April 19 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:

Colossians 2:6–8

Bible Text:

As you received Christ Jesus as Lord, ... live in him, ... strengthened in the faith as you were taught (Col. 2:6-7).

Devotional:

Paul speaks of two kinds of traditions, the right kind and the wrong kind. The right kind is the gospel, in which the Colossian congregation had been instructed. The wrong kind he calls a "deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition" (v. 8).

In the history of Israel and the church, God entrusted his Word to human beings, who handed it down to a chain of others. Whoever receives this body of truth must pass it on without abbreviation or embellishment. This is the sacred tradition.

Paul is conscious of his place within Christian tradition: "What I received I passed on to you" (1 Cor. 10:23; 15:3). The church must also be conscious of this tradition, he said: "You received Christ Jesus as Lord," so be strong "in the faith as you were taught."

Today tradition is a vague term. We use it to describe the cultural legacy we inherited as we grew up. For many of us, the Christian faith is interwoven with our family or cultural tradition. If that is the case, our lifelong task is to separate the chaff from the wheat. This can be a painful process. Rejecting something a God-fearing parent has taught us does not come easy.

Yet all human tradition must be tested against the apostolic teachings of the New Testament.

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.