Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 1st​

Unmistakable Marks​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?
2 Corinthians 2:14-16

The first few chapters of 2 Corinthians indicate that Paul was being challenged by certain Christians at Corinth. They had been affected by some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem who suggested that Paul was not a genuine apostle because he was not one of the original twelve. Because of this, they insisted his brand of Christianity was not real Christianity. One of the Devil's favorite tricks is to brand the truth as a big lie, and that's exactly what was happening at Corinth.

Paul's response to these charges is to describe for us the nature of his ministry. Paul's ministry bears several unmistakable marks that cannot be successfully counterfeited. These qualities are always present whenever real Christianity is being practiced. No matter how cleverly false Christianity may try to copy them, it can't be done. These marks have nothing to do with personality or temperament, so anyone who discovers the secret of authentic Christianity can attain them.

The first mark is found in the very first phrase: thanks be to God. One mark of radical Christianity is a spirit of thankfulness, even amid trial and difficulty. It is a kind of unquenchable optimism. The world operates by the gloomy principle of Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. But authentic Christians operate by a belief in God's grace, love, and ultimate control. You can see the unquenchable optimism of authentic Christianity in the Book of Acts, where a note of triumph runs through from beginning to end despite all the dangers, hardships and persecutions the early Christians experienced.

The second mark of authentic Christianity is closely linked to the first and found in the next phrase, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession. Note how strongly Paul puts it: Jesus always leads us in triumph. Not occasionally — always. Paul makes perfectly clear that the Christianity he has experienced presents a pattern of unvarying success. It involves struggle, hardships and tears, and sometimes, as on the cross at Calvary, the moment of triumph may even look like complete failure. But our triumph is always assured. The struggle may be desperate, but it always ends at last in the complete achievement of the objectives God has set for us. Even the opposition we encounter is made to serve the purposes of victory.

The third mark follows immediately. After saying, But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession, Paul continues with this beautiful statement of the impact we have as authentic Christians: and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. Our lives should be spent giving off a fragrance — not only to other people, but to God. There is something about authentic Christianity that leaves an unforgettable impression when encountered.

The Christian who has discovered this secret makes an enduring impact, which may be in one of two directions: he either increases opposition to Christ (death to death) or it leads toward faith and life (life to life). If your life is one that reflects authentic Christianity, then you are making people either bitter or better by contact with you. But one thing cannot happen: people will never remain the same. Those who are determined to die are pushed on toward death by coming into contact with authentic Christianity. Those who are seeking to live are helped on into life.

Lord, thank you for the privilege of being called into a ministry like this that does not rest upon my resources, personality, money, time, or anything else but the greatness of our God.

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Life Application​

Are you operating according to the gloomy principle of Murphy's Law or the unquenchable optimism of New Covenant ministry?


Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 2nd​

Unimpeachable Integrity​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
2 Corinthians 2:17

The fourth mark of genuine Christianity is found here. It has great application to pastors and others in the ministry, but its primary reference is to common, ordinary Christians who have learned the secret of authentic Christianity.

Christians are not to be peddlers. The word means a huckster, a street salesman. Christians are not meant to be salespeople for God. Much Christian preaching and witnessing can be described that way. People select certain attractive features from the Scriptures and use these as selling points. Healing is a case in point. It is a legitimate subject for study and practice, but when singled out and harped on continually, especially when a pitch for large, sacrificial offerings is linked to it, healing can quickly lead to hucksterism. Paul says authentic Christianity does not hawk its truth like a peddler selling goods in the street.

Our integrity as authentic Christians is characterized by four qualities, according to this passage. First, we speak with sincerity. We are to be honest people. We must mean what we say. The world admires sincerity and feels it is the ultimate expression of character — but according to Paul, sincerity is just the beginning of character, God's bare-minimum expectation of authentic Christians. The very least we should expect from ourselves as Christians is that we thoroughly believe and practice what we say.

Second, we are sent from God. This speaks of our purpose as authentic Christians. We are not to be idle dreamers with no definite objective in view. We have been commissioned as military officers are commissioned. We have been given a definite task and specific assignments that constitute our purpose in life and in ministry. We have an end in view, an object to attain, a goal to accomplish, and we do not merely preach or witness as though that were a goal in itself.

Third, we do all this before God. This indicates an attitude of transparency. To walk in the sight of other people permits us to hide our sins behind a facade, but to walk in the sight of God requires total honesty with Him and ourselves, because nothing can be hidden from God's sight. A person who walks in the sight of God is more interested in his inner reality than his outer reputation. He can be completely trusted. You can even believe his golf score and the size of the trout he caught. If you can teach your young people to live in the sight of God, you will even be able to trust them in the back seat of a car.

Fourth, we speak in Christ. What quality does that indicate? Authority! Paul states it clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:20 — We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Ambassadors are authorized spokesmen; they have power to act and make covenants on behalf of others. Authentic Christians are not powerless servants. We speak words and deliver messages which heaven honors.
All of these qualities add up to unimpeachable integrity. People of sincerity, purpose, transparency, and authority are utterly trustworthy. Their word is their bond, and they can be counted on to come through. They are responsible and faithful individuals.

Lord, thank you for this compelling word from the lips of the great apostle. Thank you that, though twenty-one centuries have rolled away since those days, you have not changed; your power is as manifest and as powerful today as ever, and you can handle this age as well as you did any age, or any place, or any time.

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Life Application​

What will it look like for you to walk in the sight of God today? What matters of your heart do you need to bring before him?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 3rd​

Undeniable reality​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:1-3

Here we find the fifth mark of authentic Christianity: undeniable reality. Paul is aware that he is beginning to sound highly complimentary to himself. He knows there are some in Corinth who will take these words in that way. Indeed, it is obvious from his words that some had even suggested in previous correspondence that the next time he came to Corinth he bring letters of recommendation from some of the Twelve in Jerusalem! They were thinking of Paul as though he were entirely like themselves: so continually praising himself that no one would believe him until he had confirmation from more objective sources.

But Paul says to them, in effect, You want letters of recommendation to prove I have authority as a messenger of God? Why, you yourselves are all the recommendation I need! Look what has happened to you. Are you any different? Have there been any changes in you since you came to Christ through my word? Your own hearts will bear witness to yourselves and before the world that the message you heard from us and which has changed your lives is from God. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul made reference to the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers, etc., he had found in Corinth. And that is what some of you were, he added (verses 9-11). But now they had been washed, sanctified, and justified by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. These changes were proof of reality.

The Corinthians had written to Paul about the joy they now had and the hope and meaning which had been brought into their lives. They described to him the deliverance from shame and guilt they had experienced, the freedom from fear and hostility, from darkness and death, which was theirs. So he says to them, in effect, This is your confirmation. You yourselves are walking letters from God, known and read by all men, written by the Spirit of God in your hearts. Here is the final mark of genuine Christianity: undeniable reality, a change that cannot be explained on any other terms than God at work. Paul did not need letters of recommendation when this kind of change was evident in the lives of his hearers.

Once I heard of a Christian who had been an alcoholic for years and then was converted. Someone asked him, Now that you are a Christian, do you believe the miracles of the New Testament? He answered, Yes, I do. The other man said, Do you believe that story about Jesus changing water into wine? He said, I sure do. The other said, How can you believe such nonsense? The Christian replied, I'll tell you how; because in our house Jesus changed whiskey into furniture! That is the mark of authenticity. Such a marked change cannot occur except under the impulse of a powerful relationship that substitutes the love of Christ for the love of drink.

Thank you, Father, for the change you have brought about in my life and in the lives of others I see around me. Amen.

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Life Application​

Can you thank God today for the undeniable reality of his work in someone's life? Can you identify a change that can only be explained as God at work?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 4th​

Stones or Hearts?​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:3

In 2 Corinthians 3:3, the apostle contrasts the material substance with which the old and new covenants are concerned. The law was written on stones; the Spirit writes on human hearts. The old covenant is concerned with stones, with dead things; the new covenant is concerned with hearts, with living people. One mark, therefore, of false Christianity is that it is always deeply concerned with the importance of things: stones, rituals, ceremonies, buildings, stained-glass windows, spires, organs, proper procedures. The emphasis is put on these at the expense of people. But when the new covenant is in operation, it is the other way around. People are the important matter. Things are only useful as they help or do not help people.

Look at Jesus. See how utterly careless he was about the precise regulations of the Pharisees when those regulations stood in the way of healing people. Even the Sabbath was set aside when it stood in the way of meeting the needs of people. Jesus said that his disciples ate grain on the Sabbath because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The ultimate concern of the new covenant is always for people. The old covenant puts things first.

A number of years ago, a church in California hired a young man to reach youth and bring them into the church. He was so successful that soon the auditorium of the church was filled with young people — but in the eyes of the church elders they were the wrong young people, because they were for the most part street people with bare feet, bizarre clothing, and untraditional ways. Eventually the youth leader was let go because, as he was told, You are bringing this trash from the streets into our nice sanctuary. That is an extreme form of the old covenant in action.

The world of business and politics almost always operates on the basis of the old covenant. That is why money is usually more important than people. When vested interests are at stake, the rights of people usually suffer. Let a company face a drop in sales or production and what happens? Management takes up the axe and heads begin to roll with little regard to whether people are going to starve or not. Profits come first. And how much of this attitude is also seen in the church! Reputations often come before people.

Programs and customs are perpetuated, not because they meet needs but because status and acceptance are at stake — a dead giveaway that dependence is on everything coming from us rather than everything coming from God

Lord, grant me the ability to see thorough those things that matter so little to you and focus on the needs of those around me who need to see your love in action. Amen.

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Life Application​

Why are the external trappings of Christianity so attractive? How can you focus on the heart instead, in your worship?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 5th​

The Secret​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6

We examined the five marks of authentic Christianity: unquenchable optimism, unvarying success, unforgettable impact, unimpeachable integrity, and undeniable reality. Yet Paul also raised an important question. After listing those five marks of an authentic Christian, Paul asks the reader, And who is equal to such a task? Who is a consistent model of these qualities? Am I? Are you? Are you equal to the task of continually, unfailingly, consistently manifesting a cheerful, confident spirit? An ability always to come out on top? A powerful, positive influence on others? Complete trustworthiness? And such a reliable, realistic demonstration of these qualities that no one is ever in doubt about them? The question hangs in the air, waiting for an answer.

Paul puts the great secret before us in unmistakable terms: Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Lest anyone miss the implications of that, he puts the same truth negatively: Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Nothing coming from us; everything coming from God! That is the Secret of secrets — the secret of true fulfillment, satisfaction, and success.

To live in this way, drawing our sufficiency from God, is what it means to be competent as ministers of a new covenant. He sharply contrasts this way of life with the old covenant, the dead written code, the letter which kills. To live with nothing coming from us and everything coming from God is to live in the Spirit. The Spirit continually gives Life with a capital L. It is this secret which produced the confident spirit that characterized Paul and empowered him to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere he went.

The language he used reminds us immediately of the words of Jesus to his disciples: I am the vine; you are the branches. …apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5). Neither Jesus nor Paul means to imply that there is no human activity possible without reliance upon God. Both the world and the church are full of examples to the contrary.

But both Jesus and Paul teach that activity which depends upon human resources for its success will, in the end, accomplish nothing. It will have no permanent value. Men may praise it and emulate it, but God will count it for what it is — wasted effort. The apostle indicates that the secret of an effective, meaningful life lies in what he calls the new covenant.

This new covenant is that to which Jesus referred when He passed the cup to His disciples at the institution of the Lord's Supper: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:20). This cup, taken with the bread, is to remind us of the central truth of our lives: Jesus died for us in order that He may live in us. It is His life in us that is the power by which we live a true Christian life. That is the new covenant.

Grant to me, Lord, that I may understand this truth, and counting on you, discover your ability to change and heal and restore and forgive, manifest through me. I ask in your name. Amen.

Life Application​

Are you drawing your sufficiency from God? Can you live out the truth today: Nothing coming from me; everything coming from God?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 6th​

Two Covenants​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6

It is important to understand the meaning of the word covenant. There are, according to Paul, two covenants at work in human life. One is the new covenant, which Paul would describe as nothing coming from me, everything from God. This is in direct contrast to the old covenant, which could be described as everything coming from me and nothing coming from God. The root idea of covenant, both in Paul's day and ours, is that of an agreement which forms the basis upon which all further relationship rests.

If two men go into business together, they form a partnership. The terms of their relationship are carefully spelled out so they will have a framework within which to work. Marriage is also a type of covenant in which a man and a woman agree together to share all they have and to stick together against all obstacles till death. Nations sign treaties with one another to determine the conditions under which they will work together. All these examples are forms of covenants, and it is apparent from these that a covenant is fundamental and essential to all human endeavor.

But the most fundamental covenant of all is that which forms the basis of human life itself. We may not often think of it in this way, but no activity is possible to us that does not rest upon an underlying covenant. We could not talk, sing, walk, speak, pray, run, think, or breathe without that covenant. It is an arrangement made by God with the human race, whereby we are furnished the life and energy we need to perform what God wants us to do. We do not provide our own energy. We are dependent creatures, needing a constant supply from God the Creator in order to live and breathe.

Now the great thing that Paul declares to us in this passage and which is confirmed by many Scriptures, both in the Old and the New Testaments, is that this fundamental arrangement for living comes to us in one of two ways. There is an old way which is linked inextricably with the Old Testament law of Moses — the written code, the letter which kills.

But through Jesus Christ, there is a new way which gives life that is unquenchably optimistic, characterized by unfeigned success, makes unforgettable impact, operates with unimpeachable integrity, and confronts the world with a testimony of undeniable reality. It is through having discovered the implications of this new covenant that the apostle finds himself qualified to live as God intended him to live, and it is through discovering these same implications for ourselves that we shall find ourselves qualified by God to live as God intends us to live today.

I thank you, heavenly Father, for this glimpse anew at what this new basis of life is, called the New Covenant. Teach me to live, depending on you to empower me to live as you intended. Amen.

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Life Application​

On any given day you must choose to live according to the Old or New Covenant. How can you remind yourself today to live in dependence on Christ in you?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 7th​

A Basket Case​

Read the Scripture: Galatians 1:11-17

But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
Galatians 1:15-17

Since Paul uses his own experience as the example of the New Covenant, it is helpful to trace the way he came to learn this truth himself. Paul tells us that he went away into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Scripture doesn't tell us what he did there, but it's not difficult to figure out. We need only imagine the shock his conversion produced to realize that he desperately needed time to go back through the Scriptures and find how his discovery of the truth about Jesus related to the prophetic revelations he had trusted since childhood. As we might surmise, he found Jesus on every page. No wonder that when he returned to Damascus, he went into the same synagogues and began proclaiming and proving that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:19-21).

But the Jews were not responsive to his arguments. There was a conspiracy to kill him, and Paul's friends had to take him by night and lower him in a basket through an opening in the wall (Acts 9:23-25). What a humiliation to this dedicated young Christian! Paul had become — quite literally — a basket case! How confused he must have been as all his dreams of conquest for Jesus were halted. It was humiliating to be let down over the wall in a basket like a common criminal escaping from the law!

Where does he go next? He goes to Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Once again he was determined to persuade the Greek-speaking Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah. But it is the Damascus story all over again. Years later, Paul tells us what happened, When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. Quick! he said to me. Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me. (Acts 22:17-18) It is understandable that Paul would seek the comfort of the temple at this discouraging moment. There Jesus appeared, yet His message was anything but encouraging: Get out of Jerusalem.

They will not receive your testimony concerning me. Paul argued, … these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him (Acts 22:19-20).

Here Paul gave himself away. He saw himself as the one person eminently qualified to reach the Jews for Christ. His argument was, Lord, you don't understand. If you send me out of Jerusalem, you are going to miss the opportunity of a lifetime. If anyone understands how these Jews think and reason, it is I. Lord, don't send me away. I have what it takes to reach these men.

Jesus' answer is to the point: Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles' (Acts 22:21). What a shattering blow! But Luke tells us, When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus (Acts 9:30). Tarsus was Paul's hometown. There is no tougher place to go as a Christian than back home. Paul tried his best to serve his Lord with all his ability, but it amounted to nothing. Paul was not the dynamic missionary he later became.

Lord, how many times have I tried to serve you in the flesh and ended up a basket case like Paul? Teach me to wait, knowing that nothing comes from me but everything comes from you. Amen.

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Life Application​

Can you think of a time in your life when you sought to serve the Lord with good intentions, but in the power of the flesh? How did that go?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 8th​

Paul's Boast​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:1-14

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more… But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ …
Philippians 3:4b, 7-9

Picking up the story of how Paul learned the secret of the New Covenant, we learn from the book of Acts that Paul went off to Tarsus to nurse his wounds, his ego shattered and his plans dissolved in despair. For ten years he is not heard of again — not until an awakening breaks out in Antioch and the church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas down to investigate. When Barnabas finds a great number of people [are being] brought to the Lord (Acts 11:24), he knows help is needed.

Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. It was a different Saul who came to Antioch with Barnabas. Chastened, humbled, taught of the Spirit, he began to teach the Word of God, and from there launched into the great missionary thrust that would take him to the limits of the Roman Empire.

What made the difference? Writing to the Corinthians years later, Paul makes one brief reference to the event that triggered a line of teaching that would culminate in a clear understanding of what he came to call the new covenant. The Corinthian church had written to Paul and brazenly suggested to him that he would be more effective if he would boast once in awhile in his accomplishments. To this the apostle replied, If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:30).

He goes on and gets more specific about his weakness: In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands (2 Corinthians 11:32-33). That, says Paul, is my boast. When I became a basket case, then I began to learn the truth that has changed my life and explains my power. What was that life-changing truth?

Paul put it in his own words, in his letter to the Philippians. The word Paul uses for consider them garbage refers to common, barnyard dung. What he once regarded as qualifying him to be a success before God and men (his ancestry, orthodoxy, morality) he now regards as so much manure compared to depending upon the working of Jesus within him. He has learned how to shift from the old covenant (everything coming from me, nothing coming from God) to the new covenant (nothing coming from me, everything coming from God). He is now able to say: My sufficiency is from God, who has qualified me to be a minister of a new covenant.

Have you become a basket case yet? Have you reached that place which Jesus described as blessed? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To be poor in spirit is to be utterly bankrupt before some demand of life, and then discover it to be a blessing because it forced you to depend wholly upon the Lord at work in you. This is where you learn the truth of the new covenant.

Father, teach me to leave it all behind — my ancestry, orthodoxy, morality — and boast only in my weaknesses.

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Life Application​

What are some weaknesses in your own life and experience that you might boast in?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 9th​

Two Splendors​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
2 Corinthians 3:7-8

To help the Corinthians (and us) understand what he meant by the old covenant and the new covenant, Paul used two helpful visual aids. They are borrowed from the story of the giving of the law from Mt. Sinai and the subsequent conduct of Moses with the people of Israel. He first calls attention to the glory of Moses' face. The old covenant, which Paul calls a dispensation of death, was aptly symbolized by the shining of Moses' face when he came down from the mountain with the law carved in letters on stone. There was a certain glory or splendor about the law. It attracted people and awakened their admiration and interest. To this day the law retains that attractiveness. All over the world the Ten Commandments are held in high regard, even by those who regularly break them (which includes us all). People pay lip service to them as the ideal of life, even though they may say they are impossible to keep. Everywhere men dream of achieving a dedication which will enable them to fulfill these glorious ideals.

But the point Paul seeks to make is that in the new covenant there is an even greater splendor. It is far more attractive and exciting than the law. Any reliance on the old covenant after we have experienced life in the new is like going back to manure! And just as the glory of the old covenant has its symbol (the shining face of Moses), so the new covenant has its symbol as well. It is given by the apostle a little further on in the passage and is obviously intended to be set in contrast with the face of Moses. He says, For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Here, then, are the two splendors — the face of Moses and the face of Jesus Christ. Both are exciting, but one much more than the other. They stand for the two covenants, or arrangements, by which human life is lived. Both have power to attract men, but one is a fading glory and the other is eternal. The unredeemed world lives continually by looking at the face of Moses. The Christian can live by either, but never both at the same time; it is always one or the other at any given moment of a Christian's life. No one can serve two masters, said Jesus. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). So in the true Christian's life, the activity of each moment derives its value from whether he is, at that moment, symbolically looking at the face of Moses or at the face of Jesus Christ.

Lord, l confess I often have been like Moses, hiding behind a mask, covering up the fading glory of my own efforts. Grant me the grace to simply receive from you the gift of worth. Amen.

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Life Application​

Do you see the glory of relying completely on Him to give you value, as well as peaceful rest from self-effort?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 10th​

The War Within​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
2 Corinthians 3:7-8

Someone may well raise the question, Why does Paul link the old covenant with the law and call it the ministry that brought death, when in Romans 7 he says that the law is holy, just and good? How could the shining face of Moses, which came as a result of spending forty days alone with God, be a symbol of something that kills?

In Romans 8:3 Paul gives us the clue which explains this enigma: For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. The problem is not the law; it is what the law must work with — the flesh. The word flesh does not refer to the meat and bones that make up the body, but is an equivalent term for fallen human nature acting apart from Christ. The law was given only and solely because the flesh exists. There is no need for law if there is no flesh.

The essential conflict between the old covenant (the face of Moses) and the new covenant (the face of Jesus) is the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Each of us is a walking civil war. The flesh wars against the Spirit within us, just as Paul observed in his letter to the Galatians: For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (Galatians 5:17). It is because of this inevitable tie between the flesh and the law that Paul refers to the law as a ministry that brings death. In reality, it is the flesh that produces death and which kills, but the law, though it be holy, just, and good, cannot be separated from it.

Perhaps nothing has contributed more to the present weakness of the church than a failure to understand the nature and character of the flesh. The primary characteristic of the flesh is that it is self-serving. It can have all the outward appearance of the life of God — loving, working, forgiving, creating, serving — but with an inward motive that is aimed always at the advancement of self. This is why fallen human beings, working in the energy of the flesh, can do many good deeds, but God does not see them as good. He looks on the heart, therefore he knows they are tainted from the start.

So we see the two splendors. There is a certain splendid attractiveness about the flesh trying to be good. It strongly appeals to many, but it is like the shine on Moses' face — a fading splendor! But the splendor of the new covenant is far greater. It derives from the activity of Jesus at work within humanity. Thus it is perfectly acceptable to God, for it is the activity of his Son and will ever be characterized by His life; a life of genuine love, faithful work, and unreserved forgiveness; a life that is humbly given in service to others without thought of repayment or recognition. That is humanity as God intended humanity to be. That is the humble yet beautiful splendor of authentic Christianity.

Lord, you know my heart better than even I do. Thank you that you have provided a new way for me to live, depending on your life within and not on the energy of the flesh. Amen.

Life Application​

What are the specific ways you act out of the flesh that actually might look good on the surface?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 11th​

Life To The Full​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
2 Corinthians 3:9

Paul tells us that there are two glories involved here: a certain glory about the death which the old covenant produces, but a greater glory about life. Paul draws a contrast so we can distinguish the result of trusting in the flesh from the result of trusting in the Spirit. The flesh produces death, the Spirit produces life! To depend on everything coming from you, in response to the law's demands, produces death. To depend on everything coming from God produces life.

To think of death in terms of the end of existence is to miss the point. What is death? It is a negative term meaning the absence of life. When a doctor examines an injured man, he does not look for signs of death; he checks for signs of life. If he does not find them, he knows the man is dead. Life produces its own distinctive marks; death is the absence of those marks. Therefore the question we must really ask is: What is life?
Sometimes we hear a person say, Man, I'm really living! What does that mean? That he or she is experiencing great enjoyment, of course! Enjoyment is a part of life, as God intended it to be. Purpose, meaning, worth, fulfillment, these are all part of life. How about other qualities — joy, peace, love, friendship, power? Yes, that's what life is. The moment we have these qualities, we are living. Surely this is what Jesus meant when He said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10).

In contrast, death is the absence or opposite of those qualities of life. What is the absence of love? Hate, selfishness, and fear. What is the absence of joy? Misery, weariness of spirit, anger, hopelessness. Thus frustration, boredom, worry, hostility, jealousy, malice, loneliness, depression, self-pity — these are all marks of the absence of life. In short, they are forms of death. We do not need to wait till we die to experience these. For some of us, they are a major part of our experience now. They represent death in the midst of life.
Where do these attitudes come from? We think these negative qualities come from passing moods or changing circumstances, but they come from something deeper. They arise from a dependence on the old covenant. They show that we're depending on something coming from me and not everything coming from God.

These negative feelings reveal the flesh in action. Not the flesh in the blatant display of evil which we usually think of — drunkenness, rioting, adultery, thievery, murder, and the like — but the flesh in those subtler displays which we often approve and even seek after: self-sufficiency, self-pity, self-centeredness. I have learned in my own life that depression is usually caused by some form of self-pity. I become depressed because I suffer some disappointment or rejection and this causes me to feel sorry for myself. I want to be made much of, I want someone to focus attention on me, and when this doesn't happen, I become depressed.

The presence of these marks of death gives us the clue as to when the old covenant is at work. Whenever these negative qualities are there, the old covenant is working. On the other hand, whenever the qualities of joy, trust, confidence, beauty, worth, and fulfillment are present, they can only come from the new covenant and the Spirit of God who produces them.

Lord, help me identify the times when, consciously or unconsciously, I'm depending on something coming from me, rather than everything coming from you. Amen.

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Life Application​

What are the subtle displays of the flesh you often approve of and seek after?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 12th​

Condemnation or Righteousness?​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.
2 Corinthians 3:9-10

Here we find another mark of the old covenant in action. It inevitably produces a sense of condemnation, or to use a more modern term, guilt. But the new covenant produces quite the reverse: The feeling engendered is one of righteousness.

Unfortunately, righteousness is one of those great biblical words little understood today. Most of us think of it as doing what is right, and certainly that is part of its meaning. But the essence of the term goes much deeper. Its basic idea is being what is right. One does what is right, because one is right — that is the biblical idea of righteousness. Righteousness is the quality of being acceptable to and accepted by God — fully and without reserve.

On the other hand, how many Christians live continually under a sense of condemnation? When the basis for our Christian activity is dependence on something coming from us (our personality, will-power, gifts, money, courage), there is no escape from a sense of guilt, for we can never be certain when we have done enough! Around the world that basis of performance is driving Christians into frenetic activity that can result in nothing but sheer exhaustion.

Many churches judge their success by the number of activities they have going. For many, it comes as a great shock to learn from the Scriptures that it is possible for a church to be an utter failure before God and yet be occupied to the full every night of the week, teaching the right doctrines and doing the right things. On the other hand, a church whose people are living by the new covenant can also be fully occupied with many and varied activities. It is not the level of activity that marks the success or failure of a church, it is what the source of that activity is. Is it the flesh or the Spirit? Is it my background, my training, my education, my personality? Or is it God at work in me through Jesus Christ?

Remember, there is a certain glory about the activity of the flesh which is very attractive to people. Dedicated activity always gives one a certain sense of worth — for a while! It produces a kind of self-approval that is very pleasant to experience. Paul says, the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory (2 Corinthians 3:7), yet it is far surpassed by the glory and splendor of the ministry of righteousness. In fact, the apostle enlarges on this and says, For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.

This is undoubtedly an oblique reference to Paul's own experience. The pleasure he derived from his dependence upon his ancestry, his orthodoxy, his morality, and his activity soon came to have no glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. To trust in Jesus Christ at work in him was to experience a sense of fulfillment and worth infinitely beyond anything he had ever experienced before. It was to be free! Little did he care what men thought of him, since he was so fully aware of what God thought of him—in Christ. Little did he care what appraisal men (even other Christians) might make of his ministry, since he fully understood that whatever Christ did through him would be approved in the eyes of God.

Father, teach me to trust daily in your righteousness, given to me as a gift, rather than relying on the flesh and experiencing the resulting sense of condemnation. Amen.

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Life Application​

How do you evaluate success? Is it based on the things you can control and produce through your own abilities, or on what God produces in and through you?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 13th​

Fading or Permanent?​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
2 Corinthians 3:11

The contrast is clear: The old covenant produces that which fades away, but the new covenant produces that which is permanent. When Moses came down from the mountain with his face aglow, he found that the glory faded. Relatively soon it disappeared completely, never to be recovered. But the glory of the face of Jesus never changes. Those who are expecting him to be at work through them in response to the demands that normal living makes upon them will experience eternal results. They will never fade or lose their value. They are treasure laid up in heaven—not upon earth.

Once again Paul reminds us of the attractiveness that accompanies dependence upon the flesh. Challenging people to rely upon their natural resources and abilities can often whip up a tremendous wave of excitement and enthusiasm. From such a meeting everyone goes home saying, Wow, what a tremendous meeting! I can't wait to get started on this new program. This year we are going to make it. But every leader of experience knows what will happen. Soon the enthusiasm will begin to ebb (it might not last beyond the next morning!). Those who go around later to collect on some of the promises made will find that people have grown dull and apathetic. By next year it must all be done over again, with new approaches and more powerful presentations, in order to stir up the same degree of excitement and commitment. Sound familiar?

But, you might say, that's just human nature. We humans are just made that way. It is only realism to take it into consideration and make plans to overcome such apathy repeatedly. This statement is true — it is human nature. But it is fallen human nature: in other words, the flesh!

But have you ever met anyone who has learned to function on the basis of the new covenant? They don't need repeated meetings to whip up their enthusiasm. After twenty-five years they're still just as fresh and vital on the same job as they were the day they started. The new covenant refreshes the spirit continually. When the human spirit weakens in the face of continued demand (as it was meant that it should), it looks immediately to the indwelling God, to the fountain of Living Water, receiving vigor and vitality to meet the day's demands with eagerness and enthusiasm. People who live on that basis are a delight to work with. They do not require continual encouragement and outward motivation (though they fully appreciate the kind words people say to them), for they know the secret of their activity is nothing coming from me, but everything from God. This is the permanent glory that never fades.

Lord, I desire to experience you today as a fountain of Living Water, flowing in and through me as I abide in you. Amen.

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Life Application​

Can you meet today's demands with eagerness and enthusiasm, knowing that you have a fountain of Living Water flowing in and though you?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — December 14th​

The Big Push​

Read the Scripture: Romans 8:1-17

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-4

Paul wants to impress us with the inadequacy of the flesh, despite appearances, and the adequacy of the Spirit, despite the evaluations of people. If you seek to live by your own resources rather than by the life of Jesus within you, you are like a man who buys a car and doesn't know that it comes with a motor. A man buying a car on that basis would have to push it home. When he arrives, he might invite his family out for a ride, so his wife gets behind the wheel, the kids in the back seat, and he starts pushing from behind. At that point you might come along and ask, How do you like your car?

Oh, it is a tremendous car. Look at the upholstery, and get an eyeful of this color, and what a great horn this car has. But, I do find it rather exhausting! It goes downhill beautifully, but if there is even the slightest incline, I find myself panting and struggling. It is very difficult to push uphill.

Well, you say, you do need help. Our church is having special meetings this week. Our speaker is addressing the very subject you need to hear: How to Push a Car Successfully! On Monday night he will show us how to push with the right shoulder. On Tuesday night he will illustrate how to push with the left shoulder. On Wednesday night he has video to show us how to use our back to push. On Thursday night he has workshops to help us all push more effectively, and on Friday there will be a dedication service where we all come down in front to commit ourselves anew to pushing cars.

That is how much of Christianity is lived today. We spend hours teaching people how to mobilize their human resources and try harder to get the job done, but all we are mobilizing is the flesh. We seek to build up their confidence in the resources of the human spirit and the possibilities of a determined will.

But if we really wanted to help the man pushing his car, we would say, Look, come around here in front. We would lift up the hood and say, Do you see this iron thing? Do you know what that is? It's a motor. The maker of this car knew you would have the problem you've been having, so he designed a power plant to enable you to go uphill as easily as downhill. When you learn about operating the motor, you will experience the power. Just turn this key and the motor will start. Then step on the pedal on the floor and away you go. You do the steering, but the motor supplies all the power. You don't have to push at all. Just sit back and go up the highest hills with as much ease as if you were going downhill. The motor is equal to any demand you make.

This is what authentic Christianity is all about. God knew that we aren't adequate in ourselves to meet the demands life makes upon us, so he supplied a power plant — the life of Jesus himself, which is perfectly adequate for the task. Our part is to learn to operate it correctly, then make the choices necessary for steering. Then we experience the restfulness of activity in the strength of God in us.

Lord, I'm tired of finding new ways to push my car. Teach me to rely on the source of power you have supplied though the life of Jesus within me. Amen.

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Life Application​

In what ways do you seek to teach people how to mobilize all their human resources and try harder to get the job done for God?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.