“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. Exodus 19:5
Most believers listen to the things they want to hear from God but discard the more difficult words of Jesus.
The difficult words always relate to the Cross and deal with your personal sin.
The failure to listen and obey God led to the destruction of the Israelites and caused them to be scattered into desolation.
Salvation is the process of dying to self and living for Christ.
The Holy Spirit examines your thoughts and actions to remove the impediments blocking the fullness of God in your life.
This lifelong scrutiny of God is designed to protect you from evil and give you a healthy and abundant life.
The voice of God teaches you about the significance of your covenant with Jesus and how to live in oneness with Him.
Most importantly, your obedience to the voice of God will make you a powerful witness for Jesus.
God will never force you to obey His voice but you will have to deal with the consequences of selective listening.
“That they may be one even as we are one” John 17:21
You can never be like God but you can become merged with His personality. This is the miracle of the Cross.
God has a spiritual personality and a range of emotions just like you.
The personality of Jesus is built on obedience to His Father even though it cost Jesus his life.
There is a direct relationship between your willingness to live for Jesus and becoming one with Him. Jesus shares His life with those who are willing to live for Him above all else. Death is not a deterrent for a Christ follower.
It is impossible to match up to the standards of God. Don’t even try!
Jesus is looking for those who walk by faith believing in His promises.
Jesus admires those who have an open heart to zealously seek His will.
Jesus asks you to listen to His voice and respond with obedience. The voice of Jesus is powerful and life changing.
Draw near to Jesus through praise, prayer and meditating on His word. He will respond with unconditional love, wisdom, joy and protection.
Most importantly, Jesus will let you come into His transfigured world and share His feelings and thoughts with you.
Jesus transforms believers into the character of God.
You can live in oneness with Jesus today by giving the Holy Spirit who dwells inside you authority over your life.
“Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit” Zechariah 4:6
The precipice is a very high place and can be hazardous to your well being.
At times, God will put you in this position. It is frightening and causes anxiety and depression.
The challenge is to wait on God by faith and not panic. He will not let you fall into the abyss of doom.
Pray for patience and the protection of God.
God delivers His people. He does not need your help. The secret is to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
How you deal with standing on the precipice will effect your future with God. You will either be a powerful witness for Jesus or drift away as just another lackluster believer.
The precipice reveals the quality of your faith and trust in God. Do you speak words of faith or live out your faith through all the adversities of life?
Daniel was willing to risk his life in the fiery furnace because he trusted the Living God.
The character of God is greatness, power, glory, victory and majesty. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. He is exalted as the head over all.
Nothing is impossible for God!
I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Salvation is the beginning of an embracing and vibrant relationship with God.
The gift of salvation is a commitment to give your life over to Jesus to do with you as He pleases. You no longer have ownership of your life. You give up the rights to yourself.
Salvation is learning to live with God on His terms.
Salvation is submitting to the will of God.
Salvation is not about works or finding a role in the Body of Christ. It is living in oneness with God through the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is understanding you have nothing of value to offer to Jesus. You are a bankrupt individual living in spiritual poverty.
Salvation entitles you to all the promises of Christ in His perfect timing.
Salvation is living through the life of Christ. He is the source of strength, joy, wisdom and protection.
Salvation is hearing the voice of God and learning to obey Him.
Salvation is living moment by moment with the Living Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is understanding it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of Christ. You rest in God and rely on the resurrected power of Christ to meet your every challenge.
Your priority should always be centered on living in oneness with Jesus not on the outcomes in your life.
You belong to Jesus. Walk with Him by faith trusting in His promises.
Salvation is the designs of God on your life. You can’t contribute anything to His master plan!
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my pathway.” Psalm 119:105
The word from God today is learning how to extrapolate the truths of Jesus into the reality of your life today.
The Bible contains a wealth of truth and wisdom but what specifically does God want to speak to you about today.
The supernatural ability of God is to extrapolate the Bible and tell you concisely what is most important for you to concentrate on today.
God can do this because He knows you better than you know yourself. He can target you like a laser with the precise words of God to help you have a good day.
Jesus does not want to give you ambiguous wisdom. He wants to be your light and your salvation at this very moment and bring His perfect order into your life.
When you go before God have the mindset Jesus wants to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway for today.
This is how you and I can live in oneness with God. We go outside of ourself to find the will of God through the Holy Spirit.
You can do this by prayer and listening for the voice of God.
Ask the Holy Spirit to extrapolate the wisdom of God so you can walk with Jesus in perfect harmony.
The reason this does not happen more frequently to believers is because we allow our emotions and concerns to block out the Spirit of Christ.
Jesus has a perfect plan for you today. Ask and you shall receive!
The secret place of Christ is the Cross. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This is your only hope for life. Everything with Jesus begins at the Cross.
The only place you can meet the Living Christ is at the Cross.
If you want God He will point you to His Son.
The secret place is not about religion, works, or laws.
Dwelling in the Cross is the priority of Jesus for all believers. Life begins at the Cross. It is the bridge to becoming a new person and living with Jesus forever.
The Cross gives you the ability to live with Jesus in a symbiotic relationship. He lives in you and shares His life with you.
The decision for Jesus is to enter the pathway of the Cross. Jesus forgives all your sins and you can stand blameless before Him.
You meet the reality of Jesus everyday of your life. He speaks to you and fills you with wisdom.
Dwelling in the presence of Christ gives you safety and protection.
The Cross gives you the life of Christ sealed inside you through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of all the supernatural attributes of Jesus including His strength, joy, wisdom and protection.
The Cross allows you to navigate through life with the resurrected power of Christ. You can overcome every challenge in your life and be assured Jesus will deliver you out of adversity. You can have this confidence because Jesus keeps His word.
The Cross entitles you to all the powerful promises of Jesus. They come to you by trusting Jesus and living by faith believing in what you cannot see.
You dwell in the secret place of Christ through prayer, meditating on His word, and listening for His voice.
The Cross allows you to live under the cover of the blood of Christ and be transformed into the character of Christ. All that is required is to have an open heart to the correction of God.
Jesus wants you to seek His will for your life. This is living moment by moment with Him under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
The secret place of Christ will fill you with the Living Water and you will be a powerful witness for Jesus.
Jesus was obedient to His Father. The Cross is a decision to be obedient to Jesus and walk in His footsteps.
Salvation is the gift of the Cross and can be a living reality every moment of your life.
He lives so you can live!
Come walk with Me and your life will never be the same!
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Temptations are a part of life for a Christ follower. There is nothing wrong with a temptation; it is how you deal with it that matters.
Temptations come from several sources.
They can be a fleshly indulgence for something you want or can also be caused by a genetic disposition for sin from your family ancestry.
Temptations also come to you through the work of Satan who wants to entice you into doing evil. They may come through another person, television, social media, or thoughts directly from Satan. Many times Satan will try to camouflage the sin or attempt to justify it by telling you everyone does this so don’t make a big deal about it.
Everyone is tempted at times. If you think you are not subject to temptations you are not being honest with God.
Jesus was tempted several times during His life. He knows every temptation common to man.
Jesus allows temptations to come into your life but He is faithful to His Word.
He will not allow the temptation to overcome a believer if he or she is walking with God and yielding to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus will always provide a way of escape if you are living in oneness with Him.
You cross the line when you allow a temptation to become a desire. At this point, you have submitted to the authority of Satan and the desire will be lived out and easily can become a stronghold. If this happens you are in deep trouble.
We all have a moral compass or inner conscience about right and wrong.
If your moral compass is not built on the precepts of God and engraved on your heart it is impossible to avoid sin.
The solution to dealing with temptations is to ask Jesus for protection and wisdom. Pray, seek His Word and listen for His voice.
Jesus lives in you through the Holy Spirit. Take every though captive to the obedience of Jesus and He will help you discern light from darkness.
We live in a world of dissipation. You can escape this through the forbearance of Jesus. There is no other way!
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
The disciples personally experienced the feeding of the five thousand.
They were hungry and Jesus gave them food for their bodies.
The next day they went looking for Jesus on the other side of the lake.
Jesus confronted the disciples because they were seeking Him for the food that spoils and not the food that endures to eternal life.
Jesus admonished the disciples to seek the bread that comes from heaven.
The challenge in this story is to keep your motives pure in reaching out to Jesus.
There are only two ways to fill the spiritual void in your life. You must come to Jesus and believe in Him.
Come to Jesus with a decision to live for Him. Make Jesus the centerpiece of your life.
Secondly, you must believe in Jesus and walk with Him by faith.
This will entitle you to the bread of life. You will never be hungry or thirsty for the life of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit who is the life of Jesus is sealed inside all believers. He is the source of the Living Water.
The Holy Spirit will nourish your soul and fill you with the attributes of Jesus.
Your relationship with Jesus will not prevent you from dealing with adversities or facing droughts in your journey through life.
Your foundation has to be laid on Christ crucified. He has to be first and foremost in your life. Nothing can supersede Him. You must worship Jesus for who He is and not for what you want from Him.
Your aspirations must be to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
You do this through prayer, meditating on the Word and listening for His voice.
To walk with Jesus you must live under the authority of the Holy Spirit. He is your guiding light and teacher.
I am the way the truth and the life. I can do for you what you can never do for yourself!
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10
How can a Christ follower do the will of God as it is done in heaven?
This seems like a hopeless request from Jesus.
You and I have never been to heaven so how do we conduct ourselves as if we were in heaven.
We live in a sinful and corrupt world. Everyday we have to deal with the conflict between living in the Spirit or the flesh.
Our bodies have not been fully sanctified so we still have an inner being that wants to live for self.
And, we have to deal with the tactics of Satan every single day.
We cannot think or act like God. And, Jesus is unpredictable and controversial in His actions.
This is what we know about doing the will of God:
Make a decision to live for Jesus above all else. Give Him all of your life without any exclusions.
Walk with Jesus by faith believing in His promises regardless of the circumstances in your life.
Wake up each day and commit your works to God.
Pray for wisdom on how to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Ask God to show you how to pray and make intercession for those in bondage to sin.
Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.
Meditate on the Word of God.
Listen for the voice of God and respond with obedience to His instructions.
Praise Jesus with your thoughts and words.
Seek repentance for your sins and ask Jesus to cover you with His blood.
Open your heart up to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Seek peace and pursue it in all your relationships.
Pray for the strength of Christ to help you meet every challenge in your life.
Don’t strive to do ministry for Jesus. Wait upon God and He will reveal your ministry through the Holy Spirit.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
The will of God is doing the routine tasks of life and interacting with family, friends, and colleagues under the auspices of the Holy Spirit.
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the Living Water so you can be a powerful witness for Jesus.
Wait upon the Lord. It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit.
Jesus has the power to appoint believers to offices in the Body of Christ and the right to grant privileges to His people. This happens to those who seek out His will with a passion of dedication and loyalty to Christ Jesus.
Hal Hollister Ministry 