Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Corinthians 13:4

Posted on April 3, 2024

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs – 1 Cor 13:4-5 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered how to know if the person you want to date is dateable?

One easy way to judge this is by looking at that person’s love life. That’s doesn’t mean looking at social media to find out the people they’ve already dated. Instead, it requires looking at how they love others. How do they treat their mom and dad? How do they treat their teachers, friends, and the workers at the restaurant? If they treat them with love, like today’s Bible verse describes, then you know you’ve got someone who is worth dating.

So in your dating relationships, choose to protect your heart. Wait for a person who will treat you with Godly love and respect. This type of a person is someone you will want to date.

Read: 7 Strategies to Help You Stay Sexually Pure

Choose to say no to relationships that push you away from God and wait for ones that are exhibiting Godly love. In the end, you’ll be thankful that you said no to them and chose to protect your heart.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Romans 5:1

Posted on April 2, 2024

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. – Romans 5:1 (NLT)

When we realize our value to God it is freeing. We don’t have to be slaves to our fears. Rather we can walk in the peace Jesus provided to us. We can live lives free from shame, fear and condemnation. Instead we can walk around with our head held up high because we know we are children of the king.

So today, it doesn’t matter if someone has trashed you on social media. It doesn’t matter if you parents haven’t always treated you correctly. What matters is what Jesus has done for us. Because He says we have value, it means we do.

This means we can walk around the halls of our school with our head held up high, because we know that we have worth. We don’t have to let the things others have said and done hold us back any longer. We can choose to see ourselves like Jesus sees us. We can choose to believe the worth God placed on us when He sent Jesus to make us right in God’s sight.

So today, choose to see yourself like God sees you. Choose to see your worth and how important you are to God’s plan on the earth. Realize that you have purpose and God loves you.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Genesis 2:18

Posted on April 1, 2024

What are your personal thoughts regarding marriage? Maybe you’ve seen a good example of marriage in your parents, so you desire one day to be married yourself. Or perhaps, you’ve seen some examples in your life that weren’t so good, and so you begin to wonder if it’s something that is good.

Marriage began with God in the garden of Eden. God created Adam and said this:

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. – Genesis 2:18 (NIV)

God was the one who created the idea of marriage. He saw that Adam needed a helper and so He made one for Adam. From the beginning, marriage was the plan of God.

In our world today, the idea of marriage is not often celebrated. Yes, people have weddings and ceremonies, but often the idea of marriage comes after a couple has lived together for several years. Or sometimes, people even decide never to get married, but to have kids with a partner. These ideas are not the way God intended marriage to work.

If we’re going to be followers of God, we have to look to His example. And we see the first example of this in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. God intended marriage to be one man and one woman, coming together for life. Anything else falls short of God’s intention.

So we should challenge our thinking to line up to what God’s example for us is. That means that even if we’ve seen bad examples of marriage in people we know, or on TV, we should still look to God’s word as to what marriage means. So today, if you haven’t think about what marriage looks like in God’s original design. And decide that even if no one else is, decide that you will stand up, and have a marriage that looks like God’s example in your life.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 3:16

Posted on March 29, 2024

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV)

As we get ready for Easter this year, it’s good to remember what Jesus has done for us. We are made righteous and have eternal life because of Him.

So as you go about your day today, take some time to thank Jesus for His great love for you. Thank Him for His mercy and His love. Realize that without Him, we’d be lost in the world and alone. But because of his death and resurrection, we have newness of life.

Instead of a long devotion today, simply take some time and think about this familiar scripture. Then take a moment to pray to Jesus and thank Him for all He has done.

We pray that you all have a great Easter!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 8:5

Posted on March 28, 2024

Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:5 (NLT)

You were created for great things. Don’t let yourself settle for anything less than God’s best. It can be easy to let what others have done to you or said about you influence how you see yourself. When you focus on those things, you can become down on yourself. However, the truth is, God doesn’t see you negatively.

God sees you as someone of great value. He sees who you are in Christ and because of that, you’re important to Him. However, it’s up to you to walk in that truth. You’ve got to put aside thoughts of fear and shame and choose to see yourself the way God does.

You weren’t created to be enslaved to fear or shame. You were created for a purpose. God has a plan for your life. So today, if you’ve listened to the lie that you are worthless, decide to see yourself differently. Choose to no longer look at your shortcomings, faults, and fears. Instead, choose to look to Jesus for your value. See yourself through God’s eyes. He has crowned you with glory and honor. You are important to God’s plan.

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – John 3:18

Posted on March 27, 2024

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. – John 3:18

This is a great verse. It’s comforting to know that if we believe and put our trust in Jesus we are not condemned. According to this verse, we have peace and right standing with God. That means there’s nothing that God holds against us.

It’s freeing to know that there is nothing that God holds against us. What Jesus did was enough to take the penalty for our sins. There’s nothing we need to do other than to believe and accept what Jesus did for us.

The key to all this is believing. It takes faith to believe that Jesus paid the price for our sin. Also, it takes faith to say that you need a savior and that you can’t get into heaven on your own. Jesus did the hard part, it’s just now in our court to believe in Jesus and receive His forgiveness and freedom from condemnation.

Today, take some time to thank God for sending Jesus. Thank Him that through what Jesus did you can stand free from condemnation, guilt, and shame.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 15:16

Posted on March 26, 2024

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you – John 15:16 (NIV)

I love how in this verse we see how much Jesus loves us. It’s so helpful to be reminded of this truth. Sometimes, you might question whether God really loves you. Perhaps you doubt if he will do the same things for you as the accounts you read in the Bible.

But here’s the truth. Jesus loves you. He chose you. Why?

Because He loves you, He sees your potential and value in Him. And because of that, we have the ability to ask and pray for things. It says that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name the father will give to you.

Now, if you ask for a brand new car or something like that it doesn’t mean that God will always give you that, but if you desire things that line up with His will for your life and line up with God’s word, you can expect that God will give those things to you.

So today, don’t forget that you’re loved. Decide to let that love rule your life. And as a result don’t be afraid to ask and pray for the things you need.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 15:14

Posted on March 25, 2024

 You are my friends if you do what I command. – John 15:14 (NIV)

Do you have a good friend? I know I have some. They are the people that you’d try to really help out if anything ever went wrong in their lives. Those people that you’d really try to do anything for.

Well, today’s Bible verse says that we’re Jesus’ friends if we do what He commands. How do we know what Jesus commands? We find that out by reading the Bible. As we read the Bible, we see the things that God has promised us in His word and also what we should expect as followers of Jesus.

As Jesus’ friends, we should know what He likes and expects of us, and then as we would with a close friend, do what we can to try to do those things.

And yes, the Bible is a big book, so learning what is expected of us and what Jesus has promised us can seem overwhelming. But don’t let it be. Instead, just start somewhere. Perhaps you want to know more about Jesus, so start reading in the gospels. As you read, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there’s anything in your life that you need to adjust to be more like Jesus. Then make those adjustments.

Following Jesus and following His commands doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Instead, it can be rewarding. It’s in those commands that we find joy and freedom because we’re living life the way He intended it to be lived.

So today, decide to follow Jesus. Make obeying His commands your habit and step into the fulfilling and rewarding life in Christ.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 118:24

Posted on March 21, 2024
Teen Devotion and Bible Verse on Rejoicing

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (NLT)

Do you ever struggle with not wanting to rejoice? Maybe the school year hasn’t turned out as you had hoped. Perhaps you’re going through a really tough season in your life, and it just feels almost impossible to rejoice.

It’s pretty hard to want to rejoice when it feels like things aren’t going the way you’d like them to.

So how do you find ways to rejoice and be glad when you don’t feel it?

One easy way is to start to make a list. Grab a piece of paper or notes on your phone. List small things to be thankful. Maybe it’s that you don’t have to worry about your history presentation because that class is canceled. Can you thank God that the sun is out? What about all the extra time you have? Can you thank God for more time to spend reading your Bible?

Even if it’s small, work to find ways to rejoice. Even in the worst circumstances, if you try hard enough you can find something to rejoice about!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Philippians 3:14

Posted on March 20, 2024

I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14 (Holman)

Have you ever played sports at your school? Maybe you decided to try out for the basketball team. Once you made the team, you began to work hard to get in shape and went to all the practices. After weeks of drills and practice, when it became time to play another school in a game, did you expect to lose the game? Of course not. You worked hard to get in shape and practiced, and you did it expecting to win games. In basketball, your main goal is to win.

In the same way, we have a goal or calling in life. God has called us to do things for Him while we’re on earth. The specific things He wants us to do are different for each person, but you have a divine call or destiny for your life.  You might be called to be an encouragement to someone, to a certain career or called into ministry. Regardless of what your calling is, it should be something that you are actively pursuing.

Today’s Truth: Don’t let go of the dreams God has placed in you.

It’s easy to get busy in life and forget the things God has called you to do. So challenge yourself today to not let go of the dreams and callings that God has placed on the inside of you. They might not always come to pass right away, but if you keep making steps toward them they will come to pass in your life.

Read: How to Discover Your God-Given Purpose in Life