Morning by Morning, November 14 - Life Lessons along "The Long Way"
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my spirit, O Lord, My God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let me hear what You're saying and see what You're doing, as I entrust my day into Your hands and Your will. ...
"Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you. Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, ... a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing.... You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has give you" (Deuteronomy 8:2-10).
Lord Jesus, when You confronted Satan with the Word of God in Your forty days of wilderness, You quoted the Word of God from Israel's forty years in the wilderness, declaring, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:3 quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). Those words of God, from God's mouth into their spirits as they journeyed through their wilderness spoke of humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope. They spoke of learning life lessons along "the long way" through the "wilderness." They spoke of trusting in a God who is always with us, who never leaves us nor forsakes us, and who is always leading us into the fullness of His promises and our inheritance in the "good land" of His grace and mercy and love.
Those words empowered You to confront Your enemy, when he came to attack Your identity and destroy Your destiny as "the thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). And those words empower us to overcome him as well (Revelation 12:11). Those words, and all they speak of and all they invite us to live in to, empower us with the humility, faith, discipline, obedience, and hope we need to overcome and even grow up into maturity in the face of every attack along "the long way" of our wilderness through this broken and fallen world. They are "weapons of our warfare" (2 Corinthians 10:4). They are "keys of the kingdom" (Matthew 16:19). They are words of "spirit and life" (John 6:63). And they are words that go forth from Your mouth and into our spirits that "shall not return to (You) empty, but shall accomplish that which (You) purpose, and succeed in the thing for which (You) sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
My years on this earth, passing through the wilderness of this world, sometimes seem like "the long way" home, "the long way" into the fullness of my inheritance in You. But I pray that by the power of Your grace at work within me, I'll learn every life lesson You desire for me learn and grow up into the maturity of my identity in You and live out the fullness of my destiny in You (Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 2:12).
And all along "the long way" of this wilderness, let Your words and Your Spirit fill my heart with this hope and this promise: "This slight momentary affliction is preparing (me) for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because (I) look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary but what cannot be seen is eternal.... He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Corinthians 4:17-5:5). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, I pray you live by every word that comes from the mouth of God into your spirit, as you live into the fullness of your identity and destiny in Christ, all along "the long way" through the wilderness of this world, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Preaching in Pakistan. Friends, thank you so much for all your prayers and support for our evangelistic meetings in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry. Each month, I am preaching in a different village around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. I'll be preaching again this coming Friday (Friday night for them, and Friday morning for me). Despite much persecution in their land, they come hungry to hear the Word of God proclaimed through these outdoor meetings with a big screen and an interpreter in these small villages, where they consistently respond in great faith. Last month, Pastor Fazal reported that over 300 souls were saved and over 50 people experienced healing and freedom in the name of Jesus! Praise God! Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!
Register for the Healing Academy. Friends, I'll be teaching at the Healing Academy on Healing and Deliverance Prayer Ministry this coming February 5-8, 2019 in the Nashville area at the Aldersgate Renewal Ministries Center. Please come join us if you're being called to healing prayer ministry! Sign up today: Healing Academy
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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Comments
Rev 2:17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. NIV
Isa 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. NIV
Jer 33:3 Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. ESV
Isa 46:8 From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. ESV
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?