by George Runyan | Aug 30, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 13:23 – The one sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
Jesus taught many aspects of the kingdom of God through parables. Matthew 13:23 is an excerpt from the “parable of the sower.” In this verse, Jesus is describing the effect of God’s word on the person who is like good soil where seed has been sown. The soil represents a human soul. As we have seen previously, the soul is made up of our intellect, emotions, and will. Our soul is in a constant state of growth. No one can say they have arrived in terms of their total understanding of God’s word. Our relationship with the Godhead is constantly developing and growing. Only in eternity will we find full development.
We begin our journey with the Lord like a newborn baby. “Be like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). The key to development and growth in the kingdom of God is a constant hungering for the Word of God. This longing should never disappear! The Holy Spirit gives us the desire to read, to study, and to search out the depths of God’s truths. We should be moving from milk to the meaty food of Scriptures. The writer of Hebrews had to stop a theme he was developing in Hebrews 5, because he realized that his readers were not ready to go further. “Concerning Him, we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11).
The Christian life is a life of development and growth. God’s life in us is organic in nature. His life is measurable in our growth and development. That measurable growth can only come through longing for His word, regular times spent in fellowship with Him through prayer and supplication, and a relationship with other believers. All three of these areas are necessary in order to be healthy and growing. These three ingredients will affect growth in your mind, emotions, and will. Relationship with the Father and the Son through the Spirit will provoke much thinking and reshaping of our thought processes. This is also true as we interact with God’s people. It will produce growth which helps us to mature as sons and daughters of God.
Growing and developing can be very painful at times. As this is true physically, it is equally true spiritually. This is why Peter declares that “the apostles were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God’” (Acts 14:22).
Father, I thank You for the seed which has been sown into the good soil of my life. I am depending on the Holy Spirit to continue to help me in my development and growth. Increase my love for Your word, for prayer, and the fellowship of Your people.
by George Runyan | Aug 29, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 1:12 – As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
In John 1:12, John speaks of the most important right an individual can possess, “the right to become a child of God.” The world thinks that we are all God’s children. It is true, in biblical terms, that our genealogy can be traced back to Adam. The Bible speaks of Adam as “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). Adam lost his standing through sin. God established the law of a “blood sacrifice” in the Garden of Eden when He took the skins of an innocent animal and covered Adam and Eve’s nakedness. Through what God did, we have the first prophetic picture of God’s provision for fallen humankind through His Only Begotten Son. Paul calls Jesus the last Adam who has redeemed us back to God making it possible for each descendant of the first Adam to once again have a “right standing” with God the Father. In our spirit, we have a sure standing as sons and daughters of the living God. Jesus’ victory has secured our standing as children of God.
Paul writes of our relationship with God in his letter to the Romans, “All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). The question each believer must ask throughout their life is, “Am I being led by the Spirit of God?” Sons do what the father directs. We live in a society where sons do their own pleasure and this even seems correct. Young people strive for independence. It seems like the goal in child development. Jesus came to do the will of His Father. Even as a child, He understood “being about His Father’s affairs” (Luke 2:49). Later as an adult, Jesus taught, “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30).
Being led by the Spirit of the Father is what sons of God do. The Lord did not save us simply to transport us to heaven. The Father’s plan is to have sons and daughters throughout the earth whose utmost desire is to do His will. The true witness of a son of God is someone who is seeking the Father to know His will in their life so that they may please Him in everything they do. When a person comes to know that their standing before God is absolutely sure, they must do God’s will or simply be unfulfilled in their lives.
My personal experience has been to know absolute fulfillment by doing what the Lord has directed of me. Equally true, I have been miserable when disregarding God’s will and pursuing my own interests. There is a contrast between a child and a son. I know I have the right to be God’s child as Jesus taught in John 1:12. As I mature in my relationship with the Father, I now know I am a son of God because I must do His will as Jesus Himself came to realize.
by George Runyan | Aug 28, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Acts 8:12 – When they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.
Acts 8:12 is a powerful Scripture that reports a number of things which are very important. First, “many believed” what Philip was declaring. The good news of the kingdom is that the kingdom of God has come, but not in the way many Jews expected. There are many teachings within modern-day Christianity about future events. Not all of the events will happen the way they are being taught. The Lord has given us what He wants us to know about the future. The kingdom of God did not come as an earthly kingdom, as many Jews expected, but rather in the Spirit. Christ was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit. The promise of God is that we will be raised from the dead by the same Spirit that raised up Christ. (See Romans 8:11). The Spirit brought transformation in human lives, both for Jew and Gentile. The Spirit of God has affected the nations throughout history. It is through the Holy Spirit that God’s rule is known in the earth.
The kingdom that Philip and the apostles preached has a king presently ruling from a heavenly throne. God’s covenant with king David was that his heir would rule on an everlasting throne. Jesus Christ is the son of David that is ruling just like God promised. This is why our message needs to contain both the good news of the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, “Savior Messiah.” The good news to the world is that this King has overcome the powers of darkness that rule throughout the nations. This King’s inheritance is the nations. “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession” (Psalm 2:8). The good news is that God’s servant is reigning as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:8).
The response of the men and women who believed was that they were baptized into Jesus’ name. They identified with His kingdom as they were born again of the Spirit. In the waters of baptism, they testified to the world that they no longer belonged to this world’s systems, but to Jesus Christ and His kingdom of righteousness.
The kingdom of God that Philip preached was a kingdom of power. Act 8:13 tells us the Simon, who was a sorcerer, also believed as he witnessed the miracles taking place through Philip. The world is filled with skeptics and many that participate with the realms of darkness. They are trying to discover reality, but only the kingdom of God contains the reality they need and satisfies the soul. Our witness to the world is a vital part of our Christian life. Our testimony, that begins in the waters of baptism as we are baptized by God’s ministers, should continue with a lifestyle born of the Spirit of God in righteousness and peace. We should expect signs and miracles to happen in and through our lives as we minister to others. Our testimony should not only be in what we believe, but in demonstration as well. The world is waiting for the testimony of Jesus lived out in power in the lives of His people.
Father, I embrace the King and His kingdom. Let my life be a testimony to the world that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.
by George Runyan | Aug 27, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Romans 8:16-17 – The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
When one is born again, the spirit of the person has witnesses of God’s work of salvation in the life. Our souls are challenged because they are used to the witness of the world and not the witness of a regenerated human spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to “help” us enter into the full provision of a new creation life. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). The work of God is eternal, but we must learn how to receive His eternal work in our daily walk.
What a tremendous thing our Lord has done for each believer! He sealed us in the blood of Christ. He sealed us in the Holy Spirit who helps us day by day. We stand with a testimony before God and a testimony in our soul. As we have seen in previous devotionals, our soul is made up of our intellect, emotions, and will. These three areas of our soul can know the witness of the Holy Spirit. This is the true peace of which the Scriptures speak. There is peace in our intellect, knowing all that the Lord has done on our behalf. We have peace in our emotions. We do not need to be tossed by every wind of doctrine; we need to rely on the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures that witness to our salvation. “We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14-15). Peace in our will is possible. We can walk in the strength of God and make right choices because of this witness in our soul. The Word of God gives us all the insight we need.
Our personal testimony to others comes out of the work of God in our soul life. The world is looking for reality, consistency, and stability. These areas are only possible in Christ, because He is the only one who was able to live out all of these completely. The believer can do the same, day by day, because of the Spirit’s presence and His witness to our soul. Daily give the Holy Spirit the right to guide you and to bring the witness of heaven in all areas of your life. He is an ever-present help to us just as Jesus promised. He is our “Helper.” Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to live the life of Christ.
Father, I am grateful for the full provision for my soul life. I thank You for the testimony of the Holy Spirit in my soul. I ask for an increase of my capacity to hear and embrace the Spirit’s witness in me day by day.
by George Runyan | Aug 25, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 John 5:7-8 – There are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
The Holy Spirit came to earth after the Son ascended to the right hand of the Father. Consider this, a man is ruling from heaven at the Father’s right hand. The Spirit of God has come to earth to bring forth a new creation out of mankind. Mankind, which has been bound by Satan’s control. The Spirit is here to create all men in the image of Christ. The process which the Holy Spirit leads us into is “the water,” where we are to experience death with Christ and His resurrection power. It is a death to the flesh and the receiving of His life. The cleansing of Christ’s blood from our sins is applied as the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit and the new birth takes place.
As one receives the New Covenant in the blood of Christ, one is accepting the conditions of the covenant, which is giving up our life in exchange for His. This means I must die to self. Our death to self transpires in the waters of baptism. It is in the waters of baptism that death transpires. Coming out of the water, resurrection life takes place. The Spirit testifies we belong to God through Christ. The blood testifies, we are clean and accepted by God. It testifies that Christ’ blood was shed for our sins, destroying all enmity between God and man. Faith in His blood establishes peace with God. The water testifies of our death to our flesh and to our new life in Christ.
Let me be clear, I am not saying that regeneration happens because of the act of going into the water, but it is important to understand the water is more than a religious action. Paul’s teaching is quite clear concerning baptism. “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:2-4). The water is a very important witness on earth to the reality of our salvation.
The Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God. The water testifies to the world, we died to this life and now belong to another age. And the blood witnesses of our cleansing that we are now partakers of His life. Let us go forward with great hope and expectation of God’s eternal purpose that He has chosen for us in Christ.
Father, I receive the witness of the three You have given the Spirit, the water, and the blood. I thank You for the relationship with You that the Holy Spirit has brought into my life. I praise You for the water which testifies that I am no longer my own. I belong to Christ who cleanses me with His precious blood and witnesses that God is absolutely delighted in me.
