Sarah Young - Jesus Lives: Seeking His Life in Your Life

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Copyright 2009 by Sarah Young
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotation in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan.

Scriptures noted amp are taken from the Amplified Bible, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scriptures noted MSG are taken from The Message. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures noted NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scriptures noted NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures noted TLB are taken from The Living Bible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriptures noted KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-4041-8695-8

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I dedicate this book to Jesus,
my living Savior-God!

Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
JOHN 13:1 NKJV

He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said...
MATTHEW 28:6 NASB

Special thanks go to Kris Bearssmy project director, editor, and much more. She wore many hats and made significant contributions to this project. I also want to thank Laura Minchew and Lisa Stilwell for their guidance, patience, and encouragement. I feel privileged to work with such a great team.

Jesus
Lives

Sarah Young

A GUIDE TO THEMES IN JESUS LIVES

Introduction

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:3839). Let these powerful verses inflame your heart and explode like fireworks in your mind. Nothing in all creation can separate us from Jesus Love!

We inhabit a world where separations abound: parents from children, husbands from wives, friends from friends, childhood dreams from adult realities, and so on. But there is a devastating disconnection that Christians will never have to faceseparation from Jesus unfailing Love.

We followers of Jesus face a glorious challenge every single day: to trust in His Love regardless of our circumstances. We will experience many losses over the years, but the one thing we cannot live without is the one thing we can never loseJesus loving Presence. Even this great truth, however, may not be enough to carry us confidently through our toughest times, unless it is accompanied by experiential knowledge of Jesus. We must search for and see His Love in the moments of our lives.

Jesus Lives: Seeing His Love in Your Life is designed to help you encounter your living Savior as you walk through the various circumstances of your daysand especially as you deal with difficulties. I wrote this book with a focus on Gods astonishing Love for His children. As with my previous books, I composed this one by listening and writing, listening and writingalways in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit. I wrote down what I heard from the Lover of my soul while listening intently in His Presence. Jesus Lives is written in the same style as Jesus Calling: from the perspective of Jesus speaking to you.

During the writing of this book my health steadily deteriorated until I was weaker than ever before. As a result, awareness of my neediness reached an all-time high, and the process of writing became more than ever an act of faith. I looked to the Lord in His infinite sufficiency bringing Him only my utter insufficiency. Time after time He stooped down to help me, undeterred by how little I brought to the table. Sometimes He surprised me with the ardor of His Love. As I focused on Jesus, His compassionate Presence always encouraged me.

The Bible is the only infallible Word of God. My writings are based on that unchanging standard, and I try to ensure that they are consistent with biblical truth.

I encourage you to read the devotions in Jesus Lives slowly and prayerfully, opening your mind and heart to the One who loves you more than you can imagine. I hope you will also ponder the Bible verses I included with each entry. Gods Word is alive and full of power; it penetrates the human heart deeply, and it changes lives.

I pray that God will use Jesus Lives to increase your awareness of Christs Love in your life. I consider it a delightful privilege to pray for all readers of my books, and I make this a top priority each morning.

May you experience deeper, richer, more continual intimacy and communion with Jesus day by day.

Bountiful blessings!

Sarah Young

THE VERY NAME I USE TO ADDRESS YOU BELOVEDPROCLAIMS HOW DEARLY I LOVE YOU. I showed you the full extent of My Love by enduring humiliation, torture, and death for you. No greater love than this is possible, or even conceivable.

You have tucked into your memory many experiences of My unparalleled Love. I want you to dwell on these memories: Enjoy them over and over again! This practice will help convince your doubting heart that My extraordinary Love is really yoursevery nanosecond of this life and throughout eternity.

When you abide in Me, you also abide in My Love, for I am Love. As you live close to Mecommuning with Me more and moreMy living Presence permeates your entire being. This empowers you to trust in My unfailing Love, secure in the salvation I won for you.

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
JOHN 13:1

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends.
JOHN 15:13 NKJV

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 JOHN 4:16 NASB

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
PSALM 13:5

REJOICE IN ME ALWAYS. This is a moment-by-moment choice. It is possible to find Joy in Me even during the most difficult times. Because I am always near, I am constantly available to help you. I can even carry you through times of extreme adversity.

Imagine a woman who has become engaged to a man she deeply loves and admires. Her heart overflows with pleasure whenever she thinks about her beloved. Problems fade into the background, unable to dampen her enthusiasm and excitement. Similarly, when you remember that I am your perfect Betrothed and that you are promised to Me forever, you can rejoice in Me even though you face many problems.