Author: Hal Hollister Ministry

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” Luke 12:2

The word of God today is masquerading which is pretending to be someone you are not. In the spiritual realm this is operating under the pretense of Christ with hidden motives and behaviors.

We are betraying Jesus and ridiculing His reputation by impersonating Him with a false countenance.

God is entering a new season with His people. He is disgusted with this behavior and is moving swiftly to hold all accountable with the deep and penetrating conviction of the Holy Spirit.

When you come before God prepare yourself to be humble and open to change. God will shred any masquerading veneer in your life and reveal your true inner nature. 

This will be an intense examination and feel like a sword piercing your heart and soul. 

God is distraught with believers attempting to use Him to accomplish their objectives while operating with impure motives.

The purpose of God is to create transparency in your relationship with Him and cause you to repent from your sins and walk in the light of Jesus. 

This is a day of reckoning with Jesus. If you want the fullness of God you must lay down your life for Jesus and integrate His values into every aspect of your life.

This sweeping movement of Jesus is in action today. No one can escape this intense scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. 

Hypocrisy and religion will fade away as believers give it all up to walk with Christ. There will be a newness of God in the heart of believers and a revival in the Body of Christ. 

“Do not quench the Spirit” 1 Thessalonians 5:19

This deals with the work of God to transform you into the character of Jesus.

Your idea of sanctification will never relate to the mind of Christ.

God sanctifies you in ways that cannot be grasped by the human mind. 

What is God aiming for in sanctification?

Like the harvest of grapes, He wants to squeeze out fine wine without any impurities. 

Sanctification is not abiding by a list of do’s and don’ts. It is impossible to match up to the standards of God. This will just bring condemnation upon you.

Sanctification is not about living in a bubble of religion. This will create spiritual pride and keep you off the playing field of God. 

Sanctification is the lifelong work of the Holy Spirit to transform you into a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Sanctification has no ending in the life of a believer. It is happening to you at this very moment.

The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin. This is not just about atoning for your mistakes. You must listen to the voice of Christ and be sensitive to His convicting words.

God looks at the big picture. He is examining your thinking patterns and motives. 

Sanctification is accepting God for who He is without any expectation of receiving His favor. 

Sanctification is preparing you to do the works of God. Your ego has to disappear so you can work for God without any benefit coming to self.

Your role is just to be open the conviction of the Holy Spirit. God will do the rest. 

The deep work of the Holy Spirit creates change in your mind, heart and personality. This inner work must come first before the life of Christ will manifest in your exterior life.

Walking with Jesus is not easy. You must learn to die to self so you can live for Christ!

 

I will say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?” Psalm 42:9

The word from God today is vestige which is defined as a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists.

This is the perfect definition of the presence of God in our world.

God is shutting down and removing His favor from our world.

The prophet Malachi was the last to speak the words of God. Then God chose to be silent four hundred years. God did not speak again until the ministry of John the Baptist. 

God looks at the world with disgust and anger. 

The leaders in government and the counselors in the Body of Christ have attempted to exalt their power and liberal views above God with a “holier than thou attitude”.

They whitewash the truths of God. They seduce believers about the peace of God but in reality their teaching is like a wall made with untempered mortar and will crumble.

They do not submit to the authority of God or respect Him.

Religion has trashed the Word of God for liberal interpretations of scripture. 

God has removed His favor from our world and is allowing us to drift into a sewer of waste.

The vestige of Christ is difficult and almost impossible to find in our society. 

If you don’t want to get left out in the cold you must change. 

As a believer, you must re-examine your attitudes, thoughts, and actions through the words of Jesus. 

The vestige of Christ is alive in the Holy Spirit. He will convict you of sin, righteousness and judgement. 

The Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus and your landline to God. Listen to His voice and respond with obedience to His conviction. 

Accept the words of Jesus without compromise. He never changes.

Your safety net is living in the blood of Jesus confessing your sins and turning away from darkness to walk in the light of Christ.

This is how God sees the Body of Christ:

“Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer is how you develop a relationship with God. 

Prayer has no beginning or end. It is a continuous conversation with God. 

Prayer brings the presence of God into your life. 

Prayer shows you how much you need God and can do nothing without Him.

Prayer lets you see the greatness and glory of God in contrast to your utter depravity and failure to meet the standards of God.

Prayer strengthens your faith. 

God covets your prayers. They demonstrate your desire to live in oneness with Him.

Prayer brings order to your day. 

Prayer invites the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin.

Prayer is a time to forgive others and seek inner healing. 

Prayer is listening to the voice of God.

Prayer must be an uninterrupted time devoted to God. Shut out the worries and concerns of the world.

Prayer is allowing God to show you how to pray according to His will.

Prayer is letting God bring the concerns of His heart for others to your mind. 

Prayer is asking God by faith to heal you of injuries and sickness. 

Prayer is how you stay on track with God.

Prayer teaches you the values of Christ and how to appropriate them in your life.

Prayer gives you the ability to see the transfigured Christ and experience His glory.

Prayer brings the protection of God into your life and covers your family.

Prayer releases the wisdom , joy, and strength of Christ into your life. 

Prayer is a time to confess your sins and ask for the blood of Christ to cover you.

Prayer is how you get to know the reality of God. 

Prayer is a time to praise and thank God for who He is and what He has done for you.

Prayer is how God uses a believer to make intercession and bring down the strongholds of Satan.

Prayer is the time God makes His personal promises to you. 

Prayer is learning obedience to God. 

Prayer equips you to be a powerful witness for Christ.

Prayer is how God demonstrates His love and personal concern for your life.

Prayer is asking God to do for you what you can never do for yourself. 

Prayer is life changing!

“That they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:20

Today God directed me to Ezekiel 11 to understand His heart about the conditions of our country and other nations.

If you read the entire chapter you will feel His anger and see how He deals with evil. It is not a pretty picture regardless of what religion tells you about Jesus. And, Jesus never changes.

This narrative deals with the conviction of God and the revival of the New Testament Church.

The foundation of the bedrock of Christ is virtually gone in our society. We live in a wicked world governed by rulers and laws which have been enacted under the influence of Satan.

We are a scattered people subject to the doctrines of many wicked counselors and leaders. 

It is almost impossible to find the sanctuary of God on the earth. 

We are grieving the heart of God because most believers accept or condone these false lies of Satan.

The question is “Where is the glory of our magnificent God?”

The glory of God has mostly disappeared and is very difficult to find.

Today, we are all under the microscope of the judgment of God. This relentless judgment is driven by the anger of God. The root of this anger is that we do not respect or fear God.

God sees a crumbling church filled with apostasy which is defiance against His ways.

Who is going to stand up for God?

God has promised to fill all believers with the Holy Spirit. If you yield to the Holy Spirit He will take away your rebellion against God.

The Holy Spirit comes from heaven and reflects the glory of God. 

The Holy Spirit is the life of Christ. He is your only hope to draw near to God.

The Holy Spirit will give you the purity of the heart of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will enable believers to walk in the statues of God and keep them. 

The calling of Jesus is to repent from your sins and have an open heart to the conviction of God. 

This happens when you walk with God under the authority of the Holy Spirit and deny the desires of the flesh. 

Jesus wants all believers to genuinely seek His will and never compromise His values.

The “set apart” people of Christ are filled with the glory, praise, and honor of God. The fires of God are alive in their heart.

They will never back down from defending the precepts of God!

The promise of God to those who are devoted and loyal believers is “They will be My people and I will be their God.”

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” John 16:8 

God spoke to me last night about the face of Christianity and how it wrongly impersonates Jesus. 

Religion also minimizes the importance of the Holy Spirit and attempts to replace it with works and regulations. 

Christianity looks like it is authenticating the Jesus written about in the Bible and seen by many. But in reality they have given Jesus a face lift.

The face of Christianity is not a pastor or a religious leader. It is not a church, a Bible study or a spiritual book. 

The face of Christianity is Jesus who entered the world in a human body, lived on the earth for thirty three years, was crucified and after three days was raised back to life by God.

The face of Jesus shattered the rules for living with God. You come to Jesus by faith believing in His promises and seeking His will for your life.

Jesus lives in Heaven. You cannot see or touch Jesus or have a live conversation with Him. 

For a human being to interact with Jesus you must recognize He is a Spirit and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. 

Very simply, make a decision to live for Jesus above all else. He will seal you with the Holy Spirit who is the life of Christ. He is your mediator with God and the source of all the attributes of Jesus.

Jesus never changes. You cannot modify His words or reinterpret His teachings in any way.

Walking with Jesus is very difficult because He does not think or act like you. 

Jesus has a personality and a range of emotions just like you. He becomes jealous and angry when you minimize His importance in your life. He wants all of you without exception and is not willing to share you with other gods or idols. 

Jesus hates evil. The only way you can overcome evil and the desires of the flesh is by yielding to the Holy Spirit. You can accomplish this by giving Him authority over your life. 

Jesus rules with retribution. He blesses and curses. He is the same God that destroyed all humanity except for eight souls. 

Jesus is omnipotent. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. There is no one like Him. He is almighty God and can do with you as He pleases.

You cannot influence Jesus through your works or keeping laws. Without faith you cannot please God. 

The face of Christianity is Jesus, the Son of God, who abhors religion. He wants a direct relationship with you through His Spirit. He wants to talk with you, protect you and guide your footsteps. He is the Living Christ and wants to be the priority in every aspect of your life.

Jesus was like a lamb led to the slaughter by His Father. The obedience of Jesus gives you the ability to be forgiven for your sins and stand blameless before Him. 

Jesus transforms a believer into a new creature in Christ Jesus. You are made new by the Spirit and the Water. The Spirit baptizes you into the death and resurrected life of Jesus. The water cleanses you of all sin. 

Come meet the Living Christ and you will experience the reality of God!

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:35

The word from God today is spurious referring to the claims of religion.

The definition of spurious is not being what it purports to be. It is about religion operating with false premises.

The instruction of Jesus is to repent from the depth of your heart and turn away from sin. 

Repentance is not a ritual like taking your automobile to the car wash. The car comes out clean without a speck of dirt. Jesus forgives your sin but you still live with an inner condition to satisfy self. This conflict never ends while on this earth. 

You must seek the blood of Jesus every day of your life and be open to His correction and change. 

Jesus asks you to abandon yourself to Him without compromise. Abandonment is not about works or immersing yourself in religion. It is a zealous desire to know the Living Christ and to seek out His will above all else. 

Authentic Christianity is walking in oneness with Jesus under the authority of the Holy Spirit. It is about meeting the Living Christ every day of your life. 

It is about having an embracing and vibrant relationship with God. You become best friends. 

You learn how to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and appropriate His values into your life. 

Walking with Jesus has no time outs. You integrate His values into every moment of your life.

Religion teaches the form of Jesus but lacks the substance. It looks good on the outside but is empty inside. Jesus teaches you about the reality of God, how to be filled with the fires of God and dwell with Him forever.

The substance of a Christ follower is vigilant prayer, seeking the will of God, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and making intercession to defeat the strongholds of Satan. 

Religion presents a cosmetic treatment of the personality of Jesus.

Jesus is a jealous God and wants all of you. He does not want to share you with other gods or idols. 

Jesus is a God of retribution. He blesses and He curses. You are accountable to Him for your every thought and action. 

Jesus is very angry about sin. We do not respect or fear Him. He takes out His wrath in the form of judgments over humanity.

You can dispel the spurious claims of religion by making a decision for Jesus without compromise and living under the authority and teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is authentic and alive. He invites you to dwell in the reality of His kingdom. You can experience Jesus personally every day of your life.

Last night God spoke to me about the rebellion against His name using two examples of scripture. This attitude is pervasive and has stirred up His anger and provoked His judgments over our world. 

“Why do the nations rage,
and the people plot a vain thing” Psalm 2:1

God feels outrageous over the actions of the nations. They have disdained His holy name.

The leaders in government and the powerful kings have set themselves up opposed to God and have made a derision of His precepts. 

They have attempted to nullify the precepts of God and replace them with their own laws and liberal attitudes. They have disgraced God and will pay a brutal and heavy penalty for their actions. 

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

The other example God brought to my attention is the Tower of Babel. This deals with the arrogance of the people in attempting to build a tower reaching to heaven. Their purpose was to secure the protection and favor of God.

This made God very angry. They were dismissing His sovereignty believing a tower would protect them from danger. They exemplified an arrogant attitude they could somehow control or influence God. They did not recognize God has no needs or help from any human being. 

We need God; He does not need us. There is nothing you can do to influence God. He is set in His ways. As believers, we must submit to God seeking His will for our lives. 

This action caused God to confuse the people with different languages and scatter them around the world.

The question is how do you and I rebel against God?

Any time you or I attempt to exert our will above God we are asking for trouble. This is why it is so important to stay attached to God through the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ.

You live in oneness with God by listening to His voice, studying His Word, and opening yourself up to the correction and change of the Holy Spirit.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and you will be able to do the will of God on earth as it is done in Heaven. You will meet the Living Christ!

This comes down to accepting Jesus has power and dominion over the heavens and earth and diligently seeking His will for your life.

He lives so you can live!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

The word from God today is hypocrisy referring to how a believer evaluates his or her priorities. 

The words spoken by Jesus above deal with what you treasure in life and how this relates to your heart condition.

What are the dearest desires in your heart?

Most believers have a very difficult time relating the importance of God to worldly or emotional needs. It is so easy to get off track with God because of the pressures of the world and fleshly desires. 

Very simply, God wants you to vigilantly pursue His will above all else. This is not necessarily about lifestyle but how you interact with God. 

Where most believers error when interpreting how to treasure God has to do with trying to perform for Him. 

God doesn’t care about your works to please Him. He wants all of your heart without reservation. 

This deep commitment will stir God and prepare you for doing His work. 

The only motive for doing something for God should be to satisfy Him. Nothing should be done for self benefit. This gives you the freedom to be a powerful vessel for God with pure motives. 

You can evaluate your standing with God by considering the spiritual guardrails below. 

God insists you walk by faith believing in His promises regardless of the circumstances in your life. 

God wants your obedience to Him. When He speaks you comply without compromise.

God looks at your thoughts and decision making to determine if you are integrating the values of Christ into all the aspects of your life.

God measures how much time you spend with Him through prayer, studying His Word, listening to His voice and praising Him. 

God wants you to reach out to Him for your every need and make this a consistent lifestyle discipline. 

Finally, are you really willing to lay down your life for Jesus and give up your independence and desires to follow Him?

“Yours is not to know the times or seasons” Acts 1:7

The word from God today is traversing which is defined as to travel back and forth. It is like a zig zag pattern following God with no end in sight. 

The journey with God is unpredictable and moves in a way which makes no sense or follows any form of human logic. 

God does not want you to see very far ahead. 

There are many different seasons walking with God. He makes you wait upon Him for a long period of time or moves with mercurial speed.

Walking with Jesus is not really about a worldly goal or destination. It is making God happy in all the vagaries of life. 

It is learning to live with God by faith anchored to the Holy Spirit.

God creates many challenges in life and causes you to deal with severe troubles. 

This is how you learn and appropriate the values of Jesus in your life. We all want a smooth path but God makes it bumpy at times.

God tests believers. The severe testing is to determine your allegiance to God when your life is falling apart and God seems distant.

God wants you to have unyielding faith in His promises and give Him praise and honor regardless of the dire circumstances in your life.

There is an important principle of God dealing with the subject of hope. If your hope is deferred it makes the heart sick but when your hope (or desires) come into fruition they are from the tree of life. This is recognizing Jesus is the bread of life and delivers His people. 

We have to hope in God in all the difficult moments of life. This builds patience and strengthens our faith. 

If you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart. 

God keeps His promises!