Devotions for Teenagers and Youth

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 5:9

Posted on November 18, 2022

Have you had someone who didn’t do what you wanted them to do? How did you handle it? Did you blow up, give them a piece of your mind, and make sure they knew you weren’t happy with them?

For some of us, it can be really easy to lose our cool with others. Especially when they don’t do what you want them to do or make you mad. Let’s see what the Bible says about this.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. – Matthew 5:9 (NLT)

As children of God, we should be working for peace with others. That isn’t always possible, but as much as you can, you should try to live at peace with others. That might involve choosing to close your mouth when you want to yell back and give someone a piece of your mind. That isn’t always easy to do, but when we can, we should try to live at peace with others.

We should be living to show God’s love to the world around us. And yes, there are some people who simply try to stir up trouble, but for the most part, we can live our lives at peace with others, making sure that we walk in God’s love and show that love to the hurting world around us.

Today’s Truth: Choose to live at peace with others.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ecclesiastes 12:1

Posted on November 17, 2022

Have you ever thought, I’ll serve God when I get older? It can be tempting. The idea of doing whatever you want as a young person, and then living for God when you’re older can seem like a good one. However, the Bible advises against this.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them” – Ecclesiastes 12:1 (NIV)

The thing is, there’s not really a great time to start living for God. If you push it off until you’re older, then when will be old enough? At what point do you think, now I’m ready? If you’re like most people, you’ll keep pushing it off and pushing it off, and possibly never make that commitment.

Instead, why wait? Why put off making a decision for Christ? Decide that you’ll go all out for God. Let Him direct your paths and give you the peace and contentment that you desire. Don’t put off making the decision to live for God. Decide that today is a good day to live for Him.

Daily Devotional with Bible Verse – John 8:36

Posted on November 16, 2022

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. – John 8:36 (NLT)

When you commit your life to Jesus and He sets you free, you are truly free. That’s it, plain and simple. Jesus set you free from sin, fear of death, and your old life all by dying on the cross for you and being raised back up to life. That’s the good news of the gospel.

But here’s the thing, sometimes you may doubt if you are truly changed and free. You probably experience thoughts that tell you otherwise. However, when those thoughts come that cause you to doubt if something really happened, cast them down and say, “No, I’m a child of God. Jesus set me free and I’m free indeed.”

In Jesus you can know that your past is gone, your sins are completely removed and you are a new person in your spirit. You are truly free in Jesus.

Today’s Truth: I’m free in Jesus.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 26:11

Posted on November 15, 2022

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. – Proverbs 26:11 (NLT)

What do you do when you make a mistake? Do you let it stop you? Or do you learn from it and let it make you better?

In today’s Bible verse, we see that the Bible calls making a mistake and not learning from it foolishness. When you make a mistake, you have the opportunity to learn or you can let your mistakes stop you.

It’s up to you to choose how mistakes influence you.

Today’s Challenge: Do you let mistakes make you or break you?

You’re not always going to make the right choice. You might choose a college or career path that isn’t the right fit for you. Or you might make a dumb decision about how to spend your money.

But it’s what you do in those moments when you realize you made a bad choice that makes all the difference. You can choose to let a bad choice define you. You can become bitter, upset and a victim. Or you could choose to let that choice make you better.

So today, challenge yourself to learn from your mistakes. Choose to let your mistakes make you a better person!

Daily Devotional and Bible Verse – Jeremiah 29:13

Posted on November 14, 2022

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

If you’ve known about God already for some time, you might read this Bible verse and think, why would I need to find God? Even if you’ve had a great relationship with God, there is always much more that we can experience and learn about Him. He wants us to experience Him in a deeper way and know about His ways so that we can experience more of His love and goodness in our lives.

In order to really find God, this verse is saying that we must seek Him with all of our hearts. We can’t casually try to seek God a little here and there and expect to really find Him. We must dive in and seek Him with everything we have in order to really find Him and get to know Him.

This type of seeking doesn’t happen on a Sunday at church. This doesn’t even happen if you only open a Bible once a week. This happens when you lay aside other things and place all your focus on finding Him that you truly get a breakthrough.

It’s not that God is holding out on us and is only willing to reveal Himself to us if He sees we are seeking enough. This Bible verse is simply saying that our hearts were never designed to be able to focus on several things at once. We must choose to place our focus on one thing and that one thing alone to really get results.

Today, decide that you’re going to daily take time to seek the Lord. This verse assures us that when we do, we will find Him. You’ll never regret taking your time and focusing on the Lord.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Galatians 2:20

Posted on November 11, 2022

Have you ever been guilty of living your life the way you see is ok? Do you consult God when making a decision? Who calls the shots and makes the decisions in your life?

The answer to those questions tells you a lot about who you’re living your life for. When you begin to not include God in your life decisions, you’re choosing not to submit to God’s authority in your life.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus, we’re no longer living for ourselves. That isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to give up control to make decisions, and to not call all the shots. That means that there will be some things you can’t do, some places you can’t go as a Child of God. That’s because Christ lives in you. He created you, and He died for you. That means He knows you and has earned the right to call the shots in your life.

So today, if you haven’t submitted to God’s leading in your life, determine to change. Let God lead your desires, your actions, and your decisions. One of the best ways to get started doing this is to simply spend some time in the Bible. The more you read, the more you know what God wants and what His character is. Then it’s easier to let Him lead.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hosea 5:4

Posted on November 10, 2022

“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. – Hosea 5:4 (NIV)

It’s easy to let pride into your heart. Anytime you don’t do what God asks and choose your own path, you’re in pride. That means you’re choosing what’s right in your own eyes. The problem with this is that it starts you down a path that will lead you away from God.

Each time you choose to ignore God’s leading and do your own thing, you’re allowing your heart to get farther away from God. You might not want to admit it, but each decision like this that you make is one step in your heart away from God.

The more you do this, the farther your heart gets from God, and eventually, pride will lead you away from God. That’s why God speaks against pride so much in the Bible. He knows that when you choose to do your own thing, you begin to pull away from Him. Instead, He wants nothing more than for you to be close to Him.

Today, choose to make decisions that lead you closer to God. Each choice you make to obey God and the Bible is one that brings your heart closer to Him. God wants nothing more than for you to be in a close and loving relationship with Him.

Today’s Truth: Pride Leads You Away From God.

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – 2 Kings 5:11

Posted on November 9, 2022

I wanted people to like me so bad. So many times, I’d do or say whatever it would take to get people to laugh and think I was funny. It didn’t matter if I hurt someone’s feelings, I just wanted to make others like me. It’s easy to crave validation from others.

There was a guy like that in the Bible. His name was Naaman. (You can read the full account in 2 Kings 5)

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. – 2 Kings 5:11 (NIV)

Naaman wanted to be treated special. He was looking for validation from people, rather than looking to God for His answer. You can see this when he went to the king for help rather than to the prophet of God.

God wasn’t interested in what Naaman could do or what He’d done. God wanted His heart. He wanted Naaman to love Him and to humble himself. Once Naaman did that, He got the healing He was looking for.

The same can be true for us too. We can want to look to people for approval and validation. However, what we should be doing is humbling ourselves and looking to God. God is the one who will give us our value and who approves us. His approval is the one that should matter to us!

Today’s Truth: Get your validation from God

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Proverbs 16:18

Posted on November 8, 2022

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18 (NLT)

Have you ever not wanted any correction from your parents? I can recall times that I simply wished my parents would just stop correcting my behavior all the time. I’m sure you’ve probably felt like this at some point. But what I was really experiencing in these moments when I didn’t want correction was pride. I didn’t want anyone to tell me what to do or how to live.

In life we can sometimes get that way with God. We can begin to forget who God is, and how much He loves us and begin to think that all he’s doing is correcting us. We can begin to believe the lie that independence from God is a good thing.

The truth is, we really do need God. We need His guidance each and every day of our lives. The problem is, it’s humbling to admit that. It takes humility to admit that you don’t have it all together, or know all the answers. It’s not always easy to submit to God’s leading in our lives.

It can be easier to want to choose to walk your own path. Make your own choices, and do things in your own strength. However, true happiness comes from giving up control and thinking you’ve got this, and instead looking to God.

So today, determine to humble yourself. If you’ve been guilty of ignoring God and His leading in your life, determine to change. Decide today to let Him lead, and submit your thoughts, desires and emotions to Him, and choose His path for your life.

Today’s Truth: We need God.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – James 4:6

Posted on November 7, 2022

In middle school, there was a girl that always thought she was right. It was so much so, that she often would argue to prove how right she was. Sometimes, it was a little funny because what she was saying was incorrect some of the time. Maybe you’ve experienced someone like that. A person who always thinks they’re right, even if they’re not.

A person that is unwilling to be corrected usually deals with a lot of pride. Pride is defined as satisfaction in oneself. (Merriam Webster). If we put all our confidence in ourselves, and in what we can do in our own strength, then we aren’t relying on God.

And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6 (NIV)

Pride isn’t a trait that God likes. Proud people are unwilling to be corrected. They also don’t want to submit their lives to God and the Bible. That isn’t a good way to live. Pride doesn’t lead to good things.

If we’re going to be people that live for God, we’ve got to determine to not let pride run our lives. Instead, we should humble ourselves and let God lead in our life. We have to submit our desires and plans to God and the Bible, and let Him lead.

Today’s Truth: Let God Lead in Your Life

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