Luce Pathway to Freedom (Trimester Two)

Building Your Whole Life on a Solid Foundation
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-4245-7010-2
Verlag: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 176 Seiten

Thrive with unshakable faith.   Jesus promised his followers abundant life, yet peer pressure, busyness, and worldly temptations distract too many Christian youth from the amazing life God has for them.   Ron and Katie Luce share practical ways for you to grow closer to Jesus every day and step into the marvelous freedom he offers. Bringing God's Word to life, Pathway to Freedom (Trimester Two) contains powerful messages backed by Scripture, interactive questions to apply truth to your life, and weekly prompts to deepen your fellowship with other believers. In this daily twelve-week journey with Jesus, you will learn to   - build your life on Jesus' teachings, - follow the example of other world changers, - cherish the gift of salvation, - defeat sin in your life, and - surrender wholeheartedly to God.   Now is the time to follow Jesus into the adventure you were born to live and transform the world for his glory.

Ron and Katie Luce have spent their lives helping younger generations genuinely connect with Jesus and thrive in their faith. They have hosted millions of young people at live conferences across North America and now help church leaders all over the planet dramatically grow their churches by reaching and discipling the next generation. See www.generationnext.me for more information.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Luce, Ron

Luce, Katie

Leseproben

Week 1

What Does It Mean to Be a Follower of Christ?

Day 1

Seek First God’s Kingdom

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

MATTHEW 6:33

In a very real way, followers of Christ have said no to this world’s system because they have different values. Their hearts don’t belong to things; they belong to God. Followers of Christ don’t ask what God can do for them; they ask what they can do for God. They are not consumed with clothes, clichés, cars, and social media. Instead, they are excited about seeking, loving, serving, and knowing the Lord.

Christianity is not a part-time pursuit for followers of Christ. They don’t go to church because somebody makes them go. They can’t wait to get back and explore the depths of their relationship with Christ. They have found their identity in him and in his plan for their lives. They have discovered the reason they were created, and nothing will stop them from fulfilling God’s will.

Followers of Christ know that they are here to change this world with the love of Jesus, making the world a better place. They want less sin in the world when they are finished with it. They want fewer broken hearts when they are gone. They want more people to go to heaven because they’ve poured their lives out for this world.

They have found a purpose that demands their all, and they don’t mind giving themselves for God. They have found a calling worth sinking their teeth into, and they are not about to let go! They have made a discovery so important that it has altered the rest of their lives.

You can have all the money, fame, prestige, and entertainment this world has to offer, but until you have changed the world for God, you will be dissatisfied because all those things are temporal. Followers of Christ are more concerned with what will be relevant eternally.

Action Steps

Take a few minutes to memorize Matthew 6:33. Write what it means to you.

Daily Bible reading: Acts 1

What did you learn today in your reading about how to live?

Day 2

Loving God with All Your Heart

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

MARK 12:28–31

Take a few minutes to meditate on these verses. Write them out in your own words.

God pours out all his love on us, and then he commands us to love him with it. Amazing, isn’t it? You would think that every follower of Christ would be doing this. However, true followers take this command literally. In fact, they have had a complete spiritual-heart transplant. They have a different kind of heart beating in them from the one they had when they were born. They feel a passion to pursue God above absolutely everything else because his love has changed them.

They have a vibrant, living relationship with him. Even when it feels hard to follow God, they refuse to relax their grip on his love. They can feel the pulse of God at the center of their hearts as they yearn to reach the rest of the world. They have surrendered every part of their hearts to God, rearranged all their priorities, and refused to allow the world back in. They see the world through different eyes now. They have different goals. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ—you passionately follow him!

Think about this: Is there any part of your heart that you have not yet given to God? The more of your heart you give to God, the more of his life he gives to you. He trades his beauty for our ashes, his love for our brokenness, and his life for the parts of our lives that are dead. Loving God with ALL your heart requires that he have your whole heart, not just part of it. For anything you give to God, he will give you back something so much better!

Action Steps

Remember, God is the originator of love and the biggest giver. You cannot give more to God than he will give back to you. Write down any parts of your heart you have withheld from God.

Now ask God to fill you with more love for him so that you can love him with every part of your heart.

Daily Bible reading: Acts 2

What did you learn today in your reading about how to live?

Day 3

Loving God with All Your Soul

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”

MATTHEW 22:37

God wants us to love him with all we are. The soul is made up of the mind, will, and emotions. In other words, loving God with all our soul is choosing to love him with everything we are and everything we do—with our will, thoughts, behavior, and emotions. We need to spend more time on God’s agenda and less time on ours.

Let the creator of the universe give you his creative strategies and help you plan exploits to change the world.

Decide how you can affect people’s lives eternally. Wrap everything you are into loving God. Be passionate and creative about expressing your love for him. Maybe you’re an artist, a musician, or a writer. Maybe God has gifted you with some other creative expression. Everyone is creative in some way because we are made in the Creator’s image. Ask God how you can love him with your creativity. He will begin to open doors for you as you love him with all your soul.

Action Steps

If loving God with all your soul is choosing to love him with everything you are and do, think about how you can bring glory to God through the creativity he has given you. Creativity doesn’t just include art either. You can be creative with whatever gifts God has given you. Write down some ideas, strategies, or plans that can help you use your gifts to bless others and to express your love for God.

Daily Bible reading: Acts 3

What did you learn today in your reading about how to live?

Day 4

Loving God with All Your Mind

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”

MATTHEW 22:37

What does it mean to love God with your entire mind? It means to love him with what you think and what you allow to go through your brain.

Many people say they love God with all their heart, but then they stop there. He doesn’t want just your heart; he also wants your mind, your will, your emotions—every part of you. He wants you to be like him, which means that every action that you do should reflect his image.

If you love God with all your mind, you will pay attention to what you put in it—what you choose to watch, read, and allow your eyes to see. You’re the only one who chooses what you think about. Does what you put in your mind glorify God, or does it pull your thoughts away from him? Scripture says that we can restore our thinking to the way God thinks—pure, lovely, and faith-filled thoughts rather than corrupt thoughts that bring us down and pull us away from God.

Take a couple of minutes to meditate on these two verses:

• “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
• “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Write out what each verse means to you.

You can either let the world shape your mind by putting its garbage into it or allow God to renew and transform your mind by reading his Word and choosing to think about good and godly things instead. It takes practice, but with God’s help, you can start to think like him.

When a thought comes in that you know shouldn’t be there, grab it and put a verse in your mind to replace it. It never works to just think,

If I say, “Don’t think about little pink monkeys,” what do you immediately think about? Yup, little pink monkeys. But if I say, “Think about green elephants,” your mind would forget about the monkeys and focus on the green elephants. That’s how the mind works. Negative and sinful thoughts must be replaced. Your mind must be renewed by God’s Word and God’s thoughts.

Action Steps

Pray this prayer:

God doesn’t want to occupy just your heart or just your will and emotions; he also wants to occupy your mind. The world gives you plenty of things to think about, plenty of things that will distract you from thinking about the deep things of God. He wants to be at the top of your...