Browsing Tag

friends

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 17:17

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.  – Proverbs 17:17 (HCSB)

Do you ever find that it’s hard to be a good friend? Yesterday, I was stressed out and tired from the day’s activities and I didn’t want to do anything but go home and go to bed.

However, I had a friend in need. As much as I wanted to ignore this friend, I remembered this Bible verse. A friend loves at all times. A friend doesn’t just love when it’s convenient. A true friend is there, even when it’s hard.

Today’s Truth: A true friend loves, even when it’s hard.

So I set aside my desire for sleep and took a few minutes to listen to my friend. A true friend loves when things are tough and when it isn’t always easy. So challenge yourself today to be there for the people around you and show them the love of Jesus. Challenge yourself to push past what seems comfortable and to really be there for your friends. You’ll be surprised at how good you feel when you do.

 

A true friend loves, even when it's hard.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 26:20

Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.  – Proverbs 26:20 (HCSB)

Do you have those friends who just seem to pull the gossip out of you? When you’re around them, all you can seem to do is talk about others? It can feel really good at the moment to talk about others, but gossip isn’t a healthy habit.

Here’s why: Gossip is Destructive.

Gossip can really hurt others and it can cause situations to get blown out of proportion. It’s so destructive, that today’s Bible verse likens it to wood in a fire. So if you find it easy to gossip, decide today to make the changes necessary to stop the habit. Maybe you need to hang around some different friends that don’t tempt you to gossip. Perhaps you need to write this verse on your bathroom mirror to remind yourself not to gossip each morning.

Finally, ask God to show you any adjustments you can make to stop the habit of gossip and begin speaking well about others. Choose to believe the best in others and speak words of life over them.

 

 

Gossip

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals” – 1 Corinthians 15:33

Have you ever thought about the types of people you hang out with? Who do you spend most of your time with? The answers to these questions can tell you a lot about yourself and where you’re going.

It’s easy to think that it doesn’t matter who you hang out with. You might not really spend much time thinking about that. However, today’s Bible verse shows us that we should care about the kind of people we spent time with. Whether we want to admit it or not, those people influence us.

The majority of what you’ll accomplish in life is tied to who you choose to spend your time with. If you spend time with people who challenge you to live for God, and be better, you’ll find that you’ll always be growing.

Today, choose to spend some time reflecting on who you hang around. If you don’t have friends pushing you to do and be better, consider trying to find some that will. The friends that you hang around are important. They can direct the path your life takes.

 

1 Corinthians 15:33

Help! I Have No Friends

Teen Devotion on Friendships

Have you ever felt like all your friends have left you? Maybe you feel like no one really gets you or cares about you. It’s true, friendships can be tricky, but here are a few secrets to help you make better friendships and to not be disappointed with the ones you have.

  1. Ask yourself: “Am I doing anything to push people away?”
    I was really shy in school and because of that, I didn’t get asked to do much socially.
    Maybe you’re doing things that annoy or drive people away. Be honest and ask yourself if you are doing something that’s pushing others away.
  2. Realize: Not everyone is going to treat you right.
    Even if you do everything right, some people are going to not be kind to you. Some people don’t know God and have no basis for treating others with kindness and respect. Life is full of people who aren’t going to treat you right, so realize that and be ready for it when it happens.
  3. Be Friendly.
    One of the best ways to get friends is to be friendly. Do you ever take the time to listen to others? Do you go out of your way to try to talk to others? Doing these things can help you gain friends!
    “A man who has friends must himself be friendly” – Proverbs 18:24
  4. Get God’s Perspective.
    If you are feeling bad about yourself due to a lack of friendships, don’t. Don’t allow other people to determine your self-worth. Whether you have tons of friends or not, you are worth a ton to God.
    I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.” – Psalm 139:14

Even if you feel like all your friends have bailed on you, realize that God will never leave you. He’s there to help you and love you. No matter what people do to you, God is on your side. He cares about you like no one else can.

So don’t allow yourself to feel like you’re not important if others don’t always treat you right. People aren’t always going to do the right thing, so you’ve got to choose to let God’s opinion of you be the one that matters.


Teen Devotion on FriendshipsEvery Teenager’s Guide to Successful Friendships

For more tips on friendships, check out our 10-day devotion. It offers practical advice on friendships, scriptures to grow your faith, and lots more.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 11:25

Teen Devotion and Bible Verse on Friendship

Do you want to be someone that others remember? Is your desire to impact your school and your world for Jesus? If we’re honest, most of us feel like we want our lives to make a difference. We want to be remembered for doing something that helped other people.

To do those things, you’ve got to begin to develop certain habits. One great habit to develop in your life is to think of ways to give to others.

Today’s Challenge: How Can I give to others?

When you give to others, you become a person that others want to be around. Instead of always hogging the conversation, and taking from others, look for opportunities to help them.

For example, you might be able to buy a friend something to drink from the vending machine. Perhaps you can encourage a friend that is having a bad day. Challenge yourself to look for ways to give into the lives of others.

When you become a giver, not only will others enjoy being around you more, but you’ll feel more fulfilled. You’ll also be happier because you’ve gotten outside of yourself and looked for ways to help others.

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. – Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)


Teen Devotion on FriendshipsEvery Teenager’s Guide to Successful Friendships

For more tips on friendships, check out our 10-day devotion. It offers practical advice on friendships, scriptures to grow your faith, and lots more.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 22:24-25

Teen Devotion on Friendship

In middle school, I had a group of friends that weren’t always the best influence. They pushed me to do things that I probably wouldn’t have done on my own. And while I didn’t get into major trouble, I did cross some lines that I probably wouldn’t have had I not been hanging out with those friends.

The truth is your friendships matter.

Your friends are helping steer your life. They are pushing you in a direction. The question is, do you like the direction you’re headed?

Today’s Truth – The friends you make today direct your future.

Today’s Bible verse shows us that you can learn things from your friends. And if you’re not careful, those things can ensnare you.

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. – Proverbs 22:24-25 (NIV)

So today, take a close look at your friends. Where is their influence pushing you? Is it pushing you toward the person you want to be five years from now? If not, consider distancing yourself from those friends. The friends you make today set you up for success or failure in the future.

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Teen Devotion on FriendshipsWant to grow in your relationships? Do you wish you had better relationships? This 5-day devotion is packed with great content to help you be a better friend and you will learn how to better your relationships!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Luke 6:31

Teen Devotion and Bible Verse on FriendshipsI remember one of the first times I hung out with someone who is now one of my really good friends. The first time we hung out it was honestly kind of awkward.

We didn’t have that much fun and at times, it was a struggle to think of things to talk about.

However, we didn’t give up and hung out another time. Now the rest is history and we are great friends. The key to remember in all friendships is that sometimes they take work.

Today’s Key – Friendships sometimes take work.

You might be having fun and then run into a roadblock. You might think what do I do? How do I move past this and still be friends?

Do to others as you would like them to do to you – Luke 6:31

And while sometimes there are reasons to end a relationship, many times, we just don’t invest the effort because we feel like it’s too much work. Lasting friendships do take some work, forgiveness, and grace.

So today, don’t give up on your relationships. Sometimes it takes work to find a friend you click with. Other times it takes work to stay friends with someone when you’ve hit a relationship roadblock. However, lasting relationships take work.

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Teen Devotion on FriendshipsWant to grow in your relationships? Do you wish you had better relationships? This 5-day devotion is packed with great content to help you be a better friend and you will learn how to rock your relationships!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 19:20

Teen Devotion Friends

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. – Proverbs 19:20 (NIV)

If you want to be successful, it’s always good to find friends that are wise. Often, that might mean that you will have some friends that are a variety of ages.

For example, if you want career advice, make friends with someone who has a successful career. Then ask them questions and advice to find out what they did to become successful.

If you need help growing spiritually, ask a youth leader or friend who has a solid relationship with God for help. They have been there before and can help you get to where you want to go.

Today’s Key: Have Wise Friends

Having wise friends is important. They can help guide you when you don’t know what to do. Wise friends also can keep you on track when things are hard and help you see blind spots in your life.

Don’t discount how far wise friends will take you. If you haven’t yet, decide to look for relationships with wise people. You’ll be more successful if you do!

If you’d like to follow along with a PDF copy of this week’s study on friendships you can download your copy here!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 27:17

Daily Teen Devotion and Bible Verse

It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another. – Proverbs 27:17 (TPT)

We’ve probably heard someone tell us how we should be careful to not have bad friends. However, have you ever thought about the fact that you should be making good friends too?

You should be trying to find friends that motivate you to do better.

Today’s Key – Have Friends That Motivate You To Do Better

If you want to do better at band, then find friends that excel at an instrument. Spend time with them. Find out the habits they have to do so well at the band and emulate them. Learning good habits from them will help you do better at your instrument too.

Perhaps you want to do better at sports. Then the same logic follows. Find friends that do well in sports. Copy their habits. If they spend Saturday afternoons lifting weights at the weight room, then go with them.

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Finding good friends with good habits can be very helpful. Friends that are successful in an area you’d like to grow in can really push you on to success in that area too.

So if you haven’t put any energy into finding good friends, determine to do that today. Don’t let all your friends be people that you simply have fun with and watch movies with. Instead, find friends that push you to do better and be better.

If you’d like to download a PDF copy of this week’s study, you can in our online resource center.


Teen Devotion on FriendshipsIf you’d like to follow along with this week’s devotions on friendship, you can download a PDF copy here.


This week’s devotions:

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Luke 6:31

Teen Devotion on Friendships

Do to others as you would like them to do to you. – Luke 6:31 (NLT)

It can be easy to feel like others don’t understand you. Maybe you feel like your friends just don’t understand what you’re going through. Perhaps you feel like everyone at your school just doesn’t get you.

There are going to be times in your life where you feel like you’re misunderstood.

Read: Help No One Gets Me

The key in the middle of all of those feelings is to make sure that you’re still treating others well. It can be easy if people don’t treat you right to want to retaliate or to hurt others. However, today’s Bible verse challenges us to treat others how you’d want to be treated.

If you’d like to be treated nice, then treat others nice. If you feel left out, look for someone to include.

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Today’s Key – Be Friendly & Treat Others Well

Being nice goes a long way toward having good relationships with others. Treating others well helps others want to be around you.

If you feel like you don’t have any friends, ask yourself this: Am I doing anything to push others away?

It can be easy if you’ve been hurt to not be nice or hog all the attention. However, these things may push away other potential friends. So if you’ve noticed that people don’t want to hang out with you, take an honest look at how you treat others.

Look for opportunities to help and befriend others. You’ll be glad you did.


Teen Devotion on FriendshipsIf you’d like to follow along with this week’s devotions on friendship, you can download a PDF copy here.


This week’s devotions: