October 6
William Williams, in his fascinating account of pioneer work in Venezuela, called It Can Be Done, tells how it was done, how a handful of missionaries, in a country one sixth the size of the U.S., carried the gospel to every city, town, and village in one generation. Facing strong opposition from the priests, long horseback rides over treacherous mountain paths, carrying loads of Bibles, books, and tracts so heavy that they often had to walk leading their mounts, with poor food and accommodations, unhealthy conditions and disease, they just kept at it, sowing the seed of God’s Word until it...
Read MoreOctober 5
What are the most positive and most negative sentences in the NT? The first reads, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every (lit. all) good work” (2 Cor 9:8). In the Greek, the root word for “all” occurs five times in this one sentence. The most negative verse is Hebrews 13:5, “He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Erich Sauer writes: “This sentence contains a five-fold negation, as if the text should read: ‘Not will I fail thee! Nevermore! No! Never and by no means will I forsake...
Read MoreOctober 4
I was standing with some Christians in a small antiquities shop hard by the ancient pool of Siloam. The clerk, a Muslim, had been spoken to about the Lord Jesus, and in defense had launched into his own “personal testimony” of his conversion to Islam, a borrowed rendition from previous Christians who had witnessed to him. “Come, come,” I said. “You were born a Muslim, weren’t you? You had no choice in the matter.” He smiled his confession, having been found out. As we continued our discussion, my son stood listening. When there was a lull in the conversation, he thanked the clerk for the...
Read MoreOctober 3
How do you respond to someone who says: “I’d like to be a Christian but I don’t think I can live that kind of life”? Robert J. Little responds, “Christians are not expected to live the Christian life in their own strength. No one could do this. Part of the experience of conversion to Christ is being born again by the power of the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:12-13). Also the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes to live within each believer (Eph 1:13; Rom 8:9). The indwelling Spirit gives believers the resources to live for God. The believer is renewed day by day as we read God’s Word and seek His...
Read MoreOctober 2
D.L. Moody paid nine visits to the Civil War battlefront. One evening past midnight, he was called to visit a dying soldier. “He said, ‘I wish you to help me to die.’ ‘I would help you if I could,’ replied Moody. ‘I would take you on my shoulders and carry you into the kingdom if I could, but I can’t. But I can tell you of One who can.’ And I told him of Christ being willing to save him; how He left heaven and came into the world to seek and save the lost. I quoted promise after promise, but all was dark. It seemed the shades of eternal death were gathering round his soul. At last I thought...
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