Steve Russo - The Bible Promise Book® for Teens: Timeless Answers for Tough Questions

2018 by Steve Russo.

Print ISBN 978-1-68322-450-1

eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-68322-799-1
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-68322-800-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

Bible permissions are listed on pages 281283.

Published by Barbour Books, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., 1810 Barbour Drive, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

Our mission is to inspire the world with the life-changing message of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America.

A promise is a personal commitment you make and others expect you to keep. What promises are you making? Are you keeping them?

There are three kinds of promises:

1. The promise you make but have no intention of ever keeping.

2. The promise that has conditions attached. (If things dont quite work out as expected, its toast.)

3. The promise youre totally committed to keeping.

Unfortunately, there are lots of people who make promises; but few actually keep them. Its disappointing when youre counting on a promise someone made to you, only they dont deliver.

Relationships are based on trust, so its tough when you have family or friends who dont keep their promises. However, there is someone who has never, ever failed to keep a promisethat someone is God. The Bible is full of His promises to carry us through when we need help. Promises you can always depend on. Commitments God has made to me and to you that He fully intends to keep.

The promises found in the Bible will change your life. The Bible has answers to the tough questions we have. Encouragement for when were down. Hope for when were feeling hopeless. Strength for when we feel weak. Gods promises to guide us on the right path for our lives.

The wisest thing we can do is to read the Bible so we can know, understand, and apply the promises of God to our lives. God speaks to us through His Word, which is unlike any other book ever written throughout human history. If youre reading the Bible, you have no reason to doubt God. He wont always give us what we want, but He always does whats best for us.

This book youre holding is designed to be a resource to help you access timeless answers from the Bible to questions you have about life. Eventually youll be able to share these answers with your friends, family members, and anyone else you hang out with whos also trying to make sense out of life.

Its going to take some time, careful thought, and a patient desire to hear God speak to you through His Word. But Ill tell you from personal experienceits worth it.

God should be our first resource, not our last resort. Take time to thoroughly examine the portions of Gods Word found on these pages. Make the Bible a priority in your life. Believe and act on the promises you discover. I guarantee you will never be the same as you discover Gods real answers for your life.

There are lots of ways to use this book. For example, you can use it like a reference book to answer questions you have. The APP readings discuss life application for each topic. You can also read through the pages during your daily alone time with God. It can be used as a discussion guide for small groups at church or for a Christian club at school. Or, if a friend is searching spiritually, this is also a great resource to share with them.

Im excited to have you join me on this journey to discover the awesome promises of God.

Steve Russo

APP: Sometimes I wonder if the way we think about abuse is too limited. Abuse comes in so many different forms. The default is most often sexual or physical. We hear aboutand sometimes seea lot of this kind of abuse, because its the most obvious. Its often part of stuff (movies, television, etc.) that entertains us. Abuse can also be verbal and emotional. But people even abuse power, money, and fame. Have you ever felt as if someone you trusted abused your friendship? Any form of abuse can be damaging. Treating someone badly, being cruel, or wrongly using something or someone is never good.

Using the following verses as a filter, take an honest look at yourself. If youve been abusive, ask God to help you change. Stop hurting yourself and others in your life. Let God guide you through the wisdom of His Word. And if you know others who have been abusive, pray that God would help you not to judge them but to influence them for good.

He frees them from tyranny and torturewhen they bleed, he bleeds; when they die, he dies.

P SALM 72:14 MSG

On that day I will punish every one who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their masters house with violence and fraud.

Z EPHANIAH 1:9 RSV

For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the L ORD will inherit the land.

P SALM 37:9 NIV

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.

J AMES 1:26 NRSV

The L ORD also will be a refuge and a stronghold for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

P SALM 9:9 AMP

Thus says the L ORD , Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

J EREMIAH 22:3 NASB

Not requiting evil with evil nor abuse with abuse, but, on the contrary, giving a blessing in return, because a blessing is what you have been called by God to inherit.

1 P ETER 3:9 WNT

The L ORD tests those who do right, but he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.

P SALM 11:5 NCV

When [Jesus] was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

1 P ETER 2:23 NRSV

For [the L ORD ] has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.

P SALM 22:24 AMPC

You will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help!

As soon as he hears, he will answer you.

I SAIAH 30:19 NIV

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

J OHN 14:27 NKJV

APP: Any way you look at it, adulterys ugly. And just in case youre wonderingIm not talking about the studio albums that bands like Do-Re-Mi and Dog Fashion Discos have released titled Adultery. The kind Im talking about is epidemicits everywhere. Politicians are doing it. Superstar athletes, celebs, and even pastors are hooking up with someone other than their spouse. Even regular people living ordinary lives are caught up in this sinkhole of passion. Its hard to believe, but adultery is actually illegal in some places on the planet. Unfortunately, way too many families have been broken because a spouse willfully got involved in extramarital sex with someone. Lots of people say its because they want to be happy. But this kind of happiness doesnt last.