May 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...
Read MoreMay 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....
Read MoreMay 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...
Read MoreApril 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...
Read MoreApril 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...
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