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 11
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him” (Ps 145:18). William James Taylor, alias Bill Hennessy, alias Ed Lynch, learned he couldn’t hide from God. At the age of three, at his father’s San Francisco bar he grew to like the taste of liquor by dipping his fingers into the used glasses. By twelve he was a drunken street urchin. After two years in reform school, he lived aimlessly. Gambling, drugs and drink both provided a livelihood and made him a constant fugitive from the law. On the night he arrived in Chicago, he hurried into Pacific Garden Mission to avoid what he thought were suspicious glances of a policeman. He returned a second night. Walking to the front, he knelt and prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner, and save me now for Jesus’ sake.” “Since that night,” Taylor said, “I can’t tell all Jesus Christ has done for me. But one thing I can do; tell others about Him. And there’s a lot of things I don’t know, but one thing I do know: God ain’t any picker of persons.”
Today’s Reading: Judges 16-18 Memorize: Isaiah 33:22March 10
Without question, fear of rejection is the Number One reason for lack of witnessing. But is it a good reason? We wouldn’t worry what people thought of us if we realized how little they did. And besides, what people think of you won’t matter a snap of the fingers, but what they think of Christ will determine their eternal destiny. In many western countries, the worst we suffer is an unkind word or an angry glance. Many of our brothers and sisters suffer far worse for standing up for Jesus. But we will overcome this fear of rejection if we focus on our Lord who was “despised and rejected of men” (Isa 53:3). “The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Prov 29:25). Vance Havner wrote, “It is not our business to make the message acceptable, but to make it available. We are not to see that they like it, but that they get it.” Paul said, “Praying…for me…that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph 6:18-19).
Today’s Reading: Judges 13-15 Memorize: Isaiah 30:18March 9
Henry Morris and Martin Clark write: “…many of the principles of modern science were recorded as facts of nature in the Bible long before science confirmed them experimentally. A sampling of these would include the roundness of the earth (Isa 40:22), the almost infinite extent of the sidereal universe (Isa 55:9), the law of conservation of mass and energy (2 Pet 3:7), the hydrologic cycle (Eccl 1:7), the vast number of stars (Jer 33:22), the equivalence of matter and energy (Heb 1:3), the law of increasing entropy (Ps 102:25-27), the paramount importance of blood in life processes (Lev 17:11), the atmospheric circulation (Eccl 1:6), the gravitational field (Job 26:7), and many others. These are not stated in the technical jargon of modem science, of course, but in terms of the basic world of man’s everyday experience; nevertheless, they are completely in accord with the most modern scientific facts.” — The Bible Has the Answer, pp 2-3
Today’s Reading: Judges 8-12 Memorize: Isaiah 28:29March 8
“Above all, taking the shield of faith” (Eph 6:16). Often this shield is molded in the fires of testing. Andrew Stenhouse writes: “The landlord called for his money the first day of the month. Our mail came by sea. One had just come and brought us no mail, the next due in two weeks. The first of the month came, but the landlord did not. A week passed; then the second. The ship arrived, but our box was as empty as two weeks before! The day following, we went again, and there in the box was an Air Mail letter, the first we ever received. It contained a check for the amount needed. The brother had sent another letter with his assembly’s gift, and mailed it the usual way. But he realized it would take a month to reach us, and Someone told him that we needed the money. What could he do? He was unemployed, but wrote a second letter enclosing the same amount as a personal gift, and sent it by air. The day after it arrived, our landlord came to collect the rent.” Trust in God!
Today’s Reading: Judges 5-7 Memorize: Isaiah 26:3March 7
A King who dies for His subjects; a Judge who is the Savior of all. Aristocrats who were mere slaves (Rom 6:20); judges who were sheer criminals (1 Cor 6:2-3); faithful who were once out-and-out rebels. A law which is complete freedom (Rom 8:2); a freedom which is wholly bound (Rom 6:18). All in the kingdom were former enemies (Rom 5:10); all rulers are at the same time servants (Rev 1:6). Each born twice, earthly and heavenly (Jn 3:3), yet many never die (1 Cor 15:51). All brought out of death into life (Jn 5:24). Defeated, yet conquerors; heroes who glory in their weakness (2 Cor 6:9-10; 12:9); despised whom the King of the universe exalts (Lk 12:32). A dominion on earth with its capital in heaven (Gal 4:26). A little flock, yet innumerable as the sand (Gen 22:17). A kingdom without a country to which the whole world belongs (1 Pet 2:11). And the secret of the whole? A King of glory crowned with thorns! — Erich Sauer, The Triumph of the Crucified, pp 30-31
Today’s Reading: Judges 2-4 Memorize: Isaiah 12:2-3March 6
H.A. Ironside writes: Recently, while presenting the gospel on the streets in California, I was often interrupted like this: “Look here, sir. There are hundreds of religions in this country, and the followers of each think theirs the only right one. How can plain men like us find out what really is the truth?” “Hundreds of religions, you say? That’s strange; I’ve heard of only two.” “But you surely know there are more than that!” “No, sir. There are just two. The one covers all who expect salvation by doing; the other, all who have been saved by something done. So you see the whole question is very simple. Can you save yourself, or do you need a Savior? If you can be your own savior, you do not need my message. If you cannot, you may well listen to it.” When some asked Jesus, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” (Jn 6:28) He answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom [God] has sent” (v. 29). — The Only Two Religions, pp 5-6
Today’s Reading: Joshua 23-24; Judges 1 Memorize: Isaiah 9:6March 5
The word “Agnosticism” was introduced by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869 although the concept of pleading ignorance in spiritual matters has been around since antiquity. This is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly claims regarding God and the afterlife—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable. Philosophers and thinkers who have written about agnosticism include T.H. Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, and Bertrand Russell. But whatever these adherents are, they can’t claim ignorance: they do know a great deal. They claim to know more than Jesus does, because He said you can know! “If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Here is the process outlined by the Savior: take His Word seriously; agree with what you can; this will lead to greater knowledge; in the end, the truth will prove itself by setting you free.
Today’s Reading: Joshua 20-22 Memorize: Isaiah 8:20