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
May 1
One of the most important lessons in the book of Acts is this: there’s room for everyone on the team. Not all could preach like Peter, but Peter first had to be brought to Jesus, and was, by his otherwise retiring brother, Andrew. Matthew arranged a dinner for the local tax office and invited Someone Else to share the gospel with his guests. Dorcas did good works in the community, and won friends for the gospel. The man born blind couldn’t argue with his detractors, but he could say, “I was blind; now I see.” The demoniac was sent back into his hometown to “tell what great things God has done for you” (Lk 8:39). A friend told me she believed her neighbors respected her; she wanted to witness to them but didn’t know where to start. I suggested asking them what she could pray for. A few days later, she called me. Neighbors were pouring their hearts out at her kitchen table. They didn’t know anyone else who would pray for them, or who cared enough to ask. — J.B.N.
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 27-29 Memorize: Zephaniah 3:17April 30
How can you believe a Bible that is full of contradictions? Josh McDowell writes: “Certain passages at first glance appear to be contradictory, but further investigation will show that this is not the case.” McDowell points out that different descriptions may be complementary, not contradictory (see one or two blind men, Mt 9:27; Mk 10:46). Also there are translation issues: did the men at Saul’s conversion hear the voice from heaven or not? (Acts 9:7, genitive; 22:9, accusative). They heard the sound, but couldn’t distinguish the words. McDowell concludes: “Some difficulties in Scripture result from our inadequate knowledge about the circumstances, and do not necessarily involve an error…As historical and archaeological study proceed, new light is being shed on difficult portions of Scripture and many “errors” have disappeared with the new understanding.” “So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word” (Ps 119:42).
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 24-26 Memorize: Habakkuk 3:17-18April 29
“Because there is wrath, beware lest he take you away with one blow: then a great ransom cannot deliver you” (Job 36:18). Harry Ironside tells the story of meeting “a very refined and elegant lady on a steamer, who asked indignantly, ‘You don’t mean to say I have to go to heaven like the dying thief, do you?’ ‘No, madam,’ I replied, ‘you do not have to. If you reject Christ, you will have to go to hell with the other.’ And so we would remind the reader: The saved thief believed on the Son of God, and is with Christ now. The lost thief scorned a Savior, and is in the depths of woe. You must be with one or the other for eternity. On another occasion a young man said, after hearing the gospel, ‘Of course, I intend to be saved some time; but there is no use being in a hurry about it. There is always a chance, even at the eleventh hour. Remember the dying thief!’ ‘Which thief?’ pointedly asked his questioner. One was saved that none may despair; but only one, that none may presume.”
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 21-23 Memorize: Habakkuk 1:13April 28
It’s good to have some simple ways in mind to present gospel truth. For example, an outline of John 3:16, as follows, can be easily sketched on a paper napkin at a restaurant table as you speak to a friend who is searching but still without Christ. The verse can be arranged as follows:
GOD LOVED: “God so loved the world”I BELIEVE: “that whoever believes on Him shall not perish”
GOD GAVE: “That He gave His only begotten Son”I HAVE: “but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
April 27
Eric Liddell, the winner of the 400-metre race at the 1924 Paris Olympics, was a consecrated Christian. The film *Chariots of Fire* accurately
recounts his refusal to run his best event, the 100-metre race, because it was on the Lord’s Day, and that someone slipped a paper to him as he stood at the starting blocks. It read, “Them that honour Me I will honour” (1 Sam 2:30). Having been born in China to missionary parents, he left Scotland in 1925 and returned to China to serve the Lord. A huge crowd gathered at Waverly Station to bid him farewell. He addressed them, saying, “Let our motto be ‘Christ for the World, for the World Needs Christ’.” He then led them in singing Isaac Watts’ hymn, “Jesus Shall Reign”. “Blessings abound where’er He reigns; the prisoner leaps to loose his chains; the weary find eternal rest, and all the sons of want are blest.” Eric died in a Japanese prison camp in 1943. These were his last words: “It’s complete surrender.”
April 26
If the Bible is rooted in history, that presents a problem: how can you trust the accounts of Jesus when we now know that history is simply propaganda written by the winners? This is an increasingly popular view, especially in academia. Postmodernist historian Greg Dening argues: “History is something we make rather than something we learn…I want to persuade [my students] that any history they make will be fiction.” The argument quickly grows less robust when the Holocaust is mentioned. Do we not have evidence galore for it’s reality? Yet less than a generation later, Holocaust deniers reject it’s historicity. Amy Orr-Ewing writes: “Luke and the other Gospel writers recorded the events that had taken place with scrupulous accuracy. Their intention in writing was that we as future generations could read about Christ confidently, knowing that historians had thoroughly researched and compiled the material in a rigorous way.” See Luke 1:3-4; 2 Pet 1:16.
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12 Memorize: Micah 7:7April 25
Ira Sankey tells of an incident in Brooklyn, NY. “A fine-looking young man came into the inquiry room. I asked him if he was willing to accept Christ as his Savior. He bowed his head in his hands, while his whole frame shook: “Jesus will not accept me.” “Why not?” “For the last eight years I have traveled the world, speaking against Him.” He explained that his Christian mother in Scotland had made him promise to attend when Moody came to the city. “Do you want Him to forgive you?” I asked. “Yield to Christ and he will receive you.” He bowed his head, his trembling form telling how deeply he was moved. After a hard struggle, he took my hand: “By the grace of God, I take Jesus Christ as my Savior now!” A few evenings later, I met him at the door. He said he had sent a cable to his mother. “I just said, ‘I’ve found Jesus,’ and signed my name.” “Thank the Lord,” I said. “Yes,” he exclaimed, “that’s just what my mother cabled back, “Thank the Lord, O my soul.’” So pray on!
Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 7-9 Memorize: Micah 6:8