September 26 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

In September we read Paul's letter to Titus and his very last letter, called 2 Timothy. Paul's concern is that the true gospel be preserved and proclaimed by a faithful church.

Bible Reading:

2 Timothy 4:1–2

Bible Text:

I give you this charge: Preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:1–2).

Devotional:

At this point Paul's appeal to the young preacher reaches its climax. "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, ... preach the Word." This exhortation to keep the faith and to continue spreading the gospel has now become a moving charge from a dying father.

Here we see the level on which the apostle wants all of us to live when we are engaged by work and prayer in the spread of the gospel. Our activity takes place before the face of God Almighty. And time is progressing toward the day when the Judge and the kingdom will be revealed. Only then, on that day, we will see the real fruit of our work and the answer to our prayers.

There's no stronger incentive to faithfulness than the awareness that God sees us. And there is no greater sense of urgency than the knowledge of the approaching judgment. Christ, who is the content of the Word, will be revealed. He will judge everyone.

"By these truths—the judgment, the appearance, and the kingdom—I adjure you, preach the Word!"

The whole church should be thinking and living on this level of awareness. Then we would not stop to consider whether or not our responsibilities were convenient—we would be "prepared in season and out of season." Our whole lives would be centered around the Word.

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.