May 14 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

These readings focus on the Holy Spirit. In the Old Covenant (or Testament), the Spirit "anoints" one person here and one there to perform a special work for God. In the New Covenant, the Spirit is "poured out" like rain on the whole church of Christ.

Bible Reading:

John 7:37–44

Bible Text:

Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:39).

Devotional:

"If anyone is thirsty;" said Jesus, "let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (vv. 37–38).

By "living water" Christ meant the Holy Spirit. The Spirit comes to us through Jesus Christ. And although the Spirit was active on earth long before Jesus appeared in the flesh (for he is God), the Spirit is Jesus' gift for the end times. Now you and I may receive this living water, that is the Spirit, because Jesus has been glorified. He is with his Father in heaven.

We live in a spiritually rich era, between the ascension and the return of the Lord Jesus. Today Christ has authority over the earth, and the powers of heaven are at his disposal. Today we may ask in faith and be filled with his Spirit.

When we pray for the Spirit, we ask Christ first of all to quench our own thirst. More than anything or anyone, we need him. In answer to our prayers, Christ comes to live in us by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit fills our personal void, but he also enables us to help others. For all people are just as thirsty as we are—that's the way God created us. And the only way the vacuum inside us can be filled and our thirst satisfied is when God comes into our lives.

Christ's Spirit within us is the water that ends our thirst. Now we can help others, because we have a river inside.

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.