May 19 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Pentecost means that God the Holy Spirit came to dwell in his people. From that day on, the God of Israel and the Father of Jesus no longer lives in a locality defined by a tent or by walls but in the congregation of Jesus Christ. The people of God form the temple of God.

We must be deeply aware of this truth. And we must always fight the tendency to make church buildings more and more heavenly at the cost of church people, who become more and more worldly. God resides in his people. We are God's temple.

The Old Testament already said that when God comes to his temple, he will be like "a refiner's fire and launderer's soap." And "who can endure the day of his coming?" (Malachi 3).

That's why God's coming to his people, as described in Acts, shows not only his power to heal but also the terror of his judgment. Not only do we see the lame man leap (Acts 3), we also see liars fall dead. When the Holy One has moved in, whatever is unholy must be burned out.

The church has always wanted God to reveal his presence among us in the same way he revealed it in the early days. We do not quite know what we are asking. We long for that miraculous, almost delirious power. We tend to forget that when God reveals his might, he does so for the glory of his name. We forget that God's might brings judgment and salvation. That's a rule without any exceptions.

It was not really such a big sin, the lie of Ananias and Sapphira. It was certainly not "blasphemy against the Spirit" (Matt. 12:31). They lied because they were concerned about their own name. They stole from the glory of God. A small sin by our standards. But when we live on holy ground, every sin must be burned away. Nothing unholy may enter the temple of the Lord. We cannot take salvation seriously if we do not take sin seriously.

REFLECTIONS

When, if ever, have you felt something of "the fear of the Lord"?

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.