June 25 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

When God says to a wicked person, "You will surely die," but God's prophet fails to pass that warning along to him or her, the prophet will be guilty. "Those wicked people will die for their sins, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." This is what God said in Ezekiel 3:18-21.

God loves sinners so much that he wants them to be converted. He does not want sinners to die.

Some ugly rumors say that God kills people by throwing them into hell. But the biblical truth is that people themselves are hell-bent and self-destructive. And God will do anything to prevent people from kill­ing themselves. He even went so far as to send his own Son to his death in order to save those who hate God! Moreover, God has warned his people, his church, and their pastors that he will punish them if they don't get his message out to all runaway sheep.

The Christian church is not sufficiently aware of its responsibility. It does not remind itself often enough that God requires the blood of those who perish from those who fail to speak. New Testament messengers may not forget this Old Testament warning. Paul did not forget it.

"I am innocent of the blood of everyone," said Paul, "for I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." By the "whole will of God," he means all of God's revelation. He has not watered down the truth, and he has not been one-sided. When we present half-truths, we aren't doing God any honor, and we aren't doing people a favor.

If you have a remedy against cancer while cancer patients are dying all around you, you are guilty of murder because you didn't help. It's no excuse to say that you were always kind to the dying. You did not show the one kindness that was really important. You withheld what could have saved them.

It is difficult and embarrassing to warn people of dangers they don't see. But it must be done. Those who despise the Son of God's love will perish.

REFLECTIONS

Review how your congregation attempts to reach out to nonbelievers in the community. Pray earnestly and regularly for God's blessing on these outreach efforts.

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.