Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 28th​

A Love Story​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 53:10-12

...because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12

When I first came to Peninsula Bible Church as a pastor, we had an unusual opportunity to have in our home a Japanese man who had become a Christian evangelist. His name was Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander of the squadron that bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He told us in his broken English of that event and how he felt at the time he gave the command to drop the bombs. After the war he became a hero in Japan, yet he felt his life was empty. Then he heard the amazing story of one of the American fliers, Jacob DeShazer, one of Doolittle's bombers, who had been captured and put in prison in Japan. At first he was a very intractable prisoner, but someone gave him a New Testament and, reading it, his whole life was changed.

Fuchida heard about that change in the life of DeShazer, and Fuchida himself began to read the New Testament. When he came to the story of the crucifixion, he told us that he was so moved by the prayer that broke from the lips of Jesus as he hung upon the cross with his torturers and tormentors gathered about him, Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing (Luke 23:34), that his own heart broke. He could not understand how anyone could pray for his enemies and ask for them to be forgiven. In that moment he opened his heart to Christ, and ultimately became a Christian evangelist. For some years he traveled throughout this country, speaking especially to young people about the grace that could come into a life through One who was numbered with the transgressors . . . and made intercession for them.

This is a love story. What kind of love is this that awakens within us a response of deep and abiding gratitude, a willingness to admit that we need help? Our only adequate response is found in the words of a hymn,

Oh, love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee. I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer fuller be.

I am overwhelmed by your great love, O Lord, that will never let me go and is changing me into your likeness.

Life Application​

The realization that the perfect and sinless Jesus became sin for us should break our hearts and radically change our lives. Does His sacrificial love redefine love as both noun and verb, both essence and expression? Are we learning to love for Jesus' sake and by the power of His Presence?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 1st​

In Christ​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:1-2

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi...

Phil 1:1a

The ancient practice of correspondence had one very distinct advantage over our modern method. They signed their name at the beginning of the letter. Have you ever received a letter, perhaps two or three pages long, and had to flip through the pages to see the name at the end before you knew who the letter was from? The ancients were much more efficient, putting their name at the beginning.

The address of the letter is very distinctive: to the saints in Christ at Philippi. In Christ was the source of their lives. In Philippi was the sphere in which they lived it. Both are very important in this letter. For what these people would be as citizens in Philippi would be determined by who they were as Christians — in Christ.

As you read through this letter you will see that there are four major propositions that govern the Christian life. There is first of all those who are without Christ. There was a time when we all were without Christ, strangers, far-off, without any inheritance of our own. As Paul has written to the Ephesians, we were under the control of the god of this age, driven about by forces of which we were unaware, and we entered into the same concepts and lies that brainwash people everywhere. We were without Christ.

Then there came a time as with these Christians, when we were in Christ, that is, we entered into His Life and His Life entered into us by faith in His work and in His person. We became personally related to the living God. We didn't merely exercise faith in what He did or said. We knew Him. We became part of Him, a vital part of His life. We were in Christ. If anyone be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things become new.

Then as we go along in life we see the relationship connect in us of speaking and working and reaching out for Christ. That is, our lives are increasingly lived on His behalf. He becomes the focus of every activity. Then, finally, there will be that moment when, as it says in the old hymn, Face to face I shall behold Him. We shall be with Christ, forevermore.

These four propositions govern the Christian life. That life begins with our being in Christ, whether at Philippi or wherever God may lead us.

Thank you, Father, for placing me in Christ. Teach me to realize and lay hold of all that you have for me in Him.

Life Application​

If we have truly entered into Christ's Life, and He into ours, are we moving toward the goal of serving others in His name and by the power of His indwelling Presence?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 2nd​

Where is Your Confidence?​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:3-6

...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phil 1:6

Perhaps Paul's joy in these people at Philippi was that he was seeing them by faith. Not as they were, but as they would be when God's work was done. He was looking at them with the eye of faith. He was sure that He who began a good work in them was going to finish it, so Paul could say that, even though you rub me the wrong way once in a while, I know what you are going to be. This is the key to getting along with other Christians. Sometimes it's difficult, but when we realize what they will be we can do it. I heard of an artist who called a friend in and asked him to comment on a picture he was painting. He said, this is my masterpiece. It is beautiful. The man said I guess I don't see what you see. It just looks like dabs of different colors to me, without form or anything. The artist said, Oh I forgot. I'm seeing it as it will be when finished. You are seeing it as it is now.

This is what Paul was doing. He was seeing these Christians as they would be and he thanks God it's going to happen. What a comforting verse. Many times, when I am discouraged with myself, I utterly despair of being what I ought to be. I am so aware of the deceitfulness and subtlety of the flesh. Even when I want to be what I ought to be, I end up deceiving myself. I see the utter futility of depending on me to get this job done. In those times, I try to remember this verse, being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

This means that life is not perfect yet. It has an adequate goal, and it is a goal which will be reached, and the final responsibility is not in my hands but in God's. I love that! Paul's confidence is placed in a Person, not on himself. We are all, if we know Christ, in the hands of the One who can change us. Sometimes we don't want to be what God wants us to be, but it's being done in us despite us. God knows how to bring us into the circumstances that will make us willing to be made willing, if He needs to. It's a great consolation to recognize in whose hands we are. The impression is often given by we Christians today that our main task is to keep Christianity going. Christianity didn't start that way. These early Christians gave the very clear impression that it was their faith in Christ that kept them going. There are those who tell us that we can lose our Christian life, but if this is something we can lose, then it must be based on some human factor — that it depends on us. But if it depends on us, then we can't depend on it. I am so grateful that this rests upon a Person who is capable of doing the work, and who has promised to complete it. Thanks be to God who is able to keep us from falling.

Lord, keep me from the folly of thinking that it is the crusade I launch or the activity that I fulfill or my busyness that accomplishes your will today, rather than what I am in Jesus Christ, and all that marvelous love of Your being flooding through my soul, into my experience and actions.

Life Application​

Joy is 'the serious business of heaven'. It is a consequence of being preoccupied with the living and indwelling Christ, confident that He will complete His redeeming work in us and through us. Are we there yet? No, but God isn't finished either, so let's pay attention.

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 3rd​

Love With Knowledge​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:7-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...

Phil 1:9

Now if you and I were writing a letter to new Christians, wanting to stir them up to activity, what would we say? Would we not probably urge them to witness, because somehow in our day there has come the idea that all Christian life exists for but one purpose — that the believer may be a verbal witness. And if we are fulfilling that job in talking with someone about God, we are fulfilling all that is expected of us in our Christian lives.

But Paul doesn't say a word about this. Because, of course, love in action is the greatest witness. He says, that your love may abound more and more. That the love of Christ which is in you, and which you can't help but find there if you are at all a believer, may now find expression in affection. What does that mean? That means there is some resulting activity — love in action! Not promise but performance. I think they needed this in Philippi, and I think we need it wherever we live as well, that our love may abound in activity. Otherwise, it's as James says, faith without works is dead. If love doesn't show itself in some action, then it's not real love.

There are two things added: with knowledge and depth of insight. Love by itself, left to flow unchecked and unregulated, can sometimes be disastrous. Love acts like hate when it refuses to think. All of us have had experience with people who mean well, but they never bother to get the facts and to see if they can help intelligently, and sometimes they are a great nuisance. Paul says that isn't enough. Love with knowledge. Learn the situation. See how you can really help. Don't just plan to help without any investigation as to whether it will do the job.

Then, love with depth of insight. Paul means there is a time to help, and people to be helped, but there are times not to help and people who ought not to be helped. One of the weaknesses of present church life is that we give money freely to activities that ought not to have it. We don't exercise discernment. There are some people that because of their attitude and situation, can't be helped at the moment. I think of that story of the prodigal son, when that boy was down there in the far country. I think the father in some way knew where that boy was and what he was doing, but he never offered to help him. He couldn't. He let him go into the far country because for that moment there was nothing else he could do. He couldn't help the boy until he came back, and when he did the help was available to him.

Father, you are the One of whom it is said, God is love. More and more, may your love come to define me and all my actions.

​

Life Application​

Are our lives as Christ's disciples motivated and informed by His quality of love? Do we seek wisdom and insight from the Holy Spirit in study of the Word and in prayer?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 4th​

Adversity Means Advance​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:12-15

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Phil 1:12

Paul is in jail in Rome, writing to his friends far across the sea in Philippi. He manifests a reaction that inevitably makes the world sit up and take notice. He understood that adversity means advance. The manifestation of this kind of attitude is a test of Christian maturity. The Christian who has become well enough acquainted with the God of the impossible whom he serves, knows that even through apparent defeat, God still is able to work. Such a Christian has begun to grow up in the Lord. He recognizes that in God obstacles are really opportunities, and nothing can really imperil the gospel. That is an amazing declaration when you think about it. Nothing that is intended to defeat ever brings defeat, that God works His way despite the obstacles, and all obstacles only serve ultimately to spread Christian faith.

I ran across the story of a Swiss French pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II. He said this: I was not able to stand firm except by remembering every day that the Gestapo was the hand of God — the left hand. The worst of tyrants will only end by accomplishing Christ's will.

That is the glorious mark of Christianity that has made it an invincible force through all the centuries. Here is Paul, under arrest, chained day and night to a Roman soldier, unable to leave the house or the city of Rome. Imagine what this must have meant to the restless, surging spirit of this man. God had sent him out under His commission that was to take him to the very ends of the earth.

It must have been easy for Paul to be discouraged. There is no doubt he was tempted many times to feel sorry for himself and to wonder why God would ever let this kind of thing happen to him when all he was trying to do was fulfill God's will. Do you ever feel that way? It must have been easy for him to chafe under these circumstances as month by month goes grinding on and there seems to be no change. But as we read the letters that come from him out of those days there is not one word of complaint. Instead there is a marvelously triumphant spirit, and an expression of confidence. Why? When he was tempted he undoubtedly fell back on what he knew about his God. In other words, in the face of temptation to fret and chafe, he believed God.

Earlier he had written to these very Roman Christians with whom he was now meeting. All things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose. He believed that! Even though the immediate hour didn't bring relief, he believed Him, and out of that confidence he could see that even those things that seem to be against him are working out the purposes of God.

Father, I pray that I recognize that confidence doesn't come by some effort to convince myself, some struggle to think positively, but from a quiet resting upon an unchangeable fact — that Jesus Christ lives His life within me, and that He is quite competent to meet every situation. May I look to Him, and learn to rejoice in His victory.

Life Application​

Paul's friends anxiously awaited news of him, but the focus of the Apostle's letter was not on his imprisonment but on the undefeated purpose of God who works to accomplish His will in every circumstance. Are we learning to trust God's ways and means so that others are encouraged by our confidence in Him?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 5th​

Rejoicing in Our Rivals​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:15-18

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Phil 1:18

It's evident in this passage that certain Christians were jealous of Paul. These are not Judaizers. These are not false teachers. They are preaching a true gospel. They were genuine Christians, but they were jealous of Paul. Evidently they felt they were there first and they felt he had perhaps usurped some of their positions. There is always readiness for envy. But many false doctrines had fallen before the Spirit of power and the cool logic and authority of the Apostle as he ministered to them. Now they see a chance to regain their popularity. They begin to plan extensive campaigns in Rome and surrounding cities, hoping thereby to eclipse the apostle in their activity and zeal for the gospel. They are hopeful that when the word gets back to Paul of how much they are doing he too might feel some of the jealous pain they feel. But the prisoner couldn't care less. The magnanimous spirit he has in Christ only make him rejoice in the fact that Christ is being preached. He says it doesn't matter whether they are doing it to make me feel bad or not — Christ is being preached, and in that I rejoice.

Can you take the success of others? That's one of the hardest tests of Christian maturity, isn't it? I don't think there is a clearer mark of Christian maturity than to be able to genuinely rejoice — not just say pious words — but genuinely rejoice in the success of another. Most of us react like the Christian I heard of in the mountains of West Virginia who, when asked how things had been going that year, said, Oh things have been terrible. We've had an awful year. Things have never been worse. Instead of having any progress in the church we've had setbacks, we've lost people. But then he smiled and said, But thank God, the Methodists haven't done any better. That spirit is the counterpart of what Paul reveals here. Rivalry caused him to rejoice.

I confess, Lord, that I often have not rejoiced in the success of others, and have seen it as a threat to my own sense of worth. Teach me, like Paul, to rejoice even in the success of my rivals.

Life Application​

Christian envy is an oxymoron! Are we among those who dishonor Christ by competitive envy? Or do we share the Apostle Paul's joy when the Good News is spread by whatever means?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 6th​

To Live or Die?​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:19-26

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

Phil 1:21-22

The Christian view of death is given in just four words in this passage: with Christ, far better. That sums it up. But before we look closer at that, it's important that we see what this man's view of life is, because these are not the words of a man who is sighing after heaven but resigned to living on earth. This is not the utterance of someone who is fed up with living and couldn't take life any longer so now the only hope is that heaven is close at hand. For Paul, to live is Christ, and that is exciting! Living, he says, means fruitful labor, in which I can take the greatest delight. The prospect of continuing to live is not an unwelcome prospect here, in fact he says I hardly know which to choose, both prospects are so enticing and inviting. The Christian is not so neurotically desirous of death that he no longer wants to live. We sometimes give the wrong impression. We sing these wonderful songs about the glory up there but sometimes, unfortunately, Christians leave the impression that this is really all they're living for is what comes at the end.

The Christian does not live with some unutterable longing to escape, to evade life, to run from it. No! Paul is not at all saying that! He says, to live is Christ — I love it! And evidently the Spirit of God tips the scale here in favor of life, so he goes on to say, convinced of this I know that I shall remain, and continue with you all — because you need me and I will have the joy of coming to you again. But facing the possibility of death does not mean he is tired of life, but that death can only mean a more wonderful and deeper companionship with Christ. That is what makes life worth living. He says, to die is gain, and you can only say that if you are prepared to say, to live is Christ!

What do you think is really living? What kind of circumstance do you have to have before you can say Oh, now I'm really living? What do you substitute for Christ in these words of Paul? To me to live is money? Then to die is to lose it all, isn't it? To me to live is fame? To die is a name in the obituary in the paper and never have it there again. To me to live is pleasure? To die is to go out into an unknown. To me to live is health? To die is to lose my health. You see the only thing that makes sense in life is to say with the Apostle, for me to live is Christ, because then you can say to die is gain. The truth about the Christian faith is that heaven begins down here.

Father, thank you that you have given me a purpose for living. Teach me to be able to genuinely say, For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

Life Application​

Do we live out our Christian expectations as escapists? Are we rather choosing to be the planted seed that dies in order to experience abundant life? Are we experiencing the Joy of union with the Living Christ, whether we live with Him on earth or in heaven?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Citizens of Heaven​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:27

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Phil 1:27a

Paul uses an interesting word here, translated conduct in the NIV. It is a word from which we get our English word politics, or politician. The Greek word is politeuma, a word that means your conduct as a citizen or a colony. This is the first indication in this letter of a unique condition in the city of Philippi. Everyone in that city was aware that its citizens were citizens of Rome even though they were a thousand miles away. This was because of the great battle that had been won by the Roman Emperor, and in gratitude to the residents they were made citizens of Rome.

Paul builds on this idea and says to them, in effect, you Christians in Philippi are members of another government. You cannot have the same attitude to the rest of the citizens of Philippi. You belong to a colony of heaven; therefore you must behave like citizens of heaven. You must let your manner of conduct be worthy of the government to which you belong, the kingdom of God and the gospel of Christ.

How should you live as a citizen of heaven? Paul mentions two essential things. First, stand firm in one Spirit. Never depart from complete dependency on the Spirit of God to do through you everything that needs to be done. The Christian life is lived by a totally different process than you lived before you came to Christ. It is God's life through you. It is the indwelling Lord Jesus expressing Himself in terms of your human personality. Never depart from that. The second essential is to never let anything but serious heresy keep you from working side by side in the gospel.

Now interestingly enough, all the wiles of the devil, all the thrust and power of his activity is aimed at these two things. To keep us from observing them, the enemy tests us first on one point, and if he can't derail us there he goes to the other point. First, he tries to get you to depend upon yourself, not on the indwelling life of Christ, and to make you therefore fearful, worried, discouraged, impatient, or upset with something. Haven't you felt this? This is the attack of the enemy, trying to budge you from your position in Christ which makes for victory.

Whenever we get discouraged we are depending on ourselves. We're discouraged because we were expecting that we could do something and we failed. We've been self-confident, counting on ourselves, thinking we have all it takes to do the job. We think we don't need any help from God. We then move from that position of dependency on God's Spirit. We get worried, anxious, fearful, timid, impatient. We have yielded to the attack of the enemy and temporarily have shifted from that position of dependency.

If that doesn't work, and we stand firm, then the enemy tries another strategy. He tries to make a breach between us and those who labor with us. He tries to split us up, divide us, create suspicion, smoldering resentments and personality conflicts. He tries to get us to not talk with each other, have nothing to do with one another, look down on others, cut them off from our fellowship and conversation and contact.

We often feel in spiritual warfare that every time we turn around we're under attack, and we never know when he will strike next and we have to be constantly on guard. But that isn't true. We have only two things to watch: that we stand firm in one Spirit, and that we strive side by side together in the gospel. That's all. If we are careful to keep our eyes open to the power of God working within in these two areas, our conduct will become worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Thank you, Lord, that you have made me a citizen of heaven. Teach me to stand together, side by side, with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

​

Life Application​

As Christians we are fellow citizens of the commonwealth of heaven, and Satan, the enemy, will use two main strategies in his attempt to divide and conquer us. How do we stand firm in one Spirit, behaving in a manner worthy of this high calling?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 8th​

The Privilege of Suffering​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 1:28-30

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him...

Phil 1:29

Remember, the Lord Jesus himself said, He who saves his life shall lose it. But he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's shall save it. We continue to try to hold on to our lives, to enjoy the things we want and insist on satisfying our desires and pleasures without realizing that inevitably and irresistibly that life is slipping through our fingers and we are losing it. The one who is willing to abandon it, throw it away if need be — waste it, seemingly — on those concerns that involve the cause of Christ and the gospel, has saved that life. If you are not prepared to suffer, then just forget about being a Christian, for the Word warns us that they who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer some degree of persecution, and the Lord said, In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Inevitably in the Christian life there will be some degree of putting up with misunderstanding, patronizing pity, ridicule or scorn and the like. Someone has well said when we appear before the Lord he doesn't look us over for medals, but for scars. They may not always be physical scars. It is the trials and suffering we go through that deepen our lives.

Oswald Chambers beautifully expressed this. He described how God is purposely working to make us into fine wine, but that we can never attain to this if we keep objecting to the fingers he uses to crush us. We could accept it if God would just use his own fingers to make us his specially broken bread and poured out wine. But when he uses someone we dislike or certain circumstances that we do not want to allow, we push back. Chambers reminds us that we must not dispute the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever to be made fine wine to drink we simply must be crushed. Grapes cannot be drunk. They only become wine once they submit to the crusher.

So God has wisely designed that life involves suffering. And it is not a sacrifice; it is a privilege that we are granted, for Christ's sake. Paul said, this is the same struggle you saw I had. He suffered both emotionally and physically.

From Paul's friends he endured criticism, difficulty, suffering and rejection. It is necessary to our growth in grace. But there is one thing we need not ever do under conflict, and that is to be afraid. Fear is the enemy that will remove us from faith.

Father, I thank you for the struggles and difficulties you have placed in my life. I trust these circumstances are in your control and through them you are conforming me into the image of your dear Son.

Life Application​

God's amazing grace provides the dual privileges of believing on Him and suffering with and for Him. Shall we be fearful, or rather surrender to His good and perfect purpose?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 11th​

The Way To Peace​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name...

Phil 2:9

Our Lord Jesus was given in his resurrection and ascension that name which is above every other name that has ever been given in heaven and on earth. It is the name we call Jehovah. It is translated Lord in our English versions of the New Testament. That is exactly what Paul says: and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Paul says Christ is the one who has won that position because he unhesitatingly and unreservedly committed himself to that attitude of his own heart that led him first to mortality, then to ignominy, and finally to unequalled glory.

The result is peace! You see how this picture is drawn for us? Here is the end of the story: every knee to bow, every tongue confessing, every voice unitedly ascribing praise to him above all the created universe. If you want to complete the picture, read the closing chapters of the book of Revelation, and chapter 5 where every tribe and tongue and people and nation is gathered before the throne singing, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

This is the word of peace, and it results from the work of our Lord. Now all of this is wonderfully true, and I'm sure every one of us subscribes to this doctrinally. But what I am trying to get at here is, do you subscribe to this in terms of your relationship with others? The KJV reads, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. In the letter to the Corinthians Paul says, We have the mind of Christ. He doesn't say, seek for the mind of Christ, struggle to achieve this, try to imitate it. He is saying, you have the mind of Christ if you have him. All that he is, is available to the one who is available to him. We must stop resisting him. The inevitable result will be peace.

If you were holding the door closed and I wanted to enter the room and asked you to let me in, what would you do? Wouldn't you stop resisting, step aside and open the door and let me in? That is what Paul is saying here: let the mind of Christ, involving the renunciation of your rights and the willingness to accept injury, break through in your life. Accept these conditions as God's will for you. This is why you have Christ in you. Accept the hurt without complaint, and without fail he will bring you through to victory and to peace. Do you believe that? You will only experience the mind of Christ to the degree you accept it. If you don't believe it, then don't say Christianity doesn't work, or that having Christ doesn't make any difference. You are simply not using what is available to you.

Thank you, Lord, that through your Spirit you have given me the mind of Christ. Teach me to use what is available to me in every circumstance.

Life Application​

Because of the miracle of Christ's indwelling Presence, Christ's disciples have access to the mind of Christ Himself! Do we value this incomparable treasure, bringing our own thinking under His Lordship?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 13th​

How to Shine​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 2:14-15

Do everything without grumbling or arguing...

Phil 2:14

That is trustful obedience. Perhaps some of you remember an old radio show character named Lightning. He would always do what he was told, but he kept up a continuing undercurrent of mumbling comments which became quite hilarious. It reminds me of many Christians who claim to reckon on the indwelling God but at the same time mumble and complain. That reveals a basic unbelief. It shows they don't really believe the trials of their life are sent of the Lord, and they don't really believe that he is adequate to meet every situation. They are not really expecting him to work, otherwise they wouldn't be murmuring, grumbling and disputing with one another.

What happens when a Christian behaves in unbelief? As Paul points out, the world around cannot see Christ, so there is no light in their darkness. In other words, if the life your neighbors see in you is explainable only in terms of your human personality and background, what do you have to say to your neighbors that will awaken them to their need of Christ? If the situations you face cause you to react with the same murmuring and discontent and bitterness they have, what's the difference between your quality of life and theirs? They will simply say, my life is explained in terms of my personality. I like certain sports and entertainment, and certain kinds of music and you like religion — that's all. Unless there is a quality of life that can be explained only in terms of God there is nothing to challenge the world around. The world waits to see God, and they will as Christians stop their mumbling and complaining and disputing.

There must be that quality of life explainable only in terms of God, and then, as Paul says, as we live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, the light of the gospel will shine into the darkness of where you live. This is what Jesus means when he says, Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works. Stop your mumbling and complaining and disputing about everything that comes in your life. It is only the obedience of faith that produces that quality of life which cannot be explained simply in terms of your own human personality.

Forgive me for my grumbling, Lord. Help me to trust you in every situation and in doing so shine brightly in a dark world.

Life Application​

Do we have a lifestyle of complaint that simply discredits the authenticity of our Christian witness? What is the counterpart to grumbling and argument that will release the Light of Christ in this world's darkness?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 14th​

Poured Out​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 2:16-18

And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Phil 2:16b

Paul is looking forward to the great day when time will be rolled up as the dawn and cast aside, and all the fruit of Christian labor will be made visible-when all the gold, silver and precious stones that result from Christ at work in us will be gathered up and displayed. All of the wood, hay and stubble that results from our self-effort for him will be burned. Christ's steadfast continuing work in you is your holding fast to the word of life, and this is what will result in praise and rejoicing in that day. Regardless of the circumstances or the praise of men or whether there are immediate results, continue, hold fast-don't give up! Then Paul says when I see the results of your faith my heart will swell with pride because I'll know I've not helped you in vain.

Looking on to his impending death Paul says, even if I am being poured like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith. Even if that should occur, if I should know that you are holding fast to the indwelling Christ, I will die with gladness and joy in my heart. If you hear I have died that way, you too can rejoice and be glad. This is the ground of Christian rejoicing — a refreshing, fruitful life, pouring out rivers of living water to others, conditioned upon unrelenting reliance upon the indwelling Lord Jesus.

We read in Hebrews 12:2 of our Lord, who For the joy set before him … endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. What was the joy that was set before him? It was his glorious expectation that into the lives of men and women who were being blasted and ruined, torn apart and disintegrated by sin, and rebellion, his healing life would enter. He would integrate all of life and bring focus and perspective, and call men back to all the expected fruitfulness of the Christian life. Anticipating what his life would accomplish, and knowing he would be reunited with his father, he endured the cross. He poured out his blood as a drink offering upon our faith, and is now seated victorious on the throne on high.

When we come to the Lord's table, we celebrate this drink offering poured out for us. He emptied himself that we might have him in us, the source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control-the fruit of his Spirit. This is the underlying principle of Christian living, the self-giving love poured out on behalf of another. How beautifully it is exemplified in the life of Paul. It is only possible as we reckon on Christ's life within both to will and to do of his good purpose.

Lord Jesus, you have poured out your life for me. Help me to endure whatever you have in store for me, knowing that your purpose is to display your very life to me, and thereby to those around me.

Life Application​

What is our highest goal and our greatest joy in this earth's pilgrimage? Do we need to reaffirm the privilege of a life poured-out in joyful obedience to the One who alone can produce the fruit of His Spirit?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 15th​

No One Else Like Him​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 2:19-24

I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare.

Phil 2:20

We meet two friends of the Apostle Paul in this last half of chapter two. These were real men who quite unconsciously display the character of Jesus Christ, excellent examples of all Paul has been writing about.

First we meet Timothy in verses 19-24. As Paul writes about him we see that the underlying quality that marks the man is Jesus Christ. We see that Timothy is an exceptional man. Paul says, I have no one like him. Wouldn't you like to have that written about you? I know there were many things at which Timothy did not excel. With his frail body, I am sure he was not much of an athlete. He could very easily have been beaten at sports, or possibly surpassed in learning. But there was one area where no one even comes close to this man, and that is in his selfless care, his demonstration of genuine and anxious concern for the welfare of others. Here he is demonstrating that peculiarly Christian virtue, that distinctive mark of the presence of Christ within: selflessness! That is what the Lord Jesus said of himself, Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.

The other day I read a definition of meekness that I think is tremendous. I've been searching for a definition of that word for years. I don't know any word in Scripture that is more thoroughly misunderstood than that. Most of us think of meekness in terms of weakness. We picture some chinless, Caspar Milquetoast who lets people walk all over him. But of course that description would never apply to our Lord. What did he mean when he said, I am meek. I read that meekness is that quality which receives injury without resentment, and praise without pride. Timothy is demonstrating that utter unconcern for the rights and privileges of self, and an outgoing, deep and genuine concern for the needs of others.

I don't know quite what Paul means when he says, for all others look after their own interests. I rather think, however, this tells a bit of a story, for as Paul searched among his acquaintances there in Rome for someone to go to Philippi, he must have asked a number of them to do this. Evidently all of them turned him down. Not because they couldn't do it. I'm sure Paul would not have asked them if that had been the case. But they turned him down because they were interested solely in their own concerns. They all had perfectly good excuses why none could undertake the journey to Philippi. The only one to whom Christ's business was his business was Timothy. You can imagine what an encouragement he must have been to the apostle's heart as he is longing to send someone to the Philippians to help them with their problems and everyone turns him down simply because of their own selfish concerns. But Timothy says, All right, Paul, I'm ready to go-any time, any place, anywhere. This was the selflessness of this man. No wonder he was always a channel of power wherever he went, as he went ready to be an instrument of God's grace.

Father, teach me to be a person who genuinely cares for the welfare of others, and is willing to demonstrate that care in selfless acts of service.

Life Application​

Are we self-satisfied with 'random acts of kindness' which may cost us little? As we consider the incomparable sacrifice of our Lord on our behalf, can we do less than worship Him with all we have and are?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — March 17th​

Rejoice!​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:1

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!

Phil 3:1a

I suppose if you wanted to sum up Christianity in four words this would be the best possible phrase you could use: rejoice in the Lord. This is the mark of spiritual life, of a truly spiritual Christian. It is the distinctive sign of a victorious Christian. It is the one attitude that invariably brings peace and contentment to the heart. Therefore, it is the one thing Paul repeats over and over and over again: rejoice in the Lord. He knows he has said this many times before, and he will say it two more times before he ends this letter. But it is so important, he says, that he doesn't mind saying it as many times as necessary, and it's safe for them to hear it.

As we saw earlier in this letter, Paul pointed out the opposite as well. The sign of unbelief in the Christian life is always grumbling and disputing. Do all things, he says, without grumbling and questioning, because that is the sign of an unbelieving believer, who doesn't believe what God is telling him. The mark of one who has learned to believe is rejoicing. Remember that definition of a Christian we have given from time to time: one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble. It is the continual rejoicing in the midst of trouble that marks the Christian life.

It is a remarkable commentary on Christian unbelief that the mark the world usually associates with a Christian is not a smile but a long face. This being the case, it reveals how little we believe in the God we love. You remember that story of the little girl who first saw a mule in the countryside. She looked at it for quite a while, then she said, I don't know what you are, but you must be a Christian. You look just like my grandfather. Unfortunately, the mark of a Christian has become a sober, solemn mien, casting gloom on every occasion. This isn't real Christianity. The mark of a true Christian is a smile of confidence, despite the circumstances. Not a screwed on smile, one that is forced, to appear something we are not, but a genuine smile, sometimes through tears, but a smile nevertheless. It comes as a result of acceptance of all events as ordered by the Lord. That's the secret. It arises from a quiet trust in his indwelling adequacy to handle whatever comes. It is living out of adequacy. Living out of inadequacy is what puts the frown on people's faces. It is trying to face the inrushing tumult of life with inadequate resource. This strain shows in the face. But if we genuinely believe what God tells us, that we have within us one who is completely competent to meet every situation through us, there is never any strain, for whatever comes we know he is adequate to meet it in and through us. We rest on that fact, and that is the quiet confidence that marks the Christian.

There is nothing new about this experience. It is the experience of the believer in any age. When we learn this secret we discover there are mysterious bridges flung over every abyss to which we come. An invisible strength is imparted to meet every stress life lays on us. No matter how long you have been a Christian, if you are still grumbling and complaining, griping and grouching about what life gives you, you need to be taught again what are the first principles, the ABC's, of the gospel of Christ.

I rejoice in you, Lord. Thank you that you have put a smile in my heart because I know that you are Lord and I can trust you for even the most challenging aspects of my life.

Life Application​

While the world seeks happiness, the Christian finds Joy in knowing and trusting the character of God. Are we missing out on that heritage because we fail to seek to know Him through His character revealed in His Word?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 18th​

The Menace of External Religion​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:2

Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.

Phil 3:2

This is a warning about the menace of external religion. This seems like a rather abrupt change of subject, but there is a very vital connection with the previous verse. What is it that destroys rejoicing in the Lord? It's dwelling on external circumstances as being the important thing. It's looking away from the indwelling Lord to the outward event with which you are concerned, and counting that the important thing. That will inevitably destroy a spirit of rejoicing. So he warns against certain false teachers who were posing as Christians, who went about trying to get peoples' faith centered on outward things.

The terms he uses to describe these men are bold and blunt, because in matters of this importance the apostle never minces words. He calls them three things: dogs, evil-doers, mutilators. The reference to dogs is not to the pampered, shampooed, manicured pets we have today. These were not cultured canines. These were the snarling, half-wild curs found on the streets of the city. They can still be found today. The term dogs is a term of reproach used by both Jew and Gentile. Because of what the dogs fed on, they were regarded as unclean animals. They fed on the refuse of the streets, the garbage, decayed meat, rotten vegetables that had been disposed.

What Paul is referring to is a group of men who continually hounded him wherever he went, following his footsteps, trying to upset the Christians. We usually call them Judaizers. They were men who taught that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses and the food restrictions of the Mosaic Covenant, and especially to be circumcised in order to be a real Christian, that these things were not done away with in Christ. Unfortunately, these people are still with us. Paul says, like dogs they were feeding on the garbage of carnal ordinances. They were holding up as of great value rituals which once were of value, but now they've decayed; they've become over-ripe. They are fit to be thrown out. They were evil-workers because of their zeal. They were tirelessly seeking to convert young believers to their views, to bring them back under the bondage of legalistic restrictions. They gloried in this activity as a mark of their claim on the blessing of God. The way they thought of it, God had to bless them because they were so zealous, so devoted to their work. You can easily see that these people are still with us, the tireless, zealous workers who go about from door to door with books under their arms, ready to convert anyone to a legalistic, Judaistic system. These are exactly the kind of people to whom Paul is referring.

Now all of this kind of teaching has a strong appeal to our human thinking because of its apparent show of devotion. I think all of us at one time or another have sensed this kind of appeal, the appeal of some ornate, solemn ritual done in a religious manner, as being worthy of some merit before God. The earnest, sincere endeavor of a tireless worker is appealing. It is so gratifying to the religious ego to perform some solemn ritual, and to be constantly busy at religious work, or even to mock the flesh in some way perhaps with a distinctive garb or an identifying posture. All of this, Paul says, is the enemy of true spirituality. It destroys the spirit of rejoicing, and it makes religion an empty, barren mockery. It puts the emphasis on the external, and removes it from the vital, the interior genuine aspects of faith.

Forgive me. Lord, that I so often opt for external religion instead of the real thing, and miss out on the joy that comes from knowing you live within me and are always working out your good purposes in my life.

Life Application​

Grace, God's unearned, unmerited favor, is counter-intuitive to the world's system. Are we learning to serve God and others out of gratitude and worship, rejoicing that He does His work in and through us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 19th​

True Spirituality​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:3

...who put no confidence in the flesh.

Phil 3:3b

The measure of true spirituality is in contrast to those who put confidence in some self-effort. Paul says, we put no confidence in the flesh. We are living in an age that continually strives to get us to put confidence in the flesh. We are taught from childhood that the way to become proficient and competent and accomplish our aims and desires is to develop our self-confidence. This is what destroys human life. Self-confidence is not intended to be our strength, but rather it's to be our confidence in God. We were intended to face life recognizing we are weak, ineffectual, and unable, that it might drive us back upon the one who is totally adequate, and can be our total strength. This is the way God intended us to live. Therefore, the spirit of self-confidence is the most deadly lie that has ever been perpetrated upon the human race.

Now there is self-confidence that is based on God in us, but when it comes from something in ourselves, something we have learned or achieved, it is deadly. Paul says we have learned at last to put no confidence in the flesh. Even in religion there is strong emphasis on putting confidence in the flesh, or perhaps I should say, it is especially in religious areas we encounter this pressure.

Just this week I read from from a pamphlet that is widely distributed monthly through the nation, which purports to be a guide to developing the Christian life. The writer said, What I didn't know and had to discover the hard way is that if you don't have faith in yourself you hardly can have faith in people in the world, or in God. I had to see that God created us in his image, and we must have faith in the image. If we achieve that then we have his spirit within us and we can accomplish anything, even ridding ones self of sin.

That is the kind of perverted philosophy that is being widely purveyed today, that is literally holding millions of people in continual bondage to the flesh. It's no wonder that the spirit of the apostle flamed with indignation against this thing. Knowing the liberty that is in Christ Jesus, he puts the matter frankly. It begins with faith in God, and eliminates faith in self. When we have no confidence in the flesh, then we discover we can have full confidence in him who is able to do anything through us.

Do you see how any confidence at all in the flesh is over-confidence? We fear we are going to get over-confident. We don't mind a little, but we don't want to become over-confident. But Paul says any confidence at all is over-confident. He has no confidence in himself to do anything. None in his background, training, talents, accomplishments, no confidence in the time he spends in prayer, the number of chapters of scripture he reads, the number of verses he memorizes. No confidence in the power of his eloquence to persuade people or his devotion to move them. Furthermore, he has no confidence in anyone else who trusts in these things. The only one in whom he has confidence is Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Father, that I need not look within myself to find the source of strength and confidence. Today I put my full confidence in Him who is able to do anything through me.

​

Life Application​

Jesus as man said he could do nothing of himself, but only in complete dependence upon the Father. Are we emancipated from the unbearable burden of self-assertive control, to the liberty of Christ's Resurrection Life in and through us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 21st​

Adequate Living​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:8

Consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...

Phil 3:8a

Have you ever made this evaluation in your own life? Have you ever really tried this? Just sit down, and list your assets, the things that are important to you, things you think you could not do without. The factors to which you look for respect, for advancement and acceptance in the eyes of the world. What are your assets, your background, your name, your family standing, your money, your fame, your physical assets, your personality, your education, your training. Have you ever learned Paul's secret concerning them?

Write them down and see what it is you are counting on. Then remind yourself that as long as you depend on these you cannot lay hold of the riches of God in Christ Jesus. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot cling to both. You cannot drink from this empty cistern and at the same time from the inexhaustible rivers of water that flow from Christ. There must be a flinging away of dependence upon these things, counting them as loss, trash, refuse. Glad to see them go, indifferent whether they stay or not. Then you are set free to lay hold of all that Paul experienced in Christ, which he calls the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ.

Do you know that it is quite possible as a Christian to have Christ living in our heart but not be able to gain Christ, as Paul speaks of it here, to experience him, to actually sense his life flowing through ours, at work in me? We cannot have this until we count the rest as garbage. That is what Paul is setting forth. Have you learned to drop the rod as Moses had to learn — that staff he leaned on for self-support — in order that God might take it and remove the snake and give it back, as he did with Moses? This is the experience of everyone God wants to use for himself, to learn to surrender everything else but dependence upon Christ alone in them. I would like to note here that it wasn't a difficult thing for Paul to consider all those things as loss. Once he began to sense the tremendous possibilities in Jesus Christ in him, what Christ could and would be through him, he gladly threw away the tattered rags of the reputation he once clung to in order that he might enter into that fully adequate place in Jesus Christ.

This other method of living, clinging to our standing, this desperate worry lest we appear unprepossessing, or different in the eyes of others, this continual defense of our position in the eyes of men, is the reason we have such totally inadequate lives. It is why we never can discover the riches of resource that are in Christ. As Jesus said, no man can serve two masters. There is no grasping both. It's one or the other. Paul says that when he had thrown away the shreds of his reputation he immediately found that though the way Christ led was through hardships, jails and prisons and pain, that what Christ was to him and what he did through him was of such value he could find no adequate words to express it.

Today, Lord, I choose to lay down that which I so often put my confidence in and instead seek to rely totally on you and your accomplishments.

​

Life Application​

Are we choosing to live by means of the power and presence of Christ, or are we held hostage to our dependence on our own weak and inadequate resources?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 22nd​

Knowing Him​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:9-11

I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death

Phil 3:10

Paul says he is quite ready to give up the usual status symbols of the Christian for the personal knowledge and friendship of Jesus Christ. This is not an academic subject. This is not a course in Christology or on the person of Christ. This is not knowing about Christ. This is knowing Him. As has wisely been said, Knowing about has value; knowing has vitality. This knowledge the apostle is talking about is not simply a casual contact now and then. You don't get to know your friends that way. The friends you know best are the ones you have spent most time with, or at least you have gone with through deep experiences. This knowledge of Christ comes by continual sharing of experiences together. It comes by the two of us, Jesus and I, living our lives together, moment-by-moment sharing experiences. It comes by gazing on the face of Jesus Christ as he appears in the pages of scripture. It comes by allowing every circumstance to make us lean back on his adequate life, hiding nothing from his eyes, by bringing every friendship and every loyalty to his gaze, for his approval or disapproval, by walking every day reckoning upon him to be with us. That's the secret of a successful ministry.

That is exactly what Paul says comes of knowing Christ. First there is that power of the resurrection. It is a risen Lord who dwells within us, and we have that power which is able to do in us above all that we ask or think, according to that power which works in us. This is the power of Christ's resurrection. It is power that is perfectly adequate for every possible circumstance. It is confidently acting in full assurance that he is acting with us simultaneously, and that risen power is ours!

The second thing that stems from this knowledge of Christ is the participation in his sufferings. The remarkable thing about the sufferings of Christ is that they are always for someone else, never for one's self. This is that compassion we all earnestly long for. It doesn't come by trying. It comes by knowing him; by simply entering into what he is to you. That makes you compassionate. This is the primary reason why Christians suffer. Not so much for you, but for others. Have you ever noticed that when a Christian gets desperately sick and he takes it as an opportunity to manifest the grace of Christ, that Christian becomes the center of victory and hope and blessing to everyone who visits him?

Then the last thing is, becoming like him in his death. What does that mean? The death of Jesus Christ was the end of the old life of sin and self-pleasing. We know that there was no sin nor self-pleasing in his own life, but on that cross he was made to be all that we are, sinful and self-pleasing, and then it was put to death. The cross was the end of that. That is liberty, because for the first time if we accept this as being true, we are set free from our selfish, ease-loving, luxury-seeking. We are free to be real men, real women-uncluttered, if you like. Unbound, delivered, no longer constantly concerned about what happens to us, but only concerned about what happens to Christ.

What a ministry this is! What a marvelous ministry among people the apostle Paul had. Yet it is freely offered to every believer in Christ. I must stress, this is not achieved by trying, struggling, striving. It comes as a by-product of knowing Christ.

Thank you, for the joy of simply knowing you, Lord. I pray that I may know the power of your resurrection and the participation in your sufferings, being conformed to your death.

Life Application​

Do we want to know Christ merely to define our theology and refine our doctrinal views? Are we missing the life-defining pursuit of knowing Christ intimately? How can we truly learn to know Him?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 23rd​

The Great Motive​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Phil 3:12

Paul says this is the great motive of his life. He is not referring to the resurrection, he is referring back to verse 10. Not that I have exhausted the riches of knowing Christ. Not that I yet know all the power of his resurrection, or have been perfected so that I no longer need the fellowship of his sufferings. No, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. What he literally says, as the Phillips translation renders it is: grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasps me. Laying hold of that for which he laid hold of me.

This was Paul's mighty motive, to achieve all that Christ desired when he laid hold of him on the road to Damascus. Paul is saying, I want so to lay hold of him that he might use my life as an instrument to lay hold of everything he had in mind when he arrested me on the Damascus road, hoping it might fulfill the purpose of his coming and we might all be together at the resurrection of the dead. Remember what the Lord said to Ananias on the day Saul of Tarsus was struck in the dust on the Damascus Road and he sent Ananias to him to baptize him? Ananias didn't want to go because he was afraid of this persecutor of the church, and the Lord said to Ananias, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Paul says, the thing that motivates me in everything I do is that I may fully lay hold of that; that I may so give myself to him that I may lay hold of Christ so he may lay hold of me for everything he had in mind when he saved me.

Now this is adequate living. It's what it was in the first century. It's what it is in the present century. What is it made up of? First of all, purpose for living, a reason for existing. Why are you existing? What are you here for? Have you discovered that for which God has laid hold of you? That part of his work he has in mind for you, for which he has laid hold of you? And power by which to live it, the power of his indwelling life? And an unshakeable platform of morality which can stand any examination? That is adequate living. May God grant we discover that.

Lord, I sense how much Paul entered into that which I have not yet discovered. Save me from that folly that says this is all right for him but I could never make it. Teach me to know that Christ in me can be all that he was in Paul.

Life Application​

'Who am I?' 'Why am I here?' We might also ask: 'Who owns me?' Do we respond with Paul: 'Christ Jesus has made me his own'? Do we press on to lay hold of him and of his purpose for our lives?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for March 25th​

Standing While Running​

Read the Scripture: Philippians 4:1

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Phil 4:1

Paul begins this fourth chapter with what looks like a very mixed metaphor. The therefore refers back to what he has written about in chapter 3. There he is talking about running a race, seeing life as an obstacle course. He writes how he runs this race by pressing on to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He is urging others to run with him. But in the opening verse of chapter four he now says, stand firm. It sounds confusing as to which he means for us, whether to run the race or to stand firm. One is a picture of extreme effort, the other of immobility, inaction. How can we then follow this call to standing and yet running?

If we take him literally at his word it is confusing. Nevertheless, thinking this through you have here a marvelous setting forth of the paradox of the Christian faith. For life is indeed a very swiftly moving obstacle course. We've all discovered that. You know how at every turn there are new challenges and new demands made upon you, and time itself brings these things into your life, so that it is indeed a race we are running.

But the secret of running the race successfully, the apostle tells us, is learning how to stand still. That is, to take an unchanging grip on the unchanging life of Jesus Christ within us. This has been the theme of this marvelous letter. He tells us that there is a secret to the Christian life. It is the fact that Jesus Christ lives within us, and in order to lay hold of that life it is necessary that we quite willingly forego the exercise of our own life. Thus he says, I have learned to count all things loss in order that I might gain Christ. The secret of running an obstacle race and overcoming all the problems is learning to get a solid grip on the life of Jesus Christ within. So you can see that his metaphors are not mixed after all. It really is very true to life.

We have an excellent illustration of this in those delightful little cable cars that run up and down the hills of San Francisco. If you have stood there and listened, you have heard the cables running along beneath the streets. Now actually the cable car itself is incapable of moving. It has no motor, it is impossible to be self-propelled. The only possibility of movement is to take a firm grip on the cable. You may have watched the gripman pulling back the levers to grab hold of that cable and run up the hill. In its relationship to the cable, the cable car never moves. It always remains steadfast, grasping firmly to that one point on the cable. But the cable moves continually, and as it moves the cable car gripping firmly is able to overcome all the obstacles, even the steepest hills of San Francisco.

This is a beautiful picture of what Paul is saying, for though we are running the race of life we are continually confronted with the obstacles, demands and pressures that come upon us. The answer is not to try to do something, but to get a firmer grip on the life of Jesus Christ, who is intent on doing it in us. As we do that, we discover we have an adequacy that handles all the obstacles. He is quite able to overcome all.

Teach me to stand, Lord, in all that you are and all that you have done on my behalf. Then and only then will I learn to run that race successfully.

Life Application​

Has our life's race deteriorated into a self-propelled 'rat race'? What is the sure and essential power by which we may surmount the obstacle course of life following God's 'upward call'?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.