In Touch Daily Devotional 1st February 2023 By Dr. Charles Stanley, Wednesday Inspirational Message
Read In Touch Daily Devotional 1st February 2023 and be blessed.
TOPIC: The Fruit of Perseverance
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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18
1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Charles Stanley In Touch Daily Devotional 1st February 2023 MESSAGE
The apostle Paul often wrote about perseverance. If anyone demonstrated endurance, it was Paul. He urged believers not to tire of following Christ, even when persecuted. He’d been beaten, stoned, whipped, driven out of town, shipwrecked, reviled, and abandoned. Despite having a thousand reasons to be disheartened, he knew his obedience to God wasn’t in vain.
Consider the awesome harvest that resulted from the apostle’s faithfulness. The gospel spread across the Roman Empire, and the early church grew far beyond the Jewish world. What’s more, the seeds Paul planted by writing his epistles have resulted in billions of lives being transformed. And to think that any strength or insight we draw from these letters is fruit of the hardships he endured!
Do you realize how impactful your life is? Don’t be deceived by Satan’s lie that your suffering or obedience will amount to nothing. Your faithfulness to God never goes to waste. Paul didn’t know the extent of the fruit God would produce through his steadfast obedience. Neither can you gauge how the Lord will use you. So don’t lose heart. Keep your focus on eternal things, not the hardships of this life.
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Leviticus 8-10
REFLECT: Don’t underestimate the impact of your faithfulness on future generations.
In Touch Daily Devotional 1 February 2023. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God
