May 24 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:

Galatians 5:22–26

Bible Text:

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).

Devotional:

All Christians live by the Spirit—that is our great blessing. Therefore our responsibility is to keep in step with the Spirit. Since we have the first, we must do the second.

If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you don't have to doubt for a minute that you "live by the Spirit." There's no other way to have faith, to know Christ, and to be alive than by the Spirit. The text does not tell Christians to "get" the Spirit but assumes that the Spirit already has them. Otherwise they cannot be Christians. What the text does tell us is to live and walk accordingly: "Keep in step with the Spirit."

The Holy Spirit makes us active, not passive. The Spirit is our guide, but he does not want us to sit "waiting, yielded and still." Of course, there are times for waiting and being still. But we have a responsibility to make moral choices, oppose injustice, speak truthfully, act lovingly, and promote the coming of the kingdom of God as far as that is within our power.

By God's Spirit we are empowered and directed to live the new life. But we must do it. It's not so much a matter of surrender as of obedience. We must take a stand, lift a banner, confess the Name—in short, "keep in step with the Spirit."

Since we are now alive by the Spirit, we live according to a new principle in all departments of life.

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.