In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. – James 2:17 Today, let’s pretend that your grandma told you that she was going to give you $1,000 for your birthday this year. She told you that she went to the bank and put it in your bank account. Does just knowing that your grandma put money in your account do you any good? Not really. You might do a little happy dance thinking about the fact that you have some money. However, that money doesn’t do you any good sitting in the bank. It wouldn’t help you buy that car you were saving for. Why? Because if you didn ..read more

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock – Matthew 7:24 (NIV) I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but sometimes, I got really sick of hearing my mom tell me stuff. It’s not that I had a bad mom. In reality, my mom was pretty great. But like any teenager, I sometimes got sick of her advice and wanted her to just let me do my own thing. However, there’s actually some pretty good things we can learn if we’re willing to listen to others. I’m sure there was a lot of heartache I could have avoided if I ..read more

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. – Matthew 7:26 (NIV) I remember all the stress of school. I hated how many friends that I thought were Christians fell to peer pressure. I couldn’t understand why they said they believed God and wanted to live for Him, yet their actions seemed to contradict that. It wasn’t until more recently, that I began to find answers to why this happens. One of the things I learned was that it’s our actions, not what we say that really show what we believe. And then it hit me ..read more

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. – Isaiah 41:10 It’s hard to stay encouraged when it feels like nothing in your life is going right. Maybe you’ve been praying about something and you don’t feel you have the answer. Perhaps you’ve been doing the right thing and it feels like no one ever notices. It’s hard in the tough situations to not get discouraged. One of the best ways to stay encouraged is to remind yourself of God’s goodness. You might listen to a favorite son ..read more

1Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. There are so many things going on in the world and on top of all those things, you have your own worries and concerns. You could be worried about what school to go to or what sport to go out for. Maybe you’re even worried about your upcoming History test. Worries and cares can easily burden you to the point where you don’t feel you can keep going on. There’s one thing to do with cares and worries which is to throw them away from you. Throw them from you to God. When a fisherman casts a net or a fishing line, he forcefully ..read more

The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. – Luke 6:40 (NIV) I remember I had a friend who always said a certain word. And after hanging around her all the time, I began saying that word. I sounded like the person I spent time with. That’s a lot like what today’s Bible verse is talking about. It’s saying that the people you choose to spend time with are the people that you’re going to be like. Whether that’s your teachers, your friends, the TV shows you watch, or something else, the influences that you spend the majority of your time wit ..read more

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs – 1 Cor 13:4-5 (NIV) Have you ever wondered how to know if the person you want to date is dateable? One easy way to judge this is by looking at that person’s love life. That’s doesn’t mean looking at social media to find out the people they’ve already dated. Instead, it requires looking at how they love others. How do they treat their mom and dad? How do they treat their teache ..read more

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. – Romans 5:1 (NLT) When we realize our value to God it is freeing. We don’t have to be slaves to our fears. Rather we can walk in the peace Jesus provided to us. We can live lives free from shame, fear and condemnation. Instead we can walk around with our head held up high because we know we are children of the king. So today, it doesn’t matter if someone has trashed you on social media. It doesn’t matter if you parents haven’t always treated you corr ..read more

What are your personal thoughts regarding marriage? Maybe you’ve seen a good example of marriage in your parents, so you desire one day to be married yourself. Or perhaps, you’ve seen some examples in your life that weren’t so good, and so you begin to wonder if it’s something that is good. Marriage began with God in the garden of Eden. God created Adam and said this: The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. – Genesis 2:18 (NIV) God was the one who created the idea of marriage. He saw that Adam needed a helper and so He made o ..read more

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV) As we get ready for Easter this year, it’s good to remember what Jesus has done for us. We are made righteous and have eternal life because of Him. So as you go about your day today, take some time to thank Jesus for His great love for you. Thank Him for His mercy and His love. Realize that without Him, we’d be lost in the world and alone. But because of his death and resurrection, we have newness of life. Instead of a long dev ..read more