Hal’s Blog

“Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.” Hebrews 3:9

Doesn’t it seem a little strange that God would miraculously rescue His chosen people and then let them wander in the desert for forty years?

The reality of this situation was God choosing to test His people to see if they would have faith in Him regardless of the circumstances of their journey which seemed like they were living in an endless maze with no security or earthly provisions.

Is this the same God who performed mighty signs and wonders in Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh and his advancing army?

The Israelites went from slaves to immigrants waiting for the hand of God to deliver them.

What happened is the Israelites challenged the authority of God and fell into unbelief. They became so disenchanted with God that they turned to worship other gods. And, their worst sin which happened over and over is they did not listen to or obey the voice of God.

The Israelites even turned away from God after He transformed them into a powerful nation living in the Promised Land.

Where does this leave you and I?

At some point in time you will have to face this same God. You will have to make a choice to walk by faith trusting not in what you see but in the powerful promises of God or slip into unbelief and go astray of God.

If you choose to fall into unbelief you will incur the wrath of God and be unable to enter into His rest.

Accept God for who He is! Jesus is the Creator of the universe and has power and dominion over the heavens and the earth. Your destiny is in His hands!

“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge? Job 38:2

Are you obscuring the plans of God for your life with a humanistic view that lacks the knowledge of God?

Job’s friends tried to rationalize the actions of God with counsel that was empty of God.

Who are you to judge God’s ways? It is impossible to justify the actions of God! He alone is worthy! His ways are perfect.

Brace yourself before God like Job and allow God to question you and then answer Him.

Where were you when God laid the earth’s foundation and created the dimensions and stretched a measuring line to define its boundaries? Do you understand the footings that hold the earth together? Or, who laid the cornerstone of the earth?

God completed this wonderful work while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.

The answer to God is to bow down before Him and acknowledge His greatness and glory. Confess to God you have no right to question His authority in your life.

The response to the splendor of creation is to repent from your sins and live in humility with the God who has no limitations and died for you.

You and I are so insignificant in the grandeur of God. He created you in His workmanship and His hand is over your life.

Come before God with praise and respect for the Creator of our universe.

Ask God to remove your human perceptions and allow you to see your life through His eyes.

 

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Jesus died for all humanity without exception to your ethnicity, character or background.

If you are a believer you died with Jesus on the Cross. Although you are alive today, you have died to living for self. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus dedicated to live for Him.

The life of Jesus lives in you however you have to choose to live in your new life and reject your old (natural) condition.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit creates the new life of Jesus within you. Your thinking patterns, values, and perspective on life change to reflect the life of Jesus.

You see life through the eyes of Jesus and have a desire to please Him.

The disciple for Jesus lives by faith in His promises. This is the bedrock of your relationship with Him and supersedes everything else. Without faith you cannot please Him.

Jesus wants your unyielding faith and never to judge Him by the circumstances in your life. There will be good times and difficult challenges but God never changes.

Nothing is impossible for the God who created the sun, the moon, and the stars and reigns over the universe. He is without limitations!

Come to the One who died for you and ask Him this question “How can I live for you today Jesus?

“Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:16-18

The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me for several days about defiance against Christ Jesus. Defiance manifests itself in many different ways.

Defiance is not respecting the nature of God or accepting His characteristics of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

Defiance is failing to recognize the authority of God and choosing to live for self. It is satisfying the desires of the flesh with no concern about accountability to God

Defiance is not understanding how insignificant you are compared to the grandeur of God.

Defiance is not believing or accepting you are a sinner and unacceptable to God.

Defiance is replacing God with religion. It is choosing to function under laws and works to please God. It is rejecting the Living Christ who wants to enfold you with His life through faith in His Word.

Defiance is rejecting the goodness of God for the temporal things of the world.

Defiance is refusing to walk in the pathway of God because it causes you to lose your independence.

Defiance is refusing to listen to the voice of God or to be obedient to His calling in your life.

Do you realize your destiny is in the hands of Jesus? Life on this earth is like a vapor trail. It comes and goes quickly. The life of a believer is eternal and Jesus, the Creator of the heavens and earth, desires to live in you through His Spirit.

The mystery of life is Christ in you. The Cross gives you the ability to live personally with Christ Jesus forever and enter into His majestic kingdom.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other hope for life!

 

“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:10-11

Jesus died for all sin and He now lives for God. The instruction is to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This admonition is impossible to achieve regardless of how hard you try. You can ask and receive forgiveness for your sins but this will not stop you from continuing to live through your flesh.

For example, God brought to my attention last night the widespread use of vulgar words and actions by many people including believers. He explained how this deeply grieves His Spirit. This action brings death to the life of Jesus and is repulsive to God.

Jesus died for this sin and has provided a way so that it can have no power over you. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

So consider yourself to be dead to this sin by yielding to the Holy Spirit who is alive in you.

You can do this by offering your body as a living sacrifice to Jesus and asking Him to purify you with His life. Ask by faith and you shall receive so the Father can be glorified through the work of Jesus.

Jesus didn’t die to give you freedom to live in debauchery. He died so you can be free from sin and lead a life pleasing to Him.

It is time to take Jesus seriously and come under His authority!

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

My purposes are eternal!

The first step to become a disciple of Jesus is to make a decision by faith to commit your life to Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior.

This will provide you with the gift of eternal life and seal you with the precious Holy Spirit. You will now have the ability to live in oneness with Jesus through His Spirit.

The challenge comes to know the Living Jesus and understand His ways. You cannot grasp Jesus through an intellectual process and His thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not His ways.

It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit!

You come to know Jesus through prayer, reading His Word, and appropriating His values into your life. Also, you must learn to be still and listen for the voice of God. As a believer, you have the mind of Christ and He desires to speak to you.

Don’t think of Jesus in a linear or predictable pattern. He does not conform to the ways of the world. What may seem improbable or unlogical to you may be the perfect will of God.

Without faith you cannot please Me!

You will come to know Jesus when you live by faith in His promises without questioning His authority or direction in your life. He is a God without limitations!

Make Jesus your best friend and ask Him to help you navigate through all the nuances of life. Remember, there is no time out in your relationship with Jesus. He wants to live in every aspect of your life.

That they may be one even as we are one!

You will know Jesus when you make a decision to live for Him and deny yourself. Until you reach this point you are just going through the motions and will never experience the reality of Christ Jesus.

The priority of Jesus is for you to come to know Him intimately and walk with Him by faith yielding to the Holy Spirit. This will put a smile on His face!

 

 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

Is it really possible to live in the presence of almighty God, the Creator of all life?

The answer to this question is it is not only possible but God desires for you to be in His presence. If this is true, how can you and I who are people of many sins live in the reality of God?

The starting point is to recognize the holiness of God. He is without sin and will not allow you to come close to Him in your present condition. You are unclean and unacceptable to God.

The only way to overcome this barrier is through the blood of Jesus. You have to ask Jesus to forgive you for all your sins and restore you to Himself. The most vital part of the cleansing of your sins is to ask God to convict you of anything in your life not pleasing to Him.

Be open to hear God and repent of any emotions, thoughts or actions that deprive you of the fullness of God.

Remember, God knows you better than you know yourself and looks into the unconscious depth of your personality.

God wants you to come before Him in prayer for all your needs and for those of your family. The Holy Spirit will also bring the names of other people to your mind to pray for according to the Spirit. This is accepting Jesus knows how to shape your prayers in the same way He prays for you.

Finally, there is the matter of your heart condition towards God. Are you really willing to die to self and live for Jesus? This is the act of giving up the right to yourself to God. You lose your independence and gain the life of your Savior.

Now let’s get back to coming into the presence of God. First, you have to understand Jesus decides how much of His glory He will share with you. There is a perfect balance of living by faith and entering the transfigured life of Christ. There will be times when Jesus acting in silence will be signaling to you to just walk by faith and yield to His Spirit.

Worship God by raising your hands to your Creator and asking the Holy Spirit to come live in your eyes, thoughts, words and actions. Then become still before God and listen for His thoughts and the presence of His precious anointing.

You will meet the Living Jesus when you come before Him with a genuine abandonment and a desire to please and obey Him!

Jesus died so you can have an abundant life filled with His goodness. He is an eternal and life changing God!

Praise His holy name!

 

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

The Living Water is the life of Jesus and can be found in His Word.

The analogy explaining the purpose of the Word of God is described in the rain and snow that comes down from heaven and does not return to its Creator.

The rain and snow waters the earth and makes it bring forth a robust crop. It provides food to nourish our bodies.

The Word that goes forth from the mouth of Jesus is like the rain and snow. The Word will never return to God void. It will accomplish what He desires. And, the Word will prosper in the thing for which He sent it.

The Word is the source of salvation and an abundant life. It gives you the ability to live intimately with Christ Jesus.

You hear the Word of God through reading the Bible or from the voice of God speaking directly to you through the Holy Spirit. And, God can choose to speak to you through another human being.

The Word is alive and powerful and wants to dwell richly in you with all wisdom and understanding. It is the key to understanding God.

The Word of God comes to you by faith. You have to hear and accept the truths of God without any evidence.

The purpose of the Word is to nourish your soul and fill you with the life of Jesus. The Word gives you something so valuable and precious that can never be found on the earth.

The Word is the Living Water. It is eternal and life changing!

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Galatians 3:10

You may not be aware of this but you could be living under a curse from God! This relates to your relationship with God and how you try to please Him.

The truth is you will never be perfect in the eyes of God and you cannot please Him through the works of the law.

The laws will bring condemnation upon you. The harder you try to please God through laws or works will only cause failure and separation from God.

If you try to justify yourself with God through works, you have to obey every truth in the law. This is impossible and will bring a curse of God upon you.

The laws of God are perfect but they have been annulled and replaced by the Cross. You can only be justified to God by placing your faith in Christ Jesus.

The law implies an obligation on the part of God. If you keep His commandments, He is obligated to bless you. There is no obligation from God except to live by faith with Christ Jesus.

Jesus offers a freedom from the laws which comes to you through your faith in His promises. You become free from the mandate of the laws because the Holy Spirit moves the words in the Bible to live in your heart.

There is no curse for those who walk with God by faith in Christ Jesus and yield to the Holy Spirit. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world!

“Because I live, you will live also.” John 14:19

Jesus does not think or act like you so how can you understand Him? And, Jesus tends to live in the moment and does not give you the ability to see very much into the future.

The secret is to recognize Jesus is a Living God and to come to Him by faith today.

Jesus measures you by the strength of your faith. This is the most important quality in walking with Him. Nothing can be substituted for faith. Do you live by faith trusting Jesus for your every need? Faith is living in the promises of God and not questioning Jesus about the direction of your life.

The goal of a believer is to personally know Christ Jesus and live in oneness with Him. You stay grounded in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit living within you.

Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life and you will find the reality of Christ Jesus. He wants to be you best friend! Learn to come to Jesus not just to ask of Him but to seek His will for you today.

The hindrance to living with Jesus is your personality and stubbornness to follow His ways. You have to be willing to die to self and give up your independence and self sufficiency.

You can abandon yourself to Jesus when you understand He knows you better than you know yourself and He wants to protect you and bless you with an abundant life. Remember, Jesus is omniscient and knows every detail of your life including your past, present, and future.

Jesus wants to meet you at your point of need and provide you with His life. He died so you can be filled with His strength, wisdom, and joy. It is about learning to draw upon Jesus for your every need and rejecting the ways of the world.

Living with Jesus is committing your works to Him each day and asking Jesus to fill you with His thoughts. You have the mind of Christ so you have to learn to be still and have an open mind to hear God.

The mystery of Christ Jesus is He lives in you and wants to share Himself with you!