by George Runyan | May 20, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 Corinthians 12:8 – To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit
Natural wisdom is the ability to apply possessed knowledge and experience. The “word of wisdom” is not natural or human wisdom, but supernatural wisdom from God. This Wisdom cannot be developed because it is already perfect. The word of wisdom is the supernatural revelation by the Spirit for divine plans and purpose concerning things, people, places, and events. The “word of wisdom” should not be confused with deep spiritual insight in God’s Word. The latter comes from study and revelation. The gift of the “word of wisdom” comes directly from the Spirit of God.
In a sense, the word of wisdom is the revelation of the purpose of God concerning things in the now and in the future. This wisdom is given to direct us in our decisions and provide safety from deception. Some Scriptural examples of the use of the word of wisdom will show how indispensable this gift is to a finite people. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
by George Runyan | May 19, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 28:12— “Here is rest, give rest to the weary and here is repose,” but they would not listen.
The “rest” of God comes through obedience to His will. The Assyrian army was a growing threat to Israel’s safety and peace. What Israel had known under God’s protection was on the verge of disappearing. Once again, Israel, which had known the deliverance of Jehovah’s great power, was about to be taken into bondage and slavery by a people who spoke a different language. This people also had a different world view than that of Israel. Israel confessed faith in Jehovah and His redemptive power, but lived like the heathen nations around them. As we have seen in previous devotions, they mocked the word of the Lord and the Lord’s messenger. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
by George Runyan | May 18, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 28:11-12 – Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary and here is repose,” but they would not listen.
Yesterday, we saw how God chose to speak through the Assyrians as their conquering army was poised to swoop in and take Israel captive. God’s people mocked the word of the Prophet and rejected the protection that Jehovah was offering His people.
It is interesting how the Scriptures can have more than one meaning, and prophecies can have a couple of applications. The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:20-21, chose to use Isaiah 28:11 to explain the purpose of the “gift of tongues.” Paul says, “Do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). In Isaiah’s passage, he reveals that Israel was not being mature. They acted like children as they mocked the Prophet. The Corinthians were misusing the “gift of tongues.” They acted immature in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 14:22 Paul teaches, that tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
by George Runyan | May 16, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Psalm 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Brokenness is the true sacrifice which God desires. It is not a sacrifice in Old Testament terms of animals or grains. In New Testament terms, it is not about good deeds. Jesus offered Himself as “the sacrifice.” Jesus became broken for all of us. In His brokenness, I can recognize my own brokenness and need for His saving grace. On the cross, Jesus cried out to His Father and said, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). Some believe that Jesus died more quickly than usually experienced on a cross as a result of a broken heart. He was broken for us, broken over our sins. Jesus is the only sacrifice that fully pleases the Father.
In Psalm 51, David came to understanding that the sacrifice God is waiting to receive is a broken and contrite spirit. Our hearts should be broken over our own sin, and then the sins of others. God is looking to find broken and contrite hearts to work through. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
by George Runyan | May 15, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Psalm 51:13 – I will teach transgressors Your ways and sinners will be converted to You.
A result of our salvation should be to “teach transgressors God’s ways.” Once we deal with our own issue of iniquity (lawlessness) and our sin nature by receiving God’s work to save us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we should turn our attention to others. An evidence of true conversion is a concern for others that are as lost as we once were. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
by George Runyan | May 14, 2014 | Devotional, George Runyan
Psalm 51:12 – Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.
As we consider the life of David and his revelation concerning his depravity and his desperate need for God’s Holy Spirit, we also observe that he confesses he had lost his joy and a willing spirit. Very few people live in joy. There is a difference between being happy and being joyful. Happiness depends on things going well in life. Joy is an inward feeling that is there whether all is well or not. Our salvation in Christ is the fountain of our joy. I had a fellow employee ask me this question one day as I entered the shop, “What gives you the right to be happy all the time?” He did not know the difference between “joy” and “happiness.” It gave me opportunity to tell him of the source of my joy that he saw as happiness. READ MORE – CLICK ABOVE
