January 23 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The Bible says that we are either living under the dominion of the devil or have been transferred to the rule of Jesus. It's either black or white. Perhaps we would like to assign each other and ourselves to a gray area between the devil and the kingdom. But the fact of the matter is that you are either in or out; you belong to the devil or to Christ.

Christians may freely praise God for delivering them from the dominion of darkness and transferring them to the kingdom of the beloved Son. From now on they may and must and can live by the rules of their new Lord.

Notice that there are two separate operations in this saving work of God. The first is that he rescued or delivered us from the darkness, and the second is that he brought or transferred us to the kingdom of Christ. The first was the rescue operation. He got us out of the cage. The second operation is the resettlement of those who were rescued: He transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Christians acknowledge this double work of Christ when they call him their Savior and their Lord. When we say "Savior," we mean that he rescued us. When we say "Lord," we mean that he transferred us to his domain, kingship, or authority. He is our Savior because he got us out of the old house. He is our Lord because we are now under his blessed rule.

It is obvious, then, that we cannot have Christ as our Savior unless he is now our Lord. Christ does not leave us in the old house, nor does he leave us halfway between the old and the new. Only when he has transferred us to his own domain are we saved.

In other words, our obedience to the Lord is evidence of our salvation.

Reflections

Praise God for rescuing you from darkness and transferring you to the light of Christ's kingdom. Ask that your life may show your gratitude for what Christ has done for you.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.