Ron Luce - Teen to Teen: Advice and Encouragement from Teens for Teens on How to Stay Faithful Through the Teen Years

2011 Ron Luce

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Revell edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-2543-6

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Other versions used are:

Douay Rheims VersionConverted from the 1899 edition of the John Murphy Company, Baltimore, Maryland.

ESVScripture taken from the English Standard Version, Copyright 2001. The ESV and English Standard Version are trademarks of Good News Publishers.

THE MESSAGEScripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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

NCVScriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee. Used by permission.

NKJVScripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

NLTScripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

NRSVThe Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To my loving wife and best friend, Katie. Thank you for
hand-picking the best devotionals and finding the Scriptures to feed
an army of young people that God gave us vision for 25 years ago.

Thank you to all of the Interns and Graduate Interns who
have shared sacrificially, and prayerfully submitted these
devotionals to help change a generation.

Thank you to Beth, Jessica, Ranee, Rachel, Hannah, and Chantelle for
being faithful to serve the Lord in the office and carry out the details to
bind this book together under the anointing of God.

Contents

We want to invite you to go on an adventure, to grow in your faith in all kinds of different ways. The beginning of this adventure is in your hands right now. What you are about to read are profound insights that young people from your own generation have gained through their experiences, along with stories of how theyve grown in their faith.

Too often, young people get on fire for God and make a radical commitment, but then they cant figure out how to keep it strong or why they failed. What you hold in your hands is hard-earned wisdom that helped young people like you keep their faith strong in spite of massive temptations all around them, compromising friends, and pressures from the culture. Youre about to see how God speaks again and again and again to todays young generation and fuels their fire so they keep burning for Him.

We want to encourage you right at the very beginning to make a commitment not just to read each devotional, but also to read carefully the Scripture and think about how it applies to your life. Spend time with God every day by praying, meditating on the insight that you read, and then committing to go all the way through this devotional. In fact, this book is designed for you to encounter God every day so that your Christianity doesnt become just a religious practice or something you do to look spiritual, but you actually become more spiritual, which leads to becoming more like Jesus. Becoming more spiritual means you get a glimpse into the spiritual and come to know God better. For too many people, the Christian experience begins and ends with the sinners prayer, when in fact, God has a daily adventure in mind for all of us. This book will get you started on the adventure that will last the rest of your lifetime and lead to the ultimate adventure when you meet Him face to face in heaven.

After youve read and meditated on these devotions, we encourage you to get online at acquirethefire.com or atf24-7.com and let us know how youre doing in your faith, find other practical insights there online, and share what youre learning with other young people all around the country. God bless you in this God adventure. Its your heart He wants.

Ron and Katie Luce

1

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

ISAIAH 55:6

I wish I knew this when I first got saved, but what I learned about how to have a good quiet time is this:

Start with prayer. The Word tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (see Psalm 100:4). So before you start asking Him for things, take a minute or two to tell God how good He is and to reflect on all He has done for you and others. You dont have to use a lot of words when you pray. Speak from your heart, but also allow God to speak to you. Then worship a little bit, because we learn from the Old Testament prophets that worship brings you into the presence of God (see 2 Kings 3:14-19; 1 Chronicles 25:3).

Continue to read your Bible every day, because reading the Word helps us learn how God speaks. As we become more familiar with how God speaks, it will be easier for us to hear Him during our quiet times.

Start your quiet time by entering His presence through prayer and worship, and then just commune with the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit lead you as to what you should do during quiet time. And whether you feel the Lords presence or not, you need to just know in your heart that you are in His presence. The more you spend time listening to Him and reading His Word, the more you learn to recognize His voice and the more you will be aware of His presence. Sometimes you wont feel it, but you need to discipline yourself to continue seeking Him anyway.

Cody (Age 18)