August 16 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Now the new covenant has come, according to the promise of God quoted here from Jeremiah 31:31-34. At that time God said he would bring about a big change in the attitude of his people. Forever and always they had been disobedient and stubborn. But, said God, there will be a new covenant, and then they will do my will not merely because they are told but from an inner conviction: "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts."

The secret of this big change is the coming of the Holy Spirit. In the new covenant, the Spirit of Christ lives in the hearts and minds of God's people.

But how can the Holy Spirit live in sinful people?

That is possible because God has first cleansed his people: "I will remember their sins no more." The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is made for the complete forgiveness of all their sins. And all who are cleansed by the blood have the Spirit living in them. The people of the new covenant are forgiven and renewed.

So what is new about the new covenant? And what is the last word for the last days? It is this: complete forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Forgiven and renewed! By faith we must take hold of the full wealth of the new covenant. All of the Bible is about covenant living, because all of life is a matter of learning to live with God. And there is progress in the Bible. We are moving toward the day when all our troubles will be over, when there will be unbroken unity between God and us. Already we have come a long way as compared with the old covenant. We don't depend on daily sacrifices and the work of many priests. The one sacrifice of our only Priest is enough forever.

And God's will is no longer a "strange" command to us; it is a law God has written in our hearts.

REFLECTIONS

You are forgiven and renewed. That's the bottom line of the new covenant. Reflect on the richness of this teaching—and give thanks.

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.