Youth BiOY

Psalm 34:3-10, Numbers 3:1-10, Luke 1:41-49. It means to be the privileged recipient of *God's favour*, and to be fortunate and happy because of it The Amplified Bible describes it as being ‘happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous – with life-joy and satisfaction in *God's favour* and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions' (Matthew 5:3, AMP)

Psalm 33:16-21, Numbers 1:1-54, Luke 1:26-38. There have been periods of great opposition and criticism Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Papal household, speaks of our battle being against a triple alliance: the world (‘the enemy around us'), the flesh (‘the enemy within us'), and the devil (‘the enemy above us')

Proverbs 7:2-4, Leviticus 27:34, Luke 1:5-17. Like the rules of football, they do not stop the enjoyment of the game Rather, they enable the game of life to be enjoyed to the full

Psalm 33:4-11, Leviticus 26:3-13, Mark 16:1-18. However, there are other things that *you can know* about the future and that makes a real difference to your life now Today we see three reasons why, if you put your trust in the Lord, *you can be confident about your future*

Psalm 32:1-5, Leviticus 23:28, Mark 15:33-47. Forsyth (1848–1921) pointed out, first, you have to know the ‘despair of guilt' Then you can appreciate ‘the breathless wonder of forgiveness'

Psalm 31:21-24, Leviticus 22:31-33, Mark 15:1-32. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, this sacred name (YHWH) is translated *Kyrios* (Lord) It really is quite extraordinary, therefore, that the New Testament writers (who were Jewish monotheists) made this fundamental Christian affirmation that ‘*Jesus is Lord'* (*Kyrios*) (Romans 10:9; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Acts 2:36) and that *our Lord* has been *crucified for us*

Proverbs 6:30-32, Leviticus 19:1-18, Mark 14:44-72. Human beings are capable of acts of great love, courage and heroism Yet, not one of us (apart from Jesus) is without sin

Psalm 31:9-16, Leviticus 18:26-30, Mark 14:22-36. Their hearts must have leapt with joy when they saw the word ‘*but*' ‘*But*' is a powerful word when facing trouble, tests and temptations

Psalm 31:1-8, Leviticus 16:21-22, Mark 14:3-16. As I look back on my life, I can see many occasions when God has rescued me As you face difficult situations you can trust that God will rescue you

Psalm 30:8-12, Leviticus 14:19-20, Mark 13:1-26. He constantly turns people's lives around He turns despair into joy (Psalm 30:11)

Proverbs 6:20-27, Leviticus 13:59, Mark 12:28-37. Even more important than a healthy physical heart is the condition of your spiritual heart In the passages for today we see five key ways to keep your spiritual heart healthy

Psalm 30:1-5, Leviticus 11:44, Mark 12:13-27. The passages for today remind us that God is the ‘everlasting God' (Isaiah 40:28) God views things through a wide-angled lens: he takes a long view and he wants you to enjoy a lifetime of his favour (Psalm 30:5)

Psalm 29:1-11, Leviticus 9:23-24, Mark 11:27-33,12:1-12. Of course, it can be abused However, godly, spiritual authority is a source of great blessing

Psalm 28:1-7, Leviticus 8:10-12, Mark 11:1-25. Without that relationship there will always be a deep sense of aloneness and a lack of ultimate meaning and purpose At the heart of the Christian faith is this relationship with God where we find what we are living for

Proverbs 6:16-19, Leviticus 5:14-16, Mark 10:32-52. The word used for *healed* is the same Greek word as *saved* (*sozo*) Do you see it? The passages for today help us to see the significance of Jesus' death

Psalm 27:7-14, Leviticus 4:27-35, Mark 10:13-31. The *mercy* of God is available for you In our passages for today we see some examples of people who are recipients of God's mercy

Psalm 27:1,4,5, Leviticus 1:1-4, Mark 9:35-50,10:2-9. You are holy to the extent that your life is devoted to him and your actions reflect his character Holiness and *wholeness* are closely related, and God wants the *whole* of your life

Psalm 26:2–12, Exodus 40:34-38, Mark 9:2-24. Perhaps it is not surprising that as society moves away from worshipping *the glory of God*, it turns towards the worship of the ‘glory' of celebrity and fame We are called to worship God's glory and reflect it, however imperfectly, in our lives

Proverbs 6:1-11, Exodus 38:22-23, Mark 8:14-36. Life is an extraordinary and wonderful gift In the Bible we are constantly urged not to waste this gift, but instead to make the most of our lives

Psalm 25:16-21, Exodus 35:10-21, Mark 7:3137,8:1-8. You reap what you sow, only many times more What you give to the Lord, he multiplies

Psalm 25:8-14, Exodus 33:11-15,34:29-35, Mark 7:5-29. Just as we need physical food, so we also need spiritual food Spiritual food comes from *hearing the words of God*

Psalm 25:1–5, Exodus 31:12-15, 32:7-8, Mark 6:30–56. Nearly always, I start by reading the Bible, as I believe it's more important that Jesus speaks to me than I speak to him My thoughts from each day are now the basis of these notes that accompany the *Bible in One Year*

Proverbs 5:15-21, Exodus 29:38-46, Mark 6:6-19. (I did try to use this illustration once but, for reasons I cannot remember, it went horribly wrong!)The point that he makes so well, and that comes out of the passage in Ecclesiastes, is that while friendships and marriages are wonderful gifts, having God at the centre of a friendship or marriage provides an invisible thread of enormous strength In today's passages, we see how two are stronger than one in marriage, mission and ministry

Psalm 24:1-10, Exodus 27:21,28:29-35, Mark 5:21-43. There was such a sense of the presence of God on the island that a businessman visiting said, ‘The moment I stepped ashore I was suddenly conscious of the presence of God ' God was *meeting* with his people

Psalm 23:1-6, Exodus 25:1-9,26:33, Mark 5:1-20. He is ‘*My* God' (Philippians 4:19) God loves *me*

Psalm 22:27-31, Exodus 23:1-9,24:8, Mark 3:35,4:10-29. The New Testament is obviously about Jesus However, Jesus said of the Scriptures that were available in his lifetime (that is, the Old Testament): ‘These are the very Scriptures that testify *about me'* (John 5:39)

Proverbs 5:3-8, Exodus 21:20-24,22:21-31, Mark 2:18-28, 3:11-30. God has given us a *conscience* so that we know that some things are ‘good' and others are ‘evil' But our consciences can be dulled and they need to be sharpened by objective truth

Psalm 22:16–19, Exodus 19:3-5,20:1-6, Mark 1:30–41,2:1–12. '*Put first things first* The things which matter most to God should take first place in our lives

Psalm 22:1–9, Exodus 17:11-12,18:14–23, Mark 1:9–27. On the other hand, there have also been spiritual lows – desert experiences, bereavements, disappointments, failures, temptations, opposition, health issues and exhaustion In the passages for today we see how spiritual highs and lows are closely connected

Psalm 21:8-13, Exodus 16:4-20, Matthew 28:5–20. 20) The result of the resurrection is not only his power and his presence but also his provision

Proverbs 4:20–26, Exodus 14:13-16, Matthew 27:46–60. ' and makes something beautiful out of our lives

Psalm 21:1–7, Exodus 12:26–27, Matthew 27:11–37. In an even more amazing way, Jesus did not save himself because he was out to save you and me Today, focus your thoughts on Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and meditate on how he saved you

Psalm 20:1-7, Exodus 9:1, Matthew 26:69–75,27:1–5. It is the story of God's desire and purpose to free his people You are set free

Psalm 19:7–12, Exodus 6:13,7:10–13,8:30–32, Matthew 26:47–63. God is continually communicating with us He does so, primarily, through the life-changing words of the Bible

Proverbs 4:11-18, Exodus 4:10–13, Matthew 26:36–44. Jesus did it God's way Moses, on the other hand, as we will see today, made five excuses before eventually agreeing to follow God's way

Psalm 19:1, Exodus 3:10–14, Matthew 26:1–28. Perhaps you are facing hostility in your workplace or even in your family because of your faith The passages today not only highlight the reality of living in a hostile environment, but they also point out how you can survive and thrive in the midst of such hostility

Psalm 18:46-50, Job 42:8-10, Matthew 25:20–40. Use them or lose them He is faithful to us and he expects us to be faithful to him

Psalm 18:39, Job 38:1–5, Matthew 25:1–10. In today's passages, we see three examples of big questions that are frequently asked In answer to each of these questions there are some things we know (‘the things revealed') and some things we don't know (‘the secret things')

Proverbs 4:1-8, Job 37:1-16, Matthew 24:1-30. Each day you have great potential: either to destroy or to build In our passages for today we see *six keys* to using your words for good

Psalm 18:30–35, Job 34:5–6, Matthew 23:1–37. You have *influence* over others in different ways To be called by God to influence others is an enormous privilege, but it comes with great responsibility

Psalm 18:17-19, Job 31:6, Matthew 22:34-46. But there are also *times of victory* In the passages for today we see three different types of victory

Psalm 18:12–13, Job 27:11,29:4, Matthew 21:33-41,22:1-10. In our Old Testament passage for today, Job speaks of ‘God's *intimate friendship*' (Job 29:4) It is only when you understand the transcendence of God that you see how amazing his immanence is, and what a huge privilege it is to be able to enjoy intimate friendship with God

Proverbs 3:21–26, Job 23:10–12, Matthew 21:19–32. All loving relationships involve some element of trust Faith is trust in God that transforms all your other relationships

Psalm 18:1–6, Job 19:25–26, Matthew 21:1–14. Jesus is the greatest leader of all time In the passages for today, we see some of the characteristics of Jesus' leadership together with those of two other great influencers in the Bible – David and Job

Psalm 17:15, Job 16:1–21, Matthew 20:20–34. We need to remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective and that there are some things we may never understand in this life In the passages for today we see examples of all three types of response from God

Psalm 17:7–8, Job 13:15, Matthew 20:1–16. He has forgiven me for what I have done He has turned my life around

Proverbs 3:13–18, Job 8:1-20,9:1–5, Matthew 19:16–26. It is *the power of God* that makes what seems impossible possible Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37)

Psalm 17:3–5, Job 4:1-8,6:21-25, Matthew 19:1-15. For future walks we decided we would definitely take a map and stick to the route Staying on the track proves much better for being able to relax, talk together and for our relationship generally!In the Bible, the image of God's tracks is frequently used: tracks that lead to life

Psalm 16:1–11, Job 2:11-13, Matthew 18:12–35. Suffering is, therefore, an alien intrusion into God's world This, of course, is not a complete answer to the question 'Why does God allow suffering?¹' As we saw yesterday there is no simple or complete solution, but each of today's passages gives us some further insight

Psalm 15:1–5, Genesis 50:18–21, Matthew 17:14-23,18:1-5. He suffers alongside you Yet he does not always simply remove suffering from your life; he sometimes uses the bad things that happen to bring about his good purposes

Proverbs 3:1–10, Genesis 47:31,48:11–16, Matthew 16:21–25,17:1–5. We have the voices of family, friends and colleagues And sometimes we have the voice of Satan tempting us to disbelieve God's word and to doubt that God has our best interests at heart