May 14 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

We are living in the last days. In Scripture the entire period of time between the ascension of the Lord and his return in glory is called the last days.

The Bible teaches that this period of time is marked by two features: the people of God will be more richly blessed than ever before, and they will be more severely oppressed than ever before.

The sum of all God's blessings is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the Old Testament promise for the "last" days, which has now been fulfilled.

When God says that in the last days he pours out the Spirit on all people, the word all must not be understood in an absolute sense. When speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus himself said that "the world" cannot receive him (John 14:17). All means that the Spirit comes not to the select few, as in the former days, but descends on Jews and Gentiles, men and women, girls and boys.

Since God is now not only above us but also for us and even in us, we live in closer communion with the everlasting God than anyone in former days. If we are spiritually poor today, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. The heavens have been opened and our Savior has gone in. The gates have opened and the Spirit has come down. Now we live under an open heaven. The Spirit's comfort is here, and only our blindness can make us miss it. If we lack the power of the Spirit, it is because of our unbelief. We are now surrounded by God. Every day of our lives we stand in the sunshine of the grace of Jesus Christ, the warmth of the love of God, and the fruitful fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

We must now enter into the full wealth of these last days. Ask for all of it, and it will be given you. Today every ordinary Christian can have the power of God.

REFLECTIONS

To what extent do you sense that "we are now surrounded by God"? Ask God today for the full power and comfort that only the Spirit can provide.

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.