Faithbook of Jesus – A devotional for 20 somethings by a 20 something

Connecting to God daily takes dedication, perseverance, planning, and sometimes a little bit of help from others. A great way to get that spark started for a spiritual fire is hearing more about God through devotional books. Believe me, there is no shortage of Christian devotional books, which makes it that much harder to pick the one that’s going to speak the most to you; to be the most help in your spiritual journey from the breakfast table.

As an official, card carrying 20 something, I can testify for all 20 somethings that fell a little in-between in life. You’re not quite “teen”, and still not yet “adult”.  That gooey, limbo of a life stage that somehow separates us from being able to fully connect with a majority of the devotional books available. Well, today I wanted to highlight an interesting take on life in the 20′s by someone who is herself, in her 20′s.  Her name is Renee Johnson, and her new book, Faithbook of Jesus, comes out in March of this year.

Faithbook of Jesus is a one-year devotional that focuses on encouragement and faith for people in their 20′s. Renee has an ability to casually connect to the reader in the way that only another 20 something could.

I’ve been fortunate enough to connect with Renee over the phone and continually online. Her lively and joyful spirit carries on through her writing, and it’s extremely contagious.

Well, here. I’ll let her do the talking. Here’s an example from week 2:

Tr y  G i v i n g  T h a n k s

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name

of the Lord Most High.

— P s a l m 7 : 1 7

From the very beginning of the book of Psalms, David gives thanks. Of all people in the Bible, David knew what it meant to experience trials of every kind. He knew the purpose: One day he would be king of Israel. In the meantime, that didn’t take away from the fact that everywhere he went, he was a walking dead man.

King Saul, the current king of Israel, had a hit out on David. Even though Saul had watched David defeat Goliath and save the Israelites from the Philistines and was soothed by David’s skills on the harp, Saul knew that the Lord had rejected him as king and that David was to be next in line (see 1 Samuel 16:1).

So David hid. In mountains, caves, enemy towns, and any place that Saul’s men wouldn’t find him. For me, this means no BlackBerry service, portable laptop, cushy job, food to eat, or warm place to live. Can you imagine? And yet David still praised Jesus and still became the next king of Israel.

Today and every day start by giving thanks. The same God who spared David’s life can and will spare yours too.

• Chris, 23, said if there was anything about the Christian walk that he would like to know more about it is “sanctification . . . something we don’t talk about much anymore!”

• Dear King Jesus, You are worthy of praise. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Help see us through our trials from the moment they make us hide to the moment we begin walking in freedom again. By the power of your name we pray. Amen.

• Do you have a praise story? Please visit www.faithbookofjesus.com and click on “Community” to share.

• To Read Further: Psalm 30:12; 75:1

Faithbook of Jesus is Renee’s first book, and I’m excited to know that she isn’t stopping there. She is currently working on some more to come. If you like to do yourself favors, you can pre-order Faithbook of Jesus from Amazon Here! If you can’t wait till March to start discussing Faithbook of Jesus, make sure to connect with Renee on Facebook, Twitter, or on her blog, DevotionalDiva.com.

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