This perpetual calendar includes:
- Remarkable testimonies of souls won to the Savior
- Explanations of gospel concepts
- Answers to frequently-asked questions
- Stories of real-life witnessing opportunities
- Encouragements and tips for sharing the glorious gospel
May 5
How do we know that Jesus rose from the dead? The Lord would not leave us in any doubt. “He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days” (Acts 1:3). Writing circa 56 ad, Paul lists some of the witnesses who saw the risen Christ (and that doesn’t include the meetings with women, their testimony not being valid in a first century court of law), including the statement that over 500 saw Him all at once. Who would deny the corroborating testimony of so many? And many of the witnesses would seal their testimony in their own blood! Not to mention the author himself, who was the most unlikely of witnesses, on the way to Damascus to incarcerate some who dared claim Jesus to be the resurrected Son of God. Peter adds: “We did not follow cunningly devised fables” (2 Pet 1:16). There is no other valid explanation. Otherwise why did the Jews or the Romans not present His closely guarded body? He is risen indeed!
Today’s Reading: Ezra 5-7 Memorize: Malachi 3:17May 4
No one can calculate the suffering and death that swept through Angola during its 27-year civil war, as forces from around the world battled for control of that country’s natural resources. It is estimated that 1.5 million died, many of them believers. Church elders were systematically killed to destabilize the communities. One missionary who returned to his field of labor after the slaughter could find only one surviving elder from hundreds of local churches. The youngest of seven elders, he had been kept last to be executed in hopes that he would recant. But when the sixth elder dropped at his feet, he began to sing: “Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause, or to defend His name?” (I. Watts). He was spared death for his remarkable courage. Remember this story the next time you shrink back from witnessing, for fear you might be—what? Refused? Ridiculed? “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Tim 1:8).
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 36; Ezra 1-4 Memorize: Zechariah 9:9May 3
George Goodman writes: An appeal should only be made when the Spirit has evidently been convicting the hearers, and then in such sober and wise terms as will leave no doubt as to the step to be taken. We are not without precedent in Scripture. Perhaps the appeal par excellence is, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). The instruction given by Peter at Pentecost is another excellent example. “With many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation’” (Acts 2:40), an appeal seldom heard in the present day. The instruction given to the jailor at Philippi is in the nature both of instruction and appeal. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). Let our appeals be intelligent and clear, leaving no question in the hearers as to the step to be taken and to what purpose. — The Gospel We Preach, pp 33-34
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 33-35 Memorize: Zechariah 1:3May 2
H.A. Ironside tells of addressing a “Mission to Israel” in San Francisco in 1898. At the end, an elderly Jew said: “This is Passover week among you, my Jewish brethren; and I was thinking how you will be observing it. You will attend the synagogue services, and carry out the directions of the Talmud; but you forget that you have everything but that which Jehovah required first of all. He did not say, ‘When I see the leaven put away, or when I see you eat the motsah, or the lamb, or go to the synagogue;’ but, ‘When I see the blood I will pass over you.’ You can substitute nothing for this. You must have blood, blood, BLOOD!” He told how he was born in Palestine, studied with the rabbis, but grew increasingly unhappy because he saw no blood for his atonement. At last, on a narrow back street in Istanbul, he heard a man cry out, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). “Ah, my brethren,” he said, “I have found the blood of atonement at last.”
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 30-32 Memorize: Haggai 1:7May 1
One of the most important lessons in the book of Acts is this: there’s room for everyone on the team. Not all could preach like Peter, but Peter first had to be brought to Jesus, and was, by his otherwise retiring brother, Andrew. Matthew arranged a dinner for the local tax office and invited Someone Else to share the gospel with his guests. Dorcas did good works in the community, and won friends for the gospel. The man born blind couldn’t argue with his detractors, but he could say, “I was blind; now I see.” The demoniac was sent back into his hometown to “tell what great things God has done for you” (Lk 8:39). A friend told me she believed her neighbors respected her; she wanted to witness to them but didn’t know where to start. I suggested asking them what she could pray for. A few days later, she called me. Neighbors were pouring their hearts out at her kitchen table. They didn’t know anyone else who would pray for them, or who cared enough to ask. — J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 27-29 Memorize: Zephaniah 3:17April 30
How can you believe a Bible that is full of contradictions? Josh McDowell writes: “Certain passages at first glance appear to be contradictory, but further investigation will show that this is not the case.” McDowell points out that different descriptions may be complementary, not contradictory (see one or two blind men, Mt 9:27; Mk 10:46). Also there are translation issues: did the men at Saul’s conversion hear the voice from heaven or not? (Acts 9:7, genitive; 22:9, accusative). They heard the sound, but couldn’t distinguish the words. McDowell concludes: “Some difficulties in Scripture result from our inadequate knowledge about the circumstances, and do not necessarily involve an error…As historical and archaeological study proceed, new light is being shed on difficult portions of Scripture and many “errors” have disappeared with the new understanding.” “So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word” (Ps 119:42).
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 24-26 Memorize: Habakkuk 3:17-18April 29
“Because there is wrath, beware lest he take you away with one blow: then a great ransom cannot deliver you” (Job 36:18). Harry Ironside tells the story of meeting “a very refined and elegant lady on a steamer, who asked indignantly, ‘You don’t mean to say I have to go to heaven like the dying thief, do you?’ ‘No, madam,’ I replied, ‘you do not have to. If you reject Christ, you will have to go to hell with the other.’ And so we would remind the reader: The saved thief believed on the Son of God, and is with Christ now. The lost thief scorned a Savior, and is in the depths of woe. You must be with one or the other for eternity. On another occasion a young man said, after hearing the gospel, ‘Of course, I intend to be saved some time; but there is no use being in a hurry about it. There is always a chance, even at the eleventh hour. Remember the dying thief!’ ‘Which thief?’ pointedly asked his questioner. One was saved that none may despair; but only one, that none may presume.”
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 21-23 Memorize: Habakkuk 1:13