December 3 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Luke 7:11-17:

¹¹And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
¹²Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
¹³And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
¹⁴And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
¹⁵And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
¹⁶And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
¹⁷And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about.

Devotional

The widow of Nain, weighted with sorrow, passes through the gate of the city. Others are bearing after her the bier of her only son. Many of the people of the city have come. But approaching the gate of the city is another company. About to enter the city are the disciples of Jesus and a great multitude—and the Lord of life Himself.

Weep no more, widow of Nain! The compassionate Redeemer has come. He knows your grief. He is moved by your sorrow. Hear His words: "Weep not." Yes, cease to weep, widow of Nain, for these are not lifeless words. These are words of love, the words of your Lord and your God. Your divine Sovereign commands you to weep no more. See how He touches the bier. See how the bearers stand still. Hear Him as He speaks even to the dead—to your son—"Young man, I say unto thee, Arise." See your son—yes, your son for whom you have been weeping—begin to move. Hear him begin to speak.

Let none of the children of God today think that their Lord does not know all about their sorrows. Let no one think that His love and compassion are not the same today as they were when He met the procession of death at the city of Nain. And let all His people be confident that He has conquered death for all of His own, that He is the firstfruits of them that slept and the firstborn from the dead. Let them be assured that their "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain...." Yes, through His love and power, the day is coming when they will weep no more.

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For January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, we are planning to post Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a full-year daily devotional, with each month devoted to a particular theme (January—Your Kingdom Come, February—Living with God, March—Sharing the Suffering of Christ, etc.).

So that we can begin the Kuyvenhoven postings on January 1, we are re-posting until then devotional selections from Think on These Things, a daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)