Daily Devotionals

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

Devotional: November 10th

“Maintain the spiritual glow.” (HYPERLINK "javascript:" Moffatt)

One of the laws that operates in the physical realm is that things tend to lose momentum or unwind or burn out. That is not a scientific statement of the law, but it gives the general idea.

We are told, for instance, that the sun is burning at a furious rate, and that although it can continue for a long time, its time-span is declining.

Bodies age, die and return to dust. A pendulum set in motion by hand slows down and then stops. We wind a clock or watch and soon it needs to be rewound. Hot water cools off to room temperature. Metals tarnish and grow dim. Colors fade. Nothing lasts indefinitely and there is no perpetual motion. Change and decay affect everything.

The world itself grows old. Speaking of the heavens and the earth, the Scripture says, “They shall perish; but thou (God’s Son) remainest: and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed”.

Unfortunately there seems to be a similar principle in the spiritual realm. It is true of individuals, churches, movements and institutions.

Even if a person begins the Christian life brilliantly, there is always the danger of zeal abating, of power subsiding and of vision ebbing. We grow weary, complacent, cold and old.

The same is true of churches. Many have started on the crest of a great movement of the Holy Spirit. The fire continues to burn brightly for years. Then decline sets in. The church leaves its first love. The honeymoon is over. Evangelistic fervor gives way to routine services. Doctrinal purity may be sacrificed for a worthless unity. At last an empty building is a silent witness that the glory has departed.

Movements and institutions are subject to decay. They may start off as mighty evangelistic outreaches, then become so engrossed in social work that the Gospel is largely neglected. Or they may begin with the enthusiasm and spontaneity of the Spirit, then lapse into cold ritual and formality. We need to guard against spiritual decline. We need to experience what Norman Grubb calls continuous revival. We need to “maintain the spiritual glow.”