Monday, March 09, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 9 - Prophetic Insight and Apostolic Execution
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to make me more like You today. ...
 
"Elisha said to (King Joash), 'Take a bow and arrows;' so he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, 'Draw the bow;' and he drew it. Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. Then he said, 'Open the window eastward;' and he opened it. Elisha said, 'Shoot;' and he shot. Then he said, 'The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! For you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until you have made an end of them'" (2 Kings 13:15-17).
 
The prophet, Elisha, speaks to us today of prophetic ministry. The king, Joash, speaks to us today of apostolic ministry. "Together, we are (Your) house, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord" (Ephesians 2:20-21).
 
We need both prophetic insight and apostolic execution to be the house of God, the temple of the Lord, as the body and bride of Christ on this earth in our day. Elisha heard the word of the Lord and spoke it to Joash. Joash acted in response to the prophetic word with apostolic execution. At the battle of Aphek, there would be victory over the Arameans -- the Lord's victory, through the Lord's people, established ahead of time through prophetic insight and apostolic execution.
 
Lord, teach us how to recognize and operate in the gifts and calling You've given us for the building of Your church and the advancing of Your kingdom. Teach us how to trust one another and join with one another in the unity of Your Holy Spirit, as we grow up in the maturity of Christ. Deliver us from our insecurities, jealousies, fears, and mistrust, as You develop within us Your character, confidence, humility, and love. Then we will rightly display Your nature with Your authority to rightly represent Your heart and make Your name known to our world.
 
"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church:  the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love" (Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT).
 
With prophetic insight and apostolic execution, along with evangelistic zeal, pastoral care, and authoritative teaching -- all grounded in Your Word and infused with Your Spirit -- we will be the body and bride of Christ You'll called us to be. You're making us one with You and one with each other, "so that the world will believe" (John 17:21 NLT). "Christ in (us), the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Then "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea!" (Habakkuk 2:14) Then "this Good News of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come!" (Matthew 24:14) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you recognize and grow in your gifts and calling, growing in unity and maturity to the full measure of the stature 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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Friday, March 06, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 6 - Accelerated Restoration!
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let me see and speak, let me hear and say what Your Spirit is showing me and stirring up within me, as I wait and listen for Your leading today. You said, "He who has ears, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:29). Give me ears to hear and words to speak -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"The time will come,' says the Lord, 'when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine! I will bring My exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. They will plant vineyards and gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their wine. I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never be uprooted from the land I have given them,' says the Lord your God" (Amos 9:13-15 NKJV).
 
At the end of the ancient prophecy of the prophet Amos stands this word of hope. It's a promise of restoration from all the years of destruction, a promise of healing from all the years of wounding, a promise of freedom from all the years of bondage, a promise of living under the blessings from all the years of living under the curses. It's a promise of You taking all the bad things and turning them into good things. It's a promise of You taking even the places of sin and suffering the consequences of rebellion and doubt and disobedience to turn them all into places of praise and joy, of security and peace, of testimony to Your glory and grace, to Your mercy and love.
 
And not only is it a promise of restoration, it's a promise of acceleration. It's a promise of accelerated restoration. "The grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested" (v. 13). "The one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed" (v. 13 NRSV). That's not natural; that's supernatural! That's not normal; that's some kind of new normal! That's not the way it's always been; that's a way we've never been before! That's not living in the land of our past; that's crossing over into the Promised Land of our eternal destiny and the fullness of our inheritance as the sons and daughter of God in You!
 
Lord, let this be that day! We all sense it -- all who have ears to hear and eyes to see what You're doing in our day, in this new day! We see breakthroughs coming more suddenly, healings manifesting more quickly, salvation of souls in increasing harvests happening more dramatically. You are at work in ways that we've not seen before -- not since the days of the first outpouring of Your Spirit in power and love, in mercy and grace! (Acts 2:1-47)
 
These are days of acceleration. These are days of accelerated restoration. And even these great and awesome days are but a foretaste of greater days yet to come! For You have declared, You have promised "the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former" (Haggai 2:9 KJV), You've saved the best wine for last (John 2:10), for the time of the end is a time of great harvest (Matthew 13:29), and there is coming "the time for the final restoration of all things, as (You) promised long ago through (Your) holy prophets" (Acts 3:21 NLT).
 
Yes, Lord! The best is yet to come! We are living in the days of the beginning of Your best! We are living in the days of accelerated restoration of all things! As You spoke to Your first disciples of the first fruits and foretaste of what we are beginning to see coming into its fullness, "Jesus said to them privately, 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it" (Luke 10:23-24). 
 
This is the time that You're opening our eyes to see it and our ears to hear it, as never before! Give us Your grace to open our imagination to wrap our minds around it, to open our hopes to dare to embrace it, to open our mouths to boldly proclaim it! These are the days, now is the time of accelerated restoration! "As it is written:  'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him!" (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us in these exciting, expectant days of accelerated restoration, in Jesus' name. May you experience it in every area of your life! 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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Thursday, March 05, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 5 - "Keeping Our Eyes on Jesus"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and give You praise for who You are, for all You've done, and for all You're going to do in my life and in my world in these exciting days. ...
 
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne" (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT).
 
My Father God, there is a "race" You've set before me. It's not a rat race; it's not a race to the top; it's not a race to see who's first or who's best or who's fastest or who's smartest or who can make the most money or who can have the best time. It's the race You've set before me. And it's a race that only I can run.
 
So how do I keep on track? How do I stay the course? How do I keep from dragging along weight that would slow me down or from giving in to the sin that would trip me up? ... "By keeping (my) eyes on Jesus."
 
Holy Spirit of God, keep lifting my eyes to Jesus. That's Your heart, that's what You're always doing -- lifting our eyes to Jesus, glorifying Jesus, pointing us to the One who is the Truth -- "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6). As the Lord Jesus said of You, "When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but will speak whatever He hears, and He will declare to You the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine. For this reason I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13-15 NRSV). 
 
Lord Jesus, I lift my eyes to You. By the tender mercies of my Father, by the leading of Your Holy Spirit, I seek to keep my eyes on You. I seek to look to the One who is "the Author and Finisher of (my) faith" (NKJV), "the Pioneer and Perfecter of (my) faith" (NRSV), "the Champion who initiates and perfects (my) faith" (Hebrews 12:2 NLT).
 
That's how I keep from being distracted. That's how I endure and persevere on the right path to run my race that's You've set before me, Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. My Lord and Savior is Jesus. My Example is Jesus. My Mentor and Model is Jesus. That's how I'm changed into the image of Jesus, by beholding Jesus, by keeping my eyes on Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). That's how I follow Jesus (Matthew 4:19), by listening to the voice of Jesus (John 10:4).
 
When Stephen was being stoned to death for running his race with endurance to the end, for fighting the good fight of the faith through his last battle, he looked up to You in the heavens. He kept his eyes on You and called on Your name:  "While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he died" (Acts 7:59-60). He ran his race well and he finished his race well.
 
Lord Jesus, I want to keep looking to You. I want to keep my eyes on You. I want to hear Your voice, walk in Your ways, and follow You wherever You lead and whatever it costs. Until I finish my race and fight my last battle, I want to be found faithful in You. I want to run my race well and finish my race well -- the race You have set before me, that only I can run. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you run your race well and finish your race well, free from whatever would weigh you down, free from whatever would trip you up, keeping your eyes on Jesus, 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, March 04, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 4 - Deeper Intimacy with God as the "Descendants of Zadok"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Order my steps, align my mind, guide my heart to walk in Your ways today. ...
 
"He said to me, 'This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to Him'" (Ezekiel 40:45-46).
 
Among the Levitical priests, those called and set apart to serve in the temple of God, some were called to "have charge of the temple" and some were called to "have charge of the altar." Those called to "have charge the altar" were those called out from among all the other Levitical priests to a deeper, more intimate calling. Among all the other Levitical priests, only these were allowed the honor and authority, along with the responsibility, to "come near to the Lord to minister to Him." These were "the descendants of Zadok."
 
Under our New Covenant in Christ, we are all Your priests, servants of God, as well as sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:16). "To Him who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood, and made us to be a Kingdom, priests serving His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever" (Revelations 1:5-6). "(We) are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that (we) may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called (us) out of darkness and into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
 
In our priesthood of servanthood, to "have charge of the temple," under the New Covenant in Christ the temple is now the Body of Christ, just as our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. "(Our) body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within (us), which (we) have from God, and (we) are not (our) own" (1 Corinthians 6:19). And at the same time, You invite us closer still; You call us deeper still -- to "have charge of the altar," to come near to the Lord to minister to Him," even as "the descendants of Zadok."
 
Yes, we serve; but we first serve You. Yes, we are holy, set apart, consecrated unto You for service in Your Kingdom; but our first service is to You. We shall have no other gods before You (Exodus 20:3) -- not even the good things or the God-ordained things, such as tending to the temple, to the needs of the people, to make disciples and grow disciples, to minister healing and freedom, to help grow them up to maturity, equipped in every good work for the glory of the King and the Kingdom. Even those great and godly things must not be first.
 
You must be first. Our ministry to You must be first. Our response to Your calling and invitation "to come near the Lord to minister to Him" must be first.
 
Come, Holy Spirit of God. We can be as near to God as we desire to be. As Your Word invites every one of us, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 8). "Abide in Me, as I abide in you" (John 15:4). "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
 
I desire to be as near to You, Lord God -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit in every dimension of Your Being -- as I can possibly be. I desire to come near to You, to come to know You, to become one with You, "to come near to (You) to minister to (You)" first and foremost, before all others and before all things. In that sense of deeper surrender, deeper intimacy, deeper relationship, deeper experiences and encounters with You, I desire to be one of Your called-out ones, one of Your chosen ones, one of Your most intimate ones, one of  Your "descendants of Zadok" (Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; and 44:15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My Friend, may you be stirred in your spirit by the Holy Spirit of God to draw as near to God as you possibly can, in deeper intimacy with Him, to know Him and become one with Him in every dimension of His Being as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, 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, March 03, 2020

Morning by Morning, March 3 - God is Good! --No Matter What We Face
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart, here in my mind, here in every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
 
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; He protects those who take refuge in Him, even in a rushing flood. He will make a full end of His adversaries, and will pursue His enemies into darkness" (Nahum 1:7-8).
 
God is good! All the time! And all the time, God is good!
 
I like to keep my theology simple -- God is good; Satan is bad. God desires good things for my life; Satan desires bad things for my life. God is for me; Satan is against me. God is my friend; Satan is my enemy. As You said, Lord Jesus, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that (you) may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
 
But even when my enemy comes against me -- whether by virus or disease, by persecution or tribulation, by deception or fear or anything else to try to steal my peace, my hope, my confidence, or my joy -- You stand up for me. "Even in a rushing flood," You are my Refuge, my Protector, my Defender. "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19 NKJV). You protect those who take refuge in You.
 
You told us, "In the world (we will) have tribulation, but take courage: I have overcome the world," saying, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace" (John 16:33 NASB). So in You, I find my Refuge; in You, I find my Peace; in You, I find my Courage to not fear, to not worry, to be anxious for nothing, for You are with me and Your Spirit abides within me (Philippians 4:6-7).
 
No matter what I endure in this broken and fallen world where there is an enemy who comes against me in every way he can to steal and kill and destroy, none of that will have the last word, none of that will have the final say, none of that will stand. You'll even use the attacks of my adversary to drive me closer to You, to give me opportunities to turn to You and trust in You, to even promote me on the battlefield and equip me for the battles to come. As someone has said, even my setbacks are just setups for You to come and display Your goodness and Your grace, to cause all things to work together for my good because You love me and called me according to Your purposes (Romans 8:28).
 
O Lord -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- You are good! And You are God! And You are sovereign over my life! So I take heart with great courage, great hope, and great faith that the promise of Your Word will come to pass in my life through every battle I fight, every setback I overcome, and every rushing flood of my enemy I endure:  "The God of peace will shorty crush Satan under (my) feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with (us all)!" (Romans 16:20) 
 
By the power of Your grace at work within us, as we abide in deep relationship with You, we will "continue in the faith (for) we must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22 NKJV). But at the same time, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Romans 8:37) 
 
God is good! And God is for us! And if God be for us, nothing can stand against us! (Romans 8:31) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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


My friend, may you be confident in the truth that our God is good, no matter what we face; and He will turn every setback into a setup to dimply His glory through our lives as we trust and abide 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

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

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