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devotions

How To Deal With A Break-up

Posted on August 16, 2013

Breaking up will happen to you. Plain and simple. Sometimes breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend really hurts. Other times, a break up might feel like such a sweet relief.

Part of being in a relationship with the opposite sex is learning how to deal with a break-up. Because let’s face it, unless you end up marrying the person you’re dating, you’re going to break up with them. So with that in mind, here are some tips for dealing with a break-up.

1. Determine your basis for your self-esteem – This is an important thing to think about. If your worth comes from who your friends are, who you’re dating, or any other person, your break-up is going to hurt more. There is not a single person who can love you enough to fill your heart or heal your hurts. At some point people will let you down. So, where should our worth come from?

Worth should be based on what God says about us, not what we feel, not what others do or say to us. Reading Psalm 139 is a great place to start when determining a foundation for your self-esteem.

2. What you put in determines the level of hurt on the way out – if you invest everything into a relationship, your money, your body, your time, your emotions, you’d better believe it will hurt when the relationship ends. Girls especially, until your wedding day, you need to be guarding your heart, your body and your emotions. Don’t give those things away freely like so many do. Until you have said your vows, there is a large chance that this relationship will break off and you not be with the person you’re dating. My advice to you is this…don’t give it all away. It is not worth it. What you put into a relationship will determine how much it hurts when it ends.

3. Realize your relationship is temporary – Around 99% of high school relationships don’t end in marriage. What does this mean? It means that you’re going to get dumped. So don’t take your relationship too seriously. Don’t tell that person you love them. Don’t have sex with them. Don’t ignore all other relationships because of them. See the relationship for what it is…it is temporary. Relationships are good to get to know people of the opposite sex and find out what types of people you would like in a future marriage partner. However, its more than likely going to end, so don’t invest too much into a relationship.

4. Ask God to heal you – Maybe you’ve been really hurt by someone in this break-up process. No matter what, relationships do hurt when they end, that’s just a fact of life. Ask God to heal you where you’re hurting. Ask for his wisdom and help with healing your heart after a relationship that has ended. He is able to help heal you when no one else can.

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Prayer Tip #2 – Don’t Pray Alone

Posted on August 14, 2013

Getting started praying can be tough at times. You might not feel like you know what to say to God or just feel a little silly praying in general. One way to make praying easier is to ask someone else to join your prayer time. The Bible gives us an example of this in Matthew.

When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. – Matthew 18:19 (Message)

This verse says God goes into action when we come together to pray. That’s exciting to think about, and shows us there is power when we come together to pray. The Bible shows us there is something special when people find a promise in the Bible and pray it out together.

When praying with someone, be careful to not pray alone with someone of the opposite sex. Prayer is a really cool thing, but praying alone with someone of the opposite sex can lead to some intense emotions and feelings. Rather than doing something you might later regret, avoid praying alone with the opposite sex.

Prayer is an awesome thing. So freshen up your prayer life by finding a good friend or mentor in your church or youth group that you can get together to pray with. The Bible says that God goes into action when we pray together.

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Upgrading Your Time With God

Posted on July 20, 2013

Have 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.

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.
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.
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!

How To Be a Nerd (Success at School)

Posted on May 29, 2013

You might really be questioning our sanity here at Student Devos by this post. How to be a nerd? Why would you want to be a nerd in the first place? Nerds are not cool, unless you’re talking about the candy. Then by all means be a nerd.

Being a nerd might not be your goal in life, but we do have some tips that might help you out with your school work. It probably wont make you a hardcore nerd, but at least it might help you out a little with your school work and grades.

Here’s our top 3 tips to nerdy bliss:

#1 – Show up. Yep. Not exactly groundbreaking there, but simply showing up for class every day will help improve your grades. Not only showing up physically(body in the seat) but show up mentally(mind there, listening to the teacher). Showing up every day is the #1 thing that will set you apart from others. No matter how boring the teacher might be or how much you’d rather talk to friends, showing up and paying attention in class makes a huge difference in your grades.

#2 – Do what’s asked. How many times have you watched someone do the wrong worksheet or the wrong problems on the assignment? It’s important to pay attention to the requirements given by your teacher. If you do what they ask, you are guaranteed to get better grades.

#3 – No slacking/excuses. If you didn’t do the homework, don’t make excuses about why it isn’t done. Just take responsibility. Own up to your actions and be proactive. If you know that for some reason you’re not going to get an assignment done, talk to your teacher. Find out if you can make up for it, or have an extension. If you’re really trying, your teacher will usually be glad to work with you.

These are our tips on how to be a nerd. Hopefully, you’ll be able to put some to use and get your nerd on!

Related Youth Resources

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What Rollercoasters Can Teach Us About Self-Esteem

Posted on April 25, 2013

Riding a roller coaster can be exciting. There’s great big hills, drops and turns that keep your heart racing and you screaming at the top of your lungs. Roller coasters are a great mix of terror and fun.

Self-esteem can be like a roller coaster sometimes. One minute you’re having fun because someone popular thought something you did was funny. Later that day, you feel the terror of embarrassment because your mom came to pick you up from school wearing fuzzy bunny slippers.

Sometimes when it comes to how you feel about yourself, its like a roller coaster. You feel great one moment and down in the dumps about yourself the next.

With that in mind, we’re going to give you some tips to keep the roller coaster ride of self-esteem fun.

Base your self-esteem on what God says – its easy to look only at others for finding your self-esteem. If your friends like you, your self esteem is good. If your boyfriend or girlfriend likes you, then you have good self-esteem. But what happens if your friends decide they don’t like you? Or what if you break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend? What happens then? Determine to base how you feel about yourself on what God says about you. God won’t ever break up with you or ditch you for someone better to hang out with. He thinks you’re the best!
Focus on strengths – its easy to start comparing yourself to others. You can see someone who is better at something that you are and get down on yourself. If you decide to focus on your strengths rather than the areas you are weak, you’ll find you’ll like yourself better!
Realize that a healthy self esteem takes work – Developing a self-esteem based on how God feels about you rather than what your emotions say takes time and work. Its a process of changing your thinking to line up with what God says about you. Don’t become discouraged if you don’t get it perfectly at first. Spend time reading good books to help you in this area and realize that it will take time to develop a healthy self-esteem.

God thinks you’re the best. Learning to rely on what he says about you, rather than how you feel about yourself will help you grow in developing a healthy self-esteem.

You’re In The Army Now

Posted on April 11, 2013

People enlist in the armed service of the United States every day. When they do, they sign up and make a commitment to serve. They’re provided with new clothes. Their old identity as nerd, athlete, or dodgeball hero is all gone. They just become a soldier. Then they go into basic training where they endure physical challenges that get their bodies in shape and their minds in line with the rules of the service. In exchange for all this, the government feeds, clothes and houses them during this time and pays their way.

Did you know that as a Christian, you have been enlisted as a soldier representing the Kingdom of God? You no longer represent yourself. In God’s Kingdom, He will clothe you, feed you and provide for you. He also will train you through the Word of God through your pastor’s teaching and your personal devotional time. There are some hard things you have to endure in your soul (mind, will and emotions) and your flesh- like forgiving people and being kind when you don’t feel like it.

Paul wrote a letter to Timothy and encouraged him:

2Timothy 2:3-4 – “Therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one who wars tangles with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who chose him to be a soldier.”

The purpose of hardness we endure is to get us in shape. We don’t always feel like praying or reading our Bible, but we know we have to spiritually fit to combat the attacks of the enemy, the devil. In order to win the battles of life, we have to submit to being trained or disciplined by God’s Word so that we win! Just like a soldier in Basic Training, it’s not always joyful- but it reaps a great reward. We learn how to live as a team, rather than just for ourselves.

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Hardness does not include sickness or depression. God never trains us with these- these are attacks of the enemy, the devil. We’re never to endure sickness or depression. Soldiers aren’t trained with these things.

You may be trained through a job with a tough boss. You may be trained in school with a tough teacher. You may be trained through a irritating brother or sister to walk in love and forgive. Just remember, every time you submit to this training and respond correctly, you’re getting in better shape all the time to be a good soldier in God’s army.

Pray: God, I realize I am not my own and you bought me in order to put me in Your army (the church) and represent you to this world. I’m a peace-keeper, I’m resisting the enemy and his attacks with the weapons of Your Word in my mouth. Help me submit to the training because it’s making me a better soldier.

Success for Teens – Lesson #5 (Failure)

Posted on March 4, 2013

Youth Questions

What was something you learned from the video?
What is something that you’ve learned from a failure in your life?
What’s a positive way you can look at failure in the future?

If you liked this lesson on failure, you can listen to this chapter in the book, Success for Teens by the Success Foundation

Listen: Limitless by Planetshakers

Real Friends With Benefits

Posted on January 20, 2013

Friends with benefits is a term that has become increasingly more popular recently especially among teenagers and college students. Urban Dictionary defines the term friends with benefits like this:

“Two friends who have a sexual realtionship without being emotionally involved. Typically two good friends who have casual sex without a monogomous relationship or any kind of commitment.”

You probably know people at your school that are friends with benefits. I believe these relationships are so popular because they fill a need that lots of people want: being friends with someone that you really trust, and also having sex with that person.

I believe that God was the one who created REAL friends with benefits. Yes, you read that right. God was the one who created REAL friends with benefits. Basically, friends with benefits is simply having sex with a close friend. I believe that is why God created marriage. Marriage allows for sex with your closest friend. In fact, REAL friends with benefits(Marriage) is way better than anything that you can find in the relationships at your school. REAL friends with benefits is great because it gives you fulfillment that you can never find in a dating relationship. REAL friends with benefits is something that God created for you to enjoy, in marriage.

I encourage you to not allow yourself to settle for anything less than God’s best when it comes to dating relationships. Sometimes that might mean you may have to wait until God brings that right person into your life. The great news is, God’s best is worth the wait. God can bring a relationship into your life that will be more than you could ever imagine.

REAL friends with benefits is something that will last a lifetime. REAL friends with benefits will bring you so much more fulfillment than many of the shallow relationships you’ll find at your school. So, stay strong and wait until you’re married to enjoy the benefits that God created in a REAL friends with benefits relationship, which is marriage.

Listen: Those Who Wait by Fireflight

you’ve messed up sexually…now what?

Posted on November 19, 2012

Its easy when you’ve gone to far sexually to think that there is no hope. You might think that you’ve messed up too much and there is no hope for you. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you’ve gone to far sexually in a relationship, things aren’t over for you.

Its also easy to think that now you can’t do anything for God or to let going to far with sex make you think that God doesn’t love you or care for you. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God loves you. That will never change. He might not be super happy with a choice you made, but that doesn’t change his love to you.

So, how do you move beyond going to far sexually?

Talk to God about it. – Simply let God know how you feel about messing up sexually. The Bible talks about this in 1 John 1:9. He says if we let him know when we mess up, that he will forgive us, and cleanse us from all our sin. So let God know about it and don’t let it stop you from talking to God.
Ask God for healing – Depending on the nature of your sexual relationship, you might be experiencing some pain or hurt from the situation. Ask God for his help and healing for the situation.
Make a new path. Decide to set up good boundaries in your dating relationships to keep you from going to far sexually again. Find ways to protect yourself. Also, continue to stay close to God. As you fall deeper in love with God, it becomes easier to say no to sexual temptation.

Messing up sexually is not the end. God is always there to help you get back on track if you’ve messed up sexually. Remember that you can always go to Him to get the help and healing you need to live a life free from sexual sin.

knowing vs doing

Posted on November 15, 2012

As a teenager I wanted to be liked so bad. I would do or say anything for a laugh. I remember one time I was trying to impress my cousin. We were camping with our grandparents and I got the great idea to write swear words in the dust on the side of the camper. I got a laugh out of my cousin and later I got into a heap of trouble from my grandma.

I knew when I wrote on the side of the camper that what I was doing was wrong, but I did it anyway. Why? Because there is a difference between knowing and doing. I knew the right thing to do. I knew it was wrong, but I chose to do it anyway.

I believe each day we are faced with decisions. We have to choose each day if we are going to make decisions to live for god or to not live for God. We know the right things to do. We can know that we are to love God and serve him, but until we do something about what we know it will not do us any good. There is a huge difference between knowing and doing.

I encourage you to not only know the principles in the word of God but to do them. This will release the power of God in your life!

“If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God , then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God .” (Joshua 24:15 MSG)

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