July 20 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

By God’s Word and Spirit the world was made, and he uses the same tools to rebuild the creaking cosmos. God does not save some souls from the wreckage of the planet; instead, the whole groaning creation must be delivered from bondage by the love and power of God.

Bible Reading:

Galatians 3:6–14

Bible Text:

Christ redeemed us from the curse ... in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Genittiles (Gal. 3:13–14).

Devotional:

A sinful world is a world under God's curse. By making a covenant with creation, God spared the sinful world and allowed it to continue. The rainbow still reminds God not to punish people according to their sins.

Then, after sparing the world, God chose Abraham out of the whole human race and blessed him.

We tend to use the word blessing thoughtlessly. Whenever we pray—if we pray at all—we ask for a "blessing" on our food and drink, work and play, parents and children, plans and parties, even the cat and dog.

What do we mean by blessing?

A blessing stems from a favorable relationship with God. People are blessed when goodness and prosperity flow to them from God. When God gives a blessing, we experience life. When we are under the curse of sin, we wither and die.

Sin cuts our relationship with God. Sin brings a curse.

Although we still find God and his blessings in sunshine, rain, and life itself, the darkness of death remained on the non-Jewish world for two thousand years after God called Abraham. Then Jesus came. He gathered up all the darkness of sin's curse and carried it to the cross.

Now all of us must be gathered in Christ. There—only there—will the families of the earth find the "blessing given to Abraham."

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.