June 19, 2018

June 19, 2018

Judy Hollaway

March 13

Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 10:39 Her sister Mary sat on the floor, listening to Jesus as he talked.

                Well we are inside Martha's house and the first person Luke introduces us to is Mary. Where was Mary? Sitting on the floor listening to Jesus talk! 

                  It was customary for a disciple to sit at Jesus feet. A disciple is a follower of Christ and a student, apprentice, pupil as opposed to a teacher. Mary was indeed a disciple and a willing learner! One who placed herself in a position to be taught. I think she couldn't get enough of Jesus teaching! She let nothing distract her from learning! She had time for Jesus. 

                  So often I tell my class stop trying to put Jesus into your day! It is Jesus then your day! If you have intentions of growing in your relationship with Christ you must let Him be first. Every day you crawl out of bed thinking I will have that quiet time in a few minutes and then you get distracted. Dishes left in the sink, oh I'll put them away first. Let me turn the TV on or check out FB! Oops that dryer needs to be turned back on! Oh no I have to hurry get ready for work I am running late. Pretty soon you are out the door and where was Jesus sitting at your quiet time spot and you never even spoke to Him. Sorry Lord I'll do better tomorrow. Somehow tomorrow never comes and before long the week has passed! 

                  Then we wonder why we get ourselves into so many messes! We wonder why our prayers are not getting answered and when the storms come we have no anchor to hold us down!

                Well let me ask you where were you sitting this morning? Are you a disciple? A disciple is a learner and follower of Christ! He can't get enough of the word's of Christ and He doesn't leave Him sitting and never speak to Him .

                  Well Christ has certainly challenged our hearts this morning! Am I truly a disciple? Do I sit at His feet? Am I a ready learner? Well guess we'll listen in some more tomorrow and see what happens next!

 Father here we are teach us today! Help us put You first and then put our day into You! Show us how to avoid the distraction and use our time with You wisely! As we go today help me share with the kids You place in my life and open doors to witness.

 Having the jitters and fretting let's meet Martha tomorrow!

June 18, 2018

June 18, 2018

Judy Hollaway

March 11

Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 10:33-37 “But a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw him, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and walked along beside him till they came to an inn, where he nursed him through the night. The next day he handed the innkeeper two twenty-dollar bills and told him to take care of the man. ‘If his bill runs higher than that,’ he said, ‘I’ll pay the difference the next time I am here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the bandits’ victim?” The man replied, “The one who showed him some pity.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

                Jesus is talking to a Jew to whom asked Jesus how to enter Heaven. The Jew responded to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus tells him a story about how a half breed Samaritan, who showed more compassion than a Jewish Priest and a Levite, temple servant who avoided the man. Through this story Jesus revealed the condition of this man’s heart! 

                How we live daily reveals our love and the condition of our hearts. Is there someone we hate or despise and avoid because of their skin color or their dress or living conditions don't fit our mode of thinking. We are to love everyone. Everyone, now that is tough for some of us. This reveals to me who I am letting rule my heart! 

                I remember getting upset one time and someone told me you will get hard to it and when I got home I cried and prayed Lord I don't want to be hard I want to love! He has had to teach me how to keep loving when I'm not loved! I am to forgive and to let His love flow through me. God's love is unconditional. What if today he said I am not going to love Judy she isn't acting right?  Can I imagine for one moment what it would be like if God withheld His love for me! Oh I would fall apart! That's what we do when someone hurts us we withhold our love. 

Lord we are needy people, help us have compassion upon all people. Help us to allow Your love to flow through us. Help us to love when we are not loved in return. Help us not grow hard but keep our hearts soft and fill us with unconditional love where we choose to keep on loving and going those extra miles. 

Tomorrow:  We stop running and visit with Jesus at Martha's house! Lots to learn there!!

June 17, 2018

June 17, 2018

Judy Hollaway

March 10

Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 10: 27 “It says,” he replied, “that you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself.”

                This section comes from a conversation with a man trying to trick Jesus and justify not loving some people but I want to pause here because I learned something about loving God from some of the phrases that helped me when I was in depression. I will go back to the context tomorrow. The man answered a question what the Bible said about how to enter heaven.

                Firsts he said you must love God with all your heart. The heart is the seat of our emotions. Emotions are response to life situations. Each thing we experience will bring up a feeling then we take action. The mind goes into processing how to respond to that emotion and our will takes action outwardly then we end up being controlled by that emotion.  I lived for years emotionally controlled by what I heard and then what I felt began to run my life. Then I began to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God I learned emotions could not be trusted! They will lie to you and you build preconceived ideas that build in your mind and will send you into depression. What if’s, doubts despair and all sorts of emotions that Satan can use to destroy your Life. Here Luke says to love the Lord with all your heart, soul , strength and mind. We have to let Him transform our thinking!  Our total person has to be transformed! 

                I have shared before we have been brought up playing pre-recorded tapes that others have taped for us and some we allowed to define who we are! We need to read the Word and erase the old tapes and play what God has to says about us and how we are to respond.  So stop running on old emotions and thinking patterns. Let's get a new energy to run your life on! Spiritual Red Bull! 

Father help these runners know, feel and understand they have a new life and the old things are passed away and run on truths from Your Word. Help us all understand and learn we are defined by what You say not from where I come from or what's been said or done to us. We are a child of the King. Help us love You with all our heart, soul, strength, mind and let us learn to rest in You and Your love!

Tomorrow: Jesus helps the man see into His heart!

June 16, 2018

June 16, 2018

Judy Hollaway

March 9

Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 10:21-22 Then he was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the intellectuals and worldly wise and for revealing them to those who are as trusting as little children. Yes, thank you, Father, for that is the way you wanted it.  I am the Agent of my Father in everything; and no one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

                Jesus human side of emotion is shown here when He said he was filled with joy. These unlearned fisherman, hated tax collector disciples were growing in wisdom and knowledge of Christ our Lord. They left their jobs to follow Christ and were getting to enter into their new work running with Jesus. Jesus gave them power and authority and they came back filled with joy and amazement.

                I tell my people all the time your joy comes when you let God power you and begin the ministry He has for you. There is nothing more precious than being the midwife for Jesus holding your hands out when that spiritual baby is born. And there is that joy when you look and see that one who was chained by sin set free from bondage. Also to hear my little Puggle’s class of two and three year olds say, “I want my Bible.”  Where they find a picture I placed inside, as I was guided by God to make it alive for them.  Also the smile on that face when I see them point a finger at the picture on the wall and say that is Jesus. As I type my eyes fill with tears of joy when I see that one person who hears us say read your Bible today because there is hope for that hurting heart. 

                 I say your joy after salvation is found in ministry. Then greater revelation of Christ grows in your heart. People want to know Christ better but they don't let Him run their lives. When you begin serving you will learn He is your teacher, you will learn Him as provider, you will learn Him as strength, you will learn Him as victory and grace and mercy! Step by step as you run together you get to know Him. Remember birds of a feather flock together and you become like who you run with!

Father thank You for revealing Christ to us, the uneducated and undesirables. You are such an amazing gracious loving Father!

                Runners keep on running you are going in the right direction. 

Tomorrow: Loving God with Heart, soul, and mind!

June 15, 2018

June 15, 2018

Judy Hollaway

March 8

Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 10:17-20 The seventy came back triumphant. “Master, even the demons danced to your tune!”

Jesus said, “I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”

                Oh if only the body of Christ would step out of self and into Jesus today! We have not begun to tap into the power He has given to us. God wants to use us but we are too full of self.  Read this again "All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing."

                Our challenge daily is to die to self. We write our schedules without consulting God! We do well to fit in church on Sunday and maybe Wednesday if we feel like it! 

Oh Father, help us empty our souls today and listen to Your instructions and what we are missing by not running close enough to hear. We run right pass the places You stop and sometimes lag behind. Let our pace be with You step by step! Forgive us for planning and leaving You out. Show us and help us discipline ourselves and lay our schedules down before You and place every moment into Your hands. Empower us to witness as we function in this world! Empower us to do the work in this world You have chosen for us to do.

               Let's join together today and say “Into Your hands we commit our spirit and ask You, Father to anoint us with Your power and authority”. Let's let Him be the Boss! 

The Joy for running with Jesus will come when we let Him use us tomorrow!