January 20 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:

James 1:1–8, 12

Bible Text:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because ... he will receive the crown of life (Jas 1:12).

Devotional:

Good parents give their children opportunities to show what they can do. These opportunities are like "tryouts." First we take our children by the hand when crossing a street; we tie their shoes and clean their rooms. Then they must do it by themselves. Our children are successful and growing when they can pass these little and bigger tests. Parents raise children to be independent.

Some schools have eliminated tests out of sympathy for learners' fear of failure. Such schools tend to produce incompetents. Progress is made only when certain standards are met. When no tests are administered, we have no way of measuring progress.

We spend all of our lives in God's school. He is a caring Father and a wise Teacher. He teaches us to apply our knowledge in all circumstances. And we may ask him for wisdom as needed.

He gives us little tests to see if we can control our tempers, restrain our desires, tame our tongues. He may give us bigger tests to see if we can clean up our imagination and acknowledge him in our planning. He will test us to see if we can trust him in adversity and praise him in prosperity.

And finally, when the last tryout is over—when we can love without reservation and trust without doubt—he will graduate us to higher service.

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.