"Call Unto Me..."
SUNDAY
“I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me…”
We talked about having joy in singing, and through salvation. We also find joy in the Word of God. We have joy in being face to face with Christian friends. “Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” (II John 1:12) We can find all of these things in going to God’s house. “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 122:1) It’s Sunday morning. Let’s go to church and have joy!
MONDAY
A Door Is Opened Unto Us
The Apostle Paul took several missionary journeys. He said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” (I Corinthians 16:9) He recognized the importance of going to other places and preaching the gospel message. Pastor Rick Byerly is focusing this month on missions. Sunday morning he preached about Philip going to the desert when the Lord told him to go. There he met a man who had been to Jerusalem to worship, but he still needed Jesus. Philip joined him in his chariot and preached Jesus, and the man was saved. It is wonderful that we can support our missionaries financially and in prayer. But, we also need to listen to the Lord and when He opens a door unto us to tell others about Jesus; it gives us a great opportunity to be a witness for Him.
“26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)
TUESDAY
The Lord Gives Strength Unto His People
In an effort to be healthier, Michael and I joined “Silver Sneakers” at the YMCA. For six weeks, we have been going three times a week. We get tired, but I don’t think we get as tired now, as we did when we first started going. We walked to the garden yesterday and gathered some fresh vegetables and it wasn’t hard work, but being in the heat made me really tired. Sometimes I tell people I’m retired… I was tired yesterday and I’m tired again today. We read in Psalms 29:11, The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” When we are tired and weak, we can pray to the Lord and ask Him for strength. I am so thankful that our gracious Lord provides all our needs. That not only includes the things we can see, but also the things we can’t see, like strength and peace. Thank you, Lord!
WEDNESDAY
“Verily, Verily I Say Unto Thee…”
“Ye must be born again.” Jesus explained this to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. We are all born into this world with an earthly body. When we put our trust in Jesus to be our Savior, we are born again with a spiritual body that will never die. Have you been born again? Do you know Jesus as your Savior? He came to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sin, and all we have to do is believe on Him with all our heart and confess to Him, asking Him to forgive us and save us. That’s being born again.
“1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:1-7)
THURSDAY
Our Lord Does Not Despise Our Prayer
Yesterday our thought was, “Pray Unto Me”. As Pastor Rick Byerly was reading his text last night at church, one verse really stuck with me. Sometimes when I pray I have so, so many prayer requests. There are so many people around me who are hurting. There are so many things in my life that are overwhelming and I feel like I need to apologize to the Lord for having so much on my mind to pray about. We may get weary of our children asking, and asking things of us. But the Lord does not despise our prayers. Let’s look at Psalm 102:17-18. “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.” God will hear our prayer! The Lord does not despise our prayer! This was written for the people to come, and that includes me and you. Praise the Lord!
FRIDAY
Sing Unto The Lord
Singing is a joyful way we can express our love to our God and Savior. “Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.” (I Chronicles 16:23) We can teach our children to sing songs about Jesus at a very young age. I know the words to many of the old hymns because I was brought up singing them in church. We can also sing unto the Lord when we are growing old. We read in Psalm 104:33, “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” This is my prayer and my praise. I want to sing unto the Lord as long as I live!
SATURDAY
Restore Unto Me
Do you remember the joy you had when you first asked the Lord to save you? Can you remember how it felt to have the weight of sin lifted from your soul? I was very young, but those memories are still with me. I was crying with conviction and the fear of hell, and when I asked Jesus to save me that fear was wiped away. Now, I often cry in gracious thankfulness to my Lord for saving my soul. There are times when we are going through trials and we get discouraged. We may fall into temptation and the burden of our sin robs us of our joy. After Nathan the prophet confronted David of his sin, David cried out to God in repentance. “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” (Psalm 51:2-3) He confessed his sin and said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) And then we come to verse 12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” No matter what the reason for our downtrodden spirit, God can restore our joy. Have you lost your joy? You can pray like David, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” God loves you!
