The RIGHT stuff…Politically InCorrect

The 100 day devotional Teen People Of The Bible will be officially released tomorrow. When I was asked to review it, I originally had some reservations. My initial thought was “Okay, here’s going to be another one of those typical relationship centered ‘if it makes you happy’ teen devotionals that’s no different than what I see on the bookshelves at the Christian book stores”. I’m happy to say that I was proved completely wrong.

In fact, I’ve been waiting a long time for a devotional like this to come along. Daniel Darling’s Teen People Of The Bible is by far the best Bible study I’ve ever seen thus far. It’s not a watered down “warm fuzzies” version of the Bible for teens, it takes you deeper into The Word and is both challenging and convicting. As I was going through it, I was incredibly blessed and challenged by the life applications.

Another great thing about this devotional is the way it’s set up. First, you’ll read the theme verse and the passage in the Bible. For example on Day 4, the overall theme is legacy. The teen we’re studying is Abel, the verse is Genesis 4:10 and the passage is Genesis 4. You’ll have to read the passage and the chapter in order to fully understand the “digging deeper” section. In that section and in the “Just Like You” section we’ll see ways to apply what we just learned. At the end of every lesson there is a spot for journaling, which makes you think deeper and also helps you understand the application. There’s also a prayer included in every day’s lesson that relates directly to what we discovered in scripture that day. Each lesson is only about 2 pages long, which means that it doesn’t take 3 hours to complete, and leaves you with something to think about and apply after you close the book.

Teen People Of The Bible is not a “feel good” devotional, but it is definitely one that when applied will change your life and bring you closer to Christ. This is one devotional that I highly recommend.

(Teen People Of The Bible will be put in the resource page, and can be bought on Amazon.com. It would make a great Christmas or Birthday present, I’ve already got a list of people I’m going to give it to.)

Tell Him your plans.

Well I tried that a few weeks ago when I was feeling down. I wrote out some things I wanted to do until the summer of next year when campaigns kick off. Not more than a few days after I had written it out did God start to unravel those (well intentioned) plans and replace them with things better than I could have imagined. I suppose this goes to show that everyone who told me that God’s got a big plan for me this year were right after all.

Lesson Learned: Goals are good, but don’t get too attached to the plans you make.

The ability to translate sounds into words and understand them, then translate those sounds and words into letters on a page is an amazing ability. The power of words and meaning of words and the effect that these have on people is an astounding thing. We like to try to seem invincible when we say “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. The truth is, when you think about it, words are the very thing that form who you are, who you THINK you are, and who you’re going to be.

The difference between how a girl values herself if her dad tells her she’s special and beautiful versus when she has to hunt for love in all the wrong places – is largely due to words, or the lack thereof. If you grow up hearing that you’re special and beautiful and precious chances are, you’ll believe it. If someone tells you “you’re gonna be a lawyer when you grow up” all your life, chances are that’s what you’ll be thinking of becoming.

They say that if a lie is repeated long enough, people will begin to believe it as fact. We see this in so many instances. I think girls might have it harder, because for no apparent reason whatsoever we can believe things that are outright lies. As a girl I can say that I’ve fallen into that trap many times, most of it has to do with my self worth. I fall into the trap of thinking that my value is based on how much housework I can do; not that I am created in the image of God and He’s molding me into the woman He wants me to be.

When I find myself in that trap, the problems are blown out of proportion – because of the words I was thinking. “All you’re appreciated for is chores, you’re not special, no one even cares. You’re a horrible sinner, no one could ever love you. Look, you snap too easy, the problems are too big for you to handle, and guess what? No one even cares to ask if everything is okay.” whispers a voice in my head. For no reason at all I believe it. I get caught up in the emotions of the stressful moment and believe that I have no worth, no one loves me, could love me, or cares.

But then God steps in, and sometimes it takes me a while to come around. In the moment I need it most I re-read a letter, someone tells me something I needed to hear, or the perfect song comes on the radio (or iTunes). The timing is so impeccable that it can only be God communicating to me – in words, through people – I love you Kierstyn, you may be a sinner but I forgave that sin, remember? I love you more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine, you are mine and you shine for me too. I love you yesterday, and today and tomorrow I’ll say it again, I love you more. (More by Matthew West) In that moment I realize how wrong I was, I let the words and the emotions get in the way of what God was telling me.

Words can tear down, and they can build up. They can make people happy or make people cry. Words can effect people in ways that other things can’t. The Word can change people, the course of a Nation and the world as we know it. Today, words are the most powerful tool we have, what are we going to use it for?

How radically different is the Christian lifestyle from the rest of the world?

Unfortunately, it’s not much more than a label today. As a result, many Christians are misled to believe that all Christianity entails is the sinner’s prayer and going to church every week (or twice if you’re feeling extra spiritual or don’t have anything else going on). This isn’t to say you shouldn’t go to church. It’s important to be part of body of believers. However, Christianity is not a ritual, it is a lifestyle. This leaves us with the question: How should we live?

This is an excerpt of part one of my four part series entitled “Not A Tradition”. In my series I answer the question in the last paragraph - Biblically, how should we live? “Not A Tradition” however, is a Regenerated Magazine exclusive and will not be published on Politically InCorrect. To read the rest of the article go here - and don’t forget to go to Regenerated Magazine on the 1st and 15th of the month to see the continuation of the series and more excellent writing from Christian Teens!