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Baker Publishing Group - Melody Carlson

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103 pages

English

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Teens are already devoted followers of Melody Carlson's fiction series. From the thousands of personal letters she's received, she knows teens want more. They're looking for substance and spiritual guidance that can make a difference in their lives. Life is the next devotional for teens from Melody Carlson. It offers readers a structured way to encounter Jesus's words for their own personal inspiration and practical application. Carlson shares with her faithful readers the life-changing message of Jesus, giving them something to lean on in the turbulent time of adolescence. This 90-day devotional will strengthen teens' faith and help them study the Bible for all it's worth.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 octobre 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441233202
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0346€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

LiFE
LiFE
A TEEN DEVOTIONAL
Words from the Rock
MELODY CARLSON
2009 by Melody Carlson
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
E-book edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3320-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Scripture marked CEV is taken from the Contemporary English Version 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture marked Message is taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture marked NCV is taken from the New Century Version Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked NLT is taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked TLB is taken from The Living Bible , copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Contents
Introduction
1. Birdseed Faith
2. Tumbleweed Faith
3. Weedy Faith
4. Amazing Faith!
5. Puzzle Pieces
6. Enemy Seeds
7. In Due Time
8. Small Beginnings
9. Major Minors
10. Secret Treasure
11. What Cost?
12. Finders Keepers
13. Equipped and Ready
14. Miracle Meal
15. Fearless Faith
16. Fake Faith
17. Weight of Words
18. Religious Traps
19. Real Sign
20. Who Is He?
21. Kingdom Keys
22. Followers
23. Lost and Found
24. How Much?
25. Real Hunger
26. Job Description
27. Soul Food
28. No Rejection
29. Big Promise
30. Living Bread
31. Life Blood
32. Life Bread
33. Wrong Expectations
34. Recognize Truth
35. Learn to Discern
36. The Connector
37. Mountain Movers
38. Three-Part Plan
39. Taxes or Trust
40. Small Examples
41. Defending the Defenseless
42. Trip Ups
43. Just Lose It
44. Persistent Love
45. Work It Out
46. Power Promise
47. Forgive and Forgive
48. Marriage Plan
49. Hard Hearts
50. Single Hearts
51. Not Enough
52. Stumbling Block
53. Impossible Possibilities
54. Great Benefits
55. First and Last
56. Headed to the Cross
57. Who s on Top?
58. Sealed Fates
59. Thirst Quencher
60. Throwing Stones
61. Life Light
62. Earthbound Minds
63. Seeing Jesus
64. Who s a Pharisee?
65. Authorized by God
66. Real Freedom
67. A Slave to Sin
68. God at Work
69. Blinding Pride
70. Attention!
71. Our Entrance
72. Good Shepherd
73. All for Us
74. Safety Zone
75. Relationship Reflection
76. Confidence
77. Sneak Preview
78. Priorities
79. Total Trust
80. Devoted Disciples
81. Children of Light
82. God s Light
83. Words of Life
84. Servant Heart
85. Full Disclosure
86. Love s Brand
87. Second Chances
88. Home Sweet Home
89. Way, Truth, Life
90. Promising Promise
Introduction
I didn t grow up in a traditional churchgoing home. In fact, I proclaimed myself an atheist at the ripe old age of twelve. For some reason it made sense to me-I saw no signs of God and therefore thought he couldn t possibly exist. I think I secretly hoped he d straighten me out. Thankfully, by the time I was fifteen, he did. In the course of one week, I did a 180-degree turnaround from a loud-mouthed atheist to a sold-out believer.
I didn t know a thing about the Bible, and I had no idea where to begin. So I just started reading and studying and memorizing Scripture. I must have been trying to make up for lost time, since my new Christian friends already seemed to know a lot about the Bible. My goal was to absorb as much Scripture as I possibly could. And for years that s just what I did.
Then one day, I noticed that I felt totally satiated-like a person who d sat at the table for too long on Thanksgiving. So I literally went on a Bible fast-I put my Bible in a drawer and didn t open it. Not that I d recommend this to everyone, but it seemed to be just what I needed.
After a while, I knew it was it was time to read my Bible again, but I wanted to do something different. This time I decided to focus only on the words of Jesus. I got a red-letter Bible (in which all of Jesus s words are printed in red) and read only the red words. And it was awesome. I realized that Jesus s words truly were words of life-and they were just the words my life needed.
My hope is that you ll experience that same kind of life as you read these devotionals-the kind of life that comes straight from the only one who can give you real life, the one who wants to be your lifeline. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the LIFE.
1 Birdseed Faith
Words from the Rock
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Matthew 13:3-4 NIV
J esus told this parable to a crowd at the lake one day. Jesus often used parables, which are actually stories, to teach critical life lessons-probably because he knew we d do better recalling a story than a boring twelve-part lecture. He also understood that most listeners wouldn t fully grasp the meaning of the story the first time they heard it, but perhaps over time (as it s told again and again), the truth would sink in.
The soil in this story represents our hearts. In other words, Jesus compares our hearts to dirt. (Before you get offended, remember that God formed humans from the earth.) The seed in this story represents the gospel-the Good News that Jesus was God s Son sent to earth to offer humankind a new and improved relationship with God. Unfortunately, not all who hear this Good News will take it seriously, and that explains this parable.
The reaction of some listeners is like a tough old road. The seed lands on the hard-packed dirt and then just sits there because it can t penetrate the hardened surface of a well-traveled road. It s as if the road rejects it. Kind of like people with hardened hearts or heads. They re unwilling to listen, simply rejecting the Good News as soon as it hits them. It almost seems that the seed is wasted. In fact, Jesus adds that the birds come and eat it-the precious Good News is nothing more than worthless birdseed to them.
Maybe we don t think we fall into this birdseed kind of faith category, but there are times when anyone can be a little hard-hearted- times when we might choose to disobey God or reject a truth he s shown us. Jesus doesn t want us to treat his words like birdseed. He wants hearts that are softened and ready to welcome his Good News, allow it to grow, and make strong roots.
My Prayer
Dear God, Please keep my heart plowed and tilled (with your Word and your truth) so that, unlike birdseed, my faith will root deeply into you. Amen.

Stone for the Journey
I won t allow
myself to
become
hard-hearted
toward God.
Final Word
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
Matthew 13:19 NIV
2 Tumbleweed Faith
Words from the Rock
Some [seed] fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Matthew 13:5-6 NIV
N ow Jesus is talking about another kind of farming challenge. This particular seed (still representing Jesus s Good News) fell onto rocky places-ground that hasn t been plowed, cultivated, or prepared for agriculture. It s probably rough, uneven, full of stones, and basically not the kind of soil to grow much of anything (besides tumbleweed, which can be here one day and gone the next).
This rocky ground represents those with a willingness to hear the Good News. They might even experience a positive reaction to it-initially-but that s about all. They haven t reached the place in life where they want to take God s words and promises seriously, so they adopt a kind of fair-weather faith. Maybe they say, Yeah, I know Jesus is real and he cares about me, and that s cool, but they don t grasp the hugeness of a relationship with God. For them, faith is more like a fad-when temptations or tough times come, they let their faith slip away like last year s fashion trends.
These people are similar to a plant that grows up without a strong root system. Their seed gets wedged between a rock and a hard place with little real soil-following a gentle spring rain, the plant pops up and might even seem healthy for a while. But then a few hot, sunny days come along, and because the plant doesn t have real roots, it simply dries up and blows away, kind of like tumbleweed. Those people who make a showy commitment to Christ but don t really take it seriously can spiritually dry up and blow away too.
Jesus wants us to have healthy and established roots that go deeply into him to strengthen our fa