Advanced Placement WTL

What is AP WTL?
AP WTL is a chance for you to go deeper into the topic we discuss each week at WTL.  Throughout the week various devotionals will be published here to help you dig deeper than we did at youth group.  This will allow you to go deeper into God’s Word and the topic and maybe help you think of things that you haven’t thought of before!!!

I Am a Trader

In one of the two videos we watched Sunday night, a series of Bible stories was presented of people who were traders.  I wanted to list all of those stories out here and give you some more material to explore.  Go a little bit deeper than normal.  Take these stories and think about what the people REALLY had to give up.  After reading through these stories, think about these questions.

What is it that each person traded?

Why did they make the decision they made?

How important is knowing what the consequences are before you personally make a decision?

What will it take for YOU to step out on faith and be a trader like each of these people?

What are you trading?

BIBLICAL STORIES OF TRADERS

Abram/Abraham: Genesis 15

Moses: Exodus 3:1-10Exodus 3:1-10
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
God Speaks to Moses ^{3 1} One day, Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses decided to lead them across the desert to Sinai, k Sinai: The Hebrew text has “Horeb,” another name for Sinai. the holy mountain. ² . There an angel of the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up. ³ “This is strange!” he said to himself. “I'll go over and see why the bush isn't burning up.” ⁴ When the Lord saw Moses coming near the bush, he called him by name, and Moses answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ God replied, “Don't come any closer. Take off your sandals—the ground where you are standing is holy. ⁶ I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses was afraid to look at God, and so he hid his face. ⁷ The Lord said: I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them, ⁸ and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians. I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. ⁹ My people have begged for my help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. ¹⁰ Now go to the king! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.

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Ruth: Ruth 1:1-18Ruth 1:1-18
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Ruth Is Loyal to Naomi ^{1 1}-² Before Israel was ruled by kings, Elimelech from the tribe of Ephrath lived in the town of Bethlehem. His wife was named Naomi, and their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. But when their crops failed, they moved to the country of Moab. a Moab: The people of Moab worshiped idols and were usually enemies of the people of Israel. And while they were there, ³ Elimelech died, leaving Naomi with only her two sons. ⁴ Later, Naomi's sons married Moabite women. One was named Orpah and the other Ruth. About ten years later, ⁵ Mahlon and Chilion also died. Now Naomi had no husband or sons. ⁶-⁷ When Naomi heard that the Lord had given his people a good harvest, she and her two daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab and go to Judah. As they were on their way there, ⁸ Naomi said to them, “Don't you want to go back home to your own mothers? You were kind to my husband and sons, and you have always been kind to me. I pray that the Lord will be just as kind to you. ⁹ May he give each of you another husband and a home of your own.” Naomi kissed them. They cried ¹⁰ and said, “We want to go with you and live among your people.” ¹¹ But she replied, “My daughters, why don't you return home? What good will it do you to go with me? Do you think I could have more sons for you to marry? b for you to marry: When a married man died and left no children, it was the custom for one of his brothers to marry his widow. Any children they had would then be thought of as those of the dead man, so that his family name would live on. ¹² You must go back home, because I am too old to marry again. Even if I got married tonight and later had more sons, ¹³ would you wait for them to become old enough to marry? No, my daughters! Life is harder for me than it is for you, because the Lord has turned against me.” c Life ... me: Or “I'm sorry that the Lord has turned against me and made life so hard for you.” ¹⁴ They cried again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth held on to her. ¹⁵ Naomi then said to Ruth, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and to her gods! Why don't you go with her?” ¹⁶ Ruth answered, “Please don't tell me to leave you and return home! I will go where you go, I will live where you live; your people will be my people, your God will be my God. ¹⁷ I will die where you die and be buried beside you. May the Lord punish me if we are ever separated, even by death!” d even by death: Or “by anything but death.” ¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her to go back.

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David: 1 Samuel 16

Peter and Andrew: Matthew 4:18-20Matthew 4:18-20
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen ¹⁸ While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” ²⁰ Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.

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Mary: John 12:1-11John 12:1-11
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
At Bethany ^{12 1} Six days before Passover Jesus went back to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from death. ² A meal had been prepared for Jesus. Martha was doing the serving, and Lazarus himself was there. ³ Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume b very expensive bottle of perfume: The Greek text has “expensive perfume made of pure spikenard,” a plant used to make perfume. and poured it on Jesus' feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house. ⁴ A disciple named Judas Iscariot c Iscariot: See the note at . was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, ⁵ “Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it. ⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ . You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me.” A Plot To Kill Lazarus ⁹ A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. ¹¹ He was the reason that many of the Jewish people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus.

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Saul/Paul: Acts 9:1-30Acts 9:1-30
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Saul Becomes a Follower of the Lord ^{9 1} Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest ² and asked for letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way. d accepted the Lord's Way: In the book of Acts, this means to become a follower of the Lord Jesus. ³ When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, “Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?” ⁵ “Who are you?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus,” the Lord answered. “I am the one you are so cruel to. ⁶ Now get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.” ⁷ The men with Saul stood there speechless. They had heard the voice, but they had not seen anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could not see a thing. Someone then led him by the hand to Damascus, ⁹ and for three days he was blind and did not eat or drink. ¹⁰ A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.” ¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, ¹² and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so that he could see again.” ¹³ Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.” ¹⁵ The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.” ¹⁷ Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ Then he ate and felt much better. Saul Preaches in Damascus For several days Saul stayed with the Lord's followers in Damascus. ²⁰ Soon he went to the Jewish meeting places and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹ Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, “Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?” ²² Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah. ²³ . Later some of them made plans to kill Saul, ²⁴ but he found out about it. He learned that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him. ²⁵ Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket. Saul in Jerusalem ²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower. ²⁷ Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said that when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord. ²⁹ He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him. ³⁰ But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.

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