This Changes Everything E-Book

Jaquelle Crowe

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 192

Beschreibung

My name is Jaquelle, and I'm a teenager. I like football movies, sushi, and dark chocolate. But the biggest, most crucial, most significant thing about me is that my life's task is to follow Jesus. He is the One who changed my life. That's what this book is about. It's for teenagers eager to reject the status quo and low standards our culture sets for us. It's for those of us who don't want to spend the adolescent years slacking off, but rather standing out and digging deep into what Jesus says about following him. This book will help you see how the truth about God changes everything—our relationships, our time, our sin, our habits, and more—freeing us to live joyful, obedient, and Christ-exalting lives, even while we're young.

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“No longer little children, not quite independent adults, teenhood is the fast transition between the two. In all the changes, wise teens need straight talk—bold talk!—the kind of advice that is sharp enough to help them cut through the false promises and lies of our culture and blunt enough to push back all the old, tired stereotypes of teenagers. You found it! This book is fearless, lucid, God focused, and gospel drenched, all applied in concrete practices, and aimed at nothing less than your eternal joy. These precious years are not the time to slack off, Jaquelle says, they’re the time to stand out. This book stands out as a valiant work from one teen serving other teens (and those who love them)!”

Tony Reinke, staff writer and researcher, desiringGod.org; author, Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books and 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

“In a culture where many young people feel entitled and struggle through swamps of victimization, Jaquelle Crowe calls her fellow teens to Christian discipline. She wants them to choose the hard tasks, the road of discipline, the life of obedience and service to Christ, in response to the gospel of grace. May she and her fellow visionaries—and there is a growing number of them!—follow this path to the end, empowered by transforming grace.”

D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Cofounder, The Gospel Coalition

“Jaquelle Crowe writes her first book with this purpose: ‘that the gospel will change your life, that you will surrender all to the cause of Christ.’ That is a compelling purpose, and one that many teenagers will embrace wholeheartedly, thanks to this book. May Christ bless Jaquelle and use her book toward that glorious end!”

Ray Ortlund, Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee; council member, The Gospel Coalition; President, Renewal Ministries; author, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel

“Jaquelle’s zeal for the gospel is contagious. This book is enjoyable and practical, but the effect thereof is individual transformation with global ramifications. I pray that a multitude of teenagers would take up and read this book.”

Gloria Furman, author, The Pastor’s Wife, Missional Motherhood, and Alive in Him

“One of my hopes for the church is that we would take seriously those in the teen years, that we would speak to them as those capable of and accountable for understanding the implications of a vibrant faith. Jaquelle Crowe does this, and even better, she does so as a peer. In This Changes Everything, both Jaquelle’s practical words and her positive example offer needed encouragement to other teens. And they deeply encouraged this mother of teens, as well.”

Jen Wilkin, author, Women of the Word and None Like Him; Bible teacher

“Paul told Timothy to set an example and not let anyone despise his youth. Jaquelle is a young woman who embodies this truth and demonstrates the power of the gospel for young leaders. She describes her book as a chicken nugget. It’s for those old enough to stop gumming baby food. She’s right. There’s a lot here to chew on. I recommend this book for both you and the young people in your life.”

Dan DeWitt, Director, Center for Biblical Apologetics and Public Christianity, Cedarville University; author, Christ or Chaos and Jesus or Nothing

“In this gospel-saturated little book, Jaquelle gives a courageous and winsome call to young people to treasure Jesus above all, and to see how faith in him touches and transforms every area of life. Teens, I commend this book to you, as well as the witness of a godly young woman who is living boldly and openly for the glory of Jesus Christ and his life-changing gospel.”

Jon Nielson, Ministry Director, Christian Union, Princeton University; co-editor, Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry

“Jaquelle Crowe is an outstanding writer, not just ‘for a teenager,’ but for anyone. Writing takes work, as does following Jesus, and in This Changes Everything, the author has done her work well. Reading this book was a pleasure; it’s biblical, challenging, and refreshing. Jaquelle’s heart comes across clearly, her theology is strong, and what she says about church is desperately needed. I highly recommend this book.”

Randy Alcorn, Founder and Director, Eternal Perspective Ministries; author, Heaven, The Treasure Principle,and The Ishbane Conspiracy

“Jaquelle writes as a teenager to teenagers. She writes with skill, with passion, and with a firm grounding in Scripture. I could list the many strengths of her book, but perhaps the most effective endorsement is this: I will gladly give This Changes Everything to my own teenagers with confidence that it will be a blessing to them.”

Tim Challies, blogger, Challies.com

“This is a great book written by a bright young person, where Jaquelle clearly shows that young people can and should be challenged with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a brief and very readable text, the author explains what the gospel is—what it demands and how it saves more than how it benefits us. The message of the cross is not a pragmatic message but rather a radically transforming and life-giving message. Read this book and you will find what I just said to be true. I recommend it, especially for young people, parents, and young leaders.”

Miguel Núñez, Senior Pastor, International Baptist Church, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; President, Wisdom & Integrity Ministries

“In a culture where teens have been given a free pass to live self-focused, immature, irresponsible lives, they desperately need to know that they were created for a bigger purpose. In This Changes Everything, Jaquelle brings the gospel to life by showing how relevant and applicable it is to our modern generation. This book is a must for all teens!”

Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird, Founders, Girl Defined Ministries; authors, Girl Defined: God’s Radical Design for Beauty, Femininity, and Identity

“Powerful! Packed with the fundamental values of the Christian faith, This Changes Everything does an excellent job presenting what truly matters most to my generation. A simple yet profound book, I would recommend This Changes Everything to any young person eager to start taking their faith seriously.”

Trent Blake, age 17, Mulberry, Florida

“We teenagers are at a confusing and impressionable place in our culture. Without clear direction on why and how we should be living as Christians, it’s easy to just give up. With plenty of real-life illustrations, This Changes Everything clearly explains why the gospel matters so much and challenges us to live for the glory of God.”

Olivia White, age 13, Mebane, North Carolina

“So often, as teenagers, we get caught up in school, sports, and other activities and forget that our lives should really be about God. In this book, Jaquelle points us back to the Creator of all things and his wonderful plan for us. And she doesn’t just leave it as ushy-gushy feelings. With a humble attitude, she shows what it looks like to take this good news and allow it to transform our lives. I highly recommend this book!”

Jason Zimmerman, age 16, Ithaca, New York

“This book was phenomenal. Jaquelle writes personally and she has a way of making you think deeper than is comfortable. As a young Christian myself, this book cut straight through me and gave me a deeper yearning for Christ, as well as practical ways to live a life more like Christ’s. She is on point with everything she says and uses the Bible as the basis for everything.”

Emma Roth, age 17, Grafton, Ohio

This Changes Everything

This Changes Everything

How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years

Jaquelle Crowe

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years

Copyright © 2017 by Jaquelle Rose Crowe

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Micah Lanier

First printing 2017

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the 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 NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-5514-5ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-5517-6PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-5514-5Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-5516-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Crowe, Jaquelle, 1997- author.

Title: This changes everything : how the gospel transforms the teen years / Jaquelle Crowe.

Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016041878 (print) | LCCN 2017005229 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433555145 (PDF) | ISBN 9781433555176 (ePub) | ISBN 9781433555169 (Mobipocket) | ISBN 9781433555145 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433555169 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433555176 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Teenagers—Religious life. | Christian life.

Classification: LCC BV4531.3 .C765 2017 (print) | LCC BV4531.3 (ebook) | DDC 248.8/3—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016041878

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-03-03 01:38:14 PM

To my parents,

Sean and Diana Crowe.

Thank you for teaching me the gospel.

This is your book too.

Contents

Introduction

 1  Our Identity

 2  Our Story

 3  Our Community

 4  Our Sin

 5  Our Disciplines

 6  Our Growth

 7  Our Time

 8  Our Relationships

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes

Introduction

I like football movies. I also like to read books. I run a lot. I love sushi and dark chocolate and hate coffee (don’t judge me). I have a younger brother, and most days we get along pretty well. When I’m bored I scroll through Twitter on my phone, or sometimes Instagram. I have two cats who are my babies. I don’t like cleaning the bathroom. I’m terrible at dancing—yet I still constantly do it. My name is Jaquelle, and I’m a teenager.

But that’s not the most important thing about me. The biggest, most crucial, most significant thing I want you to know is that my life’s task is to follow Jesus. To obey Jesus. To look for joy and satisfaction and peace in Jesus. Jesus is the One who changed my life.

That’s what this book is about.

This Book Is a Chicken Nugget

Like all teenagers, I used to be a child. And before I was a child, I was a baby. Babies, as I’m sure you know, are not in the habit of eating chicken nuggets. They drink milk, and they gum mush. That’s what I was once. Then my teeth grew in, and slowly but surely I was able to eat and digest solid food. It was an exciting day when I matured from strained peas to chicken nuggets. It marked a milestone in my growth.

This Changes Everything is, in my mind, a chicken nugget. It’s for young people who are Christians but no longer gumming spiritual baby food. We’ve eaten the basics and are still hungry for more. We’re ready for meat and reject the fluff so often pressed on us. We really don’t want to be talked down to. We want to know how to live a godly life as teenagers and as Christians, and we don’t want to be spoon-fed when we’re ready to dig in ourselves.

Many people in our society (and even our church culture) would say that we’re not ready. Teenagers are too young, we’re too inexperienced, we could never understand theology, or we’d be too bored. These are supposed to be our fun years, they say, our easy years. Why would we tackle the tough chicken nuggets of truth when milk is perfectly acceptable?

My answer: because we love Jesus. If we love Jesus, we’ll love truth, and we’ll want to grow. We’ll reject the status quo. These aren’t our rebellious years; these are the years we rise up to obey the call of Christ. This isn’t our time to slack off; it’s our time to stand out. This isn’t a season for self-satisfaction; it’s a season for God-glorification. Our youth is by God’s grace, in God’s hands, and for God’s fame. He is the whole point of our lives.

So are you ready to dig in?

What’s This Book About?

There are eight chapters in this book, each structured around a common theme in a Christian’s life and each grounded in how the gospel effects change. First, we look at our identity as Jesus-followers and why who we are influences what we do. Then we study our story, the gospel—which is really God’s story, lifechanging and magnificent—in chapter 2. Chapter 3 is our community, the church, and where our place is in it. Chapter 4 is about our common sins, especially the “respectable” kind, and what our attitude toward them should be.

The fifth chapter is our disciplines, the difficult tasks we do out of love for God and a desire for godliness. Chapter 6 is how we grow in Christ, and chapter 7 is how we spend our time. Chapter 8 is our relationships with others—our parents, our siblings, our friends, and members of the opposite gender.

My Hope for You

Writers often hear this piece of advice: write the book you want to read. I’ll tell you right now: this is the book I’ve wanted to read for a long time. From one teenager to another, from one Jesus-follower to another, this is what I’ve learned from God’s Word about living a joy-fueled, obedience-filled, and Christ-exalting life while I’m young. My hope is that you’ll find a friend and a helper in me. My prayer is that the gospel will change your life, that you will surrender all to the cause of Christ. My desire is that together you and I will follow Jesus every day—and nothing will ever be the same again.

1

Our Identity

Has anything ever changed your life?

I can think of a handful of moments that changed mine. My little brother’s birth, for one. Starting my first job. Moving to Texas. Finding out my grandmother had cancer. Passing my driver’s test. Getting accepted into college. Sending my first article into TheRebelution.com.

I know you’ve had your share of life-changing moments too. You started a new school or got your first car or met someone famous or went somewhere cool. You know what they are. From the impressive to the seemingly insignificant, we’ve all had these remarkable moments that shifted our perspectives and, in some way, changed our lives. They springboarded us in new directions or launched us on new paths.

But while these moments made important marks on our lives, they never changed us in our entirety. We were still the same people. We looked the same and talked the same and believed most of the same things.

That’s what makes Jesus different.

Jesus changes everything about a person’s life, from the obvious to the unseen. He shatters black and white into brilliant color and shakes the asleep until they’re wide awake. Jesus-followers don’t live like they did before following him. We don’t talk about the same things or read the same books. We no longer dress or act or think the same way. Jesus makes people one hundred percent new. He takes the spiritually dead and makes us thrillingly, beautifully, and abundantly alive.

There’s a Problem

But this is where we encounter a problem. There are people all across our world—from magazine cover celebrities to the soccer mom down the street to perhaps that person who occupies the locker next to yours—who claim to follow Jesus but actually don’t. While saying they have hearts devoted to a passionate pursuit of God, they live unchanged lives. Indifferent lives. Lives that blend in, conform to, and meld with the world. Jesus changed nothing in their lives.

And this problem is getting bigger. Drew Dyck, a Christian author and editor, once heard this message at a youth conference: “Being a Christian isn’t hard. . . . You won’t lose your friends or be unpopular at school. Nothing will change. Your life will be the same, just better.” Drew was stunned, but apparently the teenagers weren’t. In fact, they weren’t even listening, instead they were flicking Doritos at each other. Drew couldn’t help but think, “And why should they? . . . Who cares about something that involves no adventure, no sacrifice, and no risk?”1

If Jesus changes nothing, they’re right. Who cares about Christianity? But the opposite is true too. If Jesus changes everything, following him is worth risking all. And that’s the truth. If you take away one thing from this book, let it be this: Jesus has no half-hearted followers. He demands all. And when he saves you, he changes it all. The inevitable question is only—How?

How This Changed Paul’s Life

Meet Paul. He was born like you and me—a sinner, with a tiny fist curled in rebellion against God that grew to be a giant fist that declared, “I hate Jesus so much, I’m going to persecute his followers.” An incalculable antagonist to Jesus, Paul wanted to squelch his following. He wanted Christians dead, and he worked against them every step of the way. And then Jesus found him and said, “Paul, you are mine” (see Acts 9). Like the sudden snap of a switch, the Jesus-hater became a Jesus-follower.

Everything in Paul’s life swiftly and radically changed. His life and dreams and ideologies and passions and motives and work were twisted inside out, irreversibly upended. Once persecuting Christians, he now became their greatest champion. He dropped his old life and followed Jesus to a brand-new but much happier life of global missions, church planting, and preaching about Jesus to anyone who would listen.

The Spirit of God also inspired him to author thirteen books of the New Testament. In one of these books, a letter to the church in the ancient city of Philippi, Paul gave a definition of what a Jesus-follower—a Christian—is. It’s long, but he packed in everything. Read it carefully.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:8–11)

What is a Christian? According to Paul, a Christian is someone who does six things: (1) treasures Christ, (2) devalues everything else, (3) puts faith in Christ alone, (4) knows him, (5) suffers for him, and (6) becomes like him.

Christians Treasure Christ

Paul suggests that everything—even the most valuable, mind-blowingly awesome treasure out there—is worthless when compared with Jesus. Have you ever seen National Treasure? This movie follows a group of fictional American explorers who attempt to hunt down the greatest measurable treasure in the world—a collection of historical artifacts valued at billions of dollars. When they (spoiler alert) find it, the treasure is even more expensive and spectacular than they had imagined. Yet Paul says even this is nothing compared to Jesus.

Jim Elliot knew this well. A missionary to Ecuador in the 1950s, Jim was murdered by Huaorani Indians, the very people he was serving, before he turned twenty-nine years old. Here was a man who adored Jesus so much, he was willing to lose everything to tell others about him. Jim wrote a famous line that stands as a statement of his life: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”2

Jim knew he could only find soul-deep satisfaction when he recognized the ultimate worth of Jesus. He also knew that his Savior could never be casually regulated to a mere part of his life, compartmentalized like math class or football. Jesuswas life. And that meant he was worth dying for.

But just as much, that meant he was worth living for. Most of us are probably not going to be martyred for our faith. Yet we can still take up our cross daily and follow Christ. No, we must. Christians are called to follow Jesus in death but equally in ordinary, uneventful, everyday life.

Christians Devalue Everything Else

When Paul says that he counts “everything as loss,” maybe you think that he doesn’t mean everything. What about the honor roll? Popularity? Comfort? Family? Friends? To Paul, that’s like comparing fruit cores to a king’s feast. They are indescribably inferior. No, that doesn’t mean all of those things are necessarily sinful or unimportant; what it means is that when they are compared to Christ, they’re nothing only because Jesus is everything.

Paul was the quintessential example of devaluing everything because of how much he treasured Christ. He suffered brutal shipwrecks and bloody beatings, lashings and imprisonments, starvation and snake bites, thirst, discomfort, loss, loneliness, and pain all because Jesus was worth it (2 Cor. 11:23–28). Jesus was better than safety. Jesus was better than health. Jesus was better than food. Jesus was better than friends. Paul counted everything as loss because Jesus was so much better than everything.

You and I, we have to look at our lives and ask ourselves, Do I do that? Do I live like Jesus is better than my phone? Is Jesus better than my body? Is Jesus better than makeup? Is Jesus better than sports? Would I gladly give it all up, without hesitation, for Jesus? Would I really?

While I’d love to quickly and confidently answer, “Yes, of course,” I know my real response is too often, “Not really.” Sure, there are beautiful moments when Jesus is supremely valuable to me, but then there are moments when he isn’t. Those are the times I’m distracted from the treasure by trinkets and trifles. I’m too busy obsessing over how I look, or addictively checking my phone, or getting angry about a lost baseball game, and I’m living like Jesus is second best. Those are the times I most desperately need this reminder: Christ is my treasure. He’s my reward, my joy, my everything. And as his follower, my task is to live like it.

Christians Have Faith in Him Alone