Browsing Tag

knowing god

Are You Hungry For God?

Posted on August 19, 2015

 

are you hungry for god teen devotion youth devotion bible lessonHave 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.

[Tweet “As Christians we should be allowing the power of God to change us. – @studentdevos”]

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!

3 Things True Love Is

Posted on August 17, 2015

3 Things True Love Is Teen Devotion Youth Lesson on True Love Dating Sex
We live in a world that gives us all kinds of messages about what true love is.  The TV shows, movies and books we read all portray love in so many different ways. Sometimes with all the different portrayals of love, its hard to really determine what true love is. So the help clear it up, we’re going to talk about three things true love is.

  1. True love looks out for the best interests of the other person – This means thinking about what is best for the other person. Many times, dating relationships are centered around selfish motives. For example, someone might date the starting quarterback in high school because it helps their popularity, or it makes them look good.  This isn’t true love because true love looks out for what is best for the other person. True love puts its own best interests on the back shelf and is looking out for the needs and interests of the other person.

    “Love cares more for others than for self.” – 1 Cor 13:4 (Message)

  2. True love is based on friendship NOT the physical – a relationship based on the physical stuff won’t last. Any relationship should focus on getting to know the other person long before the physical comes into play. That’s why God asks us to wait to have sex before marriage. Its one of the best ways to make sure your relationship will last, because it is based on something deeper than just the physical. Physical attraction isn’t a good judge of love. Attraction can fade, but a relationship built on a solid foundation of friendship will be much more likely to succeed.
  3. True love has its foundation in Jesus – The most important thing in a relationship is the other person’s feelings toward Jesus. If the person you’re dating doesn’t love Jesus like you do, run away from the relationship. It is never a good decision to become involved with someone that doesn’t love God like you do.  This will set you up for lots of heartache in the future.

    “Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark?” – 2 Cor 6:14 (Message)

The Bible gives us the best picture of what true love is. If you want to really understand what true love is, you will find it by reading your Bible. A good place to start is by reading 1 Corinthians 13, which talks a lot about what love looks like.

Pray: God I thank you for setting up a picture of what true love is in your word. I purpose in my heart to always put you first in my life. Help me be an example of true love to others and to let your love shine through me. Amen.

Recommended Reading:

 

Check out Sex Has a Price Tag: Discussions About Sexuality, Spirituality and Self Respect This is an engaging read with lots of real life examples and fun stats!

 

Related Youth Resources

How Do I Know If God Is Real?

Posted on August 5, 2015

How to Know if GOd is real

Have you ever questioned God’s existence? If you have you are not alone. Many people wonder the same thing. So how can we know if God really exists?

Let’s start by looking at an everyday example. If you’re like many teenagers, you probably have a gaming system in your house. The XBox or Playstation at your home is complex and has lots of small complicated parts that make it work. It has controllers, a hard drive, and tons of wiring. All those complicated pieces have to function together to make the game work properly. All the parts that go into making the game are to complex to just have “happened” one day. Your XBOX didn’t just show up in your living room. It had to be put together…it had to be created. The complexity of the game system shows that it had to have a creator..

In the same way our world is complex. The trees, the oceans, animals and people that make it up are way too complex to just have “happened”.

We can see that there was evidence of a creator in the world around us, but it is up to us to choose to believe that creator was God. There is nothing that 100 percent proves God’s existence. There is no scientific study that proves that God is real. If there was every person would believe God exists.

We have to take what we see in creation and read about God in the Bible and we have to choose to believe it. That’s really the definition of faith.

The Bible says it like this: “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT)

We see evidence of God’s existence all around us everyday. The trees, the sun, the birds, all speak of a great creator. When you wonder if God is there or if He really does care about you, stop for a minute and examine the creation around you. God took the time to create each animal and plant and most of all He took time to create you. Take some time today to thank God for everything He has made.

 

How to Deal With Guilt

Posted on May 20, 2015

how to deal with guilt - teen devotionHave you ever messed up? Maybe it was a big thing, or it could be as simple as feeling bad because you told a lie to your sister. It doesn’t really matter what you did, but usually after you do something wrong, you feel bad. You have guilt. Guilt is a real thing. Lots of times, we know to do right, but do wrong instead.

God has said in 1 Jn 1:9 “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

This means that when you say “God I’m sorry I did wrong- please forgive me” that God hears you. But the next step we must also do is believe the second part of that verse. “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” means to take away the guilt associated with sin. He not only cleanses the sin and He remembers it no more, He also removes the guilt. This is the part of sin that stays in our minds- we see ourselves having done wrong. But when God removes the sin, He removes the memory from His mind- so you are back in right standing again with God. Our part is to forgive ourselves as well and then see ourselves right with God again- because that what God sees.
Guilt is satan’s way of keeping the effects of sin continually bombarding your mind and feelings. 
“I don’t feel forgiven” you may say. But you must believe you are forgiven and every time the thought or feeling comes, you must speak to it and say, “regardless of how I feel, I know God has forgiven me, I have forgiven myself and I am now righteous (in right standing) with God.”

Think about it: You’re either forgiven and not guilty or guilty and not forgiven

Prayer: Father, I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I see myself forgiven and I believe you erased it from Your memory. I choose to erase it from mine as well. You said I am righteous and forgiven so I say I am and think the way you think. Thank you for freeing me from all sin and guilt so I happily serve you today free!

Similar Devotions For Teens

3 Reasons Why Your Relationship With God Matters

Posted on January 26, 2015

So life, its crazy sometimes. Its busy, its messy, its not always easy. As a teenager, there’s tons of things screaming for your attention. From your homework, to your friendships, to your job, its hard to keep it all straight and most importantly, its hard to find time for God. So with all the things that are screaming for your attention, why should you take some time out from those things to spend with God? Does it really matter that you spend time in the Bible or praying?

Here are three reasons you should cut through the busyness of life and get to know God.

  1. God went out of His way to know you.
    This is huge. God had no need to know you. Heaven is awesome and perfect. He didn’t need to know you, but He wanted to. He wanted to in such a bad way that He gave His son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin, so we could know Him. If God gave all He had so He could know you, then we should put a priority on spending some time each week getting to know Him better.
    “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (ERV)
    Learn More
  2.  God wants you to have an awesome life.
    God didn’t want a relationship with you to stop your fun. Many people believe that if you live for God it means you can’t have fun. That you have to turn in all your fun if you really follow after God and live a boring, rule filled life. That is simply not the case. Living for God will bring a new level of awesome to your life.
    “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good. ” – John 10:10 (ERV)
    Learn more
  3. God is always ready for you.
    God is not like many people in your life. He is never to busy to hear from you. He doesn’t think your problems and challenges are too small for Him to take time for. God won’t put you off, or not accept you. God loves it when you come to Him. He wants to know you and for you to spend time getting to know Him.
    “The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me. I will always accept them. ” – John 6:37
    Learn more

We’re not denying that you’re busy as a teenager. You are. There is tons of pressure for you to do well at school, sports and you still take need to take time for your friends and family. However, its important in all the busyness that happens every week to carve out some time to focus on your relationship with God.

Your relationship with God is the most important relationship in your life. Without that relationship all other relationships are meaningless. Choose to put a priority on knowing God and making that relationship matter.

Get Started Knowing God

What a GoPro Can Teach Us About Trusting God

Posted on January 7, 2015

Go Pro DevotionGoPro cameras are an awesome invention. They let you capture the world around you in new ways. You can ski with them, surf with them, attach them to your dog, your head, or maybe even your little brother. There are tons of crazy things you can do with a GoPro camera.

One of the great feature the GoPro is it’s waterproof case. It can be submerged and still be okay. That’s a lot like us. Life can be really hard at times. You can have days where you feel like you’re getting battered, bruised and held under the water. It could be anything from friends not treating you right to doing the wrong set of math problems for your homework.

The good news is that no matter how hard life gets or how tough things might seem, you can put your trust in God. See God promises to never leave you.

“Be strong and be brave. Don’t be afraid of those people because the Lord your God is with you. He will not fail you or leave you.” – Deut 31:6

God will never leave us. He will never fail us. He’s like the GoPro’s waterproof case. As long as the GoPro camera is in the case, the GoPro is safe from the elements. Water can’t hurt it. Snow can’t hurt it. The camera is safe when its in the case.

That’s how we are when we put our trust in God. When we lean on Him, rely on Him and make Him our trust than no matter what is going on around us, we are safe.

“You can go to him for protection. He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies. You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.” – Psalm 91:4

God will always have your back if you put your faith and trust in Him. So challenge yourself to put your trust in God. Don’t live your life in fear and discouraged by what’s going on around you. Instead put your trust in God and see God come through for you.

Discipleship Track 1 – You Didn’t Measure Up

Posted on January 3, 2015

Discipleship Track 1 (Lesson #2) – You Didn’t Measure Up

These growth tools are powerful. They provide scriptures and great resources so that you can cement the truths of the Word of God into your heart and grow!

Growth Points

  • No amount of good deeds will help you get into heaven.
  • You needed a savior, Jesus to pay the price for your sins.
  • “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.” – Romans 3:23 (TEV)
discipleship-youth-track-pdf

Growth Questions

Growth Questions are designed for you to get the word of God down inside your heart. If you download the PDF and answer the questions, it will help you meditate on what God has done for you!
Download Your Growth Questions : Lesson # 2 – You Didn’t Measure Up

 

 

Growth Scriptures

Growth Scriptures are designed to kick-start your relationship with God by getting the Word of God into your heart. The Word of God planted in your heart will help you grow up spiritually. Read and think about these scriptures and begin growing in your walk with God.

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Track 1 – Is Good Enough?

Posted on January 2, 2015

Discipleship Track 1 (Lesson #3) – Is Good Enough?

Knowing that we have been made clean from sin is a powerful truth. These growth tools will help you establish exactly how God sees you, clean from sin!

Growth Points

  • If you say you haven’t messed up or sinned, you’re fooling yourself.
  • If you ask God’s forgiveness, you’re free from sin’s power.
  • “If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.” – 1 John 1:8 (NLT)

Growth Scriptures

Take these scriptures and spend time to get them into your heart. These scriptures will help encourage you and help you understand what God did for you.

Track 2 – Lesson #1 (God is Faithful)

Posted on December 8, 2014

Discipleship Track 2 (Lesson #1) – God Is Faithful

If you were asked to introduce God to a friend what would you say? Getting to know characteristics about God helps you to know and love Him more.

Main Points

  • God is loyal, consistent, and trustworthy
  • We can trust God when we get to know about who He is!
  • “And He who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will He change His mind, for He is not human that He should change His mind. ” – 1 Samuel 15:29 (NLT)

discipleship-youth-track-pdf

Growth Questions

These questions will help reinforce the truths in this lesson.
Download Your Growth Questions : Lesson # 1 – God is Faithful

Growth Scriptures

Thinking about these scriptures will help you get the truths of God’s faithfulness into your heart.

 

Track 2 – Lesson #2 (God is Love)

Posted on December 7, 2014

Discipleship Track 2 (Lesson #2) – God Is Love

If you were asked by a friend, “Who is God?” what would you say? This discipleship track will help you get to know an important part about God, that He is love.

Main Points

  • God’s love is big!
  • Knowing God’s love helps us love Him and others more.
  • “And may you have power to understand..how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ” – Ephesians 3:17 (Message)
Growth Scriptures

These scriptures will help you get to know more about God’s love.