January 13
A helpful guide to the effective use of biblical evidence is the Emmaus Study Course, Ready to Give an Answer by David Reid. He writes: “God asks us to defend and confirm the gospel (Phil 1:17). When the apostle Paul wrote, ‘I am appointed for the defense of the gospel’ (Phil 1:17), he was a prisoner in Rome, where most of the people were hostile to Christianity. God had placed him in that situation to defend and confirm the gospel in pagan Rome. Jude urged Christians to ‘contend earnestly for the faith’ (Jude 3) and Titus was told to refute the arguments of those who opposed his message...
Read MoreJanuary 12
Mel Trotter, who founded 66 rescue missions in key cities across the U.S., wrote: “I didn’t get a very good start in the first place; my job was tending bar in my father’s saloon. Booze got the best of me pretty early in life, and before I was twenty years old I was the common drunkard of our town.” Things went from bad to worse. “God gave us only one baby. When the little fellow was hardly two years old, one day after a ten-day’s drunk, I went to find my wife in our cold, bare home, if you can call it a home, and found our boy dead in his mother’s arms.” Trotter determined to end his life....
Read MoreJanuary 11
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Ps 119:11). My Bible teaches that if a man can bridle his tongue, he can bridle his whole body (see Jas 3:2). That was one of the first lessons I learned in my Christian life… My tongue began to be bridled by my heart, that was bridled by the Lord and His Word. Immediately after my conversion I began learning Bible verses, and I learned one a day for the first three years. In those years I learned my first thousand verses. A preacher said to me when I went to him for help about leading others to Christ, “I’ll tell you...
Read MoreJanuary 10
“Pray for them…” (Mt 5:44). A survey prepared at Fuller Seminary was taken of 750 Muslims from 30 countries who had received the Lord Jesus. Here are the top five reasons that these Muslim considered Christ. 1. A true Christian lifestyle, a consistent testimony, the love Christians showed, plus respectful treatment of women. 2. The power of God in answered prayer, especially influential in countries isolated from other Christian influence. 3. Discontent with Islam, unhappiness with the Qur’an’s emphasis on God’s punishment, and no certainty of entrance into Paradise. 4. The ring of truth in...
Read MoreJanuary 9
“Are you saved, sir?” Harry Ironside asked a man at the close of a gospel meeting. “No, I can’t say I am, but I would like to be.” “Why? Do you realize you are a lost sinner?” “Of course, we’re all sinners.” “But are you a sinner yourself?” “I suppose so, but not what you’d call a bad sinner. I think I’m rather a good one. I always try to do the best.” “Then I fear there is little use showing you the way of salvation. Good sinners, together with honest liars, upright thieves, and virtuous scoundrels are far from ready to submit to God’s grace, which is only for poor, hell-deserving sinners...
Read MoreJanuary 8
Is there a difference between the teaching of Paul and James on whether a person is saved by faith alone or by faith plus works? Paul writes: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Rom 4:2-3). James says: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (Jas 2:21-22). Note the chronology of the events in...
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