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
March 18
The town of Crimond in Scotland is remembered for two things. It was the home of Jessie Seymour Irvine, daughter of a local minister. She composed the haunting melody which has borne the words of Psalm 23 out of the Scottish Psalter all round the world. Many a soul crossing over to The Other Side has done so to the words of it’s final stanza, sung to Crimond. “Goodness and mercy all my life, Shall surely follow me; And in God’s house forevermore, My dwelling place shall be.” The village of Crimond is also noted for its unusual tower clock. When the clock maker was constructing it, he inadvertently added one extra minute mark on the face. One might hope that it would be this easy to add twenty-four extra minutes to every day. But Paul explained the secret when he wrote: “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time” (Col 4:5). Buy up every opportunity for the Master today. It is crucial to remember: There is time enough to do the will of God.
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 14-16 Memorize: Isaiah 42:1-3March 17
“What is that to thee? Follow thou Me” (Jn 21:22). If the Enemy cannot use disinterest or discouragement to stop evangelism, he will tempt us with distractions. In his classic work, Via Sacra, T.H. Darlow writes: Curiosity becomes perilous, not because it is in itself evil or irreverent, but because it is so apt to dissipate the soul. Our Lord will have nothing to distract us from simple, personal faith in His own Person. To our subtle doubts and curious fears and eager questionings, He has one reply: What is that to thee? Follow thou Me. The stress falls on the last word. He says in effect: “I am the Answer to all the questions men can ask.” And as we do follow Him faithfully, we discover at last the key to every problem and the clue to every mystery in Christ Himself. He is Himself God’s supreme Answer to the enigma of human life—the reward of every labor, the justification of every sorrow, the compensation for every sacrifice, the satisfaction of every desire. — pp 132-133
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 11-13 Memorize: Isaiah 41:10March 16
Thomas Olivers (1725-1799), a Welsh orphan, billed himself as “the worst boy known in Tregynon for thirty years.” Thrown out of town at age 18, he arrived in Bristol, England, where he heard George Whitefield preaching on the words of Zechariah 3:2, “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” As Olivers recounts, “When the sermon began, I was one of the most abandoned and profligate young men living; before it ended, I was a new creature. The world had changed for Tom Olivers.” He gave his life to spreading the gospel wherever he went. One Sabbath evening in 1770, he heard an opera singer, Meyer Lyon, present Yigdal, a Hebrew Doxology. Deeply impressed, he took the words and added to them the light of New Testament truth. We now sing his hymn titled “The God of Abraham Praise.” Included are the lines: “We shall behold His face; We shall His power adore, And sing the wonders of His grace, Forevermore.”
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 6-10 Memorize: Isaiah 40:31March 15
The gospel is free so everyone can afford it. Its terms are so simple that “wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isa 35:8). It is a universal offer: all are welcome. If someone asks, “What about Hindus and Muslims?” we answer, “Yes, He invites them too! The gospel is also easy to verify for any serious skeptic: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Ps 34:8). The provision is unlimited in its supply (although it is a limited-time offer) so there is no fear of a shortage in “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8). And this gift is “one-size-fits-all,” just what every soul needs. It never breaks or wears out. Eternal satisfaction is guaranteed by the Maker: “My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the Lord” (Jer 31:14). In fact this one Gift—God’s beloved Son and life in Him—includes every other gift in one, for we are “blessed…with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3).— J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 3-5 Memorize: Isaiah 40:28March 14
Warren Wiersbe, in his book, 50 People Every Christian Should Know, tells of an English merchant traveling in Scotland in the seventeenth century who “made this entry in his journal: In St. Andrews I heard a tall, stately man preach, and he showed me the majesty of God. I afterwards heard a little fair man preach, and he showed me the loveliness of Christ.” The first preacher was Robert Blair, the second was Samuel Rutherford. Rutherford ministered in the Scottish village of Anwoth for nine years. “I see exceedingly small fruit of my ministry,” he wrote after two years. “I would be glad of one soul, to be a crown of joy and rejoicing in the day of Christ.” Mrs. Anne Ross Cousin put it this way in her hymn “Immanuel’s Land,” “Oh, if one soul from Anwoth meet me at God’s right hand, My heaven will be two heavens, in Immanuel’s land.” “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thess 2:19).
Today’s Reading: Ruth 4; 1 Samuel 1-2 Memorize: Isaiah 40:21-22March 13
Reconciliation means “to be returned to favor.” This is necessary only on our side; God does not need to be reconciled. “All things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18). In the same way, our message to sinners is on their part alone: “we pray you in Christ’s stead, be reconciled to God” (v. 20). Paul adds the prefix apo to the word in Ephesians 2:16 and Colossians 1:20-21 to mean fully reconciled. In Hebrews 2:17, the word should be translated “propitiation.” This word is the same used for “mercy seat.” For God to be propitiated means that He has found satisfaction in the sprinkled blood. He rests in the finished work of Christ. Specifically He has received full payment for “the sins that are past,” i.e., He was holding the promissory notes given each year on the Day of Atonement, at which times He agreed to live another year among a sinful people, awaiting full payment at the hand of Christ.
Today’s Reading: Ruth 1-3 Memorize: Isaiah 40:15, 17March 12
“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables…but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet 1:16). Amy Orr-Ewing writes: “Sceptics would be surprised by the number of extra-biblical writings which refer to events and places mentioned by the writers of the Bible. These writings come from a variety of perspectives and backgrounds, demonstrating that at least some of the content of the Bible is credible to the sceptic.” For example, concerning the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, Orr-Ewing states: “Josephus claimed that ‘Pilatus condemned him to the cross’ (Antiquities, XVIII.63-64). The Babylonian Talmud states that ‘on the eve of the Passover they hanged Yeshua of Nazareth’ (43a). Tacitus (a Roman historian) and Lucian (a second-century Greek satirist) both maintained that Jesus was crucified.” Tacitus around ad 110 wrote, “Christus…had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontus Pilate when Tiberius was emperor.” — Why Trust the Bible? pp 56, 58, 82
Today’s Reading: Judges 19-21 Memorize: Isaiah 40:8