Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Fear Not The gods

By: Matt Crawford


"And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but you have not obeyed my voice." Judges 6:10

Every day people in the world bow to these gods: Public Opinion, Peer Pressure, Popular Culture, Wealth, Admiration, Pride. People that don’t have Jesus, and many that do, fear these gods. They fear losing them or incurring their wrath. They appear very strong, and those who bow to them - at first glance - appear to have a good grip on their environments.

Since being a Christian is a journey, but first off a battle, we are forced to go head to head with these false gods and combat them every day. Because a lot of us were raised in the world, we were once slaves to them, and are still tempted to fear and bow down to them today.

Those who don’t have Jesus basically worship these gods, and when they see that we have found a different god than theirs, they call down the power of their gods against us, to test us. But as Elijah proved, if you put the false gods of the world head to head with the God of the bible, and Jesus Christ, He will prove the victor every time!

Fear not these false gods! In trying to live a Godly life, the world will try to intimidate you by calling these gods against you. "If I serve God in this way, what will it cost me?" "What will people say?" "What if all my old friends lose respect for me?" "I will look like a fool!" All of these things may even happen, but since we bow to Christ, we no longer owe these gods our allegiance. We ultimately gain nothing of worth from them, and in the end they will all be brought low. "…the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." Live for God, and fear not the "gods that are no gods at all." They are nothing!   

[Soldier4Christ]

  False Shame

By: Beth Hays


If I am guilty, too bad for me. And even if I'm innocent, I am filled with shame and misery so that I can't hold my head high. (Job 10:15) NLT

It thoroughly amazes me how the things we believe about ourselves have such a greater impact on us than the truth. I think it’s the whole “mind over matter” concept. But, you have to admit, we get lost in falsehood sometimes. Job did too. Even though He was innocent, he was filled with shame…a debilitating shame. Maybe you have felt that way too.

I know I have. I have struggled with shame for quite a bit of my life. Not guilt—that is saying what you did is bad, but shame—saying WHO you ARE is bad. I have lived with the “knowledge” that the very essence of my being was wrong. Thoughts revolving around worthlessness, stupidity, self-hatred ran rampant in my head. And every time I looked in the mirror I was disgusted by my own reflection. I was bad.

Or so I thought. Through a long process of healing from my past and facing the horrors in my soul, I have come to see that this is FALSE. I am not bad, I am not wrong. At times, what I did was bad. But, that say nothing of who I am. We are not made up of our actions or even emotions. We are made up, knit together, by a God who perfects us.

My friend, this is true for you too. I am so desperately sorry for the hurt you have known. I am sorry that satan has lied to you about who you are. I am so sorry that you didn’t know what to do besides believe him. But, I’m here with a better option. I’m here with the TRUTH. YOU ARE GOOD. The very heart of you, the spirit within you, is good. Yes we are sinners. But, God made you, looked at you, and said “It is good.” You can’t walk around with your head down in shame any longer. You don’t have to. Please soak up this truth: your shame is false; it is a lie. There is nothing wrong with who you are—and everything right.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Birthed With A Purpose

By: Jeff Lappano


“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)

I love the book of Jeremiah for hidden within it are glimpses of who we are to be in Christ. How important it is that we should know who we are in Christ. The prophetic word that we’re studying today is so important to get a hold of. Though we’re studying one part of the verse, the entire verse reveals that our God is god who cares for us so much, and knows everything about us.

Even though in the language we see this verse, it says a lot, in the Hebrew it says so much more. Lets see what Jeremiah’s prophetic word was originally. “For I comprehend and understand the purpose that I consider and value you with.” My best guess is that our parents have told everyone one of us that we were an accident. Often times, the statement is expressed out of anger, therefore holding no value. In God’s eyes, we’re not accidents, even if we are to our parents.

Jeremiah 1:5 say, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” Before the beginning of time, God knew each and every one of us. Not only did God know us, but also he designed us with a purpose and calling. Romans 11:29 say, “For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance.”

How should we find out what our purpose is in life? Lets continue with the theme of our opening text. Do you remember what was? The theme of the word of the Lord is God having a relationship with us. Now it is time for the coin to be flipped, meaning its not just a one sided relationship. We to must have a relationship with God. Lets continue with yet another prophetic word that Jeremiah received from the Lord. 33:3 in our next text. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knows not.” Jesus said that doesn’t look at us as servants but as friends. In the Hebrew, the prophetic word begins with “Address me by my name.” In the orginal language, the word goes on by saying that if we do the first part, that God would begin to reveal the hidden things to us. Do you know what your purpose in life is? If you have a relationship with God, you have every right to know what your purpose in life is! Yes you can ask God what it is, and He will tell you!

[Soldier4Christ]

  What's My Purpose

By: Janet Adams


What is my purpose?  How many times have we thought about that.  Why am I here?  The older you get the more you will ask yourself that question.  You may think you know why, you are a Christian and want to serve God but how? 

I want to tell you about a book, I am sure some of you have heard of it or even read it.  Some churches have done sermons and studies with it.  It is called "The Purpose Driven Life."  It is awesome.  It will change your life, I promise.  It should be a manual for any new Christian.  The day you except Christ as your savior someone should hand you that book along with a Bible.  It puts so many things into perspective about God and your own life and where you fit in. 

It is a 40 day devotion type book, just a few pages a night.  It is more important than homework (don't tell your teachers I said that), sports or anything you can do with your extra time.  It is easy to read and the man that wrote it was inspired by the Holy Spirit because it has changed many lives and churches. 

Wonder what you are all about and why you were born, read the book.  And after you do email me and let me know what it did for you and I will give testimony on a devotion from some of your emails.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Helpless

By: Matt Crawford


"Then He answered, and spoke unto me, saying, ‘This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,’ saying, ‘Not by might, or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.’" Zechariah 4:6

Guess what? The things you are dealing with, trying to overcome in your own strength, are never going to leave you. You are helpless against them. There are just things in life that you cannot ever beat. Addictions, habits, character traits, flaws. Things you hate about yourself, but even as a believer, you will never put a stop to. I am 26 years old, have been a believer 7 years, and still my flaws are at the forefront. I’ve tried everything, and I have had all these years to work at it. No change at all. Very encouraging, isn’t it?

God is trying to show us that we need to start over. Remember when we first got saved? All those things we had done years ago, but no amount of good deeds or self-control, or whatever, could take away from our souls, until we believed in Jesus? Then suddenly, things we didn’t have the ability to erase, were erased, and forgotten, by the grace of God. That was nice, wasn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be nice if by the same grace, we could become the type of people we want and need to be, outside of our own strength and efforts? Aren’t you sick of repenting of the same old mistakes, trying even harder, only to fall into them again? I know I am.

The reason God allows these things to linger, is so we can start over and realize, that if we needed grace to be cleaned of our old sins, we also need that grace to live right today. If it was possible for our efforts, or psychology, or positive thinking, or methodology, to change us, wouldn’t that take away the need for God’s grace? And wouldn’t those things have worked already?

There is a way for those flaws to go away. Not by any power or our own might, or any methods known to man. Only by God’s Spirit, as the above verse states. Grace, and the Spirit, signify the ability to do something that we could never do, through God’s power. That was always the mode of operation for God’s battles to be fought in the Old Testament. It was always the mode of operation for the early church, which is responsible for Jesus being spread all over the world, and miracles being done. How could those frail believers, Peter and the disciples, have preached a sermon, the very first ever, which took in 3000 converts all at once, without being equipped with God’s power? They never could. It is the same with us.

If we are ever to be what God designed, as the church, as believers, we need to pray fervently for God’s Spirit to fill us up and equip us. Be aggressive, ask in prayer and accept nothing less than the Spirit in full. God set it up this way so that for all time He would get the glory, and by doing through us what we could never do on our own, nobody could deny a miracle has occurred. Call God out, challenge Him for His promises. Is He a chicken? Is He scared of our prayers? Never. Keep asking for His Spirit, and you’ll get it. Seek it like never before, and things will change.   

[Soldier4Christ]

  Christ: The Passover Lamb

By: Jeff Lappano


“Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT)

Do we really know what Christ did on the cross for us? Of course if you have seen “The Passion of the Christ”, you know the scene of the cross wasn’t as beautiful to the natural eye as many other pictures have depicted it. Jesus didn’t one day decide to just die on the cross for us all. Jeremiah 29:11 is a familiar verse in the bible which basically tells us that God knows our lives from beginning to end, there is nothing in our lives that surprises God. Jeremiah 1 teaches us that every one of us has been born with a purpose! Even so, Christ became a man and temporarily lived among us according to John 1:14.

The will of God for His Son was established way back in Genesis 3:15 when God prophesied that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the snake. The will of God was never for the sacrificial system. Hebrews 10:5-7, “Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do your will of God.” The will of God as we see in our opening text is to be the Passover Lamb for us. In the instructions for the Passover, in Exodus12:5, God says that the lamb shall be unblemished. The final part of Hebrews 9:14 in the NLT says, “For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice of our sins.

I want to continue with one thought. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain for the foundation of the world. I have heard that phrase over and over again, but once I stopped and thought about it, it blew my mind away. Revelation tells us more about the Lamb of God. Revelation 5:9, “You were slain, and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

My mind is baffled. Why would Christ, the Eternal Son of God leave the splendor of Heaven and die for a sinner such as me? Christ didn’t really care about all the criticism he got, which was a lot. He totally understood that His life’s purpose was to be beaten and die a humiliating death for you and for me. God fulfilled the sacrificial system that he instated by sending his Son and His sacrificial lamb. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Are you Weary?

By: Janet Adams


Come all who are weary and I will give you rest.  It is a Bible verse and part of a lyric of a song.  We walk around so weary with our heavy burdens of life.  No one can escape it.  Life makes us weary. 

We try our own ways to make things work and end up working twice as hard.  We can't sleep because we are so weary even though we are exhausted.  We promise ourselves that tomorrow will be better but does it ever get better?  Tomorrow brings it's own problems on top of yesterday's. 

Now get the hint here?  All who are weary come to ME (God) and I will give you rest.  REST from the worry, exhaustion and problems life brings. You don't have to do this alone, God wants to take the weariness from you, He asks you to give it to Him. It is so simple, go to God in prayer and give Him what is making you weary and He will give you rest.

[Soldier4Christ]

  She Said Yes

By: Mary


A few weeks ago, I was reading the biography of Cassie Bernall,
you know, the book called "She Said Yes". It made me think about what it
would be like to die for my faith and for the cause of Christ. And as I
thought about it more and more, I realized that if I were in the same
situation, I might have taken the cowardly way out. The
picture of me and some guy holding a gun up to my head kept flashing
through my mind. It freaked me out! I began reading some verses in the
Bible, here's one of my favorites:

Matthew 16:24-27 says,
Then Jesus said to his followers, "If people want to follow me, they must give
up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their own lives to
follow me. Those who want to save their lives will give up true life, and those
who give up their lives for me will have true life. It is worth nothing for them
to have the whole world if they lose their own souls. They could never pay
enough to buy back their own souls. The Son of Man will come again with his
Father's glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward them for what
they have done."

Would you be willing to give up YOUR life for God? Is your faith
strong enough to withstand such a trial? What would you say if someone
held a gun up to your head and asked you that question? Just go
somewhere by yourself and get alone with God, and ask yourself these
simple questions.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Jesus: the prison guard

By: Jeff Lappano


“And behold, I am alive forevermore, I have the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:18 (NASB)

Our days on earth will never be numerous enough to allow us the full revelation of who Christ is. On a consistent basis I find more and more about my wonderful savior. Being a teacher of the Word, it is my responsibility to share these truths with those who will listen, and to whom I am sent to minister. As we study this subject, please know how important it truly is for you.

Jesus is a man with great authority, amen? The bible is clear that it is only by Him can a man see the kingdom of Heaven. Before we fully touch that subject, I want to share something else that he has access to. In Luke 4, Jesus gives the mission statement of His ministry. Verses 18 and 19 read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the Poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the Captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” He was sent to release those who were dealing with bondage to anything.

Lazarus was dead for four days when Christ finally made it into Bethany. After he comforted the dead man’s sisters, He did something totally amazing and shocking. John 11:39, “Jesus said, remove the stone.” I am sure He was aware of the terrible odder that was about to be released from the grave but yet because He was up to something, He had them do it. Verses 43 and 44, “Lazarus come forth…the man who had died came forth bound hand and foot.” Jesus reveals the two-step process he takes to set the prisoner free. He has the door opened and then speaks and the prisoner is freed. Lazarus was totally dead yet Christ, with this process released him.

Jesus came first of all to seek and save the lost. What does that mean. If you don’t have a relationship with Christ, He came to have one with you. He is seeking you! All you have to do is ask him to come into your life and be your savior. But to those who are saved, you may feel like you are in prison over something in your life. Jesus came also to set you free from that! He is the prison guard and has the authority to free you from whatever your bound in and again the same invitation is extended to you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Are You Weary

By: Janet Adams


Come all who are weary and I will give you rest.  It is a Bible verse and part of a lyric of a song.  We walk around so weary with our heavy burdens of life.  No one can escape it.  Life makes us weary. 

We try our own ways to make things work and end up working twice as hard.  We can't sleep because we are so weary even though we are exhausted.  We promise ourselves that tomorrow will be better but does it ever get better?  Tomorrow brings it's own problems on top of yesterday's. 

Now get the hint here?  All who are weary come to ME (God) and I will give you rest.  REST from the worry, exhaustion and problems life brings. You don't have to do this alone, God wants to take the weariness from you, He asks you to give it to Him. It is so simple, go to God in prayer and give Him what is making you weary and He will give you rest.   

[Soldier4Christ]

  Aggravating Insanity

By: Tony B. Rhoda


Let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. (1 Peter 3:11)

Why? Seriously, can somebody tell me, why? It is not rocket science, no it isn't. It is not calculus or physics. It is something that I am sure most kindergarten students can even figure out. But, does this matter? Not at all! It still happens and I don't think it will ever stop. What am I talking about? What am I about to go completely insane over? People not knowing how to clap to the Adam's Family Theme song at baseball games.

Sure, this may sound trivial, it may sound stupid even. But it is one of the most annoying things I have ever had to deal with. I will be sitting there, enjoying a nice sunny day, listening to the music and watching my favorite past time. Then a participation song comes on to get the crowd having a good time. You hear the music, and clap twice, a couple more measures, clap twice again. Then instead of waiting for the final clap, people insert a clap right in the middle! No! Why! Stop! They just ruined everything.

What does this have to do with God or Christianity? Simple. There are often times when we learn something as we are growing up. We hear it all of the time and after a while it doesn't have the same impact any more. We often get lazy and just turn our brains off. It is during these times that we mess up and often kick ourselves for wondering why the mental lapse happened. I have noticed that most of the times that I have stumbled has been over things that I know better. Sins that are not tricky and difficult, but are simple and easy. For one reason or another I just choose not to pay attention, I chose to not care enough to try.

Does God get irate and aggravated like I do at baseball games? I don't think so, but I know that He gets hurt and is saddened by it. He knows that you can do it, that you are better than that, He knows you have the ability to kick sin and to keep the devil under your feet. He knows that all it takes is just being aware and staying focused on the goal. I challenge you to think of all of the little things that you let get in the way of an amazing relationship with God. All it takes is just a little effort and staying focused on God, to keep something as small as sin away from all that God wants to do for you. God Bless and Keep The Faith!

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Fatherless Generation

By: Beth Hays


Hosea says: For in you the fatherless find compassion.
God says: I will love them freely. (taken from Hosea 14:3b-4a) NIV

Someone told me the other day that we are living in a “fatherless generation.” I have no question that they are correct. I have spoken with countless precious ones who have spent their life without a father figure. Their fathers had run out or given up on them early in life. And they had functioned for so long with that void in their spirits.

What a nagging void it is to know that someone SHOULD be there and voluntarily isn’t. It is an ache so deeply imbedded nothing could ever fill it. Or at least, nothing can fill it that is willing to. And the emptiness never goes away. In fact, it haunts in the moments you least expect it. And the loneliness—oh how overpowering!

Oh, precious ones, even with fathers, to many of us know that void. And it breaks my heart that so many fathers are missing out on the amazing opportunity to be in the lives of their children. But, the incredible problem is not hopeless. Hosea promises us that in God alone we can find compassion. My friend, God knows your hurt. He sees that void and has compassion on you.

Remember me saying nothing could fill that void? I lied. God can. He is bigger than that hole and He will become your Daddy if you let Him. I know it’s not the same. It’s better. God promises to love you freely. He will be so much better than an earthly father. Precious one, he may not have given you a dad. But, He was only saving you from heartache because He wanted you to have the BEST—Himself. Let your Daddy know He can fill that void in your heart. I promise He is eagerly waiting to “love you freely!”

[Soldier4Christ]

  Entertaining Sin

By: Tony B. Rhoda


"Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more." (John 8:11) NASB.

When lights go out one night do you ever wonder if you will see them come back on in the morning? Does it ever cross your mind that today might be your last day on this earth? Have you? If you were to die right now do you think that you would be satisfied with the life that you have lived? Would Jesus?

It's been ages since I sat down to my old trusty dusty gray box. The one that I spent most of my childhood with. It's the one, the only, regular Nintendo. I grabbed the Super Mario Brothers cartridge and sat down for a quick game. Ten minutes later and countless times slamming, blowing, and rubbing the game, I finally got it to work. My childhood has come back to life.

As I continued to trudge my way through the never ending levels, I start to realize that I have totally forgotten how to play. Every time I would find a mushroom that would make me bigger, I would run smack into one of the deformed creatures and BAM! Right back to a little midget I started from. I made it a little further before I finally died and then turned off the power. Hmmm, interesting.

Some of us continue to entertain our sins everyday. Soon as we start to grow stronger we get slammed back down again in our walk. We try so hard to be the type of Christian God wants us to be. But, we lack the drive to do what it takes to become that Christian. Luke 8:13 says, "And those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall way." Ouch! Is that you today? Are you striving to be a Christian but every where you turn you fail.

The only, way you are going to become a strong Christian is to be grounded in the Word. Read the Bible daily. Start a routine in your life. Don't be afraid to pray and pray without ceasing. Also, get plugged in with some friends who instead of dragging you down will pick you back up. Because in Luke 8:15 it says, "And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word and in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." What kind of Christian are you? More importantly, what kind of Christian do you want to be? The question is there. Now it's up to you to come up with the answer. God Bless and Keep the Faith!

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Garden Scene

By: Jeff Lappano


“So Jesus said to peter, ‘Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11 NASB

Today we’re going to conclude looking at the final moments of Christ’s freedom before being arrested. We found out last time that when those assigned to arrest Christ came to carry out the mission, one of the men almost left minus one ear, yet Christ showed compassion and healed him. How did this man, named Malchus, almost leave earless? One of Jesus’ friends decided to settle score and take vengeance on those arresting Jesus. The friend who carried out this slicing mission was of course the slow to thinking, quick to acting Peter.

Ok fine Christ healed the dude. What did Peter get out of the whole situation? A dinner paid at the local steak house by Christ, or even a hand shake would have probably been good. Unfortunately for Peter, the reward of his slow to thinking action was a reprimand by Christ.

Proverbs is full of ways to live a godly and ungodly life. Friendship is one of the topics that some of the proverbs deal with. Proverbs 27:6-7 says, “better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are wounds of a friend…” the word declares that yes, indeed, it's ok for there to be rebuke in friendship. Yeah, I know that is challenging to our way of thinking.

Christ didn’t rebuke Peter because of hatred, but because of love. Peter didn’t have the full comprehension of the mission Christ was sent to earth to fulfill, as Christ totally understood it. For this reason, Peter most likely pulled the stunt that he did. Yet, for the same reason Christ could correct his friend in love.

Ok, I’m sure you thought Christ totally handled the situation wrong. He healed his persecutor, and rebuked his friend. I think that Christ is wanting to show us that yes it's not only OK to rebuke friends when needed, but also (hold on to your seats) its OK to receive an open rebuke from a friend.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Trouble Treadmill

By: Steven Self


Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Life may be like a box of chocolates, but the troubles we walk through are like a treadmill.  It doesn't matter how much we try to walk, we still end up in the same place.  The exercise may be doing our bodies good, but part of getting in shape means we also have to get the right amount of rest too. 

My parents used to have a treadmill right beside their bed in their bedroom.  I would have to force myself to get on the treadmill and start working out (I'm not big into cardio, so this is a tough thing for me).  After I had been exercising for a while and started to get tired, the bed would start to look really inviting.  The bed was big, soft, and comfortable and all I would want to do is just fall on it and go to sleep.  But before I could lay on the bed, I would have to get off of the treadmill and it's not very comfortable to step off the treadmill or stop it because there is an immediate change of pace.  You have to be very careful or you can fall or hurt yourself.  But once I finally would step off the treadmill and jump on their bed (without them knowing, of course), I got to relax and let my body calm down and start allowing the exercise to make a difference in my muscles.

As we walk through our troubles in life, it's just like we are walking on that treadmill.  We may be growing stronger out of them, but we are afraid to stop and get the rest we need.  The reason we are afraid is because our pace would have to change and there is a possibility we would actually get hurt.  Jesus tells us to cast our concerns on Him and let Him take care of them.  What this means is that we need to stop walking in the treadmill of our problems and lay on the bed spiritually so we can get some rest.

Sometimes the holiest thing we can do is take a nap.  We need our rest in order for the exercise to make any kind of a difference.  Today, take a step off the treadmill and give the problems to Jesus.  Let Him comfort you and support you softly.  Rest in Him.  You'll be amazed at how much Jesus can do when you let Him take control of your problems.  It's so awesome what a nap can do. 

Editor's Note: The first E-mail was sent by accident with out the author's name or title of the devotional, those responcible have been sacked. This new devotional, after great expense, has been brought to you in the correct format.