April 9 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of a new life for all believers. It's also the pledge of our resurrection (1 Cor. 15). The study of Colossians is part of this month's meditations on the meaning of the resurrection.

Bible Reading:

1 Corinthians 16: 1–4

Bible Text:

Now about the collection for God's people: ... On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money (1 Cor. 16:1).

Devotional:

Readers of this letter to the Corinthians may feel as if they go from the sun room to the cellar when they move from chapter 15 to chapter 16. In chapter 15 the writer dwells on the most exalted topic, the resurrection of the body and the death of death itself. In chapter 16 he talks about money.

In chapter 15 Paul sings about death being swallowed up in victory—a victory that began on Easter morning. And in the next section, which we now call chapter 16, he says that on the first day of the week, the day of Christ's victory, we should bring money to church.

I know preachers who love to proclaim the resurrection but never preach about money. They are like marriage partners who do fine when they talk about love but quarrel when they discuss ordinary things like preparing dinner and putting out the garbage.

The collection, or offering, belongs to the Christian celebration of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we claim to celebrate what God has done in Jesus Christ but refuse to give away money, we aren't really very happy with Jesus. The proof of our gratitude is in our gifts.

It has been rightly said that we must offer to God not merely what we have but what we are—our hearts. But money is very close to most people's hearts. And those who give money to God's cause are close to giving their hearts to Jesus.

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.