by George Runyan | Dec 28, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 10:23 – You will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.
Chapter ten of Matthew is the clearest expression of Jesus to His disciples that He would return before they had finished their mission of taking the Gospel to every city in Israel. At the time of Jesus’ statement they did not comprehend what He meant. Throughout their ministry they looked for His return. They truly desired to be with Him. Throughout history, believers hoped for Jesus’ return. They interpreted the events of their times as the certainty of His return. It is no different in our day.
Beloved, it is important to understand what Jesus was saying to His disciples before we try to understand how these Scriptures apply to our generation. In Matthew 10, we read of Jesus sending His disciples out to the towns of Israel with power to heal and cast out demons. They went with a clear word of the good news that the Messiah was present. They were sent only to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). They “proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and to prove it, they healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, and cast out demons” (Matthew 10:7-8). Jesus gave them many other instructions as well. He warned them that there would be wolves among the sheep that would try to harm them.
Jesus defined the clear meaning of discipleship for His disciples. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master (Matthew 10:24). I encourage you to read the whole tenth chapter. Jesus spoke very clearly of that generation and the mission He was giving to His disciples. It was a mission to the House of Israel. In the book of Acts, we see that the Samaritans and Gentiles were brought into God’s plan as well. The first and primary mission of these disciples, who became apostles, was to the lost sheep of Israel. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE. TO ORDER YOUR PERSONAL COPY OF THE DEVOTIONAL, CLICK THE COVER ABOVE,
by George Runyan | Dec 27, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 12:2 (KJV) – Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus is the prize!
Joseph kept his eye on Mary and then Mary and Jesus after the Lord’s birth. He knew His responsibility in serving the God of Israel. While God, who is in heaven, was the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit, Joseph provided earthly fathering for Jesus. Jesus was known as “the carpenter” (Matthew 6:3), one could surmise that He worked with Joseph in the carpenter shop.
John the Baptist looked for the “Lamb of God.” His eyes were looking for the one who would take away the sins of the world. With the information we have about John, we know he was filled with the Holy Spirit while in his mother’s womb. We know he separated himself from society and spent time in the wilderness, no doubt, seeking God concerning his assignment.
All of the disciples of our Lord were engaged in the society and culture of that day. They had jobs, they were integrated with family and their immediate culture. The twelve saw Jesus and followed Him at His invitational call. Eleven kept their eyes on Christ and fulfilled their calling. One turned out to be a “traitor,” selling out to the Lord’s enemies for a few pieces of silver.
Down through history the story is told of multitudes whose spiritual eyes were drawn to Jesus and followed Him. Some followed Christ to martyrdom. Many others have stories that will not be told until eternity. All those who followed the Lord in this life found fulfillment in their obedience to His leading. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Dec 26, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Titus 2:13-14 – Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Isn’t our God good? He prepared the entire world for the advent of our Savior, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. As we celebrate His first advent of 2,000 years ago, let us not forget His Second Advent is before us. The Lord is even now preparing the modern world for the greatest event in all history, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in bodily form to receive His redeemed people and judge all who have rejected His gracious offer of salvation and eternal life.
Every believer should be looking for the blessed hope. The world does not have such hope. The world only possesses ideas of trying to produce utopia, peace among men, and a better world system. The problem is deeply rooted in man, mainly his heart that is filled with selfishness and pride. Even in democracies, it is observable how corrupt the heart of man has become. Political campaigns are filled with ego and pride. It is a proven fact that negative campaigning is effective.
The answer to man’s dilemma is rooted in our scripture for today. Christ Jesus gave Himself to redeem us from every lawless deed. Humans cannot help themselves when it comes to being lawless before God. We just can’t keep His laws, no matter how hard we try. We can discipline ourselves to be as good as possible, but there is no hope of attaining God-like righteousness without Christ. The Holy Spirit redeems us and imparts a right standing before God because of what Christ has done. The Holy Spirit is always at work in our lives to purify and set us apart to be zealous for every good deed. Christ’s work in us is not only for today, but that He might present us to God His Father in eternity. He is coming back for a spotless bride, not resulting from our efforts, but rather His cleansing blood. TO READ FURTHER, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Dec 25, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 1:4-5 – In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Gospel of John does not give us the details of the Christmas story, but sums up in these two verses what the Christmas story is about. The earth was filled with death and darkness. There was no real hope, except in the “promises of God” of the One to be born who would free humanity from the chains of death and darkness.
The time had come! “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). God promised that the deliverer would come as the “seed of the women” (Genesis 3:15). The entire Law of God given through Moses, pointed toward the coming deliverer. The Law could not save us because of the weakness of human flesh, “What the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-5).
God the Father has summed up everything in His Son Jesus, the Christ. Today, we are free to receive all the Father has promised and prepared for those who are willing to abandon their own life for new life in Jesus. Presently, it is spiritual. By faith, we choose Christ and His life over our natural life and its resulting death. By faith, we receive His Holy Spirit, who gives us the Life of Christ through the “new birth.” We are empowered to live a life free from sin and share with others God’s Good News of life and light. God will use each believer, who allows Him, to lead others into a relationship with the living God through faith in Christ the Lord. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Dec 24, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 2:19-20 – When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
Christmas Eve is a wonderful time for celebrating the new life which was about to be birthed in the earth. The exact date is not all that relevant, but the reality of this occurrence changes the perspective of eternity. Our Scripture for today is filled with hope and encouragement that the Lord’s enemies will be silenced and the land is our possession. The early church experienced how the enemies of Christ became His footstool with the death of Nero and the destruction Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system that had persecuted the early saints.
Life is a journey. Joseph journeyed to Egypt by divine direction. After Herod’s death, the Lord led him back to the place of his heritage. The enemy does all he can to hinder the purpose of God, but our God is sovereign and quiets His enemies so His people can accomplish their purpose. Joseph once again obeyed the divine leading and entered into a new season for his life, the life of Mary and the Child Jesus. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE. TO PURCHASE YOUR OWN COPY, PLEASE CLICK THE BOOK COVER.
by George Runyan | Dec 23, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 2:16 – When Herod saw that he was tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under.
For a devotional, this Scripture is not encouraging, but it is reality. God’s enemies hate Him and all that is His. God is good and gives good gifts to His creation man. For someone to hate God, they must be evil in their core. Satan’s nature is evil in its depth. Those that are filled with pride and hate to the point of mass murder are a manifestation of Satan’s core. Herod was evil as he sought to kill Jesus through the genocide of the male children less than two years of age.
Satan tried to stop the purpose of God through mass murder of Hebrew children twice in history, when God was providing a deliverer through Moses and when Christ was born. At other times, he has tried to kill the Jewish people through genocide. During the first century, Satan tried to kill off the Lord’s church through the Roman emperor Nero.
We know the history of the twentieth century as Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people prior to the Lord returning them to the holy land. The enemy has used numerous nations in modern times to murder God’s people to stop the growth of Christianity. In more recent times the enemy has used radical Islam to attack God’s people. The hatred of Jews and Christians throughout the world has grown in volume and incidents of murder.
The enemy is scared because he knows his time is short. “The demons believe and shudder” (James 2:19). All is not dark and evil. The Spirit of God is being poured out in these days in preparation for a great harvest of souls. TO READ FURTHER, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
