Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004. 382 pp. $14.99. Purchase at Amazon.com. Also, you can purchase the audio CD version from Amazon for $16.49.
Introduction
Jesus Calling was written by a young missionary woman seeking to feel the presence of God more. With a simple pen and pad of paper, Sarah began taking down notes. The Lord pressed certain scripture passages on her heart and she would meditate on them. What we have in this book is her meditations from a personal journal made into a daily devotional for men and women seeking to feel the presence of God closer in their lives.
Sarah and her husband have planted in churches in Japan and Australia as well as counseled countless men, women and families. They currently minister to Japanese people living in Perth, Australia.
Content of Jesus Calling
If there is one phrase that best sums up Jesus Calling it would have to be “Come to me.” Those are the first words that appear the most often at the beginning of one of the daily devotions. Each day the reader is called to draw closer to God. This beautifully echoes so many passages found in the book of Hebrews where the writer tells us to draw close to God to find grace and mercy (Heb. 4:16), so that intercession may be made for us (Heb. 7:19), and so that we are made perfect (Heb. 10:1).
Each devotional is written as though God was writing directly to the reader. For example, pronouns like “I” and “me” are used to refer to the writer of the devotion while “you” is used to refer to the reader. It is obvious the “I’s” and the “me’s” are not referring to Sarah, but to God. The reader really does feel as though they are engaging God in a conversation.
At the end of each devotion, there is a listing of scripture passages to read and meditate on. These are carefully selected to further the devotion and point you to the unchanging Word of God.
Recommendation
This devotional is God-centered, Christ-exalting, and soul-refreshing. This one-year, daily devotional would make a great gift for a Christian brother or sister. I am thinking especially of someone who is going through some seriously tough issues, and who ain’t these days, in life. I am thinking of the woman whose husband just left her with 3 kids and a house payment. I am thinking of the man who just lost his job and has no idea where to go next. There are numerous people in my own life that I can think to give this book to and I am sure there are in yours as well. I would, however, be very careful regarding the “first person” (as though Christ is speaking audibly) approach to this book. We must always be careful of receiving new revelation or even thinking we are. If the book is not available at Amazon (it was not as of the writing of this review), then you can purchase it directly from Thomas Nelson, Inc.
I purchased about a dozen of Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling for Christmas gifts. My sister does very little reading and never is able to get through Christian books I send her. But this short, small, yet very deep and thoughtful devotional book got her. She is in Wisconsin while I am in Michigan and each day we know the other one is reading it and we may call and compare what is speaking to us as individuals. We love this book and recommend it to anyone. As my sister says, it brings you incredible peace within.
I a m trying to find a way to email Sarah Young directly. I want her to know how much this devotion has ministered to me during my journey with breast cancer. The Lord has used this journey to open doors for ministry for me and a pastor’s wife that has also walked this journey. We are wanting to see if Sarah or the publisher would give a better price that the stores. What God has laid on my heart is to give one of the Jesus Calling Enjoying Peace in His Presence to every chemo patient. My husband and I are self-employed with a Moving Company and with the housing market a little slow and I do not work, I personally do not have the funds to buy a large amount of books. I have a Caring Bridge Journal that keeps my family and friends updated on my journey and this last week I put what ministry the Lord wanted me to do and about purchasing the books. I have people already sending funds to purchase them but Lifeway Bookstore they are 15.00, even though they had a sale during my chemo for $5.00 but I wasn’t able to get to the store before the sale went off. I am trying to get as many as I can because God is truly blessing Pam and I as we minister to patients with cancer at the Atlanta Cancer Care. If there is anyway Sarah or the publisher could give us a great deal on the books we would love to give these as a gift. This book with God’s word has blessed me everyday I awake and I would love to share this word with all of the patients. May God bless each of you.
I am looking for Jesus Calling for $5.00 per book. I usually order about 10 books at time to give away as needed. I cannot find the website I used before and noticed you did have a special on these at one time. I read the message from Teresa Garmon who was asking the same question. Thanks for your response.
I am sorry, ladies, but I am not able to keep up with all of the sales at the various store and website locations. My website is not a book store though I do have a few book stores represented.
If anyone does discover where you can get this book for $5.00, please let us know here and I will broadcast it to the readers.
@Terry Delaney
Did anyone ever find the Jesus Calling books for 5.00 each??? I’m also wanting to give them as gifts to the families I serve!
Thank you!
Julie
I have not. The best I can guess is that the $5 offer was for a limited time. There are some lists that place this book as the #1 selling Christian book from 2010. Sorry for not being of any more help than that.
Go to Mardel in Denton Texas they are all on sale 50% off and $10 without the discount. Very cheap.