Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” John 14:3-4

Jesus has prepared a place for you. He gave up His life so you can have the gift of eternal life. This life is about living with Him today and will never end.

Jesus promised that He would come back from death and receive you to Himself. The purpose of the Cross is to take you into oneness with Jesus.

This truth is much deeper than life after death. It is about life today with your Creator. Jesus wants to meet you at your point of need. He lives in the moment and nothing is impossible for Him!

Jesus is the path to eternal life. He lives in believers in the essence of the Holy Spirit. Abandon yourself to God by speaking these words from your heart; “Not my will but yours be done.”

This declaration to God will set you free to live in the presence of the Living Christ. You will be able to walk with Jesus towards your higher calling.

The miracle of the Living Water is “Christ in you” and this truth will fill you with the life of Jesus and satisfy your soul. You will never thirst again because you will live by the words that proceed directly from the mouth of God. Christ will be the foundation and centerpiece of your life.

The simplicity of Christ is giving up your life for the life of Christ. And, you will discover He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

God will become your best friend and your helper. He will be the strength of your life and the source for the precious treasures of God.

Jesus lives with an invitation for you. “Where I am, there you may be also.”

 

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

I seldom share my personal testimony because I believe the Word of God changes life not your testimony. However, the Holy Spirit wants me to share this life changing experience with you.

I lived with a misconception about Jesus until I was in my mid 30’s. My understanding of God was He lived in heaven and no one could really get close to Him. I thought He was too busy with the business of the Kingdom of God to deal with someone like me.

I thought the significance of the Cross entitled me to go to Heaven but I didn’t really want to think about death! I was a young man with a long life ahead.

My view of God was shattered when I met the Living Jesus. I discovered quickly He wanted to be my best friend and alive in all the details of my life. Jesus speaks to me everyday of my life.

The turning point in my life occurred about two years into my journey with God. It was a cold winter day and I was on my knees in prayer.

God abruptly came into the room and His presence was the most terrifying experience in my life. I have no words to explain His greatness and glory. I wanted to run out of the room or hide under a table. I really thought I was going to incinerate under the intensity of His glory. I can only describe facing God as trembling in terrifying fear.

God did two things in this visit with me. First, He revealed Himself to me. I saw His greatness and glory. I saw that He is holy and without sin. I saw He is compassionate and loving. I saw that God has no ego and His primary purpose is to draw people to Himself. I was amazed and in awe over this majestic God.

Then God showed me who I was looking through His eyes. It was disgusting to see myself. I was ashamed to see how I fell so short of the standards of our Holy God.

After a few minutes God left the room and I was numb and in shock. One of my first conscious thoughts was God has the power to destroy Russia (who was our Cold War enemy) in a second.

I now knew in the deepest part of my heart God was omnipotent and nothing was impossible for Him. And, I have never again doubted the greatness of God!

At the time I had no idea why almighty God would allow me to see the transfigured Christ. Who am I to be in the presence of God?

However, God is omniscient and knew the trials and tribulations He was planning to send my way. He knew the severe testing and the pain and suffering Jan and I were going to endure in this journey with Jesus.

In the bleakest moments of my life, I would look to God and tell Him I don’t know why you are allowing this to happen to me but I know you can change these circumstances in a second.

Regardless of my distress and feelings of anger and bitterness at God, I knew I had no other place to turn except to Him.

I have met the Living God and no one can compare to Him!

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

This is one of the most misunderstood statements in the Bible and religion has attempted to turn this into a works doctrine to justify you before God.

It is true that a believer is a new creature in Christ Jesus and undergoes a deep and precise sculpting by the hand of God. This is the process of dying to self and living for Christ. You become transformed into the life of Jesus so you can be a light touching those living in darkness.

The remarkable thing about the preparation of God is this started before you were born and culminated in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

The first misconception about this verse in Ephesians is failing to understand the works of God were finished on the cross with the death of Jesus. And, you do not have the capability to do anything for God. It is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus dwelling within you that will change lives.

Secondly, the works have to be born of the Holy Spirit and not be an effort of the flesh or religion to justify yourself before God.

It is also important to understand the Holy Spirit will direct you concerning the works of Christ. You don’t have to go looking for works to please Jesus. Just wake up in the morning and the works will be waiting for you.

The most effective ministry in your life will be the efficacy of the Living Water pouring out of you and touching others. This is the life of Jesus and is untainted by ego or religion. People see the Living Christ through your words, actions, and demeanor.

Think about unbelievers for a moment! They are everywhere. Jesus said they cannot receive because they neither see or know God. They are blinded to the things of God.

It is usually an exercise in futility to quote bible verses or talk religion to an unbeliever. So the question is how can they be reached?

Unbelievers will be reached when they have a personal encounter with the Living Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You enter the highway of holiness when you hear and accept the gospel in your heart.

Finally, you must operate in your ministry with the powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit which are dispensed to you by God. The gifts are designed to draw people to God. If you are unsure about your gifts, review the description of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and then ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

Prayer is most effective in becoming a witness for Christ. Ask God to anoint you with His Spirit each day and guide you into doing His work. He will show you how to pray for those people around you and your responsibility as a believer.

Your ministry will be a reflection of your faith in God. Living by faith in the promises of God will authenticate your works before Christ Jesus and all those around you!

People will see the Living Christ in you and want the precious gift of eternal life!

 

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

God is a spiritual being and has a personality and range of emotions just like you and me. He wants to be your best friend and alive in your life.

God is very jealous! And, His jealousy is like a consuming fire. You might ask why is God so jealous? He has power and dominion over all things. He lacks nothing!

The consuming fire is about you! God wants all of you. He does not want to share you with other gods or idols.

He gets very jealous and angry when you shut Him out of compartments of your life or choose to place the things of the world above Him. He wants to be first on your priority list.

God does not want you to turn Him off and on like a button on your computer. He wants to be online with you at all times.

Think about your thoughts, actions, and how you spend your time. Are you in balance with God?

A good method to measure your spiritual life is to ask yourself do you spend an inordinate amount of time, money, or energy pursuing an earthly desire?

The perfect symmetry of God is a blend of prayer, praise, dwelling in the Word, and learning to be still and listen for the voice of God. It is about living grounded in Christ Jesus and yielding to the Holy Spirit in all the details of your life.

God has no ego! You and I are self driven people and it is so easy to turn your attention to the things of the world.

Come to Jesus and ask Him show you what is blocking you from living in the fullness of His presence.

It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit!

“Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.” Proverbs 13:11

The underlying truth concerning prosperity for a believer relates to your motives.

The role model to follow is the action of Jesus after fasting for 40 days and being tempted by Satan to turn the rocks into bread.

Jesus responded “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus yielded his hunger for food to the will of God.

God wants you to have money! In fact, He wants to give you more than you ask or think. However, you are accountable for all your actions. You can’t take shortcuts or employ dishonest intentions and expect God to bless you.

Dedicate your work to God and ask Him to keep your motives pure.

You can do this by committing your works each day to God and asking Him to fill you with His thoughts. In this way, you are inviting God to accompany you to work.

God wants to infuse you with His strength, wisdom, and creativity so you can excel in all your endeavors.

God does not bless you under any obligation. There is no relationship to your works and the prosperity of God.

God blesses those who walk by faith, live by His values, and are obedient to His voice!

The discipline of placing your work each day on the altar of Christ will cause His favor to fall upon you. This is an act of expressing of your subservience to almighty God and asking Him to reign in your workplace.

Remember, God is always about priorities! You have to seek Him first and all the other things of life will be added to you. Your work has to be in third place behind God and your family.

Jesus lives to bless you abundantly in your work!

 

 

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10

Here are my thoughts today inspired by the Holy Spirit about the purpose of life for a Christ follower:

The purpose of life is to glorify Christ Jesus in your thoughts, words, and actions.

Live grounded in God through prayer, the Word, and yielding to His Spirit. For in Him we live and move and have our being.

Come to know the suffering, death and resurrected life of Christ Jesus.

Knowing Jesus is more important than trying to serve Him. Serving Jesus can easily distract you from His purposes.

Live in harmony with Jesus by worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth. Be still and know that I am God!

The bedrock of your relationship with Jesus is living by faith believing in His Word and not what you see with your eyes.

The gift of eternal life is “Christ in you” and is like a fountain of Living Water springing up to everlasting life.

You cannot grasp the grandeur of God but you can live with Him through His Spirit. That they may be one even as we are one!

The greatest honor you can give to God is inviting Him to fill up your flesh with the afflictions lacking in Christ for His Body the Church. This is the act of sacrificing yourself to be an intercessor for God and allowing Him to work through your Spirit to set those free living in bondage to sin.

My purposes are eternal!

 

 

“Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.” Hebrews 3:9

Doesn’t it seem a little strange that God would miraculously rescue His chosen people and then let them wander in the desert for forty years?

The reality of this situation was God choosing to test His people to see if they would have faith in Him regardless of the circumstances of their journey which seemed like they were living in an endless maze with no security or earthly provisions.

Is this the same God who performed mighty signs and wonders in Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh and his advancing army?

The Israelites went from slaves to immigrants waiting for the hand of God to deliver them.

What happened is the Israelites challenged the authority of God and fell into unbelief. They became so disenchanted with God that they turned to worship other gods. And, their worst sin which happened over and over is they did not listen to or obey the voice of God.

The Israelites even turned away from God after He transformed them into a powerful nation living in the Promised Land.

Where does this leave you and I?

At some point in time you will have to face this same God. You will have to make a choice to walk by faith trusting not in what you see but in the powerful promises of God or slip into unbelief and go astray of God.

If you choose to fall into unbelief you will incur the wrath of God and be unable to enter into His rest.

Accept God for who He is! Jesus is the Creator of the universe and has power and dominion over the heavens and the earth. Your destiny is in His hands!

“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge? Job 38:2

Are you obscuring the plans of God for your life with a humanistic view that lacks the knowledge of God?

Job’s friends tried to rationalize the actions of God with counsel that was empty of God.

Who are you to judge God’s ways? It is impossible to justify the actions of God! He alone is worthy! His ways are perfect.

Brace yourself before God like Job and allow God to question you and then answer Him.

Where were you when God laid the earth’s foundation and created the dimensions and stretched a measuring line to define its boundaries? Do you understand the footings that hold the earth together? Or, who laid the cornerstone of the earth?

God completed this wonderful work while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.

The answer to God is to bow down before Him and acknowledge His greatness and glory. Confess to God you have no right to question His authority in your life.

The response to the splendor of creation is to repent from your sins and live in humility with the God who has no limitations and died for you.

You and I are so insignificant in the grandeur of God. He created you in His workmanship and His hand is over your life.

Come before God with praise and respect for the Creator of our universe.

Ask God to remove your human perceptions and allow you to see your life through His eyes.

 

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Jesus died for all humanity without exception to your ethnicity, character or background.

If you are a believer you died with Jesus on the Cross. Although you are alive today, you have died to living for self. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus dedicated to live for Him.

The life of Jesus lives in you however you have to choose to live in your new life and reject your old (natural) condition.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit creates the new life of Jesus within you. Your thinking patterns, values, and perspective on life change to reflect the life of Jesus.

You see life through the eyes of Jesus and have a desire to please Him.

The disciple for Jesus lives by faith in His promises. This is the bedrock of your relationship with Him and supersedes everything else. Without faith you cannot please Him.

Jesus wants your unyielding faith and never to judge Him by the circumstances in your life. There will be good times and difficult challenges but God never changes.

Nothing is impossible for the God who created the sun, the moon, and the stars and reigns over the universe. He is without limitations!

Come to the One who died for you and ask Him this question “How can I live for you today Jesus?

“Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:16-18

The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me for several days about defiance against Christ Jesus. Defiance manifests itself in many different ways.

Defiance is not respecting the nature of God or accepting His characteristics of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

Defiance is failing to recognize the authority of God and choosing to live for self. It is satisfying the desires of the flesh with no concern about accountability to God

Defiance is not understanding how insignificant you are compared to the grandeur of God.

Defiance is not believing or accepting you are a sinner and unacceptable to God.

Defiance is replacing God with religion. It is choosing to function under laws and works to please God. It is rejecting the Living Christ who wants to enfold you with His life through faith in His Word.

Defiance is rejecting the goodness of God for the temporal things of the world.

Defiance is refusing to walk in the pathway of God because it causes you to lose your independence.

Defiance is refusing to listen to the voice of God or to be obedient to His calling in your life.

Do you realize your destiny is in the hands of Jesus? Life on this earth is like a vapor trail. It comes and goes quickly. The life of a believer is eternal and Jesus, the Creator of the heavens and earth, desires to live in you through His Spirit.

The mystery of life is Christ in you. The Cross gives you the ability to live personally with Christ Jesus forever and enter into His majestic kingdom.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other hope for life!