by George Runyan | Nov 27, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
I have some solar foot lamps to guide along a path in my yard. Each lamp only puts out enough light for a few steps. The Word of God is like the foot lamps. We need light for each step we take. This is why it is important to be in God’s Word regularly. The Word of God profits us more than anything else in life. It is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction.
The Scriptures give us the principles of the kingdom of God. They teach us about God’s design of how to live successfully. The Scriptures teach us how we must rightly relate to authority. We learn of various areas of responsibility God has assigned to us. We are responsible for our words, our actions, our thoughts, and our attitudes. The Scriptures teach us about ownership, motivations, freedom, and success.
The word of God is profitable for reproof in areas of our key relationships such as relating to God, self, family, friends, and preparing for the future. It is especially helpful for a young person in learning how to relate to the opposite sex. Reproof is not negative unless we choose to respond negatively. The wise person loves reproof. “Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored” (Proverbs 13:18).
The word of God teaches responsible steps of action in our relationship toward God and others. TO READ MORE CLICK TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Nov 26, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 13:20-21 – Now the God of peace equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight. The Scripture above is part of the benediction the writer of Hebrews gives as he brings his letter to an end. The benedictions of...
by George Runyan | Nov 25, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.
With confidence we can say the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. We are living in questionable times. Many of the certainties we have known in the past have disappeared. More and more uncertainty grips the hearts of people. As we have considered before, God is shaking everything. Only the unchangeableness of Christ cannot be moved. It is in His promises every believer can depend. We must draw near to the Lord through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to receive the confidence necessary in these challenging days.
As we move toward the Christmas season, it is vital that we seek the wisdom of God regarding finances. The world will be working hard to draw people into debt. The world will play on our emotions, both through guilt and greed. The Scriptures state, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5a). Perhaps this is a time for simplicity rather than extravagance in terms of material things. During this season, I want to seek the Lord for a greater simplicity in my lifestyle and an increase of extravagance in terms of consideration and love of others. Would you join me in greater expressions of gratitude to our heavenly Father for His blessings and increased expressions of love toward others?
The Lord desires to draw closer and closer to us. The willingness of our heart to give the reigns of our life to Him is what draws the Holy Spirit into increased intimacy with us. He is waiting for our invitation for Him to draw near. There are times when it feels like the Spirit of God has taken leave. He really has not, for He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He waits for us to be desperate for His presence. It is a prepared heart that the Lord desires, not a need for a momentary fix. TO READ MORE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Nov 24, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Psalm 100 – “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.”
What an expression of praise and thankfulness! When it comes to the Lord, a quiet thank you does not seem sufficient. Shout to the Lord. There have been times when I just had to lift my voice to a loud level and shout to the Lord. Not shout at the Lord, but to the Lord. It was not because He was hard of hearing, but simply because He is worthy to receive my praise and thanks with all my strength.
Part of being filled with the Holy Spirit is being filled to overflowing with praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude for all our great God and King has done for us. Truly, there is no one like our God! Consider how our God humbled Himself and became as one of us. God, who is Spirit, took on our form in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The God of all creation allowed His created man to crucify His flesh on the “Old Rugged Cross,” the cross stained with the blood of our Creator and now our Redeemer. What utter shame, complete rejection, and absolute cruelty He endured. Love beyond imagination, love so sublime was poured out all for you and me.
It is difficult to comprehend this kind of love! It is a love for individuals, a love for communities of people, and a love for the nations. TO READ MORE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Nov 23, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 12:28-29 – We receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
The writer of Hebrews had been speaking of “the unshaken kingdom.” He admonishes the reader not to refuse the Lord who is speaking from heaven like those of old refused the one who spoke from earth, chiefly Moses and the Law. The ground shook when God spoke from the mountain to Israel. God promised to shake not only the earth, but heaven as well. The Lord indicates the removing of things that can be shaken. He also declares there are things which cannot be shaken. It is in this context the writer assures us that we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken.
As a believer our attitude should be one of gratitude. If we are in Christ Jesus through faith in His finished work in the cross, then we have been made partakers of an “unshakable kingdom.” No matter what happens around us, we are firmly established in Him. Shaking will take place. There are those things which will be consumed, “for our God is a consuming fire.” His eternal plans for His kids are settled. From this truth and our understanding, gratitude should dominate our life. From that gratitude flows – “an acceptable service.” The service the writer is addressing is a life of praise and worship.
Gratitude cannot be worked up, but is an attitude of the heart that comes from the knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus the Lord. It is knowledge that we have a heavenly Father who has given us all things that cannot be removed for His praise and glory. With that knowledge firmly established, praise and worship becomes a constant in our life. TO READ MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE. TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF “A DAILY DEVOTIONAL CLICK THE COVER.
by George Runyan | Nov 22, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Hebrews 12:5 – My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him.
This section of Scripture is one of the strongest affirmations of the Father’s love toward every believer. The phrase “my son” carries with it a very strong commitment of love. For Father God to address us as sons puts us on an equal level with Christ. Because of Christ’s sacrifice of His life for our sins, we have access to the Father as sons of God. This includes believing women, much the same way as believing men become part of the bride of Christ.
The writer begins his thoughts early in verse 4 saying, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” In short, he is saying that Jesus shed His blood to deal with the issue of sin. You have not lost your life battling sin. Then he reminds his readers of the Lord’s exhortation found in Proverbs 3:11: “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof.” Do we understand that hardships are really opportunities for the Lord to develop us as mature sons of God? As one grows older, it becomes easier to identify how the Lord used difficulties to develop a Christ-centered maturity in our life. The difficult times were really instruction times from God used to train us.
Solomon reminds us, “If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited” (Proverbs 24:10). The word slack means “to give up.” Lack of strength means “not understanding God’s purpose in the times of trouble.” Trouble can prepares us to endure to the end. The Lord does not discipline our lives in order to cause us to give up, but rather for us to learn how to endure. Because He loves us, He instructs us by the pressures and trials of life. Even when He finds it necessary to punish us, it is always with a view toward our benefit. CLICK THE TITLE ABOVE TO READ MORE.
