Letting God Have A Say

Posted on December 6, 2013

Youth Devotion - Letting God Have A SayIts really easy sometimes to get wrapped up in all the things going on around us. With all the things in our life screaming for our time and attention, its pretty easy to leave God out of our lives. Most of the time, we don’t intend on leaving God out, it just happens with all we have going on. We simply forget to include God in our decision making.

When making decisions, its easy to go for it without God’s help, and then wonder why sometimes things don’t turn out as good as we’d expected. The leaders of Israel did the same thing in the book of Joshua. They had people from a nation close to them trick them into making a treaty with them. The people from the nation that was close to them lied, and told the leaders of Israel that they were from a long way away. The leaders of Israel believed their lie, and without asking God for His help or advice, they made a treaty with the people that were their enemies.

The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it. – Joshua 9:14 (Message)

Its easy to rely on what seems right, like the people of Israel did in Joshua. They looked at the evidence presented to them and took it at face value without letting God have a say. However, you can avoid bad decisions and much heartache by simply letting God have a say in your life. Let Him influence your decisions. As you do, you’ll find that you’ll make better decisions and live life with fewer regrets.

3 Reasons Why Reading Your Bible Is Like Brushing Your Teeth

Posted on December 4, 2013

Devotion for Teens on Reading Your BibleBrushing your teeth isn’t usually the highlight of your day, in fact, you might even sometime not want to brush them in order to get out the door earlier in the morning or to get to bed quicker at night. Even though brushing your teeth can feel like a chore sometimes, teeth brushing can teach us about reading the Bible. And hopefully, make reading the Bible seem a little less boring.

  1. Brushing should be a habit. Imagine if you only brushed your teeth once and never touched your toothbrush again. My guess is that you’d have some pretty gross teeth and stinky breath. Well, just like you shouldn’t brush your teeth only once, you shouldn’t read your Bible only once. The Bible is a book that you need to get into. You’re not going to get it all by reading it once.
    “Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. – Joshua 1:8 (CEV)
  2. Brushing keeps you fresh. Your breath gets just plain nasty if you don’t brush your teeth. That’s a lot like reading the Bible. Reading the Bible helps to keep us fresh. The Bible is filled with instruction, wisdom and guidance to keep us going strong through life. Getting into the Bible is a great way to encourage yourself and stay fresh in your walk with God.
  3. Brushing makes you feel better. Don’t you love that awesome clean feeling that you get after you brush your teeth? The same feeling is available to us when we read the Bible. The Bible will encourage us and make us feel better. Whether you’re going through a problem, need some healing, or just plain want to be encouraged, reading the Bible is your answer.

The Bible is a powerful book. It has the power to change the way you look at life and the way you feel. If you haven’t already, choose to make reading the Bible a habit. You’ll be glad you did.

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Is Your Self-Esteem Unshakeable?

Posted on November 27, 2013

Eph. 2:10 God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do. (God’s word)

It’s kinda easy to get down on yourself at times. Maybe you didn’t get a good grade on your science homework, or worse yet, someone has started a nasty rumor about you in school.

It’s easy to let external things like your grades, friends and our social status determine how we feel about ourselves. However, those things can easily change. Your best friend might move away for the next school year or your hopes of making honor roll could be stopped by forgetting to turn in your history paper. If we base our worth on external things, we’re not basing our worth on something that will last.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God made us who we are. He created us and knows us inside and out. Basing our self-worth on what He says is a much more unshakeable foundation. Yes there might be days when you don’t like yourself or when someone says something that makes you feel bad, but remember that God has made you what you are and that He has created you for good works .

What Pinball Can Teach You About What You Think

Posted on November 22, 2013

Unfortunately,  I’ve always been slightly addicted to the game of pinball. There’s something exciting about the flashing lights, the music, and most of all, trying to keep that ball in play by hitting it with the flippers.

Pinball is a little difficult in the sense that the crazy little ball never wants to stay in play. It always is trying to get to the bottom. Each time it nears the drain at the bottom, I remember trying with all my might to hit those flippers hard enough to keep that ball in play.

Pinball reminds me a lot of what the Bible says about our thoughts. The Bible encourages us to get rid of thoughts that aren’t good and fill our mind with those that are good. [quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. – Philippians 4:8 (God’s Word)[/quote]

To me, this verse is telling us that when a thought comes that isn’t of God, we are to flip it away from our thinking. Just like in Pinball, when the ball comes near the drain at the bottom, we are to flip it away from us, when thoughts come to us that aren’t of God we are to flip those out of our thinking.

So when thoughts come to you and you begin to think that no one understands or cares about you, choose to flip those thoughts from your thinking. Don’t grab a hold of that thought or even entertain it. Kick it out of your thinking and you’ll see that you’ll quickly begin seeing results in the way you think.

 

How to Deal With Haters

Posted on November 20, 2013

Don’t you hate haters? They’re people in your life who will seemingly say or do anything to bash your dreams and goals. Their constant push of negativity can make you want to call it quits and give up.  So how do you deal with these haters in life?

  1. Realize haters will always exist. Unfortunately, there will always be people who will put you down and want to tear down your dreams, goals and ideas. These people will always exist, if you remove one from your life, another one will show up ready to spring into action. Realizing that there are always going to be people who aren’t going to like what you do, will help you deal with them and let what they say not affect you so much.
  2. Don’t fight haters with hate. You will never come out ahead in the long run if you try to tear down a hater with your words or actions. The best way to fight a hater is to fight them with the love of God. Its awesome because it will throw them completely off track. If you’re nice to them and show them kindness, before too long they’ll no longer be a hater or have bad things to say. In the end, you’ll find that fighting hate with love is the best way.
  3. Don’t let haters stop your dreams. Haters will always exist and sometimes its easy to let what they say stop your momentum. No matter what haters say, realize that you can’t let them dictate your future. Decide to turn a deaf ear to what they say and move forward towards your dreams and goals.

[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. – Romans 12:14 (Message)[/quote]

Unfortunately, haters will always exist. There will always be people who don’t like you for some reason, whether valid or not. The best thing you can do to fight haters is to show them God’s love. What do you think would happen if when someone said something mean to you, you showed up to their locker ten minutes later with a Pepsi for them, and wished them good luck on their math final? Do you think that might dispel the bad things they have to say about you? Maybe not right away, but eventually it would really get their attention and sink in.

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Tips to Make Setting Goals Easy

Posted on November 15, 2013

Devotion for teens on making goal setting easyDo you shudder at the thought of having to make goals? You might understand that goal setting is important, but how should you get started? Here are a few tips to make setting goals easy.

 

  • Pick Some Simple Goals – Part of the fun of setting goals is watching them come to pass in your life. One great way to get excited about setting goals is to set a few easy to accomplish goals. With a few wins under your belt, you’ll start getting pumped and want to set more goals.
    Setting some simple goals might be something very basic like going a whole week without forgetting to read your Bible. Or challenge yourself to learn that new piece of music for the band this weekend.
    Pick something simple, that you know that you can do, and challenge yourself to try getting it done. You’ll find it’s lots of fun when you do.
  • Reward Yourself – Goal setting is more fun when you give yourself rewards along the way. For example, if you have set a goal for saving money, give yourself a small reward when you reach the goal. It could be something simple like letting yourself download that song you really wanted off of iTunes. Whatever it is, giving yourself a reward helps motivate you to reach your goals.
  • Ask God’s Help in Goal Setting – Setting big life goals can be a bit scary. It’s difficult to know where to start or what your goals should be. Decide to get God involved in your goal setting. He can help you know which goals are important and what not to focus on. With God’s help, you’ll be able to set goals that are on track with His plan for your life.

 

These are just a few suggestions to help make goal setting easier. Goal setting can seem like a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end. Setting goals helps you to achieve more and will help you reach your dreams. In all goal setting though, be sure to ask for God’s help. Its important to get God involved in goal setting. God wants to see you accomplish big things with His help!

Listen: That’s How You Change The World by Newsboys

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3 Reasons To Not Make Goals

Posted on November 13, 2013

Youth Devotion on Making GoalsDo you ever get tired of people asking you what your goals or plans are after high school? Do you feel like you’re not sure how to respond? Or maybe you’re not even sure why or if you should make goals for the future. With that thinking in mind, here are three reasons that you should not make goals.

  1. You like where you’re at in life. If you’re pretty happy with where you’re at in life, if you don’t feel like you need to challenge yourself to become better, then there is no reason for you to make goals. Making goals for your life helps challenge you to move forward, so if you’re content with where you are, setting life goals isn’t for you.
  2. You don’t like growth. Goals will help challenge you to do more and be more in life. If you don’t desire to challenge yourself to grow, then setting goals is not for you.
  3. You don’t want to inspire others. When you set goals, it inspires other people around you. People will see that you’re striving to become more than ordinary and be inspired to set goals in their own lives. So, if you’re not into inspiring the people around you, then setting goals is not for you.

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (NKJV)

 

Setting goals is vital to success in your life. Without goals, you don’t have a benchmark to measure success or a goal to aim for. Goal setting isn’t always easy, but its a great way to ensure you accomplish more in your life. In fact, in the Bible, Paul even talked about having a goal in Philippians 3:14. Goals are important to God and to your future success. Don’t put off making goals but decide today to take action. Set some goals today to help launch you into future success.

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Reason #1 Why Jesus Is Better Than a Superhero

Posted on November 1, 2013

We’ve probably all got a superhero that we totally love. Whether its Superman, Spiderman, Captain America or Wolverine there’s probably one that stands out to you more than another. Superheroes are pretty awesome with all their love for helping people and superpowers, however, there is someone who puts all other superheroes to shame. His name is Jesus. So why is Jesus way better than a superhero? There’s like ten million reasons why Jesus is better than all other superheroes out there today, but one reason that Jesus is better than a superhero is that he was able to do what no one else could do. He was able to give us back the ability to have a relationship with God.

When God created Adam originally, God was able to talk to Adam. They were able to be friends and have a true relationship. There was nothing stopping them from talking. However, when Adam ate the fruit from the tree he wasn’t supposed to, his relationship with God got messed up. Adam felt ashamed and hid from God. From that point on, man was no longer to talk to God like he once had.

The good news is that Jesus came to the rescue. He did something that no one else could do. He bridged the gap that sin had made in each of our lives. He was able to bring us back to God.

This is great news! That means that if we accept Jesus as our savior, we can have an awesome relationship with God. We can be friends with God and talk to Him everyday like Adam did in the garden. Jesus kicks all other superhero’s tails because He paid the ultimate price to rescue us and let us have a relationship with God.

How to Deal With Mean People – Part 3

Posted on October 30, 2013

Mean people can make life really tough. Its especially hard when you’re at school dealing with them day everyday. When I was in middle school, I had to ride the bus to school everyday. Every morning there was a girl who rode the bus that was super mean. She picked on everybody. She’d make mean comments about almost everything somedays it felt like she was out to get everyone. There were days where I couldn’t wait for the bus ride to end so that I could get away from her and get some peace.

Lots of times when we’re dealing with mean people it can be hard to know what to do. You might think the right thing to do would be to do something mean back to them to teach them a lesson.

The Bible has lots to say on the subject of mean people. One powerful verse that deals with meanies is found in Matthew 5:43-44

[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]”You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer…” (Message)[/quote]
We might feel like the right thing to do is to get even or teach a mean person a lesson. However, the Bible says that we are to treat mean people better than that. It tells us we are to respond to a mean person by praying for them. This can be really hard. Its easier to want to give up on a mean person and avoid them or to hatch a plan to get back at them. The Bible states that we are to do the complete opposite. We are to respond by praying for them. We are to respond by doing all we can to help them.

This isn’t an easy thing to do, but begin praying for those who are mean to others. Start to ask God for ways to share His love with them. God may use you  to lead them to Christ. Be open to being used by God and pray for those who are mean to you.

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What Your School’s Cafeteria Can Teach You About Sharing Your Faith

Posted on October 25, 2013

School cafeterias are like an obstacle course. There are tons of tables to weave through, backpacks to avoid, flying food to dodge, and to top it all off, you have your hands full with your tray of food. Cafeterias are busy places. Each table is usually owned by a certain group. Sitting down at the wrong table can be a huge social mistake. You can be branded for your entire school career with one wrong move in the cafeteria.

youth devotion sharing your faithA school cafeteria has a set of written and unwritten rules. There are certain rules that might be posted on the wall. Things like throw away your trash and no food fights allowed. They probably have many un-written rules as well. Things like the third table on the left is always where the basketball team sits. You know that you don’t EVER sit down there if you’re not on the team.

The rules of your school cafeteria are a lot like some of the social rules in Jesus’ time. John 4 spills out the story of the Samaritan woman. In Jesus’ time there was an unwritten rule that you didn’t talk to Samaritans if you were a Jew like Jesus was. The Samaritans dressed weird, and as a Jew you wouldn’t EVER sit down and eat with them.

The Samaritan woman, take aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans) – John 4:9 (Message)

Jesus did something crazy here. He talked to a Samaritan woman about his faith. He shared with her the way to salvation through Him. For Jesus to do this it probably felt a little awkward. He had been taught that He wasn’t supposed to talk to Samaritans. Yet He stopped what He was doing, and showed her that He cared. He then was able to teach her about how He was the way to be saved and come into a relationship with God.

This story should challenge us. How many times do we not take the time to talk to someone because of what others might think. We don’t leave our circle of friends and step out. We many times don’t push beyond what feels comfortable and what is acceptable to help share the love of God with someone who is hurting.

Don’t let yourself become comfortable to only talk to those who are socially acceptable or those who sit at the right lunch table. God wants to use you to reach the people you go to school with. Ask God to show you who you can share your faith with this week!

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