and powerful" (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV). So let Your Word and Your power come alive and thrive in me and my life. By the power of Your grace at work within me, may I be found faithful to be one of Your true followers who knows both the Scriptures and the power of God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

 
My Friend, I pray you know both the Word of God and the power of God in your life and everywhere you go to share the message of hope and love through Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Morning by Morning, February 27 - "Christ Lives in You"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me and empower me to be more like You today.  ... 

"This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people.... And this is the secret:  Christ lives in you" (Colossians 1:26-27 NLT). 

Come live in me, Lord Jesus Christ. You came into my heart on the day I was saved, when Your Holy Spirit filled my human spirit and I came alive in rebirth as a child of God. And at the same time, You want so much more--not just for You to be in my heart, but for my heart to become like Your heart; not just a moment on my spiritual calendar, but a moment by moment spiritual journey of a lifetime.  

As You are, so am I to be in this world (1 John 4:17). Your Spirit is at work within me--every moment of every day--making me more like You, conforming me into the image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29). 

And I thank You that it's not by my power, that it doesn't depend upon anything I do or don't do, apart from welcoming You and Your Spirit to be at work within me. I'm not depending on myself or my goodness or my power; I'm "depending on Christ's mighty power that works with me" (Colossians 1:29 NLT). "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). And I believe one of the things that pleases You the most, my Father God, is when I embrace the desire and the power of Your Holy Spirit to make me more like Jesus each day. 

By the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love, You've put this desire and power to work in my heart through Your Spirit--"that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:19-20 NLT). This is a great secret of faith that I'm finally fully discovering and embracing--"Christ in me, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Lord, let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

 
My Friend, I pray you embrace the desire and the power of the Holy Spirit of God to be at work within in you, making you more like Jesus every moment of every day, fully knowing this secret of faith without a doubt that "Christ live in you," in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Monday, February 26, 2018

Morning by Morning, February 26 - Words of Spirit and Life

Good morning, Lord Jesus. All that I am and all that I have belong to You-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

"It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63).

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here-here in my heart, here in my day, here in every moment of my life. Let the words of Jesus, revealing the will and the ways of my Father be my plumb line and my life line. "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, buy by every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4).

Lord, let Your words of spirit and life stir in my spirit and manifest Your life in me today. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV). Words of spirit and life, living and powerful, change me and shape me, live in me and live through me, conforming me into the image of the Son of God You've created me to be (Romans 8:29). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

 


My Friend, I pray the Holy Spirit stirs in your heart with the words of Jesus and the love of our Father, changing you and empowering you to be all you were created to be, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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Thursday, February 22, 2018

Morning by Morning, February 22 - Rev. Billy Graham -- Legacy of Integrity
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  ...
 
"But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5 NKJV).
 
At age 99, Rev. Billy Graham has fought the good fight of the faith and finished his race, fulfilling his ministry, giving his heart and life to do the work of an evangelist. He deeply inspired me and so many to lay down their lives and follow You, sharing the love of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, from our neighborhoods to the nations and everywhere in between. All along the way--enduring many afflictions and overcoming many  challenges--he lived out his faith with honor and humility, leaving behind an eternal legacy of integrity.
 
He lived no fairy-tale life in some kind of supernatural immunity from the struggles and battles we all face on our journey through this broken and fallen world, but he did live a faith-filled life as a worthy ambassador of Christ and beloved son of God. I've often smiled at the thought of the famous story of his wife, Ruth, who was asked if she ever considered divorcing Billy Graham and replied with such humor and wit, "Divorce? No.... Murder? Yes!" Thank God for the grace that all of us need--even Billy and Ruth Graham.
 
In my own spiritual journey into full time ministry, as I poured over the stories and accounts of spiritual leaders and fathers in the faith, I was deeply moved by a story of Billy Graham's frustration with the fruitfulness of his ministry before the famous Las Angeles crusade that seemed to launch a fresh season of ministry. A couple of elderly saints, passionate women of prayer, spoke to him and prayed for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit and fervently prayed for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in his meetings, as the story goes. The legacy of souls saved and lives changed through the power of prayer and the move of the Spirit is life-long testimony to his desperate dependence upon God alone for the fruitfulness of his life of ministry. He humbly reflected that prayer made the way for any success he had.
 
I had the wonderful honor of preaching one time in the little chapel at the Billy Graham retreat center called The Grove in North Carolina during our spirtual retreat with my mentor in prayer, Margaret Therkelsen. Seeing the old photos and reading all the stories on the walls that weekend moved me to tears in a way that something stirred deeply in my spirit. I felt the same when I was so blessed to spend the night in the bedroom of Evan Roberts, the evangelist of the Welsh Revival, in his childhood home in south Wales. There's something that can move us and inspire us when we honor those who have gone before us, when we welcome and embrace that same Spirit that moved in their hearts to move in our hearts, and when we lay down our lives for that same Spirit with that same message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to flow through us as it did through them. We honor our mothers and fathers of the faith, that their legacy may live on and the work of Your Spirit may continue. 
 
This day, I honor and esteem the life and ministry of Rev. Billy Graham. And I recommit my life to fulfill the ministry You've entrusted to me and are unfolding before me. Lord, give me grace to seek to live it out in humility and honor, in a legacy of integrity, desperately dependent upon You alone. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



My friend, I pray you're inspired by the spiritual leaders and fathers in the faith who have gone before us, filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill your calling and ministry in the ways the Lord sends you just as He sent them, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!
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Wednesday, February 21, 2018


Morning by Morning, February 21 - Great Expectations for "Great Exploits"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my spirit, Lord; I'm listening. ...

"The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many" (Daniel 11:32-33 NKJV). 

Even in the darkest, most challenging of times, You will have a people who know You and are growing in knowledge of You, a people who understand Your ways and are growing in understanding of Your ways. These are the ones with great expectations for "great exploits"--for great adventures of faith in a faithless generation, for great encounters with the living God in the midst of a lifeless, godless generation. These are the ones who will experience Your "great power" because of Your "great grace" in measures we've yet to see in the authority of Your name and power of Your love (Acts 4:33).  

Lord, I want to be a part of all You're doing. I want to take my place in the unfolding of Your eternal plans. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth and here in me. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Fill me up, mighty Holy Spirit. I am a child of God by the grace of God. So my Father God, I embrace with faith and great expectations the great exploits You will do through me in the name of Your Son and the power of Your Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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



My Friend, I pray you're anointed and empowered with great expectations to do great exploits, secure in the knowledge of our God and growing in the understanding of His ways for His glory in His His time, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 



Living in the Freedom and Authority of a Spirit-filled Life!
 


Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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