by George Runyan | Aug 29, 2016 | 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, Jesus 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.
Father, I thank You I have received Your Son Jesus and have been given the right to be a child of God. Strengthen my resolve to grow in sonship where my earnest desire is to do Your will at all times. Help me in my commitment to Your kingdom purpose.
by George Runyan | Aug 28, 2016 | 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 28, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Acts 1:8 – You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.
The power which the Lord is promising comes from heaven’s authority. That authority was given to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. It is an authority to live a life above sin. It is an authority to set captives free from Satan’s control. In Acts 1:7, the KJV uses the word “power” from the Greek word, exousia, which means “authority”. In Acts 1:8, the Greek word for power is “dunamis,” where we get our English word “dynamite.” The Lord is giving His disciples delegated authority which comes from His Father.
Many have the idea that the benefits of receiving the Holy Spirit are limited to being born again and going to heaven. Jesus makes it clear that receiving the Spirit is so much more. The Spirit of God brings “authority” and “power” to live a life of victory over Satan’s control through sin and darkness. As we walk in the light, as Christ is in the light, we walk in delegated authority to live out His life presently and release that life to others. The Lord has delivered us from the “authority” of Satan, his kingdom of darkness, and the power of the enemy through sin.
As we have seen previously, we were set free from the “penalty” of sin. That freedom began in our spirit when it was regenerated by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. See Titus 3:4. Today we are learning that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be free from the “power of sin” in our daily walk. Sin takes root in the areas of our intellect or human reasoning, imagination, memory, affection, and conscience. It is a daily battle to bring our reasoning into alignment with God’s word. Paul instructs us to cast down imaginations that exalt against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Hurts and wounds of the past are stored in our memories. Unclean images can also be stored in the memory of our mind. Have we set our affections on earthly realms or things above, as Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:2? If we do not deal with sin daily, it is possible for our conscience to become seared and fail to work on behalf of godliness. See Hebrews 9:14; 10:22.
Today, receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life free from the power of sin. Let us choose to walk in the authority the Lord has given to every believer. In our daily walk, let us choose His kingdom rule over our soul, mind, emotions, and will.
Father, I choose to be an over-comer in my daily walk. I receive the authority and power that You have made available through Christ Jesus the Lord. Thank You for power to overcome the enemy, to allow the Holy Spirit to rule in my life, and to minister Your victory to others day by day.
by George Runyan | Aug 27, 2016 | 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 21, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Acts 1:8 – You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.
The power which the Lord is promising comes from heaven’s authority. That authority was given to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. It is an authority to live a life above sin. It is an authority to set captives free from Satan’s control. In Acts 1:7, the KJV uses the word “power” from the Greek word, exousia, which means “authority”. In Acts 1:8, the Greek word for power is “dunamis,” where we get our English word “dynamite.” The Lord is giving His disciples delegated authority which comes from His Father.
Many have the idea that the benefits of receiving the Holy Spirit are limited to being born again and going to heaven. Jesus makes it clear that receiving the Spirit is so much more. The Spirit of God brings “authority” and “power” to live a life of victory over Satan’s control through sin and darkness. As we walk in the light, as Christ is in the light, we walk in delegated authority to live out His life presently and release that life to others. The Lord has delivered us from the “authority” of Satan, his kingdom of darkness, and the power of the enemy through sin.
As we have seen previously, we were set free from the “penalty” of sin. That freedom began in our spirit when it was regenerated by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. See Titus 3:4. Today we are learning that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be free from the “power of sin” in our daily walk. Sin takes root in the areas of our intellect or human reasoning, imagination, memory, affection, and conscience. It is a daily battle to bring our reasoning into alignment with God’s word. Paul instructs us to cast down imaginations that exalt against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Hurts and wounds of the past are stored in our memories. Unclean images can also be stored in the memory of our mind. Have we set our affections on earthly realms or things above, as Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:2? If we do not deal with sin daily, it is possible for our conscience to become seared and fail to work on behalf of godliness. See Hebrews 9:14; 10:22.
Today, receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life free from the power of sin. Let us choose to walk in the authority the Lord has given to every believer. In our daily walk, let us choose His kingdom rule over our soul, mind, emotions, and will.
Father, I choose to be an over-comer in my daily walk. I receive the authority and power that You have made available through Christ Jesus the Lord. Thank You for power to overcome the enemy, to allow the Holy Spirit to rule in my life, and to minister Your victory to others day by day.
by George Runyan | Aug 18, 2016 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 26:39 – My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as You will.
This passage is the clearest picture mankind has of absolute surrender to the will of God. This is the turning point leading away from Adam’s rebellion, insisting on his will and not God’s.
Christ, whom Paul calls “the Last Adam,” fully fulfills God’s redemptive purpose for humanity. Jesus, chose to lay aside His will for the will of God. Once and for all He made it possible for the one who puts their faith in His redemptive work, to be able to do the same as He did. Our minds, emotions, and will have been liberated to fully surrender to God the Father.
Peter stood strong before the religious leaders that wanted to kill the disciples. Peter chose the will of God even in the face of death. One of the Pharisees named Gamaliel gave sound counsel to the group of religious leaders saying, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God” (Acts 5:33-39).
Because of what Jesus accomplished for mankind, setting our will against God’s will becomes a much more serious matter. Gamaliel’s counsel is good counsel for us as well. We never want to find ourselves setting our will against the Lord’s. When we do, we are fighting against God. Later, the disciples found themselves in need of help in caring for the needs of the people. They made a determination to appoint seven men full of the Holy Spirit to serve the people and their needs. They willed to do the will of God and to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4-6).
Paul declared, “I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” (Acts 21:13-14). Here is another example of choosing God’s will over one’s own will and the will of friends. The elders of Ephesus tried to persuade Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul felt that He had heard from God. They came to the conclusion that they should become silent concerning the matter, and acknowledged that God’s will be accomplished.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that’” (James 4:13-16).
Father, teach me and empower me each day to say, “If the Lord wills.” Help me to learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit.
