Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. – Daniel 6:3 (NASB)
Sometimes all it takes for you to go to the next level in your position at school or on your job is by adding an attitude of excellence. If you decide to have an excellence attitude, it could change everything. People would perceive your work differently. Your stamina at work or school would increase. Your superiors would be able to entrust you with more.
This is the attitude that Daniel had. Most remember him because of the story of him in the lions den. However, did you ever stop and think where he got that kind of faith in the first place? He was committed to praying throughout the day for years. He had a great relationship with God already in place. When he was asked to compromise his convictions, he would not, even thought it may of easily cost him his life.
God was able to do a major miracle but not without Daniel being strong in faith during the whole time. This could only have happened because of Daniel’s commitment to excellence.
Today make a decision that your going to go that extra mile and have an excellent spirit. When everyone else is compromising on the job or at school, decide that your not going to. Choose to do the right thing regardless of who’s watching or not.
Of David. 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 (NIV)
It’s easy to become fearful. You might watch too much TV and it causes you to get scared of what’s going on in the world and for your safety. Maybe you fear for your future and wonder if you’ll ever meet the right person to marry or find the right career for you.
The great thing about God is that when He’s on your side you have no reason to fear. If you’ll choose to put your hope and trust in God you’ll never be disappointed. It’s not always easy trusting in God when things may not look certain around you, but putting your trust in God is always a good decision.
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God can’t let you down and He always comes through. It’s true, with God on your side you’ve got nothing and no one to be afraid of. So determine today to place your worries, your future, and your safety in God’s hands. You have no reason to fear when God is on your side.
My grandpa got a Google Home for his birthday. When he opened it, he had no idea what it was or what it can do. My cousins, aunts, and uncles immediately sprung into action and got it hooked up and ready to use. Then we all took turns showing my grandpa how to say, “hey Google…” and ask questions or give it a command. Now my grandpa loves it. In fact, if you go over to his house, he’ll entertain you by getting you to ask his Google Home questions. We visited him a few weeks ago, and he told us at supper to think of a really hard question. When we were done eating, he had us ask Google Home our questions.
Once my grandpa understood his gift, he could begin enjoying it and sharing it with others. In the same way, when we begin to see who we are in Christ, we can begin truly enjoying our life and living life to the fullest and begin sharing the love of Christ with others.
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In Christ – You Can Do It
I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me. – Phil 4:13 (Good News)
Life can be tough. Disappointment can be real. But in the midst of all the difficulty that life can bring, knowing that you can do all things through Christ makes all the difference. If you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you can know that through Christ you can make it.
It’s encouraging to know that you’re not stuck out there in life all by yourself. You’ve got a God who has been through it already and is ready to walk with you through whatever difficulty you face. Knowing that in Christ you can do it makes a huge difference in life. It will keep you going when things get tough.
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In Christ – You Matter
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
When God thinks about you, he sees a masterpiece. The great thing about a masterpiece is that it’s one of a kind. There is no other work like it and it’s very special to the person who created it. In the same way, to God, you matter. Your life is important and you’ve been created to do something special for God.
It’s easy to begin to compare yourself to what you see online. You can see what your friends are doing, how they look, what they wear and what they do and feel like you don’t measure up. However, the true measure of worth is what God says about you. When you begin to see yourself the way Jesus sees you, you realize that you matter. You’ve been uniquely designed and your life is important.
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In Christ – You Find Purpose
For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. – Acts 17:28 (NLT)
It’s easy as a teenager to feel like you don’t have any idea of your purpose. You might not have yet discovered what you want to do for a career. You might not even quite know what it is that you’re really good at doing. Don’t get discouraged. It’s by spending time with Jesus that you find your purpose.
It’s in Jesus that we live. It’s in Jesus we discover what we’re good at doing and what God has created us to do. Find your purpose by getting close to Jesus. Let Him show you what it is that He wants you to do and let following Him be your sense of purpose.
In Christ – You Belong
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
God adopted you into His family. That means that you belong. Once you accept Jesus you have a family and a sense of belonging. So regardless of your home life, regardless of whether you fit in with friends at school, in Christ, you belong.
Don’t give into the lie of the enemy that says you don’t belong anywhere or that no one cares. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth in Jesus is that you belong. It made God happy to bring you into His family and He wants nothing more than a relationship with you. When those feelings or thoughts come that tell you that you don’t belong, choose to believe what God says instead. Choose to believe that in Christ, you belong.
What I Learned From A Google Home
I realized by watching my grandpa that a Google Home is really great, but we’ve got to spend some time learning how to use it. My grandpa didn’t automatically know how to use his Google Home. He had to spend some time learning about it to use it and get it working.
The same is true for us when it comes to our identity in Christ. We’ve got to spend time in the Bible learning about who God says we are in Jesus. We’ve got to let that identity become more real to us than what we see online or what others say about us. When we put in the effort to see ourselves how God sees us, it will change everything.
You Can Download Discussion Questions to use with this devotion.
He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. – 2 Timothy 1:9
Have you spent any time thinking about the fact that you’ve got a calling? There is something that God has created you to do. He’s got a special plan for your life that only you can do. That might seem like a lot of pressure, but it’s really not. Today’s Bible verse shows us that this calling isn’t based on our works. We can rely on God’s help to achieve the things He’s called us to do.
It’s easy to get discouraged in our day to day lives. We might not be the best at math, or not that great at baseball, but none of that matters to God. God isn’t concerned about our abilities in ourselves. When He calls us to do something for Him, He helps us and gives us what we need to do it.
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So today encourage yourself in the fact that God has called you. He’s got a plan and a purpose for your life that only you can fulfill. So choose to spend time getting close to God and asking Him to reveal the next step of the plan for your life.
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. – John 10:10 (NLT)
God wants you to have a rich and satisfying life. This doesn’t mean that your life will be problem free, but it does mean that Jesus will be there to walk with you through the problems.
This verse also shows us that trouble doesn’t come from God. Things that steal and destroy are from the devil. Jesus doesn’t send those types of things to you.
So today, if you’re in the middle of a difficult situation, be encouraged. Jesus came to give us a rich and satisfying life. He’s there to walk with you in the midst of difficulty and is to be where you go in tough times. So decide to get closer to God in tough times and let Him show you how rich and satisfying life in Him can be.
Have you ever been lost? I remember a time when I got lost on a missions trip with my youth group. Two of my friends and I got into a taxi. Our missionary tried to give our taxi driver the address where we were going, but the taxi driver didn’t want to listen. He insisted he would just follow the taxi in front of him that had the rest of our group. The taxi got going, but as we got to a busy intersection, our taxi driver began following the wrong taxi. He drove us all over town and followed the wrong taxi to a house.
When he stopped, he tried to tell us to get out. We didn’t speak the same language and we kept trying to tell him that we didn’t want to get out, that he had followed the wrong taxi. He just stared at us and looked confused. We kept trying to think of ideas to tell him to take us back to the train station where we had been picked up from. Finally, we all began making train noises, we honked and made choo-choo sounds until at last, he understood.
He took us back to the train station and we waited there until the rest of our youth group came back to find us.
Sometimes the idea of discovering God’s purpose for your life can make you feel lost, just like I was lost on my missions trip. You might feel like you don’t know where to go and you’re afraid to make the wrong turn or follow the wrong taxi. However, following God’s plan for your life doesn’t have to be difficult or confusing. God wants to show you your purpose.
Discovering Purpose Takes Time Alone With God
Proverbs 20:27 – The spirit of a man is the lamp of the lord searching all the inner depths of his heart
God wants to reveal things to you about your future. However, God isn’t going to show you those things using Snapchat, Musical.ly, Instagram or any other social media platform, but wouldn’t it be nice if he did? God reveals things to you in your spirit. And it’s not complicated: to hear God you’ve got to get quiet and listen. That’s hard sometimes, social media is way more fun than reading your Bible and prayer. However, God wants to talk to you and reveal things to you. You’ve just got to get quiet to listen to your spirit.
The key to discovering your divine destiny and purpose is simple: Realize God wants to speak to you about your future.
When you have that truth solidly in your heart it will make the process of discovery easier. God wants to show you His plans for your life. He wants to help you make good decisions about your future. God speaks those truths to your spirit. So if you’re quiet and willing to listen, God will show you the next step to take.
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
God has plans for you. And he wants to show them to you. All you have to do is spend some time seeking God. If you started dating someone, you’d want to spend time with them to get to know them better. You’d want to know all their hobbies, their dislikes, likes, hopes, and dreams. Developing a relationship with God is no different. It’s all about spending time getting to know God. As you spend time in the Bible and in prayer you’ll get to know the things God likes and His hopes and dreams for you.
More than anything, God wants to help you make the right decisions – so involve Him in the decision-making process. Choose to spend time getting to know Him and letting Him speak to your spirit about your future.
We put a lot of weight on what we do for a career, so much that it often becomes our identity. You’ll see adults that introduce themselves by saying something like, “I’m Lydia and I’m a doctor”. In society, a lot of weight is placed on your career. It’s important to remember that our purpose or career is not our identity. Our identity is found in Jesus. We need to find out what Jesus says about us in the Bible. We need to let who we are in Christ become our identity.
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What you do for God is never as important as for you to discover your identity in Christ. Your career isn’t your identity. Jesus is your identity.
Dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health physically just as you are spiritually. – 3 John 1:2 (Holman)
God wants you to prosper in every area of your life. He’s more concerned with you knowing who you are in Christ than He is about what you end up doing as a career. So take some time in the discovery process to focus on the things God says about you. Realize that God wants you to prosper in every way.
Have you ever discovered a new game? I remember when I was a kid my grandma taught me a new card game. The first few times I played, I wasn’t very good. It took me some time to learn the rules and discover strategies that would help me win. Once I had played the game a few times, I began to win. The more I played, the more I learned and the better I got.
The same is true with our giftings. We don’t always know what we’re gifted at right away. You’ve got to learn and discover the things you’re good at. You might try out for band and realize you hate music. You might go out for volleyball to discover you’re not athletic. That’s ok. Part of discovering what you’re good at requires learning what you’re not good at. Keep at it, keep trying to learn and discover your giftings.
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You might realize that you really like helping with the children’s ministry at your church, but you hate working with the media team. That’s ok. You’re in the process of discovery. You’re learning more and more all the time about what your giftings are. Get involved at your local church. Begin to serve and you’ll start to see the things you’re good at and the things you’re not that good at. It’s all part of the learning process. The more you learn the better you’ll get!
Discovering purpose takes some effort. It requires spending time with God, and learning about yourself and your giftings. The good news is that God wants to show you your purpose. If you choose to spend time with Him and listen, He’ll speak to your spirit and show you the next steps to take.
If you’re a youth leader, you can download discussion questions to go with this devotion in our youth leader resource area.
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. – Psalms 55:22 (NIV)
The best thing we can do to stay in peace, is to cast our cares on to the Lord. God will sustain us and take care of us. When we place all our cares on Him, He can keep our hearts and minds at ease and in peace.
Also, when our minds are focused on God, and in the fact that He will take care of us, we are more able to hear His voice. During these times, God can speak wisdom to us to even avoid danger. That is amazing. God wants to speak to us in real time.
Today, cast all your cares on the Lord. God cares for you and He will never let you be shaken. Why? Because you have believed on Jesus. You are now righteous in His sight.
If you’ve never made Jesus the Lord of your life you can. Here’s a devotion to show you how.
I remember playing dominoes as a kid. I hated playing the game by the rules. Instead, I loved setting up all the dominos in a row in all sorts of fun patterns. Once I had the dominos set up, I’d knock the first one over and watch as the first one knocked over the second, the second knocked over the third. On and on the knocking over happened until all the dominos fell down. Knocking over dominos is really fun. Playing with dominos reminds me of Romans 10.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! – Romans 10:13-15
Each part of this scripture is like a domino. You’ve got to have one to knock down two, to knock down the third and so on. So what are these dominos?
Domino One – To get saved you have to call on the name of the Lord.
This domino makes a lot of sense. If you want to get saved, you’ve got to ask Jesus to do it. You can’t rely on your works, good deeds or anything else. The Bible clearly states that it is Jesus who does the saving.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it – Eph 2:8-9 (NLT)
Salvation is a gift of grace. It’s not about what you’ve done, its all about who Jesus is. It’s all about asking Jesus to save you. The great thing about this is that Jesus doesn’t make calling on him complicated. It’s simple, it’s just reaching out to Him by faith or belief. That’s where the next domino comes into play.
Domino Two – To call on Jesus you have to believe.
You have to believe in Jesus to call on Him for salvation. If you think that you’re saved by your works or any other way, there’s no need to call on Jesus. To call on Jesus, you’ve got to humble yourself and realize that without Jesus you can’t do enough good to get into heaven. You’ve got to firmly believe that Jesus is God’s son, and his sacrifice on the cross was the payment for your sin. Once you believe that, you’re able to call on Jesus to save you.
But that statement makes you wonder: How do you begin believing?
Domino Three – To believe in Jesus, you have to hear about Him.
If you haven’t heard about Jesus, how would you know that you should call on him, or believe in Him? You wouldn’t. You’ve got to build belief in Jesus by hearing about Him. Think about it, the more you hear about a great movie, the more you want to go see it. When you hear about something good it makes you want to try it. The same is true about Jesus to develop the faith to believe Him, you’ve got to hear about Him. You’ve got to learn that He’s good, that’s He is the only way to God.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Romans 10:17 (KJV)
So how do you begin to hear about Jesus?
Domino Four – To hear about Jesus, someone has to tell you about Him.
This about a new restaurant you’ve tried recently. What made you decide to try the new restaurant? Most likely, someone told you about it. Maybe a friend told you the new restaurant was really good and their review made you want to try it for yourself. The same is true with Jesus. If someone hadn’t told you about Jesus, you couldn’t have called on Him for salvation.
When you hear about the goodness of God, it makes you believe in Him and want to invite Him into your life.
So finally, how does someone tell others about Jesus?
Domino Five – Those who tell others about Jesus are sent.
The Bible tells us in Mark 16:15 that we are to go into our world and tell others about Jesus. As believers, we are called by God to tell others about who Jesus is.
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. – Mark 16:15 (NLT)
So take some time this week to think about this scripture. You’ve been called by God to tell others about Jesus. You are called to preach to people the message of salvation.
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As you tell others, they will hear the message, then they have the option to believe and finally call on Jesus to be saved. But the process starts with you telling people about Jesus. If you don’t open your mouth, then other people won’t have the opportunity to hear the gospel. It’s up to you to share with those around you. You sharing salvation with those around you can cause a great domino effect. You could cause someone you know and care for to get saved and to spend eternity with Jesus.
So what are you waiting for? Begin sharing Jesus with others today!
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce. – Proverbs 3:9 (ESV)
A timeless way to see God’s blessing on your finances, is to give a portion of what you make away. There is something amazing that happens when you honor God with your finances. You end up having more than if you would have kept back all of it for yourself.
This miracle is called the tithe. It’s God’s formula for success. It’s taking all that you make and giving God the first 10%. If you make $10, then you would give God $1 and you’d keep $9.
Why does God tell us to tithe in the first place? Does He need our money? No. God has streets of gold in heaven. He doesn’t need our tithe. However, we need to place our trust in God, especially when it comes to our finances. Tithing works great to help us trust God with our finances.
You may ask, “How do I give God money? The primary way that you give God 10% (tithe) is to give in the offering at your church. If you have never done it, it’s pretty simple. Most churches make it pretty simple to give.
Often tithing is like a seed. If planted, it does take some time before harvest so don’t expect immediate results. If you tithed yesterday, it’s unlikely you’ll see benefits the next day. It may be a month or even longer. That’s OK. Just know that God’s Word is true and you can count on it working.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 (NLT)
People make the mistake of thinking there are many ways to get to God. They say that all religions will point you to the same God. They say it doesn’t really matter how you get there, just do what way seems like the right way for you. However, this is not what Jesus says. In this verse, Jesus says that He is the only way to God. He says that He is the truth and the life and that no one can come to the Father (God) except through Him.
If Jesus is the only way to God the Father, then anyone who is trying to come to God without going through Him are missing it. It may seem harsh but it is the truth. No one can reach God without Jesus. In reality, we all are in a hopeless situation without Jesus. We are unclean and sin without even knowing it. We desperately needed Jesus. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to be the answer for all mankind.
So how do we get to God then if Jesus is the only way? We must humble ourselves and stop relying on other ways to get to God. We cannot get to God through trying to be good enough, trying to do religious acts or even trying not to sin. We have to stop all of that and simply believe completely on Jesus. Even if you’re already born again, the same way you receive Jesus is the same way you continue on this journey with God… completely through Jesus.
Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. – Daniel 6:3 (NASB)
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. – Psalms 55:22 (NIV)
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce. – Proverbs 3:9 (ESV)
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.