Youth For Christ - Conversations with Jesus. Getting in on Gods Story

ZONDERVAN

Conversations with Jesus: Getting in on Gods Story
Copyright 2006 by Youth for Christ

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition July 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-85148-6

Youth Specialties products, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Conversations with Jesus : connecting my story with Gods story / by Youth for Christ.
p. cm.
A 3story devotional.
ISBN-10: 0-310-27346-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-27346-2
1. YouthPrayer-books and devotionsEnglish. I. Youth for Christ/USA.
BV4531.3.C66 2006
242.63dc22
2006014796

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version (North American Edition), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other(except for brief quotations in printed reviews) without the prior permission of the publisher.

Any Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contact Youth Specialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longer operational and replacement URLs if available.

Creative Team: Dave Urbanski, Kristi Robison, Heather Haggerty, Janie Wilkerson, and Mark Novelli, IMAGO MEDIA
Cover design by Gearbox

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This little book is not an ordinary book. We believe God speaks clearly through his Word and through his Spirit. Are you listening? Join us on a great adventure. The living Christ speaks today. He still guides the humble. No detail of our stories escapes his concern. He is lovingly attentive to his creation, even you and me!

Last fall we decided to listen better to the One who speaks quiet words of love. We wondered if it was okay to put those words in writing for others to read. We werent sure if wed be offending God by making it look like we thought we could speak for him. (Who can actually speak for God? Only God, right?) After lots of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit, we decided to take the risk.

My friend Kate listens to Jesus much more carefully than anyone I know. Shes teaching me to listen better. Shes humble in her listening. Kate thinks we can all hear from Gods Spirit on a regular basis. Im starting to believe her. Im hearing his voice more. Our group of listeners is hearing his voice more, too.

Since Im still a beginner in the listening process, the idea of messages that might come from Jesus seems wild, heroic, even scary. When you consider that God Almighty might really want to say something important to you right now, todayWOW! That is freaky! And thrilling.

Our group of listeners decided to take the plunge into Gods Word and urgently seek him by listening and waiting before we put anything to pen and paper. Its not been easy. Some of us struggled with spiritual battles and attacks on our souls and in the lives of our families. We felt the weight of listening to God on behalf of others like you. We hope God will be honored by the work of our ears, our hearts, and our words.

Certainly we arent in any advanced state of spiritual growth, but we have made progress toward Jesus individually and together. The idea we pursued was abiding in Jesus and in his love. We wanted to connect our stories more intimately with Gods story. Thats abiding. Listening to God is one powerful way of abiding in Christ. Check out what Jesus says in John 15 about abiding:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Fathers commandments and abide in his love. (4-5, 7, 9-10, ESV)

The tender understanding and compassion of Jesus Christ is filling our hearts in new ways; his loving conviction is correcting us every day; his joy and his sorrow are enabling us to receive his love. He is causing his love to overflow from him to us and then into a broken world where our friends and family members need him as much as we do.

We thank you for seeking Jesus Christ with us. We are in Gods good hands together.

Our group of listeners was Tara Posen, Mike Klassen, Jack Crabtree, Dan Wolgemuth, Don Talley, Jennifer Morgan, Julie Conner, and Greg Boyer. The listeners relied on Gods holy writ- ten Word for the content of the messages and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to hear his voice clearly.

Youth editors: Jay Alsdorf, Lauren Conner, Trevor Conner, Emily Donder, Brandon Harrigan, Julie Krogh, Gina Krogh, Alex Krohn, Brittany Poyer, Corinn Rotter, and Daniel Schlereth.

TOPIC: Feeling alone

MAIN SCRIPTURE: As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

OTHER SCRIPTURES: Deuteronomy 31:68; Psalm 23:4; Mark 15:3339; John 14:1619; John 16:4b15; Colossians 1:27

WHAT JESUS MIGHT SAY TO YOU:
I understand your feelings of loneliness; your cries in the night when you feel like no one understands and no one cares have not gone unheardand I do care.

Ive known loneliness. While hanging on the cross, I felt the pain of abandonment. With my final breath, I cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Although he dearly loved me, my Father in heaven couldnt comfort me in my darkest hour because I was carrying the sins of the worldyour sinon my shoulders, and he couldnt look at the sin. No one before me and no one after me has experienced abandonment and loneliness as deep and painful as that. I understand.

I carried your sin and faced the abandonment of my Father so I could free you from loneliness. Even if you cant see me now, Im always with you because I live in you. I will never, never leave you nor forsake you. When others fail you or abandon you, I am with youalways.

In moments of desperation allow your loneliness to drive you closer to me. Dont fill your emptiness with things that cant satisfy. Lean into meIm as close as the air you breathe. Cry out to me in pain and remember that I cry out in pain with you.

You mean more than the world to me, so take this opportunity to remove yourself from the cares of this world and draw closer to the one who will always be with you.

Your faithful Friend, Jesus

SUMMARY CHALLENGE: Allow your loneliness to drive you closer to Jesus.

JOURNALING OPPORTUNITY:

TOPIC: The difference between guilt and conviction

MAIN SCRIPTURES: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sins control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4, NLT)