August 23
Journalist Malcolm Muggeridge was one of the West’s leading atheists. But in a stunning reversal, in 1969 he published Jesus Rediscovered, declaring his faith in Christ. “I may, I suppose, regard myself as a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me in the streets; that’s fame. I can fairly easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the Internal Revenue Service. That’s success. Furnished with money and a little fame, even the elderly…may partake of trendy diversions. That’s pleasure. It might happen once in awhile that something I said or wrote was...
Read MoreAugust 22
“You became followers of us and of the Lord…so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe” (1 Thess 1:5-7). Disciple making is the Lord’s design. We will convince no one that we are NT believers if we are not engaged in this vital work. Why? 1. Because it is the express will of God. “Go ye therefore, and [make disciples of] all nations” (Mt. 28:19). 2. Because people—justified, sanctified, glorified people—are the only commodity to be transferred to the next world; everything else will be burned. 3. Because it is the only way to accomplish the Great Commission; the...
Read MoreAugust 21
Alfred Wiener, a Jew born in Frankfurt, Germany, became familiar with “St. Matthew’s Passion” by Bach and Handel’s “Messiah” through his love of good music. When Hitler came to power, Weiner ended up in Buchenwald. He grew deathly sick. As he lay in the darkness, not knowing whether he was delirious or dreaming, an abyss opened beneath. “I saw hands reaching out, ready to pull me down into an eternity of perdition. Then came a hand from above, and in that one hand was the print of a nail. At this moment, I cried: “Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Redeemer, I die. But You, You alone are able...
Read MoreAugust 20
Want to help advance the gospel? Evaluate needs: see your area as a mission field; map population centers; identify people groups. Assess opportunities: pray for “open doors” (Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3); observe where people gather; look for vulnerabilities (Lk. 4:18) as entry-ways to the good news; observe and develop channels of communication. Inventory resources: mobilize prayer warriors; contact local evangelists, assess current outreaches; consider a gospel fund; encourage tent makers; explore ways to free up time for gospel work. Provide the tools: must be...
Read MoreAugust 19
The remarkable conversion of British thinker C.S. Lewis is described in his own words: “To find their way, atheists must make sense out of a random first cause, denounce as immoral all moral denunciation, express meaningfully all meaninglessness, and find security in hopelessness.…You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.…In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed:...
Read MoreAugust 18
How can people in this century take the idea of the virgin birth seriously? Interestingly, the most detail regarding the birth of Christ is given by a medical doctor, in the Lord’s biography by Luke. Often people argue that first century peasants believed in the miracles because they didn’t understand the scientific explanations behind events. But Luke begins his Gospel with the story of Zacharias, who, when told his wife was expecting, didn’t believe the angel, because he understood how babies are born, and that his wife was too old to have a child. The virgin birth was clearly prophesied...
Read MoreCalendar Archive
