January 20, 2020

January 20
Running with Jesus 

Luke 5:18-20 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

     This is a great example of a true runner of Christ. These men, you might say, jumped through hoops to get their friend to Jesus. They went the extra mile! They saw a crowd and appeared no way to get to Christ, but that didn't stop them,  they carried and lifted him up to the roof too and dropped him out of the ceiling right before Christ. 
      Sometimes God works through the person’s faith to heal someone but in this case what did we see happen. Jesus said when he saw their faith He said, man, your sins are forgiven. Our faith can make a difference when we pray and seek to bring others to Christ. I saw Mike go visit a man for almost 10 years praying and persevering to see him come to know Christ and finally he did. We must never give up on people and seek to do all we can to get them to Jesus. We must have FAITH God can bring salvation to that friend. Be willing to go the extra mile. Ask God what you need to do. This man couldn't get to Jesus himself, he was sick lying on his bed. They lifted him up and carried him to Jesus. We can lift up our friends to Jesus in prayer and lay them down at His feet.
      Make a list of needs of your friends today and offer them up in prayer this morning. That friend may be so cast down he can't pray but you can. He may need a lift by car to get to a doctor. He may need the money to pay for a copayment. These may be the tools you can use to bring them to Jesus. 
       Let's be honest how many of us are willing to stop our busy schedules to bring someone to Christ. Jesus saw the FAITH of the men and he was healed. Remember our FAITH matters! 

Father,  help us look around today and see opportunities to bring someone to You! Help us take time out to help our friends. Today I lift up------ to You. (Start naming those names!). Then they too can become runners.

Tomorrow: Is Glory Day don't miss this race get your glory shoes on! See you there!

Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015