by George Runyan | Aug 28, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Acts 8:12 – When they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.
Acts 8:12 is a powerful Scripture that reports a number of things which are very important. First, “many believed” what Philip was declaring. The good news of the kingdom is that the kingdom of God has come, but not in the way many Jews expected. There are many teachings within modern-day Christianity about future events. Not all of the events will happen the way they are being taught. The Lord has given us what He wants us to know about the future. The kingdom of God did not come as an earthly kingdom, as many Jews expected, but rather in the Spirit. Christ was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit. The promise of God is that we will be raised from the dead by the same Spirit that raised up Christ. (See Romans 8:11). The Spirit brought transformation in human lives, both for Jew and Gentile. The Spirit of God has affected the nations throughout history. It is through the Holy Spirit that God’s rule is known in the earth.
The kingdom that Philip and the apostles preached has a king presently ruling from a heavenly throne. God’s covenant with king David was that his heir would rule on an everlasting throne. Jesus Christ is the son of David that is ruling just like God promised. This is why our message needs to contain both the good news of the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, “Savior Messiah.” The good news to the world is that this King has overcome the powers of darkness that rule throughout the nations. This King’s inheritance is the nations. “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession” (Psalm 2:8). The good news is that God’s servant is reigning as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:8).
The response of the men and women who believed was that they were baptized into Jesus’ name. They identified with His kingdom as they were born again of the Spirit. In the waters of baptism, they testified to the world that they no longer belonged to this world’s systems, but to Jesus Christ and His kingdom of righteousness.
The kingdom of God that Philip preached was a kingdom of power. Act 8:13 tells us the Simon, who was a sorcerer, also believed as he witnessed the miracles taking place through Philip. The world is filled with skeptics and many that participate with the realms of darkness. They are trying to discover reality, but only the kingdom of God contains the reality they need and satisfies the soul. Our witness to the world is a vital part of our Christian life. Our testimony, that begins in the waters of baptism as we are baptized by God’s ministers, should continue with a lifestyle born of the Spirit of God in righteousness and peace. We should expect signs and miracles to happen in and through our lives as we minister to others. Our testimony should not only be in what we believe, but in demonstration as well. The world is waiting for the testimony of Jesus lived out in power in the lives of His people.
Father, I embrace the King and His kingdom. Let my life be a testimony to the world that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.
by George Runyan | Aug 27, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Romans 8:16-17 – The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
When one is born again, the spirit of the person has witnesses of God’s work of salvation in the life. Our souls are challenged because they are used to the witness of the world and not the witness of a regenerated human spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to “help” us enter into the full provision of a new creation life. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). The work of God is eternal, but we must learn how to receive His eternal work in our daily walk.
What a tremendous thing our Lord has done for each believer! He sealed us in the blood of Christ. He sealed us in the Holy Spirit who helps us day by day. We stand with a testimony before God and a testimony in our soul. As we have seen in previous devotionals, our soul is made up of our intellect, emotions, and will. These three areas of our soul can know the witness of the Holy Spirit. This is the true peace of which the Scriptures speak. There is peace in our intellect, knowing all that the Lord has done on our behalf. We have peace in our emotions. We do not need to be tossed by every wind of doctrine; we need to rely on the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures that witness to our salvation. “We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14-15). Peace in our will is possible. We can walk in the strength of God and make right choices because of this witness in our soul. The Word of God gives us all the insight we need.
Our personal testimony to others comes out of the work of God in our soul life. The world is looking for reality, consistency, and stability. These areas are only possible in Christ, because He is the only one who was able to live out all of these completely. The believer can do the same, day by day, because of the Spirit’s presence and His witness to our soul. Daily give the Holy Spirit the right to guide you and to bring the witness of heaven in all areas of your life. He is an ever-present help to us just as Jesus promised. He is our “Helper.” Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to live the life of Christ.
Father, I am grateful for the full provision for my soul life. I thank You for the testimony of the Holy Spirit in my soul. I ask for an increase of my capacity to hear and embrace the Spirit’s witness in me day by day.
by George Runyan | Aug 25, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
1 John 5:7-8 – There are three that testify, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
The Holy Spirit came to earth after the Son ascended to the right hand of the Father. Consider this, a man is ruling from heaven at the Father’s right hand. The Spirit of God has come to earth to bring forth a new creation out of mankind. Mankind, which has been bound by Satan’s control. The Spirit is here to create all men in the image of Christ. The process which the Holy Spirit leads us into is “the water,” where we are to experience death with Christ and His resurrection power. It is a death to the flesh and the receiving of His life. The cleansing of Christ’s blood from our sins is applied as the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit and the new birth takes place.
As one receives the New Covenant in the blood of Christ, one is accepting the conditions of the covenant, which is giving up our life in exchange for His. This means I must die to self. Our death to self transpires in the waters of baptism. It is in the waters of baptism that death transpires. Coming out of the water, resurrection life takes place. The Spirit testifies we belong to God through Christ. The blood testifies, we are clean and accepted by God. It testifies that Christ’ blood was shed for our sins, destroying all enmity between God and man. Faith in His blood establishes peace with God. The water testifies of our death to our flesh and to our new life in Christ.
Let me be clear, I am not saying that regeneration happens because of the act of going into the water, but it is important to understand the water is more than a religious action. Paul’s teaching is quite clear concerning baptism. “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:2-4). The water is a very important witness on earth to the reality of our salvation.
The Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God. The water testifies to the world, we died to this life and now belong to another age. And the blood witnesses of our cleansing that we are now partakers of His life. Let us go forward with great hope and expectation of God’s eternal purpose that He has chosen for us in Christ.
Father, I receive the witness of the three You have given the Spirit, the water, and the blood. I thank You for the relationship with You that the Holy Spirit has brought into my life. I praise You for the water which testifies that I am no longer my own. I belong to Christ who cleanses me with His precious blood and witnesses that God is absolutely delighted in me.
by George Runyan | Aug 23, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Peter 3:14 – Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless, and, blameless.
Because we are looking for the promise of future things, Peter says “be diligent.” Diligence is one of the greatest qualities of the Christian life. Peter qualifies diligence “to be found by Him in peace, spotless, and blameless.” This covers a lot of Christian living.
Peace speaks of “His Rest.” For the Christian, watching the news should be a different experience than what the world experiences. The world knows “anxiety,” but the believer knows “His promises,” Our life should be a reputation of being “spotless” from the world. I am burdened for many in the church today that do not keep themselves spotless from the world. Many believers converse and conduct themselves like the world. They participate with great enthusiasm in worldly practices. Except for attending church services, it is hard to tell them apart from the world. The world accuses the church, meaning Christians, of hypocrisy. The world knows what kind of life we should be living and many times the Christian is not found “blameless.” Peter says, “Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” Peter gives testimony that Paul said the same things. He also says that “the untaught and unstable distort the Scriptures to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:14-16).
Peter’s exhortation for the believer is to “be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (verses 17-18). Do not accept everything you hear. Today, there are some who speak and write not having the right motives, not led by principles which lead God’s people into “steadfastness.” Our great need is to “grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord.” The Lord Jesus is our standard. His Apostles are our example of Christ’s life and give us the foundations of our faith. It is Christ alone that fills all in all.
Peter finishes his instructions to the church by saying, “To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (verse 18). As we devote ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, let it always be about His glory. He wants the glory now and He will have the glory throughout eternity. Let us be a people that take the glory with us into eternity and not wait for eternity to give to Him what He alone deserves.
Father, thank You for expressing Your heart through Your servant Peter. Give me grace to receive all that Peter teaches in 2 Peter 3. Help me today, and throughout my earthly life to live for Your glory and honor. My hope is fixed on eternity and the day You have prepared for all who trust in You.
by George Runyan | Aug 22, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
2 Peter 3:7 – By His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Judgment is a difficult subject to talk about because people want to think they will be ok in eternity. Notice that Peter says, “The present heaven and earth are being reserved for fire.” It is important for the believer to stay focused on the promises of God regarding our future. The new creation of God, created in Christ, is not reserved for judgment, because Christ Himself bore the wrath of God on our behalf. Judgment is reserved for “ungodly men.”
A day is coming for the believer when our salvation will be complete. We have considered, in the last couple of days, freedom from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. Today, we consider the final stage of deliverance, “sin’s very presence.” Peter encourages believers by reminding us that God is not slow concerning His promise in the way some think of slowness. Our God lives in eternity, not a time-space world. Using Peter’s reasoning recorded in 2 Peter 3:8-9, it has only been 3 days since the cross and the resurrection of our Lord. “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
There is a New Heaven and Earth coming. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). This is a powerful exhortation not to trust in this world’s goods. Peter goes on to reason, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:11-13).
Peter, in his explanation of our future hope, keeps it simple. Today, there are so many viewpoints about the end and what things will look like. Many people are confused and many are filled with questions about the end of the world. Why not lay aside all the reasoning’s of men and just believe the apostles and their revelation of the end? This is a vast subject so we will continue with Peter’s thoughts in tomorrow’s devotional.
Father, today help me to see the present world with a correct viewpoint. Focus my eyes on the world to come where sin’s presence has been completely removed.
by George Runyan | Aug 21, 2017 | Devotional, George Runyan
Acts 1:8 – You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.
The power which the Lord is promising comes from heaven’s authority. That authority was given to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. It is an authority to live a life above sin. It is an authority to set captives free from Satan’s control. In Acts 1:7, the KJV uses the word “power” from the Greek word, exousia, which means “authority”. In Acts 1:8, the Greek word for power is “dunamis,” where we get our English word “dynamite.” The Lord is giving His disciples delegated authority which comes from His Father.
Many have the idea that the benefits of receiving the Holy Spirit are limited to being born again and going to heaven. Jesus makes it clear that receiving the Spirit is so much more. The Spirit of God brings “authority” and “power” to live a life of victory over Satan’s control through sin and darkness. As we walk in the light, as Christ is in the light, we walk in delegated authority to live out His life presently and release that life to others. The Lord has delivered us from the “authority” of Satan, his kingdom of darkness, and the power of the enemy through sin.
As we have seen previously, we were set free from the “penalty” of sin. That freedom began in our spirit when it was regenerated by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. See Titus 3:4. Today we are learning that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be free from the “power of sin” in our daily walk. Sin takes root in the areas of our intellect or human reasoning, imagination, memory, affection, and conscience. It is a daily battle to bring our reasoning into alignment with God’s word. Paul instructs us to cast down imaginations that exalt against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Hurts and wounds of the past are stored in our memories. Unclean images can also be stored in the memory of our mind. Have we set our affections on earthly realms or things above, as Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:2? If we do not deal with sin daily, it is possible for our conscience to become seared and fail to work on behalf of godliness. See Hebrews 9:14; 10:22.
Today, receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life free from the power of sin. Let us choose to walk in the authority the Lord has given to every believer. In our daily walk, let us choose His kingdom rule over our soul, mind, emotions, and will.
Father, I choose to be an over-comer in my daily walk. I receive the authority and power that You have made available through Christ Jesus the Lord. Thank You for power to overcome the enemy, to allow the Holy Spirit to rule in my life, and to minister Your victory to others day by day.
