This perpetual calendar includes:
- Remarkable testimonies of souls won to the Savior
- Explanations of gospel concepts
- Answers to frequently-asked questions
- Stories of real-life witnessing opportunities
- Encouragements and tips for sharing the glorious gospel
November 6
Shintoism: The indigenous belief of Japan, from shen-tao, meaning “the way of the gods.” A very ancient concept based on the superiority of the Japanese people to all others. Japan is “the country of the gods and its inhabitants are descendants of the gods.” At the heart of their beliefs is kami, a mysterious creating and harmonizing power in both animate and inanimate objects. It is held that “man is kami’s child” and therefore as his life came from kami, his nature is sacred. It is a polytheistic belief, with the sun goddess Amaterasu holding the central place (the Japanese name for Japan is Nippon, meaning “sun origin”). Shinto shrines cover the country, the center of worship, although families have their own shrines in their homes. The form often practiced is called Ryobu Shinto, or dual-aspect Shinto, because over the centuries there has been a combining of Shinto with Buddhism and/or Confusianism. How the Japanese people need the Lord! Please pray for Japan today.
Today’s Reading: John 21; Acts 1-2 Memorize: 2 Timothy 1:12November 5
Vaughn Shoemaker (1902–1991) was a widely-published American editorial cartoonist. He won the Pulitzer Prize not once but twice for his work, and is remembered for creating the character John Q. Public. During World War II, he had the dubious honor of having his cartoons criticized by the German Reichsmarschall Herman Goering, founder of the Gestapo and commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, who described Shoemaker’s work as “horrible examples of anti-Nazi propaganda.” Shoemaker was a committed believer, and gave this ringing testimony: “Far more important to me than the appreciated lines in Who’s Who—far, far more important—is the sure knowledge of having one’s name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The praise of man is much like perfume—pleasant to the sense of smell, but not to be swallowed. Only as we pour such praise at the feet of Jesus Christ, to whom we owe everything, does it have its rightful place.”
Today’s Reading: John 18-20 Memorize: 1 Timothy 2:3-6November 4
Regeneration means to be born anew. It is the imparting of divine life from above, instantly transferring the soul into the realm of the eternal. It is only used once in this sense: “according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). But the idea is found elsewhere, especially in the words of the Lord Jesus as cited in John’s Gospel. For example, in John 3 He tells Nicodemus he must be born again (anew or from above). Note John 5:24-25, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” The two most sure things are linked by the Lord: man surely needs new life because he is dead, and dead men can respond to Christ’s call because He has a voice they all can hear.
Today’s Reading: John 15-17 Memorize: 1 Timothy 1:15-16November 3
Archibald Brown wrote: “The gospel is a fact; therefore tell it simply. The gospel is a joyful fact; therefore tell it cheerfully. The gospel is an entrusted fact; therefore tell it faithfully. The gospel is a fact of infinite moment; therefore tell it earnestly. The gospel is a fact of infinite love; therefore tell it feelingly. The gospel is a fact of difficult comprehension to many; therefore tell it simply. The gospel is a fact about a Person; therefore preach Christ!” Charlie Peace, a notorious burglar and murderer from Sheffield, England, was executed in Armley Prison on February 25, 1879 at age 47. Leonard Ravenhill, in his book, Why Revival Tarries, recounts the words he spoke to the unmoved minister: “Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say that you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, if need be, on hands and knees, and think it worthwhile living, just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that!”
Today’s Reading: John 12-14 Memorize: 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9November 2
“Men…suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…so that they are without excuse” (Rom 1:18-20). Harvard biology professor Richard Lewontin expresses the a priori religious belief of evolutionists and their faith-based acceptance of materialism, the notion that the material world is all that exists. He writes: “We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism…Moreover that materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.” — Billions and Billions of Demons, The New York Review, p. 31, January 9, 1997
Today’s Reading: John 9-11 Memorize: 1 Thessalonians 4:14November 1
Is anyone pleading with God for a mighty harvest in our day? Will two agree in asking (Mt 18:19)? In Mighty Moments, Lionel Fletcher tells when, at the close of a meeting among Cornish coal miners, he was about to ask a friend to pray, but felt pressed to ask a man to his left instead. “I did not know if he could pray, or even if he was a Christian. But the influence was so great on me that I leaned over and said, ‘My friend, would you lead in prayer?’ Under great emotion, he replied, ‘I could not. I think it would kill me.’ Turning to my friend, I almost asked him, but felt the man’s hand on my shoulder. ‘I will pray,’ he said, and he did. I have rarely heard such an inspired utterance. I discovered afterwards he was a Cornishman, well known and greatly loved for his piety. I heard a sound of many feet, and, opening my eyes, I saw the aisles filled. One hundred and twenty-one young people decided to follow Christ that night. I wondered if the happiness of heaven could be greater than that which swept my soul.” —pp. 91-94
Today’s Reading: John 4-8 Memorize: Colossians 3:3-4October 31
“Unless a kernel of wheat fall in the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Undoubtedly, primarily the reference is to our Lord as that kernel of wheat. He originally abode alone in transcendent majesty, seated at the throne of God. By His word the heavens were created, the earth was fashioned, man was formed. Then a great tragedy happened. Man fell, and the earth became a wilderness. Now comes the problem: Is this world to be a wilderness forever or again to become fruitful? If He abode alone, there would be no fruit. If He died, this world again would be fragrant. God was determined to bring forth fruit. He must be able to pronounce it very good. Therefore Christ Himself fell into the ground and died. Notice the emphasis is on dying. Apart from death, that life would abide alone. Thus Calvary is the center, climax and culmination of God’s plan. And if we long to be fruitful, too, do you think it will be in a way other than the way He has shown us?
Today’s Reading: John 1-3 Memorize: Colossians 2:13