Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV)

As we get ready for Easter this year, it’s good to remember what Jesus has done for us. We are made righteous and have eternal life because of Him.

So as you go about your day today, take some time to thank Jesus for His great love for you. Thank Him for His mercy and His love. Realize that without Him, we’d be lost in the world and alone. But because of his death and resurrection, we have newness of life.

Instead of a long devotion today, simply take some time and think about this familiar scripture. Then take a moment to pray to Jesus and thank Him for all He has done.

We pray that you all have a great Easter!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 8:5

Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:5 (NLT)

You were created for great things. Don’t let yourself settle for anything less than God’s best. It can be easy to let what others have done to you or said about you influence how you see yourself. When you focus on those things, you can become down on yourself. However, the truth is, God doesn’t see you negatively.

God sees you as someone of great value. He sees who you are in Christ and because of that, you’re important to Him. However, it’s up to you to walk in that truth. You’ve got to put aside thoughts of fear and shame and choose to see yourself the way God does.

You weren’t created to be enslaved to fear or shame. You were created for a purpose. God has a plan for your life. So today, if you’ve listened to the lie that you are worthless, decide to see yourself differently. Choose to no longer look at your shortcomings, faults, and fears. Instead, choose to look to Jesus for your value. See yourself through God’s eyes. He has crowned you with glory and honor. You are important to God’s plan.

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – John 3:18

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. – John 3:18

This is a great verse. It’s comforting to know that if we believe and put our trust in Jesus we are not condemned. According to this verse, we have peace and right standing with God. That means there’s nothing that God holds against us.

It’s freeing to know that there is nothing that God holds against us. What Jesus did was enough to take the penalty for our sins. There’s nothing we need to do other than to believe and accept what Jesus did for us.

The key to all this is believing. It takes faith to believe that Jesus paid the price for our sin. Also, it takes faith to say that you need a savior and that you can’t get into heaven on your own. Jesus did the hard part, it’s just now in our court to believe in Jesus and receive His forgiveness and freedom from condemnation.

Today, take some time to thank God for sending Jesus. Thank Him that through what Jesus did you can stand free from condemnation, guilt, and shame.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you – John 15:16 (NIV)

I love how in this verse we see how much Jesus loves us. It’s so helpful to be reminded of this truth. Sometimes, you might question whether God really loves you. Perhaps you doubt if he will do the same things for you as the accounts you read in the Bible.

But here’s the truth. Jesus loves you. He chose you. Why?

Because He loves you, He sees your potential and value in Him. And because of that, we have the ability to ask and pray for things. It says that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name the father will give to you.

Now, if you ask for a brand new car or something like that it doesn’t mean that God will always give you that, but if you desire things that line up with His will for your life and line up with God’s word, you can expect that God will give those things to you.

So today, don’t forget that you’re loved. Decide to let that love rule your life. And as a result don’t be afraid to ask and pray for the things you need.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 15:14

 You are my friends if you do what I command. – John 15:14 (NIV)

Do you have a good friend? I know I have some. They are the people that you’d try to really help out if anything ever went wrong in their lives. Those people that you’d really try to do anything for.

Well, today’s Bible verse says that we’re Jesus’ friends if we do what He commands. How do we know what Jesus commands? We find that out by reading the Bible. As we read the Bible, we see the things that God has promised us in His word and also what we should expect as followers of Jesus.

As Jesus’ friends, we should know what He likes and expects of us, and then as we would with a close friend, do what we can to try to do those things.

And yes, the Bible is a big book, so learning what is expected of us and what Jesus has promised us can seem overwhelming. But don’t let it be. Instead, just start somewhere. Perhaps you want to know more about Jesus, so start reading in the gospels. As you read, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there’s anything in your life that you need to adjust to be more like Jesus. Then make those adjustments.

Following Jesus and following His commands doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Instead, it can be rewarding. It’s in those commands that we find joy and freedom because we’re living life the way He intended it to be lived.

So today, decide to follow Jesus. Make obeying His commands your habit and step into the fulfilling and rewarding life in Christ.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 118:24

Teen Devotion and Bible Verse on Rejoicing

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (NLT)

Do you ever struggle with not wanting to rejoice? Maybe the school year hasn’t turned out as you had hoped. Perhaps you’re going through a really tough season in your life, and it just feels almost impossible to rejoice.

It’s pretty hard to want to rejoice when it feels like things aren’t going the way you’d like them to.

So how do you find ways to rejoice and be glad when you don’t feel it?

One easy way is to start to make a list. Grab a piece of paper or notes on your phone. List small things to be thankful. Maybe it’s that you don’t have to worry about your history presentation because that class is canceled. Can you thank God that the sun is out? What about all the extra time you have? Can you thank God for more time to spend reading your Bible?

Even if it’s small, work to find ways to rejoice. Even in the worst circumstances, if you try hard enough you can find something to rejoice about!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Philippians 3:14

I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14 (Holman)

Have you ever played sports at your school? Maybe you decided to try out for the basketball team. Once you made the team, you began to work hard to get in shape and went to all the practices. After weeks of drills and practice, when it became time to play another school in a game, did you expect to lose the game? Of course not. You worked hard to get in shape and practiced, and you did it expecting to win games. In basketball, your main goal is to win.

In the same way, we have a goal or calling in life. God has called us to do things for Him while we’re on earth. The specific things He wants us to do are different for each person, but you have a divine call or destiny for your life.  You might be called to be an encouragement to someone, to a certain career or called into ministry. Regardless of what your calling is, it should be something that you are actively pursuing.

Today’s Truth: Don’t let go of the dreams God has placed in you.

It’s easy to get busy in life and forget the things God has called you to do. So challenge yourself today to not let go of the dreams and callings that God has placed on the inside of you. They might not always come to pass right away, but if you keep making steps toward them they will come to pass in your life.

Read: How to Discover Your God-Given Purpose in Life

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 15:4

Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. – Proverbs 15:4 (NLT)

When you make a mistake or don’t do something the way you’d want to do, what words are you speaking over yourself? Do you say things like, “I’m no good?” or “I’ll never make it.” Words like those produce fruit in your life.

If you want to experience success, you’ve got to change how you speak. You’ll want to speak what you want to see. If you struggle with math, speak that you catch on to new things quickly. If you feel like you are shy, then speak that you’re bold and make friends easily. What you speak produces fruit in your life, so speak words of life.

Regardless of how you’ve failed, your life has a purpose. You are important to God’s plan. So don’t let failure and shortcomings stop you from greatness. Choose to believe and see yourself the way God sees you. Talk about yourself like God would. Don’t forget that you’re a child of God, and vital to His plan.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 15:9

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. – John 15:9 (NIV)

This verse compares the love of Jesus to us to how God loves Jesus. What an interesting comparison. In the ministry of Jesus, we continually see Jesus comparing natural things to the kingdom of God. But in this verse, we see that Jesus compares his love for us to nothing we can see in our world.

Why does He do that?

My guess would be that it’s because the way most loving relationships work in our world is flawed. Relationships don’t last. Brothers sometimes end up hating others. And Jesus knew that. He knew that our earthly relationships were flawed.

That’s why He decided to compare His love for us to God’s love for Him. God’s love for Him was always good. It always thought the best about Jesus and was pleased with Him. And that’s how Jesus sees us. He loves us with a perfect love.

Our job then is to remain in that love. We have to not let thoughts and emotions sway us away from God’s love. We can’t let people or the lies of the enemy tell us that we’re not of value. The truth is, Jesus loves you, that love won’t change, so we need to remain in Jesus’ love.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

If you’ve seen the news lately, you’ve seen that there is so much trouble going on right now in the world. Yet Jesus said in the middle of trouble we could have peace.

How can that be? How can we find peace in a world that seems full of turmoil? It’s by knowing Jesus. When you know Jesus, you have everything you need to get through each challenge and difficulty. Knowing Jesus and knowing what He has done for you, sets you free to face even the hardest circumstances with joy.

It’s not going to say that you’re happy you’re facing something tough, however, you know that in the middle of it all, you’re not alone. God sees you. He knows you. He will never leave you, even if it feels like He has. He knows where you’re at. If you trust Him, and let Him be enough, you can get through anything that life brings your way.

Today’s Truth: Jesus is peace when we’re surrounded by trouble. 

Even as crazy as things are right now in the world, we can choose to live in peace. We can choose to not let fear rule our lives. Why? Because we know that God is good. God will never leave us alone, and we don’t have to fear the trouble in the world. Jesus came to bring us peace.

So today, if you’ve allowed your heart to become afraid, spend some time in God’s word. As you do, you’ll find that it’s so much easier to be at peace when you know God is good and will always see you through.