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money

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 37:21

Teen devotion psalm37:21

The wicked man borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving. – Psalm 37:21 (HCSB)

How do you handle your money? Are you always asking others for money to go to the movies? Or are you someone who is looking for opportunities to give?

This Bible verse really shows us how much better it is to be a person who gives. Giving to your church and to others is a great habit to get into while you’re young. Many people put off giving thinking that they will give when they’re making more money. The problem with that thinking is that it doesn’t matter how much money you make. You’re always going to find something else to do with it. If you can’t find a way to give when you have a little, you’ll never give when you have a lot.

Today’s Truth: When you make giving a habit, you’ll always find you have enough to do the things you want to do

Giving is always worth it in the long run. You’ll find that God will really bless you as you give into your church and the lives of others. So don’t give into the lie that tells you if you give you won’t have enough. That is not the case. When you make giving a habit, you’ll find you’ll always have enough to do the things you want to do.

Other Devotions on Giving

What Driver’s ED Can Teach You About Giving

Teen Devotion Youth Devotion What Driver's Ed Can Teach You About Giving Teen Devotion

I remember the day in driver’s ed where we finally got to drive the student driver cars. This wasn’t another day of sitting and watching videos or doing handouts about the proper stopping distance behind a stop sign. No. This was for real. We were getting to drive. It was all I could do to stay in my seat in the school’s cafeteria until my name was called to go drive. I watch classmate after classmate get up and leave with their driver’s ed instructor. Finally, my name was called and I was so excited because I was finally getting to drive.

I opened the door of my driver’s ed car. I sat down and tried to remember all the things the books had said we were supposed to do before leaving in the car. I fastened my seat belt and reached for the keys to start the car. But before I did, my driver’s ed teacher stopped me. He reminded me, “Check your mirrors! You always want to do that before you pull out.” There it was, the thing I had forgotten, to check my mirrors.

Checking your mirrors before pulling out in a car can help illustrate a point that will help us when it comes to giving. Its important to always remember to check your mirrors and make any adjustments necessary so you can see while you’re driving. In the same way, its important that we check our motives when we give money to God.

So why do we give? For some it might be to get recognition – maybe they want to impress someone. Others may feel obligated to give.  There are lots of reasons why people give but it’s always good to take a look at what God says about giving in the Bible.

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully – 2 Cor 9:7 (NLT)

This verse tells us several things about giving. It first tells us that we shouldn’t give reluctantly. You shouldn’t be giving but wish you weren’t doing it. You shouldn’t be giving because you feel pressured to do so. Those methods of giving don’t bless God.

God says in His word that He loves it when you give cheerfully. So next time you pull out your wallet or purse when its time to give, check your motives when you give. Just like you’d check the mirrors in your car before pulling out, check up on your motives. Decide to give because you love God and know that he wants the best for you.

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Choose today to start thinking about giving. Make giving a part of who you are, even as a student. Be saving money to give to your church or a missions project. Develop the habit of giving while you’re young, it will help you out in life.

Pray: God I thank you that I can give to you. I choose to have the right attitude when I give because you said in your word you love a cheerful giver. I thank you right now for the ability to give and choose to have the right motives when giving to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you’re a youth group leader feel free to download our discussion questions based on this lesson.

 

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6 Reasons To Make Financial Goals

Teen Devotion - Financial Goals, Habits, Spending MoneyFinancial goals can seem pretty boring when you’re young. Most likely, you’d rather work on that history paper than think about your future financial goals. Setting financial goals isn’t probably what you’ll be bragging to your friends you did Friday night, but they are important. Setting financial goals can launch you forward into success faster. Here are six awesome reasons to set financial goals.

Reason One – Debt Stinks

It’s really easy to get sucked into the trap of spending too much. Those new shoes might seem so appealing and getting the newest phone might be really tempting, but getting into debt over them isn’t fun. It’s easy to get sucked into buying lots of things. While there’s nothing wrong with having nice things, getting into debt to have those nice things won’t pay off in the end.

If you want to be financially stable, make the decision while your young to stay out of debt. Credit card debt is especially bad. Setting good financial goals is important, they will help you stay out of debt.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)

Reason Two – No regrets.

When you get to be old and you’re looking back over your life, what financial decisions will you remember most? The coat that you had to have? Or that backpack that everyone at school was talking about? Or will it be the time you gave money to help missionaries touch lives for Jesus?

If you want to live a life without regrets, one step toward that is to make sound financial decisions. If you set aside money for saving and giving, you’ll find that you’ll be able to do the things that you want to. Choose to set financial goals so that you can live your life with no financial regrets.

Reason Three – Embarrassment

There is always that embarrassment of always living off your parents. Its not cool to be 34 and still borrowing money from your mom to get McDonald’s on Friday night. However, if you spend every penny you make each month you could find yourself in that situation.

It’s embarrassing not having enough money to buy things or help others out. You can avoid this by setting up good financial habits while you’re young. Choose to spend your money wisely and set some financial goals and limits for your life.

Reason Four – You want to achieve more.

If you want to achieve more, have money to give to others, and have nice things, you’ve got to have a plan to get there. Unfortunately success in life isn’t automatic. It takes work to get to where you want to be in life. If you want to be well off, you’ve got to make plans and wise financial decisions to get there.

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Reason Five – You want to enjoy life

If you don’t want to be stressed out all the time, wondering where the money is going to come from to pay for your rent, then it would be good to set up some financial goals. Your goals don’t have to be complicated. Simply determine to save and spend less than you make. An easy way to do this is to take out some money in cash for fun. Once your fun money is spent, then you know you can’t spend any more until your next pay period. This might seem like it’s keeping you from having fun, but in reality the opposite is true.

If you want to really enjoy life, and not be stressed out about money, then choose to spend less than you make so you have money left over in case of an emergency. Goals like these will help you stay on track financially and leave you with some room to have some fun too.

Reason Six – You Want to take adventures

If you want to travel, give, and change the world, it’s going to take money. With some smart financial goals, you can set aside some money so you’re able to travel and do the things you really want to do.

Setting up financial goals isn’t easy. It takes some work and saying ‘no’ to what feels good right now. However, if you set goals and hold yourself accountable to those goals, you help yourself in the long run. Financial goals helps you achieve more and help others too.

What are some financial goals you have?

Why Should I Give Money to My Church?

 

Teen Devotion and Youth Lesson - why should I give moneyYou 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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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Four Financial Traps To Avoid

Financial Traps to Avoid as A TeenagerDo you want to get ahead in your finances? Or maybe you want to be well off and have money left over to give to others? You can get to where you want to be financially with some good discipline and hard work. Those good habits can start by knowing what bad habits you should avoid with your money. Check out four important traps to avoid with your money.

  1. The trap of spending money because you have it. – This trap is easy and fun to fall into. When you have some money it’s easy to want to spend it all. That paycheck is burning a hole in your wallet and all you can think of are those shoes you wanted to buy at the mall. What do you do? Do you tend to spend every dollar that you make or have?
    The problem with spending every dollar you make is that it doesn’t leave you any extra money if an emergency would arise. It also doesn’t leave you anything for the future. If you make wise decisions with your money and don’t spend every penny you make, you’ll find yourself better off in the long run.
  2. The trap of thinking more money equals a better life.– It can be really easy to see someone who is better off than you and think that if you just had more money like them you would be happy.
    The truth is that no amount of money will make you happy. Learn to be happy with what you have and live within your means.

    Money wrongly gained will disappear bit by bit; money earned little by little will grow and grow. (Proverbs 13:11 CEV)

  3. The trap of impulsive purchases – Many time you think you can’t live without those new shoes or that awesome pair of jeans? It’s easy to want to buy, buy, buy. However, impulsive buying can easily become a trap. You soon realize that due to all your impulsive purchases you no longer have the money to buy the things you truly may want or need in the future. Be on guard for impulsive purchasing.
  4. The trap of not involving God in your finances – Life gets full and busy really quickly. In those times it’s easy to forget to include God in your finances. However, including God in your finances always brings rewards and helps you out in the end. Ask God’s wisdom to show you which purchases to make or his guidance when buying things. Also choose to give at your church. As you make God a priority in your finances, you’ll see that God wants to bless you!

    But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33 BOOKS)

    Developing good habits with your money isn’t always what feels good or what comes easily. However, if you begin while you’re young to develop good habits of saving and giving, you’ll find that you’ll have more money as you get older. Choose to put into practice wise financial habits.

5 Reasons to Make Good Choices With Money

Teen Devotion, Youth Bible Lesson on Money

You might think that what you do with your money as a teenager doesn’t matter, or that making good financial choices is something you can think about when you’re older. Its easy to think that saving money and thinking about your financial future is something you can put off until you’re older and have a great job. However, its important as a teenager to start making smart choices with money right now. Here are a few reasons why.

  1. You want to be successful. – If you want to be a success in life, a great place to start is with your finances. Its easier to start on a path to financial success now because the habits you develop now set the tone for the rest of your life. Its much easier to start off now on a good financial path rather than to create bad habits that take time and hard work to break. Choose to not take the lazy and easy route. It will pay off in the end if you make good choices for financial success now.
    Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you. – Charles H. Spurgeon
  2. You don’t want to live with regrets. If you make lots of bad financial decisions now, it can hinder your financial future. If you buy things you can’t afford, or rack up lots of debt, it will likely cause regret later in life. Choose instead to use wisdom when making financial decisions.
    The wicked man borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving. – Proverbs 37:21 (HCSB)
  3. You become more desirable to the opposite sex. If you’re looking to get married one day, this is something you should think about. Your debt and financial choices will carry into your future marriage. If you rack up tons of debt and make a lot of trivial purchases, your future husband or wife will have to deal with those choices. If you want to be more attractive to the opposite sex, its good to be sure that you’re making sound financial decisions now.
  4. You show that you’re trustworthy. If you can be trusted with money, it shows that you can be trusted with lots of other things too. If you are prompt to pay people, and if you’re not owing lots of people money that sets you up to be someone that others feel they can trust.
    Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. – Luke 16:10 (HCSB)
  5. You want to be well off financially.  If you want to do well financially, you need to start making good choices with your money now. The best thing you have going for you as a teenager is time. The crazy thing about interest on investment and savings accounts is how much it grows with time. The younger you start investing in your future, the more money you’ll make. Choose to make good choices now so you can be well off financially when you’re older.

There are lots of reasons why it makes sense to start making good decisions with your money as a teenager. Its important to begin good financial habits when you’re young so that you can reap the benefits when you get older. Choose to not take the path that seems easy, but rather put a little effort in to reap good financial rewards later.

 Similar Youth Devotions

10 Tips for Teens About Money

10 Tips for Teens About Money

 

Whether you’ve got your first job, received birthday money from your grandma, or just made some sweet cash mowing lawns or selling candy, you’re always faced with a challenge: ‘what do I do with the money?’ Do you go on a spending spree? Blowing all your cash on candy, shoes or a new video game? You’ve got cash, but what’s the best way to handle it?

With that in mind, we’ve come up with 10 quick tips about money:

  1. Spend less than you make. Don’t borrow cash from your dad, brother, best friend or the guy that has the locker next to yours. If you don’t have the cash to pay for something right now, then wait to buy it. Choose to spend less than you make.
  2. Resist impulse spending. This can be tricky. You go shopping and find some awesome shoes. You didn’t know you needed shoes until you saw THOSE shoes. Then you knew, you had to HAVE them. Impulse spending can lead to some stupid purchases, but most importantly, impulse spending can cause you not to have enough money to pay for the things that really matter. Choose to take your time and think it through before spending lots of money.
  3. Put God first. This is one of the hardest things to do when it comes to spending your money. You might think that you’ll give to your church when you get older, or when you make more money. However, putting God first in your spending is the best way to set yourself up for financial success in the long run. Giving to God is the best financial decision you can make. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it. – Mal 3:10 (MEV)
  4. Making giving a priority. Giving is a concept that doesn’t really make sense to our brains, but its rewards are incredible. It seems that the more you give, the more you have. So whether its buying your friend a soda when they’ve had a bad day, or giving to a missions project, giving should always be a priority in your life!
    Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” – Luke 3:38 (NLT)
  5. Run from debt. Don’t make debt a habit. It can be tempting to ask your friend for some money to cover the cost of your candy bar, but don’t make that a habit. Debt is a trap, so don’t start. Choose to avoid it at all costs.
    Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7 (NLT)
  6. Save for a rainy day. Doing this will set you apart from a lot of people. Begin when you’re young to save. Don’t spend everything you make. Choose to set some aside so that when you really need money, its there for you.
  7. Learn from others. One of the best things you can do when it comes to money is watch and learn from others. There are people in your life who have made good decisions with their finances. Get in touch with them. See what things have helped them succeed and do the same thing in your life. Learn from the decisions of others.
  8. Learn about money. Read up on some blogs about money. Talk to your grandpa about money, whatever you do, become a learner about money. Find out how it works and how you can be better with the money you have.
  9. Don’t obsess about money. It can be easy to make money a huge obsession in your life. You can make all your decisions based on it. It can become such a big part of your life that it hurts your relationship with God. Never let money become an obsession in your life. Money is simply a tool, not something to become consumed with.
  10. Realize you’ll make mistakes. You’re going to make mistakes with your money. You’re going buy something that was totally worthless. You’re going to invest in something and lose it all. However, each dumb purchase or mistake that you make, is a great way to learn. If you let them, the mistakes you make will help you become wiser and be better with your money.

 

These simple money tips will help you to become better at managing your money. However, learning to be good with money isn’t something you’re born with, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t always make good choices. Learn from your mistakes and keep God at the forefront, and you’ll come out okay when it comes to your finances.

Similar Teen Devotions

God’s 4 Overlooked Lifehacks

Youth Devotion, Teen Bible Study, Youth Group Lesson on God's LifehacksLifehacks are awesome! There is nothing better than finding a smarter or more efficient way to do something. One of the best lifehacks I’ve seen is one where you charge a phone without power using a watermelon. It sounds nuts, but its really impressive! I had no idea that a phone could be charged without power. That is just one of hundreds of examples of great lifehacks. Have you ever thought about the fact that God provides us with some lifehacks in the Bible?

God has come up with some great ways to make our lives easier. So let’s check out four of the lifehacks God offers us in his word.

  1. Jesus. This is the most amazing lifehack God provides us with. See our sin keeps us from God. If we’ve sinned in anyway we can’t experience heaven or a relationship with God. God did what we were unable to do. He gave us Jesus who paid the price for our sins. Jesus is the ultimate lifehack. If we will believe that Jesus is Gods son and confess him as our Lord the Bible says we can have eternal life. That is great news. Jesus is the ultimate lifehack!
    “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heartthat God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9
    Learn More
  2. Love. It can be really hard to love someone who hasn’t treated you the right way. If someone has been mean to you the last thing on you mind is showing them love and kindness. However, God has you covered in this area. He’s provided you the love you need to be kind to others. The Bible says in Romans 5:5 God has put his love in our hearts.
    “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:5 (NIV)
    That means God has given you the love you need to be nice to those who give you a hard time or bully you. God gave you the lifehack of love.
    Learn More
  3. Tithing. Tithing is giving 10% of your income to your church. It might seem strange to give such a large part of the money you make to your church. However, it’s amazing how much God is able to bless you as you give. God has a way of providing in supernatural ways for you if you put Him first in your giving.
    “The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything.” – Mal 3:10
    Tithing is an awesome lifehack. God tells us to give our money to Him not because he wants to take things from us, but because He wants to get more to us. Tithing puts you into partnership with God. If you choose to tithe you’ll be blessed beyond what you can imagine!
    Learn More
  4. Peace. Most people aren’t living with peace in their lives. They’re stressed out, wondering if they’ll be able to juggle all their priorities. They might be worried if the guy they like will ask them to prom, or if they’ll fail giving their Oral Comm speech. However, if you tap into God’s lifehack of peace, you don’t have to get stressed out like everyone around you. You can keep your cool, knowing that God is on your side. He’s not going to let you down.
    If you put your trust in God, He will come through for you. He won’t leave you without hope or without comfort. You can find peace in knowing that the God of the universe is looking out for you!
    “I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. – John 14:27 (NLT)
    Learn More

God has provided some awesome lifehacks in the Bible. Don’t be afraid to tap into those hacks to get help. Doing things God’s way isn’t always what seems easy or makes sense, but if you follow after God He will reward your life richly!

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Three Truths on Giving

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.

How To Get Promoted At Work

Youth Devotion on Reaching your dreams

Being a teenager, and having your own job is a great thing! Its exciting making your own money and being able to buy things that you want. In light of that, we’ve come up with some sure-fire tips that will help increase your chances of being promoted at your job.

  1. Copy what the successful people do – Find a person at your job that is successful and has been promoted. Watch to see the things they did to get promoted. Find out what your company rewards and do those things. You might be a hard worker, but if you’re doing the wrong types of things, you WONT get promoted. Find out what types of things your boss is looking for and do those things.
  2. Keep a good attitude/be willing to learn – Learning a new job can be really hard sometimes. It can be easy to think you’re not going to get it, or want to give up. Its important at your job to keep a good attitude. Your co-workers will be happier to work with you and want to help you more if you have a good attitude. People enjoy being around a person that has a good attitude and wants to learn. If you’re having a bad day, try to not let it affect how you treat others. Stay positive and over time, your boss and co-workers will notice.
  3. Choose to get along with others – It can be really hard to deal with those people who you just don’t like. When a person rubs you the wrong way, it can be really tough to want to get along with them. But, no matter how others treat you, you should CHOOSE to respond to them kindly. The Bible talks about it like this:
    “The message you heard from the very beginning is this: we must love one another.” – 1John 3:11 (NLT)
  4. Don’t get discouraged – If you’re doing all the “right” things but still haven’t been promoted, its easy to want to give up and get discouraged. Many times people give up and quit their job right before a promotion was coming. Its easy to want to give up and get discouraged waiting for a promotion to come, to feel like its taking FOREVER! The Bible puts it this way:
    “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.” – Galatians 6:9 (Message)
    Don’t give up. Promotion will come your way, if you don’t quit.

Getting promoted at a job takes time and it takes effort. If you give it your best, keep a good attitude, choose to get along with others and not be discouraged, you will be on track to getting a promotion. Your job can be a great way for you to see God move on your behalf. Ask God for His help at your job and for wisdom. You’ll be surprised at what he’ll show you!

Pray: God, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I ask for your help at my job. I believe that with your help I can become a better employee. I know that you desire good things for me, so I ask for your help at my job. In Jesus’ name, Amen.