40 Days With Jesus: Celebrating His Presence (A 40-Day Devotional)

by Sarah Young

Spend 40 days with Jesus—from the time leading up to His death on Good Friday to the celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday—and celebrate His presence as never before. Select devotions from Sarah Young’s bestselling Jesus Calling have been compiled to create an experience of closeness with the Savior during any time of the year.

This booklet edition of key devotions offers a convenient format that fits into a purse or travel bag. Millions of people have found comfort and inspiration in Sarah Young’s #1 bestselling Jesus Calling.

Repeat customers enjoy giving 40 Days with Jesus as a gift throughout the yearPerfect size for travel 

Experience peace in His presence in 40 Days with Jesus.

Genres: Christian, Devotional, Faith, Spirituality, Religion

49 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Sarah Young’s devotional writings are personal reflections from her daily quiet time of Bible reading, praying, and writing in prayer journals.

With sales of more than 30 million books worldwide, Jesus Calling® has appeared on all major bestseller lists. Sarah’s writings include Jesus Calling®, Jesus Listens, Jesus Always, Jesus Today™, Jesus Lives™, Dear Jesus, Jesus Calling® for Little Ones, Jesus Calling® Bible Storybook, Jesus Calling®: 365 Devotions for Kids, and more.

Sarah and her husband were missionaries in Japan and Australia for many years. They currently live in the United States.

Reviews

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2.12 - 3.27.2016
Read 3.1 - 4.16.2017

[Adam Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to bait any partial-grace believers out there, but I had to quit on this one before I was all the way through it. Young's prose is beautiful and uplifting. In that, I have no problem, but there are some subtle qualities to this devotional that undermine God's perfect love. There are "if" statements here and there, sometimes as bracketed addendums or explanations of Scripture, which I find especially grievous. It has been a longstanding tradition in some circles to add things into Scripture when it seems like it would be difficult to understand otherwise, and what we tend to do is add a qualifier: "God will bless you IF YOU ARE PERFECTLY OBEDIENT". This is a paraphrase, but you've certainly seen this before, and usually, when you look into it, you find that the original Scripture merely says "God will bless you in Christ." His goodness, love, and grace do not flow from our works. They are an outpouring of His love as expressed through His Son, Jesus. If you trust in this idea, it blesses you way more than trying to merit your salvation through works (in fact, the latter just gets you into trouble).

The devotional is supposedly written from God's perspective, and it's all well and good until I got to a day midway through where God tells me that He knows I go through hard stuff sometimes, but that He uses that to teach me to obey Him better and that He won't quit on it till I do good stuff. Yes, that sounds simplistic, but that's what most people believe. Read your Bible, particularly Galatians. Recall the Spirit into which you were saved. You should not not try to live according to the law, from which you were saved. Live by the Spirit and experience the good stuff that comes from already knowing you're righteous.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each daily devotional was like a direct message from God to me. I am sharing this with my family and friends and would read again.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very encouraging and uplifting.

[McKayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This little devotional came at a weird time for me and I read it more as a filler. Although the sentiments in the book are true and easily digestible, I couldn’t help detecting a subtle threatening tone in some of the content. Maybe it’s foundless inference. But I didn’t love it.

[Yolande Helm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally

This book has inspired me to search for God's presence. It has taught me the importance of hope, being grateful, and living in the present moment. A must read.

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first exposure of this author who certainly left us quite a legacy. This particular electronic resource per the introduction contained excerpts from her bestselling devotionals, "Jesus Calling" and Jesus Lives". It looks like I will need to order at least one of those devotionals to use and/or give to my wife. I think the most amazing part that struck me is that Sarah is writing as if Jesus is speaking directly to you. I would find that intimidating if I was trying to presuppose what Jesus would tell me let's say from a particular Bible verse. But, in a way isn't that what we should be striving for in our daily devotionals? Maybe, this author helps guides us in that direction. I found the words to be short but pertinent for each day and theological I had no fault in what she wrote throughout the 40 days. Sorry, I went through the devotional faster than recommended. Meditating and listening to those words each day should be a help as you let the words and Bible verses referenced transform and renew your mind.

[Rebecca Cecil · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVES ALL THE BIBLE PASSAGES IN THIS BOOK. A VERY GOOD 40 DAY READ AND SARAH IS SUCH A WONDERFUL AUTHOR. WHEN YOU READ THIS BOOK THE WHOLE BOOK IS DONE LIKE GOD IS TALKING TO YOU. IT IS IN FIRST PERSON ( LIKE " I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, I WILL NEVER EVER LEAVE YOU" ). ONE OF THE QUOTES IN THE BOOK SAYS " I AM ALL AROUND YOU, HOVERING OVER YOU EVEN AS YOU SEEK MY FACE. I AM NEARER THAN YOU DARE BELIEVE, CLOSER THAN THE AIR YOU BREATHE." - I MEAN HOW POWERFUL IS THAT - WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE. IT IS A GREAT 40 DAY WALK WITH GOD HIMSELF. WE READ THIS BOOK AT OUR WOMENS GROUP AT CHURCH. WE EACH READ IT EVERY WEEK THEN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT OUR MEETING WE WOULD TAKE TURNS READY IT AGAIN AND TALKING ABOUT IT. SO NICE.

[Teresa Woodis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

This 40 day devotion(that I finished early because I am using portions in a Bible Study class) is filled with the beautiful and everlasting promises of our Lord and Savior. Thoroughly recommend!

[Reba Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very uplifting and comforting

A reminder of God's constant presence in our lives I highly recommend this book as a daily devotional it can be read over and over as a daily help

[Penny Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

God truly wants to have a relationship with you

Sarah Young has the gift to make Gods word speak to us as if God himself is talking to us in our living rooms. Not speaking with great thunder,but as a companion a dear friend whom cares about every aspect of our lives.

[John Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of forty Lenten meditation written as if Jesus was addressing you. Each meditation contains related scriptual reference. Since each meditation is delineated with the day number and not a date, it can be used for any Lenten year. They are short, thoughtful reflections.

[Sue Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed hearing scripture during my lunch walks! Listened in about 3-4 days. Even though I know it was supposed to be over 40 days. I will listen to more because I just want to be surrounded by Gods word more and more

[Rebecca Long Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice devotional

I especially like the scripture quoted at the end of each devotional, plus additional verses for further study. Very useful.

[Ray Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Wii love this book it help with my with Jesus thank you for write it

[Justin Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Journey

Very well written as well as a uplifting journey. Lots of scripture to go along with short story it will touch your heart.

[Ernest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve loved each and every one of Sarah Young’s devotions. This 40 day journey is perfect for the time of Lent.

[Kathleen A. Redding · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed. It was writing from her previous books. I was hoping for new Lenten insights from Jesus.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful addition to my Lenten worship. True to the usual format of Jesus Calling and thought provoking devotionals. Highly recommended.

[Cindy Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life-giving read!

Love the perspective this devotion is written! I cannot wait to start the next one by Sarah Young, definitely recommend.

[michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second devotional read by this author.

When I finished the first one I immediately bought this one. These devotionals are such a comfort to me.

Stephanie L.

[Judith Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written

[Donald Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational!

A very good daily inspiration. I made sure to read it every morning and found it to be uplifting most of the day.

[Denise Hlavka · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one that got me through lent this year.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

In looking for a Lenten devotional to prepare my heart for Easter, I turned to Sarah Young, whose Jesus Calling is one of the most impactful spiritual books I’ve read. 40 Days with Jesus is a selection of forty devotion taken from Young’s other books, so while it isn’t new material, the repackaging was well-suited for my purpose (though this certainly would be a relevant devotional outside of the Lenten season, as it isn’t specifically focused on the subject of Easter). Each of the forty devotions translates two or three passages from Scripture into modern language, written as if Jesus Himself is speaking these words from the page. Though some may take issue with this first-person approach, I found great comfort in these words and messages.

Themes of faith, love, and peace feature heavily in this selection of devotions and were exactly what my heart and soul needed for this season. The Lord spoke to me through Young’s words, encouraging me and drawing me nearer to Him each day.

My Rating: 5 Stars.

This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/april-2021-q...

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[Emillybeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy the (first person written as if Jesus was talking style). It felt very contrived and sacrilegious. It needed editing. The grammatical issues were distracting from the message. Some points were interesting and caused me to think and look at scripture differently. I can understand and appreciate how this could be uplifting to some people in some circumstances. I did not find it to be so with me.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this as a Christmas gift from a mentor and read it for Lent. I really enjoyed it; it is a very well-written and encouraging devotional. I will be adding Jesus Calling to my daily devotion time because of this little book.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed to be exerpts from her other books without much new material added. Still, it helped me in my mission to devote more time to spirituality, I would just recommend her other titles (Jesus Calling, etc.) over this one.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this for my Lenten devotionals this year. It could use a few more days, however, seeing as how I used this on the weekends, as well, so I will need to find something to supplement my devotional time for this last week of Lent!

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for the Lent season, a very good little book and only $2.24 at MTL Christian Bookstore. www.mtlbookstore.com