July 26 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:

Romans 14:1–8

Bible Text:

Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls (Rom. 14:4).

Devotional:

God has created and redeemed us. We are now free to live to God's glory and to enjoy all that he gives. Everything is kosher clean, fit to be used by God's children.

We must not schoolmaster each other, robbing fellow Christians of the freedom they have in Christ. Yet we must all remember three things.

First, sin is sin. Theft, greed, hatred, and adultery are never, ever right. That's beyond discussion.

Second, no one is another Christian's judge—nor do we judge ourselves. God judges each of us. We don't fear God's judgment when we are in Christ. But we must always live in a way that pleases our Lord.

Third, personal freedom is tempered by love and responsibility for fellow Christians. We may never let our actions become harmful to others, for we are always obliged to help others.

To live a life of responsible freedom we need both the light of God's Word and the fellowship of other Christians—even though some Christians are not so easy to get along with.

In all things, God's will is our law and he is our only Judge. We must respect Christian freedom. But, ultimately, love is more important than our "rights."

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.