Devotions for Teenagers and Youth

How to Be Happy

Posted on April 20, 2015

Where do you find happiness? Is it getting an “A” in Biology? Is it getting asked to prom by your secret crush or perhaps making the baseball team? What determines your happiness everyday?

True happiness isn’t found in things.

True happiness isn’t found in having something, doing something or being something. Being happy is a choice. Everyday you have to choose if you’re going to let problems and the stressful situations you face get you down. If you wait until all your problems and stress go away to be happy, you’ll be waiting a long time.

In the midst of the stresses and problems facing you, you can choose to enjoy your life. Just like you can set the alarm clock on your phone to get up in the morning for school, you can choose to set your attitude everyday.

“The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

Jesus died so we could have the good life. So why not live life happy?

Here are some tips to boost your happiness:

Look for and expect something good to happen today
Don’t allow your joy to be stolen by the negative things that happen to you everyday
Laugh more at yourself and find something to laugh about daily
Forgive yourself and others for mistakes
Learn to enjoy God, yourself and the people around you

Happiness is a choice. You choose everyday if you’re going to let the worries, problems and junk from your day get you down. Determine that you’re going to decide to be happy no matter what is going on around you. You’ll find that you’ll quickly start enjoying life more!

[Tweet “Determine to be happy regardless of what is going on around you! – @studentdevos”]

Why Your Life Matters

Posted on April 15, 2015

I struggled many of my teenage years thinking that my life didn’t matter. I struggled with thoughts of suicide and wondered if anyone would even care if I wasn’t around anymore. If you’ve dealt with these feelings, you’re not alone. Many people struggle these feelings.

In this devotion, I want to share with you a few reasons why I believe your life matters. Despite what you might be feeling, your life is important, so lets look at why.

God chose you.

Have you ever thought about the fact that God chose you? That means that your life is important. Even when you compare yourself to your friends, and feel like you come up short, God chose you. He went out of His way to choose you. To Him, you’re extremely important!

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. – Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

God loves you and He chose you to be a part of His family. That means your life matters!

God has something for you to do.

God has a plan for your life. He’s got something special that He wants you to accomplish. You’ve been put on this World for a purpose. God wants to use you to touch the lives of your friends and family with the good news of Jesus. Your life matters because God has a plan for you to do that only you can do.

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 good plans for your life, so when you feel like your life doesn’t matter, realize that God says it does.

Being a teenager isn’t easy.

Its not easy being a teenager. There’s lots of challenges you face each day that can damage your feeling of worth. However, don’t allow yourself to be lied to and think your life doesn’t matter.

You are important. God puts a value on your life that is beyond description. He loves you more than you can ever comprehend. So when you begin to feel like you don’t matter and want to give up, remind yourself that to God you matter.

Why What You Speak Matters

Posted on April 13, 2015

Words Matter

If you’re like most teenagers, you’re speaking a lot of words everyday. You might be texting friends, posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or talking to friends in the hallway. The fact is, you’re using lots of words all day long. On average, a person speaks between 10,000 and 25,000 words a day. That’s a lot of words!

With so many words coming out of our mouths all day long, its understandable that God puts a lot of importance on the words we speak. For example, in Proverbs 18:21 it says, “Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life. ” (NLT). That’s a pretty strong statement on the importance of your words.

[Tweet “Words can kill or nourish life. The words that you speak every day are important. – @studentdevos”]

When you’re in math class and find out you missed 10 problems on the homework assignment, what comes out of your mouth? Do you say things like, “AHH! I’m so dumb…I’ll never get this!” Words like that will shut off your success in school.

The words you speak are important.

The words that you speak every day, even the smallest words, are important. They set the course and tone for your life. If you don’t like something that is happening in your life, pay attention to the words that you’ve been speaking regarding that thing or situation. Perhaps you need to begin to speak words of life.

Words will direct the course of your life, so begin to pay attention to what you’re speaking.

Pray: God, I choose to pay attention to the words that I speak each day. I ask you for your help in speaking words of life over me each day. I know that my words are important and I choose to speak words of life every day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Listen: Words by Hawk Nelson

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3 Ways to Succeed in Sports

Posted on April 8, 2015

Sports can be a really fun part of your time at school. They are a great way to develop good habits and get to know new people. Here are a few tips to help you become a success at any sport you play.

Be dedicated.
Dedication will beat talent every time. You may not be the best athlete ever, but if you’re dedicated you can go far in your school’s sports teams. You can show dedication by going the extra mile. You could run more, or put in some extra practice time. Whatever approach you decide to take, after awhile you’ll find that you’re coming out ahead on your sports team. No amount of talent can substitute for hard work and practice. If you put in the time and work, you’ll be sure to get noticed.
Be Mentally Tough.
If you’re mentally tough many times you can win against someone who is physically better than you at sports. A lot of success in sports comes down to mental toughness. If you get defeated mentally, you will lose the game physically. Keep your mental focus, and you can win the majority of the games you play. Unless your opponent is a lot better than you in terms of talent, you will be surprised at how many games you can win by keeping a good mental attitude.
Have Fun.
School sports are supposed to be fun. However, its easy to get wrapped up with the winning and competition that you forget that the point of school sports is to have fun. School sports are a good way to get to meet new people and find out which sports you enjoy playing. More than likely, you won’t go on to play these sports professionally, so have some fun while you’re playing.

Following these tips will help you to be more successful at the sport you’re involved in. Remember to always put God first in anything you do. In any sport you play, remember that you’re there to bring glory to God. Don’t get all wrapped up in the drama and excitement of sports that you forget to give God the glory. He’s there and willing to help you out in anything that you put your hand to.
[Tweet “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. – Matt 6:33”]

Pray: God, I come to you right now in the name of Jesus and I ask for your wisdom in the sports that I play. Help me to have creative strategies and ideas that will help me succeed. I desire to put you first in everything I do. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Go Deeper: Read Little Black Book for Athletes (Little Black Book Series)

Are You A Friend of Failure?

Posted on March 25, 2015

Most likely your goal in life is not to fail. Failure isn’t something that is rewarded in society. If you fail your math test, you don’t get a high five from your friends. If you fail to remember your girlfriend’s birthday, you don’t get a party thrown for you. If you fail to remember to do your homework, your teacher doesn’t give you extra credit. Failure is not something that people are searching for. If we’re honest, most of us would like to avoid failure at all costs.

However, failure isn’t always as bad as it seems. There can be times in your life that failure can be your friend. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

When It Helps You Learn.
When failure helps you learn it isn’t bad. Instead of holding your head down because you failed, choose to look at failure as an opportunity to learn. When you learn from your mistakes, you grow stronger.
One time I had a chance to learn from failure came when I bought a new car. The car I purchased hadn’t been checked out by a mechanic. When I got it home, to my horror the car ended up costing more to fix than the purchase price. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. I learned to not buy a car unless its been inspected by a mechanic.
When It Motivates You.
Failure isn’t always bad if it motivates you to do better. I learned this lesson when I had a job as a waitress. I was bad at waiting tables. I was so bad that my boss told me I should look for another job because I wasn’t catching on. I could have given up. I could have said this just isn’t for me, or I won’t get it. However, I let my failure motivate me to do better. I memorized the restaurant’s menu. I came in early to practice entering orders in the computer. Eventually, with some time, I got really good at my job.
Failure isn’t bad when you’re able to let it motivate you to do better. Click to Tweet When you fail, don’t let it stop you. Instead use your failure to push you to be better.

The good thing to know about failure is that everyone experiences it. One of the best stories in the Bible about failure is the story of Moses. Moses knew that God had an awesome plan for his life, and he got a little too excited about it. In his excitement, he ended up killing another man. He failed big time.

The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” – Exodus 2:4

The great thing about Moses though was that he did recover from his failure. He was able to accomplish the plan that God had for him and his life. He was able to walk away from a huge failure and step into the awesome things that God had for him.

It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:27

Moses led Israel out of slavery and become one of the great heroes in the Bible. He didn’t let his shortcomings stop him.

I don’t know what you’re facing. You might have messed up in a big way. You may feel like there’s no hope or that you’re worthless because of your failure. However, that’s not the truth. The truth is we don’t always make the right decisions and we don’t always do the right thing, but if we will let failure teach us and motivate us to be better, we can become a friend of failure.

Sometimes You Win–Sometimes You Learn for Teens: How to Turn a Loss into a Win

This book will help you turn a loss into a win in your life!

5 Reasons to Make Good Choices With Money

Posted on March 23, 2015

You might think that what you do with your money as a teenager doesn’t matter, or that making good financial choices is something you can think about when you’re older. Its easy to think that saving money and thinking about your financial future is something you can put off until you’re older and have a great job. However, its important as a teenager to start making smart choices with money right now. Here are a few reasons why.

You want to be successful. – If you want to be a success in life, a great place to start is with your finances. Its easier to start on a path to financial success now because the habits you develop now set the tone for the rest of your life. Its much easier to start off now on a good financial path rather than to create bad habits that take time and hard work to break. Choose to not take the lazy and easy route. It will pay off in the end if you make good choices for financial success now.
Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you. – Charles H. Spurgeon
You don’t want to live with regrets. If you make lots of bad financial decisions now, it can hinder your financial future. If you buy things you can’t afford, or rack up lots of debt, it will likely cause regret later in life. Choose instead to use wisdom when making financial decisions.
The wicked man borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving. – Proverbs 37:21 (HCSB)
You become more desirable to the opposite sex. If you’re looking to get married one day, this is something you should think about. Your debt and financial choices will carry into your future marriage. If you rack up tons of debt and make a lot of trivial purchases, your future husband or wife will have to deal with those choices. If you want to be more attractive to the opposite sex, its good to be sure that you’re making sound financial decisions now.
You show that you’re trustworthy. If you can be trusted with money, it shows that you can be trusted with lots of other things too. If you are prompt to pay people, and if you’re not owing lots of people money that sets you up to be someone that others feel they can trust.
Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. – Luke 16:10 (HCSB)
You want to be well off financially. If you want to do well financially, you need to start making good choices with your money now. The best thing you have going for you as a teenager is time. The crazy thing about interest on investment and savings accounts is how much it grows with time. The younger you start investing in your future, the more money you’ll make. Choose to make good choices now so you can be well off financially when you’re older.

There are lots of reasons why it makes sense to start making good decisions with your money as a teenager. Its important to begin good financial habits when you’re young so that you can reap the benefits when you get older. Choose to not take the path that seems easy, but rather put a little effort in to reap good financial rewards later.

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10 Tips for Teens About Money

Posted on March 18, 2015

Whether you’ve got your first job, received birthday money from your grandma, or just made some sweet cash mowing lawns or selling candy, you’re always faced with a challenge: ‘what do I do with the money?’ Do you go on a spending spree? Blowing all your cash on candy, shoes or a new video game? You’ve got cash, but what’s the best way to handle it?

With that in mind, we’ve come up with 10 quick tips about money:

Spend less than you make. Don’t borrow cash from your dad, brother, best friend or the guy that has the locker next to yours. If you don’t have the cash to pay for something right now, then wait to buy it. Choose to spend less than you make.
Resist impulse spending. This can be tricky. You go shopping and find some awesome shoes. You didn’t know you needed shoes until you saw THOSE shoes. Then you knew, you had to HAVE them. Impulse spending can lead to some stupid purchases, but most importantly, impulse spending can cause you not to have enough money to pay for the things that really matter. Choose to take your time and think it through before spending lots of money.
Put God first. This is one of the hardest things to do when it comes to spending your money. You might think that you’ll give to your church when you get older, or when you make more money. However, putting God first in your spending is the best way to set yourself up for financial success in the long run. Giving to God is the best financial decision you can make. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it. – Mal 3:10 (MEV)
Making giving a priority. Giving is a concept that doesn’t really make sense to our brains, but its rewards are incredible. It seems that the more you give, the more you have. So whether its buying your friend a soda when they’ve had a bad day, or giving to a missions project, giving should always be a priority in your life!
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” – Luke 3:38 (NLT)
Run from debt. Don’t make debt a habit. It can be tempting to ask your friend for some money to cover the cost of your candy bar, but don’t make that a habit. Debt is a trap, so don’t start. Choose to avoid it at all costs.
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7 (NLT)
Save for a rainy day. Doing this will set you apart from a lot of people. Begin when you’re young to save. Don’t spend everything you make. Choose to set some aside so that when you really need money, its there for you.
Learn from others. One of the best things you can do when it comes to money is watch and learn from others. There are people in your life who have made good decisions with their finances. Get in touch with them. See what things have helped them succeed and do the same thing in your life. Learn from the decisions of others.
Learn about money. Read up on some blogs about money. Talk to your grandpa about money, whatever you do, become a learner about money. Find out how it works and how you can be better with the money you have.
Don’t obsess about money. It can be easy to make money a huge obsession in your life. You can make all your decisions based on it. It can become such a big part of your life that it hurts your relationship with God. Never let money become an obsession in your life. Money is simply a tool, not something to become consumed with.
Realize you’ll make mistakes. You’re going to make mistakes with your money. You’re going buy something that was totally worthless. You’re going to invest in something and lose it all. However, each dumb purchase or mistake that you make, is a great way to learn. If you let them, the mistakes you make will help you become wiser and be better with your money.

These simple money tips will help you to become better at managing your money. However, learning to be good with money isn’t something you’re born with, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t always make good choices. Learn from your mistakes and keep God at the forefront, and you’ll come out okay when it comes to your finances.

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What an Astronaut Teaches Us About Eternity

Posted on March 16, 2015

Eternity can be a pretty scary thing to think about. What happens after death? How do we know if we will go to heaven? What about this life on the Earth. What does it mean? Questions, Questions, Questions. And sometimes it might feel like its hard to know the right answers to these questions. So, we’ve designed this devotion to help bring some clarity to the mystery of eternity.

First of all, what is eternity? According to Merriam-Webster, it’s time without an end or a state that comes after death and never ends. Great, so what? Well, eternity is something that God is, God is eternal. He has no beginning or end. He was for eternity past and will be for eternity future. But what does that mean for us?

Well, knowing all this helps us understand who we are better. See if God is eternal, and we are made in the image of God, that means that we are eternal and spirit beings as well.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:27 (NLT)

So if we’re eternal spirit beings like God, what does this mean for us when we die? Well, that’s where our good friend the astronaut helps us out. See astronauts are able to travel beyond the earth and explore space. And when astronauts are exploring space, many times they wear a spacesuit.

Their spacesuit is really awesome! It helps them be able to survive in outer space. It helps them perform experiments and learn about things outside of earth.

In the same way astronauts wear spacesuits, we wear bodies here on earth. Our body helps us live and function here on the earth. When we die, if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord, our spirit leaves our body and goes to heaven to spend eternity with God. Just like the astronaut takes off his spacesuit when he is no longer in space, when we die, we take off our ‘earth suit’ or body and go to be with the Lord.

We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from this body and to live with the Lord. – 2 Cor 5:8 (NIV)

When we die, we don’t stop existing. Our spirit simply leaves our body and goes to either heaven or hell, depending on whether we’ve made Jesus the Lord of our life. And just like the astronaut takes off his spacesuit when he’s done exploring outer space, when we die, we take off our body, and the real us, our spirit goes to be with the Lord.

This is great news for people who’ve accepted Jesus. They can know that when they die they go to heaven and be with the Lord. So the next time you see a picture of an astronaut, let it be a reminder of how one day we will get to spend eternity with the Lord.

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What a Sandwich Can Teach Us About Judging Others

Posted on March 9, 2015

I’ve always hated a small restaurant near my house. I saw the outside of the building and how it was painted and just knew I would hate the food. It really didn’t seem like it was my style at all. I was certain I hated the place and its food.

However, one day a bunch of my family decided they wanted to eat there. So I went along with them to have supper. I wasn’t impressed by anything in the restaurant and knew the entire meal was going to be disgusting and not worth my time. But for the sake of my family, I stayed and ordered some food from the menu. I decided on a simple sandwich. I figured its pretty hard to ruin a sandwich.

Before too long, our food arrived. I bit into my sandwich. I didn’t have an expectations that the sandwich was going to be good. In fact, I was just hoping I could eat it without gagging. I took the first bite, and to my surprise, the sandwich was great! In fact, it was one of the best ones I had ever had. I couldn’t believe it, how could I have been so wrong about a sandwich?

That sandwich reminds me a lot of how easy it is to judge others. You can see how a person acts, the clothes they wear, or even the friends they have and put that person into a box. We write certain people off because of how they treated us, or how we perceive them. However, just like I was wrong about the restaurant being good, many times, our judgements of people can be wrong.

By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The other thing about judging others is that it cheapens the price Jesus paid for mankind. Jesus gave his life for all humanity. That means each person has value to God. From the most popular to the least popular, each person matters to God. Because each person matters so much to God, when we judge others we cheapen the price God paid for each person.

So the next time you’re tempted to pass judgement on someone. To look down on them for what they wear or how they act remember that they are important to God. He loves them and wants them to have the chance to get to know Him. So the next time you’re tempted to judge someone, use it as an excuse to share God’s love with that person instead. See the person like God sees them and invite them to start a relationship with a loving God.

God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. – 1 John 4:9 (GW)

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True happiness isn’t found in things.

“The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

Here are some tips to boost your happiness:

God chose you.

God has something for you to do.

Being a teenager isn’t easy.

Words Matter

The words you speak are important.

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