May 27 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:

Romans 8: 1–4

Bible Text:

... that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who [live] according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4).

Devotional:

The work of Jesus brought us two huge benefits. First, by his death he blotted out our sin, so that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (v. 1).

Second, by giving us the Spirit he enabled us to do good. The Spirit sets us free to obey God's will. What was never possible is now do-able.

Thus, we should teach and believe that Jesus died for our sins to set us free from God's judgment. But we should also teach and believe that God sent his Son to die "in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

In some Christian circles people underestimate the power of sin. They think we can be holy if we make up our minds to be so, and some even claim to have reached perfection. That is an error. But other Christian groups are so impressed by the power of sin that they believe no one, not even Christians, can do any good. That too is an error.

We must not underestimate the power of evil, but we must think even more highly of the power of the Spirit. For although we cannot be perfect, we can do good. The law cannot make us do good. But the Spirit helps us fulfill "the righteous requirement of the law." And this requirement is to love God above all and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

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.