July 4
My friend John Bjorlie was arrested while preaching from a public sidewalk to some college students at a campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The trial took all day. When the judge came to his summation, he told the packed courtroom that he had found this an unusual trial. It made him take down his Bible at the lunch break, which, he confessed, he had not read in a while. He looked to see where “St. Paul preached” and since he always preaching in public places, “by an Authority higher than this court, I say you’re free to carry on doing what you’re doing.” Some time later, John met the judge...
Read MoreJuly 3
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ…that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Col 4:2-4). Sometimes we shrink from witnessing because we’re afraid of looking stupid; we fear we might not have all the answers. It’s good to look for helpful answers that thinking people ask. But it is also amazing to see how the Holy Spirit helps in providing answers just when we need them. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps...
Read MoreJuly 2
In Good News is for Sharing, Leighton Ford recounts: “I was speaking at an open-air crusade in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Billy Graham was to speak the next night and had arrived a day early. He came incognito and sat on the grass at the rear of the crowd. Because he was wearing a hat and dark glasses, no one recognized him. Directly in front of him sat an elderly gentleman who seemed to be listening intently…When I invited people to come forward as an open sign of commitment, Billy decided to do a little personal evangelism. He tapped the man on the shoulder and asked, ‘Would you like to accept...
Read MoreJuly 1
“The scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge” (Prov 1:22). “The new rebel,” writes G.K. Chesterton, “is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust anything…the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it…The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he…goes on to a...
Read MoreJune 30
“God has spoken once, twice…” (Ps 62:11). Scottish physician W.P. Mackay remembered seeing his mother in agonizing prayer over his salvation. But it did not move him, and he grew increasingly godless. Years later, he treated a badly injured laborer. The man asked that his landlady be called, and to bring him “the Book.” Mackay was deeply impressed with the “happy expression constantly on his face.” After his death, a nurse asked, “What shall we do with this?” holding up the man’s Bible. Mackay wrote: “I took the Bible and—could I trust my eyes? It was my own Bible! The Bible which my mother...
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