August 7 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

God has now spoken his last word for the last days. There is nothing more important than that we hear and obey that word. In Old Testament days, many of those who heard his Word were lost nevertheless. That must be a warning to us: "See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God" (v. 12).

Since our path is dangerous and sin is deceitful, Christians must live in a fellowship that exercises a watchful care over its members. Within this fellowship, Christians should "encourage one another daily." We need daily stimulation to faith and good works. We need it ourselves, and we owe it to each other as a daily payment of love.

This is the biblical norm for the life of Christian churches. We hardly ever realize how far we have departed from this norm and how much we have adapted ourselves to the demands of modern ways of living. Instead of "encouraging one another daily," countless church members take one hour a week to sit in a big building in order to be "encouraged" by a preacher at a distance. Then they are "busy" until next Sunday.

Avoidance of Christian fellowship shows that we are not aware of the seriousness of God's last word, nor of the reality of sin's deceit.

The Bible says, "Encourage one another daily, as long is it is called ''Today.'" Today is the time of God's grace—the period during which God speaks in Jesus Christ. As for our personal lives, it's obvious that "today" cannot exceed our lifetime. But the writer has another crisis than our death in mind when he says that "today" is right now: "that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hardening begins with a reduced sensitivity of conscience and ends with a total inability to hear and do God's Word.

We must stand firm, and we must stand together. Faith must be warmed by fellowship. Otherwise the devil takes his toll.

REFLECTIONS

How does the "fellowship of the saints" encourage you in your faith? Give thanks for people who stimulate you to faith and good words.

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.