y&f devo

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Y&F Day 1MY SOLE DEVOTION

MY ONLY FOCUS

TO WORSHIP YOU

(Close)

Im asking God for one thing,

only one thing:

To live with him in his house

my whole life long.

Ill contemplate his beauty;

Ill study at his feet.

Psalm 27:4 MSG

Many Things v One Thing

We live in a world that is consumed with the next best thing. We love to wear the

latest fashion, have the newest iPhone, and get the latest album (Got your copy ofWe Are Young & Free yet? Jokes.). Our attention is easily taken over by the many

things around us like whats going on at school, or in our relationships, or in our

homes. We are a generation of many things.

In contrast, the prayer of the Psalmist is about one thing. It is to dwell or to be in

the house of the Lord for all of his days. For us today, this means following Jesus.

The old Hymn Turn your eyes upon Jesus says and the things of this world will

grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. The truth is, the things of

this world are only temporary and its only a matter of time until the next best

thing comes out. But the wonderful thing about our God is that He is unchanging!

He is constantly present in every season of our lives. Though there may be many

distractions in this world, He will always be the ONE thing we can count on.

Lets decide today to make Jesus our focus, our sole devotion and the ONE that we

always seek. Lets become a generation whose sole desire and devotion would be

to worship Jesus. Lets become a generation of the ONE thing.

Y&F Day 2YOU HAVE CALLED ME BY NAME

(Brighter)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and

not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

It is a pretty cool thought that God had us in mind from the beginning of time. He

is almighty and whilst He doesnt need anyone, He still chose to create us. He

formed us and gave us life. He allowed us to be in relationship with Him. Through

Jesus we are His children and He knows our names. He has promised that He will

always be with us.

God let His one and only Son die on the cross so that we could start a personal

relationship with Him. The greatest decision that we can make is to say YES to

Jesus.

And as if that werent enough He has a great plan for our lives! Not only does

God call us into a relationship with Him, He has a unique plan for each of us and is

always waiting for us to respond to His call. As we spend time with Him, talking to

Him through prayer and reading His word, we get to know Him and discover His

ways.

As we start this week, lets take a moment to put Jesus- the One who has called us

by name- as first priority in our lives. There is nothing better!

Y&F Day 3YOUR LOVE NEVER ENDING

(Alive)

May you experience the LOVE OF CHRIST, though it is too great to understand

fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that

comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at

work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:19-20 NLT

Christs love is unending. In the hustle and bustle of today's society, we need to
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stop and meditate on this game changing truth often. His love towards us is

everything! While we were sinners God showed His great love for us by sending

Christ to die for us -- that's an all-encompassing, no-exceptions, one-size-fits-all

kind of love.

No matter who we are, no matter what we have done or havent done, His love is a

love that cannot be earned or lost. (Romans 5:8; Romans 8:35-39)

No matter what our story is so far, and no matter how others have exemplified

love to us, God has provided us with the greatest example of love that we will ever

need.

He sent His only Son to walk amongst us so that we'd have a companion on the

journey who knows well the roads we walk in life (every turn, every valley, every

mountain-view), but later He would die an undeserved death on the cross so we

could keep walking this journey in constant & fulfilling relationship with the Father

into eternityLove in its purest form.

It can be a difficult love to comprehend, especially given the life experience some

of us have, but when we look to His Word, the truth is revealed.

We read in Romans 5:8 that nothing can separate us from Gods love. Even if all

our wrongs were pooled to fill the deepest oceans, or stretched out end-to-end to

reach the farthest corners of the universe, there is no truth more compelling than

this -- We are loved.

God's love 'out-depths' the oceans, is not bound within our confines of space and

does not weaken with time -- it is never ending, unrelenting in its pursuit of us as itwas on the day it led Jesus to the cross. Such love compels us to invite others to

plumb the depths of this great and unending love!

Y&F Day 4YOUR ANTHEM RAISED FROM AN EMPTY CROSS

(In Sync)

You dont have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one

who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives

believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?

John 11:25-26 MSG

Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a

decisive end to that sin-miserable lifeno longer at sins every beck and call! What

we believe is this: If we get included in Christs sin-conquering death, we also get

included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from

the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death

have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he

brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead

language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you

hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. Thats what Jesus did.

Romans 6:8-11 MSG

Who would have thought that humanitys greatest symbol of hope would be an

empty cross?! There is great power in understanding that we do not serve a lamb-

patting, meek-and-mild Jesus with perfect hair (as is often the generalisation) but

that we serve a God who defeated death and took care of our sin in the process.

He died on a cross that was made to publicly humiliate wrong doers and yet Jesus

had done nothing wrong. Not a thing. He was sinless- the only perfect human to

ever live.

Imagine that- an all-powerful God, limiting himself to human form and subjecting

Himself to the judgement of his own creation. Why?? So that we could have LIFE to

the full (John 10:10).

This is grace! We dont deserve it and yet He gave His life for us. He rose for us.

Now we see the empty cross and the empty grave and something in us ignites with

praise and thankfulness for our King Jesus!

Today we raise an anthem to you, Jesus. A declaration of freedom, a celebration of

life!

Thank you for taking our place on the cross! Thank you for conquering death! You

are worthy of all our praise! Your resurrection life is at work in us, and we stand

confident in the power of your saving grace.
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The dictionary defines a shelter as a place giving protection from bad weather or

danger. It implies that it is a place large enough and strong enough to protect us

from harm during dangerous conditions.

Psalm 91 says, Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the

shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my strength,

my God, in whom I trust. NIV

The Psalmist goes on to list a number of frightening events that he is facingtraps,

disease, terrors at night, battles, plagues and warfare. We know that storms in lif e

can come unexpectedly but God promises that if we love, acknowledge and call on

Him; He will be our shelter!

Lets be honest God doesnt promise us an easy, storm-free life. He promises to

be with us through the trials to be our shelter. We are never alone, He has

overcome and with Him we can withstand the storm.

In Him we find our refuge -- the safest place we could ever be.

Y&F Day 7THIS FIRE BURNS IN MY SOUL

LET THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN GLOW

ALL THE EARTH TO SEE YOU

ALL THE EARTH TO SEE YOU

(Embers)

"Heres another way to put it: Youre here to be light, bringing out the God -colors

in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. Were going public with this, as public

as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you dont think Im going to hide you

under a bucket, do you? Im putting you on a light stand. Now that Ive put you

there on a hilltop, on a light standshine! Keep open house; be generous with

your lives. By opening up to others, youll prompt people to open up with God, this

generous Father in heaven."

- MATTHEW 5:14-16 (MESSAGE)

Have you ever tried to find something in the dark?

A pair of keys, that one sock...a lolly that fell on the ground at the movies, a friend

tucked away in a secret location during a game of Hide & Seek.

It's difficult to see as we grapple around in the dark, aimless in our direction until

we find what we are looking for.

Suddenly someone turns on the light.

BOOM.

A flood of sight. Ahhhhh, clarity which sets the mind at ease.

Light dispels fear of the unknown & helps us locate where we are so we know

where to go.

The Bible says in John 8:12, "Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am

the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness,

because you will have the light that leads to life." (NLT)

In the same way that the sun is the most powerful life-giving source in our physical

world, Jesus is the most powerful life-giving source -- each day's sunrise is a

reminder of THE Son's rising to give us eternal life.

WOW. Such power and beauty, a beacon of hope that reminds us that the nightdoesn't last forever. Even in the depths of whatever darkness we might find

ourselves in (despair, hopelessness or pain), the promise of daybreak never fails.

If Jesus is the sun then we are the moon -- drawing light from Him and reflecting it

in the darkness that covers our world.

Mankind was never created to live in darkness.

In fact, right from the get-go, before the first person was ever created, God said

"Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). We were created to live in the light of God's love

and presence, in full view of everything He is and everything He created us to be.

When we give our heart to Jesus, He comes inside us and dwells in our heart, a

light blazing like a fire that now shines from within us.

Let us not be greedy with this light. It's too good, too powerful to keep to

ourselves.

Instead, let's agree to shake hands on it -- today we are going to be a light to

someone in our world, we are going to illuminate (light up) others, so they too can

see Jesus.

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Y&F Day 8FROM THE ASH I AM BORN AGAIN

(Alive)

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives

in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and

gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 NLT)

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we acknowledge that our old

ways of thinking and speaking about ourselves and about others will never be the

same again. Born again and saved from the 'ash' of our sin and inadequacy, fear

and failure, we accept that Christ now lives in us and as a result, we are His

representatives to our world. It's a massive mind shift!

As the days pass, we discover that our amazing God (who, lets keep in mind, is

none other than the is the Creator of the universe!) actually wants to speak to us.

We learn to recognise the Holy Spirit's voice as we read His Word and talk to Him

throughout the day. Once we discover this way of living- this personal, ongoingchatting to God- everything changes and our relationship with Him becomes the

intimate friendship our heart was always longing for.

At these times, it is important that we invite Him to reveal areas where we are

holding on to our old ways... because He will! He may challenge us about who we

hang out with, the way we speak to or about others, and even the way that we see

ourselves. Then, as we respond to what we feel God is asking us to do, we align our

thoughts and plans with His thoughts and plans. The best things is, His plans for us

are always way better than any we make for ourselves! (btw - Jeremiah 29:11 is the

verse to memorise if you find yourself doubting this).

So TODAY... at the start of a new week, let's ask God to reveal to us what areas of

our lives we need to trust Him with and to align with His Word... letting our old

ways go and allowing God to shape us every day. From the ash we are born again!

Y&F Day 9WE ARE FOUND IN YOUR PRESENCE

SEEKING YOU IN YOUR FULLNESS

(Close)

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In

Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalms 16:11 NASB)

Have you ever had a time in your life when words fail? Like when you've tried to

describe to someone a moment when you felt completely overwhelmed with

emotion and you thought your heart might explode... and you just couldn't find the

words?

There are many times in our lives when language fails us. We may have

experienced something extraordinary, but when asked about it, we have no words.

Sometimes the reason for our lack of words is the reality of two conflicting

emotions happening at the same time, creating a new, indescribable emotion.

Being in the presence of God is one of those places where words can tend to fail,

for it is often in His presence that we experience one of these moments of

conflicting emotions. Faced with the holiness of our Almighty God, we find silence

to be the best option.

As is the case with many of God's characteristics, His presence is a bit of a paradox.Of course God is always present amongst us, but there are also moments when we

become especially aware of His presence- perhaps in worship, our personal

devotional time or a particular moment throughout the day. At these times we can

find ourselves both drawn to SEEK Him and yet also totally feeling satisfied by

having FOUND Him. On one hand we have an abundance of everything that God

ispeace, hope, love, joy, strength (the list goes on and on)- and we can honestly

say that we have FOUND what we are looking for. On the other hand, we discover

that our access to all this is only made possible through an ongoing living

relationship with Him- and that there is so much more to God to FIND so we are

drawn to SEEK Him more than ever!

Today, let's persist in both SEEKING and FINDING Him... even if the paradox of it all

leaves us in a realm beyond words! Lets decide to press deeper into His presence,

trusting Him to make Himself known. As the verse in Matthew 7:7 says: Ask and it

will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to

you. Let's determine that today, we will draw CLOSE to HIM, that we might be

found in His presence, seeking Him in all His fullness... knowing Him and being

known.
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Y&F Day 10YOU CARRY ME

(Back to Life)

Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour! For each day he carries us in his arms.

Psalms 68:19 (NASB)

Have you ever been at a theme park and seen a little toddler tug at his dads shorts

with pleading eyes, wanting to be rescued from his exhaustion? In the aftermath of

a full day of sugar and excitement, the father swoops him up and places him on his

broad shoulders. Tiredness is swallowed up in that feeling of rest & relief and the

kid is on top of the world and full of life again!

Regardless of our relationship with our own dad, the crazy truth is that we all

children of God. We have a heavenly Father, who does not hesitate to lift us up

when we are weary or troubled, and whose arms are bigger then Arnold

Schwarzenegger- strong enough to carry our burdens.

Sometimes we may feel like we have to take care of everything ourselves. The

media is brilliant at promoting self-made and self-sufficient individuals,

unblemished and devoid of weaknesses. Deep down we probably know this is just

a masquerade, but it doesnt stop us putting huge pressures on ourselves to hide

our weaknesses from public view.

Thanks to the grace of God, we dont have to live like this. Our Father loves us and

is always ready to embrace us in all our weaknesses and strengths. In 2 Corinthians

12 (NLT), God said to the apostle Paul, My grace is all you need. My power works

best in weakness. What a relief! Justto know that when we are weak, we are

actually strong in Christ our Saviour.

What weaknesses are you holding onto yourself? Decide today to allow God to

breathe life and strength back into your situation and enjoy the view from his

broad shoulders!

Y&F Day 11THROWING ME YOUR LIFELINE

(Lifeline)

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we

were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the

dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!

EPHESIANS 2:4-5 (NLT)

'Lifeline' is one of those funny words. It looks like different things to different

people. Kinda like if I said 'McDonalds'- some of you would straight away be

frothing at the mouth at the thought of Chicken Nuggets. Others of you are

probably screwing your nose up in disgust, cos you're athletes like that and you

can't be tamed.

We've all seen game shows where someone is trying to win a truck-load of money

and they are allowed some sort of 'lifeline'. You know how it goes... it gets to that

one question that they can't answer and they are given the options of 'Phone-A-Friend', '50/50' and so on before they say "Lock it in Eddie, I'll take A for $10

million" (even though we all know the answer is always C).

For deep-sea divers, a 'lifeline' is a little more serious. It describes a shot-line that's

connected to a 'buoy' that helps them find their way to the surface (just think of

those floating things on the water that seagulls love to sit on in almost every movie

that has an ocean scene). When divers find themselves swimming in strong tides or

dark waters where they can't see, they can safely navigate the deep waters

because they have a lifeline. Sometimes they are even attached by a lifeline to a

more experienced diver who can lead them to safety if needed.

Let's be honest, life is not always a happy summer-day's swim. The waves of life

can be overwhelming at times... even frightening.

At some point, we've all called out for a lifeline.

Some of us have used the word 'lifeline' to describe how a particular person was

there for us when everything in our world seemed to be falling apart and we were

drowning in the storm of a difficult situation. We are thrown a lifeline and feel

overwhelmed to receive the support we so desperately need to keep our head

above water and keep going until the storm has passed.

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Now think about it.

As much as us humans are capable of pretty incredible acts of support and

selflessness, we are still inconsistent and unreliable at the best of times. We get

tired, we get busy, we run out of money... we have limits.

THANK GOD that His strength and compassion has no limits- He has all the time in

the world for us and will never fail to hear our cries and throw us a lifeline.

In fact, He IS our lifeline!

Hebrews 6:19 (NIV) says "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and

secure." The Message Bible puts it this way- "Its an unbreakable spiritual lifeline,

reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God."

When you find yourself in the midst of dark waters & strong currents, attach

yourself to the Lifeline (Jesus) through prayer. Grab a hold with both hands and

never let go. He is sure, He is secure, and His promise in Romans 10:13 is that

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.". No one who trusts

God like this- heart and soul- will ever regret it.

Take a moment today to think back on times when you needed a lif eline to be

thrown your way and thank God that He pulled you through. Maybe it was a

person He sent to help you, maybe He provided for you.. or maybe His presence

reassured and strengthened you.

Maybe there are areas in your life now that you need to take a hold of the lifeline

He has thrown you? Ask Him to give you the courage to reach out and take a hold,

so that in the midst of the storm, you will find yourself anchored to the greatestLifeline of all.

Y&F Day 12I'M REVIVED WITHIN YOUR NAME

(Embers)

"Salvation comes no other way; no other Name has been or will be given to us by

which we can be saved, only this one.

ACTS 4:12 (MSG)

Hi.

My name is

Hmmmmm. Imagine if we had no name to introduce ourselves with. What a funny

world we would live in! Our names carry greater significance than we think

because they identifies who we are. Regardless of whether your name is Charlie,

Apple or John Smith- your name sets you apart from those around you.

What about the name of the country you are from? I don't think conversation

would go so well if someone asked you where you were from and all you could

muster was a quick "Oh you know, that place to the left of the big coconut tree". A

name can locate you.

In Bible times, names were chosen for a person or a place because they

represented the nature of that person or place, or because something significant

had taken place in that location- not just because they sounded cool.

We see the fullness of this in Gods names: God our Healer, God our Hope, God our

Love... the list goes on and on. He has so many names, not because He has a split

personality but because His nature has many facets, like a diamond- each one

beautiful and equally strong as the other.

One facet can be seen when Jesus refers to Himself in John 14:6 as "The way, the

truth and the LIFE". This Life comes out of the very nature of who He is, and when

we locate ourselves in Him, we find that He REVIVES us and restores us back to life.

How easy is it to name our problems and issues in life? It's almost as if weintroduce ourselves as our problems.

"Hi, my name is Heart Broken".

"Hi, my name is Its-Everyone-Else's-Fault-But-Mine".

Or if not, we write a Facebook status, post a sad photo, or tell all our friends about

it.

Relax :) Of course it is equally bad for us to project a perfect life over social media.

That's what the Pharisees did during Jesus' time and it produced irrelevant

Christianity at its best.

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What we need to keep in mind though, is that at all times we can call on a Name

that is HIGHER than any other name (Philippians 2:9)- higher than any sickness,

circumstance or issue. Just as Jesus did throughout His own life, whether he was

climbing a mountain with his crew (aka the disciples), or hanging on cross at the

climax of the world's greatest love story, He called upon His Fathers Name.

Gods Name is the highest authority- He painted the heavens, breathed the stars,

and formed the universe and everything in it. Like a boss. You just don't get any

higher than that! And in the same way that God breathed life into the very first

man at the beginning of time, He is still looking to breathe His fresh-exhilarating-

hope-filled LIFE into each one of us today.

What is the name you constantly confess? Might it be the things that other

people have said or done to try to define who you are? Whatever your response,

let's start afresh today by confessing that our Heavenly Father's Name is greater

than anything we may face today... and by being revived within His Name!

Y&F Day 13YOUR LOVE UNTAMED,

ITS BLAZING OUT

THE STREETS WILL GLOW FOREVER BRIGHT,

YOUR GLORYS BREAKING THROUGH THE NIGHT

(Wake)

"Im absolutely convinced that nothingnothing living or dead, angelic or

demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkableabsolutely

nothing can get between us and Gods love because of the way that Jesus our

Master has embraced."

- ROMANS 8:38-39 (MSG)

On any given day when we turn on the news we are bombarded by images of

destruction, chaos and devastation. Sometimes these images show the effects of

natural disasters and those ones are heartbreaking enough. But the really super-

disturbing news stories are the ones about people hurting people.

We find ourselves asking, What is going ON?! and then afterwards, we can feel

totally overwhelmed by how big the problems are- depressed, hopeless or, even

worse, drawn to engage with the darkness that surrounds us.

BUT The Bible teaches us that when we let Gods love BLAZE within us, we have

no reason to be overwhelmed by the state of the world around us.

Jesus is described as being both LIFE and LIGHT. John 1:5 actually says the Lifewas Light to live by and The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness

couldnt put it out. (MSG). This LIGHT of Jesus is no dim, bedside lamp kinda light!

We are talking about a blazing, super-super-bright!

Because of this...we have every reason to be 100% confident that Gods love can

and will bring light to the darkness in our world.

So, how about this... next time the darkness we see around us overwhelms us, lets

take a moment to remember exactly how bright the love of Jesus can BLAZE. Lets

make a conscious decision to imagine the streets of our local cities glowing

forever bright!

Y&F Day 14YOUR LOVE IS CRASHING OVER ME

ITS SURGING LIKE A RAGING SEA

IMMERSE ME IN THE WONDER OF YOUR LOVE

(Gracious Tempest)

"For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person

one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were

still sinners, Christ died for us."

ROMANS 5:7-8 (ESV)

Like for a like.

Follow for a follow.

Like for a TBH.

We live in a world full of conditions & rules.

"You have to be this high to ride this roller coaster."

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"You need to finish your homework before you can watch TV.

"If you arent home by 11pm, you will be grounded for a month.

How amazing it is that Jesus loves us with no conditions! In fact, he CHOSE to love

us before we even had the option of loving Him back. Crazy hey? Wanna know

what's crazier?? He is so immovable in His love for us, that even if we chose to

reject or ignore His love, His love for us would remain unchanged.

That's crazy love.

Yes, the rumours are true- God's love for us is deeper than the oceans! Even more

amazing, His pursuit of us is as relentless as the waves that crash upon the shores

daily. Almost as if they are a reminder- an invitation to d ive deep into the mystery

and wonder of all He is, and to discover what treasures lie beneath the surface.

When we dive in, we find that all we are is overwhelmed by all that He is. Any good

that we could do is outweighed by His goodness and power. And the good news

just keeps coming. ALL our wrong doings, our pain, our frustrations are submerged

(hidden from view) in His love.

God's rule is LOVE. Completely. Entirely. Without condition. Because that's how He

rolls. He doesn't just give us a little teacup of His love to drink from- He's not cheap

like that! No, what He gives us is more than we can handle- a raging sea of love,

fierce and untamable.

Let's not hold ourselves to conditions that God himself does not hold us to. Of

course, the result of us accepting His freely-given love is that it changes us fromthe inside out. Yet, His Love invitation has always been the same: "Come as you

are". Lets approach Him with confidence today. Not just to ask Him for the things

that He already knows we need, or even just to apologise for our stuff ups

(although we should do both of these too!), but open-hearted, ready to let Him

show us the wonders of His love and to let it do its transforming work in us, so that

we can, in turn, pass on this love to others.

Y&F Day 15YOUR LOVE GOES ON

AND ON AND ON

(Love Goes On)

Your unfailing love O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Psalm 36:5 (NLT)

Ever noticed how when people talk about how much a famous sportsperson earns,

they use the word worth? Tiger Woods, for example was worth 78 million last

year. Kobe was worth 62 million last year. LeBron was worth 60 million. It

happens with movie stars too. TV hosts are always saying things like: (insert cheesy

TV host voice here) Coming up after the break, well take a look at the the new

Avengers Movie, where actor Robert Downey Jr delivers a stellar performance

worth a cool 50 million dollars.

Then theres the makeover shows. Somebodys always getting their home

renovated or their hair styled because theyre worth it. And of course theres the

school lunchtime conversations, where someone is counseling a guy/girl with a

broken heart and telling them You deserve better. Youre worth more than this.

If we are honest, how much we are worth is a pretty big deal to us. We all want to

be valuable it is just one of the basic feelings thats common to humans! Where

we differ, though, is in HOW we decide to measure our worth. Some people look

to the rewards of the world- money, clothes, and stuff- to decide how valuable

they are.

Others allow other people to decide what their worth is. Weve probably all met

someone who allows somebody else to treat them badly, as though they didnt

think they had enough value to expect anything else. Many people today carry a

secret concern about their value that has stemmed out of the rejection or

abandonment of one of their parents. No matter how cool we play it, the truth is

that the issue of our value is a really big deal to our sense of identity.

Weve all heard John 3:16 and many of us can recite it by heart: For God so loved

the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not

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perish but have eternal life (NIV). But many people havent really connected the

dots about what verse actually says about our value.

Heres the thing: John 3.16 is a GAME CHANGER.

It tells us that GOD HIMSELF became a human and died and then rose again from

the deadand then it tells us WHY.

FOR US.

That is how much He loves us. This is how valuable we truly are. GOD thought that

we were worth dying for. He was prepared to wrap His divinity in human flesh, die

and be raised from the dead, so that we could have relationship with Him. He did it

for those who would choose to follow Him and He did it f or those who would

choose not to follow Him. He loves us equally, regardless of what we have or

havent done, and what we do and dont have. Money, status clothes our stuff is

irrelevant when it comes to Gods love for us.

So, today, whenever a question about your value comes to mind, dont just let it

run free. Catch it and remind yourself how much God loves you. And maybe even

forward this devotional on to a friend who you think needs a little that they are

valued by a God whose love is so big that it goes on and on and on.

Y&F Day 16"YOUR LOVE OUTLASTS THE END OF DAYS"

(End of Days)

"Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.

There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to

get you to go along with them. Ive warned you of them many times; sadly, Im

having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christs Cross. But easy

street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods;

belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But theres far more

to life for us. Were citizens of high heaven! Were waiting the arrival of the Savior,

the Master, Jesus Christ."

Philippians 3:18-20 (MSG)

Imagine if we started going around telling people we are 'citizens of heaven.'

We'd probably get blank stares or even these ones --> o_O

We'd probably even receive inappropriate comments from a few random people...

the kind that would be inappropriate to write here, if you catch my drift. Yet that's

exactly what the verse above says that we, as Christians, are... "citizens of high

heaven."

As citizens of heaven, God invites us to lead lives that are WAY BIGGER than

ourselves. We can believe that our lives will have a lasting impact and that our

impact can go further than what we can see and touch.

It's kinda like the ripple effect when a stone is thrown into a pond - the impact

causes a first wave that creates more waves, that spread bigger and bigger and

further and further until the stillness of the whole pond is affected by that one

small stone.

Once we say yes to God and turn away from living life our own way, repenting of

our previous way of living, He calls us His children and calls us to be a part of the

great masterpiece of His work throughout the ages.

How crazy is that?! God not only loves us enough to forgive us, which would, in

itself be, more than we deserve. In true God-fashion, He adds to this already

incredible WOW-factor. He loves us enough to ask us to be a part of what He is

doing and entrusts US with tasks and responsibilities in His Master plan.

We get to live the adventure of believing that our lives do have an impact! When

we share God's love with others, we can have confidence that our action has a

significance that might only be understood in eternity. We might not see the ripple

effect now, but in the fullness of time we will. Living like this takes the selfishness

out of our decision-making and gives us boldness to do things we might otherwise

never do.

And the best part? His love for us goes beyond anything we could ever imagine. It

is not dependent on what we do, and yet he uses it to work out His plan. His love is

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not fickle, neither does it weaken with time. Instead, His love has been rippling

through the ages, and will continue to until it outlasts the end of days.

Y&F Day 17You wake within me

(Wake)

But everything exposed by the light becomes visibleand everything that is

illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: Wake up, sleeper, rise from the

dead, and Christ will shine on you"

- EPHESIANS 5:13-14 (NIV)

What was it like when you first met Jesus?

Some people describe it being like a light bulb moment. Some say they felt really

peaceful... or like throwing a massive party. Others say that it was like waking up

from a deep sleep or like they have been sleepwalking! It's like their spirit has been

awakened to God and everything has a new purpose and meaning!

It's worth remembering how you felt in that moment, isn't it?

The 'waking up' feeling doesn't need to be a once off, though. If we ask God to

'awaken' us to what He wants to say, we can actually experience it again and again.

Every day we can tune in to the Holy Spirit and be awakened to what God wants to

draw our attention to or 'wake us up to' on the inside. We can shake off the

sleepwalking feeling and begin to see things clearly.

Sometimes God awakens us to things we need to change about ourselves. We all

know how that one feels, right? We do or say something we've done or said the

same way for ages and then we get this little thought in our mind that kind of

says... "Ummm... that's not really OK, is it?" Or we read a verse in the Bible that

just practically jumps out of the page with a neon-flashing light saying, "You need

to change this!!

Other times when God 'wakes within us,' it is more about us awakening to the way

that He sees the situation. All of sudden, everything seems to look really different.

Clearer. Maybe we can finally see the best in someone who had previously driven

us crazy. Or maybe we feel like a situation that once looked hopeless is no longer

impossible. This is letting the Holy Spirit wake within us! Its a whole new way of

living!

Let's pray boldly today. Let's ask God to wake us up to whatever it is that He wants

to say. Let's dust the sleep from our eyes and awaken fully into all that God has for

us today!

Y&F Day 18"IN SYNC WITH YOU"

(In Sync)

in sync with you

Isaiah 51:4-6 MSG (para) Pay attention, my people. Listen to me, nations.

Revelation flows from me. My decisions light up the world. My deliverance arrives

on the run, my salvation right on time. Ill bring justice to the peoples. Even

faraway islands will look to me and take hope in my saving power. Look up at the

skies, ponder the earth under your feet. My salvation will last forever, my setting-

things-right will never be obsolete.

Do you ever think, why am I on earth? Or what am I supposed to do with my

life? Its normal to wonder why and what; because we are living for something so

much greater than life on earth.

Gods ways are so much bigger than our ways, because Hes God! We cant fully

understand what is going on in His head because we only human. We are smart,

just not God smart! God can see the whole world, whats happened, whats

happening and what will happen, so His knowledge is much more expansive thanours.

And if His knowledge is so big, can you even imagine how much more He is moved

by people than we are? His love is enormous! Hes crazy about every single person

to ever exist on the earth. EVERYONE!

Knowing that God cares so much, helps us to understand what my setting-things-

right will never be obsolete means. It means Gods plan has always been, and it

will always to be bring people home to His overwhelming love for them.

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In Galatians 5:22-23 MSG it says But what happens when we live Gods way? He

brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard

things like affection for others, exuberance about live, serenity. We develop a

willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a

conviction that a basic holiness permeates thing and people.

This means that if we are in sync with God, and live His way, He will share some of

His knowledge with us. We begin to understand that everyone was made by God

for Him to love, and we begin to Love others like He does.

Do you ever go to your iphone to play a song that you just downloaded and see

that it isnt there? Then realize that you havent hooked it up to your computer

and synced it yet. Just like syncing your phone to your computer for updates and

new music, we can sync up to God for updates and new gifts.

Just think of prayer as an iphone to computer connection cable. It gives us power

and connects us to the library. Think of software updates as the Word of God. This

is where we get the knowledge and understanding to do the things God has for usto do, with the gifts that God has for us to use. And think of new music as the love

of God moving you to make a soundtelling people about Jesuson the earth.

We have this really cool opportunity to sync up with Jesus and live life the way He

always wanted us to, side by side, introducing people to Him.

Y&F Day 19DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

(Brighter)

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

Psalm 30:11-12 (NLT)

Everyone loves a good party.

Have you ever accidently opened a can of soft-drink that previously had been

dropped or shaken? You know, the one sometimes handed to you by your classic

legend best friend? You open it only to be showered in a sticky spray of surprise as

the build-up of gas releases its full power on your new jeans!!

This is the same reaction that occurs when we fully understand what Jesus not only

did for us when He carried our sins on the cross and f orgave us of our past, but

what He continues to do for us every day since he rose again from the grave. He

died to give us LIFE and life to the full! (John 10:10)

When we realise this, we cant help but burst out in thankfulness and gratitude.

We think:

Hey God thank you for helping me here

Wow, my life could be very different but thank God He

Thank you God for this person in my life...

Soon enough, it builds and builds until we find ourselves overflowing with

thankfulness.

Dont lose your memory - God made a night and day difference in our lives! When

we remember what God has done, and look forward with hope to the life He hasplanned ahead of us, we cant help but celebrate!

Take the time out today and write down 5 things that you are thankful to God for,

and remind yourself why this day does not need to be a normal mundane run-

of-the-mill day.

There is breath in your lungs! Thats a good place to start :)

If you find yourself in a hard situation, look to what Gods Word says about your

future and the hope and joy He has in store for you! Soon enough, youll find

reasons to dance the night away!!

Y&F Day 20YOU CAME TO EARTH THAT YOU CREATED

(End of Days)

"Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone.

That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that

everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than

people ever lived on their own.

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Because of this decision we dont evaluate people by what they have or how they

look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know.

We certainly dont look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what

we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.

The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God

who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our

relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the

Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins."

2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-19 (MSG)

Remember that time when you were younger and your teacher asked you to draw

a picture of your house and your family?

Most of us all started off well, drawing the grass and the sun, maybe some birds in

the sky. And then a tree! Then we started with our family - a brother or sister, our

parents, our cousins. A dog. Then came the moment when we realised we drew

our Dad's head the same size as the house - NOOOOO... all our efforts were

ruined!

So what did we do? We scrunched up our piece of paper, threw it away, and

started again on a fresh page.

Its cool to think about God and how much love He has for us in this way too.

Except that He - the Creator of the Universe and everything in it - know us and

loves us so much that, even when we stuff up and turn our backs on him, He

chooses NOT to screw up the paper of our lives and start again.

Instead, He draws Himself into the picture of our lives.

What an outrageous thought - the Creator living among those He created so that

He could complete the Masterpiece that He started painting from the beginning of

time! An immense portrait that is not of a sunset, or a mountain slope, or the

perfect wave, or the stars in the sky. This Masterpiece portrait is of God the

Creator in loving relationship with the crown of His Creation - you & me.

So today, be encouraged :) if there are broken pieces in our lives - misshaped lines

and mistakeslets give them to Jesus. God is the King at taking broken, ugly &

ruined things - even people - and making a Masterpiece out of them.

Y&F Day 21YOU TOOK ME FROM THE WAYSIDE

(Lifeline)

As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, ablind man, Bartimaeus (which means son of Timaeus), was sitting by the

roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of

David, have mercy on me!

Jesus stopped and said, Call him.

So they called to the blind man, Cheer up! On your feet! Hes calling you.

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see.

Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed you.

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

- MARK 10:14-25

In life, stuff happens. And when it does, it can leave us feeling like we've gone off

course. Like a video game, the screen of our life lights up in chaos of reds, telling

us we've gone the wrong way. If only we could just do a U-turn. If only things were

that simple.

Sometimes it is our choices that lead us into the ditches of life. Sometimes though,

things happen that are beyond our control.

Take our friend Bartimaeus for example. He was outcast from his community

without having any choice in the situation. He found himself sitting on the wayside

daily, hoping and waiting for someone to save him.

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Yet despite his situation, Bartimaeus had enough courage to call out to Jesus. Even

when the people around him made fun of him and told him to stop being

ridiculous, he yelledhe yelled even louder!

The best part?? Over the noise of the crowd, Jesus heard Bartimaeus heart's cry.

Not only did Jesus hear him, but he also answered and He fulfilled the dream of his

heart! He took Bartimaeus from the wayside and set him on his way - healed,

whole, free and full of purpose.

We all have weaknesses or situations in our lives that are beyond our control and

that frustrate us, leaving us like we have been left on the wayside. What are yours?

Dont let those situations silence you! Let them draw you to Jesus. Call out to Him!

Let Him take you from the wayside, connect you into His family, and carry you

home.

Y&F Day 22EYES FIXED ON THE ONE WHO KNOWS NO END

(Love Goes On)

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping

our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

Usain Bolt - the World's Fastest Man.

He is the first man to hold both the 100 and 200 metres World Sprinting records,

the first man to hold 6 Olympic gold medals in sprinting, and an eight-time World

Champion. In 2009 he ran 100 metres in just 9.58 secondsthe fastest time ever

recorded. Basically, in the time it takes you to tie your shoe laces, he's already run

the length of your school oval!!

The Bible tells us that the Christian life is very much like a race. And we all know

that every race has a beginning and an end. Our race began when God gave us a

fresh start in Jesus, and one day our race will come to an end.

The cool thing is that God has marked out the race ahead of us - determined our

features, our passions, the things we would be naturally gifted at, the purpose of

our lives, so on and so on.

As Christians we have the power to not only run our race, but to run it WELL, by

placing our lives daily in the hands of Jesus Christ and all He did f or us on the Cross.

Our eyes are not fixed on those around us, but on God Himself. So there is no

competition, no comparison - we dont run to win against others, we run to finish

what God has for us, because He has already won the whole race.

Today, let us fix our eyes - our attention, our time, our focuson Jesus, who hasno end to everything we need, in order to run in this exciting adventure of a race

marked before us!

Y&F Day 23A DOWNPOUR OF UNENDING GRACE

(Gracious Tempest)

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how ca n we lose? If God

didnt hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and

exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he

wouldnt gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by

messing with one of Gods chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The

One who died for uswho was raised to life for us!is in the presence of God at

this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to

drive a wedge between us and Christs love for us? There is no way! Not trouble,

not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not

backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. None of this fazes us

because Jesus loves us. Im absolutely convinced that nothingnothing living or

dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or

unthinkableabsolutely nothing can get between us and Gods love because of

the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:31-39 (MSG)

Psychologists say that the desire to fit in or belong is a feeling that all humans

experience. Of course sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just dont fit in

to a group that we want to belong to. We are forced to face feelings of rejection

and it can challenge our understanding of who and what we are. Then what?

Maybe the real questions we should be asking ourselves are more along the lines

of why we want to fit into that group, and whether fitting in actually matters at all?

Is it that we feel like not fitting in says something about our true value? If so, does

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this mean that we are allowing other peoples acceptance or rejection of us tell us

who we are?

When we get a revelation of Gods acceptance, it frees us from being ruled by

someone elses words or actions toward us. Of course we all long for acceptance

and belonging and that is OK, as God created us to live in community. BUT our

identity does not need to be rocked by someone elses acceptance or rejection of

us. At the end of the day, the Creator of the universe accepts us and loves us our

identity is secure in Him!

Even better, Gods acceptance of us is based on Jesus perfection- not ours! God

does not accept us because we earned it or because we deserve it. It is a free gift

a downpour of unending grace.

Remind yourself of this today:

You fit in. You belong. We all do, because God offers all of us the opportunity to

belong to His family equally. By His amazing, unending grace, we are in!

Y&F Day 24YOUR LIGHT SHINING THROUGH THE DARK OF THE NIGHT

JESUS FOREVER!

(Brighter)

By your words I can see where Im going;

they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

PSALM 119:105 (MSG)

Imagine if we NEVER had mobile phones. How on earth would we talk to people

standing on the other side of the planet?? Lets be real, two tins connected by a

piece of string probably wont do the trick. Imagine if we had to read whole book

encyclopaedias in order to research just one question for our geography

assignments? Oh wait, that happened once upon a time. Ha. Sorry parents.

Okay, try this - imagine if cars had no headlights so we couldnt see our way in the

dark of the night? I mean, the road still exists, but if I cant see where Im going

When we encounter problems and hard situations in our lives, God has a solution

for everything we needsolutions that are found in His word. The Bible is full of

promises that will light the path in front of us every day, so we can be sure of

each step that we take and know which way to go.

Maybe something happened at school. Maybe theres an issue with a friend that

has been bugging you and you dont know what to do. Or maybe, things at home

are not so peachy.

Whenever we find ourselves shrouded in darkness and we cant see our way

forward, we can look to Gods Word to clear up the confusion and remove doubt,

so that we can see our way forward. His light is as constant as His loveno matter

how dark or long the night, His is a forever-kind-of-light that will shine through!

Y&F Day 25REPLACING FEAR WITH YOUR FREEDOM

(Back To Life)

"Aaaaaaarrrrrggghhhh".

Yep, that's the usual response when we face something we fear.

Some people fear snakes, others fear spiders, even to the point where you think

you can feel their creepy crawly legs on your arm as you read this!

Sometimes though, we get trapped by fear because of things that we cannot see or

touch, but we can definitely feel.

Maybe its fear of what people think about us, fear of failing or fear about what

our future holds.

Fear exists when we perceive something to be potentially dangerous or cause pain.

It can become so crippling that we are robbed of our confidence, security and joy.

As a result, our life shrinks as we gradually let fear control our thoughts and

actions.

When we read Gods Word however, we begin to see that faith in Christ our

Saviour shows us a way to live in the wide open spaces of Gods love. It says in 1

John 4:17-19, as we live in God, our love grows more perfect Such love has no

fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

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Therefore, when life throws us some fearful circumstances, we can find comfort in

Jesus and freedom to live in hope that God has our back because He loves us so

much!

Dont be intimidated Dont be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies.

Theres nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Sav e your fear for God,

who holds your entire lifebody and soulin his hand.

Matthew 10: 26-28 (The Message)

When we accept Christ into our hearts, we no longer have to stay trapped by our

fears because we can be confident in His plan for our lives.

Give God your fears today.

His response to them is not "aaaarrrrgghhh".

No, His response is freedom.

Freedom that brings us back to life!

Y&F Day 26YOU'RE IN MY HEART FOREVER"(Wake)

If I climb to the sky, youre there. If I go underground, youre there! If I flew on

mornings wings to the far western horizon, youd find me in a minute. Youre

already there waiting!

Psalm 139:8-10 (MSG)

Have you ever heard someone say something like, Once you put something on the

internet, its there forever, even if you delete it!?

FOREVER? How long is forever? Can we actually comprehend a forever time

frame? And what is cyber space anyway?

The Bible teaches us that God is a forever God. He stands outside of time, as we

know it. He invented time and He invites us into glimpses of forever with Him.

When God wakes within us He is literally connecting us to His plan of salvation on

the earth. His planthat everyone would be united with Himin life and in

heaven. When we surrender our lives to God and allow Him to lead our lives, we

then experience this crazy love that He has for us, and we enter into a heart-to-

heart relationship with Him. And its a FOREVER kind of love.

You know how some people say love you to the moon and back? They dont

literally mean they love us the distance f rom earth to moon and back, do they?

They mean they love us heaps more than they love McDonalds ice cream, for

example (Well, we hope so, anyway! If not, thats a lot of love for ice cream!).

But when God says He loves us and is going to live in our heart FOREVER, He means

it. We cannot stop God from loving us. Everywhere we go, He is there, still loving

us and still inviting us to join His forever -ness. This is the real deal,the Jesus thing.

He really cares, and He always will. For you and me and every person that we can

know and dont know.

So today, if you feel far away remember God is right there with you. He hasnt

changed His mind about you. His love is forever. Lets lean in to what He is saying,

because He might be telling us to invite someone else on this forever journey too.

Y&F Day 27THROUGH THE STRUGGLE

THROUGH THE TRIAL,

YOU HAVE MADE MY BURDEN LIGHT

(Back to Life)

There are three words that have the power to change your life.

Weve all heard it at some point, and our reaction to it can be so varied some

people get so happy when they hear itothers start frothing at the mouth as theypull their knees to their chest and begin rocking back and forth in shock.

Ahhh yes, those three words.

What words? you ask.

Clean.

Your.

Room.

Mess can be fun to create, but when we realize that we have to live in it we

struggle. The realization of the clean-up ahead can be overwhelming, especially if

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the mess is huge.

The huger the mess, the harder it gets.

How many times have we dreamed of being able to point a magic finger like Mary

Poppins to instantly clean up the mess in our lives? Or press a rewind button to

reverse our mistakes? The truth is that life is not a smooth, straight road, but a

winding one, often with speed humps along the way.

Hard times are not optional in life; they will come whether its of our own doing or

out of our control. It is during these times that who we are and our faith (our

beliefs, our focus, what we say we are passionate about) is tested and

strengthened. But we dont need to navigate it all by ourselves. In Matthew 11:28-

30 (The Message), Jesus speaks some refreshing and life-altering words that are

directed to every one of us:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me

and youll recover your life. Ill show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and

work with mewatch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I wont layanything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and youll learn to live

freely and lightly.

Such reassurance it is to know that our God walks through every trial with us and is

not overwhelmed by the size of our mess. Instead, He encourages us to give our

mess to him dailyour heavy burdens, the things that weigh us down.

Remember, He created the world.

His arms are strong enough to carry our burdens so we dont stay IN our mess.

Instead, if we give Him our burdens, we move THROUGH our struggles, THROUGHour trials, into the freedom and life He has for us!

Y&F Day 28ILL FOLLOW YOU LORD FOR ALL MY DAYS,

ILL FIX MY EYES FOLLOW IN YOUR WAYS

(Alive)

Callingthe crowd to join his disciples, he said, Anyone who intends to come with

me has to let me lead. Youre not in the drivers seat; I am. Dont run from

suffering; embrace it. Follow me and Ill show you how. Self-help is no help at all.

Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good

would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you

ever trade your soul for?

MARK 8:34-37 (MSG)

We live in a world that loves the idea of follow me.

Follow me on Instagram.

Follow someones fashion trend.

Follow your favourite band as they tour through Timbuktu.

Or, a personal faveOh my goodness *insert famous/hot persons name here+

follows me!!

We follow people at the touch of a button, subscribe to hear their every thought,

see their every move, feel their emotionsand yet, we can UNfollow them in less

time if we dont think them worthy of our attention and love.

What does it mean then to be a follower of Jesus?

Good question.

Throughout the gospels we see Jesus inviting people to follow him. Jesus called

Peter and Andrew and they immediately left their nets to follow him. He called

James and John and they also immediately left their boat and their father. These

key disciples left everything they knew; their livelihoods, family, wealth and

possessions to follow Jesus.

Relax, Jesus is not asking you to sell your iPod or your pet dog. Instead, like He said

in Mark 8:34, we need to trust Him enough to let Him lead our livesthat means

our agenda is no longer our own. When we wake up every morning we dont wake

up thinking of what WE want to do but we wake up saying Jesus, what do YOU

have for me today?

Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where God asks us to do something

that will greatly cost usmaybe to help someone less fortunate, to not hang out at

a certain party or place because of the bad influences there even though all your

friends are going, maybe its to stand up for Him in your school even though you

may get teased for it.

In every circumstance, we must trust Him all the more. If following Jesus means

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that there are certain paths we cannot walk because of where we will end up,

know that it is because He is leading us somewhere far greater than what we can

see right now.

You want an adventurous life full of fun & wonder?

Follow the Author of Life Himself.

You want love and acceptance?

Follow the Greatest Love of all who gave His life for you.

You want to do something great with your life?

Follow the one who created you and knows your purpose.

Today, lets follow Jesus.

Y&F Day 29SPIRIT YOURE LEADING ME EACH DAY

(Embers)

Whose voice can you pick out of a crowd?

Can you remember a time when you heard a voice in a crowd and, before you

could see the person, you knew who it was? The more time we spend with

someone, the more we learn his or her voice, sound and movements.

Have you ever seen two best friends who start to sound and act alike? Maybe

youve even walked out of your room only to find a family member wearing almost

the same outfit as you?

The more time we are around people, the more we tend to reflect them and they

reflect us. Its like a mirror over time. We can anticipate what they will say and do,

and we even recognize their laugh and their sneeze.

In the same way, the more time we spend with God, the more we reflect Him and

the more we are able to recognise His voice when there is noise all around. If The

Spirit of God lives in us then we should be able to hear Him all the time, right? So

the bit that we must learn is the sound and the rhythm of His voice.

The Spirits voice can sound a lot like ours, except the Spirit is usually saying things

that make us a bit uncomfortable because theyre challenging or correcting, or

because theyre more encouraging to ourselves than we usually are. Not

uncomfortable in a bad way, uncomfortable in a Lets face our fears today - we can

do this kind of way.

Lets be honest, we dont always want to listen to that voice, butwhat if we did?

What does the Bible say will happen?

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the

pleasures of living with you forever.

Psalms 16:11 (NLT)

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth The Spirit will

tell you whatever He receives from Me.

John 16:13-15 (NLT)

The real issue then, is obedience.

Can you imagine what the world would look like if we followed the Spirit's leading

in every part of our lives! Just think; we really can make a difference!

Today lets pray for our generation to listen and follow the Spirit, and hope for a

great revival across the Earth as we lean in to Jesus and learn His voice!

Y&F Day 30GIVE US EYES TO SEE

YOU ARE ALL WE NEED

(Close)

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race were in. Study

how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headedthat

exhilarating finish in and with Godhe could put up with anything along the way:

Cross, shame, whatever. And now hes there, in the place of honor, right alongside

God. Hebrews 12:2 (MSG)

What are you looking at?

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Have you ever gone to the grocery store when you are really hungry? Everything

you see, you want. You end up buying more food than you can eat, and its

typically all junk food, because thats what you want when youre starved.

You bust open that bag of chips before you even get home, and eat way too much.

By the time you get home to eat you feel sick, because it wasnt what you actually

needed.

Or have you ever gone to the movies and skipped dinner? When you get there you

want popcorn, lollies and maybe even a Slurpee to top it off. Half way through the

movie you are so full you could explode!! Youre now extremely thirsty because

you had so much sweet and salty foods, that all you can think about is running to a

bubbler and drinking all the water it has.

Then shortly after the movie, when you have had something to drink, you realize

you start to feel hungry again, and this time popcorn just wont do.

Just like shopping when you are hungry or going to a movie without dinner, we can

spiritually become hungry too. If we fill up on all the junk food (things that are

conveniently located in our line of sight) we will never be fully satisfied. This is

because our bodies dont know what to do with the junk food; there is nothing in

it that actually sustains us to keep going.

If we are looking to fill our spiritual hunger (that constant need for more, the if I

had _____, then Id be happy) with things that give us no nutrients, we will remain

hungry. We will continue searching. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus, He will give us

all we need.

Those new kicks, that new album, the newest version of GTA, the new iPhone (why

do they keep coming out with new ones?!?!) even things like more facebook

friends, a best friend, a boy/girlfriend, more likes on instagram, 1000 re-vines on

my new vine video; or even something as small as a new pair of jeans or a carton

of ice cream. None of these things will sustain us; none of these things are what we

really need.

There is nothing wrong with wanting or even having new/nice things. Thats not

the problem at all. The problem comes, when we think that having them will

somehow change us, or make us happier/better. The truth is, they wont. Not deep

down, where it really matters.

The only thing that will bring us true happiness and fulfillment is Jesus. Keep your

eyes on Him, and everything else will fit in the right place.

Y&F Day 31CAPTIVATED BY THE SPLENDOUR

OF YOUR FACE

(Sinking Deep)

The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.

Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.

The world stands firm

and cannot be shaken.

Psalm 93:1 (NLT)

Often when we worship or pray, our picture of God can be more like a vendingmachineput in a couple of praise Gods and in the name of Jesuss, and receive

a packet of answered prayerslow fat of course, thank yup!

The truth is God desires for us to not just know his hand of generosity toward us,

but to see the beauty of His splendour;

in other words, He doesn't want us to just seek Him for WHAT He can do for us,

but to know WHO He is.

And who He is is far beyond anything our minds can understand or comprehend.

It would be like the mind of an ant trying to appreciate the beauty of a sunset - its

overwhelming!

In Psalm 104, the Psalmist looks at the created world before him and attributes its

beauty to Creator God. As stunning as the sun is, or as deep as the waters are, or

as numerous as the creatures are that roam the earththese are but the robes

with which Creator God clothes Himself.

In a world that loves to put the focus on us (iPhones, MySpace, Youtube), the

Psalmist puts humanity into perspectivethe world revolves not around us, but

around the One who is magnificentwho has made the heavens His throne, and

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the earth His footstool (Isaiah 66:1).

There is wonder to behold when we seek God - it changes the way we see our

world every day. Suddenly, the ordinary has that little bit extra.

Y&F Day 32LET OUR HEARTS KEEP BEATING

TO THE SOUND OF HEAVENS SONG

NO WE WON'T STAND SILENT

WE WILL SING LIKE NEVER BEFORE

(In Sync)

"The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose

hearts are fully committed to him."

- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT)

Fanatics.

Have you ever seen them?The ones that turn up to the soccer games decked in their team colours from head

to toe, paint smeared across their game-face, voices ruined by the end of the

match.

Fanatics.

Their room is plastered in posters and gimmicks of their favourite singer. Not only

do they know every word - every line - every song ever released, but they also

know random details about their life, right down to their favourite flavour of ice

cream.

Fanatics.

We can all be fanatics at some stage in our lives. We may not wear our fave jersey

24/7 or know Beyonce's middle name, but at some point we have all faced a

situation where we would do ANYTHING, count ANY cost, just so we could do or be

what we believed in.

Sometimes we laugh at the measures people take to express their "love" for what

they are passionate about, but we can all agree on this - they are committed.

Love makes people fanatical.

It makes people passionate as they express their commitment for all eternity to

someone, whilst Whitney sings "iiiiiiiiiiiiii will alwaaaayyys loooooove

yooouuuuuuu" in the background. It may be cheesy, but not a second thought is

given to what other people think.

The more we fall in love with Jesus, the more we don't care about whether or not

people will think we're weird. Our focus is not on them, but on Him.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:19 that "we love Him because He first loved us".

He is more crazy about us than we could ever be about Him!

He didn't just express His love for us by talking the talk...He walked the walk all the

way to the cross so we could live freely.

Today, allow God's love to strengthen your heart -- you'll never be the same again!

Keep in sync with His love.

When you realise that His thoughts towards you outnumber the grains of sand in

all the world (Psalm 139:17-18), you'll find yourself singing like never before!

Y&F Day 33I CALL YOUR NAME

AND YOU ANSWER

(Back To Life)

The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for

the Lord is about to pass by.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks

before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an

earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake camea fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

- 1 Kings 19:11-12 (NIV)

Dont you love getting a call or a text from a good friend?

Whether youve had a great day, or feeling a bit unmotivated or sad, it's enough to

put a good ol' smile on your dial :)

Or how about when you're stuck in a rutt and really need an answer, but the

person you are calling just won't answer their phone?? A-NNOY-ING.

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How amazing it is then, to think that at any given time we can call upon God, and

He answers!

Psalm 116:1-2 paints an incredible picture of how God meets us where we are at

and how he hears our voice. Even when we dont think He has heard us, be

assuredhe hears all our prayers. We dont even have to make up fancy-shmancy

long-winded prayers that rattle our teeth.

God just looks forward to when his children call his name.

I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He

bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalms 116:1-2 (NLT)

In the loud and wild world we live in that has a thousands of voices speaking

around us everyday (people, media, our own thoughts) - God hears us.

While so many people and things compete for our attention, there is one voice

that cuts past all the noise when we take the time to listen.

God is always speaking to us, WE just need to take the time to listen.

Take some time out this week to prioritise seeking Gods voice amidst all the other

influences in your life. Call on His Name, and you'll find that He'll not only answer,

but tell you things that you couldn't imagine in your wildest dreams!

Y&F Day 34IMMERSE ME IN THE WONDER OF YOUR LOVE

(Gracious Tempest)

There are two ways to get in a pool.

The first is to be one of those toe-tipping people, who stick their toe in to feel the

water and then slowly wade into the pool. The problem with this technique is that

every step is shocking, your body never gets used to it, even though you hope it

will.

The second way is to jump in. And let's be honest, the cannon ball is the most

dramatic and exhilarating way to do this, getting you fully submersed within

seconds and leaving behind a trail of water for those who are in the 'splash zone'.

How cool is it to be fully submersed in water?! It's almost like you are weightless,

limitless in what you can do, because the water is fully supporting you (if you know

how to float that is).

If you think about the love of God as the water, wouldn't you rather jump in with

both feet rather than just test the water with your toes?

Gods love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic,His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic.

Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost;

Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.

Psalm 36:5-6 (MSG)

The wonder of God's love. It's huge. Bigger than all the oceans put together,

deeper than the deepest part of the sea. God's love in enormous. If you've ever

been swimming or surfing in the ocean, or ever been on a ship sailing, you get an

idea of the ocean's size.

Even the largest ships we've ever built are minuscule in comparison to the ocean.

When you are out there, amongst the waves you can sometimes start to feel

nervous at how small you are in relation to the vast sea around you. But just as the

scripture says, "yet in His largeness, nothing gets lost".

There is no cause for nerves with God. Thinking about how big His love for us i s, is

not a bad thing because it doesn't make us small and insignificant like the ocean

can. To dream about God's massive love gives us a new understanding of how

important we are to Him; how much He loves us.

It shows us that if we cannonball into His love, and we learn to float and swim(read the bible and pray), He will support our weight (take our problems and

worries) so we can do so much more than we ever could have done just standing

on the side of the pool.

This week, let's reflect the love of God, and decide if we are a toe tipper or a

cannon baller. And if we need to, let's brave up and take the plunge.

Y&F Day 35I LIFT YOUR NAME HIGHER AND HIGHER

(End of Days)

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Go after a life of love as if your life depended on itbecause it does. Give

yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. When

you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, youre letting others in on the truth so

that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you. 1

Corinthians 14:1,3 (MSG)

Ever heard the phrase Everything about you says something about you? Its a

pretty intense concept, isnt it? But thetruth is, whether we like it or not, most ofthe time, most of us are promoting something. Maybe its an iPhone or an android,

a pair of Jordans or a pair of vans. Or a t-shirt from Beyoncs last tour, or an NBA

jersey. We are walking marketing agents. And were usually proud to do it.

Imagine if you got to attend the concert of your favourite artist? You know that

when they hit that one note in the chorus, you're going to be screaming along with

the rest of the crowd with your hands in the air! And it's the same at a sporting

event. You've probably going to have the name of your favourite player on the

back of your jersey and if it's your guy that makes the winning play, you're going to

relive the moment again and again to anyone who will listen.

Of course it's not necessarily wrong to love and support a band or a team, or even

to wear their gear. But it is kinda crazy to think that we can be so unrestrained and

open in expressing our support for people that we probably dont even know (and

may never know), and yet can be so reserved in expressing our passion for Jesus.

Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

Of course we dont all need to run out a get W.W.J.D. bracelets, but in our actions,

is Jesus present? Do we talk about Jesus with the same amount of passion as we

do our favourite player or band?

Take a moment today to do a little heart check about how much passion you give

to Jesus vs. how much passion you give to your favorites. This is not something you

just do once and its done, its something we all have to do, over and over. Lets

resolve today to be a generation that is more passionate about Jesus than anything

else, and that it is His name that we are committed to lifting higher and higher.

Y&F Day 36WE FOUND LOVE THAT NEVER RUNS DRY

FROM THE DEPTHS TO THE SKY

(Your Love Goes On)

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.

Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes

from God.

Ephesians 3:19-20(NLT)

What is the one problem that plagues more people than any other?

When Billy Graham, the famous evangelist, was asked this question he replied withjust one word: Loneliness.

Even Mother Theresa herself said, The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the

feeling of being unloved.

As human beings we are shaped and defined by what we love and by those who

love us.

Its the water that helps us grow & live.

But our love can only go so far... we are human beings after all. We have limits, wehave faults, and even on our best day sometimes our love still runs low. And what

is the result of this love-drought?

Nasty words are spoken. We say things we don't mean.

Brokenness. Hurt. Isolation.

Loneliness.

The Bible talks a lot about love. It describes Gods love as having limitless width,

endless length, immeasurable depth, and infinite height. Gods love is so immense

it covers every aspect of our lives, from the depth of our sin, to well beyond the

height of all human understanding.

So what does this love have to do with us?

We were created to love because we were created in the image of Love Himself.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:8 that God is love, and if we want to seek love, REAL

LOVE, then we are to seek Him.

Through Jesus, we have access to a love that will never run dry & that will never

fall short.

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There is no such thing as a love-drought with God!! In fact, God's love is so

immense that His intention is for this more-than-enough love to overflow from our

lives into the lives of those around us.

Ask Jesus to fill you with His love that never runs dry. And maybe, just maybe,

there's someone in your world today who is lonely who will experience His love

from the overflow that comes out of your life.

Y&F Day 37A RUNAWAY HEART IN A DISTANT LAND

I WANDERED SO FAR

STILL TO FIND YOU THERE

THERE'S NO ESCAPING YOUR EMBRACE

(Lifeline)

"God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.

Im an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what Im thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;Im never out of your sight.

You know everything Im going to say before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and youre there,

then up ahead and youre there, tooyour reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderfulI cant take it all in!

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, youre there!

If I go underground, youre there!

If I flew on mornings wings to the far western horizon,

Youd find me in a minuteyoure already there waiting!Then I said to myself, Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

At night Im immersed in the light!

Its a fact: darkness isnt dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, theyre all

the same to you."

- PSALM 139:1-12 (MSG)

Christopher Columbus changed history when he proved that the world was not

flat.

Laughable isn't it, to those of us on this s ide of history. Hello, AS IF we would fall

off the edge of the world into black space!!

These days, we have made so many discoveries about our round planet all thanks

to ships, airpl

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