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
June 14
Peace has been defined as the “tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fears nothing from God and is content with its lot.” It is a sense of well-being, enjoyed by resting in Christ who “is our peace” (Eph 2:14). It is both through justification (Rom 5:1), and reconciliation that the Lord Jesus Christ “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col 1:20). He personally “came and preached peace” both to the Jews who were “near” and to the “far off” Gentiles (Eph 2:17) and we ought to follow His example: “preaching peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). In addition, “the fruit of the Spirit is…peace” (Gal 5:22) and “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20). “Let us therefore follow after the things that make for peace” (Rom 14:19), having our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15). Peace has been described as “not the outward absence of turmoil but rest in the inward presence of God.”
Today’s Reading: Psalms 60-62 Memorize: Luke 10:23-24June 13
George David writes: “In order to make disciples of others we need to be practicing disciples ourselves…This is what is implied by the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:13-14 when He says, “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” The “you” in these verses is not a singular you, but a plural, corporate you. You as a community of disciples have to be the salt of the earth. You as a community of disciples need to be the light of the world. To be salt and light in a particular place involves what is called non-verbal communication—communication without words by practicing disciples showing in action what it means to be a community of those who are learners and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, when we have opportunity, we must know our message clearly. Nowadays there is a tendency to think of the gospel more as a formula than as the story of Jesus.” We must know Christ so that we may live Christ and then we must clearly preach Christ.
Today’s Reading: Psalms 57-59 Memorize: Luke 10:16June 12
“I being in the way, the Lord led me” (Gen 24:27). I was packing for a coastal boat trip in Iceland. With a prayer for guidance, I was selecting some leaflets that explained God’s good news when my eye fell on some French ones. I took them with me…After steaming round the coast for some days, the shipwrecked crew of a French trawler was taken on board. I got in touch with the captain and asked him how many the crew numbered. “Twenty-three,” he replied. I told him I had something for them to read, but was not sure if I had enough. I went below and hunted for the French tracts. There were exactly twenty-three! Some may put such things down to coincidence. If such incidents were rare, that would be reasonable. But when similar instances occur time after time, especially synchronizing with times of prayer, and are common in the live of thousands of believers, the proof of God’s care is difficult to refute. — Arthur Gook, Can a Young Man Trust His God? pp 9-10
Today’s Reading: Psalms 54-56 Memorize: Luke 9:35June 11
The message we preach is “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) for now grace reigns in life and through righteousness (Rom 5:17, 21). It is “the gospel of His Son” (Rom 1:9) for God gave His only Son that He might bring many sons to glory (Heb 2:10). It is also “the gospel of Christ” (Rom 1:16), the climax to the story of the long-promised Messiah; this fulfillment of God’s promises is the message of which Paul was not ashamed (he uses it 10x). And “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace” (Rom 10:15) for it is the Word of Reconciliation. Thus sinners can also claim it as “the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Eph 1:13). Finally it is “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (1 Tim 1:11, r.v.). George Goodman writes: “What a wondrous title! It means that God in it reveals His true character, for glory is manifested character. He is seen to be love; His righteousness is vindicated; His grace satisfied; and His holy Name is honored.”
Today’s Reading: Psalms 51-53 Memorize: Luke 5:24June 10
A.T. Pierson told of Alexander MacLaren using the illustration of a compass “with one foot firmly set in the true center, and the other describing a circle which, while that center was preserved, could not possibly err in width or range of circumference. Our first necessity is to get the truth center and fix there the point of our compass, and then, however wide the circle of our activity, we shall always be right, scriptural, spiritual; and, on the contrary, if we have not the true center and do not keep it, our best enterprises, by whatever name called, will be more or less failures.” Pierson adds, “If we are to sweep a wider circle of power round now unoccupied territory, and have real progress rather than apparent and superficial advance, the compass of all our plans must fix its foot in the firm, pivotal center of believing prayer and the higher holiness that is bound up inseparably with devout and privileged communion with God.” — Forward Movements of the Last Half Century, pp viii-ix
Today’s Reading: Psalms 48-50 Memorize: Luke 4:22June 9
“There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee” (Ps 73:25). In his book Heaven’s Cure for Earth’s Care, George Henderson tells the following story: A Christian woman who had just finished reading T.H. Huxley’s Life and Letters was asked with some anxiety by a friend whether her faith had suffered any eclipse under the shadow of a mind so brilliant and so utterly unbelieving as the great scientist’s. “Oh, no,” she answered, “my need went so much deeper than anything Professor Huxley had to offer. I was like a lost child looking for its mother, to whom someone insists on showing a piece of embroidery. What would that mother’s handiwork matter to the agonized little child until it was safe in her loving arms? And what are all the marvels of God’s creation to me, though Professor Huxley sets them forth as no one ever saw them before, unless I have found Him for whom my soul longs unspeakably—the Lord my God, my Father, my Friend, my Savior!” (pp 48-49)
Today’s Reading: Psalms 45-47 Memorize: Luke 3:21-22June 8
J.F. Strombeck, in his book, So Great Salvation, suggests God’s salvation is great because it is available to such a great number: “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Rom 3:22). As well, it is great because of what was required to accomplish it: Christ must be “made in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3) must “suffer for sin” (1 Pet 3:18), must be “made sin” for us (2 Cor 5:21), as well as being made a curse for us (Gal 3:13), to name a few. It is also great because of what it includes: deliverance from the reign of Satan, redemption from the penalty of God’s law, all trespasses forgiven, reconciliation to God, and being born again by God, so he is made part of a new creation in Christ. The Holy Spirit is given to dwell within him forever and he is also sealed by the same Spirit. In fact, every provision is made through this salvation. But of course salvation is also great because it is our great Savior who made it possible.
Today’s Reading: Psalms 40-44 Memorize: Luke 1:35