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
February 1
It is true that salvation is based on certain historical facts: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once” (1 Cor 15:3-6). “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). But we should remember that salvation comes not simply in accepting certain facts; it is found in receiving a Person: “We preach Christ crucified…”
(1 Cor 1:23). “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day” (2 Tim 1:12). “…Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).—J.B.N.
January 31
“There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Not in empty words do Christians testify to the sufficiency of their Savior and the supremacy of His Name. They tell us that He is far better than even His own promises…In Him all the longings of the soul find their fruition, all losses have their compensation, all the ills and griefs of life have their cure. To the worshippers of Jesus Christ, His Name is far above every name that is named in this world or in that which is to come. Because His life is above every life, and His love above every love, and His passion above every passion. Behold, and see if there is any sorrow like His sorrow. His sacrifice is above every sacrifice, His victory above every victory. Therefore we agree that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and…every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11).—T.H. Darlow, Via Sacra, p 268
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 5-7 Memorize: Psalm 23:1-3January 30
While coming across Texas, I was given a ride by a Seventh Day Adventist. I said, “My friend, do you know why God gave the law?’ He looked at me a little puzzled. “First I want to read Romans 3:19, “We know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” I continued, “If you try to get to heaven by keeping the law, God says your mouth will be shut. But if you plead guilty, God will deal with you in mercy. For the Scripture says, ‘By the law came the knowledge of sin,’ not the knowledge of God. If there were not another verse in the Bible but this one, I could not be a Seventh Day Adventist: ‘if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain’ (Gal 2:21). Under the law, the sheep died for the shepherd; under grace, the Shepherd died for the sheep. The law condemns the best; grace can justify the worst. What a blessed difference!—George Watmough, Hitchhiking on Purpose
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 2-4 Memorize: Psalm 19:7January 29
Christian Science: founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879, now lists 2,000 congregations in 80 countries. Eddy was raised Congregationalist but reacted against the Calvinistic view of predestination. In 1866, she fell on ice and reportedly was severely injured (denied by her doctor under oath), but attributed her recovery to “spiritual healing.” She determined to introduce a new church that emphasized this. In 1875, she published the textbook for Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures—a book heavily plagiarized. They reject the Trinity (God is a divine principle) and believe that matter and evil are illusions. Salvation is “life, truth, and love understood…sin, sickness and death destroyed.” Heaven is “not a locality, but a divine state of Mind in which all the manifestations of Mind are harmonious and immortal.” “Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding profane and idle babblings, and contradictions of science falsely so called” (1 Tim 6:20).
Today’s Reading: Exodus 39-40; Leviticus 1 Memorize: Psalm 19:1January 28
In the beginning God made man in His own image, so close is grandeur to our dust. Before the beginning of the Christian era, minds like Plato’s felt that man was made to be intimate with God. But Jesus revealed a move from the other side. He expressed God’s great desire to be intimate with man, to enter into the life of man and transform his world from within. The Old Testament celebrates the glory of creation when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. The New Testament heralds the music of an infinitely sweeter song: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.” The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is the glory of His entrance into our nature, His revelation of the potential of human life. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” The vessel is of earth, but through it, God sheds forth His own exceeding glory.—John Macbeath, The Face of Christ
Today’s Reading: Exodus 35-38 Memorize: Psalm 18:31January 27
Shortly after my salvation, I witnessed to my mother. Not so politely, she asked me never to speak to her again about the Lord. Then ten years later, she was told she had only three months to live. Here was a millionaire who had everything in the world’s eyes, but deep inside she was empty. Six weeks before she died, my wife and I went to visit her. I asked if I could talk to her about Jesus. Finally, after almost eleven years, she said Yes. When I asked her if she knew where she was going to spend eternity, she wept; she said she wanted to know. I read several scriptures that showed how she could know for sure. Then my mom prayed and asked the Lord to save her! When my mother went home to be with the Lord, He made it possible for me to preach at her funeral in the Catholic Church with over 600 people in attendance. Let us never give up! “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry” (Ps 34:15).—Tony Martin
Today’s Reading: Exodus 32-34 Memorize: Psalm 18:28January 26
Arthur Gook, missionary to Iceland, tells this story in Can a Young Man Trust His God? “A man attending gospel meetings at Akureyri became anxious about his spiritual state and felt the need of help, but couldn’t pluck up the courage to ask. He was leaving for a prolonged stint some distance away and the morning he was to leave decided to visit me. I knew nothing of his concern and had decided that day to cross the ice on the fjord to arrange for meetings there. I was nearly across when the ice gave way and I plunged into the water. Happily, it was at a place where the fjord wasn’t too deep and I managed to scramble out. To avoid catching cold, I ran most of the way home. As I reached the house in one direction, he reached it from the other. His difficulties were cleared up by the Word and he went away rejoicing in the Savior. God turned me back at the right moment because He ‘will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim 2:4).”
Today’s Reading: Exodus 29-31 Memorize: Psalm 18:2