Pastor Mary Haley

Psalm 116:1-2 (TPT) I’m Saved1 I am passionately in love with God because he listens to me.He hears my prayers and answers them.2 As long as I live I’ll keep praying to him,for he stoops down to listen to my heart’s cry.

As believers in the salvation of Jesus Christ and the redeeming work of the Holy Spirit, we must pray more than we have ever prayed before; pray to the Living God who listens to his children and the cries of their hearts. Pray for his love to overflow in your heart, as well as in the hearts of every believer. Pray for unbelievers—those who have never tasted the love of the Savior—to desire the love of Christ for their own hearts. May our love for God and our neighbors cause reviving change that hits this country and world like a wildfire burning up self-centeredness and evil.

Please don’t put your greatest hope in human institutions or governments to create a righteous foundation for lasting peace. I support our civil institutions, agencies, and governments that God put into place in order to maintain freedom, exalt Truth, support equality, ensure protection, and execute justice, but those structures were never to replace the authority of All Mighty God to govern individual hearts (Romans 13:1). We have watched the shortcomings and hypocrisy of people in these areas for generations, because the human heart is prideful and struggles to embrace divine love and spiritual life which leads to peace.
The peace we need in this country and in the world is a change in human hearts that only the Holy Spirit can bring; we need a passionate heart for the heavenly Father and for our earthly neighbors that produces supernatural agape (the highest form of love—1 Cor. 13:4-7). When Jesus is the Lord of our hearts, agape is our signature. Pray for that supernatural change to begin in your heart and let the life and love of Jesus shine into a dark world. When we protest against people groups and governments thinking that is going to bring lasting reform or peace, you have given those human institutions way too much credit. They are empty, void, and easily shaken without the grace of God. Look higher! You want change? You want peace? Let’s all get on our faces before Father God and pray for an outpouring of redeeming and reviving love to hit human hearts. He is listening!
Prayer: Lord, I pray today knowing you hear the cry of my heart for sending an outpouring of your redeeming and reviving love to hit human hearts. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 14:21-26 (TPT)
21 Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love you in return and will manifest my life within you.”

22 Then one of the disciples named Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “Lord, why is it you will only reveal your identity to us and not to everyone?”

23 Jesus replied, “Loving me empowers you to obey my word. [love is proven by obedience to the Word] And my Father will love you so deeply that we will come to you and make you our dwelling place. 24 But those who don’t love me will not obey my words. The Father did not send me to speak my own revelation, but the words of my Father.

25 I am telling you this while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Spirit of Holiness, the One like me who sets you free, [the Redeemer from the curse] he will teach you all things in my name. And he will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told you.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to redeem us from the curse of sin and death and the way to walk in that gift of freedom is to love Christ—the Living Word—passionately. Don’t ever forget the world is cursed and will face judgment, but those who receive Christ are redeemed from that curse as we allow the Word to teach us a new way to live in the truth and love of God. Our passionate love for Christ enables our spiritual memory, too; the Holy Spirit will inspire us to remember the Word of God so we can walk in victory. Hallelujah for God’s glorious Gifts!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your ongoing redemption to lift me out of dead living. As I stay connected to the Vine of Christ—the Word—I will grow in the ways of righteousness. As your children around the globe stay connected to the Vine of Christ, we will overtake evil with good. If God be for us who can be against us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13
12 Just as the human body is one, though it has many parts that together form one body, so too is Christ [a body with many parts who are to represent him in the world]. 13 For by one Spirit we all were immersed and mingled into one single body [a baptism into the body of Christ]. And no matter our status—whether we are Jews or non-Jews, oppressed or free—we are all privileged to drink deeply of the same Holy Spirit [to inwardly receive and outwardly flow the refreshing and powerful Living Water and love of Christ].

Every human being has an opportunity to respond to the wooing love of Jesus Christ; to enter into fellowship and peace with God and learn how he actually created us to live. God desires for all humanity to form his Body. Otherwise, out of ignorance or rebellion, we live deceived and wicked in the eyes of the Lord. So, God sent Jesus to die for our sins and if we will respond to faith by believing in his sacrifice for us, we can know peace with God and a new beginning [new birth]. The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Peace—was sent to be our helper and guide to live out the will and purposes of God. Otherwise, we will actually fight against the will of God and look for others to blame; humanity demonizes people right and left for the lack of peace he or she have with God. Do you think we are going to win that battle?

The Lord sent the Holy Spirit in order to get us headed in the right direction; he brings an awareness of what pleases God. The Spirit gives us new birth, indwells us as a source of power to apply the Word to our lives, baptizes us in love and unity as a spiritual body, and seals us as God’s priceless possession who reflect and reveal his glory in the world. The Holy Spirit is such a gift; please receive the guiding power that is offered so you can live in peace with God as a part of his Body.

Prayer: Lord, there are so many ways you have blessed me by sending the Spirit of holiness into my life. Help me to respond to your love by appropriating every way you desire to help me. In Jesus name. Amen.

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (TPT)
1 My fellow believers, I don’t want you to be confused about spiritual realities. 2 For you know full well that when you were unbelievers you were often led astray [tempted] in one way or another by your worship of idols [anything that usurps God’s reign in your heart], which are incapable of talking with you. 3 Therefore, I want to impart to you an understanding of the following:
No one speaking by the Spirit of God [under the unction of God] would ever say, “Jesus is the accursed one.”

No one can say, “Jesus is the Lord Yahweh,” [Lord God] unless the Holy Spirit is speaking through him.

Is Jesus Lord God over your life? We can all wrestle with thoughts, emotions, and desires that seek to usurp the Lord’s rule in our hearts. To profess ‘Christ is Lord’ is to speak the Truth regarding God’s Word and influence over our lives. Christ is Lord when we allow him to rule and direct our destinies as his followers. False teachers disguise themselves as harmless sheep, but inside they are wolves out to devour and discredit the Word and minimize the Lord God (Mat 7:15). Their goal is to build their own empires instead of the Kingdom of God. Anointed teachers are validated by the fruit of their actions; how they honor and reflect the Word, as well as how they treat others in their care.

Prayer: Lord, when I am tempted to exalt my own ideas and desires above your way, please help me stand on your Word and put things back into a righteous perspective. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

2 Timothy 1:12-14 (TPT)
12 The confidence of my calling enables me to overcome every difficulty without shame, for I have an intimate revelation of this God. And my faith in him convinces me that he is more than able to keep all that I’ve placed in his hands safe and secure until the fullness of his appearing.

13 Allow the healing words you’ve heard from me to live in you and make them a model for life as your faith and love for the Anointed One grows even more. 14 Guard well this incomparable treasure by the Spirit of Holiness living within you.

Our confidence must be in Christ alone as the Anointed One. Let’s define confidence as faith in God, certainty and assurance of one’s relationship with God, a sense of boldness that is dependent on a realization of one’s acceptance by God, and a conviction that one’s destiny is secure in God. When we have confidence in God, then whatever comes our way we can handle it in the strength and power of the Anointed One. As a believer, you never face anything that grace cannot successfully take you through. Fear not and have courage as you place your confidence in Christ. Blessings for your weekend.

Prayer: Lord, when the storms of life threaten to overwhelm me, please keep me focused on your love and help me remain confident in your power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 7:37-39 (TPT)
Rivers of Living Water
37 Then on the most important day of the feast, the last day, Jesus stood and shouted out to the crowds—“All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! 38 Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!”

39 Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit that believers were being prepared to receive. But the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out upon them, because Jesus had not yet been unveiled in his full splendor.

As the weather gets hotter and hotter, I find myself more and more thirsty when I am outside. I crave water and that is really the only thing that quenches my thirst during those times. Well, as our times on earth come closer to the return of Christ, things are heating up. My thirst for Christ has intensified; I realize he is the only one who can satisfy my spiritual thirst, sustain me, and bring me peace at this time. The world has nothing to offer me that satisfies me. Only coming to Jesus and being willing to drink of his “life” (eternal life) gets me through a day with the right attitudes and perspective. So, each day prepare yourself to receive the Living Water and keep pressing on in the good fight of faith. BELIEVE and Receive Living Water!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the filling of the Holy Spirit who satisfies my thirst. I come to you each day to drink from your well; to partake of that life which only you can give me. As I receive, I believe living water flows from my innermost being and I am able to share your goodness and joy with those around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 8:26-27 The Passion Translation (TPT)

26 And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.

27 God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.

Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, God has immersed us with eternal life; therefore, we are not left alone in our weakness to deal with our problems. This is a good thing, because life right now has many people scratching their heads for understanding, as well as looking for direction and insight to deal with these unexpected challenges we are facing. Here is where we start for answers; we need to pray and ask for divine wisdom and help. The Holy Spirit rises up within us to intercede for us in accordance with God’s will; he is the heart-searcher who fulfills God’s plans. We might not know even how to pray about a situation, but that does not change the fact that our God does know what is needed and through the work of the Spirit that prayer is articulated in the throne room of heaven according to God’s plan and our destiny. Spend time in prayer each day and pour your heart out before God, then trust the Lord to answer with his highest and best for you and others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the Holy Spirit who searches my heart. As I pray and place my own needs or the concerns for others before you, I trust you to bring answers that are in accordance with your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 8:18-24 TPT A Glorious Destiny
18 I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory [radiant beauty] that is about to be unveiled within us. 19 The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, [intense anticipation] yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! 20 For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility [chaos] resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, 21 all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children. 22 To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth. 23 And it’s not just creation. We who have already experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit [Awakening] also inwardly groan as we passionately long to experience our full status as God’s sons and daughters—including our physical bodies being transformed. 24 For this is the hope of our salvation.
But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have?

The revelation or “unveiling” of the Lord is at hand. Soon it will take place and we must be ready. God’s glory will come to enter us in a supernatural and surprising way. Believers will be filled and permeated with the divine glory and as that happens, the world will know we belong to the Lord. There will be no question that God’s glory lives in us. It’s so very exciting!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me One with you in the Spirit. I wait for the unveiling of what is now unseen within me, but I know is imminent. I love you and I pray for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Romans 8:14-17 (TPT) Sons and Daughters Destined for Glory
14 The mature children of God are those [only the mature] who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. 15 And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,”[slavery to performance] leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,”[consecrated children] enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”[revealing endearing devotion] 16 For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

17 And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has.[grace has made us royal heirs to the King] We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings[accept his feelings] as our own.

To be mature as children of God is to allow the fullness of Christ to overwhelm us; to embrace the Spirit of God’s love and be moved by those impulses. That means we accept his feelings knowing there are things [attitudes/behaviors] in fallen creation that grieve his heart; we will feel those burdens and experience the sorrow he feels as well as the joys. Scripture calls us to accept Christ’s sufferings as our own; therefore, the mature must also accept his standard of righteousness. We do not have to guess about God’s perspective, because we already have the Word and Spirit of God bearing witness to that standard. However, as we accept and share in his sufferings, we also share in his glory—the external manifestation of his being in us. What a wonderful destiny!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for imparting to me the Spirit of full acceptance. I do not have to work my way to you; I simply open the door for your Lordship over my life. As I mature, I take on more of your nature and live listening as you whisper into my innermost being. Thank you for making me your daughter. In Jesus’ name. Amen.