March 7 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Nobody can be a soldier—let alone an officer—without training. And an army without discipline does not have a ghost of a chance. Training and discipline are essential to the survival of the church of Christ.

Yet not all that many church members today are interested in training and discipline.

When we think of training, we generally think of children and young people. Certainly we should start when we are young. However, far too many people not only start but also quit while they are still young. As a result, the church becomes childish.

Fighting the devil takes a man or woman of God.

In industry, job training continues until retirement. Otherwise the business suffers from inefficiency. The requirements in the school of God are no lighter. Training must begin when we are babies, and it must con­tinue until we are called home.

When we think of discipline, we should remember that in an army every soldier must know and obey orders without ifs or buts. It is time that we do the same in the spiritual army, or we'll lose the battle. We must clearly know and simply obey the orders of our Lord. And we must stop having those "interesting" religious debates. We must end those interminable sessions in which we discuss our problems. We are at war!

The authority of Christ's orders is beyond dispute. But too many of Christ's followers don't even know what the orders of our Commander are. And as soon as these orders are clearly spelled out, they come with their ifs and buts.

If we do not put on the "full armor of God," that is, the spiritual weap­ons and protection God supplies, we cannot possibly stand in the "day of evil" (v. 13). And that day is right now.

REFLECTIONS

What kind of spiritual training are you receiving? Would you describe yourself as a disciplined man or woman of God?

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.