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
May 17
“In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be self lovers, money lovers,…pleasure lovers and no God lovers; having a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim 3:1-5). Who are the people we meet every day? George Barna writes: “The most quoted ‘Bible verse’ in America is: ‘God helps those who help themselves’; 82 percent believe that is a direct quote from the Bible…Our research has discovered that fewer than 10 percent of American Christians actually possess a biblical worldview…In short, the spirituality of Americans is Christian in name only. We desire experience more than knowledge. We prefer choices to absolutes. We embrace preferences rather than truths. We seek comfort rather than growth. Faith must come on our terms or we reject it. We have enthroned ourselves as the final arbiters of righteousness, the ultimate rulers of our own experience and destiny. We are the Pharisees of the new millennium.” — The Second Coming of the Church, pp 22-23
Today’s Reading: Job 10-12 Memorize: Matthew 12:18-21May 16
In his remarkable account, Incidents of Gospel Work, Charles Stanley of Rotherham, England writes: “On one occasion I felt a distinct call to preach at a place I had only seen once. I did not know the name of the town, but I described it to a person from Staffordshire, who told me it was Uttoxeter. I continued in prayer during that week. On Friday I received a letter from Tenby, South Wales, enclosing a letter from a believer from Uttoxeter, asking the lady in Tenby if she could forward the enclosed letter to me. It was a request for me to preach the gospel at Uttoxeter. I immediately went and a number were gathered to Christ. Was this an accident? Why should we doubt the guidance of the Holy Spirit now, as He was manifestly present in the beginning? Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” If we were more simple, we should know far more of His divine guidance in our path of service.
Today’s Reading: Job 7-9 Memorize: Matthew 11:28-30May 15
Do you take the Bible literally? The answer, of course, is “Yes and No.” A good answer this question: We take the Bible in its plain and obvious sense, unless otherwise indicated. It may be better to say we take a literary approach to the Word of God. Like any great literature, there are different ways of expressing ideas. Robert Little writes: “Parts of the Bible are obviously written in symbolic language, for example, Ezekiel’s vision of the cherubim. The book of Revelation is declared to be communicated in symbolic language (1:1), and it contains much that must be taken in this way. An example is the description of Christ in 1:12-20. To take such passages literally would only discredit the Bible. Yet there is much in the Bible which we believe is to be taken literally. A rule has been suggested that when the plain sense makes common sense, we should seek no other sense.” It is helpful to pray, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation” (Ps 25:5).
Today’s Reading: Job 4-6 Memorize: Matthew 11:25-26May 14
It is feared that much Christian activity is attempted without the work resting on a solid foundation of prayer, holiness, Bible study and dependence on the Spirit of God. In his book “From Death to Life,” William Haslam tells how he was busy with the construction of the new church building were he served. But he wasn’t even saved! An elderly Cornish woman, deeply taught in the things of God, arrested him one day as he walked by her cottage: “Mr. Haslam, are ye goin’ to build your spire from the top?” The question was an arrow to his heart, and he couldn’t get the thought out of his mind. “Am I absurdly trying to construct my Christianity from the top down?” It was the beginning of his search for the true basis for Christian living: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). As told elsewhere in the calendar, it led to his conversion during one of his own sermons as he preached from the pulpit of Baldhu church.
Today’s Reading: Job 1-3 Memorize: Matthew 10:34May 13
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:7). Ravi Zacharias addresses an increasingly common complaint: “‘Why can’t we leave everybody alone to follow the religion within which they were born? Why all this proclamation and propagation?’ Once again, this demand challenges the very core of the Christian faith, because no one is born a Christian. The relationship a Christian claims is one that comes not by culture but by virtue of a personal choice to follow Jesus Christ. Christian ideas may be inherited within a culture, but the Christian commitment is a personal affirmation. I made that commitment at the age of seventeen. While the moment of my commitment was based on a hunger to know God, the years that have followed have taken me through an intellectual journey. That journey culminated in the conclusion that in Jesus I find not only every hunger of the heart met but also every pursuit of the mind.” — Why I Am a Christian, p 268
Today’s Reading: Esther 8-10 Memorize: Matthew 9:13May 12
John Townsend had been visiting a prisoner on death row. One day he said to his daughter Abbie, “This man will be executed tomorrow. He always welcomes me, but shows no interest in his soul. Would you have the courage to visit him?” Arriving at his cell, Abbie held out her hand, but he did not take it. So she took his hand in hers, trying to speak. Instead, a flood of tears fell on his hand. Mr. Townsend led her away, saying, “Remember, ‘He that goes forth and weeps bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him.’” At 6:30 the next morning a message came from the prison requesting another visit. When they met the man, he said, ‘You may think time spent with me has been in vain, but your daughter’s tears reminded me of my mother as she pled with me to tum to the crucified Lord. I now go to my punishment, but One has signed my pardon with His precious blood.’” “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14).
Today’s Reading: Esther 5-7 Memorize: Matthew 7:13-14May 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 lies upon the transformation of the man himself. His outward acts, his gifts, his prayers, his whole external life, are of little consequence if they are not the expression and exhibition of a renewed spirit, an inner self that partakes of the beauty of the Lord.” What the Church in the West needs is not better arguments or better methods or better programs but better Christians.
Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 13; Esther 1-4 Memorize: Matthew 5:48