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devotion

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – July 3

Posted on July 3, 2015

Daily Bible Verse For Teens and YOuth Devotion

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
 – 2 Chronicles 16:9

Have you committed your heart fully to God? Most of us have parts of our hearts that are committed, but if we were honest, there’s probably a few areas that we haven’t committed yet to Him. Maybe you’ve not committed your money to God and aren’t involved in giving to your church. Maybe you’re not committed in your dating and don’t feel like you can trust God to bring someone into your life.

Choose today to fully commit your heart to God. Don’t let any area hold you back from being fully sold out to the things of God. Instead choose to do what this Bible verse says and commit your heart fully to God.

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Help! No One Gets Me

Posted on May 13, 2015

Teen Devotion on Being Mis understood, no one getting youDo you ever have times when you feel like no one understands you? Or maybe that those closest to you don’t really get you? It can be really hard to know what to do when you feel like those close to you don’t get you, don’t listen, or maybe don’t take your concerns seriously.

Even though sometimes your family or friends may not understand, Jesus does. The Bible describes it like this:

“For we do not have a high Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a fellow feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.” – Hebrews 4:15

The next verse says this: Heb 4:16 – “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

In other words, Jesus not only understands, He also has help for you to also beat the temptation and overcome every trouble. We are  told to boldly come (because you’re His child) to the throne of grace and obtain or receive the mercy (that’s the help when we mess up) and the grace (that’s the strength to overcome) in time of need (that covers everything).

So when you feel like no one understands or is there to help you through a tough time, remember that Jesus is there for you. He understands and will always listen to you and have your back. Go to Him when you need help and someone to get you. He’s always ready to help you out.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you that you really understand what I’m going through. I’m glad You are my friend during this time. I come to your throne of grace and ask you to give me the help I need to overcome this situation and the strength to whip this temptation. I receive it and believe it’s mine. Thank You Jesus!

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Why What You Speak Matters

Posted on April 13, 2015

Devotion on the Power of Words

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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How to Be Used by God

Posted on March 30, 2015

Devotion - How To Be Used By God

 

No matter who you are or how old you are, God can use you. In fact, God wants to use you. Yes, you read that right, God wants to use you. God wants to use you because you’ve got something to share with the world.

See when God does something for you, you suddenly have a story to tell that can encourage others. Or if you’ve learned something cool about God you can share that with others.

The secret to being used by God is to be willing. I recently ran into a girl I used to work with. She shared that her mom is really sick. I was able to tell her that God healed me of asthma when I was a kid. I was able to pray with her about her mom. When I prayed with this girl I didn’t get really loud or do anything weird. I even asked her if it was okay before I started praying.

Just like God used me, God wants to use you as well. There are so many people around us that need us to step out and be God’s hands and feet. If we are listening inside in our hearts for God’s voice, we can often hear him say things like: “I think you should go ahead and pray for her or him”.

Stepping out doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes people are not open to God and what you have to say. But, as you step out and try, you will often be amazed at what God can do through you. Then you walk away with a cool feeling knowing God has been working through you.

So be willing to be used by God. Look for opportunities that He places in your life each day and step out and see what God will do through you!

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Other Teen Devotions

3 Tips for Smarter Dating

Posted on July 2, 2014

Tips for Smarter Dating

Dating.  It’s a loaded word.  Some people hate the word because it brings thoughts of broken relationships and rejection.  For others, dating is an exciting and fun adventure to explore. Regardless of how you feel about dating, here are some principles that will help you become smarter in dating.

  1. High School relationships don’t last – Almost all high school relationships end in breaking up.  That can be a depressing reality, or it can be something that empowers you.  If you realize that more than likely the person you’re dating right now you won’t marry and will most likely break up with, it can free you to not take the relationship so seriously.
    You can be free to get to know someone of the opposite sex, but without putting tons of pressure on yourself to take the relationship too seriously.
  2. Keep your friends – This mistake is made all the time.  People in dating relationships often become so engrossed in another person they forget to keep other friendships.  This isn’t healthy.  You need a variety of relationships to keep you centered and grounded.  Also, if the relationship you’re end probably won’t last, its good to keep your friends so you have someone to hang with when your relationship ends.
  3. Stay close to God – Don’t become so engrossed in another person that you forget to spend time with God.  Your relationship with God is the most important relationship in your life.  Don’t let it fall to the wayside.

Remember, don’t take dating relationships too seriously.  Be sure in any relationship to not shut out the other relationships in your life.  Long after your dating relationship ends relationships with your friends, family and God will see you through.

Learn More About Godly Relationships

This is our simple five day devotional on relationships. Check it out and challenge yourself to pursue Godly relationships!

What Mountain Dew Can Teach You About Life

Posted on December 11, 2013

Mountain Dew is a really popular drink which tastes amazing! Even though Mountain Dew tastes so good, it doesn’t really offer any nutritional value. For example, drinking a bottle of Mountain Dew every day won’t help you become a better athlete. However, drinking a sports drink could help because they are specially designed to help athletes. It’s the ingredients that make up those sports drinks that make the difference.

That’s true in life too. It’s the ingredients or tools that we build our lives on that matter. It’s those ingredients that we build our lives upon that determine our success. Jesus talks about this in Matthew.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27 NLT)

So what are you building your life on? Are you building your life on Jesus? If you do, your foundation in life will be secure and unshakeable. If you haven’t made Jesus the foundation of your life choose to start today. Put Jesus first and you’ll be really glad you did.

Three Truths on Giving

Posted on September 27, 2013

Youth Devotion on Giving

The principle of giving is something that works. I’ve seen many people get blessed when they plugged into the principles of giving that are found in the word of God. Beginning to give as a teenager can set into motion great blessings that will set you up to be blessed throughout your lifetime.

 

  • Your giving isn’t limited to money – if you don’t have any money to give, you don’t need to feel bad. There are other ways you can begin to get in the habit of giving.  One major thing you can do is to give time. More than likely your youth group or church could use you to volunteer. Ask a youth leader or someone at your church for ways you can help out.
    “But Peter said, “I don’t have any money for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” ” – Acts 3:6 (NLT)
    Regardless of whether you have money or not, you have something you can give to the people around you. It may be as simple as giving a smile or listening to a friend that is down, but you like Peter have something to give.
  • Giving should be a goal today – Make it a goal to begin the habit of giving to others today.  Don’t wait until someday when you have lots of money, begin now using what you have. Giving to others brings big rewards.
    “If you are really eager to give, it isn’t important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don’t have.”  – 2 Cor 8:12 – (NLT)
    If you wait to give until you think you “have enough” you’ll never begin to give. Start today by giving what you have, and you’ll set up great habits for the future.
  • Giving will bring you great rewards – Giving will bring great rewards into your life.  When you get in the habit of giving, you’ll find that you’re continually getting more and more blessed.
    “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you.” – Luke 6:38 (NLT)
    Giving will bring blessings into your life that you never imagined. When God encourages us to give, he isn’t asking us to take things from us, instead he is trying to get more to us.

 

So whether you have lots of money, or very little money, giving is something that you can start to do today.  When you put the principles of giving into motion, you can set yourself up for bigger blessings in the future.

Check out the song Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets to encourage yourself today.

Why The Old Testament Is Cool

Posted on August 7, 2013

youth-devotion-old-testament

It can be easy to skip over reading the Old Testament. It has like a million books, plus it can’t be cool because its got the name old in it, right?

Well, the Old Testament does have some pretty awesome things to offer, so check out our list of reasons why the Old Testament is still cool in our book:

  1. The Old Testament is what the New Testament is built on. – There are tons of quotes in the New Testament that link back to the Old. Plus, reading the Old Testament helps us understand what the New has to offer.
  2. Jesus Liked It – If Jesus used it, we can use it too. The New Testament wasn’t written when Jesus was on earth, so He used the Old Testament. In my book, if its good enough for the son of God, its probably good enough for us too.
  3. The Old Testament shows us Jesus and New Testament truths – The Old Testament shows us why we needed Jesus. It also shows us lots of great truths that help us understand the New Testament better.
  4. The stories are pretty sweet – Some of the stories in the Old Testament are just plain sweet! David killing a giant, the walls of Jericho falling down, and lots more. These stories are incredible and show us how great our God really is.

There are tons of reasons why the Old Testament is still cool. We’ve just threw out a few that we liked. When reading the Bible, make sure you take some time to read the Old Testament too. It can be a huge help to your relationship with God.

Similar Devotions for Teens

Upgrading Your Time With God

Posted on July 20, 2013

Devotion for Teens - How to improve quiet time with GodHave you ever had to upgrade an operating system or app on your iPod or maybe your phone? When you are asked to upgrade, its usually because there have been changes made to the phone or iPod to make it better. Often new features have been added or a bug has been fixed on the app. Upgrading your phone or iPod is an important thing to do to make it work better and for you to enjoy it more.

Just like its important to upgrade your phone or iPod, its important to upgrade your time spent hanging out with God. As a teenager, its easy sometimes to not know where to begin when spending time reading your Bible or praying. Or maybe you already spend time with God, but you’d just like to upgrade what you’re already doing. This devotion for teens has you covered.

Here are our tips for upgrading your quiet time with God.

  1. Just do it. Some times when you read the Bible, it will feel like God is really speaking to you and you’ll have goosebumps and get really excited. Other times your time with God will feel dull and you’d rather be talking to others on Facebook. The key here is not to worry about whether your quiet time with God feels inspired or not. What’s important is that you make a habit out of getting to know God and talking to Him. Just set aside some time each day to spend with God. As you make it a habit, you’ll find that you really get more out of your quiet times.
  2. Read books other than the Bible. Sometimes picking up a book about Jesus or a Bible topic that interests you is a great way to upgrade your quiet time. There are lots of devotional books out there that are written for teenagers. Find one that looks interesting to you and start reading. You can learn a lot about God and upgrade your quiet time by reading a book geared to teens.
  3. Use a commentary. The word commentary might sound like a foreign word to you, but finding a good commentary will help you upgrade your devotion time with God. Commentaries will help you understand the verses you’re reading in the Bible better and help you see things you might have missed. There are several apps for your phone or iPod that come with commentaries, or you can try to find one online.

These are just a few tips to help you as a teen upgrade your time with God. Spending time with God is one of the best things you can do. Start today making your time with God a priority in your life and you’ll come to know God in a fresh and new way!

 

What Text Messages Can Teach Us About Creation

Posted on May 27, 2013

Most of us would agree that the story of creation is a pretty neat one. But what does that story have to do with our everyday lives? Its neat that God created man, trees, animals and tons of great stuff for us to enjoy. But how does that impact our daily lives?

Here’s a few reasons why the creation story has power in your day to day life:

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  • It shows us that we are created as a reflection of God. (Gen 1:26-27) – God created us with a special plan in mind. We have a spirit and can fellowship with God. Its kind of like we’ve got God’s phone number and can send him a text whenever we want. We’re able to be in constant contact and talk to Him all the time. We’re able to get His ideas and thoughts as we live out our lives each day.
  • We see that we choose our own fate –  God didn’t create a bunch of clones or robots. He created us to be able to choose to talk to Him. Its like we have God’s number and are able to send Him a text any time we want to hear what He is saying to us. Its just up to us to choose to take advantage of having his number. You can either talk to Him and make His words important in your life or not. Its up to you. You choose to follow God, just like Adam chose.
  • Adam messed up, but God had a plan. – Even though Adam messed up in the garden by not choosing to obey God, God had a plan. He was getting ready to send His son Jesus into the world. God’s plan for getting mankind out of the mess we were in runs throughout the Bible. God has a plan for us to give us a way to be able to talk to Him.

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The creation story has more to show us that what we see on the surface. Its easy to just see the stuff being created and not realize there is a story and plan behind it. Knowing that plan will help us live lives that take advantage of what God intended, friendship with Him. Its also good to remember that talking to God is just as easy as sending a text to a friend. We can communicate directly to God because we were made in the image of God. Just like you can send a friend a text message, at any time you can talk to God at anytime. Its awesome to know that God wants to talk to us!