“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
The Bible was written by many authors who were anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit spoke through the authors as they wrote the words in scripture. This is why the Word of God is alive and powerful. God is speaking to you.
It does not mean that every word is accurate in recording the words and actions in the Bible because there are differences in what was said and took place in the books of the Bible.
The Bible is made up of stories passed down by word of mouth through many generations. There are some differences in reporting history but not in spiritual truths.
The Word is alive and powerful and acts like a two edged sword in piercing a human being with conviction over sinful actions. The believer is exposed and examined with scrutiny by the Word. Nothing is hidden in this examination by God. The Holy Spirit discerns every thought and motive in the life of a believer.
The Word is a perfect checklist for staying tuned in with Jesus and learning how to walk with Him.
The Word fills a believer with the strength, wisdom and protection of Jesus.
The Word is the life of Jesus and brings peace and joy to a believer.
The Word is alive and endearing! The Christ follower can can hear the words of Jesus and live in oneness with Him!
It is impossible to have a spiritually healthy relationship with Jesus if you do not listen to Him.
The goal of Jesus is to develop a personal and embracing relationship with a believer built on fellowship and consistently hearing His voice.
The Bible is filled with stories of disciples who listened to God and performed miracles, defeated enemies, and were protected from evil. It is impossible to do the will of Jesus if you are not in oneness with Him.
Jesus desires to give a believer omniscient wisdom to protect his pathway and make good decisions but if he does not listen the troubles will come.
Many don’t listen because they want to continue living for self and enjoy the pleases of the world. They do want their life disturbed by Jesus.
This is ridiculous logic because Jesus has power and dominion over the earth. And, sin leads to destruction and death. Jesus sets people free from genetic dispositions and compulsive behaviors.
It is easy to hear the voice of Jesus. He is very approachable. Come to Jesus with an open mind and faith to hear His voice. Praise Jesus for His greatness and glory. Pray for your needs and those of your family.
Quiet your mind of all the clutter and concentrate on Jesus. He speaks thoughts into the mind of a believer. Ask Jesus to show you His priorities and what you need to let go of in your life.
Ask Jesus to reveal anything you are thinking or doing that is grieving the Holy Spirit.
The dialogue with Jesus can go on every day of your life with one simple prayer. Commit your works each day to Jesus and invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.
This will create a steady flow of wisdom coming from Jesus. He will create order in your life and show you His priorities. He will help you accomplish the routine tasks of life with His simplicity. He will show you how to be productive in your work and improve your skills.
“The Lord is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway”.
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling!” Philippians 2:12
Jesus is serious about obeying His instructions. Failure to obey can cause anything from getting a dent in your new car to loss of life.
Satan can descend upon you and create havoc by not heeding the instructions of Jesus. The Lord wants to be a powerful fortress of protection against all evil.
God is very jealous and His jealousy is like a consuming fire. He wants consistent devotion and obedience from a believer and is not willing to share you with other false gods or idols.
As a believer, we must take the wrath of God seriously and make sure we are doing nothing to grieve the Holy Spirit.
We are accountable to Jesus for all of our thoughts, words and decision making.
If you are not right with Jesus it is impossible to experience the fullness of His Spirit.
God tests believers to measure their faith and obedience. If you comply with God expect miracles to flow into your life.
Here are some examples in the Bible of disobedience to God and the results!
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were punished with lifelong woes. They were both evicted from the Garden of Eden.
God killed all humanity except for eight souls with a torrential flood for illicit sexual immorality.
Uzzah was struck dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant. He disobeyed the specific instructions of God.
The man of God who was a prophet was punished for disobeying God and eating a meal with a King in Bethel. God sent a lion to kill him on his journey home.
The Israelites disobeyed God by building and worshipping false images while complaining about their circumstances. God extended their journey out of Egypt from a few days to forty years. The Israeli adults all died in the desert and never entered the Promised Land.
Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and kept part of the money hidden from the church leaders. They lied to Peter and were both struck dead by the Holy Spirit.
The point of this discussion is when God speaks to you with instructions obey Him and do not delay or question His purposes.
At times, Jesus may not make any sense to you but He makes perfect sense in His plan to transform you into His character.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. He is a God of judgment.
We cannot think or act like Jesus but we can obey Him and be showered with His blessings!
“For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:9
Resting in Jesus is a powerful gift but we tend to dismiss this attribute in the reality of our lives.
The Israelites refused to rest in God and spent forty years wandering in the desert. All the adults died and did not enter the Promised Land.
The Bible teaches a believer to cease from striving (or works) and enter the rest of Jesus. The subject of rest refers to the work of God in creating the world and every living being in six days and resting on the seventh day. The seventh day is our rest just like God rested.
Jesus died to give a believer His heavenly rest. The Cross causes a believer to die to self dependency and rely on Jesus for his every need. The whole relationship with Jesus is built on faith and trusting in the powerful promises of Jesus.
Resting in Jesus does not mean doing nothing. We pray to Jesus for wisdom and guidance in our lives. We walk by faith in the footsteps of Jesus.
The believer is instructed in the Bible to live by this spiritual precept: “It is not by strength nor by power but by My Spirit.” As a new creature in Christ we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Jesus and our reservoir of strength to navigate through life.
If a believer attempts to live through his natural life from birth he will encounter stress, fatigue and eventually failure.
The strength of Jesus is supernatural and comes from heaven. We can overcome any challenge by resting in Jesus and functioning through His strength.
Strength comes with resting in Jesus. We wait upon Jesus for His promises. Moses waited forty years in preparation for his ministry to the Israelites.
The great works of God are done by Christ followers who rest in God and allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish the results!
Many people have made a decision for the world because they believe Jesus lives in fantasy land and is not relevant to their needs. They attempt to find comfort and security in the world.
There will never be a “normal” again in the world like it was at one time. The values of God have continued to decrease while sin has increased.
Nothing is like it use to be. The work structure is completely different, we buy what we want online, and groceries are delivered to our door steps.
Sexual immorality is appropriate and acceptable for anyone. There are no boundaries. Anything goes.
Body art is popular for all ages even though it defaces the creative work of God.
The public schools are teaching diversity and amoral standards. They are poisoning our youth with lies.
There are new laws proposed that will permit the government to take your children away from your home.
The unbeliever lives and dies with nothing to look forward to in the after life. He takes from the world and pleases himself until death.
The world is under the control of Satan. He desires to steal, kill and destroy believers.
The schools in our country are being attacked by mentally crazed individuals who want to kill our kids.
Judges set law breakers free or offer liberal sentences to evil criminals.
Sports have been a cherished symbol in our country for both athletes and fans. Now sports is driven by money making, greed and achieving personal success. There is very little loyalty to belonging to a team.
Wars are raging and people are dying all over the world. But peace seems non existent.
There are economic pressures like never before. Very few can afford to buy a home.
This is the world you and I live in today! And, it’s going to get a lot worse.
The better choice is to seek out Jesus over the world.
Many are opposed to Jesus because He seems aloof and distant. And, most people today don’t want anything to do with religion. They view the churches as religious organizations seeking members and money. Most of the churches are not relevant to the needs of society and are riddled with hypocrisy and twisted motives.
Jesus is the perfect decision for the world we live in today. Jesus plays by the rules of God. He is alive and very approachable. Unlike the world Jesus keeps His promises.
Jesus desires to give every human being the gift of salvation. He doesn’t care about your past. The gift of salvation allows a man or woman to live with Jesus forever.
Make a decision for Jesus and things will begin to change quickly. Jesus will be alive in your life. He desires to build a personal and symbiotic relationship with a believer. He wants you to understand the reality of God and the hypocrisy of religion.
Jesus wants you to get to know Him, hear His voice and live in His presence. He seals believers with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and will pour out His attributes upon you.
The decision for Jesus will transform you into a new creature in Christ. This will literally cause you to be “born again”. All things will become new and your old life will fade away. You will identify with the death of Jesus and die to self and become transformed into the character of Jesus.
Jesus promises to forgive every sin in your life and make you clean through His blood. This allows a believer to face Jesus without any shame or condemnation.
Jesus has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. Nothing is impossible for Him. Jesus can do for you what you can never do for yourself.
Jesus wants to give you an abundant life filled with His goodness but you have to live by His words “Not my will but Yours be done”.
Commit your life to Jesus by faith and the world will no longer be your friend!
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This discussion is about the value of Jesus to a human being.
Jesus changes from a historical figure in the Bible to a Living Christ to all who reach out to Him.
Jesus is not about religion, keeping laws or doing works.
Jesus died an ugly death on a Cross. He is the Son of God and has power and dominion over the heavens and earth.
Jesus is alive and lives in heaven. He is the only way a man can be reconciled to God. He is very accessible but you must take the first step and reach out to Him.
Jesus knew you before you were born. He is omniscient and knows every detail of your life from birth through the present. He desires to protect His people from evil and provide a refuge for safety.
The value of Jesus is He will forgive every sin in your life through His blood from the Cross. You can face Jesus blameless without shame or condemnation.
Jesus offers the gift of salvation to all. This allows a human being to live forever. Death has no fear for a Christ follower.
The gift of salvation comes to anyone who makes a decision to live for Jesus and seek His will.
The decision for Jesus is about giving up your rights and surrendering your life to Jesus. The believer belongs to Jesus and He can do with him as He pleases.
Salvation creates a new life for a human being. Jesus said a human being is “born again” by the Spirit and Water and becomes a new creature in Christ. This causes him to identify with Jesus.
The new creature in Christ thinks differently, has new moral values, and a spiritual perspective on life. The old things fade away and the world becomes less attractive.
The believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the life Jesus and the portal to the powerful attributes of God.
Jesus desires a personal and embracing relationship with a believer. He wants a believer to get to know Him, hear His voice and live in His presence.
Jesus offers supernatural strength, joy, wisdom and protection. These attributes come from heaven and are not available in the world.
Jesus wants a believer to be successful in all his endeavors. He will provide wisdom and knowledge to overcome weaknesses and lack of ability.
Jesus asks a believer to pray, read the Bible and walk in oneness with Him yielding to the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus builds a relationship with a believer by faith. The Christ follower must trust the promises of Jesus and not what he sees with his eyes.
Jesus desires for a believer to build his life around Him and not a church. The church is a filling station not a home.
Jesus transforms a believer into His character through the work of the Holy Spirit. This just requires a willing heart open to God.
The Christ follower will experience trials and troubles at times. They are engineered by God to purity your character, strengthen your faith, and teach you the importance of patience and waiting on God.
The Christ follower can wake up every morning with Jesus and be enamored with His presence.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” Mark 2:22
Christianity has a lot of fakes in their movement. To become a Christ follower is a serious decision and cannot be taken lightly. Either you are all in or you are out!
Jesus explained there is a wide gate and a narrow gate to enter into the kingdom of God. The wide gate is easier and less demanding but you will never meet the Living Christ. The narrow gate is difficult and few enter it.
Most believers enter the wide gate to maintain an orderly life without pain or suffering. The cost of Jesus is just too big of a sacrifice.
The wine skin refers to the physical body and relates to a believer’s commitment to Jesus.
Jesus declares an individual must be “born again” to be a new creature in Christ. The believer makes a purposeful decision for Jesus and identifies with the work of the Cross. This causes him to die to self and live for Jesus. He is a new creature and entitled to all the promises of Jesus.
The new believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and the portal to the powerful attributes of Jesus.
If a believer has not made a life changing decision for Jesus the Holy Spirit (like the wine) will leak out of his body and he will not be transformed into the character of Jesus. And, his life will eventually be ruined.
Jesus desires to give a believer an abundant life filled with the goodness of God but you have to take Him seriously!
“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12
Many Bible scholars think this Psalm was written by King David but there are other opinions.
The psalmist with a burning passion for God asked the question what could he give to God for all the blessings he received from Him.
The Psalmist was close to death and reached out to the Lord who delivered him and promised to give him the gift of salvation.
The Psalmist expressed a thankful heart for God and desired to repay Him for all His benefits.
As believers we live in a symbiotic relationship with Jesus. This is a mutually beneficial partnership between God and a believer.
God offers an abundant life and many spiritual blessings and a believer is obligated to serve Jesus with all his heart. He lives by “Not my will but Yours be done”.
The question is what does Jesus want from a believer?
Jesus wants a believer to live for Him above all else.
Jesus desires for a believer to zealously seek the will of God for his life.
Jesus asks a believer to live by faith trusting in His promises and not by what he sees with his eyes.
Jesus desires for a believer to be obedient to His voice regardless of the personal cost or lack of logic.
Jesus desires for a believer to know Him personally, hear His voice and commit to prayer and reading the Bible.
Jesus died for your sins. He asks a believer to repent from all sins and seek forgiveness through His blood.
Jesus does not want a believer to do anything that grieves the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers. He must be clean before the Lord.
Jesus wants a believer to walk in oneness with Him under the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus warns a believer to reject the world and be transformed into His character and values.
Jesus declares the priority of a believer is to be focused on building a personal relationship with Him and not on keeping laws, doing works, or religious activities.
The works of Jesus come by the Holy Spirit in the perfect timing of God.
Jesus wants a believer to be a fountain of Living Water touching all those around him.
“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
Finding the joy of Jesus will work for any believer but requires a lot of spiritual discipline and concentration. The best time to start is after you awake to begin a new day. Another option is to begin your time with God while in bed.
This is a time of prayer, bible reading and worship with Jesus. You are meeting with the Living Christ who knows you better than you know yourself. I sing some hymns to Jesus to help set the atmosphere and concentrate on Him.
Begin with praise acknowledging the attributes of Jesus. Here is a perfect example from 1 Chronicles 29:11. My suggestion is to memorize and pray this scripture every day. This defines our amazing God!
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Next ask Jesus to cover all your sins with His blood and remove any shame or condemnation over you.
There cannot be anything standing between you and Jesus that grieves the Holy Spirit. Listen to the voice of Jesus. He will navigate you through this process and reveal habits or actions that displease Him.
Be anxious for nothing!
Think about all the worries and fears that occupy your mind and one by one release them to Jesus. This will free you of stress and anxiety as long as you don’t take them back. They are in the hands of Jesus and He will deliver you with His greatness and glory.
At this point you should be free of worldly concerns and can pray and receive the joy of Jesus.
The joy of Jesus comes from heaven and does not relate to the circumstances in your life.
The goal is to have a free mind and healthy emotions so you can have a productive day functioning in a state of surrender and trusting Jesus for your every need. The Christ follower has learned to let go of the world and walk in oneness with Jesus.
Remember, you are not perfect and never will be on earth. There will be slip ups. When this happens pause from what you are doing and ask Jesus to forgive you with His blood and place what caused the slip up back on the altar with Jesus.
Pray for the mind of Jesus to be over all your thoughts and actions. This will happen by inviting the Holy Spirit who lives inside you to have authority over your life. You will be amazed at hearing the voice of Jesus off and on during the day.
If you are experiencing confusion or doubt ask Jesus for wisdom and wait upon Him.
The joy of the Lord is your strength to overcome all your troubles!
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55
No one wants to face the fear of death or have to deal with the unknown of the after life.
Jesus has replaced the fear of death with the sacrifice of His life. He has conquered death and desires to give you the promise of eternal life.
The changes required to overcome death are the corruptible nature of man must be replaced with the incorruptible nature of God. And, the mortal man must be replaced with the immortality of God.
This will happen when a decision is made to live for Jesus above all else and the believer becomes a new creature in Christ. This activates the work of the Cross to die to self and become transformed into the character of Jesus.
When these two changes are completed death becomes victory. Jesus takes the sting out of death and wins a victory over Satan.
The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks to God who gives us the victory through Jesus.
The sting of death is the work of Satan to corrupt your inner nature and lead you into evil actions.
The strength of sin is attempting to live by laws, works, or religion. This negates the spiritual principles of walking with Jesus by faith and submitting to the authority of the Holy Spirit.
Come to Jesus and your outlook on life will change dramatically!
Hal Hollister Ministry 