Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Cor 15:33

Posted on May 3, 2024

 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” – 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

Sometimes, I’ve had some friends who haven’t helped me make good decisions. When I hung out with them, I was always tempted to do some things that weren’t right.

Have you noticed that who you hang out with makes a difference in your life? I’ve found that when I hung out with friends that were excited about Jesus it challenged me to grow in my relationship with Jesus. When I spend a lot of time with friends who didn’t love Jesus, it caused me to be challenged to do and say things that weren’t godly.

So today, take an honest look at your relationships. Do you have some friendships that are pushing you toward bad habits and choices? If so, ask God if you need to step back from those relationships. Choose to spend time pursuing relationships that challenge you to grow in your relationship with God and make good choices.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 2 Cor 5:21

Posted on May 2, 2024

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

I remember a time in my psychology class when I got a really bad grade on a paper. I was upset, so I went to the teacher and asked if there was anything I could do. More than anything I wanted a good grade for the class and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it right.

Lucky for me, most of the class had misunderstood the assignment and because of that, the teacher was going to let us all have the weekend to re-write our papers. I was relieved. That weekend, I wrote my paper over again.  This time armed with more understanding about the assignment, I wrote it the right way and turned it in for a better grade.

However, there are some things that can’t be made right. Sin was one of those things. No matter how much good we tried to do, we couldn’t do enough to be made right with God. There was nothing we could do or say to take our sin away. That’s why we needed Jesus. Jesus was able to do what we couldn’t do. He was able to be the offering for our sin so that we could have a way to be made right with God.

Today, take some time to thank Jesus for His sacrifice. He was able to do what we couldn’t. Jesus made us right with God.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 6:12

Posted on May 1, 2024

Do you ever go to microwave food, and then get impatient? Sometimes when you’re really hungry, it can feel like the microwave is taking forever to heat up your food.

Then you would never be lazy. You would be following the example of those who had faith and were patient until God kept his promise to them. – Hebrews 6:12 (CEV)

In today’s Bible verse, we see something interesting about faith. We see that faith takes time. It says that they were patient until God kept His promise.

It can be really tough to stay patient when you’re waiting on something from God. It can feel like it is literally taking forever to get the results you want. Yet, if you remain patient, you’ll realize that God does indeed keep His promises to us.

God doesn’t always move as fast as we’d always like. And often we can sit there waiting for an answer and your emotions can tell you that things aren’t going to change or that God isn’t going to come through for you. And in those moments, it’s up to you to remain patient.

You’ve got to remind yourself of the faithfulness of God. You have to tell your emotions “no” and determine that you will live for God and believe Him even when you don’t feel like it. The truth is, God always comes through for you. So remain patient, knowing that things will turn around and that God is always faithful.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 2:14

Posted on April 30, 2024
Teen Devotion an dBible Verse

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. – Hebrews 2:14 (NLT)

This week we’ve been talking a lot about contentment. We’ve focused on working to be content regardless of our circumstances.

Today, however, we’re going to look at why we can be content, even if things are not going the way we would have planned.

Hebrews 2:14 shows us that Jesus did something amazing when He died. He broke the power of the devil and the power of death. That is such amazing news. Why?

It means that even in the middle of all the uncertainty in the world around us, we know that Jesus broke the power of death and the devil. We don’t have to fear death because Jesus defeated it. We don’t have to fear the devil, Jesus defeated him.

So we can live free from fear, content because Jesus broke the power of death and the devil in our lives.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Romans 8:2

Posted on April 29, 2024

Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:2 (NIV)

How do you feel when it’s Friday? Do you feel relieved? Maybe you know that you don’t have school for a few days and get the chance to get caught up on sleep and schoolwork. In a way, Friday is a type of freedom for students. You know that you have two days to relax and catch up.

The feeling you get on a Friday is only a small fraction of the freedom that you experience in Christ. Today’s verse tells us that we’ve been set free from sin and death. We are no longer bound by sin, we’re not held back by our sinful nature and it’s desires. Rather we’ve been set free. Sin no longer has a hold on us.

This freedom that we experience in Christ is way greater than any weekend, school break or holiday. It’s life changing. You’ve been made completely and totally free from the power of sin because of what Jesus did. That’s the most freeing news there is!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Romans 3:4

Posted on April 26, 2024

Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” – Romans 3:4 (NIV)

Have you noticed how easy it is to let the opinions and thoughts of others sway you? Maybe God placed in your heart to invite a new kid at school to sit with your friends at lunch. But your friends tell you not to, and so you listen to them and don’t invite the new kid.

Yet God tells us in His word that he’s true. That means we should be obeying what He says even if we don’t want to or don’t feel like it. But that’s not always easy, is it?

It’s not easy to go against what others think and invite the new kid to sit with you at lunch. It’s not easy to stand up for what’s right when it feels like no one else is. And yet, that’s what we are called as believers to do. We’re called to stand up and be light in a dark world.

Sometimes that looks like standing up for the kid no one likes and other times, it can be doing the right thing when no one else is. In the end, God is true, and everyone else is a liar. We will experience the best things in life when we go after God with all our heart and judge Him to be true.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ephesians 4:2

Posted on April 25, 2024

Daily Bible Verse Ephesians 4:2

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love – Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

Have you ever watched a friend’s boyfriend on social media and become jealous? You see the sweet things your friend’s boyfriend does for her on social media and feel like a failure in relationships because your boyfriend forgot your anniversary.

It can be really easy to lose patience with others. Sometimes it’s not even that the other person did something wrong, but rather they didn’t meet an expectation you had for them. In our relationships with others, we are challenged to practice patience.

It can be hard to be patient with someone who doesn’t do what you want them to do. Maybe they do things a lot slower than you’d like and the waiting drives you crazy. In all our relationships, we are challenged to practice giving patience to others.

Today’s Truth: God wouldn’t tell us to do something if He didn’t give us the ability to do it.

Being patient is really hard. We want to see instant results in our lives and instant change in the lives of others. When that doesn’t happen, it can be difficult to keep a good attitude. It is something we can do, however. We can walk in patience toward other people. God wouldn’t tell us to do something if He didn’t give us the ability to do it. So today, choose to walk in patience toward others and give them the grace to make mistakes.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – James 2:17

Posted on April 24, 2024

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. – James 2:17

Today, let’s pretend that your grandma told you that she was going to give you $1,000 for your birthday this year. She told you that she went to the bank and put it in your bank account. Does just knowing that your grandma put money in your account do you any good? Not really. You might do a little happy dance thinking about the fact that you have some money. However, that money doesn’t do you any good sitting in the bank. It wouldn’t help you buy that car you were saving for. Why? Because if you didn’t ever use it, or take it out of the bank, it wouldn’t help you.

That’s a lot like what today’s Bible verse is telling us. It’s saying that faith is awesome, and knowing about it is great. However, if we don’t do something with our faith, it doesn’t do us any good. Faith isn’t something that you keep hidden and never use. Instead faith should be a tool that we use each day in our lives.

So challenge yourself today to put your faith to work. Faith should produce action, so choose to step out, believe God and do something great for Him today!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 7:24

Posted on April 23, 2024

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock – Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but sometimes, I got really sick of hearing my mom tell me stuff. It’s not that I had a bad mom. In reality, my mom was pretty great. But like any teenager, I sometimes got sick of her advice and wanted her to just let me do my own thing.

However, there’s actually some pretty good things we can learn if we’re willing to listen to others. I’m sure there was a lot of heartache I could have avoided if I’d simply listened to my mom’s wisdom.

The same is true with God’s wisdom written in His word. When we hear God’s word, and do what it says, we are like a man who built his house on the rock. Why? Because God’s word stands the test of time. It doesn’t crumble, but it remains.

If we’ll listen to God and His advice on how to live our lives, we will avoid much of the problems and the heartache that’s in the world. So today, be sure that you’re giving the proper priority to God’s word. Ask Him for help and put into practice what He tells you to do.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 7:26

Posted on April 22, 2024

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. – Matthew 7:26 (NIV)

I remember all the stress of school. I hated how many friends that I thought were Christians fell to peer pressure. I couldn’t understand why they said they believed God and wanted to live for Him, yet their actions seemed to contradict that.

It wasn’t until more recently, that I began to find answers to why this happens. One of the things I learned was that it’s our actions, not what we say that really show what we believe. And then it hit me. My friends often would say the right thing, but their actions didn’t match it.

It’s in our actions that we show others what we believe. And it can be in any area. It might be in the area of fear. Perhaps you’re afraid, but you know that God’s word says you shouldn’t fear. But fear cripples you, and you make decisions more in line with the things you’re afraid of rather than what God’s word says. And really, this can apply in any area, not just fear.

Any time we let other things take priority in our life other than the Bible, we fall off course. What the Bible says should influence our actions. It should be how we make decisions. But often, we allow the things we feel, see or hear influence us more than the Bible. Our actions show what we believe. So if you believe God, do your actions match up? Or do you need to spend some more time with God to get those things to line up with His word?

Don’t feel bad if sometimes your actions don’t match what you believe. We all have times we doubt, we all have times we make mistakes. God is there to lift you up when you fall. Yet God remains loving and good to us in spite of how we mess up. Thank Him for that today!