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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

Revelation 3:3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.  Today’s verse is one that should make us pause and consider our lives and how we are living them. It is a warning from Jesus to a spiritually complacent church - a church that looks right on the outside but is spiritually dead on the inside. He commands them to remember the Gospel they heard in the beginning and to remember what they felt, what they learned, and to seek that again in repentance. And not doing so will bring consequences. The church that was being warned in today’s verse is in the city of Sardish. It was a wealthy trade center that was secure and boasted proudly of their city. But they were prone to sudden attacks that came when they grew overconfident and apathetic. It is this historical overview that Jesus used to mirror the spiritual blindness of the church there.  What about you? How is your heart? Are you growing apathetic in your spiritual walk? Are you overconfident in your beliefs that you are secure and living in God’s will? It is important that we pause and evaluate our hearts periodically and seek God’s guidance and direction anew. Do you remember the excitement you felt when you first became a believer? The joy and peace that filled your heart, the eagerness to know more, the desire to learn and grow… It is easy for us to lose sight of that, to grow complacent and take grace for granted. And the more complacent we grow, the harder it is to find that excitement again.  But it is not impossible. And Jesus warns us that we need to repent when we find ourselves in a state of spiritual decline and stagnation and to seek Him once again, to turn to the Gospel that brought us joy in the beginning. We must make the choice to turn from spiritual apathy and to align ourselves with God once again.  Failing to repent and turn back to God can bring consequences. Jesus warned the church of Sardis that He would come like a thief in the night. That is not a reference to His second coming, of His return to earth or the Rapture, though the wording is similar to other passages found in Scripture. Instead, it is a warning that He will come swiftly and unexpectedly to discipline the spiritually sleeping believers. Judgement and discipline come when we least expect it, so it is better to get right with Him now and change those patterns in our lives.  This verse serves as a wake-up call to anyone who has grown overconfident and overly comfortable. It is time to evaluate our internal reality and our heart posture and determine if it is in the right place. Just because we look good on the outside doesn’t mean we are right on the inside. External reputations and appearances don’t matter when it comes to obedience and surrender. Instead, it is our heart that matters and we need to give it to Him fresh and new each day, choosing to align our lives with His will and not our own.  #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

2 Timothy 2:25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth… Today’s verse comes from the Apostle Paul as he advised young Timothy on how to respond to people who opposed him and his leadership in the church. It was meant to guide him in correcting opponents with gentleness and humility. It is from a larger portion of pastoral encouragement that addressed issues like handling false teachers, conflict, and spiritual problems. But just because it was addressed to church leadership does not mean it has no place in our own lives. There is still much we can learn from this verse that applies to our own lives. Paul told Timothy to avoid the ignorant controversial things that lead to arguing and disagreement with members in his church. It is something we should remember, too, when interacting with fellow believers. It is pointless to enter into quarrels with people over foolishness or petty points of difference. Instead, we should be kind, patient with others, and be willing to be taught as well as to teach others.  Rather than winning arguments, correction should be done to help others realize the error of their ways and to escape the snares of the enemy. We must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct both us and the opposing side. It is not our job to convict them, but it IS our job to help lead them to the truth and then leave it in His hands to do the rest.  True change and repentance are gifts that God grants to each of us. We don’t need to try to force results or manipulate things to make people change. Instead, we help guide them to the Lord Who will work in their hearts and bring about true repentance and life transformation. We do all of this with gentleness, humility, and above all, with love.  Even within the Church, we will face differences of opinions and interpretation. That is why we have so many different denominations within the Body of Christ. People have differing opinions about how the Bible should be interpreted. But differences do not mean division. Differences just mean we agree to disagree and are trusting the Spirit to guide us to the truth while we remain respectful and loving towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us embrace an attitude of love and grace towards one another. Seek God and His will for your life and trust that He will guide those who stand in opposition to you to true repentance and understanding. And be willing to be led, yourself. It might be you that needs the correction as you stand in opposition to others. Be cognizant of that possibility and be open to God’s guiding hand as you seek His truth and will.  #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Job 42:6 “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”  Today’s verse takes us into the book of Job where we see him having a complete turn around, change of heart after having encountered God on a personal level. Up to this point, Job had only spoken of God from secondhand knowledge, while his friends sat judging him and saying his losses and suffering were due to his pride and sin. He had lost everything - his children, his wealth, his health, all but his wife who also criticized him and told him to just die already. Yet, through it all he pleaded his innocence. What prompted this total change in demeanor from Job that caused him to say he despised himself and repented in dust and ashes?  He had experienced an intense and personal encounter with God. God spoke to him directly out of a whirlwind (Job 38-41), posing questions to Job that truly transformed his life. He demonstrated His absolute power and the limits of human wisdom with His response. And Job surrendered his demands for answers and humbled himself completely before God. He realized that his beliefs and judgements about God and His justice were inconsequential and insignificant. He said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” And it shook him to his core. Sometimes we find ourselves in the same mindset as Job, questioning the justice in what we are experiencing. We become critical and judgemental instead of accepting God’s hand at work in our lives. We respond with our limited, worldly views. And it is not the right response to have. We should trust Him instead of complaining, trusting that He has our best interest in mind and a plan for our lives. Yet, we sit and whine and complain about how unfair the circumstances are.  Do we really need a Job-like experience to change our hearts? Do we need to experience God in a personal encounter and hear Him speak to us from the storm?  Or can we trust that He is in control and at work in our lives? Learn from Job. He sat in ashes and dust, in physical grief and despair. He met God in a personal, extraordinary way and he was changed as a result. He retracted all of his defiant arguments. He realized he was nothing before such an amazing, all powerful Creator. And his response came not as a confession of sin but as awe at His majesty and sovereignty as he repented before Him.  #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Can you imagine the rejoicing in heaven that happens when sinners repent? Jesus spoke of this great joy in heaven at the change of heart of one who has been living in sin and finally repents. His statement can be found in the book of Luke where we see Him conversing once more with the judgemental Pharisees. We know the story as the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Once again the religious leaders are being critical as they judge Him for eating with social outcasts. His response is given in the form of a parable where He explains that God rejoices deeply when a lost soul repents and is turned to Him. We see the joy of our Father while the Pharisees stood before Him with their self-righteous attitudes, looking down on Him and the tax collectors and sinners He ate with. The parable is simple. A shepherd leaves 99 sheep behind knowing they are safe and goes to find the one stray that has wandered away. Once the shepherd has found the lost sheep he has a massive party to celebrate the one lost sheep having been found. This story mirrors our own Shepherd. He actively pursues the lost and then rejoices and celebrates with all of heaven when that soul repents. The heavens erupt in praise and rejoicing over just one, single soul. Imagine how much more there would be if more lives were changed and people came to real, heartfelt repentance? But what of the other 99, the ones who are righteous? Is there no celebration of their lives or choices? We are all sinners and we make poor choices daily. None of us is truly righteous. We all fall short. But when we turn from sin, repent and seek God’s forgiveness the heavens rejoice. The 99 righteous in the story likely referred to the religious leaders who assumed they were morally correct already and did not need to repent. They falsely believed they were living a proper, righteous life and would be rewarded for it. They did not see their own sin and their need for repentance. Have you become like the Pharisees, blind to your own sin? There is no justification for doing what is contrary to God’s will. Confess your sins before Him, ask for forgiveness, and then make the change necessary to live a life for God. #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The words of today’s verse were spoken by John the Baptist. They came right after he called the religious leaders a brood of vipers. His ministry was always focused on true repentance from people as he prepared the way for Jesus. But the religious leaders relied on their heritage rather than heart change. And John called them out for it. John’s instructions were simple - product fruit while being repentant. But what exactly does this mean? The Pharisees and Sadducees came to the river not to confess and be changed, but to see what was going on and possibly to pass judgement. They were not there for any reason other than curiosity. They assumed that the fact they were descended from Abraham granted them favor before God. And John was actively preaching that people needed to turn back to God as the kingdom of heaven approached. Salvation was not inherited from their ancestors or lineage. Real inner repentance will produce evidence that others can see. Someone who is living a life of sin will have a visible change in their life when they repent and turn to God. You will see drug addicts seek help to get clean, alcoholics seek help with addiction, promiscuous people stopping the sexual behaviors, liars confessing and making amends, and so on. People they hung out with before changing complain that they are not who they used to be, that they are “Jesus freaks” or religious nuts because they don’t like the changes they see in them. There is evidence that their lives have changed and they are living for God. John continued with his warning after this verse. He went on to say that trees that do not produce good fruit get cut down and thrown into the fire. Empty religious titles and positions mean nothing. They do not guarantee anything. There is no value in them. Genuine transformation only comes when a person repents and turns back to God. Repentance is a complete turn around, a u-turn. It is only when we come to Him broken and humbled that we find grace and mercy. #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.  Today we venture into the book of Joel to see what God has to teach us about repentance. The prophet Joel urged the people of Judah to turn back to God with true sorrow rather than in empty outward rituals. He pointed out God’s merciful and forgiving nature in the verse. God wants true change from us, honest sorrow over our sins, and He grants us His grace and mercy when we genuinely embrace repentance. In ancient times, people would rend their garments or tear them to express their sadness or grief. This was a public act and demonstrated to others that they were upset. But Joel showed us that God said do not put on a show by tearing our clothes. Instead, He desires that we rend our hearts instead. This means we truly change our inner self and we break our pride and end sinful behaviors that are holding us away from Him. We are to turn away from doing wrong and turn back to a close relationship with Him. God is full of grace and mercy. He is kind and He wants to forgive those who come back to Him. He does not rush to punish people. He gives them time to change. The Holy Spirit convicts us of the wrongs in our life and then the ball is in our court. Will we respond by rending our hearts and returning to Him? Or will we pretend things are going well and continue in sinful ways? God does not want fake sorrow from us. He rejects the empty, outward ritualism of those who are trying to show off or pretend they are something they are not. He asks for a broken, humble, and sincere heart to come before Him. He is patient. He will wait for us.  And He is also eager to hold back calamity and disaster from our lives when we do return to Him. Joel ends the verse telling us of this truth. God will hold back the judgement and wrath that we deserve. He reconciles us to Himself instead.  Today take a few moments to let your inner self feel true grief over the sins in your life. Recognize the conviction the Spirit is bringing to you and choose to change. Turn back to God with everything you have, in true surrender and humility. And trust that God is kind, full of mercy, and slow to anger. Know that He loves you and forgives you when you repent with genuine sorrow. #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  No one wants to experience sorrow, whether good or bad. Sorrow is no fun and weighs us down. Today’s verse comes from a letter Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that made them deeply sad. But they did not let it bring them anger or bitterness. Instead, they used their pain to fix their behavior.  In our verse, we see there are two types of sorrow that Paul talked about. One is Godly sorrow and the other is worldly sorrow. He showed them that each sorrow would lead to different outcomes. He wrote this to show believers that feeling sorrow about the sins in our life can be helpful but only if we recognize it for what it is and turn to God.  First he mentioned Godly sorrow. This type of sadness leads to a change of heart and to salvation. It is a sadness felt deep within that we experience because our actions hurt others or worse, hurt God. But this sorrow can cause true repentance when we turn away from bad behavior and change our life. It results in forgiveness, healing, and salvation. Then he spoke of worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow leads to spiritual ruin. Typically, this form of sadness is the fleshly response one has to things in their life. It is a response of anger, stress, or sadness over being caught, losing face, or experiencing negative consequences. It creates a shame that is toxic and fills one with self-pity rather than a desire to fix the wrongs. Worldly sorrow traps us in bitterness and causes spiritual harm.  Usually we don’t like to think of sadness in our lives as being a good thing. We don’t like to feel sad or sorrowful and bottle up our feelings and shove them down deep inside. But this is not healthy. It does not allow us to heal the way God wants us to. Instead, it festers deep within and bubbles up and over when we least expect it, causing more harm in the end. When you feel the sorrow of sin in your life, pray about it. Think about it. Evaluate whether it is a sorrow that leads you to life change or one that is holding you back spiritually. Confess it. Repent and turn away from it and turn to God. Let Him begin healing you and bring about transformation in your life.  #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  In today’s verse, we find Jesus having dinner with tax collectors and other societal outcasts. This is just after He had called Levi, who we know as Matthew, to be His disciple and Matthew hosts a large dinner in His honor. The religious leaders did not like this and openly criticized Jesus for eating with “sinners.”  Jesus responded to the Pharisees with a comparison. He explained to them the purpose for Him coming using a medical analogy. He compared Himself to a doctor who goes to those who are broken and in need of healing and fixing. He points out to them that healthy people do not need a doctor. Only sick people need doctors. He then went on to say He came to call sinners to repentance, not to call the righteous. My first assumption when reading this was that the righteous already know God, they are already living a Godly life and serving Him. They don’t need help seeing where they are sinning and how to change. But then I learned something that made me stop and delete everything I had already written. The “righteous” that Jesus was referring to in this statement are not Godly believers living lives for Him. He was talking about the Pharisees. He was talking about the fact that they reject Him and their need for healing. They refuse to see their own sin. And because of that, they do not repent and have their lives transformed. He was challenging the religious elite when He said these words but they were too self-righteous to realize what He was saying or to see it in themselves.  As believers, we must recognize that true repentance requires admitting we are at fault and making the choice to turn to God for a changed life. It means seeing when our thoughts, behaviors, or actions cross the line and become sin. Sin is easy to fall into. It is easy for us to slip up and find ourselves in a place we don’t want to be. And when we do, we need to act immediately to remedy the situation. We need to stop what we are doing and confess it to God then turn away from it and back to Him. Yesterday we asked God to help us examine our hearts to identify the sins in our lives. Today, let’s continue to explore our actions and behaviors. Identify simply one thing that you can repent of and be freed from. We all have sin in our lives. The question is are we honest enough to admit it and make an effort to change?   #TEENS4JESUS #devotion #dailydevotional #christianteens #DailyBibleVerse