Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 37:8

Posted on November 10, 2020

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. – Psalm 37:8 (NLT)

One time, I can recall getting really mad. In my anger, I ended up breaking somethings. Afterward, I felt really silly. I had allowed something small make me so mad that I had caused damage to things in my room.

And while breaking things in anger can be bad, often when we’re angry we can damage relationships too. The hard thing about damaging a relationship is that they’re harder to fix and replace than a broken toy or cup.

Today’s Truth: Anger is Destructive.

Anger can destroy things in your life. Learning to control your anger takes work, but if you’ll put in the effort, you’ll see good results in the end.

God wants you to walk in peace and freedom. Anger will steal your peace, rob you of joy and keep you from experiencing the good things God has for you.

So today, be on the guard against anger in your life. Don’t let anger have inroads into your life. Stop your anger before it grows and begins to destroy things in your life.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 8:36

Posted on November 9, 2020
anger freedom from

I can imagine many of us are feeling angry right now. Maybe you’re tired of all the COVID restrictions at your school. Because of that, you’d give anything just to have things feel more like normal.

You could be mad at a teacher because she’s favoring some students and you feel left out. Perhaps your anger stems from a bully at school. You feel threatened by them and it makes you really mad.

Anger often finds it’s way into our lives when we feel threatened or feel like we have needs that aren’t being met.

Today’s Truth: Jesus provides freedom from anger.

God doesn’t want you to live your life full of anger. There is always hope in Jesus. He wants to help you walk in freedom from anger.

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. – John 8:36 (NLT)

Go to God. Ask Him for help in overcoming anger. If you’ll listen, He’ll bring a scripture to mind or give you an idea of how you can overcome the anger in your life today.

Pray: Jesus, I know that you came to give me freedom. I know that with your help I can overcome anger. Give me supernatural ideas, wisdom and strength to defeat the anger in my life today. In your name, Amen.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 37:8

Posted on November 5, 2020

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. – Psalm 37:8 (NLT)

I remember a time I lost my temper. My parents had made me so angry. I came running into the house in a rage and slammed the door as hard as I could. Screaming, I stamped loudly through the house.

When I slammed the door, it caused the clock in our kitchen to fly off the wall and break. My anger caused me to get into a lot of trouble.

I learned an important lesson that day. I realized that if I didn’t learn to control my anger, I was going to go down a bad path. Breaking a clock was only the beginning and if I didn’t learn to control myself, I was going to do a lot more harm.

Thankfully, this event was a wake-up call for me. I went to God, prayed, and got His help to overcome my anger. Even though I couldn’t control my circumstances, I could control my anger about them.

My anger wasn’t going to change anything, and it was hurting those around me. With God’s help, I began to walk a path toward freedom from anger.

God wants to do the same for you as He did for me. He wants to help you if you’ve struggled with anger. He wants to help you become a person who is full of the fruit of the spirit and in control of their life.

So today, if anger has been an issue for you, go to God. Get His help and guidance. Begin to speak scriptures over yourself that you’re full of peace and self-control. As you do, you’ll begin to see that you’re being angry less of the time and walking a path toward the freedom God wants for your life.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Galatians 5:23

Posted on November 4, 2020

gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! – Galatians 5:23 (NLT)

Do you ever lose your temper? Say something you later regretted? If so, you’re not alone. Many times we lose self-control and let our emotions boss us around instead of being led by our spirit.

The idea of having self-control can seem really overwhelming. Especially when it feels like you mess up having it a lot.

Here’s the truth. As a child of God, you’ve got the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you. He’s there to help you and lead you into making good decisions.

So rely on His help as you work on areas in your life that need help with self-control. He will show you ways to do better and help you grow in your ability to have self-control.

There’s hope: you can become a person that is self-controlled.

Don’t give up. Each day you can decide to learn and do better with controlling yourself. Every time you’re tempted to get angry and yell, you can choose another course of action.

Begin to speak truth from God’s word over your life. Determine to believe that you have the fruit of the spirit in you and continually confess that you are a person full of self-control.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 27:1

Posted on October 30, 2020

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1

One really crazy thing about fear is how real it feels, regardless if it’s rational. Fear can come at you when you least expect it and in ways you wouldn’t have imagined. A few months ago, I was waking up in the middle of the night racked with irrational fears. I prayed and asked God for His help and He revealed to me that I was watching a TV show that was making me fearful. I stopped watching the show and I stopped waking up at night fearful.

That’s the really great thing about God. When get to know Him,  it helps removes fear. As you know God better, you realize that He has the best in store for you. You begin to believe that He really will come through for you in every situation that you face. You can lean on His wisdom and guidance in every situation you face.

Today’s Bible verse is all about trust in God. When we place our trust in God, we have nothing to fear. There is nothing that comes your way that you’re unable to face and conquer with God on your side.

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So today choose to be courageous and face your fears. You know that you will come out on top when you begin to place your trust in God.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Isaiah 41:13

Posted on October 29, 2020

Teen Devotion and Bible Verse

For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. – Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

Have you ever been guilty of making decisions based on fear? Maybe you’re concerned about what your friends will think of you, so you give in to peer pressure just so you don’t lose face with them. Maybe you want to try out for the basketball team, but the fear of not making the cut keeps you from trying.

Fear is something we all face at times in our lives. And so you might wonder, is it possible to live a life that is free from fear? Today’s Bible verse seems to indicate that it is. God tells us not to fear. God wouldn’t tell us not to do something if it was impossible to do.

Many times, fear is based on the unknown. We might not know what will happen so we act differently, hold back, or stop in our tracks. This is the enemy’s ploy. He knows that if he can get us afraid we won’t do the things God is calling us to do. We will be afraid to tell others about Jesus, we won’t pray for the person going through a struggle or go on the missions trip God is calling us to go on.

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So if you’ve been bound by fear, choose today to face your fear head-on. Confront the fears and lies that have held you back. Determine that you will live courageously and boldly for God. Choose today to live fearlessly!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 56:3

Posted on October 26, 2020

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. – Psalm 56:3

What scares you the most? Is it performing in front of an audience? Speaking in front of others? Being alone?

Who you run to when you’re afraid shows a lot about who you trust most. If you run to a friend or a parent when you’re facing a scary situation, it shows that you trust that person to help you out.

In this Bible verse, the Psalmist talks about putting his trust in God. He has decided that God is going to be the person he goes to when he’s afraid. So how do you get to the place where you trust God enough to run to Him when you’re afraid? Many times it starts by getting to know God better. You begin focusing on all the things God has done in the past for those who loved Him.

As you focus on these things, it builds faith in your heart. You begin to trust that God will do the same for you. You begin to put your trust in God. So if your trust in God feels weak, begin to spend time in the Bible. Find stories to read about how He came through for those who placed their trust in Him. As you do this, your trust in God will grow, and He will become where you run when you’re afraid.

If fear has been a real struggle for you, check out this great 5-day devotion to help you defeat fear!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Timothy 4:12

Posted on October 23, 2020

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. – 1 Timothy 4:12

Often, people assume maturity is an age thing. They think that if you’re older that automatically means that you’re more mature. And while that can be true, maturity isn’t always an age thing. You can be young and still be mature.

To see how mature you are you can start by examining yourself. When you have conversations, what are you talking about? Are you asking others about themselves? Or are you always “me” centered? When you focus on others you are displaying maturity.

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Are you living in a way that displays maturity? Do your actions show that you are thinking of others and living Christ-like?

These are great questions to ask yourself. You don’t have to be old to be mature. True maturity is found in what you say and do. That’s what today’s Bible verse is stressing. It tells you to set an example in these areas. You don’t have to wait until you’re older, you can start now. Let your speech, action, and love reflect Jesus and maturity. Be an example to those around you of what the love of Jesus really looks like!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion- Proverbs 3:6

Posted on October 20, 2020

Teen Devotion on the FUture

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” – Proverbs 3:6 (NLT)

If you’re honest, the future can often seem scary. How do you know what career to pursue after school? What college should you go to? All those questions can often feel overwhelming and you can feel overwhelmed with having to make all those decisions.

However, there is good news. God didn’t leave us without help when making big decisions. God tells us in this verse that if we seek Him and His will, that He will show us which path to take.

So instead of stressing about what the future will hold, spend some time seeking God. Put the video games or social media aside for a bit and get into the presence of God through worship and Bible reading. Go to God and get His peace and refreshing.

The more you do that, He will begin to show you what way is right for you. He will drop ideas and dreams of what your future will look like into your heart. God doesn’t want the future to scare or overwhelm you. He wants to walk with you to see good things come to pass in your life. Go to Him, spend time in His word and you’ll walk the future out together.

If you’d like some practical help with deciding your future and spending time with God, check out our resource, The Purpose Planner.

It’s a 10-day devotion that will help you spend time with God as well as provide you with some practical things to consider when making decisions about your future.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Luke 16:15

Posted on October 15, 2020

Faithful

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. – Luke 16:10

Do you ever think about how the small things you do can set you apart from others? For example, if you show up in class every day and pay attention, you’re going to do better than someone who skips class a lot. That’s because of the small habits you develop now make a big difference over the course of your life. Often the decisions you make in small areas often lead to bigger responsibilities. If you haven’t proven yourself in small areas, it will be a lot harder to succeed in bigger areas.

In a way, today’s Bible verse is like climbing a ladder. If you want to climb up a ladder, you’ve got to start at the bottom, and then climb up, rung after rung. That’s very similar to how success in life works. As you start out, you prove yourself in a small area. Then you’re able to prove yourself in the next area, and the next area until you are at the top in life.

So today, take a close look at your life. Are you being faithful in the small areas? Are you being honest, even in the smallest areas? As you begin to be honest even in the small things, you’ll be able to move up into areas of greater responsibility.