“Call Unto Me…”
1. A Prison Message
2. We Can Always Call On The Lord
3. Draw Night Unto God
4. “Look Unto Me And Be Ye Saved”
5. Hearken Unto Me
6. Come Unto Me
7. “They Come Unto Him, Bringing One Sick…”
8. Only One Way To Come Unto The Father
9. Bring The Children Unto Jesus
10. Return Unto Me
11. Give Thanks Unto The Lord
12. Pray Unto Me
13. Our Lord Does Not Despise Our Prayer
14. Sing Unto The Lord
15. Restore Unto Me
16. “I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me…”
17. A Door Is Opened Unto Us
18. The Lord Gives Strength Unto His People
19. “Verily, Verily I Say Unto Thee…”
20. “Who Is Like Unto Thee, O LORD?”
21. What Can We Give Unto The Lord
22. “My Peace I Give Unto You”
1. A Prison Message
I used to hear people say, “If you need me, call, I’m just a phone call away.” It’s nice to have friends that are that close. Someone you can call when life gets tough. I have a few friends that I can call when I have an urgent prayer request. Jeremiah was shut up in prison because of his prophecy that Jerusalem would be taken by Babylon. Imagine how he felt knowing that he was in prison for proclaiming what God told him to say. God had spoken to him and told him the message for the people. In chapter 33 the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. This message may have been for the people, but I believe that it was also for the prophet. Jeremiah was in prison and there was no one for him to turn to for help. And the Lord said, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3) I remember that Jesus said, “Come unto me.” Let’s look at these and a few more times we find an invitation like this from the Lord.
2. 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)
3. 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.
4. “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)
5. 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)
6. “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)
7. “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)
8. Only One Way To Come Unto 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)
9. Bring The Children Unto Jesus
When I was very young my Mom would spread the flannel graph pieces on the kitchen table and tell us the Bible story she was going to teach in Sunday school. Quite a bit later in life Dad would have us sit around in the evening and take turns reading from the Bible. They took us to church regularly and lived for God. I remember hearing my Dad pray as he kneeled beside his bed. I also remember standing outside my grandfather’s open window and hearing him practice his sermon for Sunday. All of these memories are precious to me. The Lord showed me how blessed and important it is for us to bring our children to Jesus starting at a young age and that’s what we tried to do. Tell your children about Jesus. Pray with them. Take them to church. God commanded Israel to teach their children about God.
“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
Jesus also showed His followers how important it is to let the little children come unto Him.
“13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16)
10. Return Unto Me
I hope you had a Happy 4th Of July. In 1976, (wow that seems like so long ago), our youth group at Gospel Baptist Church had a pageant to celebrate 200 years of American Independence. It covered some of the history of America from a Biblical perspective, and how we needed to turn back to God. II Chronicles 7:14 was one of the focal points. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” If we needed that message almost 50 years ago, how much more do we need it today? I just read the third chapter of Jeremiah and noticed that God tells Israel and Judah to return to Him. The word, “turn”, is used 3 times and the word, “return”, is also used 3 times. Chapter 4 begins, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.” (Jeremiah 4:1) Pray for our country, that we will turn back to God.
11. Give Thanks Unto The Lord
Growing up I often heard, “It’s as hot as the fourth of July!” It really has been hot the last few weeks. We had a nice rain most of the day on Sunday and that was a welcome relief for my garden. We are not far into summer, but it won’t be long and fall will roll around again, just as God promised. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) When the cool weather comes and the leaves begin to turn yellow, orange, and red, we will know that Thanksgiving is near. We don’t need to wait for a special day to be thankful to our Lord. We can give thanks unto Him every day!
“Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.” (I Chronicles 16:8)
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (I Chronicles 16:34)
“ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Psalm 100:4)
12. Pray Unto Me
We began with, “Call Unto Me”, and we are still looking at invitations from our Lord. God told Jeremiah that after the time was fulfilled in Babylon, He would deliver them from their captivity. In Jeremiah 29:12 God says, “call upon me”, and then it is followed with, “pray unto me”. When I feel discouraged and in despair, I know I can call unto the Lord and He will hear me. When I have an urgent need, I can call unto the Lord in distress. When I see it says that we are to also pray unto Him, it seems to carry a more intimate tone and closeness with our Lord. Calling may be an instant cry, but praying involves talking with the Lord, and waiting on Him, to answer our prayer. Prayer gives us communion with God as we seek Him with all our heart.
“11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
13. 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!
14. 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!
15. 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!
16. “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!
17. 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)
18. 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!
19. “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)
20. “Who Is Like Unto Thee, O LORD?”
What a question for our devotions today! After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and all the host of Pharaoh were drowned when the waters returned, Moses sang in his song, “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11) Has the Lord done something wonderful for you, that you can say, “Who is like unto Thee, O Lord?” I can begin… “There is nobody like my Lord and Savior!” He has been with me all these years, and proved His goodness to me over and over again. In the recent years God brought me through Covid Pneumonia, Cancer and Chemo, and AFIB. God has been so good to me! Here are a few more scriptures that remind us there’s nobody like our God.
“All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?” (Psalm 35:10)
“Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!” (Psalm 71:19)
“Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.” (Psalm 86:8)
“O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?” (Psalm 89:8)
“Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.” (Jeremiah 10:6)
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
21. What Can We Give Unto The Lord?
Everything belongs to God. We read in Psalm 50:10-12…
“10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
So, is there anything we can give unto the Lord? In the same chapter we read, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:” (Psalm 50:14) David tells us, “Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29:1-2) There are many verses that tell us to “Give thanks unto the Lord”, and “Give unto the Lord glory and strength.” These three things we can remember… give God thanks, glory (praise) and strength (our all to do His will). That’s what we can give unto the Lord.
22. “My Peace I Give Unto You”
When I am starting a new focus for our devotions, I jot down thoughts and verses that might be encouraging to cover. After a week or two, and the Lord gives me a new direction, I hate to go on before mentioning the scriptures that I didn’t mention. So, here we are, another week has passed and it’s Saturday. These are several verses that include the little word, “unto”. Each one is special in its own way. Read them and let them speak unto you.
“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17)
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32)
“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” (Psalm 16:6)
“<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1)
“Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.” (Psalm 69:19)
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2)
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalm 5:3)
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
