May 1 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

These readings focus on the Holy Spirit. In the Old Covenant (or Testament), the Spirit "anoints" one person here and one there to perform a special work for God. In the New Covenant, the Spirit is "poured out" like rain on the whole church of Christ.

Bible Reading:

Psalm 33:1–11

Bible Text:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth (Ps. 33:6).

Devotional:

God made the world. This confession is our best explanation of the origin of our infinitely wonderful cosmos.

God made the world by speaking. God's power is so sublime that his word can make what no human can construct. When we think about that, our response is what the Bible calls the fear of the LORD: My God, how wonderful you are!

In this psalm God's word and breath are practically the same: "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." God's creative power comes from God's word and breath. We can understand the close link between words and breath when we think about speech, the most common form of human communication. We form words with our mouth. Breath is jelled to words, and the words travel to the other person's ears. In the New Testament we learn to distinguish between Word and Spirit. The two are not the same. Yet they always go together. God's powerful Word made the stars, but it can also heal the sick and save sinners because it is accompanied by God's Breath. And the Breath of God is God's Spirit.

We praise God for creating the world. But we especially praise God for saving the world—by his gospel Word, Jesus Christ, and by the Breath of his mouth. "It as great to call a world from naught, 'twas greater to redeem."

My God, how wonderful you are!

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

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 edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.