Sarah Young - Jesus Calling Bible Storybook

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Tommy Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from NIV . 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica.

Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CEV are from THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH
VERSION . 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE . The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963,
1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission. 1996. 1996.

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.
All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION . 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Scripture quotations marked ICB are from INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS BIBLE . 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are from
the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION . 1976, 1992 by The American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked PHILLIPS are from the J. B. J. B. B.

Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Scripture quotations
marked NLV are from the NEW LIFE VERSION . Christian Literature International. Scripture quotations marked NCV are from the NEW CENTURY VERSION . 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Young, Sarah, 1946 Jesus calling Bible storybook / Sarah Young ; illustrated by Carolina Faras. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-4003-2033-2 (hardcover) 1.

Bible stories, English. 2. Bible--Devotional use--Juvenile literature. I. Faras, Carolina. Title. Title.

BS551.3.Y68 2012 220.9505--dc23 2012007532 Printed in China 12 13 14 15 16 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

Special thanks go to: MacKenzie Howard, the project manager who worked so tirelessly and effectively on this bookwearing many hats, as needed. I always appreciate my publisher, Laura Minchew, who shepherds my publishing and finds wonderful ways to bring the message of Jesus Calling to children. I also want to thank Kris Bearss, my editor and friend who works with me on everything I publish. Im grateful that Jean Fischer, who compiled the Bible stories, and Caroline Faras, the storybook illustrator, lent their considerable talents to this project. Finally, I thank my husband, Stephen Young, for providing clear biblical oversighthelping us keep the stories true to Gods perfect Word.

Dear Parents and Grandparents, N othing warms my heart more than a little blond girl with big blue eyes and an irresistible smile: my granddaughter, Elie Marie.

As we welcome her baby brother, John Elliot, into our family, I realize how supremely important it is to help these precious childrenand all children develop a personal relationship with Jesus. The Jesus Calling Bible Storybook is designed to help young children come to know Gods Word and enjoy the Presence of Jesus in their lives. This book tells the wonderful story of Gods great love for His people. It shows that the center, the beginning, and the end of this story all focus on Jesus. Not only is Jesus central in the Bible, but He is also central in our lives. Just as He was there when Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden, when Noah built the ark, and when Moses encountered God in the burning bush, Jesus is with us every moment of every day.

Because of His sacrifice on the cross, forgiveness and eternal life are promised to all of us who call on His Name trusting Him as Savior. As you may know, the devotional Jesus Calling was created after years of personal study, prayer time, and journaling. I had kept prayer journals for years, but I yearned for more and more of God in my life. So I set aside time to listen in His Presence and write down what I believed He was saying to me. Thus, my journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. This new way of communicating with God became the high point of my day.

I knew these writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but they helped me grow much closer to God. In fact, listening to Jesus increased my intimacy with Him

more than any other spiritual discipline. So I shared some of my writings in Jesus Calling to help others who are searching for a deeper experience of Jesus Presence and Peace. The Bible is, of course, the only Word of God, and I always endeavor to write in accordance with that unchanging standard. It is my hope that the children who enjoy this Bible storybook will know early in life that they can call on Jesus and He will answer. I pray that they will listen as He speaks to them through His Word and that they will understand how very much He loves them.