Daily Prayer from the devotion at teens4jesus.org, FB, IG, X, Bluesky, Lordsbook, Pinterest, Discord, or Instagram. #TEENS4JESUS #dailyprayer #christianteens #Christianlife #christiangrowth

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’  For a lot of people, God is an uncaring, mean judge who takes no interest in the lives of people struggling to survive. But nothing is further from the truth. Today’s verse is a great example of just how much He cares for us. Our God does love us, even those people who are caught up in lives of sin and shame. And He wants what is best for us.  God doesn’t want anyone to die, good or bad. He wants them to cease doing the bad things in their lives and instead repent and turn to Him. He told us in this verse just how He feels about the death of those who are wicked. He takes no pleasure in their deaths at all because He doesn’t want any to perish, but instead, for all to come to know Him and be saved.  He made a vow to the Israelites, spoken through the prophet Ezekiel. He said “As surely as I live…” This was an undisputed fact for the Israelites. They knew God existed and for Him to make a vow, it was serious business. And God is always faithful, always following through with what He said He would do. In this case, He vowed that He took no pleasure in the punishing or death of the wicked and sin filled people. He wanted them to repent, to turn from their ways, and to live.  He even said, “Turn! Turn…” The emphasis on the word turn, spoken twice, showed the Israelites that He was giving them the opportunity to change their behavior and transform their lives. This clearly demonstrated that He is a merciful God, giving grace when it is not deserved. Even when we feel weighed down by our mistakes, He offers us another chance. He extends His hand and pulls us back up, setting our feet on the ground once more. He is truly a patient, waiting God who wants none to perish, but all to come to be redeemed and made righteous once again (2 Peter 3:8-9). Despite His grace and mercy and His long standing patience, we must also remember that He is a just God. He will judge people accordingly. If we are living in sin, He will bring judgement to us and it will not be pleasant.  Turn from your sin today. Accept His grace and mercy and let your life be transformed and let yourself be made righteous. Don’t wait. There is no telling when He will return, when He will judge, or how long it might be in the meantime. Repent of your sins and seek His forgiveness.  #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Daily Prayer from the devotion at teens4jesus.org, FB, IG, X, Bluesky, Lordsbook, Pinterest, Discord, or Instagram. #TEENS4JESUS #dailyprayer #christianteens #Christianlife #christiangrowth

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  In today’s verse there is no mention of repentance or repenting but the core message is based upon that action. If we are to confess our sins and be purified, we must first turn from the wrongful behavior and seek Him and His ways. Then we have the promise that He is just and will forgive us. The Apostle John wrote his letter to believers who were facing false teachers. These false teachers claimed they were sin free. But we know from Paul that no one is sin free for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We inherited our sinful nature from Adam and Eve and no matter how hard we try we will never be totally sin free.  Lucky for us, God loves us despite that. He provided a way to escape the punishment of sin and the consequences that our actions would result in. He gave His Son, perfect and blameless, the only one to ever be sin free, as a sacrifice for our sin. He died on the cross and was raised again to satisfy the requirement of the law for the remission of sin. And we are made righteous because of Him. This verse is not about salvation though. It is about restoring fellowship with God. If we claim we have fellowship with Him but are living a life of hidden sin or denying our sinful nature then that fellowship is disrupted. Instead, we are walking in darkness and lying against the truth (1 John 1:6; 1 John 1:8).  The only way for us to restore fellowship with Him is to repent and turn back to Him once more. We must confess our sins in order to be forgiven. The Greek word for confess is homologeo and literally means to say the same thing or to agree with God about our sin. We don’t make excuses or try to hide it, instead, seeking His ways and His will for our lives.  And when we repent and change our behavior, He forgives us. He gives us grace and mercy that we don’t deserve. The penalty for our sin is paid in full thanks to the death of Jesus on the cross. When we acknowledge our sin and ask for forgiveness, the barrier that prevented us from fellowship with Him is removed and we have our relationship restored.  Don’t let your sin come between you and God. Confess, repent, and seek Him once more. He is waiting and faithful, ready to embrace you just like the father of the prodigal son did. He will restore fellowship with you and you will be made righteous and holy. But it all begins with repentance. What are you waiting for? #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse 

Cleanliness is next to Godliness #marketplace #christianteens #christian

#christianteens #lordsbook #lordsbookdailys #faith #jesus #christian #love

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Daily Prayer from the devotion at teens4jesus.org, FB, IG, X, Bluesky, Lordsbook, Pinterest, Discord, or Instagram. #TEENS4JESUS #dailyprayer #christianteens #Christianlife #christiangrowth

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  This is one of my favorite verses on God’s love and patience. There is nothing more revealing of His nature than the fact that He is patient with us because He doesn’t want a single soul to perish but wants EVERYONE to repent and be saved. If you have followed my writing for any length of time, you have seen me reference this verse numerous times.  The Apostle Peter wrote this verse amidst a portion of writing that addressed mockers, false teachers, and scoffers who argued that Jesus was not coming back because history was continuing unchanged. Peter reminded his readers that it was God who had judged the ancient world through the Flood which demonstrated the fact that God DOES intervene with history when there is a need. And Scripture tells us that the world is destined for destruction by fire in the future. The only way to avoid that end ourselves is to seek Him, repent, and turn to Him as Lord of our lives. He is not a God who sits outside of things and ignores all that is going on. He is a God with a plan, one that was put in motion when man first chose to sin by eating of the Tree of Knowledge, a plan that has been playing out over time and culminates with His Son returning to earth in triumph. The key to remember is that God works on a different time table than we do. He exists outside of time as we know it, which our minds cannot comprehend. Scripture tells us that to Him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day, meaning time is nothing to Him because He sees everything - beginning, middle, and end. And because of this view, He can wait patiently for repentance. What we perceive as delay or Him being slow to respond is actually Him being exactly who He is - a patient, loving Father who wants none to perish. Knowing that our world is destined for destruction by fire, believers must live holy, Godly lives as we wait for the new heaven and earth. But more importantly, we should be actively sharing the Gospel with others, helping them to repent and turn to God, too. Christ’s return will arrive unexpectedly. We don’t know when it will happen.  So while we await that time, we must be prepared which means getting right with God and helping others do the same. What can you do today to set your heart right? And who can you share the Gospel with today?  Time is running out and there are millions who don’t yet know Him, who are living lives of sin, prisoners to their worldly practices. God is patiently waiting for all to repent but how can they repent if they are not aware of their need for Him? Let God use you today to help grow His kingdom and save a soul. #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Daily Prayer from the devotion at teens4jesus.org, FB, IG, X, Bluesky, Lordsbook, Pinterest, Discord, or Instagram. #TEENS4JESUS #dailyprayer #christianteens #Christianlife #christiangrowth