Daily Bible Verse

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. – Psalm 116:15 (NIV)

The idea of death can seem really scary. I know death has been something that has always been a bit scary for me. I used to lie awake and fear death. Sometimes I’d wonder if today would be the day I’d die and be concerned about what that would be like.

As a Christian, I know that I also have to see what God’s word says about the issue. When it comes to death, what does God have to say?

In today’s verse, we see that God sees the death of his servants as precious. That helps me with my fear of death because what seems scary to me seems precious to God. He knows that we will be with Him in heaven. And to Him that’s precious.

I’m not wanting to go to heaven for a long time, but it’s good to know that when I do die here on this earth, that it is a precious event to God.

I don’t need to fear death. Death for me is a victory because I get to be with God in heaven and that will be truly wonderful!

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. – Ephesians 4:25 (NLT)

I used to lie, a lot. No, they weren’t huge lies, just small ones. I’d stretch the truth a bit about what happened when I was out with friends so my mom didn’t freak out when I got home. I’d exaggerate when telling a story to make myself look better to my friends. I knew telling big lies were wrong, but how about small ones that got me out of trouble and didn’t hurt anyone?

Maybe you’re like me and have gotten into a bad habit of telling lots of harmless small lies. Or maybe you flat out tell huge whopping lies. It honestly doesn’t matter. Lying isn’t good and it isn’t godly.

So if you’ve found yourself trapped in the habit of lying, take a moment to step back. Honestly look at yourself and your motivation for lying. Are you trying to make yourself look better? Cover an insecurity? Or something else?

For me, the root of my lying habit was insecurity and selfishness. I didn’t want to look bad or get in trouble, so I’d tell a lie. Once I confronted my motivation for lying, it made it easier for me to kick the habit. I realized that I needed to tell the truth even if it meant I got in trouble. I needed to tell the truth even if it meant that others didn’t look at me as favorably.

Today’s Truth: There is freedom in telling the truth

The freedom I experience when I stopped lying was amazing.  I realized that there was freedom in telling the truth. So today, choose to tell the truth regardless of what it costs you.

Have you noticed how easy it is to let other people influence you? Maybe you wanted to stand up for the kid on your bus that kept bullying others. But you were afraid of what others would think, so you kept silent.

Fearing people is easy to do. It’s natural. But it always is a trap. Fearing people will keep you from fully serving God. Take a look at what God’s word says.

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. – Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

When we fear people, it traps us. It keeps us from doing the right things. It also means that we are letting people be the final authority in our lives instead of God. We should be seeking after God and making Him the most important voice in our lives.

Yes, we can listen to teachers, parents, friends, and others, but our ultimate goals should be living for God in all we do.

But I thank God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ. Wherever we go, God uses us to make clear what it means to know Christ. It’s like a fragrance that fills the air. – 2 Corinthians 2:14 (GW)

Have you ever felt like you weren’t that good at something? Maybe you didn’t make the basketball team and you feel like you’re nothing.

Perhaps someone has said or done something to you that made you feel less than God’s best. We all face situations where we begin to doubt our worth. We begin to believe the lie that we’re insufficient and worthless.

Today’s Truth: I Am A Winner

The truth is, God doesn’t see you like that. When He looks at you, He sees your value. He doesn’t see the hurts, shortcomings, and failures. God looks at you and sees a winner.

So this week, if thoughts of inadequacy and failure try to creep in, tell them no.

Believe and see yourself as God sees you. He looks at you and sees that you’re a winner. He sees your potential and value to Him. Begin to see yourself as God does and you’ll find that you’re a lot happier as a result!

Do you ever feel like God can’t use you? Maybe it’s your past that makes you think this. Perhaps you have some huge flaw in your personality and you think that God can’t use you. If you doubt that God can use you, you’re not alone. Moses did the same thing in today’s verse.

But Moses said to the LORD, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” – Exodus 6:30 (NIV)

Moses asks God why. He’s like I don’t speak well, so why would you use me to talk to Pharoah.

I feel like it’s really easy to doubt that God can use us. When we look at ourselves, we can find so many shortcomings and faults. But here’s the thing, God isn’t looking at our faults. He’s looking at our potential. He can see our potential if we’ll be willing to say yes to what He asks us to do.

If you team up with God, you’ll be unstoppable. So instead of focusing on your faults, focus on God’s ability. And most importantly, don’t doubt God’s ability to use you. Yes, you’re not perfect, but if you’re willing to say yes to God, He can use you.

So today encourage yourself. God can use you. Don’t doubt that fact. God can use you, and He wants to. It’s just up to you to believe that and to say yes to whatever He asks you to do.

Pray: God, I thank you that you want to use me. I determine today to say yes to whatever you ask me to do. I want to be used for you in whatever way you want to use me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This week we’re going to be talking about difficult situations. How should we as Christians respond to difficulty? What do we do when we’re faced with a situation that is really difficult to handle? This week, we’re going to look at the book of Exodus a little and see some things we can learn from Moses and the children of Israel about difficulty.

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” – Exodus 3:12 (NIV)

in this passage, we see that God gave Moses a word from Him. Why did He do this? Probably because God knew that Moses would need some encouragement along the way. God knew that what He was calling Moses to do wasn’t easy. So God gave him a promise that one day when Moses brought the people out of Egypt, he would worship God on that mountain.

To stay encouraged in the difficult season that Moses was about to go through, God gave Him a word from Him.

Now, you might think, but wait, God hasn’t spoken to me. He hasn’t shown up in a burning bush and told me what I needed to do and what I needed to hear. And you’re probably right. I bet God hasn’t shown up in fire in your backyard. However, you do have a word from God. It’s the Bible. God has given it to you to help encourage you in difficulty. So it’s up to you to get into the Bible and find a word in there from God that will encourage you in the midst of what you’re facing.

Then you’ve got to hold on to that word. You need to put it on your bathroom mirror. Make it the lock screen of your phone. Do whatever it is that you need to do to remind yourself of that word from God. It will help you stay encouraged in the midst of difficulty. Like Moses, you have a word from God. So keep it in front of you to help you stay encouraged daily.

Pray: God, I ask for your help. I’m facing a difficult situation right now. Help me find a word from you to stay encouraged in this season. I purpose to draw close to you in this season. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, – Ephesians 1:18

We’ve been talking about discovering your purpose for two weeks, but it’s easy to still feel like you don’t know what your purpose is. That’s ok. Honestly, it is! Discovering purpose is a process and it’s not going to happen in two weeks.

In your journey to discover your purpose, be patient and let God help lead and guide you.

Explore Interests

Find some things you’re interested in. Take a cooking class. Sign up for drum lessons. Explore your interests. As you do, you’ll discover some things you like and others you don’t.

Try things. Be willing to make mistakes. As you explore your interests, you’ll start on a path to discover your purpose.

Talk About Strengths

When you find an area of strength in your life, talk about it. Speak to your parents and close friends and see what they think. Ask them if they too think it’s a strength.

Discover strengths and you are one step closer to discovering your purpose. Cultivate those strengths and as you do, you’ll be surprised at the growth that will happen.

Develop Your Relationship With God

As you get to know God, He will show you the steps to take in your life. Every time you pray, thank God for helping you discover your purpose. Thank Him that the right friends and advisors are coming into your life.

Ask Him to show you the next step to take. As you seek God more and more you desire His plan and purpose for your life.

Be Realistic

Be realistic about who you are and what you can accomplish. You might not be amazing at baseball. So don’t try to join the major leagues. Instead, be realistic and honest about your strengths and weaknesses.

Don’t be upset because you’re not like someone else. Instead, thank God for your strengths and make decisions about your purpose that line up with your strengths.

Your journey to finding your purpose will take some time, but with God’s help, you can do it!

 If you enjoyed today’s devotion and want to follow along with a PDF version, you can download our 10-day purpose planner. It’s full of devotions to help you discover your God-given purpose.

Check out these devotions to help you discover purpose

1. Day 6 – Fulfilling Your Purpose Takes Grit
   In life, there are going to be circumstances and situations that come against you that will cause you to doubt your purpose. To accomplish the plans God has for your life will require you to stand firm in your purpose.
2. Day 7 – Purpose is Best Grown In Community
   If you want to grow and discover your purpose, one of the best ways to do it is to find a good church community.
3. Day 8 – Purpose Can Be Cultivated
   If you want to be good at something, you’ve got to cultivate it. The same is true with your purpose. If you’re going to really be good at something or achieve something you’ve got to cultivate it.
4. Day 9 – Purpose is Powerful
   As you get to know God better and spend time in the Bible, your desires begin to line up with His. Time reading the Bible and praying is never wasted. The more time you spend with God, the more He begins to reveal your purpose.
5. Day 10 – Discovering Purpose is a Process
   Discovering purpose is a process and it’s not going to happen in two weeks. In your journey to discover your purpose, be patient and let God help lead and guide you.