by George Runyan | Feb 2, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Isaiah 63:14 – As the cattle which go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name.
It is in the valley where the meadows are found that the cattle find rest. It is a place of grazing and the place of chewing their cud. The Spirit of the Lord desires to lead us into green pastures for His name’s sake. For the child of God, it is the place of eating the Word of the Lord. The Word of God is not just meant to be read, but eaten and digested. Part of the digesting process is to ruminate on the Word. This means to meditate and think upon God’s Word repeatedly. The Word of God is meant to go down and then come back up for more chewing. This process is similar to what a cow experiences in the chewing of its cud.
In this valley, during the times of eating, meditating, and memorizing God’s Word we find our greatest rest. Isaiah 63:14 references the fulfillment of God’s Word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the people of Israel, when He gave them the land He had promised. The Scripture says that “the Lord gave them rest on every side . . . the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand” (Joshua 21:43-44). God’s purpose was to make a glorious name for Himself.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ, He is continuing that purpose. The Father is working by His Spirit through His glorious body, His church. “For as many are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our rest is truly found in receiving God’s Word, speaking God’s Word, and in doing the will of God, all of which brings glory to His name.
Ask the Holy Spirit each day to lead you to the place of His rest. Ask Him to give you grace to receive all His promises that are yes, and to help you decree the Amen, so that your life may bring glory to His Holy Name. Father, thank You for the place of rest You have provided for me in Christ Jesus.
by George Runyan | Feb 1, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Micah 3:8 – I am filled with power—With the Spirit of the Lord—And with justice and courage to make known to Jacob his rebellious act, even to Israel his sin.
We know little about the prophet Micah. He shared two specific messages with God’s people by the Spirit of the Lord. On one hand, he dealt with a word of judgment against Israel’s rebellion. On the other hand, he promised God’s help for restoration and blessing. Micah brought God’s Word against the false seers and diviners. Many today represent themselves as God’s messengers. Different messages are being declared to God’s people. Many run after the hype and glitter of modern day prophets. Micah declared, “On the other hand, I am filled with power—with the Spirit of the Lord.” Only the Power of the Lord can make the difference. The Power of the Lord brings judgment into the life of a believer. The Power of the Lord establishes peace and security.
The wise individual allows God’s judgments to work a deepening sense of God’s presence in them. They become increasingly aware of what God is after in their life. If someone refuses to submit to the correction of the Lord, increasingly severe results will follow. God loves His children and therefore disciplines them through His Holy Spirit in order to bring them to a place of sharing in His Holiness. Read Hebrews 12:4-11 for a clear perspective of this point.
God’s dealings with His people always have a redemptive purpose. He does not discipline His children out of anger as an earthly father might, but out of love, looking toward their future and their success. Any individual that is charged with caring for the people of God must possess a strong sense of justice and courage. Making sin known is not a light matter. Skill is required to administer justice and mercy to the offender. It requires compassion with a view toward restoration. The Spirit of God has not only come to judge, but also to restore. The individual who claims to have the Word of the Lord, but does not have courage to deal with sin, is a false prophet. A prophet who deals with sin must do so with a view toward God’s redemptive purpose. This is clearly seen throughout the Old Testament story and is established in the cross of Christ.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give to you a deepening sense of God’s presence and what He wants to judge in your life. Ask Him to fill you with power, both to deal with sin and to encourage righteousness. Father, I thank You for Your judgments of my sin and for Your redemptive purpose in my life.
by George Runyan | Jan 31, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Mark 1:11 – A voice came out of the heavens: You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.
The Father loves to confirm the faithfulness of His sons and daughters. Jesus is the One who made it possible for us to be reconciled to the Father. He is the One who gives us “the right to become the children of God” (John 1:12). Every believer stands accepted before God because Jesus was fully accepted by the Father. In Mark 1:11, the Father audibly declared His pleasure from the heavens over Jesus. Many believers have a hard time receiving the love of our Heavenly Father because of bad experiences with an earthly father. Many people have not heard their earthly father speak words of acceptance and affirmation, but rather judgments and condemnation. Jesus came for the specific purpose of revealing the Father. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The disciples experienced how Jesus treated them and saw how He treated others. Through this, the Father’s love was revealed. The disciples had known of God through the Law, but now they were learning of Him through God’s love and grace.
The Scriptures make it clear how much the Father loves humanity. The three letters recorded in the Bible, written by John the Beloved, express the Father’s focused love for every believer. The Gospel of John declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son” (John 3:16). Paul wrote that “He hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 KJV). The Holy Spirit has come to reveal the Father’s love. He is grieved when we have barriers to receiving His love. Those barriers can be broken if you will allow the Spirit of Grace to open your heart to the Father’s love. He will give you a spirit of forgiveness toward an earthly father who wounded you. He will give you courage to trust and believe your Heavenly Father’s word of acceptance. He will help you not only to know His love, but to be empowered to share His love. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and expose any area hindering you from hearing the Father say, “You are my beloved one, in whom I am well pleased through my Son, Jesus.”
Father, today, I open my heart to the fullness of Your love. Please give me grace to forgive anyone I need to forgive. I realize that my unforgiveness stands in the way of receiving Your love. By faith, I receive Your love made possible through Your Son in the power of the Holy Spirit.
by George Runyan | Jan 30, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Mark 1:10 – Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.
As Jesus stood in the waters of baptism, He saw the heavens open. Jesus was standing in the very center of God’s will. The water spoke of His coming death, burial, and resurrection. By His action, publically and before heaven, He was declaring, “I am committed to do the Father’s will! I am dead to Myself and alive to the Father’s purpose.” He stood as a man, in the weakness of His flesh, in the same way we are weak. He could only accomplish what He had been sent to do with the Father’s help. Seeing His only begotten Son’s surrender, the Father immediately responded by opening the heavens and sending the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove, his wings spread, and ready to land. The Holy Spirit came to fully cover the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry. Jesus was totally under the wings of His Heavenly Father’s love and grace. The Spirit of God knew that earth would be His home until the full purpose of the Father was completed. Jesus was the first man whom the Spirit came to rest and remain, but many more would follow.
In like manner, the disciples obeyed their Lord when He instructed them to “wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father” (Luke 24:49). They truly did not know what to expect, but they obeyed. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit came “like a violent rushing wind” (Acts 2:2). He came upon them just as Jesus had promised. One hundred and twenty were waiting in that upper room. This was the same room where the disciples, fifty days earlier, had shared their last meal with Jesus before His crucifixion. Now, God was about to anoint with His Spirit all those who obeyed Jesus’ instructions to wait. The disciples waited to be empowered to do all that Jesus had commanded. We must surrender, as Jesus did, with determination to do the will of the Father. We too, must do what the disciples did, and wait for the promise of the Father. It is one thing to experience the Holy Spirit in a meeting, and quite another to be anointed in order to fulfill the call of God in one’s life.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if you have only known an experience of His presence or if you have truly been anointed to fulfill God’s will. An experience is made up of feelings, whereas an anointing comes with power and authority to carry out a command. Heavenly Father, I ask You for power to live fully in Your will and be Your witness in my sphere of influence.
by George Runyan | Jan 29, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Matthew 12:18 – Behold My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him.
The Spirit of God does not come upon us out of our choosing, but rather God Himself has chosen us. God chose to send His only begotten Son and redeem us from all unrighteousness. The Spirit of the Lord is the one who draws us to the Father through Christ. Jesus said that “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). It is the Father, who works by His Spirit to draw an individual to Christ. The Father initiates and the Spirit responds. It is the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). God’s great joy is to put His Spirit upon all those who will embrace His Son, embracing Him as God’s Anointed One, and accepting all Jesus did through His earthly ministry.
Matthew 12:18-21 fulfills what the prophet Isaiah spoke (hundreds of years before Christ) when the Father promised “His Spirit would be upon His Servant.” The Father promised the Son that He would give the Holy Spirit to all those who believed on the Son. Jesus’ instruction to His disciples was, “I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
Many are still following Jesus’ instructions to wait for the promise of His Father. Multitudes today have received the Lord’s salvation and this promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is still being poured out today in general church gatherings, in house meetings, and even in the privacy of one’s own home. Unfortunately for some, it has only been an experience. Many of the Lord’s precious people have not waited on the Lord for the empowerment of His Holy Spirit. Please don’t only seek an experience, but rather seek the person of the Holy Spirit that you might be filled and empowered to do the Father’s will.
Ask the Holy Spirit to create in you a desire to wait for His empowerment to do God’s will. Waiting on the Lord is not a natural response, but a desire which comes from God Himself. As you wait upon Him, the Spirit of God will manifest His transforming presence. His power will reveal God’s will in your life. His power will release the fruit of the Spirit. His power will be the key to His gifts operating through you.
by George Runyan | Jan 28, 2018 | Devotional, George Runyan
Ezekiel 3:12 – Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place.”
The Spirit of God comes with a single purpose, to declare the glory of the Lord. Ezekiel’s commission is described in Ezekiel chapter 3. The Lord commanded him to go to his people which are in exile and speak to them whether they listen or not (Ezekiel 3:11). The Spirit of God is not dissuaded by those who do not listen. He still proclaims God’s will and purpose. The Spirit speaks through any individual willing to be a servant. Once, when I was overseas, I was a speaker for a large evangelistic meeting. The minister that had invited me, in my view, was not handling the meeting properly on the first night. He was elevating himself and not listening to the Spirit’s desire. That evening as I laid in bed, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. “Tell the brother he is not handling the meeting properly, that he is making it about himself and the promotion of his ministry.” I told the Lord that I did not want to confront the man. The Lord spoke to me in no uncertain terms that I was of no use to Him unless I obeyed and did what He was instructing me to do. Well, I repented and obeyed the Spirit.
What the Spirit of God was commanding Ezekiel to do was not easy. The Spirit of God lifted Ezekiel up so He could hear what the Lord wanted done. He then gave Ezekiel the ability to declare the Word of the Lord and perform all that God instructed. The same Spirit that lifted up the prophet lifted up the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32). God lifted up His Son to draw men into a relationship with Himself. The Spirit of God has come to lift us up too. The Holy Spirit lifts us up before the Father and presents us as righteous and holy through the blood of Jesus. He also wants to lift us up before men, that they might see what God has done in our lives and magnify the Lord. “Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
Father, I ask for the Holy Spirit to create in me a great desire to obey all You have commanded. I ask for grace to walk in humility so You can lift me up at Your choosing. I want to make myself available to the Holy Spirit. Father, I am Your servant and You have the right to command me. Give me grace to obey whatever You command.
