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November 13 Daily Devotional

Twilight: Jesus Christ Is Lord

the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

Monthly Theme:

Philippians is Paul's love letter. The epistle is also a good instrument for learning the secret of this great man. Paul considered living Christ and dying gain. And, although he wrote from a prison cell, his refrain was "Rejoice in the Lord always."

Bible Reading:

Philippians 2:5–11

Bible Text:

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).

Devotional:

His way of humility and obedience brought Jesus to death on the cross—the most despicable kind of execution in that time and place. The Romans reserved the cross for the scum of society.

From the lowest humiliation, God exalted Jesus to the highest rank. He gave him "the name that is above every name"—which means God's own name. The Almighty God had said in former times, "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isa. 45:23). And here's how that will happen: The whole universe will bend the knee and raise its voice in praise of Jesus. "Jesus Christ is Lord."

Christ is not in competition with the Father. (The so-called Jehovah's Witnesses, who think he is, would do well to urgently study this text, comparing it with the one in Isaiah). When all of creation bows before Jesus, they will do so "to the glory of God the Father." The new world will be restored in Christ, and it is the Father's good pleasure that we should call Jesus "Lord." God sovereignly gives to Jesus what Jesus refused to "grasp" (v. 6) before he walked the way of obedience.

"Jesus is Lord!" All Christians are already living by this reality. We bet our lives on the truth of this confession: Jesus of Nazareth is now the Lord of the world.

Everyone must believe and bow or perish.


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.

 

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