“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:9-10
God created a rest for His people but few can find it. Like a lamb He desires for you to lie down in the green pastures and rest.
Resting in God is drawing upon the resurrected power of Jesus to do the work. It is not by your might or power but by the Spirit of God.
God created the heavens and earth and every living being in six days and rested on the seventh day. This is the secret of walking with God. You rest in God and allow Him to do the work just like riding in an elevator to your floor destination.
Resting is believing in the promises of Jesus and walking by faith under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
You will never find the rest of God until you understand the life of Christ lives in you and He wants to do the work through you.
The Christ follower knows self sufficiency will lead to failure. He prays for a filling of the Holy Spirit to face the day in front of Him.
The power of Jesus is made perfect in your weakness. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The walls of Jericho did not fall down because of human effort.
Walking in the footsteps of Jesus comes through faith, prayer, and yielding to the Holy Spirit.
Inquire of God for wisdom and listen for His voice. Then you can face today with confidence.
God wants to give you an awesome day if you will let Him!
“So that you may know the Son of Man has the right and the power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who could not move his body, “I say to you, get up. Take your bed and go to your home.” At once the sick man got up in front of them.” Luke 5:24-25
The word from God today is healing begins with repentance.
The world brings all kinds of troubles like broken marriages, addictions, illness, emotional scars, and financial adversity.
Whatever your burden, there is a mighty God standing near you and He wants to help you in the time of trouble. There is no problem to big for God.
He is a God of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth.
He is the first and the last God. There is no other God.
Come to God today and lay your burdens before Him. Ask Him to forgive your sins and restore you to Himself.
The prayers of a righteous man avails much. God desires to restore your broken life and heal your hurts. Ask and you shall receive but ask by faith!
Ask God to fill you with His resurrected life and heal you like Jesus healed the lady with the infirmity for over 18 years.
Or, the man who was not able to get close to Jesus. Friends let the man down in a bed through a hole in the roof into the crowded house where Jesus stood.
Jesus saw the faith of these men and responded “Friends, your sins are forgiven.” Then this man was miraculously healed by the power of Jesus.
The word of God for today!
“The power of the Lord is here to heal you. Come to Me by faith confessing your sins and I will heal you.”
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” Hebrews 6:13
The word from God today is about having confidence in the promises of God. Or to put it more bluntly, can you trust the promises of God?
God is above all things and answers to no one. He cannot not make a promise by any greater power because there is none.
We have to accept the promises of God by faith. God calls things that do not exist as if they did. And, He does this on His timeline not yours.
Faith is trusting in the promises of God and waiting patiently on Him.
Faith is acting on the voice of God (like Abraham) even when His instructions may not make sense or defy human logic.
Faith is giving no credence to what you see with your eyes. Many times God will make a promise and then take your life in an opposite direction and the promises seem miles away or have disappeared.
God has a mind of His own and does not think or act like you. He is controversial and unpredictable. Your journey may not look like you are heading towards His promises but you will eventually get there.
The subject of walking by faith can best be explained by the outcome of the Israelites. God made a promise to the Israelites but the promise was not accepted by faith. They complained, turned to false gods and made God very angry.
God kept His promise and delivered the Israelites but none of the adults who were freed from the bondage in Egypt set foot in the Promised Land.
We all want immediate gratification and most of us are not willing to live through the adversity and sacrifices required of God to enter into the land of His goodness.
You cannot win in a contest with God. We have to submit to Christ Jesus who has power and dominion over all things. Live by faith and seek out His will through prayer and listen for His voice.
Look at the stars tonight. They were created by God and are held in place by His word.
“And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” Psalm 67:7
The word of God today is about the subject of improbability which is defined as something unlikely to be true. If you fit into this category about God you are in the perfect place. Today, God will shake up your reality and demonstrate His presence and authenticity.
The Bible verse in Psalms seems like an improbability but this master plan will become a reality in the perfect timing of God and will effect every human being on this planet.
God creates miracles out of darkness. And, we live in a dark and bleak world. And, we are people living with an impoverished soul.
The beginning of salvation is fearing God. Until you meet the Living Christ you are living in a fog of apathy, religion and worldliness.
The unbeliever must come into personal contact with God. And, this happens every day around the globe.
This encounter will remove any doubt about the validity of Jesus.
Jesus will move from a storybook character in the Bible to become alive in your heart, mind and soul. You will hear the voice of God and live in His presence.
Meet Jesus with transparency in His place of worship.
Find a quiet place and enter as if you are walking into the temple of God. Clear your mind of all the clutter.
Reach out to Jesus with an open heart. You can be skeptical and filled with unbelief. You can be mad at God and blame Him for all the bad things that have happened in your life. This is all okay with God.
Jesus just spoke to me. He said “Give Me a chance and I will prove I am worthy of your trust. I don’t care about your baggage from the past or how you feel about Me. Today you can have a new beginning with Me.”
Come to Jesus and ask Him to prove conclusively who He is. Speak in your own words and tell God how you feel about Him. Hold nothing back. Then be quiet and look with your eyes and listen with your mind. You will meet the Living Christ!
These five words changed my life. I spoke them out of desperation and with a genuine desire to seek God for the first time in my life.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!” Isaiah 14:12
This revelation from God came to me in the middle of last night and relates to a groundswell (like an avalanche) of God that will touch millions of people and change lives through the work of Jesus. Most of the words came directly from the mouth of God with very little editing.
The word from God today is to prepare to see a powerful movement of God spanning the globe.
For sometime now, God has given Satan the right to wreck havoc on believers who have a heart of gold for God and stand in the gap for Christ.
He has allowed His Holy warriors to be beaten down and suffer greatly.
God is now in the midst of creating a new season for His elect people. He is at work to restore the remnant in the Body of Christ.
There will be a powerful wave of prosperity, restoration and healing for the “called out” people of God.
They will be equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit like never before. They will do the works of Jesus.
There will be signs and wonders and a powerful revival sweeping the globe.
This groundswell of God has been created through the work of intercessors around the world who have given up their lives to bring down the strongholds of Satan.
Jesus will change from a meek and gentle lamb into a roaring lion. He will strike down those who stand in His way. Jesus will paralyze the unruly with an unconscious stupor and many will face death.
You can play an important role in this powerful movement of God by turning away from darkness and walking in the light of Jesus.
Your salvation is closer than ever before and this is the time to get right with God. We are living in the end times and facing a horrendous future.
Come to Jesus by faith with a heart to seek His will above all else.
You will meet the Living Christ and there will be no turning back!
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14
The word from God for today is to have an effusive attitude about Jesus.
Come to Jesus with an unrestrained and enthusiastic attitude seeking His purposes.
The calling of God is not exclusive; it is for every believer in the kingdom of God.
The calling is to live in oneness with God and be open to His voice.
This embracing relationship will result in becoming chosen by God for His purposes.
Don’t be left out from the banquet with Jesus!
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.”
The gentleman at the wedding party was not clothed in the robes of Jesus. He was a foreigner pretending to be a privileged guest.
If you are preoccupied with self interests the calling of God will be faint and indistinguishable.
Make Jesus the centerpiece of your life and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Jesus will prepare and equip you to be a powerful witness for Him.
The chosen will dwell in the majesty and glory of the Living Jesus! They will see Jesus for who He is and earnestly seek His will.
The word from God today is euphemism which is defined as a word or phrase that softens an uncomfortable topic.
In the spiritual realm this refers to substituting the words of Jesus with a milder or more liberal interpretation.
This practice is pervasive in Christianity and corrupts the principles of God.
For example, Jesus said “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.”
Christianity is not a catchall for anyone seeking God.
There are explicit instructions from Jesus about the gift of salvation.
This is a decision to live for Jesus above all else and is not to be taken lightly.
The precious gift of salvation requires a believer to be willing to die to self and live for Jesus.
You no longer have ownership over your life. Your life belongs to Jesus and He can do with you as He pleases.
The life of the person who enters the narrow gate changes dramatically. There is no status quo or comfort zone. You are in the hands of God and on a radical and unpredictable journey.
Walking with God is giving up your rights and independence and living under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
As a believer, you inherit all the promises of God but you must be zealous in seeking the will of God for your life.
The believer becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus and comes into an intimate and embracing relationship with Jesus.
He hears the voice of God and responds with obedience to the instructions of God.
He walks by faith and not by what he sees with his eyes.
He lives under the cover of the blood of Jesus with an open heart to conviction and correction.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes.
Take Jesus at His word and your life will never be the same!
I can do for you what you can never do for yourself!
“Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:16-17
The word from God today is about living in a symbiotic relationship with Christ. This is defined as a close and mutually beneficial relationship between two parties.
In this relationship, you and I are a servant and not the master.
We live in submission to Christ and this how we experience His life and become a powerful witness for Christ.
Your decision for Christ opens the door to a personal and embracing relationship with the Living Christ.
You live for Christ and He promises you the gift of salvation and shares His attributes with you. As a believer, you are entitled to the unlimited strength, wisdom and joy of God.
The secret is to invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life. This will allow the Living Christ to dwell in all your thoughts, decisions, and relationships with others.
As a new creature in Christ Jesus you are born again. All things become new.
The sanctifying work of Christ is not for you. It is to draw people to Him. You should not strive to be righteous; you should strive to follow in the footsteps of Christ.
Jesus was perfectly obedient to His Father. As a disciple of Jesus, your purpose is to be obedient to Christ.
Jesus dined with His disciples near the end of His ministry on this earth. After the meal, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. This act was designed to show the disciples they were clean in the eyes of God.
Then Jesus charged His disciples to do the same thing in their lives. Reach out to those living in darkness with the love of Christ and demonstrate how they can be become clean before God.
The cleansing of the feet was a symbolic gesture on the part of Jesus. The disciples were not free from sin or anointed with the Spirit of God but they all belonged to Jesus except for Judas.
The disciples would stumble and face many hardships in their lives but they were assured of the gift of salvation.
The challenge is how can you and I wash the feet of those around us? This can only happen if you are living in oneness with God through the Holy Spirit.
God knows who is willing to accept the gospel, how to reach out to the unsaved and the perfect timing for this to take place.
This is why you need to be living in oneness with God.
Another important aspect of ministry is intercession. This is the most powerful method of bringing down strongholds and setting people free to accept the gift of salvation.
This is accomplished between you and God through the laboring work of the Holy Spirit within you.
Jesus said “He who believes in Me out of his heart will flow rivers of Living Water.” The Living Water is the life of Christ dwelling within you and is manifested in your words, actions, and demeanor.
The Living Water is given freely to all those believers who have an open heart to God and seek Him out through diligent prayer, living in the Word, and yielding to the Holy Spirit.
The goal of a believer is to be filled with the Living Water and free from any sin that grieves the Holy Spirit. This will enable you to walk confidently with God and be a powerful witness for Christ.
Your ministry with Christ will only be as effective as your oneness is with Him. Jesus wants a symbiotic relationship built on love, faith, obedience and friendship.
He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world!
I heard a pastor recently speak about how hard it is for him to stay in alignment with God and the extreme measures he takes to overcome living through His emotions.
This got me thinking about this subject. I read a couple books in the New Testament looking for spiritual solutions and this revelation came to me.
To preface this narrative I love the word of God and live in the scriptures. I am in no way demeaning the authors of the Bible.
The Bible spends a great deal of time explaining the appearance and conduct of a Christ follower but tends to neglect how you and I can reach the goal of becoming a man or woman of God.
The Bible contains a long list of don’ts but the problem is we are a people who enjoy the don’ts and have no ability to resist the desires of our flesh. We end up doing exactly what we don’t want to do.
The reality of salvation is you will never match up to the standards of God regardless of how hard you try. So why even try!
God has to do the surgical work to enable you live a life pleasing to Him.
Jesus speaks to the core of this problem by explaining you have to be born again of the Spirit and Water.
This is a transformation from your natural life to the life of Christ.
Salvation is a work in progress and you will never come close to perfection here on earth.
The first step is to make a decision for Jesus. This is relatively easy.
Jesus teaches His righteousness will come to those who walk by faith believing in the promises of God. The caveat is you must also listen to the voice of God and obey His instructions.
This is more difficult because now you must take the time to pray, study the Bible and listen for the voice of God. And, the instructions of God may not make any sense to you or follow any logical pattern. So now you are like the blind leading the blind.
The obedience required of a Christ follower defies human logic. Most believers resist this kind of loyalty. It is too costly and too great a sacrifice.
However, if you want to be “Christ like” you have to walk by faith and not by what you see with your eyes. Obedience is complying with God without resistance or compromise.
If you do these things God will build a new nature inside you and then it is your responsibility to live under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
The natural life will still be inside you but the Christ follower operates under the power of the Holy Spirit who is sealed within him.
Then it becomes much easier to comply with the don’ts because God is in charge!
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
The word from God today is desultory referring to someone lacking enthusiasm and displaying a casual or halfhearted attitude.
This message relates to believers not taking Jesus seriously.
This is an admonition about the importance of developing a “one on one” relationship with Jesus built on trust and obedience.
The commitment you put into Jesus will result in the commitment He puts into you.
Jesus desires to live in every moment of your life and wants you to inquire of Him in all your decision making.
Jesus wants to give you the mind of Christ and fill you with His thoughts.
Jesus is not interested in creating a “feel good” attitude in you about Him. Faith is not built on emotions; it is built on unwavering faith in God regardless of the conditions of your life.
Reach out to Jesus in prayer and develop a conversation extending into all the moments of life. Jesus is a full time God requiring no time outs.
Jesus has no interest in your efforts to appease Him through works. He wants you to live in oneness with Him yielding to the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Your works will come out of faith and an endearing friendship filled with love and admiration for Jesus.
Take Jesus seriously. We are living in the end times and will face all kinds of adversity and turmoil in the days ahead. Without God you will not survive.
Your outcome with Jesus will depend on your enthusiasm in getting to know Him personally and vigorously seeking His will for your life.
Don’t short change yourself! Jesus is real and wants all of your attention.
Jesus is a God of greatness and glory and rules over all. There is no one like Him!
Hal Hollister Ministry 