SUNDAY
Come Unto Me
There are several times in the scriptures that we hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come unto me.” This is the Lord’s Day. Let’s heed the Lord’s invitation and meet Him in the house of the Lord. Then we can leave like the woman at the well saying, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29)
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
“Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.” (John 21:12)
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)
MONDAY
The Lord's First Invitation To Come
As we begin our theme, "Coming And Going", let's look at the very first invitation to "Come" from the Lord. We have to go all the way back to Genesis 6:18, to the very familiar story of Noah and the ark. “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.”
“1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." Genesis 7:1-5
God saw the wickedness of mankind and decided to send a flood and destroy the world. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:8 ) Our focus from this account is that the Lord did not say, "Go into the ark", but He said "Come thou and all thy house into the ark..." The Lord was already there, waiting to go with Noah through the storm! Not only was the Lord protecting them from the flood, He was protecting them from the wicked that would destroy them. "And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7:16) If you come to the Lord now, you can find grace in the eyes of the Lord just as Noah did. If you choose not to come to the Lord, be aware that one day it will be too late and the doors of God's heavenly eternity will be shut.
“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18 )
TUESDAY
Come And Worship
God has given us an invitation to come and worship the Lord our maker. David had a great love for the house of the Lord. We see this in Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” This is our “Coming And Going” today. Psalm 95 tells us how we should come to the Lord. Verse 1 tells us to come singing. Verse 2 reminds us to come with thanksgiving. And verse 6 gives us the heart of the matter, as we come and worship. James Montgomery wrote “Angels From The Realms Of Glory”, on Christmas Eve in 1816. I love the chorus, “Come and worship, Come and worship, Worship Christ the Newborn King.” Christmas was two months ago, but we can continue to come and worship our Lord all through the year.
“1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart,… “ (Psalm 95:1-8)
WEDNESDAY
Blessed Coming In And Blessed Going Out
In the years that I have been writing these devotionals it never ceases to amaze me how the Lord will show me things from His Word. When I am writing on a certain theme, as I am now on “Coming And Going”, I will notice those words in the chapters and verses that I am reading. The example today is from Deuteronomy 28 where Moses said if they hearkened to God’s Word they would be blessed coming in and going out.
“1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” (Deuteronomy 28:1,2, & 6)
“15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 16 & 19)
Some of the promises in the Old Testament were to the Israelites, but we are truly blessed who have trusted in Jesus as our Savior. We are blessed to be forgiven! “Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:7-8) James 1:25 tells us that those who do the work of the Lord will be blessed. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” And let us not forget the words of our Lord on the mount.
“1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:1-16)
THURSDAY
The Only Way To Go To Heaven Is To Come To Jesus
When a person wants to get in to a place without a reservation, he or she may offer a bribe to the one at the door. When a person gets caught doing something wrong, he or she might offer a bribe to the officer with money or even by working it off. Another way he or she might try to get out of trouble is to say, “Do you know who I am? Do you know who my Daddy is?” When I was thinking about the ways people think they can go to heaven, I thought about how they are really trying to bribe God. God doesn’t take bribes. We can’t pay our way to go to heaven. We also can’t do enough works to make our sin go away. We can’t go to heaven in the name of our parents or grandparents. The only way we can go to heaven is to come to Jesus! “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the only way to be saved from your sins.
“1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
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 14:1-6)
FRIDAY
My Lord Preserves My Going Out And My Coming In
Now that we have had some snow, I am ready for spring. It is getting time for me to start planning my garden. I enjoy being out in the sun, working in the garden, and watching it grow. We are rewarded with fresh vegetables, and now I am enjoying the ones I canned last summer. Let’s look at Psalm 121, which ends, “The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” I looked up the Biblical meaning of preserve and it said to protect, keep, or save. This is a wonderful Psalm that shows how the Lord preserves His people. In verses 1 and 2 the Lord protects us. In verses 3-6 He keeps us. And in the last two verses the Lord saves us. He watches over me whether I am going out or if I’m coming in, “even for evermore”!
“1 <<A Song of degrees.>> I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (Psalm 121)
SATURDAY
He Brought Us Out To Bring Us In
God spoke to Moses from the burning bush on the backside of the desert to go and deliver His people out of bondage in Egypt. Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and God used great miracles to deliver them. They were fearful and refused to go into the Promised Land, and God let them wander in the wilderness 40 years. In the book of Deuteronomy Moses reminded the people, "And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers." (Deuteronomy 6:23) When we accept God's wonderful gift of salvation He brings us out of the awful bondage and life of sin. But, God does not leave us in the middle of nowhere, without purpose or direction. God saves us and brings us out, so that He may bring us in. Here are some verses from the New Testament to tell us a few ways He brings us in.
He brings us into salvation!
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9)
He brings us into joy!
"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:21)
He brings us into rest!
"For we which have believed do enter into rest,..." (Hebrews 4:3)
He brings us into the Holy of Holies, clothed in the righteousness of Christ!
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," (Hebrews 10:19)
