Browsing Tag

character

Why You Shouldn’t Compromise, Even in the Smallest Ways

Posted on November 18, 2019

Teen Devotion on Compromise

It can be really easy to begin to compromise. Many times, you don’t even realize that you’ve compromised in an area. Compromises can happen in big areas of your life, but they also happen in the smaller ones too.

Usually, compromise happens in small things. You wouldn’t probably go out and kill someone because that would be really WRONG. But you might tell a lie or cheat on your homework. It’s easy to justify small compromises.

If left unchecked, small compromises will eventually lead you down a path that you never intended.

Those small compromises can easily grow and before you realize it, you’re compromising in bigger areas too. Do you tell a lie to look better to others? Perhaps you decide to go to a party that you know your parents wouldn’t approve of. Do you date that guy in math class that is really cute, but who you know isn’t a good influence? Each day these small decisions that you make set the tone and direction for your life.

Read: How to Make Better Decisions

Small Choices Matter

Those small choices have gotten you to where you are at so far. Do you like the person you’ve become? Do you make godly choices even in the small things? Have you begun to compromise your beliefs?

The good news is that if you have been compromising, Jesus offers us forgiveness and a fresh start. You can stop compromising and begin living a life full of character.

But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. – 1 Jn 1:9 (CEB) 

You Can Choose to Not Compromise

He’s ready to pick you up and help you get started on the right track. You can choose to make good decisions every day. Even though it isn’t always easy to choose to not compromise what you believe, you will be really glad that you made the choice to follow God and not compromise…even in the smallest areas!

Read More: 5 Devotions to Build Character

How Do You Break Free From Compromise?

One of the best ways to break free from compromise is to spend more time with God. Instead of watching Netflix until late at night, switch that for some Bible time. If you don’t like to read, watch a Biblically solid preacher on YouTube or listen to Bible verses being read to you.

To break free from compromise you’ve got to really get into God.

“If you love me, obey my commandments. – John 14:15 (NLT)

It’s so much easier to stay free from compromise when you’re into God. If you really seek God, you’ll find that you don’t want to compromise. You find that you just want to get to know God more.

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The more you get into God, the less fun the compromise is. So if you’ve struggled with compromise, determine to make changes in your life. Choose to take a look at the books you’ve been reading, the friends you’ve been hanging out with, and the things you’ve been watching. Ask God to show you what to say no to so that you can say yes to Him!

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. – Proverbs 8:7 (NIV)

Youth Group Discussion Questions

If this devotion has challenged you to ditch compromise and walk into the plan God has for your life, grab some friends or your youth group and do a study on compromise. We’ve got some discussion questions already made up. Just print them off and show up and see what God does in your group!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – James 1:3

Posted on January 21, 2019

Devotion on being patient

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. – James 1:3 (KJ 2000 Bible)

If we’re honest, we all hate being patient. Have you ever prayed and asked God for something and then you had to be patient and wait until you got the results you prayed for?

A lot of times, we are impatient because we haven’t seen the results we wanted to see in our lives yet. We often move too early or stop too soon because we weren’t patient. Being patient is tough and it requires a lot of trust in God. It doesn’t come to us naturally, it’s something we have to work on.

However, it’s often in difficulty that we get to develop patience. When things are tough, we often want to move God or help God out to get quicker results. However, it’s when we truly trust God and are patient that we see good results.

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So today, if there’s something that you’ve prayed for but haven’t seen yet, don’t be discouraged. Look at it as an opportunity to develop patience in your life. Realize that God hasn’t forgotten you or let you down, it just takes some time to see the results you prayed for. Don’t give up or quit too soon, but patiently trust God knowing that He will come through for you.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – November 20

Posted on November 20, 2018

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion on Doing the right thing, standing up for what you believe

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. – Daniel 6:10

Have you ever had someone give you a hard time because you were a Christian? Perhaps a teacher at school told you to not share Jesus, or a friend called you closed minded for believing in Christ. What do you do when someone gives you a hard time and challenges your beliefs?

Today’s Bible verse shows us a lot about what to do when your beliefs are challenged. Daniel faced a tough situation. He had a job but the people he worked with wanted to get him in trouble because he was successful. They made it illegal for him to worship God. In that moment, Daniel faced a choice. Would he stand up for what he believed, or just stay quiet and give in to pressure? If he stayed quiet, and stopped worshiping God nothing would happen to him. However, Daniel made the choice to obey God.

He stood up for what he believed in. That’s what we see in today’s verse. He went home, and prayed with his windows open, for everyone to see. They could tell that he wasn’t going to stay quiet about what he believed.

Challenge yourself today to be like Daniel and not let anything come in the way of you worshiping God or standing up for what you believe. Determine to do what Daniel did in today’s Bible verse and stand up for your faith.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – January 5

Posted on January 5, 2018

Today's Bible Verse and Devotion

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. – 2 Cor 5:15

One really important question to ask yourself is “who am I living for?” Where do you spend the majority of your time? Is it checking out the latest pictures posted on Instagram? Reading your favorite book? How you spend your time shows you a lot about who you’re living for.

In today’s Bible verse, it talks about no longer living for yourselves, but living for Christ. Living for yourself is easy and it comes naturally. No one has to teach you to live for yourself, it just happens automatically. Living for Jesus, however, takes some effort.

It takes putting aside the things that might be good, but distract you from spending time with God. It means standing up for the things that matter to God rather than being silent. Living for God takes effort and takes you standing up and going against the flow of everyone else around you.

Living for God, however, brings great rewards to you. By living for God, you get to skip a lot of the heartbreak that comes from not doing things God’s way. You also get to enjoy a close and deep relationship with God. Living for God is one of the best decisions you can make. Decide this year that you’re going to make a change and begin living for God!

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4 Truths About Habits

Posted on November 6, 2017

Teen Devotion About HabitsAs a teenager, you might not really think about your habits much. But, you probably have tons of habits. You might have a habit of getting up in the morning a certain way. Or a habit of eating something a certain way.

I have this crazy habit of eating Nutter Butter cookies. I take two cookies, open each cookie sandwich up, and scrape out the peanut butter. I then re-stack the cookie using only two of the four cookies and all of the peanut butter filling. This makes a mountain of a cookie with lots of good peanut butter filling. Its so good!

Sometimes, habits can be weird, like how I eat Nutter Butter cookies. Other habits are boring and some habits are good and others are bad. Regardless of how habits are characterized, let’s look at a few things that habits have in common.

Truth One – Habits are Hard to Break.

Habits can be really hard to break, especially if you’ve been doing them for a long time. Maybe you have a habit of cracking your knuckles and it drives your mom crazy. So you try really hard to quit, but it seems like you always forget and crack them anyway. Habits are tough to break. Over time, they’ve become a part of who you are and it makes it much harder to break them when you find a bad one.

A bad habit never disappears miraculously. It’s an undo-it-yourself project.  – Abigail Van Buren

Have you ever had a habit that was really hard to break?

To break a habit, it takes a lot of hard work, but if you decide to do it and are determined, you can break any habit. Also, don’t discount God’s help in breaking a habit. Ask God for wisdom and he’ll show you creative ways you can break your habit.

The more bad habits you kick when you’re young, the freer and more fun you’ll have as you get older. Don’t waste any time, start working on those bad habits today!

Truth Two – Habits are hard work

Good habits don’t just appear in your life. As awesome as that would be, habits don’t just show up in your life. You’ve got to choose to work on the habits you’d like to have.

If you want to be more generous, you’ve got to spend time working on generosity. If you want to be more patient, you’ve got to practice patience in your life. A good way to do this, is to find some verses in the Bible that deal with the habit you’d like to see in your life. Read the verses and say the verses out loud daily, and put a copy of the verse in your locker at school or mirror at home. Getting God’s word into your heart is a good way to develop good habits.

Another practical thing you can do is to find some resources to develop the habit in your life. Perhaps your library has a book on your habit, or you can spend some time searching online to find tips to develop the habit. You can gain a lot of insight by simply looking for resources designed to help you develop good habits.

Regardless of how you develop the new habit, you need to realize that good habits aren’t going to just show up in your life. Just like an athlete has to practice hard to become good at their sport, you’ve got to spend time practicing and developing good habits in your life. Good habits don’t happen by chance, rather they’re developed through hard work and discipline.

Truth Three – Habits  determine your destination.

Just because you want to get a certain level of success in life doesn’t mean that it will happen. Just desiring something will never get you to where you want to go. Your destination in life is determined each day by the habits you keep.

Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, and at last we cannot break it. -Horace Mann

You’ve got to put in work to get to where you want to go in life. High achievement doesn’t happen automatically. You’ve got to put some time in to developing habits that will help you reach the destination you desire in life.

If you want to do well in sports there are certain habits you must develop to get you there. If you never show up for practice and don’t eat right, you’ll never achieve as much as those who do. To be good at something, you’ve got to develop the habits you need for success.

This is why its so important to develop good habits while you’re young. As you get older, habits become harder to break. It also becomes harder to reach your destination. Choose to develop habits that will help you reach your goals.

Habits help you reach your dreams.

If you have a dream of becoming a musician, then begin to develop good habits of practicing music. If you want to be a writer, begin writing a little bit every night before you go to bed. Whatever it is that you dream of doing, the habits you work on now matter. They will take you toward your dreams or away from them.

People ruin their lives with the foolish things they do, and then they blame theLord for it.  – Proverbs 19:3 (ERV)

Habits are really important. So choose today to make good habits in your life. Choose to not let life just pass you by, but rather put in the effort to develop good habits today.

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Similar Youth Devotions

If you’d like to discuss this devotion with your youth group, we’ve got a PDF handout of discussion questions ready for you. Click below to add to cart.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – October 9

Posted on October 9, 2017

Daily Bible Verse

Even a young man is known by his actions – if his behavior is pure and upright. – Proverbs 20:11

How are your actions? Its easy to say the ‘right thing’ when you’re around your parents or at church. But what’s the real you like? How do you act when no one is around? Do you slack off? Do you only do the minimum of what is expected? How you act when no one is looking shows your true character.

Your actions are what you’re known by, so if your actions aren’t uplifting and helping others, decide today to make any changes that are necessary. Its not always easy to change, but its always worth it. Its worth it to put the effort in to be a person of character. Choose to not compromise, even in the smallest area. Be a person of excellence and always do your best. Its the small choices you make every day that will set you apart from others. Choose to be someone who is known by good actions!

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Pray: Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I ask you to show me if there are things I’m doing that aren’t uplifting and helping others. I desire to be a person that is pure and upright. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

No One Likes Eating by Themselves

Posted on October 24, 2016

Youth and Teen Devotion

Have you ever gone to meet people at a restaurant and you ended up getting there before anyone else arrived? Or even worse, have you ever had to eat somewhere completely by yourself? It sure isn’t fun.

There’s a story in the Bible where God invited tons of people to have supper with Him in Luke 14. This story shows us that God paid a huge price for us to be with Him and invite others to come too.

You might have been saved for a long time. You might now have christian friends and hang out at places where others share similar values as you. In one sense, that is great. It’s nice to have wholesome places where you can be yourself as a christian and not be nervous to talk about God. But in another sense you can become isolated from others who still need to know God. Its easy to get so comfortable hanging out with others who love God that you forget there are people all around your city who are hungry for Jesus, they just haven’t had a chance to hear about Him.

That’s what this story about the supper is all about. There was an invitation to come to the great supper but many who were invited made excuses to not come. Some of the excuses were buying land, having oxen, and getting married. Today’s excuses might be, I’ve got a new video game to play, or a new girlfriend to hang out with, or that I’m too busy learning lines for the school play. There is nothing wrong with any of those things, except when those things get in the way of doing what God asks.

You might feel like your friends that don’t know God could care less about Him. And while that might be true for some, most of your friends are hungry for God. They’re just hiding it underneath a lot of hurt. Your friends are hungry for God and if you asked them to go to church with you, they’d probably say yes.

To step out and ask a friend to go with you to church is not comfortable. However, it might be their chance to hear about Jesus for the first time. Your flesh (emotions and often how you feel) doesn’t want to step outside of your safety net of christian friends. But, if you are born again and know Jesus as Your Savior, you have another part of you (your Spirit). This new part of you does care about others who do not know God. It wants to be bold and often is nudging you on the inside to step out and do things to help others experience Gods love.

Make the decision to be open to be used by God. Invite people who do not know Jesus into your life. You might not know how God will do it, or you might not know what to say but the first step is simply being willing. Then the second step is to simply pray that God would help you step out. He might put a specific person on your heart. You might not think they are hungry by the way they act but God knows. If He put them on your heart, you know if you step out that something special will happen.

Right now if you are willing and ready to reach out to the unsaved hurting hungry people around you, pray this: “God, I’m thankful for the things You’ve done in my life. I know that You also love others around me that have never heard or experienced You like I have. God, show me who those are around me that are hungry for you and give me the courage to invite them into my life. Give me the courage to invite them to my church. God, I believe that you will use me. Amen.”

Similar Teen Devotions

How To Deal – Tips For Dealing With Tough Times

Posted on August 29, 2016

Youth Leader Resource, Lesson Outline on Tough Times

Tough times are hard on us all. Whether a tough time comes from the passing of a loved one, a low grade on your history final, not making the softball team, or some other source, tough times can really weigh on you. Many times, it’s hard to know how to deal with tough times. You might feel like you don’t know how to respond, or want to blame God for the tough time you’re facing.

Where do tough times come from?

Let’s take a look at where tough times come from. Many people try to blame God for tough times. If a person you love dies, often people will say, God took them, or that God needed another angel in heaven. When you’re going through a difficult situation you might have someone tell you that God is using that situation to teach you a lesson. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about difficult situations.

No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. – James 1:13 (HCSB)

This verse shows us that God isn’t sending a trial or a tough time to you to test you. God isn’t to blame for the difficulty you’re facing. He isn’t testing you or trying to teach you a lesson. God is good.

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. – James 1:17 (NLT)

This verse shows us that God sends us good things. He’s not out there ready to strike down a loved one with cancer. He’s only got good gifts and things to give to you. So when tough times come, realize that God isn’t the source of your trial.

Your outlook is key in tough times

Your attitude and outlook makes a huge difference when you’re faced with a tough time. You can choose how you will respond to difficulties in your life. Your response makes a huge impact on how you handle difficulty. You can choose to be defeated or upbeat about the difficulties that come your way.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. – Romans 8:37

Paul is an awesome example of this. He faced lots of crazy stuff in his life. He was shipwrecked, beaten, left for dead, and put in prison. Despite all the hard things that happened in his life, he kept a good attitude. He chose to put his trust in God and keep a positive attitude in the midst of tough times.

Paul’s example should challenge us when we face tough times. Regardless of what is going on around us, we can take comfort in the fact that God never leaves us and isn’t the source of tough times. We can go to God in tough times and let Him be our shelter and our refuge.

Choose to look to God for His strength in difficulty. Remember that with God on your side you can’t be defeated. Keep a good attitude and know that God will help you through the difficulty you’re facing!

If you’re a youth leader and you liked this lesson, you can download a youth group lesson outline and powerpoint based on this devotion to share with your youth group in our online resource center.

What to Do When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like You Planned

Posted on October 5, 2015

Teen devotion on how to Handle Life's DisappointmentsIt happens at some point in all of our lives. Something unexpected happens. It’s nothing you planned on. Things are no longer the same, and what once felt solid is no more. Life has thrown us a curve ball. It might be the divorce of our parents. It could be something at school. Whatever it is, sometimes its hard to know what to do.

So what do you do when life throws you something unexpected? What do you do when it feels like your family is falling a part around you? Where do you turn when it feels like there is nothing left for you to do? Here’s a few things I learned when going through a really hard time in life a few years ago.

1. Don’t let your relationship with God fall between the cracks. It can be really easy to want to let this happen. You might not understand why this is happening to you. It can be easy in times like these to let go of your relationship with God. You might want to blame God, or just not feel close to him in though times. The thing to remember is that God is not the source of the bad things that happen to you. Don’t let a rough time in life steal your relationship with God.
Your relationship with God is what will get you through the tough times. It can be your foundation when it feels like the world is falling apart around you. Choose to stay close to God and rely on Him in tough times.

2. Don’t Take It Out On Others. It can be easy when you feel upset to want to take it out on other people. Maybe you are hurt and angry and want to yell at everyone who talks to you. However, taking it out on other people is never the answer. You will ultimately drive people who love you and care about you away if you begin to take it out on them. These people can be your support when times are tough.

3. Learn from it. As much as life’s tough times stink, you can use tough times to learn. You may be able to help out someone in the future who is going through what you are facing. You can be an encouragement to others who are going through tough times by learning from those tough times.
Tough times also show you a lot about yourself. You may find that you don’t have the character you thought you did because you came unglued in a tough time. You may learn that you have some areas in your life that you need to work on. Tough times are a good indicator of character.
4. Look up. When life doesn’t go the way you wanted, know that you can look up. Jesus is your answer to life’s problems. He understands what you’re going through completely. He can be your anchor in the midst of life’s storms.

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. – Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)

When life doesn’t go the way you wanted it to, its never easy. The good thing to remember is that you’re not alone. You’ve got Jesus on your side. Don’t forget to lean on him in tough times and in good times!

5 Reasons Choices Help Make You Successful

Posted on August 12, 2015

5 Reasons Choices Make You Successful Devotion for TeensChoices are something we all have to face at times in our lives. We have small decisions like what to wear or what to eat. We also face bigger decisions as well. We may have to choose to stand up for what you believe in or remain silent to avoid criticism. Choices are a part of our daily life, and becoming better at making choices will help you be successful in everything you do. So with that in mind, here are five reasons choices will help make you successful.

  1. Little choices make a big difference.

    Its easy to overlook little choices and think they really don’t matter. For example, practicing your sport a few extra minutes a night doesn’t seem like a big deal, but over time, it can make a huge difference in how you play. Little choices don’t always appear to be a big deal, but they are. How you handle the little choices will determine how you handle the bigger choices.

  2. God gave you the freedom to choose.

    God gave mankind the ability to make their own decisions. We all have the freedom to choose our actions, our thoughts and the course our life takes. Getting God involved with your decisions and choosing godly things will always make you a success.

    “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  – Deut 30:19 (NLT)

  3. When you don’t choose, you’re making a choice.

    Many times it can feel easier when faced with a difficult decision to not make a choice. However, when you do that, you are still making a choice. You’re just choosing not to do anything. Life is full of difficult choices, so begin learning how to make them now. Don’t let your life slip away in indecision.

  4. Each Choice has a consequence.

    When we hear the word consequence we automatically think that its something bad. However, consequences can be good too. Each choice you make has a consequence, but that doesn’t mean that making choices is bad. For example, if you choose to work a job, a consequence of that choice is getting a paycheck for the hours you worked. In this case, the consequence isn’t a bad one.

  5. Choices need to be intentional.

    You’ve got to live intentionally. You will never accomplish the dreams that God has placed in your heart without getting intentional about them. You’ve got to choose to make good choices everyday that will propel you forward toward your dreams.

The choices you make each day set the pace and the direction for your life. Choose to be intentional about each decision you make. Is that decision pushing you closer to God  and His plan for your life? If it isn’t, then the choice isn’t a good one. Choosing God and His plan for your life will always help you become successful!