July 21 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

By God’s Word and Spirit the world was made, and he uses the same tools to rebuild the creaking cosmos. God does not save some souls from the wreckage of the planet; instead, the whole groaning creation must be delivered from bondage by the love and power of God.

Bible Reading:

Deuteronomy 30:11–20

Bible Text:

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction (Deut. 30:15).

Devotional:

For Moses and for Paul, the ultimate issues are the blessing and the curse. Moses calls the blessing "life and prosperity." It's the peace of the promised land. The curse he calls "death and destruction." It's the rejection of God.

In the "twilight zone" of the present world, all of us get a taste of the blessing and the curse. Sooner or later we all experience sin, death, ugliness, disease, terror, and despair. We cannot live in this world without tasting the grapes of wrath and the bitterness of remorse. But we also experience friendship, love, sunshine, laughter, beauty, goodness, and purity. The rainbow of mercy adorns the threatening cloud of destruction.

The significance of life is that, here and now, all of us make a decision about our ultimate blessing or doom. Of course, it's impossible for us to avoid the curse and obtain the blessing by sheer force of will. In the Promised Land no one will be rubbing hands in self-congratulation. But everyone will praise Christ, who snatched us from the fire.

Yet the fact remains that Moses and Paul, the Old Testament and the New Testament, set before us life and prosperity, death and destruction. And we must choose with our whole lives. In Christ is the blessing; outside of Christ, the curse. Let's choose for Christ and abide in 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.