Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

We all know that many things have happened in our lives that are not good. We are ego driven people who want to please our own desires. We make many mistakes because of compulsive behaviors or impure motives.

God uses our mistakes to change our values and beliefs into conforming to the character of Jesus. Where sin abounded in our life grace (love) abounded much more. The unconditional love of God covers sin.

The caveats to the promise of goodness is loving Jesus and seeking His good, acceptable and perfect will. This is the purpose of Jesus for all believers, to live in oneness with Him.

We love Jesus by making a decision to live for Him above all else. 

We seek a personal and deep relationship with Jesus through prayer, reading the Word, and listening for His voice. The priorities in our lives is walking by faith and learning obedience to Jesus.

We understand Jesus desires that we get to know Him personally and be conformed to His character and not seek works or religion.

We are all human beings with an inner nature to live for self and defy or place boundaries on our life with Jesus. This can only be overcome by repentance and the blood of Jesus. Develop a discipline of asking God each day to reveal anything you are thinking or doing that grieves the Holy Spirit. 

The only way a believer can experience the reality of the Living Christ is by submitting to the authority of the Holy Spirit. He is sealed in all believers and is the life of Jesus.

Commit your works each day to the Holy Spirit and He will be a strong presence in your life. 

Jesus is the way the truth and the life!

“There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

The principle of rest is a very important discipline for a Christ follower. God created the heaven and earth and every living being in six days and He rested on the seventh day.

Rest comes by making a decision to live for Jesus. We accept the words of Jesus “Not my will but Yours be done”. Jesus died to give you His salvation rest. 

Resting in Jesus is living by faith and obedience to the Most High.

The Israelites did not enter into the rest of Jesus after they were delivered from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. They complained, turned away from God and some worshiped a false God. They were disobedient to God.

This made God angry and He punished all of the adults. They were not allowed to enter the Promised Land and died in the wilderness.

The Bible teaches it is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit. 

We wait on the Holy Spirit to guide our pathway and provide the strength to meet the challenges of life.

We live in the End Times and the attacks of Satan bring destruction and death. The rest of Jesus brings peace and protection.

The Christ follower walks in oneness with Jesus yielding to the Holy Spirit. He will provide the omniscient wisdom of Jesus and guide your footsteps.

He will teach a believer to resist making impatient decisions or striving through the flesh to fulfill his needs.

We rest in Jesus by praying vigilantly, reading the Word and listening for His voice. We believe in the promises of Jesus and not what we see with our eyes.

Jesus desires to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway. The Holy Spirit provides order and simplicity in life if you submit to His authority. 

Resting in Jesus will guide you into His good, acceptable and perfect will.

Jesus delivers His people from troubles by resting in Him with unshakable faith. 

The perfect example of resting in Jesus!

Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, was besieged by three enemy nations. They planned to destroy Judah.

Jehoshaphat fasted and prayed to God. The Spirit of God spoke to the King and said do not be afraid for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

Jehoshaphat followed God’s instructions and received a miracle victory without a battle.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

The Holy Spirit told me last night a believer cannot play on both sides of the field. Jesus is the priority.

There is a caveat in receiving the goodness of Jesus. You cannot straddle between Jesus and fulfilling your worldly needs. 

Jesus gave all believers very clear and explicit instructions about the priorities of a Christ follower. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then He will add all the other things required of life.

There is a distorted teaching in Christianity that a believer must follow rules and do works to receive the goodness of Jesus. This is a heresy.

The purpose of a believer is to develop a personal and deep relationship with Jesus built on faith and obedience to His instructions.

The priority is to commit to zealous prayer, reading the Bible and listening for the voice of Jesus. This discipline will teach you the perfect will of Jesus. 

To stay on track with the priorities of Jesus the believer must invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over His life. This will bring the reality of the Living Christ into all the moments of life.

We stray away from Jesus when our motives turn to  meeting our needs through worldly thinking and actions. To avoid this behavior take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Jesus performed many signs and wonders in His ministry but he told His followers that they do not want the principles of Jesus; they want His protection and security.

There is a priority in walking with Jesus to achieve the fullness of His life. Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Come to Jesus for who He is and not what you can get from Him!

“But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”

Matthew 13:20-21

This is the story of the sower and the seed.

Jesus is the sower and the seed is planted in people of different circumstances. The seed is the gift of salvation.

We are discussing today the seed that is sown in stony places. Jesus is referring to people who have a shallow understanding of Jesus and lack a strong root in the divine presence.

They receive the gift of salvation with joy but it fades away. They stumble when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word of God.

We live in the End Times and the coming tribulation and persecution will cause many people to turn away from God. The Christ follower will face a world filled with darkness and the evil leaders will attempt to convert all believers to worship a false god or face death.

We need to prepare for the tribulation by developing a strong root in Jesus. This happens through vigilant prayer, reading the Bible to build our lives on the precepts of Jesus and listening for the voice of Jesus.

Jesus desires for a believer to live for Him above all else. We must let go and turn our lives over to Jesus. This is the act of giving up our independence and personal desires to seek the good, acceptable and perfect will of Jesus.

Most importantly, the believer must have a strong and personal relationship with the Living Christ. Most believers have a superficial presence with Jesus.

This will only happen to those who meet the Living Christ and experience His greatness and glory. This takes place when you make a decision “Not my will but Yours be done” and walk with Jesus under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will reveal the compulsive behaviors and attitudes blocking the power of God in your life. He sees everything in your impoverished personality and desires to refine you into the character of Jesus.

Jesus will reveal and convict a believer of his natural desire to live for self and defy the ways of God. The believer must confess His sins and seek repentance through the blood of Jesus. He should have an open and willing heart to change. 

Stumbling with Jesus happens because we act impulsively without inquiring of the Holy Spirit. Commit your works each day to Jesus and walk in oneness with Him anchored to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is your only hope in this world!

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me.” Isaiah 54:17

How can this powerful promise of Jesus come into the reality of a believer? We live in the End Times and face a world of evil and darkness.

The believer must take Jesus seriously and devote every moment of His life to the Most High. 

He does this through prayer seeking the will of God, studying the Bible, and listening for the voice of God.

The believer must be in oneness with Jesus and living by unshakable faith. He must be zealously seeking the will of Jesus for his life.

The Living Christ comes to those who submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit. He is sealed in all believers and desires to give a believer omniscient wisdom and protection.

Commit your works each day to Jesus and walk in obedience to His instructions.

It is impossible to get the protection of Jesus unless you are clean with Him through the blood of Jesus. We are human beings with an inner nature to live for self and defy the ways of God.

Jesus reminded me today incongruity is the downfall of believers. This is defined as being out of place with God and happens to all believers. The check against this behavior is the Holy Spirit.

Pray for Jesus to reveal anything you are thinking or doing that grieves the Holy Spirit. Confess your sins and seek repentance.

This is a discipline that should be a daily endeavor. Jesus just wants a believer to have a willing heart open to change.

The role of a Christ follower is to live in a personal and endearing relationship with Jesus. 

Jesus is not looking for works or religion. He wants a believer to have a deep and intimate friendship with Him. 

The protection of Jesus is a gift to those who make Jesus the centerpiece of their life!

“My cup runneth over” Psalm 23:5

The Holy Spirit spoke to me last night about a chalice related to this verse in Psalm 23.

“My cup runneth over” is about the abundance Jesus gives to His people.

The chalice is a large goblet typically used for drinking wine. There are Christian traditions that the chalice was the vessel Jesus used at the Last Supper to share his blood. 

Jesus is generous and desires to give a believer more than he asks or thinks.

The walk with Jesus has different seasons. Your cup may be overflowing or almost empty. The love, peace and joy of Jesus is  always abundant in your cup.

The Bible teaches that hope deferred makes the heart sick but the longing is fulfilled from the tree of life. We have to live in divine hope and unshakable faith until the tree of life fills our cup.

God controls your cup. He tests believers by engineering troubles and adversity. This is to strengthen your faith and teach a believer to wait upon God.

Many believers utilize worldly actions to fill their cup but the results will be short term and create anxiety and unrest. In addition, the believer will have to face the judgements of God.

As Christ followers we walk by faith trusting in the promises of Jesus and not what we see with our eyes. 

Jesus promises to deliver a believer in His perfect timing. 

“But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah 1:3

The Holy Spirit told me today that a recalcitrant spirit blocks the fullness of Jesus and will lead to the punishment of God.

The recalcitrant spirit is defined as having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline.

Jonah was given specific instructions from God to go to Nineveh and Jonah fled from His presence. 

The King of Nineveh and the people were rebellious against God and led an amoral life.

Jonah did not want anything to do with the darkness of Ninevah. He wanted God to destroy Nineveh.

God made Jonah’s life miserable until he repented and agreed to go to Nineveh.

As Christians we tend to establish boundaries with God. We want the blessings of God but not the death of the Cross.

We refuse to do things that will disrupt our lives or cause any pain or suffering. 

It is impossible to live in the reality of the Living Christ unless we are obedient to His commands.

The authority of Jesus brings protection and peace to a believer.

We have to let go and submit to the good, acceptable and perfect will of Jesus!

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:18

There are many unbelievers who do not acknowledge Jesus and are on a pathway to destruction. Satan, the most evil force in the world, even knows the power of Jesus.

This attitude of unbelief was created through the counsel of family or friends. Or, the unbeliever may have experienced tragedies or deep hurt that led to feelings that there is no God or He does not care about His people.

These anti Christ people do not want anything to prevent them from enjoying the desires of the flesh.

The Holy Spirit told me today the unbeliever is an incongruity and does not fit into God’s realm.

They cannot be reasoned through scripture or enticed to join a church. They are blinded to the truths of God.

Jesus desires to guide a believer in how to spiritually deal with the unruly mortals in the world. He does not want you to waste your time or energy on the wasteland.

The challenge is to let God guide you to the people that are important to Him. He will bring the names of people to your mind during prayer time or dreams.

The spiritual task is for the Christ follower to stand in the gap for a lost soul through intercession and prayer for their salvation. 

Jesus knows a mere mortal better than he knows himself and is the source of the perfect spiritual strategies to draw him to the Lord.

Intercession is allowing Jesus to work through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of a believer to bring down strongholds and set people free. This is laborious and intense work for the kingdom of God.

We are living in the End Times and facing a very tumultuous future. Now is the time to wake up and come to Jesus. He is the only hope for your future.

The gift of salvation allows a believer to have a personal and embracing relationship with Jesus. Jesus speaks to His people and fills them with strength, wisdom and protection.

Jesus is a compelling presence in the life of a believer!

Jesus has personally been doing powerful missionary work in Iran and the Gaza Strip. He is speaking directly to unbelievers through dreams and visions and getting many decisions for salvation.

Make a decision for Jesus and He will be a conscious and living reality in the life of a Christ follower.

“The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” Psalm 12:6-7

The Holy Spirit reminded me today that Jesus is real and the world is trouble! Jesus is the only proven and unfailing source of strength, wisdom and protection.

The one thing we can trust in our life is the words of Jesus. They never change and are purified with the fires of God.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The promises of Jesus will become reality for a faithful believer. Jesus keeps His words. 

The Bible instructs believers to trust the promises of Jesus and not what they see with their eyes. They are your hope and strength to meet the challenges of life.

We can be rooted in the unflappable and invincible nature of Jesus by letting go and walking in unshakable faith with Him.

Make a decision for Jesus and you will personally meet the Living Christ who has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. He awesome and forthright.

Jesus can give you a life you can never achieve on your own!

“And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Romans 11:6

This is about the rejection of the Israelites and the confidence that God will bring the fallen back into His kingdom. 

God uses the example of the cries of Elijah and God’s response to explain there is a remnant of believers elected and preserved by the unconditional love of God.

The biblical truth is a human being cannot find or deserve the gift of Jesus. It comes by the love of God.

There is a goodness and severity in Jesus. The severity comes to those who fall away or reject Jesus and the goodness to those who stay centered on Jesus.

The earthly man is either elected by Jesus or blinded by Him. The unbeliever has a spirit of stupor and eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.

The apostle Paul uses the analogy of a tree to illustrate Jesus drawing people to the tree.

The tree of life is the Body of Christ. God chooses to draft His people into the tree by faith whether they are of election or those who have walked away from Jesus and seek to return.

Jesus is the first fruit of God. He is perfect and a holy God. The root and branches of the tree are also holy. If Jesus breaks some of the branches off the tree because of immoral living He can also regraft them into the tree and the repentant believer can receive the goodness of God. 

Do not boast about belonging to the tree and remember that you do not support the root but the root supports you. 

The branches were broken off the tree because of unbelief and can only be redrafted by faith in Jesus.

The warning is to not be prideful but fear God. He cut off the wild branches and can also strike down a believer.

God operates with severity to those who have fallen away and with goodness to those who are anchored in Jesus. God is merciful and will redraft those into the tree who reach out to Jesus with a repentant heart. (like the prodigal son)

The apostle Paul explains the blindness of Israel has happened to allow the Gentiles (unbelievers) to receive the gift of salvation. After this Israel will be restored to God.

The tree of life or Body of Christ is cherished by God. The elected have been given gifts and a calling from God that is irrevocable.

We cannot understand the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of our God. His judgments are unsearchable. 

The natural man cannot think or act like God. He does not have the mind of Christ or the ability to question or counsel Him.

Salvation begins with the unconditional  love of God for a lost soul!