Browsing Tag

loving others

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 John 3:18

Posted on March 31, 2025

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. – 1 John 3:18 (NLT)

This is a really challenging verse. It’s often easy to know the right thing to do. It’s easy to say the right things, and know what the right answers are to the questions they ask in your small group or Bible study. However, when it comes down to it, there is usually a disconnect between the thing we know to do and what we actually do.

That’s what today’s Bible verse is talking about. It’s saying that we shouldn’t just say that we love others. We shouldn’t just give the right answer at youth group or Sunday school, but rather we should let our lives live out the answer. Our lives should be reflecting the love of God towards others.

Today’s Truth: Our lives should be a reflection of God’s love to others.

So challenge yourself today. Don’t just say the right things at church and youth group, but rather live out God’s love in a big way. It might be talking to the girl who sits alone at lunch. Maybe you can buy your friend that is having a rough day a candy bar. Whatever it is, let yourself be used by God today to demonstrate love to those around you. Be bold, be strong, and be a light for Jesus in your world today.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 John 4:19

Posted on August 14, 2024

We love each other because he loved us first – 1 John 4:19

Believing that God loves us so deeply can be hard. When we mess up and make bad choices, it can be difficult to believe that God cares. When we see all our failures and flaws we can often think that we’re unlovable. However, in the midst of all our failures and shortcomings, God chose to love us anyway.

God’s love for us should energize us to love other people. When we focus on all God has done for us, it makes loving other people easier.

Today’s Truth: God’s love empowers us to love others.

God’s love is empowering. It gives us the strength and motivation to truly love others. So when you have those moments when you struggle loving someone who is less than lovable, realize that you’ve got the power to do it because God loved you first. When you didn’t deserve it and were an enemy of God, God loved you. That knowledge gives you what you need to love others.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Corinthians 13:4

Posted on April 3, 2024

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs – 1 Cor 13:4-5 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered how to know if the person you want to date is dateable?

One easy way to judge this is by looking at that person’s love life. That’s doesn’t mean looking at social media to find out the people they’ve already dated. Instead, it requires looking at how they love others. How do they treat their mom and dad? How do they treat their teachers, friends, and the workers at the restaurant? If they treat them with love, like today’s Bible verse describes, then you know you’ve got someone who is worth dating.

So in your dating relationships, choose to protect your heart. Wait for a person who will treat you with Godly love and respect. This type of a person is someone you will want to date.

Read: 7 Strategies to Help You Stay Sexually Pure

Choose to say no to relationships that push you away from God and wait for ones that are exhibiting Godly love. In the end, you’ll be thankful that you said no to them and chose to protect your heart.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – John 13:35

Posted on December 1, 2023

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:35 (NIV)

How do you know that a car is a car? There are certain characteristics about a car that make it unique. These are the things that help you recognize a car. For example, you notice that it has four wheels, side mirrors, windows or an engine. These things make a car different than a horse, or a house.

How you know a car is a car is a lot like what today’s Bible verse is talking about. There are certain things that make a Christian a Christian. One of those things is love. As Christians, we should be loving each other, not tearing others down. Love is a characteristic that should define Christians.

Love shows up in many areas of our lives. How do we treat our mom? What do we do about the old lady down the street that needs help bringing in her groceries? These things are all examples of showing love to others. Love should be a trademark for Christians.

Examine your life today. Are you letting God’s love shine through you? Are you open and ready for opportunities to love others? If you’re not, simply make any necessary adjustments in your life and let God’s love flow through you to those around you.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 John 4:20

Posted on August 10, 2023

Do you have siblings? If so, you probably know that they just seem to know how to rub you the wrong way. Because you’re around them more, they just seem to irritate you more than other people do.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. – 1 John 4:20

It’s true, sibling relationships can be difficult. They know which buttons to push to get you really mad, and they’re not afraid to push them. Living with and getting along with siblings can be really challenging at times.

This daily Bible verse offers some thoughts on getting along with a brother or a sister. It says that those who say they love God but hate their brother are liars. These are pretty strong words. However, they show us that loving those around us like our brothers and sister is really important to God, which means it should be important to us too.

So the next time your brother or sister is driving you crazy, remember what this verse says and choose to love them instead of hating them!

And if you struggle loving your brother or sister, ask the Holy Spirit for His help. The Holy Spirit can help give you ideas like no one else can. He can show you what to do, or how to respond to certain situations. When you go to Him, you can get the help you need to deal with your siblings.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Galatians 5:14

Posted on March 24, 2023

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Galatians 5:14

I remember taking a class one semester that was a study of books. Some of the books we had to read were really complicated. There were times when I was reading, and I just didn’t really understand the plot of the book. I wasn’t trying to cheat or anything, but I just didn’t get what the book was about. So sometimes, I’d begin to do a Google search. I’d look for a summary of the chapter or the book to help me understand what I was reading.

I wasn’t trying to get out of reading the book, but the summary simply helped me better understand the material. In the same way, today’s verse tells us it’s like a summary of the law in the Old Testament. And just like the summaries I found online, this summary makes it easier to understand. When we love others, we are fulfilling the law.

So for example, we wouldn’t steal from ourselves. That would be really silly. In the same way, we wouldn’t murder ourselves. Usually, we are always looking out for our own best interests. However, this verse shows us that we should be treating other people like we treat ourselves. Loving people like this is hard work. It will take some retraining of old habits, but it’s the goal God encourages us to strive for.

If you struggle with loving others, don’t feel bad, we all do from time to time. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Maybe He can give you an idea for an area you can improve or show you a simple way that you can begin to love others more. Determine to let today’s verse not just be an empty suggestion, but rather the way you choose to live your life each day.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Cor 13:5

Posted on August 2, 2022

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. – 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)

Today’s Bible verse gives us a picture of how we as Christians should be loving others. When we love others with the God kind of love, it should show by how we treat others.

It means that when our mom tells us to do something that we don’t agree with, we shouldn’t fly into a rage or talk back to her. It also means that we shouldn’t be holding grudges because of something our friend did.

When you love others with the God kind of love it takes effort. You have to say no to what feels good in the moment and let God’s love lead you. It takes a lot of effort to hold back those hurtful words that would feel good to say.

However, when you make the decision to love others as this verse says, it brings peace into your life. You can let God move through you and be a light to others around you. So challenge yourself today to really let God’s love flow through you to others and see what God will do through you!

Today’s Truth: Let God’s Love Flow Through You.

Read: Three Steps To Loving Difficult People

Let God's love flow through you

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ephesians 4:32

Posted on September 29, 2021

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

One of the hardest things to do is to be kind and forgiving to people. Especially when those people have done you wrong. When someone mistreats you, the normal response is to get back at them. To hurt them like they’ve hurt you, to give them the silent treatment, or just do something to teach them a lesson. That’s what is considered normal. That’s how most people live their lives.

The Bible stands that on its head and tells us as Christians to be different. We’re challenged to not get back at someone, but to forgive them, just like God forgave us. Doing this isn’t normal, and it isn’t easy, but its what’s right.

And we can do it because God forgave us. We didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness, yet He gave it to us anyway. That means that it’s not too hard for us to forgive those who have mistreated us too.

However, that doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends with someone that hurt you or was unkind to you. It means that instead of spreading rumors about that person, or trashing their locker at school, you choose to drop it and let it go. Forgiveness isn’t saying that what they did or how they treated you was right, it’s simply choosing to stop the cycle of unforgiveness and hurt.

Forgiveness is letting the love of Jesus shine through you even when it’s hard. So challenge yourself today to push past what’s easy and choose to be kind and forgive others.

 

Pray: God, today I determine to forgive those around me who have hurt me. I choose to not get back or get even with them but to simply love them with your love. With your help, I know I can do it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be Kind and forgive others

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – May 22

Posted on May 21, 2020

Teen Devotion Love is PatientLove is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. – 1 Cor 13:4 (NIV)

Have you ever been in a situation where you or someone you care about hasn’t been treated kindly. It can really be hard to do the Godly thing in these situations. How do you stay kind and patient when people are mistreating you? How do you deal with those around you who just drive you crazy?

One important thing to remember is that you’re not going to becoming kind and patient in one day. It’s a lifelong process. So pick a small area each day that you can work on becoming more loving to others. You might choose to let your brother pick the TV show you watch at night instead of arguing with him. You might let the new kid go in front of you in line at lunch. Whatever it is, find a small area where you can practice patience and kindness everyday.

If you do this daily, you’ll find that you’ll become much more loving and kind than you thought you could be. With God’s help, you can be patient and kind.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Posted on March 21, 2019

Teen Devotion on Loving Others - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Cor 13:4-7 (NIV)

Loving people the way this verse describes is almost impossible. Do you really know anyone who doesn’t boast? Or isn’t proud when they make all-state for choir? How about someone who doesn’t keep a record of when they’re wronged? Have you forgotten everyone that owes you money? Or who didn’t say nice things to you in the hallway at school? The list of the things love is in 1 Corinthians 13 is pretty impossible to do. No matter how good your self-control is, can you really say that you do all these things all the time?

If you’re honest, you can probably admit that you don’t always do these things. Yet, that’s how God describes love in this passage. So what are we to do? If we’re told to love like this, but it’s something that is impossible to do, do we just give up?

God gives us great news. In Romans 5:5, he tells us that God’s love has been poured out in our heart. That means we have the love we need in us to love people the way it’s described in this verse. All we have to do is tap into that love and let it flow out of us. Loving people without God’s help is impossible, but thank God He doesn’t require us to do it on our own!