Anchored: A Teen Devotional for Understanding the Old Testament
I have exciting news today! My new book, Anchored: A Teen Devotional for Understanding the Old Testament and Applying It to Your Life, is now for sale in print and on Kindle!
I wrote this book after many conversations with Christian teens led me to a surprising realization: Many teens who have grown up in the church don’t know the Bible. Even more, they aren’t familiar with many of the key Old Testament stories. The idea of applying these “outdated” narratives to their everyday lives feels entirely unrealistic.
My vision is to teach teens the key narratives from the Old Testament while helping them see that all of Scripture is relevant to our everyday lives. These devotions delve into everything from anxiety to sexuality, all drawn from the truth of God’s Word. They will learn to read the Bible in a way that makes it relevant, understanding that it is not outdated; it is alive!
Anchored: A Teen Devotional
Learn more and find it on Amazon here!
I am also sharing a devotion from the book below.
Radical Obedience
Then God said to Noah, “The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.”
Genesis 6:13 NASB
The story of Noah’s ark is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Before you decide to skip this devotion or save it for a three-year-old relative, hear me out: God has a fresh Word for us from the story of Noah.
Genesis 6 describes a dark time on Earth. People were not living in obedience to God. They were consumed by lust, greed, anger, and selfishness. God regretted the day he created the first human. He decided to wipe out the entire human race—everyone except one godly man and his family.
God chose Noah because Noah walked with him in a close relationship (Genesis 6:9). We can gather a helpful insight from this observation: God longs for a close relationship with each of us. If we want to live purposeful lives and be used by God, we draw near to him through relationship. This kind of relationship includes learning to talk to God all day long and also spending set-apart time with him. It is living in such a way that God is not a distant authority figure; he is an intimate friend and trusted companion.
Let’s observe another pivotal point within this story. Some biblical scholars suggest that rain had never fallen on the earth at the time of this event. They suggest that the vegetation was watered by a low layer of water in the air.
Trust Yields Obedience
Regardless of whether it had ever rained or not, when Noah began building his giant boat, his actions didn’t make sense to the rest of the world. Following God required radical obedience from Noah. He had to overcome the fear of looking foolish.
Noah didn’t know what the future held. Despite his inability to see what would happen, Noah trusted God. He listened to God’s voice and obeyed his directive. This is radical obedience!
God calls us to radical obedience today, too.
He probably won’t call you to build a giant boat, but he might call you to stand up for the kid who gets bullied at school every day. You might sense him leading you to say no to a friend who invited you to a drinking party. He might be guiding your heart right now as you consider lying to your parents or cheating on a test.
These small acts of obedience might not seem radical, but God will call you to greater things once you’ve shown your faithfulness in the small stuff. Meanwhile, here’s the clincher: None of it is small stuff.
Talk to God
Take a moment to rest with God and focus on his love for you as I described in our previous devotion. When your thoughts have settled, ask God to show you one area of your life in which he is calling you to radical obedience—obedience that might be difficult for you. It might help to consider an area of your life in which you sense God has been asking you to trust him. What first step can you take toward obedience today?
Anchored: A Teen Devotional for Understanding the Old Testament and Applying It to Your Life #anchoredteenbook #anchored Share on XFind This Teen Devotional Here
If this post from our teen devotional Anchored blessed you, we invite you to find it on Amazon and explore further. For a limited time, it is free with the Kindle Unlimited program, or you can buy the paperback or eBook version. I also wrote a teen girls’ devotional with my teen daughter, which is available on Amazon as well. If you aren’t the parent of a teen, check out our other family devotionals below as well!
Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 7, 12, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
In addition, I have written two Christian books to help adults draw near to God. God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Also, be sure to explore my library of free eBooks and devotionals here. Be blessed as you seek the King. 
