January 4 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The theme of the month is spiritual war. Jesus won the battle not by might but by obedience. He is the source of salvation for all who obey him. When we have stood the test, we will share Christ's glory.

Bible Reading:

Matthew 3:16–4:4

Bible Text:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1).

Devotional:

Christians spend much time discussing what the Holy Spirit's anointing enables them to do. With the anointing, some say, they can do things they never did and they can speak languages they never studied.

That may well be true, for God is sovereign and free to give gifts and assignments as he sees fit.

Sometimes we wonder about the Holy Spirit's presence in other people's lives—especially people who are unloving. But nobody can doubt Jesus' anointing. It happened at his baptism. And "then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." The Spirit brings him to the battlefield.

This is the battle for the government of the world. The stakes are "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor." The servant of God will win the battle, not by might but by obedience. The good world was lost by disobedience; it will be regained by obedience. The kingdom of heaven will have come when the Father's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is what the anointing of the Spirit is all about. Certainly the Spirit gives us the power to do unusual things if God wants us to. But ordinarily—and most importantly—we receive the Spirit so we can obey God's will and resist the temptation to do our own.

Only by God's Spirit can we begin to love God above all and others as ourselves.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

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 edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.