by George Runyan | Jul 10, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Timothy 1:12 – For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Paul, more than most, knew the sufferings of Christ. Jesus had brought Paul from being one of the chief persecutors of His church, to one of the most persecuted for the gospel’s sake. Paul, who had been known as Saul, encountered the “Living Christ” on his way to put the Disciples of Christ in jail at Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). On the Damascus road, his life was suddenly interrupted by the King of the entire creation. The Lord Jesus Christ had only one question for Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 9, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Timothy 1:11-12 – I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.
Paul is instructing a young minister named Timothy. Previously Paul had taught Timothy to not be ashamed of his testimony of Christ or of Paul who was totally dedicated to Christ through his sufferings. Paul states, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 1:9).
We are included in the “us” to which Paul is referring. Jesus saved you and me. Jesus called you and me with a holy calling. That means we have been separated to God’s eternal purposes and His grace. Relax, for only in Christ Jesus can we accomplish what God wants done. Paul realizes he was “appointed.” Timothy was being reminded by Paul that he too had been appointed. The Scriptures remind us as well of our appointment. Paul and Timothy took responsibility for their appointment. We too must take responsibility for His assignment in our lives. This is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 8, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Mark 16:19 – When the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere.
Jesus prepared His disciples for three and a half years. He gave them some final instructions and then was “received up into heaven” to be seated next to His Father. Please notice that Jesus was “received.” As believers, we have been received as well. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). Both Jesus and His Father had worked (John 5:17). Now it was time for the disciples to go to work. Our work must come out of what the Father and the Son have done. It comes from their resting position, seated in heaven.
The “Work” is finished, but as His disciples, we are cleaning up the mess in the lives of those for whom Jesus died and rose again. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 7, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 16:18 – I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.
Jesus came to build His church. He did not come to start a church, but to build a church. Building requires a sure footing on which a foundation can be laid. Once the foundation is laid, then the building can begin. As Jesus is talking with His disciples in Matthew 16, He asks them what the general consensus is among the people about His identity. He then got more specific with them and asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter boldly states, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Upon Peter’s statement, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples that “upon this rock I will build My church.” What rock? The eternal truth that Peter had stated!
The name Christ means, “The Anointed One” or “Messiah.” He is not only “God’s Anointed One,” but the living Son of God. The Christian faith is rooted in this eternal truth. If any one does not believe this, they are not Christian. Jesus gave up His human life on the cross, in order to build a “new building” from His resurrected life. His whole spirit, soul, and body were raised from the dead on the third day by the power of the Holy Spirit. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
by George Runyan | Jul 6, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 6:10 – Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
For the believer in Christ, there should be no question about the ultimate fulfillment of God’s government. E. Stanly Jones said, “Every man is built for the Kingdom. Even the most hardened sinner, and intransigent violator of God’s law is constitutionally structured to relate to God’s Kingdom,” (What on Earth Is the Kingdom of God? by W.A. Young, Jr., page 115). Because we were created in the image of God, there is no rest outside of His Kingdom or Government. Saint Augustine said, “You made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You.”
In Matthew 6:10, Jesus was helping His disciples understand the centrality of His message concerning the kingdom of God. “Your kingdom come” is not a request for some future event, but it is what the Father had begun in Christ during His earthly life. The disciples were seeing the kingdom of God beginning to be established in the Earth as they experienced life with Jesus. God’s will was realized in the cross as the Lord freely gave His life for lost humanity. The Day of Pentecost brought the fulfillment of what the Prophets had been looking for, God living in the person of a human being on earth. It was what Nebuchadnezzar saw in his forgotten dream which Daniel revealed, described, and interpreted. He saw a stone cut out of the mountain. A stone which grew until it became large and smashed the feet of the image. This was a prophetic picture of God’s kingdom being established in the earth and overcoming all other kingdoms on earth (Daniel 2:44-45). READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE
