June 9 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

Peter's first epistle is addressed to "strangers in the world," who have their homeland in heaven. They are not surprised that they suffer when they do what is right. They follow the footprints of Jesus.

Bible Reading:

1 Peter 2:1–3

Bible Text:

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk. so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Pet. 2:2).

Devotional:

The new birth is not the end but the beginning. Groups and churches that expect you to tell how and when you were born again are boring to God. God and your neighbors don't want to hear about when you were born. But they do want to see evidence that you are alive!

The best evidence of new life is a desire for spiritual milk, which helps us grow up into salvation. Salvation in this context is full spiritual development, which is God's goal for us.

A Christian who does not desire spiritual food is as unhealthy as a baby who does not crave milk. When a baby doesn't want to eat, parents worry. "There must be something wrong," they say. They coax the child, they change the formula, and if the baby still does not respond, they rush to the doctor.

Healthy Christians are thankful for Sundays and other opportunities to eat and grow spiritually. We worry about Christians who give no evidence of spiritual hunger. Maybe we should coax them to eat or rush them to a doctor. There must be something wrong!

Anyone who has "tasted that the Lord is good" wants more. The best sign of spiritual health is not that we have much but that we crave more.

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.