Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 21ST​

The Lost Secret of Humanity​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: MARK 9:2-8

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Mark 9:2-4

The Transfiguration was a little drama enacted for these disciples to teach them a lesson they badly need to learn, and one that we Christians today badly need to learn. And that is, that the Law and the Prophets find their complete fulfillment in the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth. Moses and Elijah obviously are representative men. Moses stood for the Law. And Elijah was regarded among the Jews as the greatest of the prophets. So here you have in these two men, Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the great authority to the Jews: the Law and the Prophets.

What this little drama signifies, and the lesson that is desired to be imparted to them and to us, is this: The principle by which Jesus lived his human earthly life, the principle that I call the Lost Secret of Humanity, is also the principle which makes the Law unnecessary to mankind and by which all the predicted program of God in prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled. When we discover what that principle is, that lost secret that is hidden in the humanity of Jesus, we don't need the Law anymore. Christ is the end of the Law to everyone that believes. And we also don't need the Prophets. We will discover that all the Prophets predict will be fulfilled by living on that principle.

And what is the principle? Over and over, the Lord Jesus manifested it, declared it. He said again and again that it was his realization that he was indwelt by the Father, and that the Father working through his yielded humanity would do everything through him that needed to be done. That is the lost secret. If every problem and every program in life is confronted with this realization — that God is in us, to do through us all that needs to be done, we'll discover that we have no longer any need for the Law. And this means that all God predicts will be fulfilled by this secret.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you are fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and as you live your life in and through me, I will discover the secret of lost humanity.

​

Life Application​

Will you trust that this secret of lost humanity, that God will do through us all that needs to be done, removes the need to rely on anything else at all?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 22ND​

The Principle of the Cross​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: MARK 9:2-8

Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!
Mark 9:5-7

Why is it that Peter was one of the disciples chosen to see this and to learn this lesson? The answer very briefly is this: He was one of the disciples who before this had openly and vocally avoided the principle of the Cross. When Jesus began to teach the disciples that the Son of man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and be killed, Peter took him aside and said to him Lord, be it not so. Spare yourself, Lord. This cross business, you don't have to go through that. After all, a man like you, the Son of God, you don't need to go to a cross. Jesus said to him Get behind me, Satan! I know that voice. You do not understand the things of God. You only understand the things of man. Man doesn't want a cross. But God does. Peter was included in this group because he'd rejected the Cross.

There's a mistaken idea about Christianity today, that because Jesus went to the Cross, we'll never have to. Nothing could be further from the truth. He went to the Cross in order that we might go with him there, and on through that Cross to the Resurrection beyond. The Cross is always the open door to liberty. It's the Cross that sets us free from our self-centered lives and breaks this damnable barrier within us that insists we live to please ourselves. It's the Cross that puts that to death. And by accepting that, by passing through that, by renouncing this right to self, we experience with him the Cross. But when we come to the Cross, beyond it always lies Resurrection. You can't have Pentecost without Calvary. You can't have the glory of a Resurrection morn without the darkness of a crucifixion. But when we accept death to our own plans, our own programs, our own lives, our own ego, then beyond lies rest, and power, and the Lost Secret of Humanity — a restored humanity which we'll share with him in glory. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we be with him in glory.

Father, teach me to accept the principle of the Cross. Help me to stop pushing away your hand that leads me into experiences that spell death to me. Teach me to accept them, and thus to know the joy of of a life lived in fellowship with the Risen Lord.

​

Life Application​

Where do you need to renounce your right to self and recognize that the death of your own agenda can lead to life and joy with Jesus?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 23RD​

The Triumph of the Cross​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: GALATIANS 6:12-18

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

The Cross, as the Scripture brings it before us, is the meeting place between man's hate and God's love. Hate laid hold of Love, Love laid hold of Hate, and Love triumphed. That's the story of the Cross. Love is stronger than hate. Love is stronger than greed, and lust, and bitterness, and jealousy, and haughtiness, and prejudice, and pride and all the other evil things of human life. In the Cross of Christ we see our own sin. But in the Cross of Christ we see God's grace as well. Listen to me: Grace is greater than sin! If any man or woman who comes to the Cross, who comes in helplessness, who stops being defensive, who quits trying to make excuses and bolster up their ego and comes and just says, It's all true, I need this, I can't save myself! it's then that love begins to manifest its victory over evil. And the glory of grace shines out above the darkness of man's sin. And there is healing, strength and pardon. Thousands and thousands can testify to this through the ages, that it was the Cross of Christ which broke through and set them free.

Grace is flowing like a river, millions there have been supplied, and still it flows as fresh as ever from the Savior's wounded side. The Cross of Christ is an event far greater than we can understand. It's a mystery! We can spend hours trying to analyze the workings of God that culminated in the Cross. But all of this will leave us unchanged until we come to grips with this one central fact: Here and here alone, in all of human history, is the power sufficient to break the stranglehold of our habits upon us and begin to set us free. And all through the centuries, men and women have been coming to the Cross of Christ in this simple way, boys and girls, the educated and the ignorant, the savage, the rich man, across all cultures, across all social divisions, and every boundary line that man has erected. Men have come from all places, all kinds, to the Cross of Christ. And invariably, if they've come in helplessness, recognizing that they are in the grip of forces greater than they can handle, that life is bigger than they are, and they admit it, they find in the Cross of Christ that which sets them free.

Lord, when I come again to the Crucified One, I find that I can stand, I can rise up, I can withstand grief, heartache, suffering, pain — all that life throws at me, in the strength of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified for me. Thank you for this.

​

Life Application​

Will you spend some time considering all the freedom that the Cross of Christ has brought into your life, and thank God for this incredible gift?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 24TH​

When Grace Appeared​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: TITUS 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
Titus 2:11

The appearing of grace covers the entire life and ministry of Jesus Christ, from the birth of Jesus through the Cross and the Resurrection; from Bethlehem to the Mount of Olives; from the open heavens when the shepherds heard the voices of the angels singing, to the open heavens when the disciples looked up and saw him disappearing into the clouds of heaven. Thirty-three years, yet one appearing of Jesus Christ. The word appearing is, in the original language, epiphany. It has been transliterated into English and means a shining forth. The wonderful phrasing of the New English Bible reads, The grace of God has dawned upon the world. What a beautiful expression that is!

Grace means that the first subject on God's agenda to discuss with man is not judgment, but love. It is amazing how many today fear that if they draw near to God, the first thing God wants to talk about is condemnation, that he wishes to punish them for their sins. But the Scripture says, God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved, (John 3:17). God's first concern with man is not judgment. For almost 2,000 years, God has permitted man to have his way. He is allowing man, in his ignorance and willfulness, to abuse and misuse God's gift of life to him in order that he may have the opportunity to hear the whole wonderful tale of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, that there is a way out of man's misery and heartache and sinfulness.

Not only is the nature of this appearing plainly described for us as grace, but the purpose of it is clearly announced — to bring salvation to all people. Do not read that as saying that all men will be saved automatically, regardless of how they believe or live, for there are far too many Scriptures, including those from the mouth of Jesus himself, that say quite otherwise. Salvation is never put on an automatic basis. It is not that all men will be saved, but that all men can be saved. The grace of God has appeared that all men can be saved. It is available to all. Though it is true that God's first subject with man is His love and grace, nevertheless, if a man will not talk on that subject, then eventually God must move to the subject of condemnation and of judgment. But if man will talk with God about grace, the result is salvation.

Thank you, Father, for the appearing of grace, and that through that appearing I can know that I am loved and need not fear judgment.

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Life Application​

What does God's grace mean to you, and how does it make a difference in your life? Will you thank God for the salvation that comes through His grace?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 25TH​

Remember Jesus Christ​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 2 TIMOTHY 2:8-10

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.
2 Timothy 2:8

This one verse is a pattern for handling difficulty in life. Jesus of Nazareth, raised from the dead, the One who stood by the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection and said to his disciples, All power in heaven and on earth is given unto me, (Matthew 28:18b KJV). Jesus, Lord of life, Lord of history, Lord of nature, Lord of all the rolling centuries yet to come. Jesus Christ, the very human Christ, one of us, part of mankind, with a history, an ancestry and a genealogy that he could trace. That is the gospel that Paul preached, the good news for today. I suggest that this is the message we need to hear again, because it is a message we seem to forget so easily.

Jesus is the Divine Counselor, the Divine Companion who is available to meet our need. If we took this truth seriously, it would enable us to experience immediate victories over lust, alcoholism, explosive tempers, caustic words, morbid fears, guilty feelings, and smug, self-righteous complacency. We would be delivered from so much if, at the moment of pressure and temptation, we would remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. We would be delivered from loneliness, greed, jealousy, emptiness and restlessness. We would become wholesome, well-adjusted, well-balanced, loving people, able to cope with life no matter what it brought. That is what Christ came into this world to do.

Is this an exaggeration? Not if we judge from the testimony of Christians. Remember that Paul wrote to the Philippians that he had learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11). Paul had learned the secret of contentment. What kind of contentment? I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty (Philippians 4:12). Whether he had what he needed or had nothing at all, he knew how to be content. He tells us what the secret is: I can do all this through him who gives me strength, (Philippians 4:13).

It is very important for us to see that Jesus is there, not to do what we think needs to be done, but what he thinks needs to be done. Many Christians fail to lay hold of this promise because they want to use Jesus to accomplish their program; they want to use him to work things out according to their plan. Some people think that Jesus is a genie in the magic lamp of our desire which we can rub and there he is, bowing and genuflecting, and saying, Yes, master, what do you want? No, Jesus is there to toughen us, to motivate us, to strengthen us, to stabilize us so we do not panic, we do not give up, we do not in anger flip out, throw it all overboard, and try to run and hide. Jesus is there to strengthen us to live. This is the secret that Paul is talking about: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead.

Father in the midst of all the demands upon my life at this time, help me to remember Jesus Christ, raised for the dead.

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Life Application​

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you practice acknowledging Jesus Christ's presence in the circumstances of your day.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 26TH​

A Living Hope​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 PETER 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
1 Peter 1:3

Surely no apostle felt the death of Jesus more agonizingly than Peter. He had boasted that he would not leave him or forsake him, that he would stay true and fight for him even unto death. He meant so well, but he failed so miserably. When the moment came, a little girl's question upset him and melted all his bravado, and he denied his Lord. So to the appalling collapse of hope that all the apostles experienced in the death of Jesus, in Peter's case was added the shame and disgrace of his own denial. It is no wonder that the last view we have of Peter in the Gospels is his going out into the dark of the night, weeping bitterly.

But it is those kinds of moments and that kind of day that the resurrection of Jesus is designed to relieve and to help. Have you ever thought of it that way? We celebrate the great triumph of Christ over the grave, but I think we often forget that this also stands for the presence of Christ with us to meet the pressures of life as they come to us day by day. I am sure Peter had that in mind when he wrote this text, for you recall that after the resurrection of Jesus we are told in the Gospels that he appeared privately to Peter. We have no record of what he said or where it occurred, but evidently the sensitive heart of Jesus understood how Peter felt in the hour of his monumental failure and collapse of faith, and Jesus sought him out, and appeared to him, and doubtless restored him to some sense of personal worth again.

Peter speaks of this as a living hope, and living means it is something that comes to us every day; it is something that is available all the time. Jesus Christ alive from the dead is the answer to all the broken dreams, the collapsed hopes of your life and mine, the pressures that we feel from day to day, the sense of our failure and the inability to perform as we would like to perform. In the New Testament you can see how the early Christians were filled with a constant sense of the presence of Jesus with them. Everywhere they went, they did so with joy and optimism and expectation.

There is no explanation of this strange behavior on the part of the disciples other than the fact that Jesus was risen and he was with them. Nobody could see him but he was there, and he was strengthening them, helping them, and ministering to them. We also have the promise of his companionship and of a greater ability to function in every single hour of life if we know Jesus Christ. Now that is the great good news of Jesus' resurrection to me, that I am not left alone to face the problems of life without help.

Thank you Father for this great truth that Jesus Christ lives. He lives in my heart today, to forgive me, to sustain me, to encourage me and to strengthen me. Thank you for his living life that guides me all the way through life to the end.

​

Life Application​

Praise God for the living Jesus, who is with us every day! How can you thank God for this great gift today?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 27TH​

Don't Be Afraid​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 1:17-18

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1:17-18

These are wonderful words of reassurance to us who have to live in a frightening time in our own lives. Let us consider them as being spoken to us by the risen Lord, as they were spoken to John on that day of world trouble in the 1st century. Jesus said, Don't be afraid. I think this is what we need to hear in these days when many Christians are very much afraid. Surely nothing is less glorifying to God than a fearful Christian. Jesus was always saying, Fear not to his frightened disciples. The Gospels record that every time they were in trouble, they expressed themselves in manifestations of fear, anxiety, worry, and panic, but the Lord always came along at the right moment and said, Fear not as he says here to John.

What Jesus meant was, first, Don't be afraid of me because John was afraid. Seeing the Lord Jesus risen and glorified was a frightening sight. All the prophets and apostles and saints who have seen God in glory have always fallen down in fear and trembling before him. But Jesus reassures John, saying, Don't be afraid. By this he means that God is our friend, not our enemy; he is for us, not against us. In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul says, If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). The writer of Hebrews puts it, …be content with such things as ye have: for he has said, I will never ever, never ever leave thee nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5 KJV). Now that is the great promise which Jesus makes here to John.

Jesus says there are two reasons why we are not to be afraid: First, he says, I am the first and the last. I am the living one. That means that he is at the beginning and at the end of everything in everybody's life, and the living one, all the way in between. He is always with us. I am the first and the last. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the A and the Z of life. I am the beginning and the ending and the living one. The present tense is used all the way through. Jesus is the One who goes with us through everything. How many of the saints have been helped from time to time by remembering that, in the midst of their troubles, the Lord was with them! Those reassuring words are intended to comfort those who feel alone, and who want somebody to stand with them through a time of trouble. We look to each other for that, but oftentimes human beings fail. But Jesus will not fail. This is his word to us, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One.

Jesus, you are the Living One, the first and the last. I praise you that you are alive today, and even though I may fail, you never will.

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Life Application​

In what current circumstances in your life do you need to remind yourself that Jesus is the Living One and will never fail you?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 28TH​

What Difference Does It Make?​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-28

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
1 Corinthians 15:14

If Jesus rose from the dead, and there is one who has come back and told us what lies beyond, if Jesus did break the bonds of death and come out of the tomb on that first resurrection morning, and if all the simple story which is so artlessly told in the Scriptures is true, if it really happened, then what does it mean?

The most obvious thing is that it means that Jesus is still alive. He is still around, still available — this beautiful man who lived in such a way that he captivated the people of his day, and shook them to the core by the way he lived and things he said and did, by the compassion of his heart and the honesty of his life which would strip a religious hypocrite naked right before the eyes of a crowd, who could not abide falsehood and untruth but was always tender and loving and compassionate toward those bound up with their own guilt and problems, their own evil. If Jesus rose from the dead, he is still around, still available. He still can meet us in the same way. His promises, which he uttered, are valid promises: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12b) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

This means that freedom from guilt, and power to conquer our failures and our weaknesses, are still available to men. And this has been the good news for twenty centuries — that in coming to Jesus Christ, men and women find ability to rise above this locked-in evil within us. And though we don't do it perfectly, and at times fall back into evil — for nobody yet has presented a perfect pattern in doing this except Jesus — nevertheless, the healing begins to take place. Changes occur, and life is different. If we begin to live in the power of Jesus' resurrection, in the fact of it, which God has set as the basis of life, we will learn to live in the world, right in the midst of it, right up to the hilt — not withdrawn, not isolated, not in a monastic experience — right in the midst of it, but on a different basis: drawing upon his forgiveness every day to recover from our failure, and to stand again accepted in his presence; drawing upon his strength by which to meet the demands which life throws at us, so that we are never suddenly caught short without adequate resources with which to respond; drawing upon his love, the grace of a risen Lord who knows us, understands us, and has made provision for our weakness and failure, and who picks us up again and carries us through — not away from the situation but right through the midst of it!

Thank you, Jesus, that you are alive and here with me, right in the midst of life, and that I can draw from your forgiveness, knowing I am accepted in your presence.

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Life Application​

Practice thanking Jesus for his living presence and power in your circumstances today. When and where do you most need to remember this truth?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY 29TH​

Victory NOW!​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-58

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57 RSV

Notice that this verse is put in the present tense. It is not past, who gave us the victory. It is Thanks be to God who keeps on giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not know anything that means more to me as a Christian than the fact that every day I can lay hold of the grace of Jesus Christ. He is not a distant Savior who lived twenty centuries ago. He is alive, and I meet him every day. When I find myself having failed, faltered, and sinned, I come again and receive from him the cleansing that he has won for me on Calvary. My sins are washed away anew. I am forgiven once again and given a clean slate to start over again from that moment. This gives me new power to say, No! to all the evil, afflictions, and pressures of my life. I know that that evil is put away; it will never come back to haunt me; I will not have to face it at the judgment seat of God. I can turn instead to try to make up, in as many ways as I can, to others for the hurt I have done, and to help others find the way of release and deliverance out of heartbreak and sorrow and guilt arid fear.

When you go to work, do not see it as simply a way by which you earn your living. Work has been given to you as an opportunity for you to have a ministry in which you witness, you demonstrate a changed life, a heart at peace, the radiant joy of fellowship with a living Lord on your face, and love pouring out of your heart to those who, like you, have struggled and lost frequently in the rat race of life. That is what God sends us out to do as Christians. He has given us a work, not that we might make notable achievements in which we make a name for ourselves. What God looks for is, how are we behaving towards others? How do we show a loving spirit, a gracious, forgiving attitude, a willingness to return good for evil, an ability to speak a word of release to those who are prisoners of their own habits, to set free those who are oppressed by wrong, hateful attitudes, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to open the eyes of the blind? This is the work of the Lord. This is why God gives us contact with others. This is why God has given us our work.

Father, hear the voice of any who cry out to you from sin-governed lives. Grant to them the gift of a risen Lord, and the grace to be changed from the inside out. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Life Application​

In what areas of your life do you need his power to experience ongoing victory?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[civic]

Been studying conditional not unconditional forgiveness this morning. Its the topic of our mens discipleship group this morning and my son in law one of the pastors is leading the discussion. In our Saturday morning mens group ( 5 of us ) I had 4 deer in the headlights looks when I said to them your sins in the present and future are not forgiven until you confess them. God foragve us of our past sons when we came to Christ at the time of our salvation. Your relationship with God is hindered until you confess them and I went to Jesus teaching on the Lords prayer and when He also said to go and reconcile/forgive your brother first before you come to God in prayer. So this led him to this mornings topic in our mens group. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm heading there now.

 

[Obadiah]

Sounds good to me.
I'm studying the book of 1st John and this part in 1st John 1:9 it's right in with what you're saying.


If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (v. 9).

Now we come to John’s corrective theology. What do we do in our present condition if we become aware of some specific sin(s) we have committed? Perhaps just a side note to clarify that we are talking about our condition, not our position. There are those among us who understand 1 John as a book on “tests of relationship” who explain 1 John 1:9 as unbelievers confessing their sins as they come to faith in Christ. One of the main problems with that approach is the use of the word “we” at the beginning of the verse. Who are the “we”?

If we trace the word “we” from the first verse all the way through to verse nine, the identification of the “we” obviously includes the apostles. In the first five verses “we” refers exclusively to the apostles. There is nothing in the text to warrant a sudden removal of the apostles from the meaning of “we” in the rest of the chapter. If this is so, verse nine could not possibly be understood as confession for salvation. I should hope the apostles were saved long before 1 John was written.
So, 1 John 1:9 gives us God’s instructions for our fellowship with Him. We are to confess our sins. But what does that mean? The word for “confess” (homologeō) is often explained as meaning “to say the same thing, to agree.” Rightly so. But with whom do we agree? With God, of course. This means when I confess my sins I agree with His view of my sins. He hates sin (Ps 45:7), and sin grieves Him greatly (Eph 4:30).

I have actually met people who use 1 John 1:9 as some sort of button they push to fill themselves with the Holy Spirit. As they explain it, all they have to do is agree with God that what they are doing or have just done is sinful. Then God is required by His promise in 1 John 1:9 to forgive them and fill them with the Holy Spirit. Well, without dwelling on the fact that the Holy Spirit is nowhere mentioned in this text, let’s just say that this type of glib “agreement” with God probably won’t even restore these people to fellowship. If we agree with God’s view of our sin, there should be some distaste for it in our mouths. I should not be delighting in my sin, that is, if I am confessing it. There should be some degree of regret or remorse that I have offended God, since all sin is against Him (Ps 51:4).

There may be pleasure in sin for awhile (Heb 11:25), but the aftertaste should be repulsive.

Now, what are we confessing. The text says “our sins.” But the word “our” is not literally in the text. That would be the word hēmōn, whereas this is the word tas, which is simply our word for “the.” It is used to specify something. If I ask my daughter to get me an apple from the refrigerator, she would go there and get me one apple from among many. It really doesn’t matter which one. But if I ask her to get me the apple on the top shelf in the refrigerator, she knows I want a very specific apple. The importance of this distinction for 1 John 1:9 cannot be overemphasized. It is the specific sins I know about which break fellowship between me and God.

Jesus gives a nice parallel to this concept in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:23–24). If a brother is worshipping the Lord and remembers (this is the key word) that his brother has something against him, he should stop his worshipping and reconcile with his brother. Then he can come back to continue his worship. Known offenses are a barrier to human fellowship and divine fellowship. In 1 John 1:9 we are dealing on the divine level, but Matthew 5 links the two, as John will do later in this letter. Jesus is saying our worship is worthless if we know that there is unresolved conflict between us and a brother. We need to be right on the horizontal plane in order to be right on the vertical plane. It’s our awareness of offenses that breaks fellowship.
If we confess these sins which we know about, God is faithful and just to forgive us of these sins. The word forgive comes from a word (aphiēmi) never used in the Gospel of John when speaking of the relationship between man and God. If the Gospel of John was written to establish an eternal relationship between God and those who believe in His Son (John 20:31), it seems strange that John would not use this word in the sense of God forgiving man in twenty-one chapters … unless, of course, John reserves that word in his own thinking for fellowship instead of relationship.
This is precisely what we are suggesting. For John forgiveness is personal, not judicial. Remember, the reformers established justification to be a courtroom term. It is judicial—declared righteous in the courtroom of heaven for all time. But for John forgiveness deals with fellowship, not relationship. A perfect example from the gospels would be found in the story of the estranged brothers in Luke 17:3. Two brothers (permanent relationship) have a problem with their fellowship because one brother sins against the other. The sin does not destroy their relationship as brothers, but it does destroy their fellowship. This fellowship cannot be restored until the sinning brother comes to the offended brother and seeks his forgiveness. Luke 17:4 tells the offended brother how many times he should forgive the brother who sinned against him: 70×7 (a figure of speech for infinity). We might ask why. Isn’t there a limit? No. Why? Because they are brothers. They have an eternal relationship. Thus, our eternal relationship with God (Father/child) is one of the reasons He will always forgive us.
Sometimes we may feel that going to God with the same sin over which we have had no victory presumes upon His grace and mercy. “How can He forgive me over and over for the same sin?” we might ask. The answer is simply that God is faithful. He has promised to do so. And His forgiveness for our fellowship is based on His forgiveness for our relationship. It’s like the parents who decide to have children. They already know their children will not be perfect. They will not only make mistakes, they will do some things that are sinful. But this does not keep the parents from deciding to have the children. And when the child is first conceived, an eternal relationship begins. And because this relationship is going to last forever, the child, in a sense, has positional forgiveness for all his future sins. And based on that positional forgiveness, the parents are predisposed to fellowship-forgiveness whenever the child sins against them but also decides to come back to them and ask for their forgiveness. God gave us relationship-forgiveness when we became His children. Based on that, He will always be faithful to offer us forgiveness for fellowship whenever we come to him to ask for it.

But this may not seem right. To keep coming over and over asking forgiveness for the same sin the umteenth time—isn’t this taking advantage of God’s grace? It just doesn’t seem right. Oh, but it is right, not because we deserve this forgiveness by having victory over our sins or by doing acts of penance; it is right because the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ (v. 7) is the provision God gave to make sure there is sufficient forgiveness for our sins once and for all time. That’s why the verse says God is not only faithful, but also just (dikaios = just or right). It is right for God to forgive us, even over and over for the same thing, because of the provision of the blood of Christ. This is not to say our repeated sin does not grieve Him. Nor does it mean He does not want us to find the ultimate victory over that sin. That’s why in true confession the sinner is looking for a way out of whatever sin has beset him. If not, then it is doubtful if his attitude toward his sin aligns with God’s attitude, one of the presuppositions of true confession.
Finally, there is the additional promise that through true confession we get forgiveness from all unrighteousness. What is this? Haven’t we confessed the specific sins we have seen and recognized? Precisely. “All unrighteousness” refers to all the rest of the sinfulness and/or sins I do not know about, that is, the ones I do not see. Certainly, as already discussed, I have far more sin in my life than I can see. But God sees it all. And for the sake of fellowship, when I confess the sins I see, the blood of Christ cleanses me of these as well as all the sins in my life I do not see. This is good news.


David R. Anderson, Maximum Joy: 1 John—Relationship or Fellowship?

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 1ST​

Thankful For What?​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-3

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Paul is continually thankful in prayer for these believers, for three things: Their faith, their love, and their hope. In the New Testament, those are always listed as fundamental characteristics of those who have come to Christ. You recall that at the close of the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, Paul says, and now abide faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). These three qualities, says the apostle, will never end.

But specifically, as we see here, it is not merely faith, hope, and love. It is a faith which works, a love which labors, and a hope which endures. Paul puts it that way so that we may see these as the great motives of the Christian life. If you have true faith, if you have love born of the Spirit, and if you have hope in the coming of Christ, you will be motivated to live as you ought today.

What is this work of faith that Paul speaks of? He sums it up himself in verse 9. There he speaks of how the Thessalonians had turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God. That is faith at work. Faith is not merely belief; it is something that changes you. Faith makes you turn from what is wrong to what is right, from dark and hurtful things to right and true and healthy things. And faith will turn you from the worship of idols to God. Notice the direction of this action: to God, from idols. It is not put the other way around. You do not leave your idols for some reason and then painfully try to find God. What happens is that you discover something of the beauty, the glory and greatness of God, and you are willing to forsake the cheap and tawdry things you have been trying to satisfy yourselves with.

Modern America is one of the most idolatrous countries the world has ever seen. I once heard of a Chinese man who visited here and was asked, upon his return to China, whether Americans worshipped idols. Yes, they do, he reported. They have three of them. In the winter they worship a fat man in a red suit. In the spring they worship a rabbit. And in the fall they sacrifice a turkey! We chuckle at that, but these are not true idols.

America today worships not only Eros, the goddess of sex, but Baal, the erotic deity associated with fertility rites. Baal worship encouraged degenerate practices of the most licentious kind. It is reflected in the loathsome practices in our country today. Baal worship is manifest in the rise of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. It is behind the pornography that pervades almost every aspect of life in our times. Americans are also worshipping the god Molech, the terrible god into whose fiery mouth parents in ancient times threw their own children, destroying them to relieve the guilt of their own consciences.

Thank you, Father, for the faith, love and hope I see in those who know you. Along with them, teach me to turn from worthless idols and serve the true and living God.

​

Life Application​

In whom do you see works produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope? Thank God for them and let them know as well.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 2ND​

Loved By God​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 1:4-8

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a

This is how people are changed: idols are cast aside, and a new life begins! It begins with God's love. The world at large conceives of God as perpetually angry with them. But God does not look at our lost race that way. God sees us as victims, deluded and deceived. Alluring philosophies have throttled our love and captivated and gripped our minds. Almost in total ignorance, we pursue things that destroy us. Although we never intended to do so, most of us have already seriously messed up our lives. But then we learn the incredible truth that God loves us, that he gave his only Son for us. It is in the cross that we see the love of God displayed. Paul so states in Romans: But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

It is also in the Scripture that we learn that he has chosen us. How do you know that God chose you? The answer is, you begin to be drawn toward God, to sense a desire for him. The calling of God by means of the Spirit awakens a hunger within. If you are longing to be different, if you want to be more than you are now, if you have tried to change and you cannot, if you find the words of the gospel attractive, you are being drawn by the Spirit! Jesus said, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him (John 6:44). When the good news came to Thessalonica, people began to feel a desire to have this Jesus who would make such a tremendous change in their lives. They responded to love and thus revealed they were chosen of God.
Paul goes on to detail the steps necessary to God's call. First, our gospel came to you not simply with words. The Scriptures were preached and the truth was declared. It is through the Word of God that men and women are awakened and moved toward God. The second factor in God's call is the power of God; the gospel came in power. It is real, compelling, gripping.

The gospel has the ability to compel because it is not mere legend or myth. Jesus did live. He did move among men. He died a felon's death upon a cross. He was raised from the dead. All of this marks the power of the gospel. When the Thessalonians believed, they sensed the power of it in their hearts. They were actually changed. They were different. Also, the gospel came by the Holy Spirit. Behind the power was the reality of God himself. His Spirit could touch the human spirit. He could minister to the deepest needs in human lives. The Spirit of God fills the human spirit. He begins to minister to our minds and our hearts from within, opening them up to understand these events. Finally, the gospel came with full conviction. It moved the wills of the Thessalonians. They acted, they did something about it: They yielded their lives to God.

Father, thank you for drawing me to yourself, making me weary of what this world has to offer, and giving me a taste for that which truly satisfies.

​

Life Application​

Reflect on that time when you were mysteriously drawn to God, sensing a desire to know Him more, and experiencing his love. Share that love with someone today.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 3RD​

Rescued From the Coming Wrath​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 1:9-10

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10

A striking feature about the Thessalonian letters is that each chapter in both letters ends with a reference to the coming of the Lord. At Christmas we look back to his first coming, but in the early church there was little mention of that. They rejoiced in it, and it is right to celebrate it. But for them, they believed that he was coming again. Their hope lay in that. They believed what the angels had said to the disciples, This same Jesus whom you see going into heaven shall so come in like manner (Acts 1:11). It was the ever-present hope of the early church, and that hope became the dominant theme of these Thessalonian letters. This verse looks backward to the resurrection. That fact was their answer to the threat of personal death. This was their ground of confidence for victory over death. Jesus had said, Because I live you shall live also (John 14:19).

But verse 10 not only looks backward to the resurrection, where we see our victory over death assured, but it also looks forward to a time that Paul calls the coming wrath. This is not hell. He is not talking about the fact that Christians are delivered from the fires of hell. The Thessalonians knew that already. They had learned from Paul that they would not come into that judgment. But here he is talking about a coming wrath. Jesus, he says, would also deliver them from that wrath.

In the Old Testament this period is called the terrible day of the Lord (Joel 2:31). It is a time when God's judgments will rain down upon the earth. Jesus described it as the great tribulation, which has not been since the creation of the world, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21). That time is yet ahead. It was for them and it still is for us. But in these letters we learn that God has a plan to deliver his own from that wrath. Christians shall have victory even over the approaching crisis of the world.

What does this mean to us now? Christians have no business to be discouraged, defeated, or despairing. If we succumb to any of these moods, it is because we have forgotten these great truths. But here in troubled Thessalonica, those truths were to be living, vital, and fragrant in the hearts of these believers. Surely God is calling us back to this again in our dark hour of history.

Lord, may these great truths become more living, vital and fragrant in my heart.

​

Life Application​

Take some time and write out all the reasons you have to not be discouraged, defeated, or despairing.

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 4TH​

Courage​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:1-6

We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. … We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. … We were not looking for praise from people, … even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
1 Thessalonians 2:2-6

When Paul says, we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition, he is describing courage. He is understating the case when he says that he had suffered in Philippi. Actually, this was one of the three times when he was beaten with thick rods and thrown into prison. You cannot read Paul's story and fail to see the courage he demonstrated in his ministry. When a riot broke out in Ephesus, he actually tried to face down a howling mob bent on taking his life. He had to be restrained by his friends to keep from sacrificing himself to the mob's fury.

Where did Paul get his courage? Some say he was courageous by nature. But that was not true. When he came into Corinth and began to preach, he did so with much fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3). Some of you who want to reach out to your fellow-workers feel intimidated by the pagan atmosphere of your workplace. Paul felt that very strongly. In Ephesus, he wrote, there were fightings without and fears within (2 Corinthians 7:5). No, Paul was not naturally courageous.

Paul declares clearly what lay behind his courage. He did not preach out of error or uncleanness. He taught the truth of God, confirmed by the prophets and by Jesus himself. Also, guile, flattery, and greed played no part in his preaching. So many teachers today offer a promise of prosperity. If you follow them, they say, you will become rich. This was not Paul's doctrine. Nor did he come to seek fame or status in the eyes of men. He could have played upon his position as an apostle, but he did not. He did not slant his message, slurring over some of the unpleasant aspects of the truth, to appeal to the popular mind. He was honest and faithful, regardless of whether he received any praise or thanks.

What, then, produced his kind of courage? The answer is in verse 4: we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. Two things motivated Paul: First, he is grateful for being entrusted with the gospel. He gloried in the fact that God had called him to deliver a message that people desperately needed. God committed that message to Paul and to us. Is there anything greater than that? More than that, he was energized by a desire to please God. The only reason anyone wants to please God is because he loves him. You may try to please him to get something for yourself. But if you want to really please God, it is because you have learned that God already loves you. That is the wellspring of courage. Think about the love of God, about the honor of walking with him, and of speaking of the truth to others. That is the secret of Paul's courageous activity.

Father, grant me the courage to share the gospel even amidst strong opposition. Thank you for entrusting me with such a priceless treasure.

​

Life Application​

In what ways is God calling you to a life of courage? What is challenging your courage to proclaim the gospel these days?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 5TH​

The Gentleness of Love​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:7-9

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9

This can only be described as sensitive love, a love deeply desirous of blessing someone and finding gentle, tender ways of communicating that. Perhaps the first need in loving is to learn to do it gently. Love often has to be strong and tough. It must sometimes rebuke, but it has to learn how to do so gently. That is what Paul did. He came among them as a nursing mother feeding her children, delighted to minister to their need. When I was a young Christian, I came under the ministry of Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators. Dawson was a strong personality. He could be demanding. He was self-disciplined to an enormous degree, and he expected self-discipline of those who worked with him. That is a mark of the Navigators yet today, wherever they minister. But when I met alone with Dawson, he always was gentle. He always spoke directly to me, and he seemed aware of my need and my capacity. I often thought of him as being like Paul. Paul could be stern and sharp, but when he was with someone alone, he was gentle. That is a mark of a true shepherd.

When Paul says, Because we loved you so much, he uses an unusual phrase, not often found in Scripture. Literally, it means a yearning, a longing for you. I sometimes feel this myself, especially when I am talking to a young person. I feel my heart longing to help them, to bless them, to teach them, to lead them, to fulfill them. That is how parents feel about their children. There is a yearning after them, an affectionate desire to see them blossom and go in the right direction. This is characteristic of those who seek to minister to others.

Another mark of a loving spirit is found in verse 9 where Paul speaks of his toil and hardship and how he and his friends worked day and night in order not to be a burden to them while they preached the gospel to them. Hard work! That is a sign of a true shepherd, a true pastor. Every Jewish boy had to learn a trade, and Paul's trade was tent making. Rather than take offerings from his new converts, he worked long hours into the night, making tents. Perhaps, as they listened to him teaching them during the daytime, these Thessalonians noticed that Paul's hands were not the cultured, soft hands of a rich man who had never worked. They were, rather, the hands of a laborer who worked hard at his trade, and they knew it was in order that he might bless them and not be a burden on them.

Thank you for your great and gentle love, Father, and thank you for equipping me to love others in the same way.

​

Life Application​

Is there a relationship you have where you especially need to show the gentleness of love at this time?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 6TH​

A Faithful Life​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:10-12

You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:10-12

The modern term integrity expresses what Paul describes here. Integrity is in short supply in Christian circles today. But hear Paul: We were holy and righteous and blameless, he says. Holiness means separate, intended for a single purpose. In this sense, singleminded would be a good translation. Also, he was righteous before others. He behaved himself, resisting things which could be misconstrued or would tend to mislead. In Corinthians he wrote that if his drinking wine or eating meat offended, he would not touch either again (1 Corinthians 8:13). He was righteous in his public behavior. Finally, he was blameless in his own eyes. Blamelessness in Scripture never means sinlessness. Paul did not think of himself as sinless. What he means is: He is honest. He has dealt with his sin. Aware of it, he judges it and does something about it. God knows what is going on inside, so Paul is strictly honest with himself, does not deceive himself, but confesses his wrong and so is blameless.

From that base of a faithful personal life, the apostle does three things for the Thessalonians: He exhorts them, he encourages them, and he challenges them. Exhortation usually takes the form of a rebuke. As I look back to when my children were growing up, there were times when I had to sit down with them and say, You are headed for trouble. If you go down the path you are traveling now, you are going to hurt yourself and your family. You are going to destroy things of value in your life. A father has to do that. So does a pastor, at times. And so will you, if you want to minister to someone's needs. But along with that, there should be encouragement and challenge. Encouragement says, You are doing better. I can see changes. You are going to make it. I am with you. Keep on. Encouragement is pointing out the positive values of things. And then there is challenge, saying to them, You are meant for better things. You do not have to live like this. There are great possibilities before you. God is leading you, and calling you, and urging you to lay hold of those.

That is what Paul does here, pointing out that it is God who calls us into his own kingdom and glory. These are surely the times that try men's souls. We are facing times of great danger and crisis. But these are also times of great possibilities. What a challenge to live today as Paul lived!

Lord, help me become a person of integrity, exhorting, encouraging and challenging others from the foundation of a faithful life.

​

Life Application​

Can you think of a time when someone exhorted, encouraged, or challenged you? Is there someone who needs that from you right now?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries. For permission to use this content,

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 7TH​

The Word that Works​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:13

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
1 Thessalonians 2:13

What a profound statement of truth about the Word! It declares that the Word of God is a most remarkable instrument. No other verse in the Bible states so clearly that the Word of God comes to us through ordinary humans. Throughout history, God has always communicated through people who look, talk and behave just like us. Jeremiah says that the Word of God came to him like a burning in his bones (Jeremiah 20:9). Elijah declared that the Word of God came to him like a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). Daniel said that God spoke to him in visions and dreams in the night (Daniel 2:19). Moses said that when God communicated with him, he spoke to him face to face, like a man speaks with his friends (Exodus 33:11). Peter wrote that holy men of old spoke as they were carried along by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). This is the most common way in which the Word of God comes.

Certainly, that is the way the Thessalonian Christians experienced it. Paul began to speak, and they were conscious that what they were hearing was not the words of a mere man; they were hearing the Word of God. This raises a problem, because if the Word of God comes through ordinary people, it can easily be imitated. How can we tell when God has really spoken and when we are hearing from a false prophet? The apostle gives one clear way to test reality, found in the phrase at the end of verse 13, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. The real Word of God always changes people and makes them different. To merely mentally accept it does not change anyone, but if people begin to act on it, to obey it, they will be changed; the Word will make them into different people.

Most of us are familiar with the story of The Mutiny on the Bounty. In the nineteenth century, mutineers took over the ship, set their captain adrift in a lifeboat, and ended up on the island of Pitcairn in the South Pacific. But we do not often hear much about what happened after they landed. They were rather rough, godless sailors for the most part. Together with the wives they had taken with them from the island of Tahiti, they spent their days drinking, gambling, carousing and fighting with one another. Soon the fighting led to battle, and they killed each other off until the colony was reduced to a handful of people. Among them was a man named Alexander Smith. Rummaging through his trunk one day, he found a Bible that his mother had put there. He began to read it, and soon it changed his life. Then he read to the surviving mutineers, and it changed their lives. When that island was rediscovered some years later, it had become a model community. There was no jail because they had no crime. They loved God and they loved each other. The book totally changed their lives and their society! That is the power of God's word!

Lord, your word is powerful, and I desire to let it work in my own life and change me from the inside out.

​

Life Application​

How have you seen the Word of God at work in your life this week?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 8TH​

Why the Gospel Offends​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:14-16

For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.
1 Thessalonians 2:14-16a

Every generation, every century, has seen this happen. Throughout history, Christians have been persecuted and martyred. They have been bound in animal skins and left to shrink in the hot sun, thrown into lions' dens, burnt alive, and exiled. Why the violent opposition to this remarkable Word with its power to bless and transform? There are three major reasons:

First, the gospel ignores all human achievement. God is totally unimpressed with degrees, awards, position, tenure, wealth, or any other trappings of power. Everybody must come to him the same way — by admitting they cannot help themselves, and by accepting salvation as a gift from the hand of God through Christ. As the old hymn puts it, Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Religious achievements, a good belief system, or good moral behavior do not impress God. There is only one way to approach him, and that is through Jesus. Jesus himself declared, No one can come to the Father but by me (John 14:6). You may believe in God, but you will never know him as Father unless you come by Jesus. God insists that there is only one way to be reconciled with him, and that is through Christ. That makes a lot of people very angry. But whether Buddhists or Muslims, Baptists or Presbyterians, religious performance does nothing to impress God. Neither will it change us. The only thing that can change us is the Word of God, received by faith.

The second reason the gospel arouses violent opposition is that it exposes human pride. There is a terrible evil in all of us, which we try to hide. I find it in myself. I am stubborn at times, and I excuse myself on the grounds that people need to be stubborn occasionally. Besides, I am half Scot and the Scots are known for stubbornness. But that is nothing but pride, an independent spirit that says, I don't need any help. I can make it on my own. We are all guilty of this in varying degrees, but we keep it under control for fear of recrimination or out of a desire not to be known as prideful or stubborn. But if the restraints are removed, that pride will suddenly break out in the most terrible form of viciousness and vindictiveness.

A third reason why the gospel arouses opposition is because it forgives blatant sinners, those who richly deserve death and hell in the eyes of the world. The Pharisees were very offended because Jesus received adulterers, prostitutes, swindlers and outcasts, while they themselves, respectable moral people, were excluded. That is why they finally killed Jesus. Many oppose the gospel because it appeals to the disreputable. But that is its glory: it can change anyone who will receive it in humility and contrition.

Thank you for the gospel, Lord. I ask that you would root out my pride that glories in human achievement and balks at your mercy shown to sinners.

Life Application​

Where have you seen opposition to the gospel caused by human pride? How can you deal with the remnants of that same pride in your own heart?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A DAILY DEVOTION FOR MARCH 9TH​

Satan Blocked Our Way​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:17-19

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan blocked our way.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-18

I wonder where the idea ever arose that Paul was stern and cold? You cannot read this letter without sensing the warmth of his heart and the depth of his love. At the time he wrote this letter, he was ministering alone in Corinth. He was feeling lonely. Being far away from loved ones is a very unpleasant experience. Forgetting the danger that had driven him from Thessalonica and the cruelty he had experienced there, he longed to be with them again. He even tried to go to see them again but was prevented by Satanic interference.

In this chapter Paul mentions three sources of opposition: opposition from the state; opposition from society; and here, opposition from Satan. While this might look like three enemies, it is really only one. Other Scriptures indicate that the state and society are often the channels of the devil's attempts to hinder the spread of the Word of God. This is what Paul was encountering here.
Have you ever experienced a frustrating time in your own life when again and again you tried to do something you knew was right and found it hard going? You met opposition and hindrance, perhaps even from your own family. That is Satanic hindrance, the psychological manipulation of minds to arouse opposition and plant obstacles in your path.

During a trip to Northern Ireland, we spent some time in a wonderful church. The young pastor and his wife were beginning to teach Body Life and Spiritual Warfare. Where once it had been a lifeless church, now it was alive and growing, filled with young people and young couples. But while we were there, we learned that the best friend of the pastor and his wife had suddenly turned against them. He began to spread lies and slanders about them, upsetting the whole church. It was a terrible time of pain and suffering. We have learned since that God has cleared it all up. The pastor has been vindicated and this whole thing has been exposed. But what caused it? It was Satanic opposition, the devil with his clever ability to work through people to stir things up.

The Bible is the only book that explains the persistence and malevolence of evil. Why do we struggle so in this life? What are we up against? Jesus told us that it is the devil. He is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44). He deceives and he kills. The Satanic mind is responsible for the murderous violence, widespread deceit and false philosophies that we are confronted with today. Paul himself tells us, We do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12). No other book tells you that it is not people who are your problem, but rather the spiritual forces of evil that prevail in the world.

Father, let me not be ignorant of the enemy's schemes, and help me to stand firm against him in the strength of your might.

​

Life Application​

What is your specific strategy to deal with the opposition Satan presents as you seek to serve God and do his will?

Daily Devotion © 2024 by Ray Stedman Ministries.