May 25 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:

Ephesians 4:29–32

Bible Text:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).

Devotional:

Christianity is not a religion of do's and don'ts. The heart of our faith is our acceptance of the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, as Christians we had better be clear about what to do and what not to do.

Here is a don't: Don't grieve the Holy Spirit.

We can grieve only those with whom we have a love relationship. You can hurt your parents, spouse, children, and friends. Your daughter can make you happier than any girl in the world, but she can also cause you more grief than any other girl. That's because you love her and she loves you. You have power over each other's hearts.

The Holy Spirit is closer to us than a spouse or a child or a parent. Therefore we can grieve him. We can bring sorrow to the heart of God because we have a love relationship with him.

We grieve the Spirit when we refuse to walk in the way God has shown. Sinning is much more than breaking a rule in the book. It's grieving the Spirit and hurting our heavenly Father.

The Spirit has come to mark us as God's own. That's the meaning of "to seal." By the Spirit God guides and protects us for the great future, for "the day of redemption." God cares more about our salvation than we do ourselves. That's why he came to us and stays with us until we are with him.

Now we must not grieve him but please him.

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.