June 11 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 2:7–8

Bible Text:

"A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall" (I Pet. 2:8; Isa. 8:14).

Devotional:

In the parable of the stone, the builders rejected it but God chose it as the stone on which the temple would rest. This story was fulfilled by the Jewish leaders. They said, "Jesus is no good; away with him." But God said, "He is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." And God raised him to rebuild the temple.

Even today the Son of God gathers his own out of the world. As living stones, they are added to the spiritual temple in which God Almighty dwells.

However, God did not only decree that Jesus be the capstone of the new temple. God also determined that Christ would be the stone that would make the unbelieving stumble—the "rock that makes them fall."

Humanity's basic religious decision concerns Jesus Christ. All of us will be judged by what we do with Jesus. Sometimes that seems unfair to us. We know people who appear to be fine citizens whose only fault is that they don't care about Jesus. But we must restrain ourselves from ever saying "Unfair!" to God. Nor should we judge others. That's God's prerogative.

It has pleased God to give us all of himself in Jesus. God shows glimpses of himself in mountains and music, babies and dewdrops. But in Jesus God gives his heart. And it is our responsibility to show Jesus to the world.

Therefore be careful about what you do with Jesus. For Christ is either cornerstone or stumbling block.

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.