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Overview
Be drawn into the epic adventure of experiencing God’s plan.
This isn’t your typical sex, alcohol, drugs, and obey-your-parents devotional Bible. Instead, it takes an honest look at the messiness of living in a broken world and walking with God through it.
Daily readings and book introductions for every book of the Bible paint a picture of the reality that the Bible teaches—that there is more going on in the world than meets the eye. As you explore what it means to have God himself living inside of you, you will learn how to hear his voice, follow his lead, and recognize him in the good, true, and beautiful in the world.
The Great Rescue focuses on intimacy with God and a relationship with him in every area of life. The Bible tells us that God had a plan from the beginning of time, and that we were created for a purpose: to fulfill a unique role in his kingdom. It also tells us that there is a very real conflict going on in our broken world between God and his archenemy. God wants us to be a part of his grand story. He wants us to walk so closely with him that we begin to understand his way of life and to participate in the narrative that is God’s story.
It's much more than a new way to act. It’s a new way to see.
Devotionals from YW Magazine, an eight-time winner of EPA editorial awards of excellence.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780310440253 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Zondervan |
| Publication date: | 07/24/2012 |
| Sold by: | HarperCollins Publishing |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 200 |
| File size: | 14 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
| Age Range: | 15 - 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION The GREAT RESCUE
discover your part in God's planZONDERVAN
Copyright © 2012 ZondervanAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-44023-9
Chapter One
MATTHEWA Quick Look
AUTHOR:
Matthew, also called Levi
AUDIENCE:
Greek-speaking Jewish Christians
DATE:
Between AD 50 and 70
THEME:
Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah sent by God to fulfill OT prophecy.
The fateful fall in the Garden of Eden was devastating. Close relationships were ripped apart. Lifelines severed. Souls chained. Hearts blinded. The world infected. God then faithfully began putting into effect his Great Rescue and tenderly preparing his people for what was to come. Sometimes God stated it plainly: "Rescue is coming through your descendants," he had said to Abraham. "Rescue is coming through your royal line," he had told King David.
Sometimes God was more subtle, his plan whispering through reality like the wind through the trees: "Rescue is going to look like the sacrifice of a beloved son," he whispered, as generations told the story of Abraham's shocking willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. "Rescue is going to look like Passover," he hinted, as generations remembered the Lord passing over blood-marked homes. "Rescue is going to look like righteousness lived out," he suggested through the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. "Rescue is going to look like the offerings of the tabernacle," he murmured, as generations of his people drew near to him by the covering of blood.
So much brokenness was ushered in at the fall and the Great Rescue would be so all-encompassing that God used every angle — both subtly and blatantly, concretely and abstractly — to help his people see his plan. "Rescue is coming," he told his people throughout the Old Testament.
And then, amazingly, beautifully, Rescue came. The Rescue was God himself.
Matthew, a Jewish tax collector and one of Jesus' disciples, wrote down his experiences with Jesus. As a Jewish man himself, his heart was to help God's people see that Jesus was the fulfillment of all God's whispers throughout their rich history. They had been given the honor of being the people to whom God had told his great secret. But unlike all of the prophecies in the Old Testament, when Jesus came he didn't just point to the Great Rescue. He was — and is — the Great Rescue.
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy" of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the fat her of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the fat her of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, 15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, f because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethtehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi" from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 "I baptize you with" water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
"'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Heals the Sick
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis," Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the l east of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder
21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and any one who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that any one who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, any one who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And any one who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "There fore, if you are offering your gift at the al tar and there re member that your brother or sister has some thing against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the al tar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION The GREAT RESCUE Copyright © 2012 by Zondervan. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Dedication....................ivAbout Walk Thru the Bible....................iv
Acknowledgments....................iv
How to Use This Bible....................v
Preface....................vi
Genesis....................1
Exodus....................68
Leviticus....................121
Numbers....................159
Deuteronomy....................213
Joshua....................259
Judges....................291
Ruth....................322
1 Samuel....................328
2 Samuel....................369
1 Kings....................405
2 Kings....................443
1 Chronicles....................481
2 Chronicles....................523
Ezra....................570
Nehemiah....................585
Esther....................605
Job....................616
Psalms....................662
Proverbs....................795
Ecclesiastes....................835
Song of Songs....................849
Isaiah....................858
Jeremiah....................935
Lamentations....................1008
Ezekiel....................1017
Daniel....................1079
Hosea....................1099
Joel....................1114
Amos....................1120
Obadiah....................1132
Jonah....................1136
Micah....................1140
Nahum....................1149
Habakkuk....................1154
Zephaniah....................1159
Haggai....................1165
Zechariah....................1169
Malachi....................1183
Matthew....................1191
Mark....................1234
Luke....................1261
John....................1304
Acts....................1338
Romans....................1381
1 Corinthians....................1402
2 Corinthians....................1422
Galatians....................1436
Ephesians....................1444
Philippians....................1452
Colossians....................1458
1 Thessalonians....................1464
2 Thessalonians....................1469
1 Timothy....................1473
2 Timothy....................1480
Titus....................1485
Philemon....................1489
Hebrews....................1492
James....................1508
1 Peter....................1514
2 Peter....................1520
1 John....................1525
2 John....................1531
3 John....................1534
Jude....................1537
Revelation....................1541
Table of Weights and Measures....................1567
Reading Plans....................1568
Topical Index....................1576
Scripture Index....................1584