May 9, 2019

May 9
Running with Jesus  

Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

      There is a song I hear on the radio that talks about "I Am Desperate for You"! I wonder how many of us are desperate for the Lord this morning. In these few text of warnings we find mashed into the midst "Seek the Kingdom of God First"! We never seem to get it!
     This means making Jesus the Lord and King of our lives! He must control every area of our lives. Our work, our play, relationships and our plans! Oops, didn't mean to mention plans. We set our schedules and never consult God with what His desires are and then ask Him to bless them!
     I remember there was a big move in the seventies or early eighties to read a book about characters that only did what Jesus would do. I barely remember something about a news paper writer got fired from his job by doing this challenge from a minister’s sermon! God worked a miracle out for him in the end, but it was costly and painful in the process.  However he was blessed at the end of the ordeal! So let's start today by seeking God's Kingdom and let Him be boss!
             

 Father, as we run today You are our leader! Let us know moment by moment and step by step what You want us to do! Here we are Your servant! I know the enemy isn't going to like this, give us grace and strength to run like never before! We love You and are seeking Your Kingdom living! God ruling!

 Tomorrow: Be prepared!

 Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015

May 8, 2019

May 8

Running with Jesus  

Luke 12:22-24 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

     Don't "WORRY"! Worry is like a rocking chair it gets you nowhere! I heard this way back in the 80's and I have never forgotten the phrase, so I am passing it on to you! I didn't realize this is a command from our Lord! Because we are called to live by FAITH! Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

     Faith is living by trusting God to do what He says He will do when we can't see anything happening! 

    Worry is pointless because it can't fill our need. We have to be reminded the creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need.   We can overcome worry by trusting God, keep a proper perspective on your problem, watch magnifying and over reacting rather than responding in the Spirit. Keep a support team that will pray with you. That will pray for wisdom and strength! Die to self because a dead man can't worry! Last but not least wait upon the Lord! Then keep your eyes focused on your ministry, if you don't have one then find a place to serve even if it is nursery duty! Do it with joy to the honor of God and His glory! People without a vision perish! Ministry will keep your focus off your circumstances! 

Father, we trust in You today to take the things we can't change and help us to do the things that we can change.  Show us ways to minister. Give us grace for this day! 

Seek God's kingdom, tomorrow!

 Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015

May 7, 2019

May 7

Running with Jesus

Luke 12:16-20 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

      Live today like there is no tomorrow! We have all heard this phrase! After telling His disciples life is not measured in what we have, He tells them this parable about a farmer! The man spent all his time, energy, and effort into his crops and kept getting bigger and bigger and planned for retirement. This is wise because we do have to exist in this world. However, neglecting life after death leads to disaster! The man died that night! What did it profit the man to use all his time and energy storing stuff? If we do not think and prepare for life after death and think about helping others we enter eternity empty handed! We also miss out on some of the greatest joys of life of using our resources to help others. We need to live beyond earthbound goals. Jesus tells us to store up riches in heaven! 

      Let's set some goals to help others. Let us not just live to self! Let us use our resources, faith, and obedience to help others! This will help us overcome yesterday's temptation with covetousness.

 Father, help us continue to renew our minds so we can run with you on our journey through life! Show us ways to help others today! Help us have eyes to see and hear doors that open and let us listen and feel the nudges of the Holy Spirit when He says you need to _______! Some examples are; take food to a sick person, visit a shut in, clean out your closet and share what over abundance you may have! Jesus Cares! Let's get in the race with Jesus and stay there! This will help us live a balanced life! And we will learn to live the abundant life Jesus tells us about! 

Tomorrow: "Don't Worry!"

Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015

May 6, 2019

May 6
Running with Jesus

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

     Covetousness is a strong desire after possessions of worldly things! Far more important is our relationship with Him.  It is amazing how we know we are going to die and leave this world just like we came into this world! Billions of dollars are spent every year just to advertise and lure us to buy things! You can't watch a TV program without a thousand commercials! The Internet is constantly popping up ads and Facebook has them running too!
     We get too attached to this world! I remember going to Venezuela on a mission trip and Mexico, it was like traveling back to the 70's way of living! But I watched the children playing with sticks and bottles laughing and having a great time! Our kids are constantly working on computer gadgets and are never satisfied. We want more and more and will do anything to have what others have. We need a good dose of contentment.
     Our abundance is leading a generation away from God. Look at all the looting and theft that is going own!
Here we go again with the throwing out the Ten Commandments of God! The law of the land has lost control
because until the heart is changed mans ways are wicked.  The Bible says mans hearts are desperately wicked!!
     We need to guard against covetousness because it will lead us into bondage. Things will not be taken to heaven. Ask God for contentment.

Lord,  help us to be more content. Help us to be satisfied with Jesus. Help us to use discernment and balance in our lives as we live in this world and help us remember we are pilgrims on a journey and our home is heaven.

  The next few weeks as we run with Jesus, we will run right into a list of warnings  Dr Luke recorded that He taught His disciples. Run close!

 Watch building bigger barns tomorrow!

Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015

May 5, 2019

May 5

Running with Jesus

Luke 21:14-15 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

      In this chapter Jesus is heading to His death, but he is also telling His disciples that they are about to be persecuted for their faith in Him. He made the statement not to settle beforehand what they were to say. 

      As time moves forward and unless a revival begins or Jesus returns, we are moving toward these same situations. The world and other religious people do not like Christianity!  They will settle for mediocrity but not black and white Christian faith and Biblical truth. They will dissect the Word and only take what justifies their life style. More than ever, for us as true believers we need to purpose in our hearts today to stand firm in our faith!  It is coming! We don't have to worry about what to say He will tell us. We should not compromise our beliefs and we should expect the world and its system to come against us. God's Word says Satan is the ruler and prince and power of this world. We forget this and the bride of Christ gets caught up in the system and that is exactly what our enemy wants. 

Father, help us today to settle it and empower us to remain firm in our faith and live by Biblical principles!  We don't have to worry about what to say You will tell us! We pray for revival and look forward to Your glorious appearing! Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!

Please be in prayer for our Supreme Court justice as they make decisions to not listen to the majority and pressures from ungodly influences but to vote on our true constitutional beliefs and values! 

Tomorrow: Covetousness!

Judy Hollaway

Originally penned 2015