Date post: | 06-Mar-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | nichael-swearingen |
View: | 230 times |
Download: | 3 times |
A Big ThanksI (Nike) would like to thank everyone who
contributed to this devotional, It would not
have been the same without your wisdom,
doubts and hard times being poured out onto
the pages. If you were impacted by the things
in this devotional please take the time to
thank these people who took part in writing
a section of this devotional.
Kyle Clemons
Peach Combs
Steve Chaney
Nick BradlEy
Krystal BradlEy
Also to Ashley Swearingen who put a lot of
effort into the design and layout of this book.
Lastly, to everyone who makes up our little
family at XYM. We love and appreciate all of
you for your time and dedication to XYM!
1
Intro
If you actually took the time to pick this book up then congrats, your life is about to be
changed. Not because of the funny or not so funny things that have been put into this book,
but because you are taking the steps to Go BiG. Please understand that it will not be easy to
Go BiG, although it is very easy to say. Today we ask that you take the time to list 5 things
that you are struggling with right now, it could be temptation, trials, hardships, relationships,
lack of something, finances, pain or sorrow, people, or your view of God. This will be a crucial
and very important part of this journey. We will call this list the Fab 5 and explain why later.
Please list 5 things you are
struggling with in the box to the left.
Make me walk in the path of your
commandments, for I delight in it.
Psalm 119:35
To Go BiG requires us to ask God
for help and what better way to
ask for help then to ask him to
make you walk in the path of his
commandments. But we can’t
stop there, don’t ask God to do
it just because of this little book,
ask Him because you delight in
his commandments.
Take 2 minutes in complete
silence and pray.
Facebook: Whenever you see a facebook message we encourage you to post this as your
status. You don’t have to do it right now but do it first thing in the morning or as soon as you
get home from school, work or other activities. Imagine all of XYM flooding our friends news
feed with post about Jesus!
Status Update: Excited for my experience with Christ as I Go BIG for Him.
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
2
Day 1
We hope you had a great day today, and most likely your day is coming to an end or you have
a few spare moments and you have found yourself holding this little book again. So no need
to waste anymore time, lets get started.
To Go BiG you must Go LITTLE!
Hopefully that didn’t confuse you to much, but what is meant by that is you must decrease
and Christ must increase. John 30:30 says, “He must become greater and greater, and I must
become less and less.” Lets make this clear as mud, in order for you to Go BiG for Christ
you need to let him do it. This Going Big has nothing to do with you at all, its about letting
Christ do whatever he wants. Realizing your dependence on God and getting rid of your own
independence.
What usually happens with all of us
is that we try and do things on our
own and then scream, yell and
possibly even curse God when bad
things happen. This is a result of
your own independence! The Fab 5
list is most likely a list of things that
you have been trying to handle all
on our own. We want you to
understand why we have called it
the Fab 5, we called it that
because it is going to be
absolutely fabulous (amazing,
stunning, freeing) when you let
go of these 5 things and allow
God to handle them. once
again write out your Fab 5.
Status Update:
I’m trying to become
less and less as God becomes
greater and greater. Go Big!
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
Day 2
3
We have no idea how you spent your
time today. Most either went to
school or work for about 8 hours
today and then came home. once
you were home you text a few peo-
ple, got on facebook, did homework
or just sat and watched tv. All those
things are great and by no means is
there anything wrong with them. Here
is an issue though, where is God in
the midst of all that? Yes, he is there
and right beside you right now as you
read this little book. There isn’t an
issue of if God is there with you but if
you are there with God. At times we
seem absent from the presence of
God, which once again brings us
back to the issue of our independ-
ence. Facebook, texting and watch-
ing tv are things that we all do, today
we want to address the acknowledgement of God in your life.
Do you realize that you will never get today back? The hours, minutes and seconds will never
return again. Have you acknowledged God today in the midst of all the other things you are
doing? God loves you, and wants to be in relationship with you. He is all about the relation-
ship with you and not about all the rules but simply loving you. He is doing that right now as
you hold this book. Question is have you acknowledge his presence? We will get into this a
lot more later on in this little book. Right now we want you to write down how much time you
have spent acknowledging the presence of God in your life other than reading this book.
Time spent acknowledging God:
__________ seconds
__________ minutes
__________ hours
Remember when killing
time, it has no resurrection.
– A.W. Tozer
Status Update:
Acknowledging the
presence of God in
my life. Go Big!
Day 3
4
extremeyouth
ministries
PHIL. 1:20-21Phil 1:20-21
ex
trem
ey
ou
th m
inis
tries
Glad you have chosen to continue this book even into day 4.
They say that you will stick with something after you have done
it for at least 3 days, we will see. How was your time spent
today? Did you have a better acknowledgement of God? We
hope you did and have begun to experience him in your own life
right now.
Philippians 1:20-21- 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in
no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now
as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by
death. 21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
This verse is the anthem of XYM, we chose it to represent what
we were trying to live like. XYM= eXtreme Youth Ministries,
Going to the extreme in our faith, love, unity, worship, prayers,
service to our friends and family. This is what the Go Big series
and book is all about, getting back to the roots of what we are
all about and focusing that mind set directly on God and never
looking away. Never being ashamed of the way we live and who
we live for. Today we ask you this question, are you living to the
extreme? Are you Going Big for Jesus? Who was the last person
you shared Christ with? Have you ever shared your faith with
anyone? Why not, are you afraid? Think about that for awhile
then pray and ask God for the strength to live the most extreme
and Go Big for his glory!
Status Update: Go Big! Go Extreme! Never ashamed!
Day 4
5
i John 5:21 Little children, keep yourself from idols.
i Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Romans 1:25 Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Many people think that idols are just golden statues that we are told not to worship by the Ten
Commandments. Actually, in the Bible, Jesus in the New Testament speaks more of avoiding
idols than it does in Moses’ time. He makes it very clear, God
hates idols. Idols are anything that we put before God.
They are anything that hinder us from serving Him or
don’t allow us to hear His voice. In other words, Idols
can be absolutely anything in our life, even things
that are “good”.
Desiring to be good in school, playing sports,
possessions, a boyfriend/girlfriend, admission into a
certain college, video games, and even Facebook
(yes, I went there) can all be idols when we give
them priority before God. God wants to be the
top priority in our lives (in fact, he demands it)
and he promises to provide for all of our needs
when He is. Earthly things can never take the
place of God on the throne of our lives. Examine
your life today and ask God to reveal things to
you that you are placing above Him. Ask for His
help today to show you these idols and make Him
the keeper of your happiness.
Status Update: No idols, only Christ…
Go Big or Go Home!
Day 5
6
Psalm 136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
About the fab 5, We want you to know that God sill loves you and your sins are forgiven. I
recently heard it said, “that your sins are forgiven before you ever ask God to forgive them.
The problem is you don’t think God really forgave your sins.” Its kind of like ordering food at
a restaurant and not expecting your server to ever bring it out. God loves you, and he chose
to forgive your sin because he loves you so much. God would not have sent his son Jesus
to die on a cross and endure severe pain and torture to not forgive your sins. He did that to
show you how much he loves you. God is love and love is an emotional personal affection
put into action. So, God has an emotional personal affection for you
that he put into action by sending Jesus to this earth to die for
your sins. Every day God tries to show you this personal
connection he has for you. Are you open to receive it?
Think about it, do you really believe that God loves
you?
Seriously, do you believe in your heart that God
really loves you?
If not, why?
If so, why?
If you believe God loves you then why is that
important in your life?
Think really hard about this for a moment,
Do you believe that the God of the universe
who created all things really has an
emotional personal affection put into action
daily in your life?
Now, close this book and sit quietly for a
moment and think about God’s love for you.
Do you believe that its real, that its for you and
he loves you no matter what?
Please close the book.
7
Day 6
Yippie!!! You finished week one! You’re awesome! Week
one has perhaps been a little intense and hopefully eye
opening for you. Today we are gonna relax and just have
a laugh making fun of Christians. Lets be honest Christian are silly, they are
funny without ever intending to be. What we mean by that is they do things that are just stupid and
make people laugh. Christians often create their own language and use environment just for
themselves. No wonder people feel uncomfortable coming to our churches, they aren’t in our
christianie crew.
Think about it for a moment, there are certain things you do with certain friends. Certain jokes and
puns that only certain friends get, making it hard for someone else to ever join your group. The
same for Christians, not that we intentionally do things to make people feel left out but we are
comfortable in our church clique.
If you have been part of a church for awhile you will understand what I mean and if you haven’t been
part of a church then you can just laugh at a few of these things or shake your head and agree.
People who use prayer request to gossip, Pray for Jim Bob… His wife just left him. Pray for Will
Smith… He is doin some bad things, like drugs! Not just the devils lettuce either I’m talking Meth
and LSD, oh just pray for him. Lastly, Pray for Clint Eastwood… I think he and his girlfriend have
been doing the big nasty when his parents aren’t home.
What about the person who sighs or moans whenever you are praying so they sound more spiritual.
“Father we praise you for this day… moan, Thank you for all our blessings… sigh, You are truly our
savior… sigh with a slight moan.
How about the person who adds an “Ah” to everything they say during their prayer so they can
once again sound super spiritual… Lord-Ah we thank ya-Ah for this day-Ah that you have made-Ah
its truly a blessing-Ah and you are truly our Savior-Ah!
Prayer is just one of the many things that Christians do that make me laugh and understand that
prayer is just you talking to God. You don’t have to do any kind of special sigh, moan or groan you
don’t have to gossip or add an “Ah” to every word you say. Just be you, God already knows how
you talk. We want you to talk with God as you would talk with any other person on the planet. He
loves you and wants to chat with you, that’s all. David writes this in Psalms 17:6 I call on you, my
God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. The Psalms are just the
prayers of a man to God, a man discussing life with God.
Take a few moments and just talk about life with God. Status Update:
Go Big in Prayer
Day 7
8
Its time to seriously Go Big! Sorry Diddy Dirty Money,
but we aren’t comin home!
In Revelation 3:15-17 it says this, "I know you inside
and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold,
you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot!
You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to
vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made,
I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact
you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare
and homeless.
Lets make this real simple we are Going Big
because God is asking this of us. He
doesn’t want a bunch of people who just
show up on a Sunday or a Wednesday
and sing a few songs, he wants people to
be on fire (Go Big) for him and to seri-
ously lift up his name! He also says that
if your not going to be that way then
be cold, Go HoME! God wants none
of this lukewarm nonsense. Lets Go
Big, Lets be Big, Lets Love Big! We
will Go Big in these things never
glorifying ourselves, only God!
Status Update:
I’m not going home.
Go Big!
Day 8
9
Matthew 14:22-33
22-23As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go
on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he
climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into
the night. 24-26Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came
up against them and they were battered by the waves.
At about four o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them
walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. "A
ghost!" they said, crying out in terror. 27But Jesus was quick
to comfort them. "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid. 28Peter,
suddenly bold, said, "Master, if it's really you, call me to
come to you on the water." 29-30He said, "Come ahead."
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the
water to Jesus. But when he looked down at
the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his
nerve and started to sink. He cried, "Master, save me!"32-33The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind
died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched
the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, "This is it! You
are God's Son for sure!"31Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached
down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, "Faint-heart,
what got into you?"
I can't hear the other apostles now, "...he thinks he so
awesome. I was going to get out of the boat,
but he beat me to it. Ha! He sank! Jesus
calls him, "the rock", and now we know why;
because he sinks like a stone."
There are times when God will call you to do things that
seem impossible. You have to remember that He wouldn't
have called you forward unless He knew you were the right per-
son for the job. Be prepared, there will be those that talk trash be-
hind your back, but, even if you fall, you fall at the feet of Christ. Not only
will He catch you and pick you up, He will walk with you through the storm
and bring you back to a safe place.
Status Update:
Go Big! Step out
of the Boat!
Day 9
10
Go and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19
This is a mission or challenge that Jesus gave his disciples, to first Go and then tell everyone
about the great things that Jesus had done. Jesus knew that once they told someone about
him, that persons life would never be the same…. Ever!
Imagine your best friend had cancer and was about to die because of it. There is nothing you
can do about the cancer unless you find the cure. one day a guy walks up and says I have
the cure to cancer, your friend will live but you must take it to them. Would you take it to your
friend or not? of course you would no questions asked, you would run and frantically tell your
friend that you had the cure and they would live.
We are all dying because of the sin in this
world and the most amazing part is
that there is a cure. The cure is
Jesus, but somebody has to tell
your friend about the cure or
they will continue to die in their
sin. Will you be the one to tell
them?
Status Update:
Jesus, I’m telling
the world about
Him! Go Big!
Day 10
11
Hebrews 13:7 & 8 Remember your leaders, who
spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome
of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that people really have been where you are. We have the
blessing of looking at how they made it through and the choice to listen to their advice. I
learned a lot working in an elderly assisted-living home for two years. #1- old people can
be mean. #2 – They can be needy. And most important, # 3- they really do care about the
future generations, even if they have odd ways of showing it. At times it may seem like they
are criticizing, but they have seen a lot so listen and learn! Through the years a lot has
changed and will continue to change, but Jesus Christ will stay the same.
Imitate their faith. Go big, or Go Home.
Things I Learned
From Old People
Status Update:
Imitate the Faith.
Go Big or Go Home
Day 11
12
Day 12
13
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
There is something that we need to point out before we go any farther. Satan is trying to de-
stroy you with everything he has. Satan wants nothing more than to destroy your life. You need
to stay strong and stand on your guard because when you begin to understand that God really
does love you and he really wants to be an affectionate part of your life Satan will try and de-
stroy that. Lets just go ahead and say it, Satan is a poo-poo head.
If you have been reading this devotional, truly searching your heart and growing with Christ
than Satan is going to do his best to put a stop to it. our end goal through all of this is at the
end of it all you are standing, as it says in the last sentence of Ephesians 6:13 above. Although
Satan is powerful and strong; God is stronger!
You will never face any temptation
that is too strong for you to han-
dle.1 Corinthians 10:13. Al-
though, you will be able to
handle it doesn’t mean that
temptation won’t be really
hard. God will provide the
way out, you must chose
to walk away
from it.
Status Update:
Trying to stand. Go BIG!
Acts 7:54-60
54-56At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of cat-
calls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of
the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for
God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing
at his side. He said, "oh! I see heaven wide open and
the Son of Man standing at God's side!" 57-58Yelling
and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full
stampede, they dragged him out of town and pelted
him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats
and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.59-60As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, "Master Jesus, take my life." Then he knelt
down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, "Master, don't blame them for this sin"—his
last words. Then he died.
Stephen wasn't all that different from you. He was young and on fire for God. He did amazing
things through the power of the Holy Spirit and, just like with Jesus, the powers that be were
not happy about it. They had him arrested and brought in for questioning.
The doors burst open! Armed soldiers drag Stephen in. He's more than likely beaten and
bruised, hungry and tired, but smiling and glowing with the anointing of God. It is said that
people couldn't take their eyes of him because he the face of an angel. They question him and
ask, "What do you have to say for yourself?" He then proceeds to recite the history of the
Jewish people, as much as anything to remind them of how far away from the Law they had
come. We he finished, they freaked! They dragged him out of town and stoned him to
death. They last thing Stephen saw wasn't the faces of his killers, it was Heaven itself. His last
words were a prayer to God to forgive those who were taking his life.
Stand tall and firm on Gods Word. No matter what people say or do to show their disapproval
of your actions, you have to be ready, willing, and able to back yourself up with scripture. Be
warned though, they may act just like the priest did toward Stephen. They might lash out and
attack you. They might yell and shout and try to intimidate you. But, don't flinch. No matter
what happens, just like with Stephen, God will be smiling down on you and will listen to your
every plea.
Day 13
14
I want to bring You all that is in my heart
I want to bring You my everything
But I've failed You so many times
How can I stand here before You
When I begin to steal what only belongs to You
I am able to bring You nothing that isn't already Yours
I am so ashamed of what I ever called my own
Take what I have, take these broken remains
What can I give You that You don't already deserve
You laid down Your life when I refused to give mine
These are lyrics from As I Lay Dying's "Behind Me Lays Another Fallen Soldier." These lyrics
really spoke to me. Are you struggling in your walk with Christ? Is life getting in the way?
We all mess up and we all fail. But the good news is that no matter how many times we fail,
God’s love never fails! Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and forever.” Do you believe that? Do you want to give Him your all and totally surrender all
that you have? Make this your prayer today, “God take my broken remains and use them
for Your glory. “
Status Update:
God, take my
broken remains
and use them for
Your Glory
Day 14
15
Fear, its controls us, moves us, makes us and binds us in so many different ways. Controls
the places or people we talk to, moves us to places or away from places, makes us never
approach certain people or places, binds us from ever knowing. We fear what people will
think of us if they find out we are a Jesus Freak. That’s exactly what they will call ya, a
FREAK! What if your fear didn’t control, move, make or bind you from sharing Jesus?
Eminem has a song out called “I’m not afraid,” the song goes like this,
I’m not afraid to take a stand
Everybody come take my hand
We’ll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just let you know that, you’re not alone
Holla if you feel like you’ve been down the same road
We understand that at times it can be very scary to
take a stand and share your faith. But Eminem explains
it dead on here, he’s never been afraid to take a stand
and say what he feels he needs to say, that be bad or
good. Check out the lyrics one more time above. Your
not alone we’ve all been through this kind of fear but
take someone’s hand travel the road together and
stand up for what you
believe in.
Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who
can be against us?”
God is deeply and madly in love with you! He will take care of you through all things, and
wants you to know that there is nothing to be afraid of. We get so afraid to talk about Jesus
in front of people, but I am so glad Jesus wasn’t afraid to Go Big and die for you on the
cross. Jesus chose death over his fear and took on the sins of the world so you may be
made complete and not have to fear!
Status Update: I’m not afraid!
Remember this is a chance for you to Go Big, most likely one of your friends will ask you
what your not afraid of. This is your opportunity to say, “I’m not afraid to share my faith in
Jesus with You!” Also remember that you are not the only one posting
these things and your not alone. Let’s Go Big XYM!
Day 15
16
As you did warn me carpenter, this world has weakened my heart,
So easily i disparage, self-seeking the work of my art,
And there you have come to me at the moment i bathe in my sorrow,
So in love with myself, sought after avoiding tomorrow,
Where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you?
And offer to wash my feet as i offer to disobey you
And where would i fit Jesus?
What place is left for me?
The price of atonement is more than i've found to offer up as my plea,
Jesus my heart is all i have to give to you, so weak and so unworthy,
This simply will not do, no alabaster jar, no diamond in the rough,
For your body that was broken, how can this be enough?
By me you were abandoned, by me you were betrayed,
Yet in your arms and in your heart forever i have stayed
Your glory illuminates my life, and no darkness will descend,
For you have loved me forever, and your love will never end.
This is a portion of the song “Matthias
Replaces Judas” by Showbread. Have
you ever felt like you have done some-
thing(s) that is so bad that you cannot
be forgiven? Do you feel like that now?
Did God not forgive Moses for killing
the Egyptian and call him to lead the
Israelites to the Promised Land? Eph-
esians 1:7 says, “In him we have re-
demption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God's grace.”
Jesus died for YoU! There is nothing
you can do to make him stop loving
you! All you have to do is accept that
Love!
The things we do often times make
us feel unlovable and make us hate
ourselves. That’s why throughout this
whole book we have been asking you to identify and list the Fab. 5.
We need to let go of these things, and know that we are loved by God.
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
Day 16
17
Imagine waking up in the dessert not knowing how you got there or why you are there. You
are incredibly thirsty so you start wandering in hopes to find something, anything that will
quench your thirst. You find a big bottle of Gatorade and drink it; yet strangely you are still
thirsty. You continue your search and stumble upon a 2 liter of
your favorite kind of pop. You drink it all in a single drink,
and yet after drinking the Gatorade and the pop you
are still thirsty. Just when you have given up all
hope on quenching your thirst, you see a small
glass of water. You drink it, and just when you
thought nothing could satisfy your thirst, the
small glass of water did the job.
The scenario may seem to be far fetched,
but all of us live it at some point in our lives.
We are always searching for something here
to make us happy, but can just never seem
to find it. When answering the woman at the
well Jesus said “Everyone who drinks this
water will be thirsty again, but whoever
drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
(John 4:13-14). Things of this
world can never fill that void in
our lives that can only be filled
by Christ. Stop searching
the world for happiness
and seek Christ, I
promise you will
never be thirsty
again.
Status Update:
Quench your
thirst, Go Big!
Day 17
18
Hebrews 13:5-6 God has said, “Never will I leave you; never
will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The
Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can
man do to me?”
The same Jesus who walked this earth many
years ago and called people to be pure then,
is calling you now. When choices are in front
of you, remember they don’t just affect you;
they affect everyone around you. Every
decision can impact your walk with
the Lord. God has given us much
forgiveness and many promises
to hold onto. He gave us a
promise to never leave us or
forsake us not matter what
we are in the middle of.
That’s a pretty awesome
promise. “The Lord is my
helper, I will not be
afraid. What can man
do to me?” Remember
His promise and look
to Him in the hard
times. He will not
forsake you.
Day 18
19
LMS for Truth Is…
Sometimes I really wish Jesus lived in our culture with facebook, twitter, instagram, email, and
television. Jesus did some pretty mind blowing things in his day and his story spread through-
out all the world without any kind of social media. Ashton Kutcher has 12 million twitter follow-
ers, I wonder how many Jesus would have. He would perform a miracle and it would go
globally viral within minutes, and all the newsstands would want to do a story on him.
John 14:6 Jesus says this, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus claims that he is the
truth. So picture this Jesus has an fb page and post LMS for truth is… people like it and then
he puts “Truth is… Me, haha.” Jesus is truth and truth is he loves you and all your friends.
Here’s the issue, Jesus isn’t on facebook and most of your friends don’t understand that
Jesus is truth and really loves them.
Most teenagers today don’t believe that Jesus is truth or Love, that’s why so many teenagers
are struggling with who they are, drugs, alcohol, giving up sex to whoever, self worth and this
little thing called life. As we talked about on day 10 we need to show and tell our friends the
truth and Love of Jesus. This doesn’t mean that you don’t struggle with some of these same
things but by reading this little book you are taking the steps to understand the truth and love
of Jesus and you can now help your friends understand this.
We are gonna do something with our facebooks, everyone has either played, participated or
seen it done. So, we are gonna do it as a community, put LMS for truth is or Like My Status
for truth is and when people like it you are going to tell them a truth. You know what that truth
is? Yep, you guessed it… Jesus is truth and he loves you!
We know that this won’t be easy for most of you but if
everyone does it then you are not alone and don’t be
afraid as we talked about on day 14. So be brave and lets
tell the world about Jesus!
Status Update:
LMS for truth is…
Day 19
20
Yesterday you maybe got a little scared because you participated in the LMS or because you
were scared didn’t participate at all. Why do you and I get so scared when it comes to talking
about Jesus? We live in the most free country in world, you can talk about whatever you want
and there is really nothing anyone can say about it. Yet, there are people in other countries
who are tortured or killed for talking about their faith.
As I write this in my room I can do it and not have any fear of someone coming in and
shooting me or beating me to death. Also as I write this I read a story of a 17-year-old
Christian who lives in Somalia who was beheaded (had his head cut off) by some extremist.
The reason he was beheaded was for his faith, his parents informed the authorities that he
was believing in God and reading his Bible. His own parents had him killed because of his
faith and he still stood strong and didn’t deny Christ even in the worst of circumstances.
Imagine your Mom or Dad turned you into the police and had you beheaded because you
came to XYM or was reading this devotional. We don’t have these fears yet we get so afraid
of sharing the most important story ever told. We fear telling the story of salvation because
someone might think we are crazy, uncool, lame, a loserface or just stupid. It is time to be a
voice, be a voice for the people who couldn’t have one and was murdered for their faith
making them a martyr. Be a voice and tell someone about Jesus and the Love he offers and
the mercy he provides.
Status Update: I’m speaking up about Christ! Go Big
Visit persecution.com to read about more people who have laid down their lives for Christ.
Day 20
21
Day 21
22
I Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.
I was in a ministry with other young people shortly after high-school. This was our motto
and it means two things to me. First, not letting someone look down on you doesn’t mean
getting in their face, playing the tough guy, or ignoring them. As young people, God is
calling us to set an example through the way we live. Not just to our peers, but to other
believers as well.
Secondly, God wants to use you. Let me say that again. God wants to use you! He places
big dreams in our hearts, ones that can only be accomplished through Him. Never
underestimate what you can accomplish for God with God. I’ve seen mighty works
accomplished by young people who refused to be discouraged by those who said their
dreams were crazy. Trust God, follow his calling. Go big, or go home!
Status Update:
Trust God, follow his calling.
Go big, or go home!
God Knows….Please Read John 4:4-26
Envision the scene form the passage you
just read.
Jesus at the well, sees a woman standing there;
see Jesus quietly yet firmly telling the lady that
he knows all her secrets; and then see Jesus
telling her that she is forgiven and he loves her!
Now, picture yourself standing at the well with Jesus. Picture him naming, out loud, your
deepest, darkest secrets and all in the same sentence screaming at the top of his lungs
that he is madly and deeply in love with you. Even though he can see your every sin, you
are hanging on his every word. What are your secrets? What are you trying to hide? What’s
the Fab 5? What does it feel like in this very moment to listen to the voice of Jesus say,
“I LoVE YoU!”
Jesus is saying I know all your
secrets and I still love you, don’t
worry about it and throw away the
secrets and the Fab 5 because I
love you and forgive you. Forgive
yourself for the things you have
done and come drink form my
never ending well of mercy and
Grace.
Write the Fab 5 and realize that
God already knows these
secrets, but maybe you need to
acknowledge them.
Status Update:
This one is up to you,
what is going on in
your heart?
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
23
Day 22
Please turn the page for final instructions about the Fab 5.
24
Fab 51. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________