June 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

To love Jesus means to obey him: "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching." Love for Christ, like love in marriage, is a very practical thing. It consists not of speeches but of deeds. Or, if speeches are called for, they are tolerable only if they are consistent with actions.

A person who is attached to Christ in this way of love-through-obedi­ence experiences the grace of God ever more richly in her life. She feels a continual trust in God's grace. In fact, God lives in her!

We learn to think of God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We think of God in that way because that's how the Bible reveals the one eternal God. We think of God the Father as the One above us, as the creator and ruler. We think of God the Son as the One who is for us, the mediator. We think of the God the Holy Spirit as the One who is in us.

However, the three are one, because there is only one true God. And although the Bible teaches (usually) that it is the Holy Spirit who comes to live in us when we receive the grace of God, here Jesus says, "We—the Father and I—will make our home with them."

The everlasting God makes his dwelling place in us if we love Jesus Christ. The thought is so rich that it almost scares us.

The almighty God, who once lived in a golden temple so that his peo­ple could come to him, has now chosen to live in my fellow believers and in me. What grace! And what a noble obligation! Now we are the place where people must find God.

This teaching states once and for all the deepest reason why grace must flow through us to others, once we have believed in Jesus.

REFLECTIONS

"The everlasting God makes his dwelling place in us if we love Jesus Christ." Think on that stunning truth and its implications for your life.

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.