Friday, October 11, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 11 - "Abounding in Thanksgiving!"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and listen for Your voice, for Your sheep hear Your voice, Your sheep know Your voice, and they will not follow the voice of another (John 10:3). ...
 
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving!" (Colossians 2:6-7)
 
This morning, I am "abounding in thanksgiving!" I'm thanking You for loving me, for saving me, for never giving up on me, for walking with me on my journey every day in this adventure of faith, for lifting me up when I was down, for filling me up when I was empty, for reminding me that I'm a child of the King, a beloved son, created for significance and living into the destiny You've intended for me from before the foundations of the earth!
 
Yes, I have a lot to be thankful for. And above all, I have You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- to be thankful for.
 
I could whine, but I'd rather worship. I could complain, but I'd rather celebrate. I could give in to wallow down in the pit of self-pity, but I'd rather party down in praise as You lift my up in Your presence!
 
Like everyone I know, I have my share of struggles. The battles are intense and unrelenting. I live in a broken fallen world full of broken fallen people; and there, but for the grace of God, go I. But I do have the grace of God. I do have a God who sees me and knows me and loves me. I do have a God who's for me. I have a God who knows the plans He has for me, plans for my welfare and not my harm, for blessings and not curses, for life and not death, to prosper me and uphold me, to anoint me and empower me to be all I'm created to be and fulfill all I'm created to do, all in the power of His grace! (Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 17:20; Philippians 4:12; 3 John 1:2)
 
So I just start off my day with a big Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus! You're so good to me, my heavenly Father! Come, Holy Spirit! Come and do "great and mighty things" as You show up and show off in my life today! (Jeremiah 33:3) I'm looking forward to look and see what You will do, with my eyes on You and my heart abounding in thanksgiving! "As it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him!" (1 Corinthians 2:9). With expectant faith and a thankful heart, I know it's going to be "exceedingly abundantly above all (I) ask or think, according to (Your) power that works in (me)!" (Ephesians 3:20) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you seize the day, abounding in the thanksgiving, excited and expectant for exceedingly abundantly more than you could ask or imagine, even in the midst of the struggles and battles, joyfully trusting in the One who loves you and who is for you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
  Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer, 
Morning by Morning, to grow in deeper intimacy with God!

 



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, October 10, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 10 - God's Love Will "Spring Up Quickly" Now!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the heart and center of all I am and all I do today. I'm watching and waiting now for the leading of Your Holy Spirit and the heart of My Father. ...
 
"Is not this 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? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break froth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your Vindicator shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and He will say, Here I Am!" (Isaiah 58:6-9)
 
As I listen for Your leading this morning, I hear in my spirit, "Spring up quickly!" And Your Spirit has led me to Your words of hope and healing through Your prophet Isaiah -- "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly!" (v. 8) ...
 
Lord, what are You speaking to me? What are You speaking to us in these days? ...
 
I believe I hear You saying in my heart:  "My beloved ones, seek My heart, seek My ways. Allow My heart to form the desires of your heart. Allow My thoughts to form the thinking of your thoughts. Allow My will and My ways, My nature and My character, My perspective and My priorities to form yours. Allow Me to love through you. Allow Me to act through you. You are My hands and feet. You are My voice. You are the expression of My Word in your world. This is what it means to be My children. This is what it means to be My body. Those who love Me will love like Me. Those who love Me will pursue Me to become more like Me. And this is who I Am -- I Am Love." ...
 
Yes, Lord. You are Love (1 John 4:16). And as You are, so are we to be in our world (1 John 4:17). You have revealed what Love looks like in Jesus Christ (John 10:30 and 14:10). "He is the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). "He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (Hebrews 1:3). And Jesus showed Love everywhere He went and in everything He did. Jesus revealed and manifested Love in every moment He expressed Your mercy and grace, Your healing and freedom, Your justice and hope, and the fullness of Your complete salvation in our broken and fallen world (John 5:19 and 8:28).
 
Lord, what about this word of "spring up quickly?" ...
 
I believe I hear You saying in my heart:  "My Love is sown like seeds through your life. What you have sown in My Love will come forth. My seed will produce fruit after its own kind. You have sown Love and you will reap Love. And now is the time! My Love will spring forth quickly! Like seed sown into the ground, you cannot see it for a season. You wonder if it there, if it will arise, if it will come forth, or if it will remain dead and hidden forever, coming to nothing. But I say to you, every seed you have sown in Love will come forth! Every seed you have sown in Love will spring up quickly in this season! Expect it! Believe it! Continue to pray it and proclaim it and you will see it! As I have said in My Word, 'I Am about to do a new thing; NOW it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert!' (Isaiah 43:19)" ...
 
Yes, Lord. Let it be so! Let Your Love spring up quickly! Let this be the season of Your great harvest of Love! As Your Word declares, "Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). And Your Love never fails! (1 Corinthians 13:8) "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things!" (1 Corinthians 13:7) So let every seed of Your Love in my heart, every seed of Love You have sown into my world spring up and spring up quickly NOW! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you believe and see God's Love spring up quickly now in your heart and in your world for a great harvest of Gods' Love in this new season, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
 

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, October 09, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 9 - God's Message to Me on The Day of Atonement
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I love You and thank You for loving me -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. We love You because You first loved us (1 John 4:9). ...
 
"In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.... 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" (1 John 4:10-16). ...
 
On the biblical calendar, today is the Day of Atonement -- Yom Kippur (Leviticus 23:27). Around the world, Jewish families will fast and pray together, seeking to encounter God at the close of the year and to begin anew on this holiest day of the Hebrew year. And before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, after the death and resurrection of the Messiah of Israel and all mankind, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and dash the blood of the atoning sacrifice on the mercy seat atop the ark of the covenant to cleanse the people of their sins for another year. All that this represented was "only a shadow of the good things to come.... For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world ("Christ" or "Christos" in the Greek Language; "Messiah" or "Mashiach" in the Hebrew language), He said, 'Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do Your will, O God' in the Scroll of the Book it is written of Me.' ... And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:1-10).
 
Since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, there has been no shedding of blood through the rituals of the law under the Old Covenant. And "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). But thanks be to God that You have come as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world! (John 1:29). As You proclaimed at the last supper before Your death and resurrection, "This is My blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). "For in (Jesus Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things whether on earth or in heaven by making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20).
 
In fasting and prayer, I see to encounter You today, O Lord, my God   -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. Because You're my High Priest and Your my Atoning Sacrifice, I can enter into the Holy of Holies of Your Presence through the blood of the Lamb -- this day and every day. "Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain (that is, through His flesh), and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodes washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:19-23).
 
As I watch and wait for You and Your leading on this high and holy day, I admit I've been seeking to hear something profound for my life and for this coming year. But really what I hear in my heart is this:  "Love. It's all about love. You love Me because I first loved you. I showed My love for you in this, that while you were yet a sinner, I laid down My life for you. And this is love, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Go into this new year with clean hands and a pure heart. Go in love. Go in Me, for I Am Love." ...
 
Yes, Lord. It really is as simple and as profound as that. "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them" (1 John 4:16). Let this be my message from You and Your message through me -- on this high and holy Day of Atonement and on every day, as I seek to live in You and allow You to live (and love) through me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you enter into the Most Holy Place of the presence of God on the Day of Atonement and every day through the Sacrifice of Christ; and may you live the message of God's love through your life this day and every day, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
 

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, October 08, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 8 - Entering the Most Holy Place of the Presence of God on the Day of Atonement Fulfilled in Christ
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my heart and my mind with Your desires and Your thoughts. Make me more like You today. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).  ...
 
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month -- nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for hoy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord. Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:27 NLT).
 
At sundown tonight, the Day of Atonement begins. Like every law and prophecy, every special day and commanded sacrifice, every feast and festival under the Old Covenant, they are all fulfilled in You, Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:39, 46; Luke 24:27; Matthew 5:17-18; Romans 10:4; Hebrews 10:1-7). "For all God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding 'Yes!' And through Christ, our 'Amen' ascends to God for His glory" (2 Corinthians 1:20). With His own blood -- not the blood of goats and calves -- He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever!" (Hebrews 9:12)
 
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies beyond the veil to dash the blood of the sacrifice upon the mercy seat atop the ark of the covenant to cleanse the sins of the people to begin their new year with a clean slate and fresh start. All of this was speaking prophetically of You and Your fulfillment of all the rituals and laws (Hebrews 9:1-10). "So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered the greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With His own blood -- not the blood of goats and calves -- He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever! Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse the people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences form sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect Sacrifice for our sins. That is why He is the One who mediates a New Covenant between God and people, so that all who are called to receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under the first covenant.... And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a Sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him!" (Hebrews 9:11-28 NLT)
 
Lord Jesus, You are our High Priest and You are our Sacrifice. Though You, we are made right with the Lord our God. "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise!" (Hebrews 10:19-23)
 
On this high and holy day, from sundown tonight until sundown tomorrow, in fasting and prayer, I set apart my heart and my life as a living sacrifice to You to join in communion with Your sacrificial spirit for me (Romans 12:1). Through the Sacrifice of Your blood on the cross, dashed on the mercy seat of heaven, You invite me beyond the veil that's been ripped open forever so there is no longer any separation between us. Not only on a day, but as a way of life -- I give You thanks and praise for Your Sacrifice for me that I may always and forever encounter You here in the Holy of Holies of my heart! In Jesus' name I pray Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you enter into the Most Holy Place of the presence of God on the Day of Atonement and every day through the Sacrifice of Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 
 

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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Monday, October 07, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 7 - "Surrender Your Pride and Power"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me begin this day embraced by My Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
 
"Plow up the hard ground of your hearts. Do not waste your good seed among thorns. O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord.... O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart that you may be saved!" (Jeremiah 4:3-14 NLT).
 
In the days before judgment in the days of Jeremiah, You called Your people to turn to You. Their acts of rebellion were bringing judgment, but their acts of repentance would bring mercy (v. 18). For Your heart is always for mercy, for good and not for harm, for Your blessings and not Your curses, for Your plans and purposes to establish securely in our identity to fulfill our destiny (v. 29:11).
 
But we must "surrender (our) pride and power" (v. 4). We must open up our hearts in trusting faith and lay aside our insistence on our own way, in our own wisdom, in our own power. You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble (James 4:6). Then with humble hearts, trusting in You, willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You alone, Your "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).
 
I know words like "surrender" and "repentance" and "judgment" are no more popular today than they were in the days of Jeremiah. But trusting surrender from repentant hearts turning from our own pride and power is forever the only way to fully embrace all Your mercy and grace.
 
Come, Holy Spirit. Plow up the hard ground of my heart. Plow more deeply each day. Sow Your seeds of righteousness, water them in Your Word, and bring forth the "harvest of righteousness" You long to produce through my life (James 3:18 NLT). "For surely (You) know the plans (You) have for (me), says the Lord, plans for (my) welfare and not for harm, to give (me) a future with hope. Then when (I) call upon (You) and come and pray to (You), (You) will hear (me). When (I) search for (You), (I) will find (You); if (I) seek (You) will all (my) heart, (You) will let (me) find (You), says the Lord...." (Jeremiah 29:11-14). 
 
Restoration comes through repentance (Jeremiah 29:14). And a repentant heart is one that surrenders all pride and power to You alone as Lord of all. This is "the repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18) -- the fullness and abundance of life we can only have in You alone (John 10:10; Acts 4:10).
 
Your Spirit continues to say to Your people who are called by Your name of every generation:  "I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with Me. To the one who overcomes I will give a place with Me on My throne, just as I Myself overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches" (Revelation 3:19-22).
 
By the power of Your grace, I hear Your voice and open the door and welcome You in! In trusting surrender and repentant faith, I turn to You as Lord of all! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you surrender all pride and power to the One who longs to come into every area of your heart and fulfill all His good plans for your abundant life in Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

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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Friday, October 04, 2019

Morning by Morning, October 4 - Knowing Jesus
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for coming into my heart and every moment of my day.  ...
 
"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.... I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead" (Philippians 3:8-10 NLT).
 
As the worship song proclaims -- "Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You. There is no greater thing...." 
 
I want to know You more. I want to know Your heart, know Your mind, know Your nature, know Your ways. And not just know about You, even from the words and stories from the Bible -- I want to know You personally, experience You personally. I want to know You as deeply and as personally as I can. As Your Word encourages me, I want to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever" (2 Peter 3:18).
 
How do I grow in this grace of knowing You, Lord Jesus? ...
 
As I wait and listen for the leading of Your voice (John 10:3), it seems I hear You saying in my heart:  "You come to know Me more deeply and intimately as you take time to be with Me, as actively pursue Me with your spirit, as You consciously and deliberately invite My Holy Spirit to infuse your human spirit with a love and passion for Me above all else. There is no greater thing." ...
 
Yes, Lord. Your Scripture comes to mind, "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me" (John 16:12-15 NLT).
 
Come, Holy Spirit of God. You are "the Spirit of Jesus" (Philippians 1:19). You are "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). And You live in me because Christ is in my heart. "(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 Jesus from the dead will give life to (my) mortal body also through His Spirit that dwells in (me)" (Romans 8:9-11).
 
Spirit of the Living God, turn my eyes upon Jesus. Glorify Him in my heart. Lead me into deeper intimacy with Jesus. My heavenly Father, just as You raised Jesus from the dead by Your Spirit, You raise me up by Your Spirit to live in the abiding communion of Christ -- "to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead!" (Philippians 3:10 NLT)
 
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You. There is no greater thing!
 
As a finish my time of prayer and go out into my day with You in my heart, I believe I hear Your Holy Spirit singing that song in my spirit right now:
 
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wants to own
All I once thought gain, I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord

Now my heart's desire is to know You more
To be found in You and known as Yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord!
 
(worship song by Graham Kendrick)
 
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
 
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays


My friend, may you grow in grace and the deeply personal and intimate knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in Jesus' name. There is no great thing! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

  



My friend, Thank you for joining with me on this daily journey of prayer, seeking to grow in intimacy with God and the character of Christ. Thank you to all those who join with me in support and prayer of this ministry of helping people experience and encounter the Living God through intimate prayer and transformational ministry of healing and freedom in Christ -- "healing from the inside out" of "spirit and soul and body." God bless you!

 


For Speaking Engagements, Spiritual Retreats, Seminars, and Conferences, please contact me at:  tommyhays@messiah-ministries.org  
God bless you!


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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