Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 10th​

The Great Mystery​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 1:26-29

…the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Colossians 1:26-29

There is the great mystery. This is the missing element in many churches today. Most Christians in our churches understand that Christ died for the forgiveness of their sins, but that is where most of them stop. Relatively few go on to grasp the fact that Jesus died for them that he might live in them. It is his life in them that is the source of power, change and the ability to resist temptation. It is not enough to know that Christ died in order that we might go to heaven. We are also to know, understand, and practice Christ actually living in us now!

That is the most astounding truth in the Bible. It is a mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to his saints. Think of that! There are great promises in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah's word at the end of chapter 40, verse 31, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Old Testament saints understood and believed that promise. They waited on the Lord, and they were strengthened; they were lifted up, comforted and helped. All that is clear as you read the Old Testament. But what was never told them was the means by which God would do this.

It was not until Jesus came and taught his disciples that we learn at last what means God would employ. Gradually he sought to impart to the disciples this amazing truth: through his death and resurrection, and through the coming of the Holy Spirit, they would be indwelt by Jesus himself. In the Upper Room, just before the cross, Jesus uttered these words, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home in him (John 14:23). This is the mystery, hidden from the foundation of the world but now made known to us.

Paul himself lived this way. That is what he is telling us in the last verse of this chapter: To this end I labor, striving with all the energy he [Jesus] so powerfully works in me. There is a new power at work. When you understand that you possess the Lord Jesus, that he is in you, you have a totally new source of power. You also have a new desire, a new motive: you long to see change take place and you are motivated to take the steps that will bring it into being. You have a new Companion along the way. The problem of loneliness is ended because you are never alone when Jesus is present in your life. What a mighty truth this is! It is what delivers people. It is more than the fact that Jesus died on a cross. He died that he might live in us!

Jesus, thank you for dying for me that you might live in me. Help me to grow deeper in my understanding of this great mystery.

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Life Application​

Do you dwell as much on the fact that Jesus lives in you as you do on the fact that he died for you?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 11th​

Laboring in Prayer​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:1-5

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:1-3

The apostle's purpose for writing is to enrich their lives, encourage their hearts, and enable love to spread throughout the congregation. But do not overlook the process! In verse 29 of chapter 1, Paul says, To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me. And I want you to know how strenuously I am exerting myself for you… Notice how he calls attention to the effort and toil he was putting into this matter of bringing the Colossian Christians into vitality, excitement, and a sense of adventure.

You may ask, how could a man who is chained to a Roman guard day and night, in the city of Rome, a thousand miles from Colossae, so toil as to help the Colossians? Paul does not tell us here, but elsewhere we are given ample information as to his method. Earlier in this letter he talked about laboring continuously in prayer for them. That is one way he toils for them — through frequent prayer. Paul prayed (agonized is the word) for these Colossian Christians over and over again, even though he had not personally met most of them.

Paul's immediate goal is to encourage the hearts of the Colossians and to unite them in love. I confess I am rebuked by that, because too often I find myself ready to jump on someone and try to straighten him out on the spot. It is a great lesson to see how Paul seeks to lift their spirits first and to cause them to appreciate one another. It indicates that building a relationship with individuals is the true way to go about helping them. Have you ever tried to help someone, only to find your efforts fell on deaf ears? The apostle indicates the right way to help is to find something encouraging to say first. None of us like to be corrected by a negative approach. We first need a word of encouragement, as the apostle so beautifully demonstrates here.

Then, when Paul has lifted their spirits, they will be able to experience the excitement of understanding the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Occasionally I meet people who seem to be turned on constantly by Scripture. They discover a new, fresh verse every morning. But others find the Bible dull and boring. That is probably because they have not fully understood what it is saying. When you grasp what the word of God is saying on how to handle life, it becomes exciting. It puts zest into living. It gives you the sense that you are not alone, that you don't have to handle your problems by yourself, or that you don't have to lean heavily on human advice, though God often provides help in that way. The main thing is, are you looking to Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?

Far too often, Lord, I have sought to correct without encouragement. Teach me to love others enough that I will agonize over them in both love and prayer.

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Life Application​

Who is in your life that needs your encouragement more than your critique? How will you encourage them this week?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 12th​

Overflowing with Gratitude​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7

Here is a guide to an exciting, zestful life: Obey him, follow him, converse with him, draw upon his grace, lean on him, look to him for comfort. That is how to continue to live in him.

Three things have happened to you, says Paul. You have been rooted in Christ. Like a deeply rooted tree, you have been planted in Christ and those strong roots will hold you. Secondly, you have been built up in him. Not only are the roots going deep, but you are growing up as well. You are increasing in faith and experience. And thirdly, you have been strengthened in the faith. You have tested it, put it to work in your home, in your neighborhood. You have had to face problems which were tests, and your faith was strengthened by them.

As these three things take place, we are to add one more: we are to be overflowing with thankfulness. Be grateful to God for everything he has given you, no matter what it is. Have you learned yet to be thankful in everything? That means you do not grumble, complain and criticize. You cannot have it both ways. To be thankful means to find something in every situation for which you can genuinely be grateful.

The great Bible commentator, Dr. Matthew Henry, once was robbed as he walked along a highway. Afterwards, he told his friends there were four things for which he gave thanks. First, he was grateful that he had never been robbed before. Secondly, he said, Though they took all my money, I am glad they did not get very much. That was something to be thankful for. Thirdly, he said, Though they took my money, they did not take my life, and I am grateful for that. And finally, he suggested, I am thankful that it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed. There was a man who had learned how to be overflowing with thankfulness!

Have you ever learned to talk to yourself and ask yourself questions? If you read the Psalms, you will often find you are listening to a man talking to himself. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you so disquieted within me? The psalmist is standing at the mirror shaving, feeling blue, and asking himself, What's the matter with you? Why are you like this? That is a good thing to do.

When you ask yourself questions about yourself you must also ask, why didn't worse things happen? Look beyond what has occurred and realize it could have been much worse. Then discover all the things which God has supplied and which you have been taking for granted: his care, his love, the shelter of your home (whatever fits your situation), and begin to give thanks for those. If you do, something will happen: you will find yourself turned on about everything. You will find life filled with zest, vitality and excitement. You will have discovered the answer to boredom!

Father, my desire is to continue to continue to live in Christ, just as I received him. Grant that my roots go deep and that I be built up and strengthened in Him.

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Life Application​

Are you focusing more on the difficult things that have happened to you, or how much worse it might have been?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 13th​

Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8

The apostle sees the Colossian Christians as facing a great danger of being taken captive by false teaching. Actually the word is kidnapped. We might say they were in danger of being taken hostage! Paul sees a like danger facing Christians who are taken captive by wrong philosophy, wrong teaching, false doctrine. Such can deprive believers of their Christian liberty and hold them hostage for years.

The weapon that is used to do this is philosophy. That sounds rather harmless. After all, philosophy means simply the love of wisdom. What could be wrong with loving wisdom? We are all much indebted to philosophers of the past: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and others, for their keen insights into the nature of life. The love of wisdom is a good thing in many cases. There are good and bad philosophies, but what the apostle has in mind is the danger of being seduced by bad philosophy.

Paul points out the three things that are always characteristic of wrong philosophy. First, these empty, deceptive philosophies depend on human tradition. They arise out of the thinking of men, find a foothold in society, and then are passed along from generation to generation so as to appear popular and widely supported.

The second thing that is wrong with this deceptive philosophy is that it depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world. The word for elemental literally means things in a row, a series of things. The word became associated with the alphabet because letters in an alphabet are always lined up in a row. Thus, some scholars feel that this word represents something rudimentary, simple and elementary. Other scholars point out that this word is also used with reference to an army of soldiers lined up in ranks, as in a hierarchy. Thus, this could be a reference to the fallen angels. My view is that both viewpoints are true. These philosophies fit the description of what Paul calls in 2 Timothy doctrines of demons. They are elementary, rudimentary truths, perpetuated by demonic powers among human beings, which have the effect of returning people to childish actions and childish views of life.

But there is yet a third problem with false doctrine. It is not focused on Christ. Evil teaching always demotes Jesus. Every cult attacks the person and the work of Jesus. They claim that he was nothing but a good man, although he lacked the insights into life and reality that are ours through modern knowledge. Or, going to the opposite extreme, they regard Jesus as a supernatural being, one among several Divine Masters who come periodically into human affairs to teach us wonderful truths that we would never know otherwise, and which, if followed, will release within us great divine powers. But these cults never view Jesus as God, willing to die in our place.

Any form of religious error will have these three manifestations: they are supported by human tradition; they establish themselves as the only respectable doctrine to believe; and yet they come from the minds of satanic beings who cleverly, but invisibly, reduce people to childish behavior and attitudes, all to the end of setting aside the glory and true character of Jesus Christ.

Lord, protect me from hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world. Amen.

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Life Application​

What hollow and deceptive philosophies are you most prone to be drawn in by? Why are they so attractive?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 14th​

Forgiven and Freed!​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:9-15

…having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Colossians 2:14-15

Here Paul declares the forgiveness of sins for which the law condemned us. That condemnation is now removed by the death of Christ on our behalf. He paid for all our sins, the sins we committed in the past, the sins we are going to commit today, and the sins we shall commit in the future. Sin is no longer an issue in our relationship with God. It affects our fellowship but not our relationship. He has fully dealt with it. We need to acknowledge our sin in order to enter into the benefit of that forgiveness, but forgiveness is already there in the heart of God. What a wonderful truth!

I do not think I rejoice in anything more than the fact that my sins, my mistakes, failures, unloving words, unkind attitudes, and selfish actions have been forgiven. Every day God gives me a new slate, a new unspoiled day, to live through by his grace. Our sins have been forgiven. Paul sees them as nailed to the cross, so they no longer can condemn us. The law is not done away with, but the condemnation of it is. We are made free and told Go, and sin no more.

The last step is, we are freed from the power of these evil beings: Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. These are the world rulers of darkness, the clever and malevolent beings who keep inserting into human thinking wrong ideas, dangerous thoughts, attitudes and teachings that set us at aught with one another, and make us go for one another's throat, keeping enmity and strife stirring in the human family.

What has happened to them? Paul declares that when Jesus died, he seized these powers by the throat, chained them, and dragged them in triumph behind him, like a Roman general marching through the streets of Rome, his chained captives walking behind in subjugation. There is no need to give way to evil teaching or temptations, for we have a power and a person within who is superior to anything Satan can throw against us! Paul is encouraging the Colossians to see that there is absolutely no need to believe the doctrines, the teachings or the rituals that Satan will emphasize and enunciate to them.

Neither do we need to believe them! If we understand who we are in Christ and what we have in him, there is no need to be weak, faltering, or failing. We may rise up and be the men and women that God intended us to be.

Father, grant that I rise up and be the person you intended me to be, free of guilt and shame because of the victory you won on the cross. Amen.

Life Application​

Remind yourself throughout today that you are both forgiven of sin and freed from its power.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for November 15th​

Mere Shadows​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:16-19

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Colossians 2:16-17

Food restrictions, special diets, and observance of ceremonies and days arose out of Jewish practices. God gave many of these ceremonies in the Old Testament as shadows, or pictures. The problem was that people were performing these rituals mechanically, simply going through the motions. That, Paul says, can destroy the true vitality of faith.

We find a parallel to these observances today whenever people place a special value on religious performance. In the early part of this century, hardly any Christians would travel on a Sunday because they were taught that Sunday was a carry-over of the Jewish Sabbath and that it was wrong to work or travel on that day. This is the kind of thing that Paul is talking about here. Others today chant a mantra without any thought of what they are saying. Still others turn a prayer wheel or by rote finger religious beads. Any kind of religious performance that is done without meaning or personal significance falls into the category Paul is describing.

But somebody is bound to say, Wait a minute. Aren't some of these observances given to us by God to remind us of truth? Isn't there some value to be gained by doing them? The apostle answers that objection. These rituals are a mere shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Once the reality has been realized, shadows are of no value whatsoever. Shadows are pictures, given in advance, designed to prepare us for something. But if you have found Christ, you do not need the shadows any more.

I carry with me pictures of my wife, my children and my grandchildren. I value these photographs and look at them occasionally when I am away from home. But what would you think if I propped up these pictures all over my house and talked to them and tried to relate to them? You would think I had lost my mind, and I probably would have. But more than that, I would certainly soon lose touch with the very people whose pictures I treasure. They would feel ignored and would probably ultimately leave me, and all relationship would cease.

That is what Paul says is wrong with shadows. If you still place primary value on a shadow after the reality has come, you destroy your participation in the value of that reality. Now, the reality here is Jesus! He is the center of all life and the source of excitement in a Christian's experience. He is the One who accompanies us through life, to comfort in times of need and strengthen when we are being tempted. He is a place of refuge to run to when we are troubled or uncertain about life. To lose him is to lose all source of excitement and vitality in life. That is the danger in observing shadows. That is why this paragraph begins with the word therefore. The previous section pointed out all that Christ is to us now. Paul is saying, Having him, therefore, do not let anyone spoil you by involving you in a mechanical performance that will cancel out the reality.

Lord, reveal those times when I drift towards relying on the shadows instead of the reality of what you have done for me in Christ. Amen.

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Life Application​

What are the mere shadows that you tend to drift towards. Why are they so alluring?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for November 16th​

False Religion​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 2:20-23

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Colossians 2:20-23

Paul is describing an overdeveloped zeal that goes far beyond true Christian discipline and seeks to please God by extreme forms of self-denial. Dedication and discipline are a proper part of the Christian life. You must often make yourself do what God wants you to do, simply because you love him. That is the proper motive for it. But you can make a god of discipline. You can take perverse delight in making yourself do difficult things that win the approval of others, and of God as well.

But the apostle says this is all wrong. Lesser forms of it take what he describes as negative approaches: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch! I grew up in churches that taught there were certain things that Christians must always avoid, and if you observed these taboos you not only were acceptable to the religious community but you were actually pleasing God.

I was taught that Christians never drink, dance, smoke, go to movies, play cards, and read novels. I do not deny that refraining from some of these things is a perfectly proper discipline of the spirit, but any idea that giving up of things of itself is pleasing to God is wrong.

But what is wrong with these prohibitions? First, it shows you do not understand your death with Christ. Paul asks, Since you died with Christ, why do you submit to these rules? This becomes legalism, which is to pursue holiness by self-effort instead of accepting the holiness that God freely gives, by faith, and through the work of the cross. A legalist looks at life and says, Everything is wrong unless you can prove by the Bible that it is right. That reduces life to a very narrow range of activity.

But the biblical Christian looks at life and says, Everything is right! God has given us a world to enjoy and live in. Everything is right, unless the Bible specifically says it is wrong. If we are willing to obey God in the areas that he designates as wrong, then we have the rest of life to enter into in company with a Savior who loves us, guides us and guards us in our walk with him.

Secondly, these things are of no value in restraining the indulgence of the flesh. People may outwardly appear dedicated and disciplined, but inwardly sin rages unchecked. Inside they are angry, resentful, filled with a spirit of vengeance. Many Christians are trying to regulate the externals instead of walking in the fullness of life with Christ, finding the inward purity and cleansing that he alone provides.

Lord, there are still times that I try to please you with religion. Thank you that you accept me as your beloved child in Christ, just as I am. Amen.

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Life Application​

Are you basing your sense of being right with God and in fellowship with him on rules and regulations?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 18th​

Put Off and Put On​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 3:5-7

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Colossians 3:5-7

Everywhere in the New Testament we find this admonition to put off and put on. The first exhortation is always put off; If you are going to put on something, you must first put off what you've already got on. If a mother tells her ragged little boy, Go upstairs and put on some clean clothes, he knows that the first step is to take off the ragged clothes. That is also what the Scripture recognizes. We have formed habits that are wrong, sometimes without even realizing it. We have allowed ourselves to take on attitudes and actions that are destructive and make a mess of our life.

But once we come to a new life we must put off the old, so we can put on the new.

Paul tells us that we must put off whatever belongs to our earthly nature. All five of these terms have to do with our sexual powers. We are sexual beings. God created the human race in two sexes. Sex is a tremendously important part of life. Sex is like a great river flowing through life which, kept within its banks, is a source of pleasure and power. But when it overflows its proper banks, it becomes destructive. All of that is behind the admonition to put off sexual immorality. That word refers to all forms of sex outside of marriage: what is called fornication elsewhere in Scripture, and adultery, which is sexual misbehavior by a married person with someone other than his or her mate. This is to be put off by all Christians.

The second word is impurity. It is the word for uncleanness. It refers to perverted forms of sex: homosexuality, child abuse, and various unnatural sexual practices. Along with these, lust is also to be put away. This refers to erotic passions which are aroused by visual things. Pornography falls under this classification. Anything that is sexually arousing: literature, movies, whatever, is to be denied. It belongs to the old life. It is beyond the boundaries of God's river and becomes destructive. Evil desires is closely associated with lust; it is mental uncleanness.

Lastly, we are to put off greed, which is idolatry. In this context, linked with idolatry, it is the greed to possess another person's body. That is idolatry. It is when you allow another person to become so dominant in your thinking that he or she takes the place of God to you. Listen to the words of some of the love songs that are popular today: You're all I need, I can't live without you, Help me make it through the night. All these expressions are saying, You are like God to me. I am looking to you to fulfill the deepest longings and yearnings of my heart. Anyone who has lived very long knows that such is an impossible demand. No human can fill that need. Those who mistakenly feel that a new affair, a new love relationship, is going to meet all the hungers of their life, find themselves again and again disillusioned and despairing, drifting aimlessly, lost on the sea of life.

I confess, Lord, that there is nothing that can fill the deepest longings of my heart like you. Help me to put off those things that I look to for fulfillment when I have in my heart all that I need. Amen.

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Life Application​

You can't put on the new if you haven't already put off the old. What will you need to put off today?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 19th​

Being Different​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 3:8-11

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Colossians 3:8-10

We are exhorted to stop doing certain things because we can stop. We are different, therefore we can act differently. That is the appeal of the grace of God. You have taken off your old self. A change has come; you are no longer what you once were. Your life is no longer linked with the old Adam but with the new Adam, who is Jesus. You have put on the new self which is growing and increasing in knowledge. The more you learn about this new life, the more you will find you are able to say no to the old. It is increasing in knowledge, growing into the image of Christ its Creator.

So Paul begins the list of attitudes to renounce. First, we no longer need give way to anger. According to the Scripture, there is nothing wrong with anger itself. Here it is an expression of anger that is in view, what one commentator accurately calls impetuous name-calling or calculated insult.

The second word is rage. This refers to temper tantrums, any violent display or attack, by either word or deed, upon another person. That does not mean we will be removed from the temptation to do these things; the old life still hangs around, but we must remember that it is no longer us. We can and should say no, because we are new creatures in Christ.

The third word is malice, that silent, hidden hatred of the heart that takes revenge in secret. Remember the story of the boy who took revenge on his tormentors by spitting in their soup before he served it to them? Have you ever spit in anyone's soup? It is an act of revenge inspired by malice.

Then, fourthly, slander. That is an attack on another person's character, whispering things about him, true or untrue, that destroy his reputation. That is slander. You can be sued for that in the world, because even the world recognizes it is wrong.

The fifth word is filthy language, foul talk, crude and coarse words, expletives that Christians might resort to in a time of sudden pain or hurt. We all know the temptation to do this, but it is to be put away, because it is not us any longer.

The sixth word is lying, untruth that breeds suspicion and destroys trust. Perhaps we all secretly agree with the little boy who was asked what a lie was and replied, A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble! But we pay a terrible price for lying by destroying trust and awakening suspicion. We find it hard to win our way back to being trusted again.

Many Christians are confused as to just when they are being hypocritical. Nobody, of course, wants to be a hypocrite. But many Christians think they are being hypocritical when they know their own inward evil temptations, but nevertheless go to church and sing the hymns, etc. What the Bible says, however, is that a Christian is a hypocrite when he gives way to those wrong things. That is when he is no longer being what he really is. You are being your true self when you praise God and respond with love, joy and peace. You are a phony, a hypocrite, when you give way to evil attitudes and practices.

Lord, change my thinking, because growth and change begin there. Teach me to think not in accord with my own human instincts but with the truth as it is revealed in Your Word. Amen.

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Life Application​

Are there relationships where anger, rage, malice, slander, or filthy language are accepted? Return to your true self in Christ and put off these things.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

Devotion for Today — November 20th​

The Power of the Positive​

Read the Scripture: Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12

How do you get up in the morning? Some have great difficulty. Some can leap out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to face the day immediately, but others drag along for a couple of hours, needing a cup of coffee to get them going. It is reported that Albert Einstein once said, The problem with the speed of light is, it comes too early in the morning! I once heard a preacher confess before a group of pastors, I don't even believe in God before 10:30 in the morning! No matter what time you get started, however, Paul's word is, clothe yourselves. When you get up, deliberately put on these qualities of life. That is the argument throughout this whole letter. You are a new man, a new woman in Christ, therefore, you can begin to live that way. So do it! That is the apostle's exhortation.

There is much confusion among believers at this point. Many seem to find great difficulty putting on these positive virtues as they begin their day or throughout the day. That is probably because they have never thoroughly understood, or perhaps have not practiced, what the apostle said earlier: Put off the old man. Learn to recognize the characteristics of the old life: the self-centered, praise-loving, prideful flesh in every one of us.

Reject that! Put it off! Do as Paul says in the previous paragraph: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature. Treat it as though you are dead to it. That is Paul's argument in Romans 6: Consider yourselves to be dead, indeed, unto sin. And you can, because God has given you a new basis of operation!

Advocates of positive thinking or possibility thinking tell us, Put on these positive qualities. Think positively. Face the day with courage and confidence. These folks make a strong plea to do this. But the problem with their message is that they fail to make the careful distinction that Scripture makes between the old man and the new man. These positive admonitions are not addressed to the old life that is to be put away.

There is a negative quality of living which precedes the positive. We must reject this appeal which comes to us so easily from our past experience. It still haunts us as new creations in Christ. We still, all too easily, play over in our minds the old movies of the past. But this is to be put aside. If we do that, then we can respond to these exhortations to be what God has now made us to be. So, when you start your day, begin this way. Put away the old reactions and then clothe yourself — put on deliberately, in your thinking — these qualities that reflect the life of Jesus.

Father, help me to understand and put into practice this great principle of putting off the old self and putting on the new. Amen.

Life Application​

Do you see yourself as "holy and dearly loved"? Start there, and then move into clothing yourself with qualities that reflect your new life in Christ.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.