by George Runyan | Oct 28, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:37 – The Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me.
The Father gives testimony to all He does. If the Father has called you and sent you, He will bear witness of you. The Father sent Jesus and testified about Him through the prophets of the Old Covenant. All the prophets spoke of Christ, pointing to His coming. Daniel even pinpointed the exact time of Christ’s ministry in his seventy year prophecy in Daniel 9. Isaiah described His suffering perfectly in Isaiah 53. John the Baptist, the last Old Covenant prophet, actually pointed out Christ declaring, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The Father begins His witness in our lives as we respond to His Son through faith, just as the Father testified of Jesus when He spoke from heaven. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16). He witnesses of His love for us. He declares it in the Scriptures, He bears witness in our regenerated spirit, and He encourages us through others.
The enemy of our soul tries to discourage us through feelings of unworthiness and rejection. He is a liar! We are not unworthy; for the Son has made us worthy, even though we are in the process of growing up into Him. The Father declares us “accepted”! READ MORE BY CLICKING ON TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Oct 27, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:36 – The testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John.
Most would agree that John the Baptist had a powerful testimony of God’s power used to introduce the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus declares that His testimony is greater than John’s. Jesus’ greater testimony came through the works which the Father gave Him to accomplish. The greatest of the works is found in the cross. Before the cross, Jesus revealed the Father’s work in His ministry to God’s covenant people, Israel.
One of the first works took place in a Synagogue as a man manifested demons. Jesus cast out the demon by rebuking him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him” (Mark 1:25). The demon had said to Jesus, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?” Jesus would not receive the testimony of the demon, but the work spoke for itself. The people were all amazed and debated among themselves, saying “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Verse 26).
Another work was the healing of a paralytic through forgiveness of his sins. “Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:5). Of course, this made the religious leaders angry because they counted it as blasphemy, thinking in their hearts, “Who can forgive sins but God?” TO READ MORE CLICK TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Oct 26, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:36 – He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
It cannot be emphasized too greatly how important John the Baptist was to the introduction of Jesus and His kingdom reign. John was the prophetic bridge from the Old to the New Covenant. The last verses of the Old Testament recorded in the book of Malachi spoke of John when it said, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).
These verses reveal the heart of our heavenly Father. Elijah was the premier prophet of the Old Covenant. He represents the total prophetic revelation of the Old Covenant. John came in the spirit of Elijah. We know these scriptures speak of the time of Jesus’ first coming because Jesus calls John Elijah. Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands” (Matthew 17:11-12).
Prophets are anointed to be lamps to God’s people. READ MORE BY CLICKING TITLE ABOVE. TO PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF “A DAILY DEVOTIONAL” CLICK COVER OF BOOK.
by George Runyan | Oct 25, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:39 – You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.
John 5 mentions four witnesses regarding Jesus. They are: the witness of John the Baptist, the witness of works, the witness of the Father, and the witness of the Scriptures. Jesus declares, He can do nothing on His own initiative and if He alone testifies about Himself, His testimony is not true (John 5:30-31).
What Jesus says about Himself is also true for every believer. As a believer, I can do nothing on my own initiative. One of the great challenges of the Christian walk is learning to live out of the life of the Spirit as opposed to drawing from our natural life. Many believers initiate good works, the problem being “they initiate them.” The works which Jesus performed came from the Holy Spirit, not Jesus’ own ideas of how to serve His Father. The witness of Jesus came from other sources. Jesus knew who He was, but He let other sources testify concerning Him.
The witness of John pointed toward Jesus and away from John. The witness of works demonstrated God’s power through Jesus’ life. The witness of the Father is that He sent His only Begotten Son. He spoke many times, through many individuals, and in many different ways concerning the coming of Jesus. The witness of Scripture is in the miraculous way the Law and the Prophets testified of Christ. TO READ MORE CLICK TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Oct 24, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Colossians 1:29 – For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Paul tells us in Colossians 1:29 that he was laboring and striving (fighting) according to the Lord’s power which was at work in him. There is a work to be accomplished (labor) and a fight to be fought (striving). The labor is comparable to the one at work in the field preparing for the day of harvest. This includes plowing, sowing, watering and reaping. It is a full time job. There is also warfare, which is “striving” to attain the victory over the enemies of the gospel who want to hinder and destroy the harvest. Our victory is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and manifested in the believer by the Holy Spirit.
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). The Gospel calls believers to a certain kind of conduct. It is in our conduct that we reflect the control of Christ in our life through the power of the Holy Spirit. What do people say about our life? Are we convicted of being a Christian or would many be surprised to hear that we are trusting Christ? Paul lists four areas of the believers “striving.” TO READ MORE CLICK TITLE ABOVE.
by George Runyan | Oct 23, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Ephesians 1:15-16 – Having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
Others should hear about our faith because we have a testimony established among people who see the results of Christ’s life in us. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to produce Christ in us. Remember, it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Paul understood he had been made a minister to the church. He saw it as a “stewardship from God.” He also understood this stewardship as a benefit to those who belonged to Christ. Paul felt an urgency to fully carry out the preaching of the word of God. He knew he carried the mystery of God in his being, a mystery that had been hidden to past generations. That mystery was now being revealed to Christ’s church. The mystery was the riches of God’s glory among the Gentiles, which is “Christ in you.”
This is the faith Paul says he heard of in the Ephesian believers. Their faith in Christ produced a love for all the saints. The glory of God is rooted in the love of God. Glory is not simply a cloud like Israel experienced on the mountain. It is the all-encompassing “Love of God.” God intends for His love to be manifested through His creation man. It was manifested in Christ and spreading in His church as these Gentile believers began to demonstrate God’s love among themselves and to others. TO READ MORE CLICK TITLE ABOVE.
