Positive Reading ChoicesApril 1

1,

2015

SundayHERE’S WHAT I THINK

You see your friend reading and ask, “What are you reading?”

Your friend replies, “Oh, this is a great book! There’s this guy who comes back from the dead, like a zombie, and he goes into houses when people are asleep and he kills them. And this girl is telling the story, but she’s in a mental hospital ‘cause she’s possessed by the devil, and you can’t tell if the zombie murders really happened or if she’s just imagining them because she’s crazy. It’s the most exciting book I’ve ever read—wanna borrow it when I’m finished?”

What do you think? Sound like something you’d like to read? Sound like something that will help you grow as a Christian? Do you really think it matters what you read? And what do you tell your friend?

Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-front and honest. Say what you think.

MondayWHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY?

Different people, different opinions. Some of the quotations below represent the views of true kingdom citizens; others may not. Can you tell the difference? How do these statements compare with what God is saying in His Word? After reviewing the texts in the God Says . . . section of the lesson, write a statement that cap-tures your belief. Be prepared to quote yourself at Sabbath School.

“A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”—Mark Twain, 19th-century U.S. author.

“I would never read a book if it were possible for me to talk half an hour with the man who wrote it.”—Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th president of the U.S.

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.”—Mortimer

Adler, 20th-century U.S. philosopher.

“A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.”—Samuel Johnson, 18th-century British writer.

“If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skulls, then why do we read it? . . . A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us.”—Franz Kafka, 20th-century Austrian writer.

“The readers of fiction are indulging an evil that destroys spirituality, eclipsing the beauty of the sacred page. It creates an unhealthy excite-ment, fevers the imagination, unfits the mind for usefulness, weans the soul from prayer, and disqualifies it for any spiritual exercise.”—Ellen G.

White, 19th-century inspired writer and church cofounder.

FICTION ADDICTION

(What connection do you think the following illustration has with the Bible texts in Wednesday’s section?)

Lindsay and Dan fell in love and got married in college. After gradua-tion they both found jobs working with a Christian ministry, and they had two children. Life seemed to be perfect.

But their jobs were stressful, and in the middle of that stress Lindsay and Dan found it hard to relax and have fun together the way they used to. Dan grew quieter and more serious. Lindsay found another way to ease the tension—she started reading romance novels.

Romance novels were the perfect escape. When Lindsay opened the covers of the book, she stepped into a dream world where all the women were beautiful and graceful, all the men were handsome and masterful, and pages of breathtaking anticipation ended with kisses and wedding bells. No kids, no stressful jobs, no married misunderstanding ever happened between the covers of a romance novel.

Lindsay worked in the mornings. In the afternoons she read two ro-mance novels before the kids came home from school (she was a fast reader!). She’d read another one before falling asleep at night. It seemed like the perfect, harmless escape from a life that was stressful and a marriage that had grown distant and difficult.

But soon Lindsay found that reading wasn’t enough of an escape. She began to enjoy daydreams about a handsome stranger just like the men in romance novels. He would walk into her life and sweep her off her feet—away from her responsibilities, away from her family, away from Dan.

Before long Lindsay met a real-life romance hero—Anthony, a man she worked with who teased and flirted and made her feel good. Soon they were having an affair. Lindsay left Dan, took the children to live with her parents, and continued her affair with Anthony.

The affair ended when Anthony went back to his wife, left his job, and moved away. Lindsay’s romance-novel dream was shattered. She went back to Dan and began the long, hard work of rebuilding her marriage.

It wasn’t easy. She felt no romantic love for Dan at all. Yet he was her husband and the father of her children. They began seeing a mar-riage counselor. There were ups and downs. Two years after coming back, Lindsay almost had another affair. But as she and Dan asked for God’s help and guidance, their love began to grow again.

For Lindsay, part of putting her life back together meant giving up ro-mance novels—forever. She also cut out romantic music and movies. “For me,” she says, “these are as dangerous as an alcoholic going into a bar.”

Not every girl who picks up a romance novel will end up cheating on her husband someday. But Lindsay learned that to enjoy real love, she had to give up her fantasy world.

[Note: Lindsay and Dan’s story is true, though their names have been changed. Lindsay wrote about her experience in the Christian mag-azine Marriage Partnership, Winter 2002.]

Write your own quotation.What I say is . . .

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Copyright © 2015 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Key Text: Choose one of the texts from Wednesday’s section of the lesson. Write it here and memorize it this week.

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WednesdayGOD SAYS . . .

Philippians 4:8 (CEV)“Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.”

Galatians 5:19-23 (CEV)“People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate oth-ers, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom. God’s Spirit makes us loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Colossians 3:1, 2 (CEV)“You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.”

Romans 12:1, 2 (Message)“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-ad-justed to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

TuesdaySO WHAT?

Some of us read only when we’re forced to read a book for school. If you’re one of those, you’re missing out on a world of information and adventure between the covers of a book. Try reading for fun—it may change your life!

But what if you’re the other kind of reader—the one who’s always got a book in hand and is always looking for a new book? If you’re like that, chances are you’ve read some of everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly. How does a Christian young person who loves to read choose books that are good? Does it matter?

While some teachers will tell you that any book is good as long as it gets kids reading instead of watching TV, that theory doesn’t hold up for the Christian. We’re supposed to fill our minds with things that will bring us closer to Jesus. Will your romance novel, sci-fi thriller, fantasy or murder mystery do that? Should we read only the Bible and “Christian books”? Can we learn anything from fiction, or should we avoid every form of it?

Tough questions. Reading—just like watching TV or movies, or listening to music—affects us. What we take into our brain shapes our brain. What shape do you want your mind to be in?

ThursdayWHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

So, how do you choose what to read? Is an entertaining story line the most important thing? That’s usually what draws us into a book, but it’s not really the best way to choose your reading material. As a Christian, you need to choose books that will build you up rather than tear you down. A good story strengthens your faith in God rather than ignoring or downgrading holy things. Also, when we read only novels and stories for entertainment, we find it harder to focus on serious reading—such as the Bible, or your textbooks at school. Find some quality non-fiction to exercise your brain. Try something different from what you usually read and stretch your mind in a new direction. Reading can introduce you to famous people, new countries, unknown scientific discoveries. Don’t limit what you can learn.

It’s easy to read only what’s exciting, light, fun, and entertaining. But try applying biblical standards, especially those found in Philippians 4:8. Is this book filled with the kind of things you want to fill your mind with? Does it match the standards of God’s Word? Will reading it make you a better Christian, a more loving friend and family member?

Don’t be afraid to read! But don’t be afraid to question your reading, either—and to close the book if you see that it’s leading you away from God rather than closer to Him.

POSITIVE READING CHOICES / April 11, 2015

Copyright © 2015 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

FridayHOW DOES IT WORK?

In the table below, try to list as many books as you can remember read-ing in the past year. (Some of you may fill only a couple lines, while some may need extra pages. That’s OK!) Next to each one, check all the boxes that apply to it. Look over your list and think what you can add to your reading menu to build spiritual muscle—and what you might need to take away.

Title Author Fiction Non-fictionMade me a

stronger ChristianDidn’t help me as a Christian