Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  All Things Work Together for the Good

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

Have you ever had times in your life where you believed you were doing the will of God and  those things were working out beyond what you had imagined but other things around you seemed to be falling apart?  I have.

We do not always know why things happen for bad.  But this much we can be assured of....God is working all things out for our good. 

Do you ever second guess yourself and your calling if things are going wrong?  Sometimes we all do.  Sometimes we take it as a sign from God that the direction we are taking is not His will. But this is not always the case. 

It could be that while you are in fact in the will of God, setting out to do those things you believe in your heart He has “called” you to do, the devil sends attacks against you, trying to get you to shrink back or to get you confused. 

I laugh at the devil because his attacks always cause me to run to God and seek His help, guidance, comfort and power.  And then I experience God in even bigger ways.  The attacks against me actually cause me to seek God harder and as I do, God is working through me.
Then I am a vessel for God to work through.

When things come against you that is the time to seek God with all of your heart.  He will be there.  He doesn’t always promise us a life of ease, but He does promise to never leave us nor forsake us.
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have PEACE.  In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

When those attacks come and they will, to all of us.  Run to God.  He will be there and He will work it all out for your good, just trust Him. 

[Soldier4Christ]

  Masquerade

For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.  1 Samuel 16:7

This past week I went to a masquerade party with my youth group.  It was a lot of fun.  Everybody dressed up and I wasn’t even able to tell who some of my friends were!

A lot of people will try to hide their true identities with masks.  They will hide behind the mask of a smile or will pretend to friends that they have no troubles.  People will often even try to use spiritual masks with God.  They forget that He sees all and they will try to hide their emotions or wrong doings from Him.

The amazing thing is that God will look past your mask into your soul.  He knows all about you, and yet He still loves you.  When you feel ashamed, disheartened, angry, or afraid, He is right beside you to lift your mask and comfort the real you.  He will never wear a mask of His own so you know that you will always have a true friend in Him.  Turn over your mask and see what God will do in your life today.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Share Your Story

Beloved let us love one another: love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

We all have a story to tell. Some of us have been through some things that made us at one point give up on life. You couldn't take the hurt and the pain anymore. Just tired of the suffering. Tired of going through. The bible say that God is love. If you don't love you dont know God. That is something. So many of us have gone through some tough situations and experiences in our lives that few people know or nobody know. We are afraid to share our story. Share your story because you will be healing someone else life with your story, your testimony. Just imagine with me for a moment the people who will be heal through your story. You can save someone from killing themselves. You can save someone from depression. You can save someone from hurting someone else. Your story is to bring God glory. When you are sharing your story, you are sharing it with love in your heart, for God lives there.

I had to endure some things. Face and deal with some things all my life. To the point I wanted to give up on life. I wanted to throw in the towel. I was tired of how my life was going. I wanted answers to questions that I had concerning my life. I thank God that he has been with me through everything I have gone through and experience. I am here to tell you that the lord is with you and he understand you. He know what you deal with and face with. I am here to let you know that he love you. I love you. Share your story. You will be helping someone else. When you share your story, you are sharing your life and you are doing it because you love. Your Story, Your Testimony will be for his glory. Below is a poem I written about my life. Hope it encourage and heal someone life today. God bless you and I love you.


Hiding
Crying
Fighting
Lying
Laughing
Giggling
Frustration
Humiliation
Disappointment
Discouragement
Embarrassment
All these things represent my life
My childhood
I am misunderstood
Day after day
People making fun of me
Laughing at my speech
What did you say
Say it again
Talk properly please
Stop stuttering
The shame
The hurt
The pain
The struggle
The trouble
Being judge
I had enough
I give up
Time to die
How should I go
How about suicide
I cant take it anymore
The finger pointing
People looking at me
Saying in their mind is there something wrong with me
The struggle to live life
Not taken seriously
Because I speak differently
Special education
Speech therapy
The things I have been through
You wouldn't know by looking at me
I ask why me
Why was I born this way
Why I have to go through this everyday
Why the struggle in my speech
Lord what are you doing with me
The lord reminds me that he is with me
This is just temporary
You have go through the suffering
You will go through the pain
Your joy is coming again
Hiding
Hiding my true feelings
Hiding everything
I don't allow you to see
I keep on smiling
Keep on laughing
Just to cover
Cover up my hurt and pain
Wondering when it will all end
But I learn to put my trust
Trust in the God of love
He continue to be with me
In spite of everything
From childhood to now
I can say that God been with me all the way
He is with me now

[Soldier4Christ]

  Bear Each Other's Burdens

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

Back in High School, my best friends and I had tickets to go to a Christian Rock Concert.  We were so excited.  We had saved our money so we could buy a  t-shirt or something from there as a memento.  For two weeks that was all the three of us could talk about.

Then, six days before we were supposed to go to the concert, my friend was in a car accident.  My parents told me that on her way home from school she had flipped her car and was pinned inside.  It took the “jaws o f life to get her out” then a helicopter flew her to the hospital.  They weren’t for sure if she was going to live.

I was in shock.  All I could think about was my friend, I wanted her to live.  I cried for her.  I just wanted her to be okay.  We all prayed for her and  quickly went to the hospital.

She had broken her neck and was paralyzed from her waist down.  She would have a long recovery and the doctor’s said she would never walk again.  I was heartbroken for my friend.

The day my friends and I were supposed to go to the concert we went to the hospital and sat with her and tried to cheer her up. We took the money we had saved and bought her some flowers and a fuzzy teddy bear.   Sure, we could have gone to the concert without her, but how could we have?  She was our friend and she was hurting, so were we.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”  John 15:13-14

Love others, bear their burdens, cry when they cry........especially those you call your friends.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Who You Serving?

You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:14


My mom went to a meeting and there was a young missionary speaking. He spoke about going over to China and Korea. He said whenever he goes over to those countries he is disgusted when he comes back to the US. He spoke about how the people in China follow their gods so strictly each moments of the day revolve around worshiping their god. They make sure every move they make every word they say is pleasing to their god. They are in such deep devotion and fear for their god, that they live and breathe to worship it. In this country millions of people claim to be Christians, claim to follow what the Bible commands , claim to be devoted to the Lord, but their lives are poor showings of it. They say they follow what the Bible says and what Jesus has commanded, but they party every weekend , getting drunk, high among other things. They are lying, cheating, stealing, cursing, gossiping so and so on. Now think about this, in China the people are fully and wholly devoted to their god, which is not the one true living God. People in America say "Yea, I'm a Christian." and turn right around and do whatever they feel like regardless if its pleasing to God or not. The God that these "Christians" say they believe is the ONE TRUE GOD OF CREATION. The one that has given each of us life, the One that sent His only Son to die for us so we wouldn't have to parish for our own sins. How messed up with that? That people over in other countries follow false gods with their lives, and we over here just live however we want.

Jesus said we are His if we obey His commandments. If we just go about our lives living to make ourselves happy we ARE NOT GOD's. "The Bible tells us that many are called and few are chosen." Many people that are called to the word of God will not always be chosen to be God's own child. God has given each of us a choice, to live our lives for Him or to live our lives for ourselves. We show which we choose in the way we live. Is your life pleasing to the one true GOd? Are you doing everything you can to live sold out for Him? Or are you picking and choosing when to follow Him?

[Soldier4Christ]

  What Do You See?

And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. Genesis 42:9

This is a story of Joseph and how he had a dream of his brothers bowing to him. His brothers didn't believe him and they did all they could to destroy him. The point I want to make is that although Joseph saw his brothers bowing to him in the dream, he didn't know when it will come to pass. Joseph had to experience and go through things in order for that dream to come to pass. He was thrown into jail. Sold into slavery. Almost killed by his brothers. All this happen before the dream of his brothers bowing to him. Sometimes we have to go through a process before our dream come to pass. God sometimes give us a glimpse of the future but he doesn't tell us or show us the present and how we will get there. It is almost like a movie. When an up and coming movie is coming soon, they usually give a preview of what to come or a glimpse of what to expect but they don't show you the whole movie. God has given you a glimpse or a preview of your future. I want to ask you, what do you see? Do you believe in what you see? What is the dream that God had showed you? Do you see that thing coming to pass? What do you want to achieve? What is the thing that is always on your mind that you want to do? Joseph remembered the dream. Some of you God has brought back to memory the thing that you wanted to do. He keeps putting that thing in your mind to the point you can eat, you can't sleep, that thing is on your mind all the time, you can't shake it. God say to you today to go forward, move into what I have put into your mind and heart. Move into the unknown. Move into that thing you have been wrestling and battling with. I have made provision for you because I have given you the vision. What do you see? See that thing coming to pass but you will go through the process. God is preparing you. Go after your dreams. Just believe and you will receive what you can see. God bless you and I love you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  What Are We Becoming?

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.   2 Timothy 3:1-5

Those verses from Timothy, while written over 1900 years ago, provide a very striking resemblance to the America we see today in many respects.  Now while Timothy was not considered to be a Prophet back in those times, it might appear to us today that he was.  When you look around you, what do you see people doing with their time, spending their money on and how they behave with and towards others?

Have you ever just sat down somewhere, perhaps a shopping mall, and made observations of people?  It can be quite a fascinating way to spend some time, if not educational.  The area of Arizona where I live is fairly influential, despite being only 20 minutes away from others who live in near squalor.  Many people who live here drive around in their Hummers, Mercedes, BMW's and Lexus' without even nary a thought of the plight of others.  Their main concern is often, "where is the next Starbucks?" not for the poor who live down on Buckeye Road in South Phoenix wondering where the next meal might be coming from.

Now having a lot of money is not a bad thing in itself, the problem becomes what do we do with it?  When you really stop and think about this, it is a pretty sad state of affairs of what America has become.  Everyday, you hear another situation where someone wants God taken off a coin, off a wall, out of a book, or out of our society all together.  All of this in a country founded "Under God".   Hardly believable considering that, however, it is very much a reality today.  I was thinking the other day how good it would be for every member of our church, regardless of their financial standing, go on a mission to a third world country.

I have been on many over the past seven years and I can attest to how blessed I know I am in comparison to the countries I have visited.   I think it is a very good way in which to be able to put life in a better perspective, when you actually live in the place where less fortunate than us call home 24/7/365.  It is definitely and eyeopener, and for most of those who go, a heart opener as well.  And, I believe, that is the most important aspect of going on a mission; to have your heart changed and become a person of compassion, mercy and have a desire to seek justice for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Let us hope and pray together in one accord, that what Timothy wrote back then, is not a description of the America to be in ten, twenty or forty years from now.

[Soldier4Christ]

  I Hope You Dance

As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." Romans 2:24

You are the only bible some people will ever read.  What does your actions and your life say to other people?  Are you truly living your life for Christ or are you just telling others you are a Christian?  As Christians we need to be more about living then about saying.  The example of your life could lead someone closer to Christ or further away.  God calls us to be a good example and show His personality to the world. 

A few years ago I was watching a graduation of some of my students.  I was sitting with a few of my kids who weren’t graduating and they were telling me some stories about the seniors as their names were called.  They would tell me if someone was funny or scary or whatever.  It was really good getting to hear about the graduating seniors and having some ammo to mess with them about.

A time came in the program where a girl (who had gotten a scholarship to a Christian college for singing) got up to sing the song “I hope you dance.”  I was really enjoying the song and this girl could really sing.  About half way through the song, my kids told me “That girl is a bad girl.  She says she’s a Christian and acts all high-and-mighty, but she’s really a bad girl.  She’s always drinking and doing drugs.  As a matter of fact, she had sex with several guys at a party the other day.”  The song was ruined for me after that very statement.  Although the girl was singing beautifully, the meaning was gone.  As a matter of fact, every time I hear that song now it reminds me of her.  I don’t really care for the song anymore, and usually turn the radio when it comes on because of the bad taste that one second left in my mouth.

Our lives are powerful.  We can make people feel this way about God when we proclaim to be a Christian but go off and live our lives just like the rest of the world.  If you read more of the passage of scripture I referenced, you’ll see this is exactly what Paul is talking about here too.  If you say you are a Christian, then live like one.  The way you live right now is an example for Christ.  What kind of example were you today?  What kind of example will you be tomorrow?  It matters. 

[Soldier4Christ]

  What I Learned From Yoda

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Romans 12:10

Ok, I must confess, I have never watched the Star Wars movies, but I do have a general knowledge of the characters in the movies.  My little cousin further enhanced my knowledge today though by taking the time to tell me every single character in his brand new Star Wars coloring book.  He went through and patiently told me the story of Anakin, Luke, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Yoda. 

I honestly still have no clue what the story line is, but my little cousin taught me a very important lesson.  He could have been selfish and held back his new book, but he didn’t, he shared.

While this seems like a lesson that most seven year olds should know, often times as teenagers we forget how to share.  We become jealous of others when they accomplish something and we are only able to think of what they have that we don’t.  A green monster, just like Yoda, invades our lives. 

God doesn’t want for us to be jealous, He wants us to share all of our successes with others.  Don’t ever forget the lessons you can learn from simple acts such as sharing Yoda.

[Soldier4Christ]

  My Just Reward

Then I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain.                                                                                                 Isaiah 49:4 a

Have you ever felt like that?  You worked hard on something only to find it didn’t turn out the way you had hoped?  Have you been praying for someone for a long time, only to watch them get  worse?  Have you hoped and prayed for something and it didn’t come to pass?  Did you feel like just giving up?  To just stop believing? That your prayers didn’t matter anyway?

The other half of Isaiah tells us what we should expect. “Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God”.

No matter how things may look, God hears your prayers and you will be rewarded by Him.  He sees your efforts, how hard you try, don’t stop trying, keep doing the right thing.

“For I the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and I will make with them an everlasting covenant.”Isaiah 61:8

God’s word promises to heal the broken hearted, to free the captives, to comfort all who mourn.  He promises to give us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for the mourning.  The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Speak those words back to God.  Say, “Lord, you promised me joy for my sadness and I am believing what you said.  I am trusting you to bring it to pass.  I thank you Lord, that you will hasten it in it’s time.”

God is waiting for you to believe.  “And from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Keep that faith in your heart, it will come out of your mouth, and you will see God work on your behalf.

[Soldier4Christ]

  How Did I Get Here?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

I just got back from a Casting Crowns concert, and as usual they blew me away. Every lyric to every song has deep meaning and will make you think. Their new song "Slow Fade" , talks about how easy it is to slip into the worlds grip. How one glance from our eyes can take us charging into sinful desires. How after seeing the sinful desire, how slowly our feet begin to take us there. As we find ourselves doing certain things we never thought we’d get caught up in. The Bible warns us, that bad company corrupts good judgment. SO TRUE. Here’s a simple example.

You grew up with your parents teaching about the Lord. Go to church , bible studies, vacation bible school in the summers. You spent 50% of your life in a church setting. The people you grew up with had the same background as you. As you get older some of your friends begin to drink. Not a lot , just a little for some fun. When you see whats going on, that little alarm goes off in your head. "This isn't right." Your friends begin to do this more and more and pressure you into doing it to. "It’s no big deal", they say. "Whats it going to hurt? Live a little, have some fun." You think to yourself, "Maybe just one drink won’t be so bad, I grew up with these people, they still go to church and everything , so it must be ok." So there you justify one drink. Next time its two, then three and so on. You have convinced yourself that it was ok to do what the others were doing. Until drinking turns into more drinking then that turns into smoking a little pot, and so on from there. What happened? You have justified yourself into a sinful lifestyle. You slowly faded in with the world. You will justify your actions from then on, until you have justified yourself away from God and the life of a true believer.

You said you wouldn’t fall into that. No body thought you could do the things you have done. You try to hide your actions from your "church life" from your family. But in reality you are hiding from no one. God sees all, you cannot hide from your sin forever, you will be found out and will disappoint your Savior and those around you. When you fall into sin it doesn't just affect you, it affects those around you. People watch how you live, especially when you claim to be a Christian. Unbelievers watch to see if and when you will fall, so they can point out your mistakes. You have to remember to be an example of Christ always. To keep yourself from fading into the world, dig into God’s word, see how he wants you to live, see how to follow Him with everything you got. There is no rewarding feeling about blending in with everybody else. If anything there is an empty meaningless feeling which you will try to fill with anything you can find. This life is about living for God not yourself. Stop justifying your actions. Because what your doing is talking yourself into sin. Saying that the things you do aren't that bad, until you wake up one day asking yourself, "How did I get so far from God?"

[Soldier4Christ]

  All Is Now Different


But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

We stand on the threshold of another year.  We sit back and think of the past year, and dream of the next.  What will it hold?  As part of my Christmas present, my brother took me to the movies on Friday.  We went to see Castaway. It was a wonderful movie, which I really enjoyed.

For those of you who do not know, it was of a man, whose life was thrown around, mixed up, and basically changed in one instant.  All of a sudden, all that he knew, was now different.  All that he had, was now different.  He must adjust to his new surroundings.  He must become a new man.

In a moment, your life could change.  I am sure; without a doubt, this year will hold life changing situations.  After this year, I know none of you will be the same.  You know what? Though all is falling apart, though everything is lying broken at our feet, God is changing us from the inside out.  Is that not wonderful how He works that way?  Instead of taking the easy way out, He works where it is most difficult. 

Allow him to change you this year.  Will you not remember that you are but clay in His hands?  God is a beautiful creator.  He will make you beautiful, you just have to let him.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A New Creation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:17

Can you remember when you first became a Christian?  What about before you gave yourself and life to Christ?  A very good friend of mine, Liz, who lives in Australia and attends Hillsong church there and I recently had an interesting experience with this verse.  God placed us in one of those amazing circumstances where we were so spiritually connected, that our thoughts were being vocalized nearly identically as we chatted on Skype.

My friend had recently discovered that God had some new plans for her life and was rearranging things in a slow and methodical way.  I had been sharing with her the importance of the verse "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).  As she practiced being still and listening for God's leading on a daily basis, her sense of life's direction and what the Lord wanted for her began changing in some radical ways. 

A long term relationship that was not growing and was heading nowhere in particular suddenly ended.  Liz shared with me that she actually felt that a burden had been lifted from her and she felt free to do what God wanted for the first time in her life!  She likened it to the process of a butterfly.  As you know, butterflies start out as caterpillars.  When in the form of a caterpillar, they are bound up don't move very fast, crawling around on plants limbs and aren't very useful.  However, soon they go into a cocoon, and eventually break out of that condition turning into a butterfly.  This happens through a metamorphous designed by God that enables the butterfly to flit around very quickly, anywhere they please and bring happiness to many people.

As Liz told me this story, I likened it to 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Before we become Christians, we are like that caterpillar'  We are bound up and have limited usefulness to God.  However, when we give our life to Christ, we become empowered, just like the butterfly, to move around more freely bringing joy and happiness to others.  Just like the butterfly, we have become a new creation, which is much more useful than our former condition.  So, the next time you see a butterfly happily flitting about, recall how Christ gave you a new life, just like that butterfly, and make it become more useful and meaningful for the Kingdom.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Honor Parents = Long Days

By: Matthew Bacchus
mailing@tddm.org

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Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God given thee. Exodus 20:12

This particular verse is very clear. It say when you honor your parents, you will have long days. When we don't honor our parents, our days are cut short. Too often we don't appreciate or show love to our parents. We forget their sacrifice. We forget the price they have paid for us so we can have. We need to appreciate what we got because we have people who don't have a mother or father or even none at all. Some are being raise by relatives or an guardian. Whoever is raising you or has raise you, you must honor them. We are finding in this day and time that the children are killing parents. Children are disrespecting their parents with their words and actions. God said honour rather than disrespect but some of us continue to spit in the face of the parents and God is so serious when he say your days will be cut short. We often wonder why most people die so young, it is because they didn't honor their parents. You will find in your life when your going through and have had a rough time in your life, your parents are there. Whenever you were in need of something, they were there. We all have someone who has been there throughout our lives. No matter what we did wrong, they were still there. Whoever help to raise you, is who you should honour as well. You will find in the time of trouble, your parents will be there. Like I said before, there are people who dont have both parents in the home or don't have any at all, they either died or they just weren't there, think about that for a moment. Those of you who have both parents at home, just picture your life without them. Can you live without them? We often wish and appreciate people when they are gone. While your parents are living and breathing. Honor them. Call them up if they are far away. Visit them and thank them. I want to leave this song with all parents. I dedicate this song to you. Marvin Sapp sing this song "Never Would Have Made It" These are the words.

Never would have made it, never could have made it, without you
I would have lost it all, but now I see how you were there for me

And I can say
Never would have made it,
Never could have made it,
Without you

I would have lost it all,
But I now how I see how you were there for me and I can say
I'm stronger, I'm wiser, I'm better,
much better,

When I look back over all you brought me thru.
I can see that you were the one that I held on to
I made it thru my storm and my test because you were there to carry me thru my mess

I would have lost my mind, I would have gave up, but you were right there, you were right there

On behalf of all children, I say thank you for we wouldn't have made it without you. Thank you for being there. Thank you and God bless you. Everyone please take time out to call or write or visit your parents, tell them thank you for being there and raising me. God bless you all.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Choice

“Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14, CEV)

All of us who are Christians got to the point in our lives when we accepted Christ as our Savior.  Maybe you grew up in church, maybe not…but there was some point when you made the decision to follow Jesus.

I grew up in a Christian home, but never really accepted Jesus till much later on in life.  I thought I believed, but as I grew up I realized I didn’t have faith in anyone but myself.  My whole concept of religion was originally based on the fuzzy warm feeling I got in my stomach knowing that I was “good” because I went to church and could recite a lot of prayers.  As I got older I realized that believing wasn’t a feeling but a conscious choice.

So does it end there?  We all chose to follow Jesus, right…so we’re good to go.  Or maybe not.  Lots of times we get up to make a profession of faith and what we’re really saying is something like “Well, I’ve looked at the available information and I’ve decided that it would be in my best interest to follow Jesus.”  Like it’s some big deal on our part!  We so easily belittle our God by focusing on what we’ve done…and losing sight of what He did for us.

Of course, it’s necessary for our salvation that we choose to accept the free gift of life.  But we forget that God chose to make us, chose to love us, and ultimately chose to hang on a cross and die for us…how arrogant of us to not fall to our faces knowing we do not come close to deserving the gift we choose to put out our hands for!

I would challenge you today in your quite time to really think about the choices that God made.  You know that He chose to die for you…what other choices has He made for your life?  Take the time to discover what God wants in your life, and be prepared for a life that is better than you what could have chosen yourself!