by George Runyan | Jul 15, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give account.
The Government of God is His divine order. It is an expression of His Love for His people in the watching out for their souls. Many think of obeying another person as a form of bondage, but the Scriptures speak of obedience as true liberty. Obviously, when we are submitted to leaders there is the possibility of abuse. God’s command of our obedience to His leaders is in the context of leadership being submitted to Christ.
Earlier in Hebrews 13:7 the writer says “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” Leadership is called to a high degree of modeling the attitude and conduct of Christ Jesus. We are called to look at the lives of our leaders and consider the results of their faith. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 14, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
God’s love is manifested through His prophets as they give revelation of the plans which God wants His people to know. “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
God desires that His people have such a relationship with Him, so that He can reveal His will to them. He wants them to voice God’s will so that others will know. “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). He reveals His desire that all of His people would “prophesy” in 1 Corinthians 14:31 when Paul says “For you can all prophesy one by one.” Paul goes on to reveal that prophecy has purpose; that it is “for learning and the exhorting” of God’s people. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 13, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Ephesians 4:26-27 – Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Anger and unforgiveness are both hindrances to one’s ability to hear the Holy Spirit. Anger either is a result of unforgiveness or leads to unforgiveness. It is one of the greatest hindrances to a believer being able to hear clearly from the Spirit of God. Paul makes room for the human emotion of anger. God gets angry. Jesus expressed anger at the unbelieving religious leaders He encountered. He never gave way to His own emotions, but expressed His Father’s view of those hardened leaders.
Paul says, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” I call this “keeping short accounts.” Sin creeps in and settles in one’s heart if not dealt with quickly. Anger at another is one of the most common ways for this to happen. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 12, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Timothy 1:14 – Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
I have not been able to move on from this instructive word of Paul to Timothy. I have been asking myself before the Lord, “How well do I guard the treasure?” The treasure is Jesus Christ and the life He has given to each believer. That life came through the power of the Holy Spirit. This life can only be kept through His power as well. Paul says to “guard” through the Holy Spirit. Daily I need to be asking the Holy Spirit for His help to protect what the Lord has given to me by His grace.
Life is filled with little foxes that “spoil the vines.” “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom” (Song of Solomon 2:15). Foxes quietly sneak into the vineyard and ravage the vines while the owner of the vineyard is asleep. The enemy tries to sneak into the vineyard of our lives in order to spoil what the Lord has been growing. It is important to be diligent in guarding the treasure of His life that lives inside of us. We do this by guarding our life through the Holy Spirit. We are the Lord’s vineyard and He is looking for the fruit of the vine which Jesus calls “the new wine.” READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 11, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Timothy 1:13 – Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard of me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
Words are about as important as anything can be. Words form the basis of communication, understanding, and being able to successfully move forward toward a goal. There are many kinds of words spoken among people. There are foolish words, silly words, and meaningless words. There are sound words, educated words, and eternal words. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). It is a worthwhile activity to go through the Book of Proverbs and study all that Solomon writes concerning words.
Paul encourages Timothy, a spokesperson for Paul and called of God, to “retain the standard of sound words” (emphasis mine). When under pressure, it is easy to speak from our emotions rather than sound, well-thought-through words. Timothy was under pressure as Paul’s deputy to the church at Ephesus. Timothy felt pressure because he was young and correcting older individuals (1 Timothy 4:12). He felt pressure because many were “teaching strange doctrines, myths, and endless genealogies” (1Timothy 1:3-4). READ MORE-CLICK TILE ABOVE
