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® TEEN EDITION - VOLUME 4
Contents Page Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Quick Starts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Changing my prayers changed my life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Daily Bible reading notes (1–120) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 I thought I needed to be beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Daily Bible reading notes (121–240). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Letter to a depressed Christian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Daily Bible reading notes (241–365). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Aren’t all religions just the same thing really?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 Explore the Bible’s story in a year!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378 Our Daily Bread Ministries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 COVER PHOTO
Blue and green paint splash © Nik Merkulov, shutterstock.com Scripture taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 2019 Our Daily Bread Ministries® • Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA odb.org • europe@odb.org Printed in the United Kingdom. Product Code: GC591
Ready to explore the Bible? I can’t wait! Let’s do this!
Then come and get stuck into finding out who God is, what difference He really makes and all the stuff the Bible has to say to you. That’s what this Our Daily Bread Teen Edition is all about!
Yawn! That sounds like a lot of effort . . .
Check out the Quick Starts on the next page. You’ll see the Quick Starts icons on each of the highlighted days. Read as many of them as you want, and take as long as you need . . . no one’s going to check up on you! What really matters is that you get into what God has to say in the Bible.
Got room for some more? Bring it on!
Why not try to complete the “Explore the Bible’s story in a year” challenge on page 378! And keep an eye out throughout this book for the “Want More . . . ?” sections with lots more stuff you can enjoy online.
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When I said I “love” reading, I kinda just meant it’s OK . . .
Quick Starts Who is Jesus? Day 3 Day 60 Day 97 Day 132 Day 139 Day 273 Day 343
Prayer Day 68 Day 74 Day 83 Day 90 Day 127 Day 153 Day 333
What is a Christian? Day 36 Day 79 Day 101 Day 113 Day 130 Day 162 Day 208
Sin and temptation Day 31 Day 54 Day 102 Day 121 Day 148 Day 182 Day 242
How I feel about me Day 1 Day 7 Day 43 Day 154 Day 250 Day 269 Day 271
Gossiping Day 52 Day 57 Day 126 Day 171 Day 255 Day 300 Day 316
Living for God Day 16 Day 26 Day 49 Day 80 Day 241 Day 325 Day 353
School life Day 9 Day 58 Day 99 Day 105 Day 158 Day 169 Day 266
Stress and anxiety Day 18 Day 47 Day 61 Day 163 Day 257 Day 284 Day 349
Forgiveness Day 59 Day 172 Day 188 Day 199 Day 205 Day 262 Day 264 3
FOCUS ARTICLE
CHANGING S R E Y A R P Y M CHANGED MY LIFE
I
’ve noticed something about the way we sometimes pray: we ask God to come and join in what we’re doing. Over and over again, I hear people asking for God to get involved in their studies, family life, dating and so on. I’m the same. My prayers were often, “God, be involved in my life. Make this thing I’m doing work out OK”—until I heard a message at church one Sunday. That day, the speaker talked about the importance of making ourselves available to what God is doing. That’s when it hit me. Though my usual prayers seemed humble and God-centred, in reality, I was acting as if my life were a stage that belonged only to me. I was the leading character, while God was just the guest I invited in for a few acts. My prayers placed God in the position of a helper, instead of the leader of my life. The Bible reminds us that we are created for God’s purposes and praise (ISAIAH 43:7), all things serve Him (PSALM 119:91), and that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (EPHESIANS 2:10). God is the owner and main character of our lives—He plays the starring role. Whether we can ‘feel’ Him or choose to involve Him, His place in our lives is certain and never changing. It’s our own limitations and shortsightedness that makes it sometimes feel like God is not here with us. Realising this led me to change the way I pray. Instead of asking for Him to come close and get involved, I ask Him to help me be more open to His leading and plans.
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Instead of asking Him to arrange things the way I want them to be, I ask Him to help me live my life for Him and what He’s doing. Instead of asking Him to be involved in my life, I ask Him to involve me in His rescue mission in this world. Interestingly, after changing the way I prayed, I found my prayers answered quickly—especially the one where I asked to be involved in God’s mission. Someone I didn’t know offered me an opportunity to write as part of a youth ministry. Without hesitation, I said yes. It was so exciting to see God answering my changed prayers! I am now involved in youth work where I use my writing to make God known. It is amazing to see the answers of my changed prayers. “Take delight in the Lord,” says the psalmist, “and he will give you the desires of your heart” (PSALM 37:4). What I have found is the “desires” of my heart have changed. I no longer just want stuff for me, and for God to make it happen. I want the things God wants. I want to know Him better and better, and for my friends and family to trust Him. God loves to answer our prayers as we make Him the centre of who we are, matching our prayers up to His ways, His desires and what He’s doing as the main character in our lives (JOHN 15:7). ymi.today/changing-my-prayers-changed-my-life
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DAY 1
SPIRITUAL JUNK FOOD Bible: Hebrews 13:1-9
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings (V.9).
I
Reading
n many countries around the world, childhood obesity is at an all-time high. One of the reasons we’re putting on the weight is just how much junk food we’re eating. Junk food is anything from fast-food chips and burgers at tea, to having sweets and energy drinks for snacks. It’s food that tastes really good, but doesn’t do our bodies much good. Especially if we eat lots of it. To be healthy in our spiritual lives and our relationship with God, we have to avoid ‘spiritual junk food’. This junk food includes teaching that tells us our Christian lives are all about the good things we do; that trusting Jesus means we’ll get everything we want; or that God would never send anyone to hell. It’s anything that is different from what the Bible actually says (GALATIANS 1:6). And this junk food can be found anywhere, even some ‘Christian’ books or music will say things that go against the Bible’s words. Some of this spiritual junk food may be nicer to hear than the Bible and make us feel good, but it will damage our walk with God if we start believing it. The book of Hebrews warns us: “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace” (HEBREWS 13:9). Teaching that’s different to the Bible, no matter how good it sounds, will hurt us. We need to stick to the truth and life-giving power of what the Bible actually says if we want to live for God and know Him better. DF
To pray about . . .
Dear God, please help me to read the Bible and think about what it tells me about You. Help me to test everything I hear against its words.
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FEEDING ON WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS WILL HELP US TO AVOID SWALLOWING LIES.
DAY 2
THE CURE Bible: John 1:10-18
The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (V.17).
I
Reading
f a doctor called you and in a serious voice said, “Please come and see me as soon as you can. I have something to tell you,” you’d be worried! Your first response might be, “No, I don’t want to know.” But then you’d go, because it’s only when you know what the problem is that you can also find out the cure. God, our great doctor, has some bad news for us: “There is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (ROMANS 3:11-12). None of us are that good at loving the God who made us (often we totally ignore Him!). We deserve death “and after that to face judgement” (HEBREWS 9:27). That’s the bad news. But He also gives us the answer. As soon as the first people turned away from Him, God promised to send Someone to rescue them (GENESIS 3:15). We’re told, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (JOHN 1:17). But how does that help? Jesus came to earth to bring us God’s grace, something that none of us deserve because we all sin (fall short of God’s ways). He came to pay for our sin by His own death and make us God’s people once more. He came to be the “truth” that would bring us back to God and “save his people from their sins” (MATTHEW 1:21). Listen to what our great doctor has to say in the Bible about our problem. Then accept His cure—the gift of a new, forgiven life with Him CPH through Jesus.
ONLY JESUS CAN CURE US.
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DAY 3
QUESTIONS Bible: Matthew 16:13-21
“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” (V.15).
W
Reading
ho is Jesus? How would you answer that question? Jesus began teaching when He was in His early thirties. He asked His friends, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (MATTHEW 16:13) or, in other words, “Who do people think I am?” They gave the answers others had given: John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: “Who do you say I am?” (V.15). Ultimately, this is the most important question Jesus ever asked His followers. He didn’t ask “Who does the church say I am?”, “Who do your parents say I am?” or “Who do your mates say I am?” He asked His friends for their own personal reaction to Him. He asks the same of us. Peter replied to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (V.16). Peter realised that Jesus was actually God and needed to be followed and treated as such. Many of our classmates, teachers and family have no idea who Jesus is. They don’t give Him a second thought. But who do you say He is? Have you read about His life in the Bible to help you make up your mind? And if you say He is God, are you living your life with Him as your King? And are you TG going to help those around you find out who He is too?
Want more . . . ?
Why not read and share Who is Jesus? online at ourdailybread.org/lookingdeeper
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WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?
DAY 4
JESUS IN DISGUISE Bible: Matthew 25:31-40
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done (PROVERBS 19:17).
G
Reading
eoff recently lived like a homeless person. He spent three days and two nights living on the streets of his city, sleeping outside in below freezing temperatures. Without food, money or shelter, he relied on the kindness of random passers-by for his basic needs. On one of those days his only food was a sandwich, bought by a man who heard him asking for stale bread outside a café. Geoff told me later it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, yet it totally changed how he viewed others. He spent the day after his homelessness trying to find the homeless people who had been kind to him during his time on the street, doing what he could to look out for them in simple ways. They were surprised to realise he wasn’t actually homeless and were thankful he cared enough to try to see life through their eyes. Geoff’s experience reminds me of Jesus’ words: “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me . . . Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (MATTHEW 25:36,40). Whether we’re encouraging a friend, helping out round the house or looking out for classmates, we show Jesus’ love when we care for others. And our kindness JB to others is kindness to Him.
Thinking it over . . .
What little things can you do for someone else today? When have you been cared for?
WE SHOW OUR LOVE FOR JESUS WHEN WE LOVE HIS PEOPLE.
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DAY 5
DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL? Bible: John 5:1-8
When Jesus saw him lying there . . . he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (V.6).
D
Reading
oes the sun rise in the east? Is the sky blue? Is the ocean salty? Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9? Okay, that last one you might only know if you’re a science geek! But the other questions have an obvious answer: yes. In fact, when people ask obvious questions like that, it’s often done with a hint of sarcasm, because they know the answer. In a similar way, we might wonder if Jesus was being a bit sarcastic when he asked a paralysed man, “Do you want to get well?” (JOHN 5:6). Well, duh! Perhaps, if we were the man, we would have answered: “Are you kidding me?! I’ve wanted to get better for thirty-eight years now.” But there was no sarcasm in Jesus’ question. Jesus knew the man wanted to get well. He also knew it had probably been a long time since anyone had shown any care for him. Before He made the man better, Jesus wanted to give him reason to hope again. Jesus was inviting the man to trust his disability to Him. We’re all like the paralysed man. Each of us has things in our lives we dislike or struggle with. Things we’ve stopped hoping will ever change. Jesus also asks us, “Do you want to get well?” He invites us to trust Him and put our confidence and hope in His power and love. If He can make a paralysed JB man walk, He can do amazing things in our lives too.
To pray about . . .
Jesus, there are things in my life that I’ve given up with. You know this. Please help me to have hope and confidence in You. You alone can transform me.
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JESUS CAN TRANSFORM EVEN THE WORST BITS OF OUR LIVES.
DAY 6
ALL I CAN SEE Bible: John 3:22-35
He must become greater; I must become less (V.30).
K
Reading
rista stood in the freezing cold on a winter day, looking at the snowcovered lighthouse on the cliff edge. As she pulled out her phone to take pictures, her glasses fogged over. She couldn’t see a thing so she decided to point her camera towards the lighthouse and snapped three pictures at different angles. Looking at them later, she realised the camera had been taking selfies! She laughed as she said, “My focus was me, me and me. All I saw was me.” Krista’s photos got me thinking of a similar mistake: we can become so focused on ourselves, we lose sight of the bigger picture of God’s plan. Jesus’ cousin John (a.k.a. John the Baptist) clearly knew his focus wasn’t himself. Right from the start he recognised his job was to point others to Jesus, the Son of God. “Look, the Lamb of God!” he said when he saw Jesus coming towards him and his followers (JOHN 1:29). He continued, “The reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed” (V.31). When John’s followers later told him that Jesus was getting a big following, John said, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him’ . . . He must become greater; I must become less” (3:28-30). That’s a good saying for all of us. Let’s keep focused on Jesus, because AC in all of our lives, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
To pray about . . .
God, I often get caught up in my own problems and needs. Help me to focus on You, Your love and what You’re doing in my life.
IF ALL WE CAN SEE IS OURSELVES, WE NEED TO TAKE SOME TIME OUT TO FOCUS ON JESUS.
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DAY 7
WHERE’S MY VALUE? Bible: Genesis 29:31-35
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord” (V.35).
M
Reading
any of us work out how we feel about ourselves from what we see on our social media. How many likes or double taps are we getting? Who’s reacted to our selfie? How busy is our feed? It can be on our minds 24/7 as we try to work out how much people like us from what’s happening online. Humans have needed value and love since the beginning. In Genesis 29, Leah understandably wanted to be loved by her husband Jacob. Her need is shown in the names she gave to her first three sons—all describing her loneliness (VV.31-34). But, sadly, it doesn’t look like Jacob ever gave her the love she looked for. With the birth of her fourth child, Leah turned to God instead of her husband, naming her fourth son Judah, which means, “This time I will praise the Lord” (V.35). And Judah became part of Jesus’ family tree. Leah chose to find her value in God, and she became part of His story of salvation! We can try to find meaning and significance in many ways and many different things, but only Jesus gives us our identity: children of God. We are “co-heirs with Christ” (ROMANS 8:17) and everyone else who will live with our heavenly Father forever. As Paul reminds us, nothing in this world can ever compare with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (PHILIPPIANS 3:8). PC
Thinking it over . . .
Where do you find meaning and value? What would it look like for you to find your identity in Jesus, and not in what your friends or classmates say about you?
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ONLY JESUS MAKES US WHO WE ARE: GOD’S OWN CHILDREN!
Our Daily Bread Ministries is committed to making the lifechanging wisdom of God’s Word understandable and accessible to all. We love to help others draw closer to God daily, which is why we create resources like this annual. The best place to find out more about who we are, what we do and how you can get involved is at odb.org On our website you will be able to see all the resources we have available to you, including all our apps, podcasts, websites, DVDs, CDs and booklets. Ireland: Our Daily Bread Ministries, 64 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XC62 ireland@odb.org ~ +3531 (01) 676 7315 UK & Europe: Our Daily Bread Ministries, PO Box 1, Carnforth, Lancashire, LA5 9ES europe@odb.org ~ +44 (0) 15395 64149 Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable Our Daily Bread Ministries to reach others with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. We are not funded or endowed by any group or denomination.
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