February 9 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

Elijah's name is his mission: "My God is the LORD." Elijah teaches us the meaning of repentance by the removal of idolatry. Unless we obey the Word, God's blessings don't descend. Instead, the land will experience a terrible drought.

Bible Reading:

1 Kings 18:22–24

Bible Text:

"The god who answers by fire—he is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good" (1 Kings 18:24).

Devotional:

Elijah and Baal's prophets decided to stage a test on Mount Carmel to prove who was the real God. If Baal answered prayer, he would be God. If the God of Elijah sent fire from heaven, he would be worshiped as the true God.

Sometimes I think I would like to see a similarly dramatic test in our day—say, at the next Olympic games, with the whole world watching one stadium and a single flame. I'd like to see something that would convince all skeptics that God is real and that Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth.

But are New Testament believers allowed to call for such a test?

When people doubted Jesus' claims about himself and asked for a miracle, Christ refused. The last sign would be his resurrection, the "sign of Jonah," he said (Matt. 12:38–41).

In the church after Pentecost we don't first see and then believe; we believe and then we see. As a matter of fact, if you pray without believing, you are already insulting God. You are a doubter and you won't get what you ask, says James (1:7-8).

In the end, however, the whole world will receive an extraordinary sign. It will be a show of God's glory that will dazzle the daylight out of unbelievers and that will end our nights of doubt forever.

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.