April 20, 2018

April 20, 2018

Judy Hollaway

January 8
Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 4:9-12,  And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:  And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

                 I was really struggling with this temptation and wanted to be sure I was sharing truth. In my search I came to understand this temptation by the response He gave. He was quoting Deuteronomy where the Israelites failed to trust in the wilderness when they came to a place of no water.  They had seen God provide food for them and saw him part the Red Sea.
                (Trusting God by Ron Julian shed light on this for me.)  This will help understand what “putting God to the test” means. Each Israelite looked around at the bleak wilderness and asked, “Why has God brought me here?” God clearly was not to be trusted; look at the scary and dangerous place to which He had brought them. However, if God were to apologize and come through with some water, maybe they would be willing to forgive Him and follow Him again. The question should have been settled already; God is there; He is powerful and loving. Instead, each new difficulty caused Israel to question His power and goodness. They “tested” Him by making Him prove His faithfulness all over again. Years later, Moses looks back on this event and warns the people: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.” This is the verse Jesus quotes when Satan tempts Him in the wilderness. How many times are we tempting God in circumstances thinking we can't trust God in this circumstance? Learning to trust the ways of God is so important in our race of life because life will test us to build endurance in our faith. We will throw tantrums with God, threaten to sit down, get angry and rebel. We must not test God during those times.
                Jesus was just about to enter His outward ministry and He is going to encounter so many more temptations as soon as our slithery enemy lying along the road can approach him.
               

Father help us trust You when we are taken to high places that put our trust to a test. Help us not tempt You in those places. Help us overcome the thoughts Satan places in our minds to lead us off our path.

  Let's trust in the Lord with all our heart.

Tomorrow : The season of temptation is over let’s rejoicing!

April 19, 2018

April 19, 2018

Judy Hollaway

January 7
Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 4:5-7 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

                Well this temptation was found in a sermon Jesus later preached, what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul! This temptation is what I see people today looking for in the American dream. People have bought into the biggest lie of Satan that money can buy anything. Having things is what it is all about. I see so many leading their children this way too. We give them everything but salvation. This world will pass away and after this the judgment and it is appointed unto man once to die! All will die and all will leave this world like they came in with nothing of this world going with them. Satan is the prince of this world and can give us promises in trade for our souls. We see wealthy people commit suicide because they have no peace. I am not saying riches are wrong but when we run with the devil and do it his way it will always lead to destruction.

                America is running with the devil we are losing the soul of America. We must resist the temptation of bowing to Satan and his ways. We must return to bow before God alone. Jesus told Satan we are to worship and serve God alone. If you are leaving God out of your life you are bowing to the enemy. He is offering you pleasures for your soul or your kids souls. It will cost eternal consequences. Jesus did not bow to Satan to sit on a throne but would hang on a cross and later all will one day bow before Him because He is the King of Kings. Jesus said it is written thou shall worship God alone.
  What are you worshipping? Where your time, money and energy goes is the revelation of where your heart is and who is running your life? Just saying!

Father, lead us not into temptation to run with the world. Help us run with You alone! Help us not bow to the world system ran by Satan! Help us bow daily before you!

Tomorrow: Tempting God!

April 18, 2018

April 18, 2018

Judy Hollaway

January 6
Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 4:3-4 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

            Jesus had been fasting and praying for forty days and the devil knew Jesus was hungry and began to test Him to use His power for personal benefit over obedience to God's plan and will. Jesus would use scripture to do battle with the enemy. In preparing to run a race the new runners pace themselves a little at a time until their body learns to endure. If you are not a student of God's Word you will not win your race of life. You are not building endurance.
            In life we are a physical and a spiritual being. The spiritual needs food to keep it fit. The word of God is the bread we need to run the spiritual race Jesus told His enemy who tempted Him to turn a stone to bread. The thing is, Jesus could have turned the stone to bread but that would not have been in God's plan. God's plan was for victory over Satan who took dominion from man.
            We will never win or live a victorious life without the Word of God in our hearts. Jesus is teaching us the difference in our body and spirit. We are learning about the spiritual realm and how to discern the most complex part of man. Man doesn't live by physical bread alone. We are spiritual beings. The word of God is the bread that sustains and maintains our spirit.
            Start your race right this year and commit to study and read God's word for ten or fifteen minutes on a daily basis. Over time it will build endurance to help you finish the race.
             

Father help us to become students of Your Word.

            Take time to read Luke 4 and jot down a few thoughts you have after reading. This can be the start of learning to Journal. Buy a dollar journal and use it to records thoughts daily. Everybody has to start somewhere.
 

Tomorrow: The temptation is on!

April 17, 2018

April 17, 2018

Judy Hollaway

January 5
Running with Jesus 2015

Luke 4: 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

                Being tempted of the devil! The devil is a real created being. He is a rebellious fallen angel. He is not a symbol or idea or a little red thing with a pitch fork. He was the most beautiful ark angel God created that rebelled against God. He is always fighting against God and any who run with Jesus and are seeking to obey God. You can expect Satan to bring opposition and temptations if you plan to run with Jesus!  I ask a friend about Jesus being tempted and she reminded me Jesus was fully God and human and the Bible says there is no temptation that we go through that He does not understand and can't help us with. He had to be tempted and He had to undo what Adam and Eve did in the garden, yielding to temptation, by resisting temptation. Offering salvation to man.
                Everyone faces temptations but we have one who understands and can help us and will make a way of escape. Temptation is not the sin. The sin is yielding to the temptation.

 Father, lead us not into temptation today and deliver us from the evil one. Help us recognize the enemy and give us strength to overcome him. Help us love and run with You. Love trumps evil every time. So let our love for You help us win in this race.

Tomorrow: Bread for the Spirit!

April 16, 2018

April 16, 2018

Judy Hollaway

January 4
Running with Jesus 2015
 

Luke 4:1 " And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,"

                After Jesus baptism His earthly ministry began. Right away the Spirit led Him into the wilderness and here he would undergo a long period of testing.
                Cross country running is one of the more challenging races my husband did this! because it is done on uneven terrain and has challenges like thick grass, smooth grass, bumpy or smooth surface, dirt, rocks, turns, hills—short, steep, and  long. This is tough on their thinking and each runner must understand that cross-country is about best effort over the course rather than pacing themselves like they do at road races.
                 Anytime we get serious with the Father we can expect our faithful enemy to show up.  Our race will be difficult at times. Notice Jesus was full of the Holy Ghost! And the Spirit led him this way. Often we have a tendency to tell new converts get saved and smooth sailing! This is not true often we can be led into difficult times too! Oft times our trial could be from own sin or personal choices and we better not put the blame on God for those poor choices. Confess and ask for strength to overcome.
                  Finally if we are led into a difficulty, ask God to strengthen you for the test. Realize you are in this race for the long haul. Test usually are given to reveal what we don't know and each test we enter can teach us things about ourselves and God we never knew. So upon running this race expect testing and opposition. Jesus had it and so will we if we run with Jesus!
               

 Father, help us run through this wilderness with strength we never dreamed possible. Help us with each test to endure!  Life will test us! Let's stay the course with Jesus! He will help us!

(Psalm 121:2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.)
 

Tomorrow: Meet our chief opponent in the race.