by George Runyan | Jul 28, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Mathew 21:28 – But what do you think?
Mathew 21:28-32 records the parable of the two sons. Jesus asked the chief priests the question, “What do you think?” after they had tried to trap Him with their question about the authority of John’s baptism, whether it was from heaven or from man (see Matthew 21:23-27).
Jesus uses the parable to reveal the heart of these religious leaders. The first son was asked by his father to go work in the vineyard, but he answered “I will not.” Eventually he did go. The father came to the second son and instructed him to go work in the vineyard, and he answered, “I will sir.” This son did not go. Jesus then asked, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They answered “the first.”
Jesus responds to their answer with an amazing response. “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” They gave the correct answer, but their lives demonstrated the attitude of the second son’s rebellion.
Jesus then answers their first question about the authority of John’s baptism. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him” (Matthew 21:32).
Belief is always the issue and belief is demonstrated in action. Some believe that James and Paul had two different views about faith. I believe they were dealing with two different issues. James was combating a superficial faith that had no wholesome effect in the life of the professed believer. Paul, on the other hand, was combating legalism—the belief that one may earn saving merit before God by his good deeds.
Father, I trust You for a belief system that evidences wholesome faith. Faith that is evidenced by my obedience to Your word as I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me.
by George Runyan | Jul 27, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 7:24 – Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Jehovah God gave to Israel through Moses and the prophets, the material to build a sound foundation. Solid, because the words that formed the Law and the words the Prophets spoke perfectly of Christ who was created in the image of God and of man. Jesus is that man and He is the foundation of the new creation. The Holy Spirit is God’s instrument in the earth to bring forth God’s will through His new creation man born of God’s Spirit. First Christ, then all those who believe on Him.
A solid foundation begins by “hearing” the words of Jesus. Hearing is not simply hearing with one’s ears, but applying what has been heard. The key is in “acting” on Christ’s words. Jesus is the foundation, but the believer does the building with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says the one who acts on His words is “wise.” We begin with a solid foundation then build wisely through obedience to the words of our Lord.
The Scriptures, in many places, guarantee that what we are building will be tested. The testing will be by rain, floods, and winds that will slam against our building. Each of these natural conditions is representative of events that bring destruction. Jesus uses these as examples for spiritual conditions that will arise against the building. If the building was not built wisely, it will not stand.
The truth which Jesus is teaching applies not only to individuals, but to nations as well. It is important that we examine our hearts and examine what we have built in our lives. Is it built upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His words? Are we dependent on the Holy Spirit to empower us in the building process? When we read the Scriptures it is important to ask the question, “How am I applying this truth in my life?”
Father, I ask for understanding concerning the building of my life in Christ. I ask for the Holy Spirit to show me any part that is not up to Your divine code. I pray that I might be a wise builder that brings glory to You as the tests come and as others observe what has been built.
by George Runyan | Jul 26, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
For some, this is a difficult passage to understand. Many activities are done in the name of the Lord. Few are direct initiations of His will. Over the years, I have known many that accepted the Bible’s testimony of Jesus as Lord, but their lifestyle did not demonstrate that they had received Him as Lord. Saying that Jesus is Lord and doing things in His name, even supernatural activities, does not qualify one for the kingdom of heaven. Only doing the Father’s will, rooted in Jesus Christ through the work of the cross qualifies.
The Father sent Jesus to be the one and only sacrifice for sin. The first issue of the kingdom of God is rooted in repentance regarding our views and actions. Changing my mind and exchanging it for His perfect view. I am undone, He is fully complete. I am wrong and He is right. I have nothing left to defend. When I stand before Him, I have nothing to say, only listen and obey.
As Jesus teaches on the Mount, He has all of Israel in mind. They had chosen a broad way, as the Law of God had been distorted by their religious leaders. Jesus came as the fulfillment of the Law. He also had appeared as the “stumbling block that the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22). The Father had made Him the “head of the corner.”
The practice of lawlessness is rooted in pride, false religion, self-effort, and anything else that does not come from the moral law of God. God’s law was established in the garden when He said “do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). The narrow way had been set. Only what God permits! There is no other way to life, but through Jesus, the Christ. This makes the world crazy. Jesus is the offense. Anything but this, please.
Let the cross of Jesus be your filter. Measure everything up against the old rugged cross. The Holy Spirit is committed to honor the cross. Satan and his kingdom are committed to making it an offense. “Lord, Lord” only resonates with the cross. Anything else is a deception.
Father, I choose to cling to the old rugged cross. I choose Jesus, the narrow way to life. The One who is the complete fulfillment of Your heart’s desire. Holy Spirit, lead me daily through the narrow gate.
by George Runyan | Jul 25, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 7:24 – Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
True grace is an absolute revelation of the total work of Christ through the cross. By faith, I receive His work on my behalf. By allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest Christ’s life through me it reveals that I am a wise person. The Holy Spirit only builds upon the words of Jesus. In His messages, Jesus warns us against the flesh and the devil. Both the flesh and the devil want to hinder the life of the true conqueror, Jesus, from being manifested through believers. Believers are members of His body, joined together and representing Jesus’ will in offering to an unregenerate world, “reconciliation” through the death/resurrection process accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
What wonderful grace we have been given. My efforts are worthless; my rest is in His finished work. Yet, my awesome responsibility is to allow the Holy Spirit complete control of my spirit, soul, and body for the glory of God. A responsibility is to share with others this marvelous grace with the hope that they too will receive the love of the Father, and be transformed by His power becoming part of filling the earth and heaven with the “one new man,” even Christ. One day we will see the King, but the question today should be; is the King being seen in me?
In our passage for today, Jesus is addressing the Jewish covenant people. Their lives had been shaky for centuries as they built contrary to Moses instructions. Now Jesus had appeared to give them a new foundation “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He came to fulfill the law and thus provide a better foundation than that of Moses. Jesus came to build His house, built upon His words. The building process is both hearing His words and acting on His words. This cannot be done in our own efforts, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit which the Lord sent after the cross and His resurrection.
Father, I ask You to help me evaluate how I am building. I pray for You to work in my heart to only build on the foundation Christ has given: His words and acting on those words daily.
by George Runyan | Jul 23, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:27 – He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
The Father planned from the beginning of creation for His creation man to rule with Him. Jesus is called the Son of Man because He came in human form through the virgin birth. When he was anointed with the Holy Spirit as He came up out of the water from His baptism, the Father gave Him authority to execute judgment. He operated in His authority in a number of ways.
The people were astonished at His teachings because He taught differently than the religious leaders. He taught with authority (Matthew 7:29). The people also observed that His teachings were followed by supernatural evidence. “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him’” (Mark 1:27). He always seemed to have the correct answer for His accusers. At the end of His ministry before enduring the cross, He judged the evil religious leaders as He stood in the Temple, which was the place of the Government of God (Matthew 23:13-39).
It was a “man” that did all these things. He is God, but in human form. In His ascension He is seated at the right hand of God. The right side is the place of judgment. He reigns as God’s man, David’s greater son upon the eternal throne of heaven. What a mighty God we serve!
It is important for believers to think upon these things. Jesus’ disciples were reminded everyday as they walked with Him and watched the work of the Holy Spirit minister through Jesus’ life. They too experienced His authority to judge. They watched Him cast out demons and heal the sick. Then, they experienced His power to judge the kingdom of darkness as they were sent out to heal the sick and given of His authority over demons (Luke 9 and 10).
Today, the Son of God continues to pour out His Holy Spirit upon those who have received His kingdom authority in their lives. The same Holy Spirit is working through believers to administer God’s judgments in the earth. Judgment on the kingdom of darkness, judgment on false teaching, misuse of authority, and judgment in the nations, as the Lord arranges things for His own eternal purposes.
Father, I thank You for judging my sin on the cross through Your Son. Thank You for giving me power to rule over sin and darkness. I thank You for the authority to execute the spoken word of God in order to see Your kingdom purposes established.
by George Runyan | Jul 22, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
John 5:24 – Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
We learned yesterday that all judgment has been given to the Son. John 5:24 is an example of that judgment which Jesus possesses. Jesus emphatically decrees the one who hears His word and believes what they heard has eternal life. He decrees that they do not come into judgment, but pass out of death into life. What an interesting way Jesus has of saying they are saved from eternal damnation.
Jesus creates the law of grace and judges the one who hears His word; the one who believes the Father sent Jesus “has eternal life.” Eternal life in Christ is a state of being. I was lost, but now I am found. Daily I thank the Lord, “I have eternal life,” not going to have it, but indeed I now have it because Jesus has judged it to be so.
The believer “has passed out of death into life.” Our daily walk is to be founded in hearing and believing God. Daily, the believer grows in their relationship with their Lord by drawing from the eternal life in them. It is learning the process of discipleship. The believer learns how to walk in their salvation by not choosing death, but life in the everyday situations they encounter.
Conversion is the process of rejecting the old ways of thinking and responding through the life supplied by the Holy Spirit. The old ways came from our experiences while we lived in the death state, lost in our sins. Because we have passed out of that state of death, we are now to draw from His life in us by the Holy Spirit. Think life and not death. Draw from the eternal life that is in you, not the old life and habits from which you have passed.
Father, I have heard the word of Jesus. And I believe you sent Him for me. I receive the eternal life that the Son has given to me. Holy Spirit, I ask to be quickened day by day in the life of the Father and the Son through Your abiding presence.
