Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“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 want Jesus but we really don’t want all of Him. You make a decision for salvation and the abundant life but it stops there with many believers.

Jesus died on the Cross for all of you. He doesn’t want to be a part time God. Salvation is not just about forgiveness of sins and eternal life. It is about a willingness to die to your old self and live for Jesus. You give up the right to yourself and your independence for the life of Jesus.

Jesus desires for you to present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. This is the act of inviting Jesus into every aspect of your life. The spiritual person has no secrets or private compartments that he keeps for himself. His life is an open book to Jesus and he comes before the Holy Spirit every day seeking His will.

The question is do you really want to know the reality of Jesus? You can only experience this when you understand your life no longer belongs to you. It belongs to Jesus for His purposes.

Your abandonment to Jesus will fill you with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and you will live with the God who created the heavens and earth. You will experience signs and wonders and see the majesty and splendor of God.

Most people can’t make this decision because they treasure their worldly possessions and the cost of coming to Jesus is too fearful and upsetting to your lifestyle.

The truth of abandonment to Jesus is that He will give you an abundant life you can never achieve on your own. Jesus desires to enter all of your life and fill you with His excellence and give you more than you ask or think.

The private compartments deprive you of the life of Jesus and they lead to spiritual death.

It is very costly to follow Jesus! You die to self and become a new creature in Christ Jesus dedicated to live for Him!

“I live so you can live. My purposes are eternal. Come to Me with your all and I will share the transfigured life with you. Nothing is impossible for Me!

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8

The Spirit filled believer is like someone blowing in the wind. You can hear the wind but you cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it goes.

The wind of God is illusive and moves in different directions. You can hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit but He seldom reveals very much about the future. He wants you to walk by faith without the ability to see ahead.

The life of a believer moves by the wind with no visible destination ahead but God is leading you into His perfect plan.

You have been born of the Spirit and your life moves in ways you cannot understand. Walk by the Spirit understanding you cannot approach God through your intellect or look at your life in the ways of the world.

The wind blows in unpredictable ways causing you to live by steadfast faith when you can see no hope. The wind places you in difficult situations where you must reach out for help from the Creator of the heavens and earth.

Remember, you live in the world but you are not of the world. You are a spiritual being blowing in the wind and called by God to bring light to those living in darkness!

“When you walk with Me it is like sailing in a boat with the wind providing the power and direction. It is about the journey not the destination. I can see what is blocked from your eyes and will lead you in My perfect path.”

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” Luke 12:29-31

The fundamental principle of living with Jesus is to seek Him first and then all the other things of life will be added to you.

Jesus does not want you to worry about what you lack but to understand He knows your needs better than you and has promised to supply your every need. And, Jesus keeps His Word.

The question becomes how do you seek Jesus first in your life? The answer deals with your heart condition and your values in life.

Jesus wants you to abandon yourself to Him. This is a decision to make Him the priority in your life above all things and to seek the will of God.

Abandoning yourself to God is not about neglecting or abdicating your life pursuits. It is seeking Jesus out to infuse His presence and excellence into your work, family and friends, diet and exercise programs, and your special interests. Jesus wants to bring quality into every aspect of your life. He wants to give you an abundant life which is impossible to achieve on your own.

There is a deep comfort in the spiritual man or woman who has laid down their life for God. They have faith and confidence in God to provide for their every need and can focus their attention on seeking God and understanding His priorities.

You seek God through prayer, dwelling in His Word, and living in oneness with Him through the Holy Spirit. Your mission is to know Jesus and to live intimately with Him.

The calling to follow Jesus is a walk of faith. You turn to Him for your every need and live by faith trusting He calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

You please Jesus with the openness of your heart and your values in life. The Son of God established the role model for all to follow; “Not my will but yours be done!”

But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Luke 16:31

If you are not a believer this should get your attention. Don’t think so much about the punishment but open up your heart to the upside of Jesus. He loves you!

This is a story of a rich man and Lazarus, a beggar. They both died and the beggar went to heaven and the rich man went to hell.

The rich man was tormented by the flames of hell and pleaded with Abraham living in heaven to send Lazarus to him that he might dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. Abraham told him you had a rich life and now you have to accept your eternal destiny.

Then the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to his five brothers so they could avoid the horror of living in hell.

Abraham responded that if your brothers won’t hear Moses or the prophets they will also not be persuaded by someone rising from the dead.

The truth in this story is many non believers will not accept salvation even if they are confronted by the person of Jesus or someone returning from death to preach the gospel.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You attain salvation by hearing the Word and accepting it by faith. There is no other way.

The truth of God will set you free and give you the ability to live with Jesus forever. Salvation starts the moment you decide for Jesus. He fills you with Living Water and shares His life with you.

The act of coming to Jesus is not about waiting for heaven. Jesus desires to be alive and at work in you today. He offers you love, joy, and peace. Jesus wants to be the strength of your life and give you eternal hope.

Do you really want to risk salvation over your stubbornness to accept Jesus?

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”
Says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

Did you wake up today and say to yourself; “This just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

God doesn’t like the predictable because it does not require faith. When you are questioning God about your direction in life, remember He wants to bring glory to Himself. He does not want to share His glory with you or others.

God likes you to function without the ability to see the future. This causes you to walk by faith trusting in His promises.

The best course of action is to cease from trying to figure God out. God’s thoughts are not your thoughts and His ways are not of the world. Let go and walk by faith. This will delight His heart.

When you are living in a maze and can’t find any way out, wake up each day and pray “The Lord is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway.” This is the act of committing your works to God. You can now let go of the future with the assurance your life is in the hands of God.

As a believer, you have the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit will speak to you in His perfect timing to provide wisdom and direction for your life. If you don’t hear from God you can have confidence you are in His perfect will and accept your life as it is today.

God creates seasons in your journey with Him. There is a time of abundance and a time of lack. Regardless of the season, you have to find hope in today. If you defer your hope to the future you will experience depression, anxiety, and anger. These feelings will distance you from God and can lead you into sinful actions.

Walk by faith trusting in this precious promise from Jesus; “I would have lost heart unless I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh” Genesis 6:3

God is loving and merciful but He reaches a point where He sees your rebellion and defiance against His ways and decides “I will no longer strive with your sinful actions”.

From God’s point of view you are flawed in your flesh and have no ability to please Him. So if you chose to live through your flesh God will eventually remove His Spirit from you.

He will allow you to follow the course of the world and suffer destruction, misery, and setbacks. He will let you hit “rock bottom” with no hope for life.

At this point, many will cry out to God for help with a sincere and willing heart. God will hear your cries and rescue you. Remember, Jesus comes by invitation only!

God wants you to repent from your sins and seek forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. This is the only way you can be restored to God. Regardless of whether you are a believer or not, this is the starting point with God and has to be ingrained in your heart and mind every moment of your life.

God will never get entangled in your sin or allow you to come close to Him if you are unclean. He is a holy and pure God. Jesus is your mediator who will enable you to come before the majesty and splendor of God.

Jesus desires to be the Lord of all your life. If you hold back parts of your life from Him you will never experience the fullness of God who has power and dominion over all things.

Jesus wants you to abandon yourself to Him and walk by faith believing in His promises. However, Jesus comes by invitation only. He will never force Himself upon you.

You have to give up your independence and invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life. Then you will see the greatness and glory of God!

Jesus comes by invitation only!

“That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” Philippians 2:14-15

God has been bringing to my mind the image of a believer straddling a fence separating good from evil. He moves back and forth across the fence.

The world is populated by a crooked and perverse generation. If you are a believer you can’t dwell on both sides of the fence.

The spiritual man or woman is committed to living for God through their thoughts, words, and actions. They do not associate with or participate in the evil actions of unbelievers who have no regard or respect for God.

You can’t play charades with God! This is projecting an image to others of someone whom you are not. And, you cannot masquerade or hide your true self from God. He knows you better than you know yourself and He views every detail of your life through His omniscient eyes.

The life of a believer takes on a new identity through Christ Jesus. Old things pass away and all things become new. You literally become “born again” through the work of the Water and Spirit.

You cannot cling to your old habits and thinking patterns and call yourself a believer. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus and have been baptized into the death and resurrected life of the Son of God.

The goal of a believer is to experience a personal and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. You become one with the reality of the Living Christ and He becomes your reason to live and move and have your being.

The role of a saint is to be a bright light touching those living in darkness with the love and compassion of Christ Jesus.

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

You and I experience many worries or burdens in life. And, at times they can be overwhelming and upset your inner being.

The burdens can be caused by a number of factors but the challenge is to get past what caused the burden and deal with the solution. Blaming, making excuses, or living in remorse will get you nowhere.

God has provided for a powerful method of dealing with your burdens. This will work for anyone and will never fail you.

Cast your burden upon the Lord. This is a recognition of the sovereignty of Christ Jesus and that He can do for you what you can never do for yourself. In reality, you are giving ownership of the burden over to God. You are releasing your control and emotions about this concern to God. It is now in His hands and He is responsible for dealing with the outcome.

This doesn’t necessarily mean God will take the burden away but it is a promise He will give you a freedom and lightness from the burden and sustain you with His peace, joy, and protection.

God will never allow a burden to cause you to move away from Him or shake up your relationship with Him.

The burdens of life are unavoidable but God has provided a supernatural method to reach out to Him and experience the reality of “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus died to comfort you over the burdens of life and supply you with the fullness of His resurrected life. Let go of the burdens or they will ruin your life and distance you from God.

Jesus is the perfect answer for your burdens and is waiting for you to reach out to Him. He will never fail you!

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ Isaiah 41:13

You and I look for help in all the wrong places. We look to our work, friends or family, our bank account, or a life coach. Or, we find hope in the stimulants in the world.

We find hope and security in what we can see with our eyes. We build our security on the things of the world. Unfortunately, these things can disappear quickly leaving you desolate.

When troubles come we look for solutions in everything except God. He doesn’t seem to live in our reality and we need something tangible to help us.

The mindset of a believer should be to turn to God immediately when troubles arrive in your life. This is a sign of your unyielding faith in God believing He calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

How can you overlook the God who has power and dominion over all things? God can shake the earth, turn the sun dark, and raise the dead back to life.

God wants to hold your right hand and confide in you to fear not. I am the first and the last God and will deliver you from all of your adversities. There is no one like Me!

The Lord wants to be your Keeper. He wants you to come to Him for your every need. It delights the heart of God when you seek Him out for your help.

The world is not your playground. It will only lead to death and destruction. Find your hope in the Living God! He will never disappoint you because He lives by His Word.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

This promise from God is very powerful but difficult to understand. How come you and I suffer from all kinds of hardships?

The question is what will make God be for you? First of all, you have to be a disciple of Christ Jesus with a desire and commitment to live for Him.

God is for those who have a heart for Him and walk by faith believing in His promises.

This is no guarantee you can avoid trials and tribulations. In fact, you are preordained to suffer for the sake of Christ.

The promise is God will deliver you through all the trials of life.

God sent Jesus, His Son, to die for you. It is the desire of the Father and the Son to freely give you all things.

You are an heir of God and no one can bring a charge against you. You have the mind of Christ and the ability to judge all things but you cannot be judged by anyone.

Jesus justifies you to God. The law which was abolished when Jesus died on the Cross will condemn you. It is impossible to please God by keeping laws or doing works. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Jesus sits at the right hand of God and makes intercession for you. He is at work to glorify you into His image.

The Father and the Son desire to freely give you all things:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”