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
April 1
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps 14:1). Is the Bible being unkind or painfully truthful in making this statement? The story is told of a Christian and an atheist who were debating the question of the dependability of the Bible. The atheist asked, “Can you prove to me that an atheist is a fool, as your Bible says?” “Let me answer that by asking you a few questions. First, as it was stated when you were introduced, is it true that you have spent most of your adult life arguing against the existence of God?” “Well, yes,” responded the atheist. “Is it also true that a man could be rightly called a fool if he spends the majority of his life fighting against something he says does not exist?” The question hung in the silence, unanswered. The good news is this: God has made the unbeliever a promise: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13). It is not for lack of evidence, but for lack of diligence, that people do not find out God.
Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 5-7 Memorize: Isaiah 55:6March 31
I was at a friend’s in Vancouver when two Mormons approached. As we engaged in conversation, I felt led to ask the older of the two, who was carrying the discussion, if he could say he loved the Lord Jesus. “I don’t know what you mean,” he replied. “Do you mean, do I admire him?” “No,” I insisted, “do you love Him?” “I don’t understand what you mean,” he repeated. “Are you married?” I asked. “Yes, I am.” “And do you love your wife?” “Yes, I do,” he said with a smile.” “Ah, you do know what I mean! Let me ask you again, Do you love the Lord Jesus?” “No, I can’t say that I do,” he replied honestly. I turned to those solemn words: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed” (1 Cor 16:22). I then explained his options. If you won’t love Him, you are rejecting His curse-bearing for you, so you must bear it yourself forever. But if you don’t love Him, then do love Him! You will love Him if you, as a poor sinner, meet Him as your Savior at the cross. — J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 2-4 Memorize: Isaiah 53:11March 30
Robert Candlish (1806-1873), renowned Scottish preacher, was described thus by his biographer, William Wilson: “Destitute of natural oratorical gifts and somewhat ungainly in his manner,” he nevertheless “riveted the attention of his audience by a rare combination of intellectual keenness, emotional fervor, spiritual insight and power…of character and life.” In his book, Prayer of a Broken Heart, Candlish wrote: “Then open ye your own lips; at once; now; this very day. Wait not for any sign, or any impulse; any favorable opportunity; any pressing call. Begin now. Let some friend, or neighbor, hear you, ere the sun goes down, speaking a word in season; a word of admonition; a word of comfort; telling something of what the Lord is doing for your soul, and of His willingness to do the same for theirs.” When we “preach Christ” (1 Cor 1:23) passion will do more than polish; earnestness will do more than eloquence; substance will do more than style.
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 21-24; 1 Kings 1 Memorize: Isaiah 53:9March 29
“Oh, how I love Your law!” (Ps 119:97). Leading Bible scholars, even those of a liberal bent, acknowledge that the Bible, as to its scholarship, is the most carefully examined book in all classical literature. Untold millions of hours have been invested in scrutinizing every detail: grammatical, historical, geographical, cultural, and theological. They also agree that it is the most numerically superior as to its manuscript base, with over 5,000 hand-written Greek manuscripts of the New Testament alone. Scholars also know that the Bible is also the most accurately copied as to its reproduction; the scribal experts were the epitome of fastidiousness in their workmanship. As well, history records the Word of God as the most amazingly preserved of all classical literature. Men have tried to burn it, ban it, distort it, and destroy it, but it is still the world’s all-time best seller. And any serious student will recognize it as the most internally consistent as to its message of any holy book. — J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 18-20 Memorize: Isaiah 53:6-7March 28
How serious are we in our praying for the lost in our city, in our workplace, in our family? John G. Paton, intrepid missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanautu) wrote in his autobiography about the strategic impact of his father’s prayer life: “I have heard that, in long after-years, the worst woman in the village of Torthorwald, then leading an immoral life, but since changed by the grace of God, was known to declare, that the only thing that kept her from despair and from the Hell of the suicide, was when in the dark winter nights she crept close up underneath my father’s window and heard him pleading in Family Worship that God would convert ‘the sinner from the error of wicked ways, and polish him as a jewel for the Redeemer’s crown.’ ‘I felt,’ said she, ‘that I was a burden on that good man’s heart, and I knew that God would not disappoint him. That thought kept me out of Hell, and at last led me to the only Savior.’” — John G. Paton: Missionary to the Hebrides
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 15-17 Memorize: Isaiah 53:4-5March 27
“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I” (Job 15:6). The concept of evil is nonsensical if there is no God. If everything just evolved from nothing, it’s as foolish to say a rotten man is evil as it is to say a rotten apple is evil. If I am only biology, then I am only a series of chemical reactions and nothing more. Only if there is a transcendent God who made us in His image with a conscience and an understanding that there is good and evil, can we say something is morally right or wrong. If there is no God, we are forced to say there is no moral difference between eating the steak prepared by the chef…or eating the chef. After all, we don’t think of a lion who kills a man as evil, any more than we consider an avalanche or a lightning bolt evil if they kill someone. The lion was doing what came naturally. But if a man murders a child, we know it’s wrong. And why? Because we say it against what we all know to be right. It is against the law which God has written on our hearts. — J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 12-14 Memorize: Isaiah 50:10March 26
J. Oswald Sanders recounts the story of a believer who had tried every way to share the gospel with an elderly lady. He had used all the well-known gospel verses—John 3:16, Romans 10:9 and the like—but all to no avail. She just couldn’t get it. As he was preparing to visit her again, the Christian poured out his heart to the Lord, confessing his inability to illuminate the old woman’s mind, and asking for some helpful portion of Scripture that would shed heaven’s light into her darkened heart. Immediately a verse came clearly to his mind. It was 2 Corinthians 6:18, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Really? Was that the verse she needed? Determined to follow through, the believer visited the woman and shared the verse. “Does it say that in the Bible,” she asked. “All the other ones you read me were about men!” Like “He that believes…” Even the most unanticipated objections can be met by the Spirit and the Word.
Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 9-11 Memorize: Isaiah 48:17