Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! – Romans 8:37 (TPT)
Can you remember the last time someone hurt you? Maybe someone really let you down, and it has effected you. It’s easy to allow the hurt from others to trickle down into other areas of your life. For example, if you’ve been betrayed, it’s easy to take it out at your mom at home. You allow hurt in one area to trickle down into other areas of your life. Responding like this, however, isn’t healthy. It could cause you to destroy the relationships in your life that could be the support you need to get through this difficult time.
So, instead of taking your hurt out on others, consider what today’s Bible verse says. It tells us that in the midst of all these things, we triumph. That means we’re winners. You might look in the mirror and see someone you think is unloveable. But that’s not what God sees. When He looks at you, He sees someone that has value.
Truth: I choose my response when I’ve been hurt.
So today, realize this truth: you choose your response when you’re hurt. You can grab onto that hurt and allow it to destroy you. Thinking about the hurt can cause you to hurt others, but you can choose to go to God instead. You can let Him be your comfort in times of hurt. You can go to Him and let the truth in the Bible become what is real to you.
God’s truth says you’re valuable. His truth is that you’re loved. So regardless of what people say or do to you, you can live in freedom. Why? Because you know that God loves you and sees you as a winner in Him.
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Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the lord means safety. – Proverbs 29:25
How many times have you been guilty of fearing people? Maybe you don’t talk to certain people during lunch because you’re afraid of what others might think. Maybe you wear certain types of clothes so that people like you better. These are just two simple examples of fearing people.
Fearing people is something that we all do from time to time. However, if we give into the fear of what others think it will trap us. We can become afraid to take a risk, or afraid to do the right thing because we don’t know what someone else might think of us.
Instead of fearing others, we should be focused on trusting in God. Trusting in God will keep us safe and keep us doing the right thing. Choose today, regardless of how hard it might seem, to set fear aside and trust in God.
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As a teenager, there is nothing more fun than taking a dodgeball and hurling it with all your might toward a player on the opposing team. Follow that up with the awesome feeling you get when that dodgeball produces that satisfying smack as it hits your target’s body. Playing dodgeball can be a lot of fun, but did you know that you can learn a lot about reading your Bible by playing dodgeball?
There’s A Goal
In Dodgeball, you have a goal. You have to hit as many of the other team’s players with a ball before they hit you and you’re out. We should approach reading the Bible that same way, with a focus and a goal. Reading the Bible shouldn’t be a boring aimless task, but it should have a purpose.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Phil 3:14 (NIV)
For example, you could read the Bible with the idea in mind that you want to know what God says about your future and the plans He has for your life. You could find verses in the Bible on that topic. Having a goal and a focus like this when reading the Bible helps it from becoming dull and boring.
The Game Changes You
Another thing that can be learned from dodgeball games is that the game changes you. When you start the game, you smell good and your clothes are nice and clean. Usually, by the end of the game, the players are sweaty, and they definitely don’t smell good.
In the same way, that is how we should be after reading the Bible. There is great power available to you in the Bible. It has the power to change your life. The words in the Bible can encourage you when you’re having a bad day. The Bible can also challenge you to be more than you ever imagined you could be. Reading the Bible will change you because the Bible has the power to change your life!
Heb. 4:12 “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective];” (AMP)
The Bible has power in it to change your life! Get into the habit of reading the Bible with a purpose and getting to know God through His word. If you do, it will change your life!
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Pray: God, I thank you for your word. I thank you that it is alive and full of power. I thank you that I can get to know you through your word. I purpose to make reading the Bible a priority in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:4
This verse shows us that God cares for us in a deep way. He first cares about our eternity. He wants every person to have the chance to accept Jesus and to be saved. Not everyone will choose to do that, but God’s heart is that everyone would accept Jesus as their Lord.
The end of this verse goes even deeper. God doesn’t want us to get saved and then He forgets all about us. God wants us to get saved and then to learn more about Him. To learn the truth of who He is.
Remember today that God wants a deep relationship with you. He wants you to understand the truth written in the Bible. He cares about you and He also cares about those who have yet to know Him. So spend time getting to know God better and also begin thinking about who you might tell about Jesus. Be willing to be used by God to tell someone else about the truth!
She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. – Proverbs 5:6 (NIV)
Today’s Bible verse offers us some practical advice when it comes to dating relationships. Determining who to date can be challenging, but there are two really great things we can learn from today’s Bible verse.
The first thing to think about is whether or not the person you’re considering dating thinks about God and what they are doing with their life? Or is their mind completely obsessed with the drama of daily activities and thinking only about themselves and their friends? This is a great question to consider when determining whether or not to date someone.
Secondly, is the person you’re thinking about dating stay consistent? Do they know where they are going to be next Sunday or Tuesday afternoon? Are they consistent with their schedule and faithful to the things they’ve committed to?
Considering these two areas will help you in your dating relationships. This is timeless, practical wisdom from the Bible that you can use today!
Let’s be honest. Have you ever been reading your Bible before bed and before you knew it, you were completely asleep within minutes? I know I have a few times. You’ve probably heard at youth group or at church how important it is to read your Bible. But how do you keep Bible reading interesting? Especially when playing Fortnite sounds way more fun!
Here are a few tips that should help you as you develop a habit of Bible reading and study into your life.
Tip #1 – Set Realistic Expectations
When you begin to develop a habit of reading your Bible, it’s not going to be easy. You’re going to want to do something that seems more fun. It’s going to take some work to focus your attention on God and what He wants to speak to you.
Don’t try to set goals that are unrealistic when you’re getting started. Reading your Bible for two hours a day probably isn’t going to happen. Instead, think about something that is realistic. Perhaps you can look at a Bible verse and think about it each night before you go to bed.
Set some realistic expectations and build from there. Once you start enjoying reading one verse a day, try two or more. But start small and be realistic. There are days when you’ll forget, and days when it’s really hard. That’s part of the process. Don’t give up. Instead, keep at it and you’ll begin to develop a greater love for reading your Bible.
Tip #2 – Find The Right Bible Fit
To make Bible reading more fun, experiment. Try a Bible that lets you search by topic. Think about a topic that interests you and use that topic to begin your study.
A few months ago, a friend introduced me to a new version of the Bible that I hadn’t read before. Reading scriptures that I had previously studied came alive and excited me as I read them. A new version of the Bible can make your Bible reading time way less boring.
Experiment and find a good version and Bible for you. As you find things that interest you in the Bible, it will keep you from falling asleep as you read.
Tip #3 – Don’t Read The Bible
Yes, you read that right. Don’t read the Bible. If the Bible feels hard to understand, start off by reading a good book about the Bible, or about a topic that interests you. You don’t have to limit your Bible study time to only the Bible.
If you struggle with low self-esteem, find some books that were written by Christian authors about that topic. Often, they’ll expound upon verses and can help you see things from a different point of view. Your Bible study time doesn’t have to be limited to just the Bible. There are lots of other great devotions and resources that can help you enjoy your time in the Word more.
Tip #4 – Listen to the Bible
If you don’t like to read, or fall asleep when you do, find a Bible you can listen to. YouTube, Podcasts, audio versions of the Bible are all out there. Experiment and find one that works well for you. Then put it on as you shower in the morning or fall asleep at night.
You’ll be amazed at what you can learn by simply listening to the Bible being read out loud. Use those free moments in your day to listen to God’s word instead of defaulting to looking at your phone or tablet. God can really speak to you as you listen to Him through His word.
Tip #5 – Ask for God’s Help
Don’t be afraid to ask God for His help.You don’t have to figure out how to make the reading the Bible fun alone. Ask God for help. He’ll be glad to help you out.
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I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. – Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
Paul prayed that the Ephesian’s hearts would be flooded with light. That’s a good prayer to pray over yourself too. Pray that when you read the Bible, it’s like a light bulb goes off in your heart. Pray that you see things in the word of God and they become real to you. Praying a prayer like that every day can be really helpful. You’ll begin to see things that you’ve never seen before when you read your Bible. It keeps Bible reading fun and exciting. If you get God involved, Bible reading can be a really rewarding experience.
**We’ve refreshed an old teen devotion with some great new images and discussion questions for your youth group or small group at the bottom of this devotion. We hope you enjoy the updates!
Duct tape is probably one of the most useful inventions. It serves a variety of purposes, from patching up a pair of ripped pants to keeping some boxes sealed. What makes duct tape even more fun are all the colors it comes in. I was in a store the other day and I found Hello Kitty Duct Tape, cheetah print duct tape, neon colored duct tape, and of course the standard grey duct tape. All this duct tape got me thinking, about faith and how duct tape and faith have a lot in common.
Faith Holds Our Lives Together
One day I was working on a farm and a nail ripped a hole in the seam of my pants. Since there weren’t any sewing supplies nearby, I quickly found a roll of duct tape and easily fixed my pants. Thanks to duct tape, my pants were held together.
In the same way, faith holds our lives together. Faith is the basis of our relationship with God. It is believing what the Bible says no matter what it looks like around you. Faith keeps you together when you feel you’re falling apart. Our faith keeps us going and assures us we will make it regardless of what is going on around us.
And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (TPT)
Faith Is Used In Lots of Situations
Faith, like duct tape, can be used in a variety of situations. You might be facing a problem. You can whip out your roll of faith and patch together that bad situation with what the Bible says. Faith can be used at any time and in any situation. Faith in God is always the answer to whatever situation you’re facing.
“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Lastly, faith is like duct tape because you can rely on it. You know that when you need a patch or to hold something together you can trust the duct tape to do its job. Well, that’s pretty much what faith is. It’s trusting that God is going to go to bat for you. He’s going to provide for you no matter what you’re facing.
Faith is just choosing to believe what God says in spite of what you see or feel around you. Faith is trusting in and relying on God in every situation that comes to you. I encourage you to begin placing your trust in God and become a mighty young person of faith.
Genesis 15:5 Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (NLT)
Do you have a dream? Maybe you desire to make a lot of money or to do something to really make a difference in the world. Abraham had a dream from God also. God showed him that he was going to have lots of descendants.
The problem with Abraham’s dream was that it took a long time to come to pass. It didn’t happen that next week or even month. It was years and years later. Sometimes it’s really hard to be patient when our dreams don’t happen right away. But if you’ll be like Abraham and keep trusting God, eventually you’ll see those dreams in your heart come to pass.
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** This is a repost from a devotion from 2015. We added discussion questions (download info below) and some new content and hope it will be helpful for your small group or youth group Bible study this Easter!
There is a giant inflatable Easter bunny down the street from my house. The Easter bunny is holding an Easter Egg that has to be almost as tall as I am. This is no small bunny!
Seeing this giant inflatable bunny got me thinking. That bunny is huge and really makes a statement in my neighborhood. It’s hard to miss his huge floppy ears or massive feet when you’re going by him. However, there is someone who made an even bigger statement than the massive Easter bunny my neighbors own. That someone is Jesus and it’s easy in all the egg hunts, candy, and Easter baskets to forget how great He really is! Let’s take a look at a few reasons why Jesus is better than the Easter bunny.
The Presents (Easter Bunny vs. Jesus)
First of all, the Easter bunny brings you candy and little presents. These are super nice and of course, we’re glad that the Easter bunny does this, but in all reality, the presents the Easter bunny gives us aren’t that awesome. They will all be eaten and most of his gifts will eventually be forgotten., however, gave us a gift that doesn’t get old, eaten or boring. Jesus gave us the gift of eternal life. By accepting His gift we are able to get to know God the Father.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 (NIV)
The Easter bunny is fluffy and cute, but he really doesn’t compare to Jesus. Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave. And he did all of this for you and me, so we wouldn’t have to. We no longer have to fear death, in Jesus our eternity is certain.
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Jesus is way better than the Easter bunny. He made a way for us to know God and He also conquered death and hell. We should take time this Easter to thank Jesus for all the incredible things He did for us!
Jesus Sticks With You
If you’ve noticed, once Easter is over, the Easter bunny leaves. The stores tear down his decorations and pictures. They make way for the new holiday. Also, have you noticed that no one really hangs out with the Easter Bunny on Easter? He just leaves eggs and baskets and heads out.
Jesus, on the other hand, is there for you. He doesn’t sneak around trying not to be seen. Instead, He wants a place in our hearts and lives. He wants to walk with you through the trials you face. He wants to be there in both the good and bad times.
Jesus loves us with an everlasting love. His desire is a relationship with you. And He did what it took to make that happen. So when you’re going through difficulty, be encouraged. Jesus is there. He’s been through trials too and He wants to be there as you go through them. He’s there to lead and guide your life, if you’ll let Him.
So today, be thankful for Jesus. This Easter, don’t focus just on the candy, presents and Easter Bunny, but remember what it is we celebrate on Easter. It’s that Jesus has broken the power of sin over us. He desires to know you and be known by you!
**This was originally posted in 2014, but was too awesome not to share this Easter season! We updated it with fresh content and added some discussion questions at the end, so you’ll be all set to do an awesome Bible study with some friends or your youth group!
Can you remember the Easter Bunny coming to visit your house as a little kid? Do you recall the packages of chocolate, jelly beans, and the awesome toys he would bring? The Easter Bunny brought lots of awesome things into kid’s lives. However, as great as the Easter Bunny is, he sure pales in comparison to Jesus.
You Can Talk To Jesus
Jesus, unlike the Easter Bunny, isn’t meant to visit your life for only one Sunday of the year. He doesn’t just visit and then goes away. Instead, Jesus comes to live in your heart when you accept him as savior. That means that you are able to talk to him at any time or in any place.
Talking to Jesus isn’t weird or difficult. It’s just including him in the moments of your life. When you are going to the restroom on your lunch break thank Jesus for the nice weather outside. It could be a simple, “please help me on my math quiz”. Or maybe it’s getting some time alone at home and asking for his help planning your schedule for the upcoming school year and asking Him what classes you should take.
Never stop praying. – 1 Thes 5:17 (NLT)
Whatever it looks like for you, talking to Jesus isn’t complicated. It’s easy. Start by including Him in those moments every day. Get His help and wisdom with the big and small things in life. Jesus is so much better than the Easter bunny because He’s there for you. He’s ready and willing to listen and speak if you’ll let Him.
Jesus Defeated Sin
The Easter Bunny is cute and fluffy, which definitely makes him lovable. His ears flop and he has a puffy tail, but when push comes to shove, he’s just a little bunny. Jesus, on the other hand, is the definition of awesome! Jesus was able to do what no other person (or Easter Bunny) could do. He paid the price for the sins of the whole world. Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave so we didn’t have to.
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Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all. – Hebrews 10:10 (GNB)
Jesus gave us the ability to be free from sin, once and for all. That’s the good news of the Easter story. It’s that God came down and helped us be free from the sin, fear, and anything else that kept you from following after God. Jesus freed us from that all. And while the Easter bunny is a fun character, Jesus is the one Easter is really about. He’s the one that did what no one else could.
So the next time you see stuff in the stores about the Easter Bunny, remember that as neat as the Easter Bunny is, he doesn’t even compare to how awesome Jesus is. Jesus did what no one else could do. He offered himself as a sacrifice for sin, which is the best Easter present!
Let’s be honest. Have you ever been reading your Bible before bed and before you knew it, you were completely asleep within minutes? I know I have a few times. You’ve probably heard at youth group or at church how important it is to read your Bible. But how do you keep Bible reading interesting? Especially when 
