Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Samuel 8:20

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to want what others have? Maybe it’s to have a relationship, or perhaps you want the life that you see someone else living. Whatever it is, it’s easy to see what others have and want those things for yourself.

The people of Israel were no different. They too wanted what they saw others having. They compared themselves to other nations and decided they wanted a king.

Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” – 1 Samuel 8:20 (NIV)

Having a king wasn’t God’s best for Israel. God wanted to be their king. He wanted them to have something better, to be led by Him. However, Israel convinced themselves that they needed a king.

Just like Israel, it’s easy to want the things we see others have. In fact, we can want those things so much that it causes us unhappiness. Just like in the time of Israel, God wants to be your fulfillment. He wants to bring you the fulfillment that no person or thing can bring.

So today, determine to let God be your fulfillment. Choose to find contentment in Him. Don’t wish for the things others have, instead simply fill your time with getting to know God better. As you seek Him, you’ll be more fulfilled and find a lasting relationship in Him.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Colossians 3:20

Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. – Colossians 3:20

This verse isn’t really one we like to hear. It’s a lot easier to grumble, complain, and talk bad about our parents than it is to obey them. In fact, the idea of having to obey your parents can seem horrible at times. However, this verse tells us that in spit of all that, we should be obeying them.

The end of the verse tells us that obeying our parents pleases the Lord. So part of your motivation for obeying your parents should be that it pleases God. This verse doesn’t challenge you to obey your parents if you agree with what they say, or if your mom is being really nice to you. It says to obey them. So regardless of whether you have the best parents or the worst parents, obedience is asked of you.

Obeying your parents isn’t always going to be the easy thing to do, but if you put in the work and choose to keep a good attitude and obey, you’ll be pleasing God and setting yourself up for success in other areas as well.

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Making friends is hard sometimes, isn’t it? I remember when I was in high school and how much I craved the approval of others. It caused me to only talk to certain people and not others. It affected the clothes I wore, the music I listened to, and the way I talked.

It’s often easy to get our value from how others see us. If someone likes us we feel good about ourselves. When they don’t we feel like we have no value.

The truth is, not everyone is going to like you. Not every person is going to be your friend. Even if not everyone has recognized your greatness doesn’t mean that God hasn’t.

God sees you differently than the way others see you. God sees you through Jesus. He sees your purpose and potential. When others don’t place value on you, God says that you’re a masterpiece. He loves you and sees the best in you!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Romans 5:20

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. – Romans 5:20 (NLT)

Do you wish that you could automatically get good grades in school? Like you didn’t have to study at all, simply show up and boom, you had all A’s. Wouldn’t that be nice?

When it comes to grades, what you do matters. The more you study, the better your grades are. In school, your work matters. The harder you work, the better you’ll do.

However, with God, that wasn’t the case. There was nothing that you could do to ever make yourself right with God. No amount of good works, following God’s rules, or doing the right thing would ever mean heaven for you.

Instead, what you needed was God’s grace found through His son Jesus. Jesus bridged the gap between God’s righteousness and our sin. He made it possible for us to know the true God. That’s great news for us. We can live our lives free and full knowing that God’s grace is enough!

Pray: God, thank you for your wonderful grace. Thank you for making us right with you. I choose to walk today in the freedom you provided for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 13:35

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” – John 13:35 (NLT)

Relationships with other people can be really complicated sometimes. How often have you had a friend not do what you wanted them to do? Or maybe a teacher isn’t treating you fairly and you feel really mad and upset.

Dealing with other people can be really hard. Especially when you’d just love to yell and give that person a piece of your mind.

Relationships with others aren’t easy, but today’s verse gives us some help. In the verse, we are encouraged to respond to others with love. That doesn’t always mean that we’re not going to tell others how we feel, but we can do it with a heart of love.

When we still are loving to those around us, we show the world that we are disciples.

So today, if you’ve struggled with your relationships with others, ask God for help. He can show you creative ways to deal with difficult relationships in love. God’s there to walk with you, so let Him. He wants to lead and guide you in every situation you face!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Samuel 15:29

He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” – 1 Samuel 15:29 (NIV)

Getting to know God can be really exciting. As you read the Bible, you learn more about who He is and how good it is to know Him. There are so many amazing attributes of God, but one of the most exciting ones is God’s faithfulness.

I’m sure you’ve experienced a parent promising you something and then later realized they forgot all about that promise. When that happened, you probably felt misunderstood and disappointed. Parents aren’t perfect and sometimes when they mean well, they still forget their promises.

The good news is that God is not like that. He can’t even lie. When He says something, He will bring it to pass. God is faithful all the time.

When we begin to believe that God is faithful it changes our relationship with Him. It helps us to trust Him because when we understand who God is and that He is faithful it makes it easier to trust Him more.

So today if trusting God has been an issue for you, begin to study and search the Bible for verses about the faithfulness of God. As you read about God’s faithfulness, it will help you begin to believe that He is trustworthy and faithful!

Today’s Truth: When God says something He will bring it to pass. God is faithful all the time!

Here is a FREE download for further study on God’s Faithfulness.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotional – Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  – Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

Many people use the words mercy and grace interchangeably. However, these two words are different. God’s mercy is His forgiveness and kindness to us. However, when the Bible speaks of God’s grace especially in the New Testament, it’s referring to His ability to do what you cannot do.

To really live the Christian life we need both. We need God’s mercy because, without His complete forgiveness, we’d be unable to have any kind of true relationship with Him. However, without God’s grace (His ability working in us and through us) we are not really able to live like Jesus.

To receive this grace (the ability of God) we need to come to Him. Not just once, but whenever we need His empowerment. This often is when we are being tempted. This is the opposite action we’d normally take. Usually, when we are being tempted, we want to sneak off away from God and then come back later.

This verse is saying that we can come to God boldly at any time and we will receive His mercy and grace. Today, don’t be afraid of getting close to God even in times you are being tempted. Run to Him and receive His mercy and His grace.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ruth 1:16

Do you ever struggle with trying to make people happy? Maybe you even make decisions based on how others feel rather than what you really want to do. The pull to please people can be very real.

And it’s true that as Christians, we shouldn’t be going out of our way to make people mad. However, if we live our whole lives only pleasing others, then we’ve missed the point. We should be living for God. His desires should be our desires, and we should be living to please Him.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. – Ruth 1:16 (NLT)

Ruth was determined to live for God and for God’s desires. She didn’t go back to her family and her country. Instead, she chose to make pleasing God her priority.

Like Ruth, we should be determined to live for God. Even if it means that we’re not making everyone happy. God should be the one we’re living to please, and it’s His approval we should seek each day.

Today’s Truth: Live to Please God

Live to Please God

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion-Proverbs 3-5

Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. – Proverbs 3:5 (ERV)

You make tons of decisions everyday. You decide what to eat, what to wear, who you’re going to talk to at school, whether you do your homework or not and the list goes on.

Many times, its easy to simply not include God in the decisions you make. Its not like you don’t care about God, its just that its easy to get busy and distracted and forget how important it is to get God’s advice on things.

To really be a success in life, it requires complete trust in God. You’ve got to trust God’s plan for your life and that it is good. You’ve got to trust that God will bring it to pass in your life. This isn’t always easy, but it will set you up for success in the long run.

So today, choose to include God and get His wisdom when you’re making your decisions, you’ll find you’ll be at more peace as you do.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled – Matthew 5:6

Can you think of a time when you were really hungry? What did hunger make you act like?

Usually, hunger drives you to do something about it. It could make you run to the fridge and get food, or go to the store to buy something to eat. If you’re hungry, you do something about it.

Today’s Bible verse talks about hungering and thirsting for righteousness. A hunger for righteousness should cause you to do something. If you’re hungry for righteousness, you’ll act differently and speak differently. It will change how you live and the decisions that you make.

A hunger for righteousness is something that others can see.

As a Christian, you should be developing a hunger for the things of God. You should be wanting to spend time in the Bible and in prayer. If you don’t, you may need to reevaluate what is important in your life.

Just like hunger for food makes you act, hunger for God should make you act. You should be desiring to get to know God better. Time spent getting to know God is never wasted.

Today’s Truth: Time spent getting to know God is never wasted.