May 11
“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake” (1 Thess 1:5). What kind of men largely influenced what kind of results came from their gospel efforts—at least Paul thought so. In his seminal book, “Forward Movements of the Last Half Century,” A.T. Pierson writes: “All real advance finds its starting-point, as also its goal, in more conformity to God. Character lies back of conduct; what we are ultimately shapes what we do. Hence the stress of the whole word of God...
Read MoreMay 10
I noticed her in the crowd; she looked to me like royalty. When I asked her to tell me her story, she said her father was a drunk and her mother slept to escape. No one cooked or cleaned or cared for the little girl. “One day, a beautiful lady met me on the street and asked, ‘Would you like to come to a place every week where you’ll be loved?’ She started attending her Sunday School class. The first week the teacher noticed she had no Bible, so arranged to take her for one the next day. “She could have just bought me one, but she made an event out of it—took me to a restaurant and bought be...
Read MoreMay 9
Sanctification comes from the same root meaning as holiness. In its primary sense, it means to be different, then to be set apart, then to be wholly for God, and finally that process by which those who have been declared right shall be made right. “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ” (Heb. 10:10). “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb 13:12-13). There is positional sanctification (Heb 10:14),...
Read MoreMay 8
The Reason Why, a gospel booklet written in 1913 by Robert Laidlaw, a New Zealand businessman, 50 years later had reached a worldwide circulation of 16 million copies in 30 languages. Thousands of letters poured into his office from around the world, letters like: “Have read your booklet. Your booklet has given me rebirth. As a result of the war I lost my left arm and my right hand is crippled. Am a refugee from the East and have no parents or relatives so my only hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ my Savior. —E.K.” Or this: “I have been reading The Reason Why which has been lent to me, and...
Read MoreMay 7
To a large degree, the gospel will only grip others’ hearts to the measure in which it has gripped our own. Robert Robinson was living a wicked life in London when he and some friends decided to hear George Whitefield preach. That evening he took his text from Matthew 3:7, “When He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to His baptism, He said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’” Bursting into tears, Whitefield cried, “Oh, my hearers! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!” For three long years, those words haunted Robinson until at last he...
Read MoreMay 6
Mormonism (Latter-Day Saints) was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, and now claims more than 12 million adherents. They believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate gods. Salvation is accomplished by faith in Christ, good works, ordinances, and evangelism. Humankind is of the same species as God, were begotten in heaven as offspring of his wives, and were sent to earth for their potential exaltation and godhood. Mormons go to heaven with God and their families; hell is for those who reject God after death. They practice baptism for the dead and eternal marriage,...
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