"Call Unto Me..."
SUNDAY
We Can Always Call On The Lord
We are beginning with Jeremiah 33. The third verse is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Sometimes I miss calls because my phone is charging, or I forgot to turn it back on after church, or I went somewhere and left it at home. There are many reasons that I might miss an important call. But, my Lord never misses a call. I can call Him anytime, day or night, and He is always there. When I call the Lord I’m not put on hold, or sent to a computer. I never get a busy signal when I call the Lord. Sometimes we struggle through problems even though our Lord is just a call away.
“1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:1-3)
MONDAY
Draw Nigh Unto God
It is good to spend time with family and friends. The more time I spend with a person, the more our friendship grows, and we get closer to one another. It is the same way in our relationship with our Lord. When we call unto the Lord, we draw closer to Him. David wrote in a Psalm of praise, “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18) James 4:8 also tells us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” When we draw nigh unto God, He will draw nigh to us. If we want to be closer to our Lord we can start by calling unto Him, then drawing nigh unto Him. As we cleanse our lives and purify our hearts, we will draw nigh unto our Lord, and He will draw nigh unto us.
TUESDAY
“Look Unto Me And Be Ye Saved”
When my son went away to college I was reading in the book of Psalms, and I began sending him encouraging thoughts from some of the Psalms I was reading. When the next son joined him I started the devotional website. The only concern I had was that I would not be able to think of things to write about every day. That was years ago and the Lord has continued to give me thoughts which I hope can be spiritually helpful, or be instrumental in leading someone to come to know Christ as his or her Savior. I am reading in Isaiah and the Lord gave me our next invitation from the Lord. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” (Isaiah 45:22-23) The Lord gives me great joy when He shows me scriptures from the chapters I am currently reading. These two verses in Isaiah give us two phrases using our word, “unto”. They are very important and are related in a special way. First, we read, “Look unto me, and be ye saved…” That is an option that we can choose, or refuse. The next example is not an option. “That unto me every knee shall bow…” You can humble yourself and bow to the Lord now, and He will give you forgiveness of sin and everlasting life in heaven with God. If you do not bow to the Lord while you are alive on earth, you will bow to Him in judgment for your sin. This is so important that God has repeated it these three times in the scriptures. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
“8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11)
“10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. “Romans 14:10-12)
WEDNESDAY
"Hearken Unto Me"
It is wonderful for us to “Call Unto The Lord” and to “Look Unto The Lord”, but we also need to “Hearken Unto The Lord.” We must listen to God, our Creator. I am still reading in the book of Isaiah and the very next chapter tells us to, “Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:” (Isaiah 46:12) This is more than just an invitation. It is a warning. He is calling to the prideful to hear Him. The word, “hearken”, goes beyond listening, as it also tells us to obey what we hear. He tells us in James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Isaiah 51 gives us more instructions to hearken unto the Lord.
“1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
“4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
“7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” (Isaiah 51:1, 4, & 7)
But the people did not listen.
“17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 29:17-19)
THURSDAY
“Come Unto Me”
The fifty third chapter of Isaiah is a beautiful illustration of the sacrifice of Christ, written hundreds of years before His birth. I have read it many times, but this time I was drawn to the description in verse 3, “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. Preacher Franklin (Buddy) Fox went on to be with the Lord. He was the pastor of Pine Grove 32 years. We know that he left all of his pain behind and is rejoicing in heaven. But, we are human and will still feel some sorrow, and will grieve at his funeral today. I read Isaiah 53:3, “acquainted with grief”, and I thought how Jesus came and lived among us so that He could be acquainted with grief. He understands our pain and sorrow. He understands our grief. When I am having a hard day, I need to remember that my Lord is acquainted with my grief. Jesus sends this invitation to you…
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)
“1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:1-6)
FRIDAY
“They Come Unto Him, Bringing One Sick…”
Michael is teaching in the book of Mark in Sunday School. When he read Mark 2:3, I knew I had to use it for one of our devotional thoughts. “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.” Jesus was in a house and the house was filled with people. Four friends of a sick man carried him to the roof and let him down from above to get Him to Jesus. They cared that much for their friend. It is wonderful when we come unto Him, but we also need to take our friends to Him. One of the saddest verses I know is found in Psalm 142:4, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” Let’s be the one who cares for the soul of others.
“1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” (Mark 2:1-12)
SATURDAY
Only One Way To Come To The Father
There are many ways to get from one place to another. In the beginning of time people went on foot, walking or running. They also learned to build boats so they could travel by sea. They rode on camels, donkeys, and horses. Since the invention of wheels, people have traveled by wagons, bicycles, and automobiles. We can even fly from one place to another. But, we can’t fly to heaven. There is no means of transportation that can take us to heaven. The only way to get to heaven is to believe in Jesus. He is the Son of God who came to die, and pay for our sin. When we confess our sin to Him and ask Him to forgive us, He will. Jesus is the only way to come to the Father.
“4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:4-6)
“35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:35-37)
