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faith

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Hebrews 11:3

Posted on May 16, 2019

Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen. – Hebrews 11:3 (TPT)

Have you ever needed some extra energy? Maybe you stayed up all night studying for finals or doing a project. The next day you were struggling to stay awake because you didn’t sleep the night before. When you’re sleepy, you need an energy boost. It’s easy to drink a huge cup of coffee, large soda or energy drink to empower you to make it through the day.

Spiritually, we need empowerment too. Today’s Bible verse shows us that one of the roles of faith is to empower us. Faith is what empowers us to see that God created the universe. It takes faith to believe that God was the one who was responsible for our world and that He created it with His words.

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Faith can be empowerment in your life too. Maybe you are facing something really tough. Faith can help you get through it. Perhaps you don’t know what career to choose after high school. Faith empowers you to believe that God has a good plan for your life and that you will know what to do when the time is right.

Faith is empowerment in your life. Today, don’t overlook the power of faith. It’s there to empower you when you need it the most!

What Faith and Duct Tape Have in Common

Posted on May 15, 2019

**We’ve refreshed an old teen devotion with some great new images and discussion questions for your youth group or small group at the bottom of this devotion. We hope you enjoy the updates!

Duct tape is probably one of the most useful inventions. It serves a variety of purposes, from patching up a pair of ripped pants to keeping some boxes sealed. What makes duct tape even more fun are all the colors it comes in. I was in a store the other day and I found Hello Kitty Duct Tape, cheetah print duct tape, neon colored duct tape, and of course the standard grey duct tape. All this duct tape got me thinking, about faith and how duct tape and faith have a lot in common.

Faith Holds Our Lives Together

One day I was working on a farm and a nail ripped a hole in the seam of my pants. Since there weren’t any sewing supplies nearby, I quickly found a roll of duct tape and easily fixed my pants. Thanks to duct tape, my pants were held together.

In the same way, faith holds our lives together. Faith is the basis of our relationship with God. It is believing what the Bible says no matter what it looks like around you. Faith keeps you together when you feel you’re falling apart. Our faith keeps us going and assures us we will make it regardless of what is going on around us.

And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (TPT)

Faith Is Used In Lots of Situations

Faith, like duct tape, can be used in a variety of situations. You might be facing a problem. You can whip out your roll of faith and patch together that bad situation with what the Bible says. Faith can be used at any time and in any situation. Faith in God is always the answer to whatever situation you’re facing.

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Lastly, faith is like duct tape because you can rely on it. You know that when you need a patch or to hold something together you can trust the duct tape to do its job. Well, that’s pretty much what faith is. It’s trusting that God is going to go to bat for you. He’s going to provide for you no matter what you’re facing.

Faith is just choosing to believe what God says in spite of what you see or feel around you. Faith is trusting in and relying on God in every situation that comes to you. I encourage you to begin placing your trust in God and become a mighty young person of faith.

Youth Group Discussion Questions – What Faith and Duct Tape Have In Common
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Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Peter 1:21

Posted on March 15, 2019

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. – 1 Peter 1:21

Where do you put your trust? Is it in getting a good job after you finish school and making a lot of money? Is it by dating a really important person? Is it getting a basketball scholarship to a good college? Where do you put your trust? What are you looking for when you search for success?

Today’s Bible verse talks about having your faith and hope in God. God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified him, so is it really that crazy for us to put our hope and faith in God? Sometimes, when it comes down to it, it can be hard to put your hope and faith in something that you can’t see.

Read: What Canoes Teach Us About Hope

It can be easier to trust in money, or a relationship because they are things you can see. However, real faith is just believing God and taking Him at His word. So challenge yourself today to not trust in things that you can’t see, but to put your trust in God. God is the one who won’t let you down and who won’t fail you. Challenge yourself to trust Him today!

Daily Bible Verse and Devotional – Ephesians 2:8

Posted on December 27, 2018

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

Many people believe in the grace of God. They believe that God has provided wonderful gifts and that He has given those blessings out for us to receive. However, if they only believe in the grace of God and not faith, there is no clear understanding on how to get those blessings to flow into your life.

Then there are those who believe in faith. They have grasped the understanding that it’s impossible to receive anything from God without faith. Those that have a strong emphasis on faith alone can feel that they are responsible for getting results from God.

However, this verse says that it takes grace and faith working together for us to receive from God. Grace is something that is freely given by God. It cannot be earned. It is a gift. Faith is what we do to step out and believe what has already been given freely by grace. Faith cannot get God to do something He hasn’t done yet. It simply reaches out and receives what has already been provided by grace.

Today, find a scripture of a promise that God has already done and then use that verse to step out and believe it in faith. This is how you get grace and faith working together.

Today’s Bible Verse – Mark 9:23

Posted on August 23, 2018

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. – Mark 9:23 (KJV)

It can be really easy when you’re facing a difficult situation to want to give up. You might think that its impossible, or that there is no hope. However, Jesus said if we can believe that all things are possible.

What this means for us is this, if we find a promise in the Word of God about the situation we’re facing, we can stand on that promise and believe it. When we do this, we find that all things are possible for us. Most of us are wired to be impossibility thinkers. We always think that things are impossible. However, we need to train our thinking to line up with God’s word. When we get our thinking in line with God’s word we find that all things are possible for us.

[Tweet “When our thoughts line up with God’s word, all things are possible – @studentdevos”]

No matter what situation you’re facing, it can turn around. It’s up to you to train your thinking in line with God’s word. When you do this and believe all things are possible for you!

Daily Devotion and Bible Verse – August 10

Posted on August 10, 2018

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12 (NLT)

In many countries, citizens of that country have rights. In America if you’re arrested you’re read your rights. You’re told you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney among other things. These rights mean that as a citizen of the country you’re entitled to certain things.

This Bible verse tells us that if we believe Jesus and accept Him we have the right to be children of God. That is a great right. Its awesome to know that we can be called God’s children. We don’t have to know God from a far. We can know Him personally because we are His children.

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All we have to do to receive that right is to believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Lord. This verse really shows us how easy it is to become a child of God.

So as you go through today, take some time to be thankful that you have the right to be God’s child. It is great to know that we’ve been given that awesome right!

What Twinkies Teach Us About Faith

Posted on June 19, 2017

Twinkies are a fun treat. They taste good, they’re light and fluffy, and that have that delicious creamy vanilla frosting center. Simply put, Twinkies are amazing. Can you imagine your life before you had your first Twinkie? If you’re like most people, you wouldn’t want to imagine something like that. But think about your life before you knew all about the awesome frosting center and it’s sugary goodness?

If you didn’t know Twinkies existed, how would you have heard about Twinkies? Perhaps one day you were hanging out with a friend and they began to tell you about how good Twinkies were. They talked about the texture, the flavor, and of course the vanilla frosting. More than likely, after hearing your friend describe a Twinkie, you’d want to head to the nearest store and try one out for yourself.

How Does Our Faith Come?

The idea of your friend telling you about Twinkies is a little like how faith works. After hearing about how good Twinkies are from a friend, your desire to eat a Twinkie grows. That’s a lot like how our faith in God grows. As we begin to hear about God and His goodness, we want to know more about Him and our faith grows.

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. – Romans 10:17 (NLT)

The more you hear about Twinkies, the more you want one. The same is true for our faith. The more time we spend in God’s word, talking about God’s word, and thinking about God’s word the more our faith grows.

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Faith Is Taking God at His Word

What would make you believe that Twinkies were good? It would have to be a matter of trust. You’d have to trust that your friend was telling you the truth about how good Twinkies are. You might rely on the fact that your friend tells the truth or that they have good taste, but it really comes down to believing what your friend said about Twinkies was true.

That’s a lot like how faith works. Faith is just taking God at His word. Its trusting what God says above everything else. Just like you would trust your friend’s word that a Twinkie was a great snack, you have faith by trusting that what God says is true. Hebrews says it like this:

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.” – Hebrews 11:1 (Message)

Faith takes God at His word. When the Bible says something, having faith is believing what the Bible says no matter what it might look like around you. So the next time you rip open a package of Twinkies, remember that they can teach you a lot about faith!

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If you’re a youth leader and you liked this devotion, feel free to download a PDF of discussion questions based on this devotion.

Youth Group Discussion Questions – What Twinkies Teach About Faith
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Why Should I Give Money to My Church?

Posted on August 24, 2015

You might be thinking, who cares if I give? The Bible talks about giving, but I’ll do that when I get older and have more money. I mean, what difference does my few dollars in the offering at church really make? In reality, your giving is a big thing. We’re going to show you a few reasons why.

Your gift means something to Jesus. There is a story in Luke about a widow in the temple that demonstrates that giving means something to Jesus.
“Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies. “I assure you,” he said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.” – Luke 22:2-3 (NLT)
Jesus noticed the widow in the temple when she gave. It made an impact on Jesus, and he made a big enough deal about it that it was recorded in the Bible. This lets you know that Jesus takes notice when you give with the right heart, no matter how much the amount.
Giving helps you. Yes, you read that right. By giving, you’re setting yourself up to be blessed in the future. The Bible talks about giving a lot. One verse that proves this is in Luke 6:38 – “Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you. “(TEV)
Giving will set you up to be blessed by God in the future. God wants to see you blessed and giving is one way to plant seeds for blessing in your future.
Never feel your gift is too small. Its easy to start believing that what you have is too small to give. However, if you wait to give until you think you have enough money, you’ll NEVER become a giver. You will never feel like you have ENOUGH money, so start with with what you have now. As you continue to give, you’ll find that you can bump up your giving. The important thing is to start now and make giving a habit in your life.

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” – Sir Winston Churchill

God wants to see you blessed financially. He loves it when your needs are met and you have money left over to be able to help others. Begin to expect God’s blessing on your money. Start to believe for more than enough money so that you are be able to give to others.

Pray: God I thank you that you want me to have more than enough money. I’m deciding to put you first in my finances. I know that as I give, you will pour blessings back into my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Every Teenager’s Little Black Book on Cash (Little Black Books) This book is simply awesome. Its got easy to read information about cash, giving and all kinds of money related topics. Its a quick read and packed full of solid Bible truths about cash!

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Are You Hungry For God?

Posted on August 19, 2015

Have you ever been so hungry that your stomach was growling uncontrollably? I know I have. In fact, one day during U.S. History, my stomach was growling so loud that it disrupted class. My stomach was so loud that the teacher had to bring me food just so the class could focus on the lesson that day.

I’m sure you’ve had situations where you’ve been hungry. What did you do when you were hungry? Did you just sit around hoping to get food? Or did your hunger cause you to act?

In most cases, hunger produces action. For example, if you’re hungry, you’ll go find yourself a snack, or ask someone for food. Hunger produces action. In the same way, we should be hungry for the things of God. As Christians, we shouldn’t be satisfied with just going to church, just living our lives, but not allowing the power of God to change us. We should be so hungry for God that it causes us to act. Our hunger for God should empower us to go out and change our world.

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So my question is…are you hungry? Are you desiring the things of God? Are you wanting more than just average Christianity? Or are you caught up in your own life, your own problems and concerns?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled – Matthew 5:6

Don’t let your Christianity be ordinary. Decide today to start getting hungry for the things of God. As you get more excited about God you’ll change your world!

Why Faith is Like Using Your GPS

Posted on July 20, 2015

I was craving Starbucks today. I just had to have some coffee. The crazy thing was I was visiting a new town and I had no idea where a Starbucks was. I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting my coffee. I pulled out my phone and searched maps for Starbucks.

I was glad to see there was a Starbucks only one exit away from where I was staying. I jumped in my car and headed there as fast as I could. I couldn’t see the Starbucks from where I was. But I trusted that my phone would give me directions to where I wanted to go. I relied on what I couldn’t see, and trusted that the Starbucks was there.

I followed the directions my phone gave me, and sure enough, there was a Starbucks there for me at my destination. This reminds me a lot of how the Bible describes faith. In Hebrews it says this:

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
– Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

So faith is the evidence of what we can’t see. Just like I couldn’t see the Starbucks a few miles away, we often can’t see the things that God promises us in the Bible. That doesn’t mean that they’re not there or that they’re not real. We just can’t see them yet. And that is what faith is. Faith is believing that God’s word is true and what He promised us in His word will come to pass, even if we can’t see it yet.

So be encouraged. God’s promises are true and you can trust in God’s word that the things that are promised in it will come to pass in our lives!

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