June 25
Ira Sankey tells of his visit with D.L. Moody to Sunderland, in northeast England: “One evening at the conclusion of a very earnest gospel address, I was requested to sing a hymn, ‘Come Home, O Prodigal, Come!’ A deep hush prevailed, and just before its conclusion a cry was heard through the building: ‘Oh, father, will you forgive me?’ as a young man rushed from the back down the middle aisle to where his father was seated. Throwing his arms around his neck, and with the deepest emotion, he begged forgiveness for some wrong he had done. The father rose from his seat and said, ‘My boy, I...
Read MoreJune 24
Here are some prayer pointers regarding the gospel: 1. Ask the Lord for help in living a life that suits the gospel and “adorn[s] the doctrine of God” (Phil 1:27; Titus 2:10). 2. Ask the Lord for divinely arranged opportunities to witness (Col 4:3). 3. Ask Him for boldness for yourself and your fellow believers (Acts 4:29; Eph 6:19-20). 4. Pray for opportunities to invite your unbelieving friends to gospel events (Lk 14:23). 5. Intercede for them that the Spirit will give them ears to hear His Word and will open the eyes of their heart (Mt 13:15; 2 Cor 4:4). 6. Ask the Lord for ways to build...
Read MoreJune 23
One treasure for which the heart longs is the security of unchanging love. It is the believer’s certainty that there is nothing that “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:39). George Matheson, in spite of a deteriorating eye condition, graduated from Glasgow University at age nineteen. While in grad school, he completely lost his sight but persevered in learning both Greek and Hebrew with the help of his sisters. But his fiancée, unwilling to face life with a blind husband, returned his engagement ring. In the depths of his...
Read MoreJune 22
One of the reasons that sinful or worldly habits are so expensive is that they shut our mouths as gospel witnesses. King David knew this. In one penitential psalm, he wrote, “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah” (Ps 32:2-4). We need to seek the Lord’s help daily so that our lifestyle always suits the gospel (Phil 1:27). As Leonard Ravenhill...
Read MoreJune 21
“What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mk 8:37). Rowland Hill (1744-1833) had preached to large crowds before. Once, it is recorded, he preached to 20,000 at Calton Hill in Edinburgh. On this occasion, the scene is Moorfields Common and he is preaching when the carriage of Lady Ann Erskine approaches. Every eye is drawn away to the new arrival. But the preacher seizes on the situation. “Let us conduct an auction,” he declares. “The article offered is the soul of Lady Ann Erskine, and there are three bidders! The world offers riches, honors and pleasures; the devil offers all the...
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