by George Runyan | Mar 12, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:11 – Give us today our daily bread.
In the Old Testament, the priests were required to bake fresh showbread every day. The showbread spoke of His Presence. God’s presence was made flesh in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Jesus said to the multitudes, “I am the Bread of life; he who comes to Me will never hunger” (John 6:35). Eating of this Bread fills us up, eating of this Bread satisfies, eating of this Bread will sustain us when everything else seems to be lacking.
The Holy Spirit of God has come as the comforter. He is the one who indwells us. He is the spirit of the Father and of the Son. He is the one who supplies us with the spiritual food necessary for our daily existence. He is the promised “daily bread.” He feeds us with God’s Word, He releases God’s gifts through us for others, and He builds up our inner man so we might mature in the Lord. Whenever I turn to the Holy Spirit, He brings refreshment which cannot be compared to anything else in this world. The Psalmist expresses it like this, “Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:3-5).
Allow the Comforter to have His full way in your life today. He has Bread for you right now that will nourish and sustain you. Every day, turn to Him and say, “Give me this day the Bread you have for my life. I ask for my spirit, soul, and body to feed daily upon the presence of Your life.
Father, You are my resting place. I feed at Your table and drink from Your cup. I want to thank You for being my source and supply. It is You that sustains me.
March 12 – FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS
Matthew 6:12 – Forgive us our debts.
We are born as debtors. This view is an offense to many who refuse to accept their fallen condition before God. As an infant we are innocent, but it is an innocence that comes from a lack of knowledge. As we develop, we become aware of our guilt before the Creator. The beginning point for our relationship with the Father is when we accept our condition and ask for His forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
When we are born again through the work of God’s Holy Spirit, our sins are forgiven and removed. The Scriptures tell us that He removes our sins “as far as the East is from the West” (Psalm 103:12). We still have to deal with the challenge of sin which is in our members. Study Romans 5 for a more complete understanding of this truth. With the Father’s forgiveness, we receive a responsibility and obligation to forgive the debt of others. We remain debtors made free by the blood of Christ. We are humbled by the fact that the Father loved us in spite of the enmity that existed between Him and mankind. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are delighted to have been given power to forgive others their debt toward us.
For the individual who is living their life by the leading of the Spirit, unforgiveness ceases to be a problem. Forgiveness of others is at the core of the foundation we have in the cleansing of the blood of Christ. Because He has forgiven us, we must forgive others! The Scriptures are emphatic about this topic. When we fail to forgive as we have been forgiven, a door is opened for the enemy to attack us. Jesus’ cleansing blood is our defense against the devil, but this fact is rooted in our willingness to forgive. Study Matthew 18 for a larger understanding of the importance of forgiveness.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you areas in your life where you have not yet surrendered to God’s rule. Ask forgiveness and commit all He shows you to His authority. Ask Him to show you anyone that you need to forgive. Pray for His power to live a life that is above reproach for His glory.
by George Runyan | Mar 10, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day our daily bread.
Our God is the God of today just as He was the God of yesterday and will be the God of tomorrow. It is today that our need is greatest. God takes from His eternal storehouse to supply us on a daily basis. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Draw near to God with confidence to the throne of grace, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). James reminds us that “every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow”(James 1:17).
God just does not change. He is our Rock and our fortress. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and He shows us the Father’s will. For every need we may possibly have, we can receive the Father’s resources by the Holy Spirit. Shadows change as the sun moves across the sky, but God never changes. God spoke through the prophet Malachi stating, “I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). God supplied all of Israel’s needs even as they demonstrated stubbornness and rebellion through disobedience. How much more will He give us our daily need because of what Jesus has established for us in a better covenant? Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will on earth and made it possible for each of us to receive our portion from the Father’s supply.
Come with confidence, asking the Father for bread. It may be natural food or it may be the bread of healing as with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15. It may be a passage the Holy Spirit gives in order to help bring you through a tough time. We call this “the bread of His Word.” Jesus is the bread which came down from heaven to feed the whole world.
Father, I thank You for the promise that you will supply all of my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus, the Lord. Please grant me an increasing grace to trust You daily. As I trust in You, help me to be an inspiration to others in their time of difficulty.
by George Runyan | Mar 9, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:10 – On earth as it is in heaven.
God’s will is for heaven’s influence to be brought to earth. His plan from the beginning was that His creation man would fill the earth with the righteousness of heaven. He began by creating man in His own image. Because of man’s disobedience in the Garden, sin entered the scene. In God’s dealings with Adam and Eve, He looked down the annals of time and said, “I will put enmity between you and women, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15). We have come to understand that the Lord was speaking about the battle between Satan and Christ.
Jesus came to provide redemption for all mankind. In the process, Satan bruised Him through the crucifixion, but Christ the Lord crushed Satan’s ability to stop the advancement of the Lord’s kingdom purpose in the earth. One day, the old earth and heaven will be destroyed and a new heaven and earth created. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). This is a prophetic mystery about which the Scriptures speak. We should not get hung up in mysteries and things which are not altogether clear. We need to trust God about the future, while in the present we seek His face to know His will for our daily lives. As long as we draw breath, we are called to affect the earth with heaven’s perspective and heaven’s authority.
Worship and praise must be continual throughout my life, for this is a part of bringing heaven to earth. My daily walk should include intimate fellowship with the Godhead. This is bringing heaven to earth. As I observe needs in the lives of people, I am a ready servant to help meet those needs as God enables me. This is bringing heaven to earth. As I allow the Holy Spirit to fill me and release His gifts through me to others, this is bringing heaven to earth. God’s love for me and God’s love in me released to others in my daily walk, most assuredly helps bring heaven to earth. Keep this phrase in your mind “on earth as in heaven” it will help you to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His plans.
Father, I pray that my life will be used to manifest heaven’s will here on earth. Please continue to change me into Christ’s likeness. Help me put on the mind of Christ in all that I do and in everything that I say. Lord, You are faithful, so please cause me to be faithful in doing Your will consistently.
by George Runyan | Mar 8, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:10 – Your will be done
There is nothing more important than the will of God. His will reigns supreme above all else. God the Father has invited humanity to cooperate with His purposes. The will of God is rooted in His purpose. Jesus is the full revelation of that purpose, a new man. Jesus completely fulfilled His Father’s will through His human life. He was led by the Holy Spirit to represent God the Father and lay down His own life for the lost humanity. In His redemptive work, He made it possible for all to be reconciled to the Father. Jesus has made it possible for each believer to do God’s will through the power of His Spirit.
Just as Jesus intercedes on our behalf, we have been invited to intercede on behalf of those yet needing redemption. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God’s will is that each believer be matured in Christ and give testimony of God’s salvation to others. Just think, if every believer was praying for the lost and sharing their faith, how many might be saved.
The Lord Jesus did the will of His Father when He walked on earth. He finished the work when He died for the sins of the entire world. The Father raised Him up through His surpassing power and seated Him in the highest authority at His own right hand. The purpose of our salvation is to be joined with the Lord in doing the Father’s bidding on earth. Yes, we will go to heaven and be with Him throughout eternity, but for now, it is about doing His will.
God’s will was accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only acceptable sacrifice for sin. He redeemed all of mankind once and for all. No other sacrifice is needed, only the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was given to each believer to help us to be able to do God’s will. He brought conviction for sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is bringing forth a new man in the earth. This new man is known as the corporate body of Christ. He made it possible for the will of God to be done in and through each believer’s life.
Today, examine yourself and see if you are doing His will. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of your life that fall short of the will of God. Quickly repent and renounce any of those areas He shows you. Receive the Holy Spirit in a fresh infilling of power and do the work of the Father in your life.
by George Runyan | Mar 7, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:10 – Your kingdom come.
Jesus is calling the disciples into His ministry of declaring the kingdom of God. The first advent of the kingdom after our Lord was crucified, He descended into hell, and on the third day rose from the dead, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. The Spirit is the one who brought the kingdom to earth. He is the one that causes the will of God to be accomplished. Many believe the kingdom is a future event, but Jesus said to His disciples, “Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21). The KJV translates it this way, “the kingdom of God is within you.” The kingdom was present because the king was present. Jesus is ruling from heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer. The kingdom of God is present in the believer here and now.
Paul wrote, “The kingdom is in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of God came to earth when the Holy Spirit arrived. The will of God is being worked out through the Spirit even unto this day. We are to continue to pray for the kingdom to come, but with an emphasis of increase in the earth. From the days of the apostles to the present, one purpose of the Spirit has been to increase the kingdom of God in the earth until the whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord (see Habakkuk 2:14).
It is important to evaluate the increase of the kingdom of God in our own lives. Many receive Christ as their Savior, but neglect to receive Him as Lord in the present. We first ask for God’s kingdom to come into us. We ask the Holy Spirit to take control in every area of our life. We then begin to share the kingdom of God with others, giving them an opportunity to receive God’s grace. If they respond to the invitation, they too may have the kingdom of God reigning in their life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Each person who repents of their sins and invites the Holy Spirit to fill them receives the promise of the Father. When someone does this, they are receiving God’s kingdom. What a wonderful gift the Father has given us through His Son!
As you pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” pray for the Holy Spirit to enlarge the kingdom of God in your life. Pray for the power to live a life fully committed to our great king and His kingdom purpose in the earth. Thank Him, for calling you into the kingdom of God and a relationship of service.
