It's Worth It E-Book

Masey McLain

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 108

Beschreibung

Live fully in your purpose. Life is hard. Your purpose gets foggy, truth gets blurred, and distractions never end. But you are no ordinary person. You are not meant for a mundane life—to just "get by" every day. You were made for a very specific purpose. And one day when you are standing before Jesus, experiencing the glory of God, you will see clearly that every struggle, every sacrifice, and every season was worth the reward of knowing and following him. Join Masey McLain in this 21-day devotional that will encourage, challenge, and strengthen you to follow Jesus, no matter where you find yourself in life. Through Christ, you have the power to do whatever God calls you to do—whatever the cost, no matter how impossible it seems. Don't settle for anything less. Experience God and his purpose for your life as you follow Jesus and make a difference in your world.  

Leseprobe

Endorsements

Masey is authentic, open, and truly loves Jesus. Your daughters will definitely be encouraged and strengthened in their walks with the Lord through this devotional as ours have been!

—Jeremy and Adrienne CampContemporary Christian musicians

The beyond-her-years wisdom that pours from Masey’s heart, along with her cute sense of humor and raw honesty, will pull you in and make you feel like you’re having coffee with a friend.

—Meredith AndrewsContemporary Christian music artist and songwriter

It’s Worth It offers day-by-day transparent, relevant, and honest devotions for those seeking purpose on their life journey.

—Hannah BrencherAuthor of If You Find This Letter, and founder,The World Needs More Love Letters

The joy of Masey’s life in Christ will bring joy into your life too as you read the pages of her book.

—Roger GlidewellPresident and founder, Global Youth Ministry

Masey has an exceptional heart for God and a desire to see others know and grow in Christ. Her honesty in these devotions will hit home with anyone who desires to know God more intimately.

—Billy BeachamStudent Discipleship Ministries and See You at the Pole

Young people and adults alike will be challenged and moved through Masey’s words of encouragement and hope as they read It’s Worth It.

—Josh McDowellAuthor of 147 books, including New Evidence That Demands a Verdict and More Than a Carpenter

I couldn’t be more grateful or thankful and pleased with how Rachel was portrayed through Masey. You will receive encouragement and inspiration through this wonderful twenty-one-day journey.

—Beth NimmoMother of Rachel Joy Scott

Thank you, Masey, for standing up and coming alongside students with such a strong, impactful message.

—Jay StrackPresident, Student Leadership University

I know that Masey’s thoughtful reflections and application will encourage all who go through this twenty-one-day encounter.

—Daryl NussNational Network of Youth Ministries

When you meet Masey, you can’t help but smile. It is obvious Jesus lives in her.

—Mark RobertsVice president, First Priority of America

Young and old alike who read this book will say, “It was worth it.”

—Greg DavisPresident, First Priority of Alabama, and host of “Priority Talk Radio”

BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

In partnership with EndeavorResources.org

It’s Worth It:21-DAY DEVOTIONAL

Copyright © 2017 Masey McLain

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5442-3 (softcover)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5443-0 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise marked, Scripture quotations have been taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from ESV ® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. All emphases in Scripture quotations are those of the author.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Cover design by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Typesetting by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in the United States of America17 18 19 20 21 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Don’t Settle

Day 1:What I Admire Most

Day 2:It Won’t Make Sense Yet

Day 3:The Pressure’s Off

Day 4:Three Important Things

Day 5:Make Room

Day 6:Entertainment

Day 7:Ask for It

Day 8:What Determines Your Faith?

Day 9:Steady

Day 10:Make an Impact

Day 11:One Thing That Will Never Be Taken Away

Day 12:A Day I’ll Never Forget

Day 13:The Key

Day 14:Hollow

Day 15:Talents

Day 16:Teasing

Day 17:Focus

Day 18:If You Follow Your Heart

Day 19:Obedience

Day 20:Race Day

Day 21:What’s It Cost?

About the Author

Don’t Settle

My name is Masey McLain, and I’m an actress who had the incredible opportunity to portray Rachel Scott in the film I’m Not Ashamed. Throughout my journey the Lord has taught me a lot about what it means to truly follow him. Honestly, he’s still teaching me. Every day.

I wrote these twenty-one daily thoughts because I believe the message of purpose is too great to miss out on. You are a unique creation of God, designed to make an impact on the world, to be a force for the kingdom of God. I want to help you discover how to fully live in your calling. In this devotional, I’ve drawn from my own personal experiences as well as the heart-wrenching process God allowed me to experience while filming I’m Not Ashamed.

Sometimes it’s not so easy to know or live in your purpose. Life is hard. Things get foggy, truth gets blurred, and the lists of distractions never end. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss out on what God created me for. I don’t want to settle for “just getting by.” I want to make a difference.

My prayer is that this devotional will encourage, strengthen, and spur you on in your own journey of following Jesus. I hope you can relate to some of my experiences. More than anything I hope you find yourself wanting to know God more and to live in the fullness of life he has for you. I know that some of the things in here are really simple, maybe a bit “back to the basics.” But I believe those things are the most crucial, and we tend to forget them the most.

I remember one day when we were headed to the set of I’m Not Ashamed. Executive producer, Benny Proffitt, said, “Y’know, if Rachel could tell us just one thing from heaven, standing in the presence of Jesus and experiencing the glory of God, I believe the one thing she would say is, ‘It’s worth it.’” I believe that too.

Day 1

What I Admire Most

When I played the role of Rachel in I’m Not Ashamed, I was asked if I ever felt as if I were having an identity crisis or losing myself by stepping into her shoes. I usually don’t get that question when I play a role, but because this time I was portraying a real person, maybe that’s why it came up. Throughout filming, everyone (even off set) accidentally called me “Rachel” all the time! I didn’t mind it in the least. But the answer to this question was, actually, no. I never once felt I had I lost my own identity while “becoming” Rachel. I think a lot of that is because of how I was able to relate to her while portraying her. To help me do the part, I found that the Lord used experiences in my life I never dreamed he would use. I have come to believe that certain things have happened in my life in order for me to have been able to portray Rachel.

When I first heard I was in the running for the part, I had a different view of Rachel than who I found her to be after reading her journals. In my mind, she was perfect. She was a martyr for Christ and did everything right. Who can live up to that?

But that was far from the truth. In reality, she was just like you and me. She was completely human and had weaknesses just like everyone else. The reason her life has made such an impact is because of her relentless pursuit of God. Even though she was not perfect by any means, she chased after the heart of God. And you and I have the same opportunity to seek after him: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you want to know God more deeply; experience his intimacy, presence, and abundance; and live fully in your purpose, you must seek him with your whole heart:

The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (Psalm 14:2 NASB)

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. (Psalm 119:2 ESV)

Rachel did this. Yeah, she messed up; she was confused at times, and she was just trying to figure it all out like all of us. But she decided to seek God’s heart above it all, no matter what it looked like or what it cost her. And God did extraordinary things in and through her.

My favorite thing about Rachel was that she counted everything else as loss in view of knowing Jesus. She found that following him was the only thing that satisfied her soul and that was worth surrendering her entire life to.

She understood her purpose. That’s what I admire most about Rachel.

I want to have a heart like that. I want to love people with a heart of compassion and see and love people as Jesus does. That’s what Rachel desired. And the more she sought the heart of God, the more he changed her heart to look like his.

The most purpose-filled life comes from the deep intimacy of truly knowing God. Rachel didn’t wake up one day being kind and compassionate and ready to love people and change the world. I believe all of that was an overflow of her time spent seeking to know his heart.

For all of us, that’s our first step in living with purpose. Seek to know God deeply and intimately, the way you know your best friend. As you get to know him, he’ll show you what sort of a life he’s been dreaming for you and the way to live it.

Do you want to change the world and make an impact? Seek him with everything you have. Today––can you decide to do that? You don’t know if you have tomorrow, but you can decide to live in your purpose today.

If you want to experience more of God, write out a prayer expressing that—nothing fancy. It doesn’t have to be complicated. There’s no right way or big words you have to use. Just tell him your heart—and ask to know more of his. Throughout the rest of this devotional, I’ll start you out with a prayer, and you can take it from there:

Lord, I want to live in the purpose that you created me for. I want to know you more deeply and experience all that you want me to. Help me to love people the way that you love me.

Day 2

It Won’t Make Sense Yet

If you’ve ever seen the film Inception, I’m sure that you, like me, thought it was absolutely brilliant but completely confusing, until the very end. And even then, you probably had to watch it at least three more times to fully understand everything that was going on. Throughout the movie, I’m sure you were constantly asking the person next to you, “What’s happening? Did I miss something? I don’t understand! Someone explain!” (all while stuffing popcorn in your face because it was the only thing that really seemed to make sense). Once the movie ended and all the pieces finally connected, all you could do was sit there, mind blown (and if you’re like me, think about it for at least four days after).