January 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

God establishes his kingdom with vengeance and salvation. These two sides of God's mighty work always go together. It is the business of the church to preach the good news, the gospel of salvation. But it is unfair not to warn of judgment. Even if we have little understanding of the nature of God's final punishment, we know that it's coming. Many of us are slow to speak of salvation in Christ because we aren't quite convinced of damnation outside of Christ.

There is no book in the Old Testament that speaks in more jubilant tones about God's salvation than the book of Isaiah. In this book are immortal words of comfort. Isaiah contains descriptions of the love of God that sound as if they were written after God's love was revealed in Jesus. Yet this book ends with a sob. It ends with a picture of the damned.

Of course, anyone who relishes these pictures should be rebuked. We have all heard of "fire and brimstone" preachers who have abused the power of these pictures to pummel the public. But we should not have to excuse ourselves for bringing up the subject of eternal punishment. In heaven there is sorrow over unbelief and joy when a sinner repents. God's people on earth should reflect both the joy and the sorrow. If our sorrow is not very profound, the joy cannot be very deep either.

At least thirty times, Isaiah calls God "the Holy One of Israel." Even though we, by the blood and Spirit of Jesus, might know the same God in more tender and personal ways, he remains God—the Holy One. God cannot tolerate sin, and he must come with vengeance and salvation. Either our sins are punished in Jesus Christ, or we have to bear the punishment ourselves.

O God, be merciful to us and to our neighbors.

Reflections

Thoughtfully pray aloud the prayer found in the last line of the reading for a minute or so.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

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 updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.