How Do I Know If God Is Real?

Posted on August 5, 2015

Have you ever questioned God’s existence? If you have you are not alone. Many people wonder the same thing. So how can we know if God really exists?

Let’s start by looking at an everyday example. If you’re like many teenagers, you probably have a gaming system in your house. The XBox or Playstation at your home is complex and has lots of small complicated parts that make it work. It has controllers, a hard drive, and tons of wiring. All those complicated pieces have to function together to make the game work properly. All the parts that go into making the game are to complex to just have “happened” one day. Your XBOX didn’t just show up in your living room. It had to be put together…it had to be created. The complexity of the game system shows that it had to have a creator..

In the same way our world is complex. The trees, the oceans, animals and people that make it up are way too complex to just have “happened”.

We can see that there was evidence of a creator in the world around us, but it is up to us to choose to believe that creator was God. There is nothing that 100 percent proves God’s existence. There is no scientific study that proves that God is real. If there was every person would believe God exists.

We have to take what we see in creation and read about God in the Bible and we have to choose to believe it. That’s really the definition of faith.

The Bible says it like this: “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT)

We see evidence of God’s existence all around us everyday. The trees, the sun, the birds, all speak of a great creator. When you wonder if God is there or if He really does care about you, stop for a minute and examine the creation around you. God took the time to create each animal and plant and most of all He took time to create you. Take some time today to thank God for everything He has made.

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – Aug 4

Posted on August 4, 2015

Today’s Daily Bible Verse and Devotion is Romans 13:4

For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

In today’s world there is a growing desire to fight against authority. However in the New Testament, the only time you see the believers not obeying the public authority is when they were told to no longer speak in the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).

In this verse Paul is saying that those in authority like policemen or judges are there for our good. When we have rebelled and broken the law, then we have reason to be afraid of them.

If you want to live in civil peace do the right thing. Don’t break the rules of the land. Unless you are being told to do something directly against what the Bible says, obey the authorities in your life and you will not need to be afraid of them.

Challenge yourself today to be respectful and honor those in authority around you. They were put there for your good!

Helpful Tips for Relating To God

Posted on August 3, 2015

Relating to God can feel kinda tough at times. How do you begin to get to know someone you can’t see? How do you talk to someone who isn’t visible? With that in mind, we’ve found some helpful tips that can make relating to God be just a little bit easier.

The first thing you can try is tomorrow, when you wake up, say, “Good morning, Lord!” And then picture Him saying “Good morning, (your name) I’m so glad you’re awake!” I encourage you to change the picture you have of yourself when God sees you. Imagine walking up to the throne of God to ask Him for something or just talk to Him.

In Hebrews 4:16 it says Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The second thing you can do is remind yourself that you’ve got a right to talk to God. To come boldly means that we have a right to be there (because of Jesus making the way). It’s a throne of grace- not of judgment. Grace is help when you need it. And mercy is grace when you don’t deserve it because you did something wrong.
Come to that throne of help to a loving God often- not just on Sunday morning, but every morning. And come knowing that you belong- you are in the family and the price has been paid for your adoption.

Relating to God doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. It can be really great when you realize that you have ever right to talk to Him and know that He wants nothing more than to talk to you.

Prayer: “Father, I come boldly to you today. I need your help. I thank you for your grace to help me today to do what I need to do. (if you need to ask forgiveness, then do that and then get right back to the throne). I’m so glad I’m your child and I love you!

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – July 31

Posted on July 31, 2015

Today’s Daily Devotion and Bible Verse is Psalms 139:13 (NLT)

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Today young people are pressured to be the best at everything. They are told to get good grades in all subjects, be the best in sports and on and on it goes. Yet, that is impossible. If everyone was the best at everything, there would be no uniqueness.

This verse said that God made you and knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your not a mistake to God. Everything that you are and everything that makes you, you is part of His plan for you. You are special and thought of. God doesn’t want another someone else, He wants a YOU.

Today, relax in who God made you and don’t try to be someone your not. Focus on the things that He made you good at and ways you can use those things to bless others and ultimately the world around you.

Check out other daily devotions with a daily Bible verse.

Four Financial Traps To Avoid

Posted on July 27, 2015

Do you want to get ahead in your finances? Or maybe you want to be well off and have money left over to give to others? You can get to where you want to be financially with some good discipline and hard work. Those good habits can start by knowing what bad habits you should avoid with your money. Check out four important traps to avoid with your money.

The trap of spending money because you have it. – This trap is easy and fun to fall into. When you have some money it’s easy to want to spend it all. That paycheck is burning a hole in your wallet and all you can think of are those shoes you wanted to buy at the mall. What do you do? Do you tend to spend every dollar that you make or have?
The problem with spending every dollar you make is that it doesn’t leave you any extra money if an emergency would arise. It also doesn’t leave you anything for the future. If you make wise decisions with your money and don’t spend every penny you make, you’ll find yourself better off in the long run.
The trap of thinking more money equals a better life.– It can be really easy to see someone who is better off than you and think that if you just had more money like them you would be happy.
The truth is that no amount of money will make you happy. Learn to be happy with what you have and live within your means.

Money wrongly gained will disappear bit by bit; money earned little by little will grow and grow. (Proverbs 13:11 CEV)
The trap of impulsive purchases – Many time you think you can’t live without those new shoes or that awesome pair of jeans? It’s easy to want to buy, buy, buy. However, impulsive buying can easily become a trap. You soon realize that due to all your impulsive purchases you no longer have the money to buy the things you truly may want or need in the future. Be on guard for impulsive purchasing.
The trap of not involving God in your finances – Life gets full and busy really quickly. In those times it’s easy to forget to include God in your finances. However, including God in your finances always brings rewards and helps you out in the end. Ask God’s wisdom to show you which purchases to make or his guidance when buying things. Also choose to give at your church. As you make God a priority in your finances, you’ll see that God wants to bless you!

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 BOOKS)

Developing good habits with your money isn’t always what feels good or what comes easily. However, if you begin while you’re young to develop good habits of saving and giving, you’ll find that you’ll have more money as you get older. Choose to put into practice wise financial habits.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion on Peace –

Posted on July 24, 2015

Today’s Daily Devotion and Bible Verse is Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. – Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

God’s guidance system in our lives is often as simple as a peace in your heart. When your praying about a certain decision your facing, ask God to help show you which choice is the one He wants you to do.

He often will show you the right decision by giving you peace about it. Sometimes the other choices seem better but it’s best to go with the peace in your heart. The Bible says in Proverbs to not lean unto your own understanding. That’s how peace often works. It might not even completely makes sense going in the direction that you feel peace however, you just know that it’s the right decision.

You’ll always want to balance out your decisions with first and foremost the Bible. God will never lead you in a direction through peace that does not line up with other principles He’s clearly already spoken on in the Bible.

Today if you are facing a tough decision, is there a particular outcome that you just have more peace on the inside about? This can often be a good indicator that God is helping to lead you towards that.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Posted on July 23, 2015

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)

This verse clearly states that you are made up of 3 parts. The spirit, soul and a body. The spirit is the real us. It’s the only part of us that gets born again. This brings a bunch more clarity when you read things like, you’re a new creature in Christ, old things are passed away and behold are things are made new. This is obviously not talking about our body. That doesn’t change when we are born again. It’s also not talking about our soul. We often still think the same and feel the same until we renew our minds with the Word of God. But, our spirit does become completely new when we receive Jesus and confess Him as Lord.

Be encouraged today that if you did receive Jesus you are made completely new. In your spirit, God has made something brand new that never existed before.

For other daily Bible verses and daily devotions click here.

What Vine Teaches Us About Breaking Bad Habits

Posted on July 22, 2015

Vine is great! I love watching the videos that people create. Most of the time I’m really impressed with how funny and creative people are. The fun thing about Vine is that the videos are short and they loop so you can often get sucked into watching like a million of them at a time.

Vine reminds me a lot about habits. Habits like Vine can loop. You can get into a cycle of bad habits and it can seem tough sometimes to stop. So here are a few tips to help you overcome a bad habit loop.

Change it up. If there’s a certain area where you just keep getting sucked into the same bad habit time and time again, try changing things up. For example, if you are tempted to look at porn online, try changing it up only using your computer in areas of your house where others are at. Or if you have problems with swearing, try replacing that bad word with another word until you stop swearing all together. Changing it up can help you break a bad habit.
Keep accountable. Find someone who can hold you accountable and give you advice overcoming your habit. By having someone check in on you, ask how you’re doing and give you feedback can be invaluable when trying to overcome a habit. Keeping accountable is a great way to start.
Ask for Wisdom. If you are having trouble breaking out of a bad habit, ask God for His help and wisdom. He may give you an idea or a creative way you can break the habit. Don’t discount the power of asking for God’s help. You don’t have to do this alone.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. – James 1:5
Read The Bible. Spending time in God’s word is one of the best ways to break out of a bad habit loop. There is power in the Bible.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. – Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

Spend time reading the Bible. It is a great way that God can lead you and speak to you. Get into God’s word and out of your bad habits.

Getting stuck in a loop of a bad habit can be frustrating at times. You can feel like you keep messing up again and again. However there’s good news. God has given you the ability to overcome any challenge or habit you face.

Stay encouraged, with God’s help you can win over bad habits!

Why Faith is Like Using Your GPS

Posted on July 20, 2015

I was craving Starbucks today. I just had to have some coffee. The crazy thing was I was visiting a new town and I had no idea where a Starbucks was. I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting my coffee. I pulled out my phone and searched maps for Starbucks.

I was glad to see there was a Starbucks only one exit away from where I was staying. I jumped in my car and headed there as fast as I could. I couldn’t see the Starbucks from where I was. But I trusted that my phone would give me directions to where I wanted to go. I relied on what I couldn’t see, and trusted that the Starbucks was there.

I followed the directions my phone gave me, and sure enough, there was a Starbucks there for me at my destination. This reminds me a lot of how the Bible describes faith. In Hebrews it says this:

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
– Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

So faith is the evidence of what we can’t see. Just like I couldn’t see the Starbucks a few miles away, we often can’t see the things that God promises us in the Bible. That doesn’t mean that they’re not there or that they’re not real. We just can’t see them yet. And that is what faith is. Faith is believing that God’s word is true and what He promised us in His word will come to pass, even if we can’t see it yet.

So be encouraged. God’s promises are true and you can trust in God’s word that the things that are promised in it will come to pass in our lives!

3 Ways Love Wins

Posted on July 15, 2015

We know that the Bible tells us to love others. We know that as Christians we should be kind and treat others with love because that is what God did to us. But when it comes to daily life, it can be hard to really believe that loving others is the way to go. It seems like it would be easier and make us feel better to get revenge on those who have treated us wrong. And even though its normal to feel this way, let’s take a look at three reasons why love wins out over revenge.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. – 1 Cor 13:4 (NIV)

Love frees you. If you harbor a grudge and refuse to forgive you’re not teaching the other person a lesson. What you’re doing is making yourself mad, angry and bitter. Keeping unforgiveness and hate alive in your heart is a bad thing. You’ll end up unhappy and frustrated. When you choose to forgive and love others, regardless of what they did to you, you find yourself being freed up. Instead of always being angry and upset you can get past those things and move on with your life. God tells us to love others because it frees us. It allows us to continue on with our lives and to heal.
Love sets you apart. Most people respond with bitterness, revenge and hate when someone does something wrong to them. Imagine if you choose love instead. Do you think that might make someone take a second glance at you? Do you think that might open some opportunities to share Jesus with someone? When you choose to walk in love with others it will set you apart. Walking in love is different from the norm, but its certainly better. People will begin to notice when you respond to others and difficult situations with love.
Love restores. The great thing about choosing to love is that it brings restoration to the situation. It can cause friendships to be mended and things to get back to normal much quicker than if you would respond in hate and anger.

Loving others is something we’re encouraged to do in the Bible. Its not always the easiest path to take, but if you choose to respond to others in love is worth it. So, the next time you’re tempted to get really angry, lose your cool, or just flat out take revenge on someone, take a few moments to reflect. Realize that if you respond to the person and situation in love, you could come out on the other side a winner.

Take some time today to think about what real love is by reading 1 Corinthians 13. It shows a great picture of what true love looks like.

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