Devotions for Teenagers and Youth

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 10:25

Posted on September 24, 2019

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

If you want to grow and discover your purpose, one of the best ways to do it is to find a good church community. Today’s Bible verse speaks about meeting together with other believers. Why is that important? It’s because a church family is one of the best ways for you to grow in your purpose.

As you volunteer at your church, you can begin to find areas of strength. It can also show you areas that you might not like, which can be helpful as you look to find your purpose.

Today’s Takeaway: Purpose is Best Grown In Community

Your purpose in life can often be refined in a church community. Leaders in a church can see your giftings and give you ways to serve at your church, which helps you develop in your gifts.

Meeting together with other believers helps you grow spiritually, too. You have the opportunity to share what God has been teaching you. Also, others get to speak wisdom into your life too!

Finding a good church community is one great way for you to refine and grow in your purpose!

Want help discovering your purpose? Check out the 10-day purpose planner. It’s full of devotions to help you discover your God-given purpose.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Acts 7:10

Posted on September 23, 2019

and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. – Acts 7:10 (ESV)

Joseph in the Bible went through a lot of difficulties. First, his brothers didn’t understand him. They were jealous of him and treated him badly. Later in his life, Joseph achieved success in Potiphar’s house only to be falsely accused and sent to prison.

In the midst of all those troubles, Joseph didn’t let difficulty stop him from his purpose. He had a dream from God and even in the midst of setback and disappointment, he kept on going forward.

Today’s Key: Fulfilling Your Purpose Takes Grit

If you’re going to fulfill God’s plan for your life, you can’t be a wimp. In life, there are going to be circumstances and situations that come against you that will cause you to doubt your purpose.

Sometimes people aren’t going to be nice and supportive as you fulfill your purpose. That’s ok. What you’ve got to do is keep on doing the things God has called you to do. Like Joseph, if you keep being faithful and moving forward toward your dream, God will help you bring your dream to pass.

To accomplish the plans God has for your life will require you to stand firm in your purpose.

So today, choose to not give up on your purpose. Sure, circumstances and situations will come that make you doubt your purpose, but if you hold on to what God has called you to do, in time, you will walk out and fulfill the purpose God has for your life!

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Galatians 2:20

Posted on September 16, 2019

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

Have you ever struggled, wondering what you should do after you finish school for your career? Perhaps you’ve thought about the idea of college, but wonder if that’s really the next step you should take.

Making decisions about your future can seem really scary sometimes. Often it’s easy to give in to fear and be afraid to make a choice at all because you think it might be the wrong one.

To make decisions about college and your career path easier, think about this truth: Your career is not your identity.

Often, we see adults introduce themselves by their name and what they do for a living. “I’m Brayden, and I’m a doctor.” We hear adults talk like this so much, that often, we begin to think that our career is our identity.

Your identity is not tied to your career. And it’s ok to not know yet what career or schooling path you want to take after high school.

Instead, choose to let your identity be found in Jesus. Don’t give in to the thoughts that because you don’t know what to do yet, you’re not ok. Instead, choose to focus on Jesus. Let Him be where you find your identity.

Take time to get to know Jesus and let Him reveal to you what path to take for your life. At the right time, you’ll know the next step to take.

Want help discovering your God-given purpose? If so check out the Purpose Planner and follow along with this week’s devotions!

Other Devotions About Purpose

Day 1 – Your Identity Isn’t Your Purpose.
Making decisions about your future can seem really scary sometimes. Make them easier by realizing that your purpose is not your identity. Your identity can only be found in Jesus.
Day 2 – Finding Purpose Takes Patience
God leads us and tells us that our steps are ordered by Him. He doesn’t tell us that He will reveal to us the whole journey.
Day 3 – Finding Purpose Takes Faith
The key is on the journey to discovering your purpose is to not lose faith. It takes faith to follow God’s plan and His leading.
Day 4 – Purpose Requires Action
You can daydream amazing things. You can get excited about things that you’d like the future to hold for you. In fact, you can even pray about God’s plan for your life, but if you don’t take action on those things, you won’t end up doing anything for God.
Day 5 – God’s Purpose For You Is Good
God wants good things for you. He has good things in store for your future

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 2 Timothy 1:7

Posted on September 13, 2019

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. – 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

We usually hear today’s verse in light of fear. However, it can help us with success also when it comes to school. Have you noticed in school sometimes it’s really hard to be present when your teacher is speaking? Maybe it’s a lecture on the most boring history period known to man and there’s nothing you’d rather do than check out.

Today’s verse mentions that we’ve been given self-control. That means we can control ourselves even when the teacher is boring.

Tip #5 – Show Up

Today’s tip for success at school is to show up. Your body might be in your seat, but often, mentally you’re checked out. You’re thinking about what’s for lunch or who might ask you to the dance.

Instead of letting your mind wander during class, be determined to show up mentally. It’s amazing how good you can do on a test if you’ve really paid attention in class.

So today, if you’ve gotten in the bad habit of not being present mentally, remind yourself of today’s verse. Realize that you have self-control and you can determine to pay attention. You’ll be impressed at how your grades will improve if you show up mentally to class.

Discover all the Success at School Tips

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 5:12

Posted on September 12, 2019

Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. – Psalm 5:12 (NIV)

At school, you come into contact with lots of people. Teachers, principals, other students.

God wants you to walk in His favor at school. He wants people to go out of their way to bless and help you. So if you want to be a success at school, believe God for favor.

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Tip #4 – Believe For Favor

It was amazing the results I saw in my life when I began to daily ask God for favor with the people I come into contact with each day. People really began helping me and doing good for me.

You can experience the same.

Each morning take some time to pray and thank God for favor. As you make it a habit, you’ll be surprised at how many people go out of their way to help you.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Daniel 1:17

Posted on September 11, 2019

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. – Daniel 1:17 (NIV)

For some reason, math was always a tough subject for me. I think I missed learning something in middle school, which led me to being a little behind all the way through high school.

You might struggle with a subject at school and it can cause you a lot of anxiety. However, you don’t need to let your lack of understanding limit you. Instead, you can go to God for help.

Choose to ask God for a plan to help you understand better.

Tip #3 – Believe For Understanding

God supernaturally gave the young men in the Bible verse above understanding. He helped them learn and stand out from the rest of their peers.

God can do the same for you. With a little work on your part and teaming up with God and believing for understanding, you can see your grades improve.

So today, if there’s a subject that’s hard for you, ask God for understanding. Ask Him to show you what you’re missing so that it makes sense to you. Then do the extra that it might take to get caught up. Maybe you’ll need to watch a few math YouTube videos or ask if your teacher can help you make a plan to get caught up.

God wants you to understand and to do well at school.

So go into school today with confidence, believing that you understand the things that are taught.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 18:21

Posted on September 10, 2019

What you say can mean life or death. Those who speak with care will be rewarded. – Proverbs 18:21 (NCV)

We want your school year to go great. So with that in mind, we created some tips to help you be a success at school this year. Today’s tip is about speaking life over yourself.

Maybe you have trouble in math. Or perhaps you struggle making new friends. Whatever you are weak in becomes an area where you can begin to speak death over your situation.

For example, if math is hard, you might begin to say things like, “I’m no good at math. I’ll never understand it.” speaking words like that won’t produce good results in your life. Instead, choose to speak life over your situation.

Tip #2 – Speak Life

Speak words like, “I believe I understand things.” “I’m improving at math”.

Speaking positive things in your life will bring good results. As you speak God’s word over your life and situation, things will change in your life for good.

So today, choose to put this tip into practice. Choose to speak life today.

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Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 28:1

Posted on September 9, 2019

The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions. – Proverbs 28:1 (NLT)

School is back in session. There can be times when school simply feels overwhelming. The tests, the drama, and the busyness of it all can make you want to miss the bus some days. This week, we’re looking at some tips to help you become a success at school.

Tip #1 – Be Bold

It can be really easy to let the drama and the opinions of others influence you. Your history teacher might be speaking against Christianity and it seems like all the other students in your class agree with them. It might feel scary to voice your opinion.

There might be a student being bullied during band and it might really bother you. And you’re stuck trying to decide if you should stick up for them and say something in their defense.

In today’s Bible verse, it tells us that the godly are bold as lions. As a Christian, that means that you are bold. Even if you don’t feel like it.

God’s word is the truth. If God says you are bold then you are.

So today, if you’ve sat back and not stood up for your faith or others, challenge yourself to be bold. Don’t let the fear of others stop you from doing the right thing. Be bold!

As you step out and be bold, you’ll feel proud of yourself. You’ll probably also be surprised that there are other students who feel the same way as you. They were probably too scared to stand up for what was right. As you are bold others will follow your lead.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Corinthians 6:17

Posted on September 6, 2019

But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. – 1 Cor 6:17 (NIV)

Imagine for a moment that someone stole your library card. That person is checking out books in your name and racking up some huge library fines. What would you do?

If you’re like most people, you’d tell someone. You’d let the Library know, get a new card, and try to track down the person who was stealing from you.

None of us like being stolen from. But often, in our lives we let the devil steal from us. He tries to get us to question our identity. Often, we allow him to lie to us and tell us we’re not worthy, that we don’t have what it takes, or that we’re unloveable.

The truth is, if we let them, those lies will keep us from doing what God wants for our lives.

Today’s Challenge: Practice Identity

Today’s Bible verse tells you that you have an identity in Christ. Your worth and value come when you identify yourself in Christ.

You might look in the mirror and see all the imperfections and the ways you might not measure up. However, that’s not what God sees when He looks at you. He sees someone valuable. He sees someone worth dying for.

So today, practice identifying yourself with Jesus. Choose to see who you are through Jesus, not what you are on your own. As you do, you can begin to stop believing the lies the devil tries to tell you. You begin to see that you’re worth it and your life matters.

Read the Other Challenges

Day 1 – Challenge: Practice Quiet
Day 2 – Challenge: Practice Generosity
Day 3 – Challenge: Practice Community
Day 4 – Challenge: Practice Thankfulness
Day 5 – Challenge: Practice Identity

If you’d like a PDF copy of this 5-day challenge as well as some bonus content for further study, feel free to download Every Teenager’s Guide to Growing in God.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 69:30

Posted on September 5, 2019

I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving. – Psalm 69:30 (NIV)

When you’re stressed out, it’s hard to be thankful. Maybe the pressures from your parents or friends seem overwhelming and it makes you want to give up. When you start to feel like that, one of the best things you can do is to start being thankful.

Thankfulness has a strange way of helping you. When you begin to be thankful, it makes you feel better. You begin to realize that even though you’re going through some tough things, there are still things to thank God for.

Today’s Challenge: Practice Thankfulness

What can you do today to be thankful? Could you take a moment and journal a list of things that are good in your life?

Taking time to practice thankfulness helps you. It makes you aware that God is working in your life. It keeps your attitude good too. You begin to realize that you have so many things to thank God for.

So today, if you’ve been guilty of being unhappy or stressed out about something, take some time to practice thankfulness. Choose to see the good things in your life and take time to thank God for them. Know that God loves you and is working mightily on your behalf.