Speaking God's Words of Spirit and Life - Morning by Morning, May 20, 2020

Morning by Morning, May 20 - Speaking God's Words of Spirit and Life

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my voice in prayer and praise to begin my day embraced by My Father, centered in Christ, and filled afresh with the Holy Spirit of the Living God. ...

 

As I listen and wait, I hear my heart, "My word will go forth. My word will not fail. And I will release My word on the earth through My people who will seek My face, listen for My voice, and speak with My heart." ...

 

Yes, Lord. ...

 

As I ponder these words in my heart, You're drawing my mind to Your written Word in confirmation of Your spoken word:

 

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall My word be that goes out of My mouth;

it shall not return to Me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

 

Lord Jesus, You said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). And as I abide in You and You abide in me, I'm asking Your words of spirit and life to be spoken and released through me according to Your will and in Your way to accomplish that which You purpose through my life today (John 15:4). As You said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.... If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become My disciples" (John 15:5-8).

 

This what I ask, as I seek to abide in You, as I seek Your face, as I listen for Your voice -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- that I would hear and speak Your words with Your heart. 

 

Father, put Your thoughts in my mind, Your desires in my heart, and Your words in my mouth. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I offer my words and all of my life to You as "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is (my) spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).

 

Though it's hard to fully comprehend just how much You have entrusted to us as Your sons and daughter in the earth, Your Word declares this truth of our place as Your ambassadors and messengers of Your words of spirit and life in our world: 

 

"Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever! Amen!" (1 Peter 4:10-11)

 

Yes, Lord. Let it be so according to Your Word and according to the words You have spoken into my spirit today. Let Your words of spirit and life go forth today -- here in my heart and everywhere You send me. May God be gloried in all these things through Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend, may you seek God's face, listen for His voice, and speak with His heart in your prayers, your praise, and your words everywhere He sends you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

         

Pakistan Preaching Again Today!

Friends, I'm so excited that we have permission to start our open air evangelistic meetings again in Pakistan through online Internet Ministry today! Each month we set up in a different village through our ministry partnership there with Pastor Fazal with a big screen and projector. I'm able to share a message of the hope and healing of Jesus Christ through our Skype Internet Ministry, where I'm preaching here and it's interpreted by live simultaneous translation there. Then we have a followup team for those who are saved and experience the salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival of Jesus! For the past two months, I've only been able to share in home group setting with Pastor Fazal and neighbors, but now we are able to go back out into the streets in an unreached village again! Please keep us in your prayers for a powerful outpouring of God's Holy Spirit!

"And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as testimony to all nations, and then the end will come!" 

(Matthew 24:14)

Joyfully embracing Jesus in their hearts!

From one of our past meetings in a Pakistan Village

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We're Messengers of Hope! - Morning by Morning, May 19, 2020

Morning by Morning, May 19, 2020 - We're Messengers of Hope!

Good morning, Lord Jesus. As I speak out Your name, I open up my spirit to listen for Your voice and hear what's on Your heart. ...

"'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scripture say, 'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'" (Romans 10:13-15).

I was thinking the other day about the old Amy Grant song that You bring to my heart at times to give me comfort in hard times. It's goes something like this -- "We believe in God. And we all need Jesus. Because life is hard and it may not get easier. But don't be afraid to show it... If you believe in God, if you say you need Jesus, He's be where you are and He never will leave you...."

We believe in You, God. We all come to know sooner or later that there's Something much greater than ourselves and that we can't really control much of anything in our lives, at least not for very long. Sooner or later, we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to You to hear us and help us.

And there You are. You've been with us all along, You're never far from any of us--no matter our culture, our language, our economic status, our belief system, our world view, or even our parents' religion (Acts 17:27). In Your mercy and love for us You've come to reveal Yourself to us in the Person of Jesus--fully God as One with You, Father and One with Your Holy Spirit, yet choosing to humble Yourself as fully man to be One with us, that we would know the true nature of the invisible God (Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-18).

We believe in God and we all need Jesus. We all need the mercy and grace of God that forgives us from our sins and removes from us our walls so that we can all know we're loved and forgiven and free, welcomed into the embrace of Your Presence, where nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God, revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

Lord Jesus, because You came and You died on the cross for our sins and You rose again, we can call on Your name and be saved. "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, 'No one who believes in Him will be put to shame' ... For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 8:9-13).

Lord, open the eyes of my heart to see You as You are and put my whole trust in You alone for my salvation, every moment of every day. And open they eyes of my sight to see the hearts of my neighbors and their struggles, their questions, and their desperate need to believe God and come to the end of themselves and acknowledge they need Jesus. 

And there You will be, so ready to come into their hearts, as their Lord and their Savior. You'll be so ready to embrace them in Your love, forgive them of their sins, to take away their fears, to begin to answer their questions, and to fill them with Your Spirit and all Your love and peace and joy like they've never really known.

But how will they believe, unless they hear? And how will they hear unless I tell them? And I will I tell them unless You send me? ... Oh, that's right... You did send me!—all in the power of Your grace and the mercy of Your love to share the hope You've poured into my heart and made so real in my life (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 3:15). We're Your messengers of hope to share the mercy and love of Your good news. Here I am, Lord. Send me today! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be filled afresh with the hope and love of God, as you share the hope that is within you of His mercy and love with your neighbors and everywhere the Lord sends you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

           

Pakistan Preaching Again This Wednesday!

Friends, I'm so excited that we have permission to start our open air evangelistic meetings again in Pakistan through online Internet Ministry! Each month we set up in a different village through our ministry partnership there with Pastor Fazal with a big screen and projector. I'm able to share a message of the hope and healing of Jesus Christ through our Skype Internet Ministry, where I'm preaching here and it's interpreted by live simultaneous translation there. Then we have a follow team for those who are saved and experience the salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival of Jesus! For the past two months, I've only been able to share in home group setting with Pastor Fazal and neighbors, but now we are able to go back out into the streets in an unreached village again. Please keep us in your prayers!

Joyfully embracing Jesus in their hearts!

From one of our past meetings in a Pakistan Village

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Burning Hearts with the Fire of God! - Morning by Morning, May 18, 2020

Morning by Morning, May 18 - Burning Hearts with the Fire of God!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, be King of my heart and Lord of my life this day and every day, as I begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit. ...

 

"Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, 'What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?' They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered Him, 'Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days? He asked them, 'What things?' They replied, 'The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be condemned to death and crucified Him. But we had hoped that He was the One to redeem Israel...'" (Luke 24:13-21).

 

In the days between Passover and Pentecost, these two disciples of Yours on their walk to Emmaus were trying to figure out all that had happened. On the one hand, they were "looking sad" and felt deep disappointment because they "had hoped" things were going to turn out differently than they had. On the other hand, at the same time, they had heard great news that great things had happened in ways they didn't yet fully understand. They were expressing this to You as well, before they recognized You was the very One they who was so patiently waking with them on their journey all along, saying: "It is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find His body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive! Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said..." (v. 21-14).

 

As we walk out these days between our Passover and Pentecost on our Biblical calendar of this powerfully prophetic year of 2020, there's so much going on in our hearts as well. Things that make us sad for what it seems we have lost. Things that haven't worked out in the way we had hoped according to what we had planned. Yet, at the same time, hearing and seeing amazing things in our midst. Words we've heard from You in our hearts keep bubbling up to the surface, almost ready to burst forth like a wellspring of hope and a fountain of life from deep down inside.

 

And as it turns out, You've been with us all along! You've been at work in our hearts and in our hopes and in our dreams preparing the way for what You have next, for what You've known and planned all along!

 

You drew near to those disciples of Yours on their walk to Emmaus, between their Passover and their Pentecost, speaking Your words of spirit and life and truth, reminding them of what You had said, encouraging with what was to come, and even lovingly correcting them in their lack of faith and trust in the words You had said and the Scriptures of the Word of God: "Then (Jesus) said to them, 'Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into His glory?' Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things about Himself in all the Scriptures" (v. 25-27)

 

As You spoke to them, their hearts burned within them! (v. 32) As they took hold of You in their burning hearts and in the breaking of bread in communion with You, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized (You)!" (v. 30-31)

 

You removed their sadness and filled them with joy! You gave them such comfort in the midst of all the changes and imparted courage to step into their future. You opened the eyes of their hearts to see You and Your plans more clearly than ever before -- like 2020 vision! 

 

They couldn't wait to go spread the news! "That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, 'The Lord has risen indeed! And He appeared to Simon!' Then they told what had happened on the road, and how He had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread!" (v. 33-35)

 

In these days between our Passover and Pentecost, between the day of Your Resurrection and the day of the great outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, You are preparing our hearts. We're Your disciples on the road of our journey with You. And though You've been with us all along, You are also drawing near in deeper ways to manifest Your Presence, to burn in our hearts by Your Spirit, to open our eyes to Your Word, in invite us to encounters with You in the breaking of the bread of the Word of God and the abiding communion of Your Presence.

 

Father, we long for a great outpouring of Your Holy Spirit! Yes, on the Day of Pentecost at the end of this month, but also on every day as we come to the end of ourselves and anything we understand or planned apart from Your perfect plan.

 

Come, Holy Spirit! Give us burning hearts with the Fire of God! We pray for revival and awakening--here in our hearts and here in our world! Let our hearts burn within us, as You set us ablaze as the body and bride of Christ, filled afresh with the Spirit of Christ, to go forward boldly and passionately in the great ministry of Christ in world, whether at home or abroad, whether face to face or through the airways of the internet! Like those disciples on the walk to Emmaus, we can't wait to go share the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God! He is risen! "The Lord has risen indeed!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

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

My friend, may you be consumed with a burning heart in the Fire of God, filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and embraced by the arms of our Father to go share the good news of Jesus in the power and love of God everywhere He sends you, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

         

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"Sent Out by the Holy Spirit" - Morning by Morning, May 15, 2020

Morning by Morning, May 15 - "Sent Out by the Holy Spirit"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Good Shepherd, my Lord and Savior, and I want to seek Your face, hear Your voice, and follow Your steps, this day and every day, as best as I can and all by Your grace -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ... 

"Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went...." (Acts 13:1-4). 

My wife Rocio and I have been so honored to be part of a ministry so much like the gathering of the people of God at Antioch these past seven years -- Rapha God Ministries.  It's a vibrant, loving, powerful ministry called to minister and teach the healing love of Jesus Christ. Like Antioch, it's a ministry of prophets and teachers, saturated in a spiritual atmosphere of worship and prayer, seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit to be faithful and obedient to God. It's led by my life-long friend of over thirty years, Tammy Watts as its founder and executive director. We have been so honored to be so loved and saturated in such a rich and deep, authentic and genuine, atmosphere of our Father's love. 

Now, throughout the body of Christ today, the Holy Spirit is speaking to us all about the next season in the Kingdom of God and the unfolding plans of God in our world and in our lives. In different ways and step by step, the Holy Spirit is aligning and realigning, directing and redirecting our steps to fulfill His mandate and commission of the body and bride of Christ in our day. 

When Saul and Barnabas were sent out from Antioch, they carried with them the prophetic and teaching anointing that the Lord had done in them, but also went out in what was evangelistic and even became apostolic in time to go forward as they were led, in agreement with the leading of the same Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of all the leaders at Antioch. No doubt Antioch was different after that, just as Saul and Barnabas were different after that. Nothing went back to the old normal or how things were. Instead everything was becoming new and springing forth into what it was always intended to be. It wasn't denying or regretting the past; it was taking all that was learned and developed to go forward into the present and future in right alignment and fulfillment all the plans and purposes of God. 

While at Rapha God Ministries, I've also continued aspects of the ministry the Lord entrusted to me over twenty years ago called Messiah Ministries, called to "prepare the way of the Lord" in the hearts of His people, at home and to the nations. Several months ago, the Lord called us each to be fasting and praying about the original roots of what has grown into the tree of life and ministry for both Rapha God Ministries and Messiah Ministries. 

In obedience to this directive, like the leaders at Antioch, we've been fasting and praying and worshipping the Lord for several months about all this, each in our own way. The Lord has been speaking to all of us in different ways and providing different parts. It's all been in deep prayer and preparation for what He's about to do, in and through all of us. We see in part; we prophesy in part; we each share the parts we sense are from the Lord with testing and discernment to seek God's will and leading. He's the One who sees all the parts together and shows us what we need to know, when we need to know it. And now we believe the Lord is showing us how He is putting the parts together in exciting ways that stir up great joy and expectant faith for what is to come; while at the same time, there is also deep sorrow that comes from true hearts letting go of what has been so nurturing and beautiful in order to take hold of what lies ahead. 

Rocio and I seek the blessing of the Lord and loving release from our friends who have become our forever family at Rapha God Ministries to now go forth into what we believe the Holy Spirit is calling us to in the season ahead as we fully reengage the calling of Messiah Ministries. We know the Lord will continue to lead both of these ministries of His, step by step into the fullness of all He has always intended. With each ministry, separately led but both led of the Holy Spirit, just as the ministry of Antioch and the ministry of Saul and Barnabas were separate but blessed in their obedience to the Lord, both were able to grow and mature and expand the Kingdom of God in different ways. Both ministries were eternally connected in the bond of the Spirit, in the bonds of encouragement and love, with deep honor and respect for the Lord and for another. We desire the same.  

Rocio and I thank You, Father, for all You have done in us through our time of being deeply loved and growing deeply in the good soil of Rapha God Ministries. So much of who we are is what we have become through all the love and prayers, the nurture and growth, the healing and freedom You have done in us through our loving family at Rapha God Ministries. We honor them and we honor You for all You have done through them in our lives that will never be the same. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My friend, may you be blessed in all your Holy Spirit-filled relationships whether those of your past, your present, or your future, as the Lord aligns you, empowers you, and sends you out in His love by His Spirit for His Kingdom, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

        

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"Endued with Power from on High!" - Morning by Morning, May 14, 2020

Morning by Morning, May 14 - "Endued with Power from on High!"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak out Your name and seek Your face to draw near in the deep communion of prayer to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled afresh with Your Holy Spirit. ...

 

"Then (Jesus) said to them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high!'" (Luke 24:46-49)

 

There's coming a day soon when we will again be "endued with power from on high!"' 

 

Even as I write out these words from Your Word, I have a strong sense in my spirit of You saying, "Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. It's on the way. More than you've seen. More than you can imagine. This is My Promise, this is My Spirit, to be poured out in great measure upon My people." ...

 

Yes, Lord! Let it be so! 

 

Your Word is fulfilled in measures, as we journey through the unfolding of Your glorious and sovereign plans for our lives and our world. The prophet Joel spoke of this day of a great outpouring of Your Spirit (Joel 2:28-32). The apostle Peter spoke of this day of a great outpouring of Your Spirit (Acts 2:14-21). Each were speaking of the Promise of the Father. Each were speaking of great outpouring of Your Spirit. Each were speaking of a time when Your people would be "endued with power from on high!"

 

O Father! We are excited! We are expectant! We are tarrying here in the Jerusalem of our hearts, so hungry, so thirsty, for this fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit in our day. 

 

In these days of our generation, of our journey through the days of this Biblical year, we're between "the third day" of the Resurrection and the Day of Pentecost. As each day passes, You're pouring out a hunger and thirst upon Your people. You're preparing the way of the Lord in our hearts, preparing the way for the Promise of the Father, that we may be "endued with power from on high!" What You've done in great measure in the past, may You do in even greater measure now!

 

We have truly have no idea of all that means, apart from the measures of insight You've given us in Your prophetic Word and in Your prophetic words. "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). And so many of Your prophets are sensing a great fulfillment of another great measure of Your Word to pour out Your Spirit, the great Promise of the Father, that we may be "endued with power from on high!"

 

Come, Holy Spirit! Come fill our hearts with the fullness of Your Presence, even as never before! A fresh encounter, a fresh outpouring, a fresh filling, a fresh anointing, a fresh awakening! All to proclaim the name of Jesus in Your power, in the truth and love of our Father, in the repentance of our hearts to embrace the mercy of God, wherever we are and "to all nations" of the earth! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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

My Friend, may you embrace the Promise of the Father and be endued with power from on high to proclaim the name of Jesus wherever you are and everywhere you're sent, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend! 

        

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