Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:13

The word from God today is juxtaposition which is defined as two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

This is about comparing the spiritual realities of your life with the teachings and values of Christ. 

This is walking with God anchored to the Holy Spirit and rejecting human wisdom for the wisdom of God.

The life of Christ is sealed within you and He has given you the mind of Christ so you can think like Jesus.

The juxtaposition (or comparison) is the Holy Spirit teaching you the contrast between light and darkness.

It is impossible to understand God without His Spirit. The Spirit searches the deep truths of God and reveals the reality of God to a believer. The purpose is to train you how to walk with Jesus. 

The spiritual man judges all things but is judged by no one. This is because He functions with the mind of Christ.

The juxtaposition of Christ comes to a believer who seriously commits his life to Jesus and lives under the authority of the Holy Spirit. He seeks the will of God for his life, prays vigilantly and studies the Word of God.

Walking with Jesus is a supernatural and transforming experience. You meet the Living Jesus and become a new creature born of the Spirit of Christ.

“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3

This is where Christianity blows it. We forget the righteousness of God is for His name’s sake not yours or what you think it should look like.

You do not own the life of Christ sealed within you or have any control over the plans of God or your destiny.

There is no stereotyped Christian model. God can do with you as He desires. 

The diversity of God will create your individual pathway, equip you as He sees fit and fulfill His perfect plan. You will for the most part be unable to see what God is doing behind the scenes. 

The walk with Christ is controversial, unpredictable and will not conform to your ideas.

God has to take you down before He raises you up. The desire of God is to take you places where you probably do not want to go. You will get your hands dirty.

Salvation is reaching into the depraved morass of humanity and rescuing souls.

Salvation has nothing to do with religion. God desires to take you out of your religious cubicle and comfort zone into the darkness of life.

This is where you will find the power of the resurrected Christ.

Jesus spent most of His life dealing with unsavory characters. 

Come to God seeking His will with an open heart. You will be surprised and shaken by the reality of the Living Christ.

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3

Sooner or later you will experience what happened to King David. 

God will remove the foundations of your life and you will have no place to go. David hid in caves attempting to save his life. 

The foundations can be your security, finances, health, work adversity or loss of a job or strife in your marriage.

David had no place to turn except God. He prayed, trusted God and praised His name.

David was given a revelation from God about his life.

God is in heaven and His eyes see everything. 

God tests those who love Him. The testing is designed to perfect your faith and fill you with the character of God.

The testing of God can be frightening if and life threatening. Testing unleashes emotions of fear, anger and depression.

David also learned what happens to the wicked and those who act with violence. God will bring disaster and doom upon their lives.

David was given the secret from God about how to deal with testing. 

Trust God implicitly regardless of the dire conditions in your life. 

David knew in his heart God has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. And, God was the only way David could be delivered from his troubles.

Reach out to God by faith when your life is in shambles. Be patient and don’t panic. Jesus promises to deliver you and He always keeps His word.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The redemption of Christ is an action that creates and satisfies an individual. 

Your inner being or soul craves for God even though you may not be conscious of this strong yearning. Nothing can satisfy this need except for Jesus.

Redemption creates a new moral compass in you. And, gives you a new perspective on life. Redemption gives you the ability to stand blameless before God.

The miracle of salvation is the creation of Christ in your mind, body, and soul and the deep satisfaction which comes from God. 

Once you experience salvation nothing in this world will satisfy you. 

You have to come to Jesus of your own volition and ask Him for redemption. 

God will then begin to create what does not exist in your life. 

You will become a new creature in Christ as He changes and engineers the direction of your life.

Redemption is the unconditional love of Jesus giving you a fresh start in life.

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

This narrative was given to me by God in the middle of the night. 

The dispute is choosing to do what you want and neglecting what God wants. 

We covet the blessings of God but are not willing to accept the cost of salvation. 

We modify the precepts of God to make them fit into our lifestyle. 

God looks at humanity and sees a pagan society. We worship many gods or idols including believers and nonbelievers. 

This dispute started in the Garden of Eden and has never ended. 

The conflict is between your independence and submitting to the will of God. We define the rules with God. 

Christianity enables this dispute. 

We worship the form but reject the substance.

Religion is comfortable and safe; Jesus is upsetting and creates upheaval.

God wants all of you without holding anything back. 

When the Holy Spirit speaks He wants your immediate obedience but we tend to waffle and make excuses for refusing His instructions. 

The reality of the Living Christ will come into your life when you accept Jesus without compromise. 

Commit your works each day to Jesus and invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life. 

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” Psalm 91:1

Moses spent more time with God than any other human being. He witnessed the greatness, power and glory of God. Moses was taught the most important purpose in the life of a believer is to dwell in the secret place of the Most High. 

Moses knew the dwelling place was the only way a believer could live under the presence and protection of God.

The dwelling place of God is in Heaven. How can a believer on earth find this place?

Come to Jesus with a sincere desire to follow Him above all else. He is the Son of God and has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. There is no one like Him.

This decision will seal you with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ.

You will find the dwelling place through prayer, meditating on the Word of God, and abiding in the Holy Spirit. He will speak to you and fill you with all the attributes of God.

God is holy. You cannot enter the dwelling place without the blood of Christ covering you. 

God knows you can never match up to His standards; however you can overcome this barrier by trusting in the promises of God and becoming obedient to His voice. 

You also must have a heart to seek the will of God for your life regardless of the cost.

The call of God is to follow Him without the ability to see into the future. The path of God will probably not make any sense to you or conform to any form of human logic. 

Abraham was a human being filled with many character defects. He was just like you and me.

Abraham believed in the sovereignty of God and was obedient to the voice of God.

God asked Abraham to give up his security, inheritance and leave his homeland. 

Abraham was obedient and God filled him with the righteousness of His character. Abraham was also rewarded by God with wealth and well being.

You will meet the Living Christ In His secret dwelling place. Take the risk and your life will never be the same!

“Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.” Psalm 37:37

Good morning, 

I have been living in a storm for quite some time. Everywhere I turn I see troubles. 

I read this verse in Psalm 37 this morning and was stirred by how to find the peace of Christ while living in a storm.

The peace comes through letting go and living by faith in the promises of God.

I must be able to stand blameless before God. This requires forgiveness and repentance. The blood of Christ makes me innocent in the eyes of God. 

I desire to be upright in all my thoughts, words and actions. This takes a lot of work in prayer and seeking the will of God. I come before Jesus every day with an open heart and listen to His instructions. 

The greatness deterrent to the presence of God is anger. Many times I have been filled with raging anger at God and have found out this only digs my hole deeper. So I plead with God to take away the anger and fill me with the gladness of God. 

I live today in the peace and joy of God. This peace comes from heaven and has nothing to do with the world or my personal circumstances.

It is an up and down experience to stay in the peace of Christ. I must not allow my emotions to control my actions and I must abide closely in the Holy Spirit.

I have no control over God and cannot influence His actions. He can do with me as He pleases. 

God has severely tested me and brought many adversities into my life. 

I have discovered after forty five years of walking with God the most important priority is living by faith. Without faith I cannot please God!

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14

If you want the presence of God in your life you must come to Him with a culpable heart. 

Culpability is the word of God for today. It means facing Jesus with a sense of guilt and remorse over your actions. It is understanding you are at fault with God.

Your sinful condition will never go away as long as you are on the face of the earth. 

Culpability can only be taken away by the blood of Jesus. There is no other way. 

You and I must be covered with the blood of Jesus everyday of our life. There is no free pass for a Christ follower. 

What happens is we pray God will give us the restraint to avoid a specific sin and then we go ahead and repeat the same sin over and again. We have no discipline or inner strength to help us avoid this habitual sin.

This happens because we have a genetic disposition to commit this behavior. It is ingrained in the depth of our soul and personality. So we do what we don’t want to do time and again.

This can be an addiction or another form of compulsive behavior. Or, you can just be living for self.

In essence, you are satisfying the desires of the flesh and have no power to correct this condition. 

The solution to overcoming this habitual condition begins with God. 

The first step is prayer asking Jesus to forgive you and cover you with His blood. 

Next, you must invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life and specifically your grievous sin. 

The Holy Spirit is the life of Christ and He lives inside you. He can break the power of any sin and set you free. 

It takes a lifetime to deal with your impoverished inner condition. Be patient and trust God.

The good news is your sin will gradually be taken away and you will have the freedom to live in fullness with God. 

“Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21-22

Jesus was asked by a disciple for the freedom to go and bury his father before beginning his journey with Jesus.

The response of Jesus is shocking concerning the priorities of life for a believer.

Jesus reiterated this instruction by speaking these words to me this morning; “I am the most important purpose in the life of a Christ follower. Drop everything else and concentrate on Me.”

This is not an instruction to run away from accountability but about recognizing the urgency and order of God in dealing with all matters of life.

What you think is important or essential is probably not in the eyes of God.

The world is mostly void of God so don’t waste your time pursuing dead ends. 

Spend your time nourishing yourself in God through prayer, dwelling in His word and listening for His voice. Seek the counsel of God for your life.

The dead have no future so concentrate on the everlasting.

This admonition is not just about people. Look at how you spend your time and money.

How much time do you spend on your mobile phone dealing with innocuous details and trivia? Fortunately, you can’t take your mobile to heaven!

The list goes on and on including people, activities and interests that occupy your time and are a disgrace to God.

Change your priorities today and seek those things that are alive with Christ!

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22

The revelations of Jesus are an invitation to experience Him personally. They require action not intellect. 

The truths of Jesus have no value to a believer unless they become a reality.

For example, God promises to give you strength to overcome any challenge in your life. Do you ask God for this strength? And, at the end of your day do you acknowledge and praise God for allowing you to do the impossible?

The attributes of God come from heaven. They cannot be found on the earth. They are the source of supernatural life and flow to you directly from the Holy Spirit.

God becomes a truth for those who walk by faith believing in His promises. Faith is a lifestyle of action; it must be integrated into your thoughts, words and decision making. Faith has to be lived out to impress God. 

You must seek Jesus with all of your heart if you want to live in His presence. This is not about religion; it is a zealous, heartfelt decision to seek His will for your life. 

Your life with Jesus is defined by sin. He sees everything about you and measures your sincerity in living by His values. 

God knows you better than you know yourself. He sees deep into your personality and soul. This is why you must be an open vessel to the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus doesn’t need your works. He is perfect and complete.

Jesus wants your resolute devotion to Him without questioning His authority. 

It is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of Christ!