Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 23rd​

Jars of Clay​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7

There are two profoundly important factors in this verse: the description of basic humanity and the revelation of the intent of God. Paul first looks at the basic material with which God works, and he describes it as being a lowly vessel — clay pots. Perhaps you have never thought of yourself as a vessel, but it is a fundamental concept of the biblical view of man. What are vessels for? They are essentially containers made to hold something, and when nothing is in them they are empty. This reminds us that we human beings were intended to contain something.
It is fascinating to discover that in this verse we are not just vessels, but we are made from clay, which in itself has little value. There is nothing very pretentious about human beings in and of themselves. Despite our vast God-given possibilities and our claim to great wisdom and cleverness, we must face the humbling fact that we are directly responsible for the terrible problems that now throttle the earth. Apart from God, we are nothing but earthen pots — and sometimes we are cracked pots at that!

Of course, there are all kinds and grades of clay. Some people are like fine china — they crack easily. While they have a very fine texture, it is nothing more than a form of clay. Others are more like sun-dried mud and crumble at the first rap. Some are tough and resilient by nature, and others are pliable and easily molded. But all are clay. Underneath, we are all ordinary people.

But the Christian is more than an empty vessel. He has something within — or, more accurately, Someone within. We have a treasure in our clay pot! And more than a treasure — a transcendent power! That is humanity as God intended it to be. The clay pot is not much in itself, but it holds an inestimable treasure, beyond price, and a transcendent power, greater than any other power known to humanity.

God has designed even ordinary people like us so that we may be the bearers of the most remarkable riches and power ever known. The treasure and the power are not from us, but from God. Does that not sound familiar? Nothing coming from us; everything coming from God. God designed it this way; he intended that his great power, wisdom, and love should become visible in ordinary people.

The only hope we have of realizing the glory God intended for us is to learn to draw upon the treasure within and be empowered by the power available. That treasure and that power are Christ — in you! By design God entrusts this secret to failing, faulty, weak, and sinful people so it will be clear that the power does not originate from us. It isn't the result of a strong personality or of a keen and finely honed mind or of good breeding and training. No, it arises solely from the presence of God in the heart. Our earthiness must be as apparent to others as the power is so that they may see that the secret is not us but God. That is why we must be transparent people, not hiding our weaknesses and failures, but honestly admitting them when they occur.

Thank you, Lord, that you made me an ordinary vessel, yet filled with the very life of God. Help me to be willing to show my weaknesses to others that they might also see your power at work in me.

Life Application​

What kind of earthen vessel are you? Will you allow your weaknesses to be seen so that the Lord might fill you with his power and presence?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 24th​

Necessary Trouble​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

One of the greatest misconceptions held by many is that being a Christian means life should suddenly smooth out, mysterious bridges will appear over all chasms, the winds of fate will be tempered, and all difficulties will disappear. No, Christianity is not membership in some red carpet club. All the problems and pressures of life remain or are even intensified. Christians must face life in the raw, just as anyone will. The purpose of the Christian life is not to escape dangers and difficulties but to demonstrate that they are handled in a different way. There must be trouble, or there can be no demonstration. Look at the four categories of trouble Paul describes:

Afflictions: We are pressed on every side. These are the normal irritations of life which everyone faces — the bothersome, troublesome incidents that afflict us. The washing machine breaks down; it rains on your day off; the dog gets sick on the new carpet; your mother-in-law arrives unexpectedly for a long visit; the traffic is worse than usual; you flunk the exam you expected to pass. All these are normal afflictions. They are the buffetings of life that come to everyone. Christians are not exempted.

Perplexities: Even the apostles did not always know what to do. They were sometimes uncertain and couldn't understand why God allowed some things to happen. They occasionally found it difficult to make decisions, just like the rest of us. There will be many times of uncertainty in our lives, many occasions when we do not understand what to do, what to say, or why things happen. These are normal perplexities.

Persecutions: The Christian is promised persecutions. This covers the entire range of deliberate offenses against Christians from slight ostracisms, cold shoulders, and critical remarks to smears on reputations, hindrances to ministry, personal and bodily attacks, and even torture and death. Christians can expect any or all of these. The apostles were persecuted unto death, as even the Lord was, and the servant is not greater than his Master.

Catastrophes: Struck down! The word has power to chill the heart. It refers to the stunning, shattering blows which seem to come to us out of the blue — cancer, fatal accidents, a heart attack, riot, war, earthquakes, Alzheimer's disease. Christians are not protected from these catastrophic events. They are terrible experiences that try faith to the limit and leave us frightened and baffled.

But look at the reactions to these trials: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed! Perplexed, but not in despair! Persecuted, but not abandoned! Struck down, but not destroyed! There is a power within, a transcendent power, different from anything else, which keeps pushing back with greater pressure against whatever comes from without, so that we are not crushed, despairing, forsaken, or destroyed.

This power within was given for the very purpose of handling afflictions. We are exposed to them in order to demonstrate a different reaction than one which would come from a person of the world. Our neighbors, watching us, will find us difficult to explain, and it is only when we baffle them that we are likely to impress them with the advantage our faith gives. There will be a quality about us that can only be explained in terms of God at work. It must be evident that the power belongs to God and not to us.

Thank you for those things that keep me dependent on you, Lord. Help me not to despise these things but to rely on you to demonstrate your power in the midst of them.

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Life Application​

Are you being hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down? Take a moment and ask God to supply the power to show the world the hope that is within you.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 25th​

Accepting Death​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Cease trying to justify the activities of the flesh and agree with God that the flesh is rightfully under sentence of death.
2 Corinthians 4:10

The life of Jesus, manifest in our mortal bodies, right now, is what we need and want. There is an inner attitude to which we must consent: We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus. The key to experiencing the life of Jesus is our willingness to accept the implications of his death. We will not discover the glory of the treasure and power within us until we are ready to accept in practical terms the result of the sacrificial, obedient death of Jesus.

The death of Jesus was by means of the cross, and the cross was designed for only one purpose: to end the existence of an evil man! Those who were crucified had no life in this world beyond that point. It may sound strange to us to apply the term an evil man to Jesus, but it must be remembered that a little further on in this very letter the apostle says, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Literally, he was made sin. He became what we are. When he became what we are (evil men), there was nothing else God could do except to put him to death. Thus, in the cross of Christ, God took all that we are in Adam, all our natural life, and brought it to a crashing end.

Is not up to us to put this natural life to death — it has already been done. I am only expected to agree with the rightness of that execution. Thus when I cease trying to justify the activities of the flesh and agree with God that the flesh is rightfully under sentence of death, then I am fulfilling this powerful figure of always carrying around in my body the death of Jesus. If I welcome the cross and see that it has already put to death the flesh rising within me so that it can have no power over me, then I find myself able to say no to its cry for expression. I can then turn instead to Jesus with the expectation that as I will to do what he tells me to do in these circumstances, he will be at work in me to enable me to do it. Thus the life of Jesus will be manifest in my mortal life.

The key to the new life is the belief that the old has been rendered of no value whatsoever by the cross. And throughout Scripture the order never varies: First death, then life. Death is intended to lead to resurrection. If we have died with him, we shall also be raised again with him. When we consent to death, then the life of Jesus can flow unhindered from us. It is never the other way. We cannot claim resurrection life first, and then by means of that put the flesh to death. We must first bow to the cross, then God will bring about the resurrection.

Lord, teach to always carry about in my body the death of Jesus that the life of Jesus might be manifest in me.

​

Life Application​

Have you stopped trying to justify the activities of the flesh? Do you agree with God that the flesh is under sentence of death?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 27th​

Something Tremendous​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

There are aspects of our present experience which indicate that something much greater is coming. There is the daily inner renewal that we experience as Christians. The sharp contrast he draws is between the effects of aging upon the body and the increase of wisdom and love which mark the spirit of one who walks with God. There is a beauty about godly old age of which youth knows nothing. The spirit broadens and grows serene, though the body feels increasing pain.

What is happening? The outer man is losing the battle, the strength of youth falters and fades, the night is coming on. But the inner man is reaching out to light, growing in strength and beauty. This inner renewal is another way of describing the new covenant in action. Everything coming from God, nothing from me. The law of sin and death is destroying the body; the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is renewing the spirit from one degree of glory to another.

Paul stoutly declares that it is our very trials and hardships that actually produce the glory to come! Surely there is a twinkle in Paul's eye when he writes, our light and momentary troubles, in view of what he actually endured (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-27). But he was not complaining. He made light of it simply because he knew that these painful trials were actually preparing the weight of glory which was coming!

Something tremendous is ahead. Not only does daily inner renewal suggest it, and our present affliction is preparing it, but the very nature of faith itself guarantees it. The visible things of this life are but transient manifestations of abiding realities which cannot now be seen. Like a good chef, Paul has been whetting our appetites and stimulating our anticipation by veiled references to some breathtaking experience yet to come.

Paul looked forward with eager anticipation to the day when he would put off his earthly tent and move into his heavenly dwelling. A clear view of the coming glory should mean that our present life is marked with good courage. Surely that means more than keeping a stiff upper lip. It means to be full of encouragement, to be joyful, expectant, confident.

There are two reasons given for this. First, in preparing us for the glory to come, God has given us the Holy Spirit as his guarantee. We do not need to doubt that the resurrection of our body is ahead, for the presence within us of the Spirit of resurrection makes it sure. The second reason for confidence is that through the resurrection, life will be mind-blowing beyond description. It is nevertheless true that we are learning how to handle the resurrection body by the way we handle our present body now. Though resurrection will be something new, it will not be entirely new.

C. S. Lewis said that these present bodies are given to us much as ponies are given to English schoolboys — to learn to ride the ponies in order to be ready for the glorious stallions that are even now arching their necks and pawing the floor in the heavenly stables.

Lord, thank you for hope. Thank you that this life is not all there is and that while my body grows old and feeble, my inner person is being renewed each day.

Life Application​

Is your inner man being renewed while you body goes older? Can you look at your trials and call them momentary and light?


Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 28th​

Fearing the Lord​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-11

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
2 Corinthians 5:9-11

Pleasing God is the proper occupation of the Christian. We are learning to do it on earth; we shall perform it perfectly in eternity. To please God always requires faith, for without faith it is impossible to please him (Hebrews 11:6). To walk by faith is to live on the basis of the new covenant, continually accepting the judgment of the cross regarding the flesh and choosing to act in dependence upon the resurrecting life of the Spirit.

It is helpful to us to learn that the will of God is not so much concerned with what we do as it is with how we do it. God does direct us at times to certain activities or places, though often he will leave the choice up to us. But what he is continually concerned about is the resource we are counting upon for success in whatever we do. To depend upon something coming from us is to be displeasing to God, no matter what the activity may be. To do even a simple task, counting upon everything coming from God is to be infinitely pleasing to him.

But the real problem of the Christian life is not how to discover the will of God. The real problem is to want to do it! That problem remains even after we have discovered what it really is that God wants. I can know a great deal about the Christian life, but confronted by the lure of the flesh and the ease with which it could all be justified (a veil), I can deliberately choose to disobey God. I have done it many times. And so, I'm sure, have you.

God has not left us without help at this point. There is a powerful force which acts upon us to stabilize our wavering wills and draw us back from the brink. Surprisingly, it is the fear of the Lord. Everywhere, from Genesis to Revelation, the fear of the Lord is extolled as a proper motive for living.

The psalmist exhorts us, Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing (Psalm 34:9), and declares that a person is in great danger when there is no fear of God before his eyes (Psalm 36:1).
What comes to mind when we think of fearing God? Is it something like a dog crawling in fear to his offended master? Such fear is inspired by guilt, and guilt has no place in a believer's relationship to God.

The fear of which Paul speaks is something that is still there when a believer stands before his loving Father, with a bold and confident spirit, making requests known to him. It is a fear that finds its focus at the judgment seat of Christ.

This is a time when each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). This suggests an occasion when, perhaps for the first time, we learn what has been pleasing to God and what has not. It will be a time of great surprises. Many things we felt were acceptable to God and profitable to us will be found to be spoiled by wrongful dependence. Yet many forgotten or seemingly insignificant acts will be singled out by God as pleasing to Him.

Lord, teach me the proper fear of you, not cringing before you in guilt and shame, but living with a view to standing before you at the judgment seat of Christ.

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Life Application​

Do you have the right perspective on living in the fear of the Lord?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 30th​

Reconciled!​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Paul stresses the word reconciliation. Nothing could be more damaging to our humanity than to be estranged from the God who made us. The best news men can ever hear is that some means of reconciliation with God has been found. It is the privilege of Christians to declare this good news to those by whom it is desperately needed and who are willing to listen because of the hurts and holes in their own lives.

Certain elements of this ministry are underscored by Paul to indicate its greatness and its relevance. To review these is to become aware of the privilege of proclaiming such a message to hurting men and women.

• The ministry of reconciliation originates with God. The offended One, God Himself, initiates the way of reconciliation. We, the offenders, only respond.
• The ministry of reconciliation is universally inclusive. One of the wonders of true Christianity is its universality. It has proven to satisfy the spiritual hunger of people from every culture and ethnic background. It brings the wholeness of God to the whole need of every person — physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
• The ministry of reconciliation is without condemnation. Because of the cross, God does not require anything but the honest acknowledgment of evil to eliminate its destructive results. No penance is demanded, nor will any be accepted. This is not only true when a person first comes to Christ, but it remains true throughout his entire life.
• The ministry of reconciliation is personally delivered. The good news does not come by means of angels or dusty volumes from the past. It is delivered by living, breathing men and women who speak from their own experience. Incarnation, the word become flesh, is forever God's way of truly communicating with people.
• The ministry of reconciliation is authoritatively accredited. Ambassadors are the official spokesmen of a sovereign power in a foreign state. Their word is backed up by the power that sent them out — but only when the word of the ambassador truly represents the will of the sending state. So Christians everywhere are authorized spokesmen for God.
• The ministry of reconciliation is voluntarily accepted. Paul uses words that underscore the non-coercive nature of the gospel: appeal, beseech, entreat. Since we make our appeal on behalf of Christ it is important that we be no more coercive than Jesus was when He ministered in the flesh on earth. There is a remarkable absence of pressure in the presentations Jesus made to people. He invites them to respond, but he does not harangue them. When they don't respond, He neither prolongs the occasion nor makes the invitation easier.
• The ministry of reconciliation achieves the impossible. Here is the supreme glory of the new covenant. It achieves what could never be achieved by fallen man: righteousness (worth) before a holy God! It seems impossible even for God. How can a God of justice justify the unjust? It is a puzzle that staggers the angels. But it was achieved! He who knew no sin, Jesus the Righteous One, was made (on the cross) to be sin on behalf of us, who knew no righteousness, in order that the righteousness of God might be forever ours!

Thank you, Father, for the gift of reconciliation through Christ. May I live out the privilege of being your ambassador.

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Life Application​

Are you enjoying the benefits of being reconciled to God? Are you living as his ambassador?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries. F

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for December 31st​

Exhibit A​

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love …
2 Corinthians 6:4-6

The translators have obscured the divisions which the apostle indicates in this paragraph. There are three major groupings of thought. The first group deals with the adverse pressures a Christian can encounter in life. The second group describes the character that must be displayed in the midst of these pressures. And the third group deals with the results produced, both good and apparently evil. Paul fully exemplifies all these things! It is not likely that we will be called upon to endure all these experiences, but we will surely be asked to endure some of them. Let us remember that the world around is watching us, and only the manifestation of what Paul lists here will commend us to those who are watching.

The key to all of this is endurance. It means far more than simply toughing it out. Even a non-Christian can endure hardness in that sense, and some take great pride in their ability to do so. The Greek word used here, hupomone, goes far beyond that. It is the courageous triumph which takes all the pressure and emerges with a cheer! It not only refuses to be broken by the pressure but is actually grateful for the opportunity to endure, knowing it will bring glory to God.

What was the secret of such endurance? It was never by a clenching of Paul's fists and a determination of his will to show the world how much he could take for Christ. No, the secret of triumphant endurance was the new covenant — everything coming from God, nothing coming from me!

There was a certain kind of character he possessed which saw him through his troubles. First, there was purity. This refers to the careful avoidance of all sin which defiles or stains the flesh or spirit. Next, there was knowledge. His mind was deliberately set upon truth as he had learned it from the Scriptures and revelations of the Lord. Third came forbearance. By nature Paul was impatient and hard driving. But he learned by the Spirit to wait for others to catch up, to be understanding about their weaknesses, and to wait quietly for the Lord to do the work of correction. Finally, there was kindness. This is the sympathetic sweetness of temper which puts others at their ease and shrinks from giving pain.

These marks of Paul's character were what enabled him to endure. But there was something deeper even than these. The four characteristics of purity, knowledge, forbearance, and kindness were visible to other people. Deeper still, in the depths of his spirit, were the forces that undergirded and kept on making possible the display of the four characteristics just listed. Behind everything else and at the root of it all was the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit's constant delight to release to Paul at all times the life of Jesus. Jesus himself lived in Paul and upheld and empowered him, just as he lives in us and upholds us and empowers us through all our trials and tribulations. This life of Jesus was continually supplied to Paul through the Spirit, explaining all that he was and did. No wonder Paul could handle life the way he did!

Thank you for the new covenant, Lord. Teach me to live in such a way that everything comes from you and nothing from me.

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Life Application​

Will you turn to the Lord to give you endurance today to face troubles, hardships and distresses?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 2nd​

Born of God​

Read the Scripture: John 1:5-13

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
John 1:12-13

John's gospel, in chapter 1, immediately confronts us with the world's darkness, and with men's blindness that cannot see the Creator's power when demonstrated in their midst, and cannot see the Messiah when he fulfills all the Old Testament prophecies. But John never calls this a failure, and we must never read it as such. God did what he set out to do—some believed and some received, as we read in verses 12 and 13.

Here is one of the strange and often-repeated paradoxes of Scripture. Somehow God allows everything to seem totally lost; for all to seem a failure. This may mirror your life as well, so you'd better be ready for it. When it seems that everything you counted on to achieve what you longed for has already failed, then God starts to work. That is what he did here.

Though the Messiah was rejected and the Creator was unrecognized, nevertheless in that rejection God produced a whole new creation; a new humanity came into being. John tells us it starts like the old creation—with a birth. Every person entered human life by means of birth. There is no other way in except by being born. And that is true in the new creation as well. There has to be a birth. There is no other way into the new kingdom except with a birth.

John then lists the ways people wrongly think they can come to God. He says, first, that new birth is not of blood. That means, not by inheritance or ancestry. Even being raised in a Christian family where everyone is Christian except you does not make you a Christian. You can attend a Christian school, and spend all your life involved in Christian activities, but until you are born again you are not a Christian.

Second, the new birth is not of the will. You cannot determine yourself to be a Christian, make yourself one or talk yourself into being one. You cannot study Christians, act like them, join their church and sing their hymns, or even go through all the Christian externals to become a Christian. You cannot do it. It is not of the will.

Third, the new birth is not of the will of man—that is, the efforts of others. Nobody can make you a Christian; no bishop, no minister or priest. It cannot be by a ceremony, by reading a creed, by going forward or by kneeling at a bench. That will not make you a Christian.

It is what has happened in your heart that makes you a Christian. It is a new birth. It is done by God—of God, John says—all beyond any human effort, cleverness or manipulation. It is to all who received him, not who merely believe in him. Many people say, I believe in Christ. I believe that he lived, died and rose again, and was who he said he was. But that does not make you a Christian. It is when you receive him, when you yield to him and surrender to his Lordship that you become a Christian.

Deep in the human spirit, if you receive him, something happens to you. Deep in your spirit a transformation occurs. God does it. You cannot do it. When faith meets the Word of God, and the Son of God is invited as Lord into the life, a new life begins in the human spirit. A change of government has set in. That is the mark of a new birth. A new creation has begun which will grow into the image of Christ.

Creator of all things, thank you for recreating me in the image of your Son. This is your work, Lord, and not my own. I invite you today to continue to live your life in and through me.

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Life Application​

Do our lives bear witness to a radical re-birth and governance?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 3rd​

Grace Upon Grace​

Read the Scripture: John 1:14-18

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:16-18

Notice the reappearance in verse 17 of the words grace and truth, and the contrast which John draws between them and the Law and Moses. The Law makes demands. It is hard, cold, unyielding, without mercy. The symbol of it today is the IRS — the Tax Man. If we do not give up what the law requires we are subject to penalty: Do this and thou shalt live, says the IRS. John says that the Law was given by Moses. Moses did not originate it, but he gave it. Moses may disappear, but the Law remains — cold, unyielding, demanding, without mercy.

But, John says, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Take away Jesus and you take away grace and truth; he is the channel of them. What John is saying in this section is that law is all about demand, but grace and truth are all about supply, and are designed to meet that demand.

Many people think that law and grace are contradictory, that they are opposing principles. But not in the sense in which they were originally intended. Law and grace supplement one another. Law makes its demands, rightfully and justly, and no one can meet them, but grace and truth is given in order to meet that demand.

In Exodus 20 there is the remarkable account of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai — the Law, which came with smoke, thunder, earthquake, fire, fear and trembling. But in the very next section we read the detailed plans for the building of the tabernacle — God's provision to meet the demands of the Law. That tabernacle is a picture of Jesus, the meeting place where God's demands are fully met in terms of the sacrifice of blood, of a life poured out. Thus John saw in the coming of Jesus the fulfillment of that tabernacle: The one who was after me has already been before me. So it is with us. We can say with John, Out of his fullness (of grace and truth), we have all received, grace upon grace.

God has a daily supply of grace for us. Grace is the generosity of love reaching out toward us, giving itself to us. To those who come to Christ, God's promise is that every day we can take a new supply of his love. We can know that we are loved. We know we are cherished, protected, and blessed. We are strengthened, kept, and supported by his love; grace upon grace, day after day, like the manna to the Israelites in the wilderness. God gives us a daily supply of love. Because we have been loved, when we reach out in love to someone else, when we give as fully and freely as we have received, then we fulfill the Law, for love is the fulfilling of the Law.

Father, I thank you for the grace of our Lord Jesus. What a gift that he has come among us to reveal you to us and to bring us to you. Help me to walk in the warmth and love of his grace today.

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Life Application​

God's amazing grace transforms His moral law into liberating truth. Are we grasping the rhythm of grace with truth and truth with grace?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 4th​

The Spirit's Witness​

Read the Scripture: John 1:19-34

Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
John 1:32-33

If you read through the Old Testament you find in it a deep sense of unsatisfied longings. From the very beginning of the Bible people are longing after righteousness and holiness; longing to be better than they are; longing to be free from the struggle with evil within; wishing somehow they could get hold of the evil, self-centered tendency within themselves, and eliminate it.
Have you ever felt that way? There have been times when I wished I could have had a surgical operation to remove my tendency to be sharp, critical, harsh and caustic; when I saw the hurt I caused I wished somehow to be able to stop doing those kinds of things.

That longing has been in the human heart ever since the fall of man. All through the record of the Bible it increases, as men and women cried out for a way of deliverance, to be free at last from the power and the reign of sin. They longed for beauty of character, for reality of life, and for freedom from evil.

The record of the Scripture is that it takes God himself to do that. The work of the Spirit is to do that very thing. What John is saying is, I deal with the externals, with what demonstrates men's change of mind as to what they want to be. That is as far as I can go. But, when I baptized Jesus, I saw the Spirit coming down like a dove and lighting on his shoulder. The one who sent me to baptize had said to me, When you see that happening, that is the one who will not only change men outside, but will change them from the inside, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When that happened I knew who he was. My own cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, was the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Paul picks this up in his letter to the Corinthians: For by one Spirit have we all—all believers in Jesus, all, ALL—been baptized into one body ... and have all been made to drink of one Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:13). You cannot be a Christian and not be baptized by the Holy Spirit. It is not something you feel, some experience that you can sense happening at the time. It is a change deep within your humanity; a change that God himself does, when he breaks you loose from the family of Adam and places you in the family of God. Jesus said this would happen to all who received him. In the seventh chapter of John's gospel Jesus said, He who believes in me, ... out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; (John 7:38-39). That is the baptism of the Holy Spirit!

John understood that his ministry was limited, that he could only go so far. He could express in some dramatic, symbolic fashion the desire for change of a heart that wanted to be right. But he could not change it. That had to be the work of Jesus. From that time on, Jesus has been the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. When we enter the family of God, he is the One who does it. Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfiller of the promises; he is the Lamb of God, the fulfiller of the sacrifices of all the Old Testament records; he is the accomplisher and satisfier of the longings of men for purity and freedom, the baptizer with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I thank you for the truth of this great promise. Here I am, over 2,000 years later, and yet the glory of it and the truth of it is as real to my heart as though I too had stood beside the Jordan River on that day. I recognize there is standing with me today the Lord Jesus himself, the One who can fulfill my longings, take away my sins, satisfy my heart, be King of my life.

​

Life Application​

Baptism by the Holy Spirit occurs when we choose by faith to enter into the saving Life of Jesus. Are we depending upon His power to transform us into the image of Christ?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 5th​

God's Questions​

Read the Scripture: John 1:35-51

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, the Lamb of God! When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, What do you want?
John 1:35-38a

Two of John's disciples heard him point to Jesus, and they followed Jesus. One of those disciples was Andrew, the brother of Peter. Everyone asks, Who was the other one? We are not told; his name is not given. Yet this is almost a certain clue as to who this other one was, for we discover in the Gospel of John that John never mentions his own name. He always refers to himself in an indirect, oblique way, such as, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 21:20), or similar words. Since he does not give the name of the other disciple here, almost all the scholars agree that this must be John himself. So John and Andrew are the two who heard Jesus say these words.

What they heard must have struck a responsive chord, for immediately they followed Jesus. That may have been due to curiosity, but, whatever it was, they must have been drawn on immediately by the question Jesus asked of them. When he saw them following him he turned and said to them, What do you seek? Those are the first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John and they are very remarkable. According to this, they are also the very first words Jesus uttered in his public ministry; and they come in the form of a question.

I have always been fascinated by the questions God asks of man. These four words go right to the heart of life. In them Jesus asks the most profound question in anyone's life: What are you looking for? Did you ever ask yourself, Why am I here? What do I really want out of life? That is the most penetrating question you can ask yourself.

Anyone who works knows what it is to get up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to work, work all day, come home in the evening, have dinner, read the paper, listen to television, talk to the family, go to bed, get up in the morning, have breakfast, go to work, work all day, come home in the evening, have dinner, read the paper, listen to television, talk to the family, get up in the morning, etc. Have you ever asked yourself, Why? What do I want out of this?

That is what Jesus is asking in this question. He nailed those men immediately with the profundity of it. What do you seek? Not, Whom do you seek? That would be the natural question to ask under the circumstances. No, Jesus asked What? What are you looking for? What do you really want? That is the supreme question in life!

This reminds us of that first question in the Bible, asked by God of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after the Fall: Adam, where are you? (Genesis 3:9b). That question was designed to make Adam ask himself, Yes, where am I? How did I get here? What has happened to me? Adam and Eve were hiding in the bushes. I do not think Adam asked himself why until God asked the question, Where are you? What are you doing? Why are you there? That is the most important question to answer when you are far away from God. When you answer it, you are on your way back to the God who made you.

Lord, what I really want and what I really need more than anything else is you and the life that only you can provide.

​

Life Application​

Are we settling for shallow, superficial lives because we are dodging the supreme questions?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 6th​

Water to Wine​

Read the Scripture: John 2:1-11

Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so,
John 2:7-8

Notice the simplicity of this account, how easily, how quietly, with such dignity this was done. He says simply, Fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim—not with decaffeinated coffee, but with 120 to 180 gallons of plain, pure water. Then Jesus said, Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast. There was no prayer, no word of command, no hysterical shouting, no pleading with a screwed-up face, no laying on of hands, no binding of Satan, no hocus-pocus or mumbo-jumbo—nothing. He did not even touch the water. He did not even taste it afterward to see if it had happened. He simply said, Take it to the governor of the feast. What a beautiful, simple dignity!

Yet this happened within the limits of a natural process. The water did not become milk, nor did it change into Coca-Cola. What happened was something that happens also in nature. Water is being changed into wine in every vineyard right now! It involves a long process of growth, of gathering and crushing; it involves the activity of men and the process of fermentation. But it is a natural process. This is characteristic of the miracles of Jesus.

In his helpful book, Miracles, C. S. Lewis has pointed out that every miracle of Jesus is simply a kind of short-circuiting of a natural process; a doing instantly something which in general takes a longer period of time. Lewis describes Jesus' miracles as bringing into focus in understandable dimensions what God has already done or will do in such a grand scale within the natural world as to be difficult for us to perceive.

That is what Jesus is doing: he is overlapping the elements of time, of growth, gathering, crushing and fermenting. He takes water—an inorganic, non-living, commonplace substance—and without a word, without a gesture, without any laying on of hands, in utter simplicity, the water becomes wine, an organic liquid, a product of fermentation, belonging to the realm of life. Thus he demonstrated his marvelous ability to master the processes of nature.

Later, John writes, This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him (John 2:11). They believed that here was God's Man, ruling over all the works of God's hands, put in dominion and authority over the natural world and doing with it whatever he pleased, within the limits of nature itself. When the disciples saw it they believed more deeply in him than before. They saw that here was One who could handle life. Here was One who could take a commonplace thing, nothing out of the ordinary, simple water, and make of it wine, make it a source of joy.

Our Lord is able to take the humdrum, commonplace, ordinary events of any life and with his touch make them full of flavor, fragrance, strength and beauty; to turn them into wine. He will do this with any of us as we faithfully walk with him, follow him, and believe in him.

Jesus, please take my ordinary life and through your great power change it into something full of joy, beauty and strength.

​

Life Application​

Are we learning to observe and appreciate God's awesome, transforming work in even simple and commonplace events and circumstances of our lives?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 7th​

The Temple Cleanser​

Read the Scripture: John 2:12-25

His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.
John 2:17

Can you imagine what the disciples felt while this was going on? How embarrassed they must have been by the actions of Jesus! They had not been with him very long; they did not know him very well. They had been attracted by the amazing things he said and the things he did. They believed with all their hearts he was the expected Messiah. They had not worked out all the theological puzzles that that must have raised in their minds, but they were committed to following him. Yet the first thing he does is to embarrass them with this uncalled-for activity.

Imagine going into the temple where this practice had been going on for decades and, without any appeal to authority, taking on himself this action of driving out money-changers, pouring out their money, driving out the animals, and even driving out the people with a whip! The disciples were highly embarrassed. But they were probably also fearful of what the authorities would do about this flagrant challenge to them. They knew these self-righteous Pharisees would not let Jesus get away with this. Perhaps the disciples even felt a little anger at the Lord himself for being so unsocial, for being so uncooperative with the establishment. Yet, knowing who he was, they may have felt reluctant to judge him.

But as they watched him do this, there came flashing into their minds a verse from the 69th Psalm. The psalm describes the suffering and the agony of the One who was to be the Messiah. There came into their minds this one verse, The zeal for thy house has consumed me (Psalms 69:9a)—it has burned me up, has seized hold of me and devoured me and made me to act. There came for the first time, perhaps, the quiet realization in these disciples' hearts of the divine refusal to put up with inward impurities. They began to understand that God does not compromise with evil.

This touches one of the great paradoxes of our Christian faith. Throughout John's Gospel we will see plainly how anyone can come to Christ, no matter what his background, no matter how far he has gone wrong, no matter how evil he has been—murderers, prostitutes, swindlers, liars, perverts, drunkards, self-righteous prigs, bitter, hard-hearted cynics, religious hypocrites, proud self-sufficient snobs—anyone who realizes there is something wrong in his life, anyone who wants to be free can come to Jesus. Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, Jesus said (Matthew 11:28).

But now the disciples understand, perhaps for the first time, that if you come, be assured that Jesus is not going to leave you the way you are. He is not going to settle for clutter, compromise, extortion and racket, whatever may be defiling and corrupting the temple courts. He may leave you alone for awhile. Many young Christians have misunderstood that. Because he brings us in love and he deals with us in patience, we think that he is going to let us get by with some of the comfortable but wrongful habits we have built into our lives. But he will not. If we mistake that delay for acceptance, we are in for a surprise. If we refuse to deal with what he puts his finger on, one day we will find him coming with flaming eyes and with a whip in his hand, and we will find all that traffic in immorality is driven out whether we like it or not.

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that defiles so that it may be a house of prayer that is pleasing to you.

​

Life Application​

How awesome that in Christ we are made the dwelling place of God's Holy Spirit! Are we totally complicit with His rigorous cleansing of His holy temple?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 8th​

Born From Above​

Read the Scripture: John 3:1-16

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
John 3:1-3

Notice how Jesus cuts right across Nicodemus' inquiry with a sharp and penetrating sentence that must have gone like a sword thrust right into his heart. Observe what Jesus is saying in this startling word to Nicodemus. A new birth is absolutely essential to enter the kingdom. John uses a very interesting word here that is translated anew, or again. It is the Greek word, anothen, which means again or to do something a second time. It often points to a radical new beginning which comes from above. It signifies God must do this. It is speaking of something radical, a new beginning. It is a second birth, but it comes from above. It is God that does it, not man; and it results in a new creation, a new beginning.

This idea appears many times in the New Testament. Paul speaks of babes in Christ, (1 Corinthians 3:1). Peter says, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow, (1 Peter 2:2). Again Peter says we are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, (1 Peter 1:23). And he speaks of being born to a living hope, (1 Peter 1:3). Paul speaks not only of being new creatures in Christ but of a new creation; of passing from death unto life, of a new, radical start. Jesus makes clear that this is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. If you do not come this way you cannot enter. There is no way you can even see the kingdom of God without this.

To be in the kingdom of God, of course, is to belong to God; it is to be a part of his rule, his reign, his domain. Paul speaks of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness, ruled by the god of this world, into the kingdom of the Son of his love, (Colossians 1:13). Thus, Jesus was referring to a transfer of citizenship, a radical departure from what we once were.

Jesus sensed in Nicodemus a deep hunger, an emptiness. Here was a man who was doing his level best to obey what he thought God wanted, yet he had an empty and unsatisfied heart that led him to seek out Jesus by night, at the risk of the displeasure of his peers, to talk with him about the kingdom of God. Sensing this our Lord immediately puts him on the right track, saying to him, in effect, You are wasting your time if you think you can enter the kingdom of God the way you are. You cannot do it. You must be born again.

When John Wesley preached all through England, Wales and Scotland, he continually told people that they must be born again. Someone once asked Wesley why he preached so often that people must be born again. Wesley's answer was simply that it's because they must be born again! After all, that is what Jesus is saying.

Father, thank you for the miracle of new birth which comes only from above. It is only through your great power and love that such a thing could happen to me.

​

Life Application​

Spiritual re-birth is generated by God who is Love. How are we responding to such infinitely costly Love?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

To Save Or Condemn?​

Read the Scripture: John 3:16-36

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:17

This verse is a great guideline as to how we ought to talk about the gospel to people who do not know God, to those who are living careless, indifferent, often sinfully wretched lives. We ought not to come shaking our finger at them, pointing out how terrible they are and what evil things they are doing to themselves. We ought to come sensing the agony, the hurt, the inward shame, the loneliness, misery and anguish they are going through. That is the way God feels and that is the way we should feel too.

Paul puts this very beautifully in his second letter to the Corinthians: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, (2 Corinthians 5:19). That is why in every vignette we have of Jesus in the gospels, where he is dealing with acknowledged, open, blatant sinners, we never hear a word of condemnation. Witness the woman at the well of Samaria. She had five husbands and was now living with a man outside of marriage. Jesus was courteous to her. He did not attack her, blame her, or judge her. There is no condemnation.

Of course that does not mean that God is not concerned about our sins. He knows that we cannot be free until something is done about them. Everywhere in Scripture we are reminded that he came to set us free from our sins, not to leave us in them, or to say they do not matter, but to set us free. Yet what he wants us clearly to understand is that our sins do not keep us from coming to him. We can come to God knowing we will be received with a loving touch, a forgiving heart, and open, wide-extended arms.

There is a moving story about a young man who had quarreled with his father and left home. He continued to keep in touch with his mother, and wanted very badly to come home for Christmas, but he was afraid his father would not allow him. His mother wrote to him and urged him to come home, but he did not feel he could until he knew his father had forgiven him. Finally, there was no time for any more letters. His mother wrote and said she would talk with the father, and if he had forgiven him she would tie a white rag on the tree which grew right alongside the railroad tracks near their home, which he could see before the train reached the station. If there was no rag, it would be better if he went on.

So the young man started home. As the train drew near his home he was so nervous he said to his friend who was traveling with him, I can't bear to look. Sit in my place and look out the window. I'll tell you what the tree looks like and you tell me whether there is a rag on it or not. So his friend changed places with him and looked out the window. After a bit the friend said, Oh yes, I see the tree. The son asked, Is there a white rag tied to it? For a moment the friend did not say anything. Then he turned, and in a very gentle voice said, There is a white rag tied to every limb of that tree! That is what God is saying in John 3:16-17. God has removed the condemnation and made it possible for us to come freely and openly home to him.

Grant to me, Lord, a heart of compassion rather than condemnation. Forgive for the times I have judged others when you yourself were reaching out to them in love.

Life Application​

Refusing God's saving, sacrificial Love gift is an act of self-judgment. Are we walking in the Love and Light of His forgiveness? Do we forgive others as God has forgiven us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 10th​

Thirsty​

Read the Scripture: John 4:1-42

Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

John 4:13-14

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus is met at Jacob's well by a Samaritan woman, who has come to draw water. How very beautifully Jesus overleaps the various barriers that separated him from this woman. He was a rabbi, and according to the rabbinical law, rabbis were instructed to never talk to a woman in public—not even to their own wives or sisters. In fact the rabbinical law said, It is better to burn the law than to give it to a woman. In that culture women were regarded as totally unable to understand complicated subjects like theology and religion.

But notice how Jesus treats her. He could judge something about her from the circumstances of her being at this well. Although there was another well in the village, as a moral outcast she was forced to come all the way out to this well, half a mile away. Meeting her, our Lord understood this to be a sign from his Father that here was one of those sinners whom he came to call to repentance. He himself said on one occasion, I did not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners (Mt 9:13). He probably knew more about this woman's history than this introduction suggests, because later he tells her some facts about herself that he evidently knew. He had been through this small village several times, and had probably heard something about her. Now to have her meet him at the well is to him an indication that God the Father wanted to reach out to her.

Jesus says to her, I am not talking about the water in the well. Drink of that water and you will thirst again. (She knew what he meant. She had been coming to that well for years.) But I will give you living water, and the one who drinks of the water I give will never thirst. He did not, of course, mean that one could take one drink of living water and never again feel a thirst of soul, any more than one could take one drink of any kind of physical, literal water and never feel thirsty again. What he means is what we Americans have discovered in our own homes. How do we keep from thirsting? We have water piped in, available to us all the time, so that when we feel even a little thirsty we take a drink of it. This is what Jesus means here. The water he would give would be available constantly so that when one was thirsty one could drink immediately.

Many Christians never seem to learn this truth. They never realize that there is a place where their inner thirst—their sense of restlessness, their desire for more than what they have—can be met instantly.

Jesus goes on to make clear that it is going to be from within: The water I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. He means, of course, that the Spirit which he will impart is a life-giving Spirit, that as one drinks of that Spirit one experiences the quality of life which is called, in the Scriptures, eternal life.

That means far more than everlasting life. It means refreshing, invigorating, exciting life; life that has the qualities of love and joy and peace about it. When you know you lack these qualities, if you then have drunk of the water that Jesus gives you it can immediately slake your thirst—again and again and again. It is a beautiful picture: a well springing up to eternal life.

Lord, thank you that you have revealed to me the fountain within, the place of significance, the place of renewed love, of cleansing, refreshing, washing again. Teach me to drink frequently all through the day, as many times as I need, of this refreshing fountain. Fill me so that I will not have to run after empty cisterns and follow after the misleading philosophies of the world around me. Let me drink deeply of One who has come; who has proven himself in my own life to be the Savior of the world.

Life Application​

Our soul's deepest thirst is for God himself. When His Spirit dwells within He is a fountain of spontaneous and continual supply of living water. Are we drinking of Him and sharing the joy with others?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 11th​

Faith's Encouragement​

Read the Scripture: John 4:43-54

While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him. Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. So he and his whole household believed.

John 4:51-53

What an exciting encounter! The servants met this man with the glorious news, Your son is living—the very same words Jesus had said to the father. Immediately he checked the hour when it had happened. It dawned on him that at the precise moment when Jesus had said to him, Go; your son lives, the fever suddenly left the boy and he began to mend. There broke upon him a new realization, not of what Jesus could do, but of who Jesus was. He had authority over all illness. He was not limited by distance or time. He had power in areas beyond the knowledge and reach of men. When the man understood that, he believed, and all his household with him. This is the same word for belief that was used of him before, but now it is used at a much higher level—a trust that God was at work and would work out this matter in ways that he could not anticipate.

The power of this story is given to us in the book of Hebrews, where we read: Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2a). That is what Jesus has come to do—to bestow faith and make it to grow. One version translates this as, The pioneer and perfecter of faith. This story tells us that we are in the hands of One who does not always answer our prayers the way we expect, but in doing so he lifts us to a higher awareness of who he is, of his authority and power in the world and in life. Our faith, as a result, becomes stronger, cleaner and truer. We are enabled to exercise it at a far higher level. Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. That is the meaning of the sign that Jesus performed that day.

Tom Landry, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said that the job of a coach is to cause men to do what they don't want to do, so that they can achieve what they really want. That is what Jesus does: he puts us through circumstances we do not want to go through; he makes us face things we do not like to face in order to achieve what we have wanted with all our hearts all along. To do so requires the strengthening of faith. Faith's encouragement—that is what this incident is all about.

Heavenly Father, how this account speaks to me in my situation today. Grant that I may face that situation with renewed encouragement, renewed trust, a renewed sense that you know what you are doing in my life and are strengthening my faith in the process.

Life Application​

Are we learning to view all of life's circumstances as God's opportunities to mature our faith? Do we accept His tutorials as our adventure of faith and trust, and experiencing the Joy of the journey?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries. F

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 13th​

The Secret of Jesus​

Read the Scripture: John 5:18-30

Jesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself

John 5:19a

That is probably the most radical statement in the entire Word of God, because it indicates the first step in being a channel of the power of God: a recognition that any effort made to use God's power for one's own benefit will finally leave nothing but a hollow, empty feeling; it will never achieve anything. You may climb to the top of whatever heap you aspire to, and gain the admiration and attention of all the world, but if you have not found this secret, your life will be unsatisfying to you, and of no use whatever to God. The Son can do nothing of his own accord.

Jesus does not mean that it is impossible for him to do something apart from the Father, any more than it is impossible for us to do things apart from God. We can, and we do—Jesus could have as well. Further on in this account he says that the Father has given him power to act out of himself. Jesus could have created a whole universe over which he was God. He had the power to do so. But the whole point of this is, he chose never to exercise that power for his own benefit. Never! This is the explanation of his behavior in the wilderness when he was tempted by the devil to change stones into bread for his own satisfaction, to leap from the temple to gain the applause of people, or to gain the whole world for himself. He steadfastly refused to do so. That is the key. God gives his power to those who will not use it for their own benefit. That is one of the most profound secrets in Scripture.

This releasing of the power of God at any point to meet our human need is a simple, yet absolutely profound truth. Our Lord lived like this all the time. It was not merely in raising men from sick beds that he employed the power of God. He did it when he spoke to some lonely, heartsick, broken person and brought him to life and faith. It was the same power that made his words full of impact and meaning to the woman at the well who had had five husbands and was still trying to find satisfaction in living with a man without marriage. Here is the secret of power: I cannot, I do not have anything in myself that can accomplish this thing, but God can, if he wants it done — and you obey that, it results in a visible release of power. Jesus could say to the impotent man, Stand up, and the man was immediately on his feet.

Because Jesus was not acting of his own accord, but rather depending on His Father, His word to this man had power. Words are like sails on sailboats. If you go out in a sailboat on a still day and raise the sail it will hang there, limp and powerless. But lift that sail on a day when a strong breeze is blowing and it will fill with wind; it will begin to strain and pull and the boat will move rapidly through the water. That is what a word is like. Words are insignificant in themselves, but if they are in line with the working of God they are filled with impact and power. This is what our Lord is modeling for us.

There is so much I try to do on my own accord. Teach me, Lord, to recognize my own helplessness, trust in you and see your visible release of power.

Life Application​

Jesus' perfect unity with the Father is demonstrated in His perfect obedience and submission to His initiative. Are we compelled by His Love to live in complete dependence upon His power in and through us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 14th​

Burn!​

Read the Scripture: John 5:31-47

You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light

John 5:33-35

Jesus says something that sounds a little strange to us: Not that the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this that you may be saved. By this he means that though he does not need testimony from John for himself, it may be a saving help to those who heard John. It is a strange phenomenon, frequently seen, that men and women who pay no attention to the voice of God directly will often listen very interestedly to someone who tells what his experience with God has been.

I gathered with about 650 other people to hear a former Senator tell how God had drastically changed his life. When he was a hopeless alcoholic, wallowing in his own vomit, so despairing he was ready to take his own life, God met him and delivered him through much struggle and pain, and led him to a place of prominence and power. I sat on the platform watching people hanging on his every word, listening to a man describe what God could do.

The Bible, of course, is the Word of God. It is the most widely distributed book ever — the perennial best seller — having been translated into more languages than any other book. Thus it has always struck me as strange how few people ever open the Bible to see what God has said. But they will listen instead to what some man says about what God has said! That phenomenon is what Jesus is talking about here: For your sake John has been sent. For your sake I call attention to the witness of John, in order that you might be saved. This is a marvelous insight into the compassionate heart of Jesus. He is willing to use any approach as long as people will listen to what God is saying.

Jesus goes on to say a very beautiful thing about John: He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. John was a lamp. He was not a light, he was a lamp. A lamp bears the light, but it is not the light itself. If a lamp is not burning, it is not shining either. The lamp is there but there is no light. Many people are like that. They are lamps, they have the capacity to be lights, but they are not shining. John was the kind of lamp who shone brightly. He was a witness who told people where they could see, hear and know the light.

Would you like to be a shining lamp? Let me tell you how to do it. Burn! Let the truth of God fuel your heart until it begins to burn. When you understand the amazing revelation of how God operates in this world your heart will begin to burn, and then you will start to shine. When we sing the words to the familiar hymn that we are going to let our little light shine, this is how to do it: Burn!

Lord, I want my light to shine as John's did, pointing people around me to you.

Life Application​

When the Light of the World who is Jesus Christ lives in us, we are called to be His lightbearers. When our hearts are aflame with His Light and Love, we cannot help but burn as His witnesses.

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for January 15th​

The Testing of Faith​

Read the Scripture: John 6:1-15

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

John 6:5-6

Examination time has come. We are not sure why Jesus chose Philip. It may be that Philip was the one whom he thought to be most advanced in the lessons of faith. These disciples all had unique personalities. Peter was loud and brassy. He had his foot in his mouth most of the time. James and John were ambitious and fiery. They lost their tempers easily. Philip was quiet and deep, he seemed to hang around in the background all the time. Yet I am sure Jesus saw in him a man of deep perception. The quiet kind are often the deep thinkers. Perhaps he chose Philip because he was the one who would most likely understand all that was underneath the very dramatic surface phenomena which the disciples were witnessing.

In any event Jesus said to Philip How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? He did not really expect to buy bread. In fact Jesus knew that Philip could not possibly answer his question. There was no village and no store nearby, and they had very little money besides. His question is clearly designed to set before Philip a predicament that had no human solution.

Has that ever happened to you? Perhaps right now you are in that kind of a state: You are faced with a predicament for which you can find no answer in the normal resources of human life. That is what Jesus did with Philip.

Our Lord was thinking of ministry to these people, of meeting their need. But Philip immediately began to think of money. He responds to Jesus' question: Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. As he estimated the resources available, Philip gave up in despair; he thought there was no way this problem could be met.

God forgive us for the Philip in us all! How many times has this happened in our own experience! As we contemplate the Word of God to us he commands us to feed the multitudes—not only physically, when need arises, but even more important—spiritually. I am distressed by the fact that very few seem to understand that we are sent into the world to teach the world truth that it never could find in any other way, truth that is desperately needed to handle life and make it work as God intended. In the secular realms of knowledge there are great missing elements, great blanks, that the people of the world try to fill up in a dozen different ways, but only the church possesses the truth, the bread that can feed the hungers of life.

What do we do when we hear this command, Feed the multitudes? We respond like Philip. We think of committees, fund raising and organizations. We use very impressive-sounding words: We have to set our goals, we must understand the parameters of the problem, etc. The result is that very little gets done. Our Lord, however, says to begin where you are, with what you have. I am convinced that if we would just do that, all these expensive substitutes would not be needed.

Forgive me, Lord, for trying to meet the needs around me in my own strength. Teach me to offer up to you what little I have and trust that you will use it in miraculous ways.

Life Application​

What is our first response when faced with overwhelming predicaments? Do we calculate a purely human solution, or do we reckon on God's supply of wisdom and resources?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.