Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever.” Psalm 37:28

God defines justice in ways you and I cannot understand. God looks at your heart and not so much your actions in determining how His justice will prevail in your life.

Do you love God with all of your heart and are you willing to follow Him without any preconditions? Most of the men and women who have been raised up by God to do powerful things for His kingdom have suffered greatly and endured impossible hardships.

The justice of God will preserve you forever both on earth and living with God in heaven. You may go through the fires of God and be severely tested but you will belong to the precious remnant of Christ.

The justice of God defeats evil from destroying your life. Look at how Daniel escaped death several times by the hand of God.

The justice of God blesses your descendants. Abraham believed God and was given an heir from his blood.

The justice of God provides for your needs in times of deprivation. Elijah lived with the widower and her son during a long famine and God miraculously kept the oil and grain bowls filled.

The justice of God does not overlook your prayers and obedience to God. He promises never to forsake you. Enoch walked with God and never tasted death.

The justice of God is the knowledge you will inherit His promises in the land of the living and dwell in the riches of God forever. Look at the outcome of Job!

The justice of God will fill you with His wisdom and counsel for those around you. The Psalms authored by David under the power of the Holy Spirit have helped and encouraged millions of saints over many generations.

The justice of God will implant His truths into the depth of your heart and your steps shall not slide. The spiritual man judges all things but is judged by no one. He lives with the mind of Christ.

The justice of God comes to those who have a heart for God and a desire to obey Him. You live by faith never questioning the authority of God or the circumstances in your life.

 

 

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

We all want Christ but with stipulations. It is just too painful and requires too much sacrifice to accept Jesus without compromise.

It is relatively easy to participate in religion and do works for God. This is a safe zone and will allow you to keep your privacy and independence. And, you are working hard to accumulate points for God.

Jesus looks at your commitment to Him from an entirely different point of view. Will you lay down your life for Me? This means you give up your ambitions, desires, and hopes to live for Christ. The end game is not about results. It is about knowing Christ.

God wants your absolute loyalty to Him and He will test you to the ends of the earth to make His point. Loyalty to God is simply expressed by walking with Jesus by faith without any proof or evidence of God’s blessings in your life. You accept Christ for who He is!

If you want a genuine relationship with Christ you will be deeply convicted of your ego and pride which blocks the efficacy of Christ.

You can’t change your character defects through effort or works no matter how hard you try. The spiritual solution is to live out your faith in Christ and He will fill you with His righteousness. This is the only way you can be transformed into the personality of Christ.

God wants to give you an abundant life and bless you with more you ask or think. However, He dispenses His blessings by your steadfast faith in Him.

Change your mind set with Jesus by seeking out His values for your life. Make this your priority and then God will honor your shopping list.

He lives so you can live!

 

“Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22

There will be times when you can’t see through the confusion and disorder. There is no logic or clear direction from God.

This situation has been orchestrated by God to serve His purposes. You may never clearly understand the reason for some of the actions of God.

You may be afflicted with health issues, lethargy, or feelings of depression. Or, there may be other conditions at work. God’s plan is to bring changes into your life or those around you. And, God’s ways are not your ways. So when the tidal wave hits you must seek out God.

Without giving you religious advice, how can you and I deal with these situations? Remember, everything in life begins with God so He is your source to find answers and direction.

God may not choose to divulge His plans or give you any direction but you can ask Him for strength, joy, and protection. God will never refuse to fill you with His life.

During times of affliction the most important counsel is to hear the voice of God and live under His canopy. The answer from God may be simply to rest in Him and wait. Or, there may be other specific instructions.

We lose sight about the sovereignty of God in difficult times. What you think you need may not be God’s priority. However, God has power and dominion over every detail in your life and He can change your circumstances in a split second.

You may not be able to grasp this but you are probably in the perfect will of God. So rejoice and be thankful!

There is no one who can compare with almighty God!

 

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30

What makes you treasure God?

If your response to the question above relates to what God has done for you then you are off track in understanding the gift of salvation. The correct response should be “I treasure God for who He is”. This takes the results of your relationship with God off the benefits accruing to self and recognizes the character of God.

Making a decision for Christ is not about what He will do for you. It is a commitment to walk by faith with steadfast loyalty to God regardless of the circumstances in your life.

Christianity has a twisted perspective about God with a focus on the importance of adhering to laws and doing works to receive the blessings of God.

Most believers hear the gospel and accept the gift of salvation by faith. Who wouldn’t want to have their sins forgiven and live with God forever?

God looks at salvation from a different point of view. You are unacceptable to Him in your natural condition so He gave up His life so you can be born again as a new creature in Christ Jesus. He expects the same from you following in His footsteps. You agree to die to self and live for Christ.

Salvation is not a superficial experience. It is a transformation into a new person dedicated to live for Christ. The role of a believer is to know the Living Christ and live in obedience to Him through the pain, suffering, and hardships of life.

God rewards those that diligently seek Him. However, the goal should not be the rewards but living intimately with the transfigured Christ whose characteristics are greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

God wants you to walk by faith with or without His blessings. This is the heart of a disciple of Christ.

Not my will but yours be done!

 

“The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” Psalm 11:4-5

God lives in a holy temple and His throne is in heaven. The eyes of God see all things. He is an omniscient God and knows every detail of your life. God understands the depth of your personality and all your strengths and weaknesses.

God tests the righteous but those who do violence and evil His soul hates. The purpose of His testing is to determine your loyalty to Him above all else.

God is very approachable but you have to reach out to Him. You can do this through prayer, reading His Word, and listening for His voice. You will find the Living God through His Spirit.

You and I come to God with a long list of needs but in the midst of dealing with God we forget about His priority for our lives. God wants to expose your sins and cause you to repent. You can only get right with God by admitting you are a lost soul and unworthy to be in His presence.

The spiritual person opens himself up to God every day of his life seeking conviction of sins and forgiveness through the blood of Christ. This person knows he is a sinner for life and his only hope is in the Cross. If you think you are a good Christian and above reproach you are deluding yourself.

It is not so much about the sin itself but it is about your inner attitudes of pride, arrogance, and hypocrisy. Thinking you are better than other people is opening yourself up to a juggernaut of conviction and judgment by the hand of God.

Today, God is looking into your heart with a desire to change you. Are you in touch with Him?

 

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

The gift of salvation begins with an upward calling from God. You hear the gospel and make a decision by faith to live for God. You become a new creature in Christ Jesus who finds your hope in God and not in the things of the world.

This precious gift is available to all through Christ Crucified. There is no other way.

Salvation begins at the moment of decision for Christ and has no ending. This decision is to know Christ and live for Him. It has nothing to do with works. If you build your relationship with God on works you will never experience the efficacy of the Living Christ. God wants your absolute loyalty to Him above all else.

Salvation is a recognition of your helpless and corrupt inner condition and understanding your only hope is in the Cross. Until you get to this point you are just going through the motions.

The Cross is following the life of Jesus. You die to self and become resurrected as a new creature in Christ Jesus.

The Cross enables you to live in oneness with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is your lifeline to God.

The purpose of salvation is not to make you into a self righteous individual. This approach is abominable to God and negates the value of the Cross. The righteousness belongs to God not to you and is designed for one purpose only—to draw people into a living relationship with Christ.

Salvation is not about keeping yourself clean. It is about getting your hands dirty as you reach out to those living in darkness. The sinner will respond to you when you come to Him as a broken and repentant human being.

God delights in sharing Himself with you. Today you can experience salvation through the work of the Cross. Come to Christ for your every need. He stands at your door knocking!

Jesus will convict you of sin and offer forgiveness through His life saving blood. He will fill you with His strength, wisdom, and joy. He will guide your footsteps and be your fortress of protection.

Most importantly, you will meet the Living Christ and stand in awe of His greatness and glory. There is no one like Him!

 

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” Genesis 15:12

God appeared to Abraham and made an everlasting covenant with Him. He told Abraham that he would have an heir from His own blood and Abraham’s descendants would be like the stars in the night sky. God also promised Abraham his descendants would inherit Canaan, the Promised Land.

Then God instructed Abraham to prepare an animal sacrifice for Him. After this, God put a deep sleep upon Abraham and the horror and darkness facing the Israelites fell upon Him.

God then told Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and they would be afflicted four hundred years. After this, God would deliver the Israelites and they would take with them great possessions out of land.

The point of this narrative is to explain this is one of the first examples of intercession in the Bible. God showed Abraham through intercession the future afflictions facing the Israelites.

As believers, you and I want to record deeds for God forgetting what is really important in His heart.

Intercession is a calling from God. It is a pure and holy ministry of making intercession for those living in darkness. The Spirit of God living within you makes intercession to set people free from the bondage of sin. You are mostly a bystander as God does this powerful work.

This arduous effort of prayer is based on a verse in Colossians. You are filling up your flesh with what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of His Body, the Church. In actuality, God is doing the work of the Cross through you.

There are many intercessors in the Body of Christ. You cannot become an intercessor unless you are appointed by God but you can employ the principle of intercession in your prayers.

When God brings someone before you who is in bondage to sin the first step is to ask God for wisdom how to pray for this person. Then ask God to share His authority with you. This will give you the ability to pray powerful prayers.

Intercession requires a diligent prayer life and will cause you to identify with the sin and personality of the person you are praying for.

Intercession pleases Jesus and places you in the throne room of God.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

This admonition from Jesus relates to your earthly goals and your heart condition to become willing to be an ambassador for Jesus touching those living in darkness.

There is nothing wrong with diligently working to provide yourself and family with a comfortable lifestyle. However, you are working in a world that is not under the authority of God. The luxuries of the world will eventually wither and fade away. They are not permanent. And, they an easily lead you astray from God.

The thieves in this narrative refer to Satan and His legion of demons. Satan wants to steal your treasures and destroy you. This onslaught never ends and you are in a continual battle against the enemy. Your weapons are utilizing the full armor of God.

Your only security in this world is laying up treasures in Heaven that cannot be touched by Satan and have everlasting consequences. God wants your heart to be in accord with His attitudes and views about the definition of treasures.

The question is how can you do this? The answer lies in the biblical truth about binding and loosing. This should be foremost in your goals while living here on earth.

The act of binding is standing firm against the work of Satan. You rebuke Satan from having any influence in your life. Also, you pray and make intercession for those with a demonic stronghold over them asking God to set them free.

You ask God that His Word will dwell richly in you with all wisdom and understanding and this allows you to refute the lies of Satan in your counsel with others.

The act of loosing refers to bringing salvation to those in your life. You have been instructed by God to plant seeds wherever life takes you.

This happens through the efficacy of the rivers of Living Water flowing out of your heart, consistent prayer, and speaking the counsel of God under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

The works of God are eternal!

 

 

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7

There is a big difference in making a decision for Christ and walking in Him. The plan of salvation is to transform you into a new creature in Christ Jesus. You die to self and live for God. Everything in your life changes as you come to know the Living Christ.

The admonition is to be grounded in Christ and to build your life on Him. You become grounded in God by abandoning your life to Him. Christ becomes your sole reason for life and the priority in all your thoughts and actions.

It is the action of abandonment and yielding to the Spirit living within you that pleases Christ. It is a living discipline of prayer, meditating on the Word, and listening to the voice of God. You literally walk with Christ through the Holy Spirit.

It is impossible to be grounded through an intellectual approach or doing works for God. You have to come to know the reality of the Living Christ. This happens as you become baptized into the death and ressurected life of Christ.

Christ is about devotion and loyalty not works. Knowing Christ and coming under His authority is the priority of a believer.

The essence of Christ is living with Him by faith. Your life with Christ will begin with faith and will be sustained by your faith in His promises. Faith is unyielding devotion to God regardless of your circumstances. Abraham believed God and His life was uprooted.

Faith is living in obedience to the voice of God without any evidence or proof. You believe God calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

Faith is expressed in thanksgiving to God for who He is and not for what He does in your life!

 

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” Romans 8:1-3

The works of the law are perfect and will never change. They reflect the heart of God. If you choose to follow God by abiding in these laws you have to be perfect. There is no room for mistakes. Unfortunately, no one has been able to live perfectly under the law except for Christ.

The difficulty with the works of the law is they do not consider your inner nature and genetic disposition for sin. The truth of the gospel is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and this will never change as long as you are on this earth.

The law convicts all of sin and demonstrates it is impossible to ever get right with God no matter how hard you try. You are sold under sin!

There is no obligation from God to bless you under the law regardless of your good deeds or religious activities. The law died on the Cross and has been replaced by a covenant of faith in Christ Jesus.

Your only hope is in Christ Crucified. He died so you can be forgiven by His blood and live through His Spirit who dwells within you.

The only way you can satisfy the purposes of God is to apply this principle into your life. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. You won’t be perfect but you can be free from the bondage of sin and live a life pleasing to God.

This biblical truth is a discipline of yielding your thoughts, words, and actions to the Holy Spirit. In actuality, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to have authority over every aspect of your life. You walk with God moment by moment yielding to His Spirit.

As human beings, we go back and forth with God like the waves in the ocean. We yield compartments of our life to God and hold back what is important or precious to our self nature. Or, we yield something to God and then weaken and take it back to satisfy our fleshly indulgences.

The challenge you deal with every day of your life is to obey God and deny the temptations coming from the world or through your fleshy nature.

When you are living under the authority of God you are free from compulsive behaviors and succumbing to the temptations from Satan. You are living for God!

There is no one like Jesus and He will never fail you!