TUESDAY Growing up, you’ve probably heard many times that you aren’t saved by what you do, but rather by what Jesus Christ already DID on the cross 2,000 years ago. And this is very true. But the things we do are a good indication of where our heart is. For example, do the things you choose to do with your time, money, and talents reflect a love for Jesus or a love for yourself? A relationship with Jesus is a 24/7 commitment. Sure, we’ll make mistakes. But our everyday choices should be reflecting a heart of love for God as described in Matthew 22:37, not a desire to fit in and be accepted by the world.
WEDNESDAY It’s a simple fact that very few middle and high schoolers, even those who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, are generally known by their friends and neighbors as followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus just isn’t typically the topic of many everyday conversations or included in decisions that impact everyday life. But just because this is the “norm” doesn’t mean it’s the way it should be! Are you willing to be a stand-out Christian in your school, neighborhood, online, and even in your Christian youth group? Will you choose to talk about Jesus and what He’s doing in your life? Will you choose to SHOW the world what Jesus means to you personally? Read Romans 6:8-14.
THURSDAY The relationship with Jesus that you take the time to cultivate and the habits you develop now will impact the rest of your life, from high school, to college, to who you marry, to how you raise your own children. This is big stuff. You may think, “This is my time to have fun. I’ll have the whole rest of my life to get this ‘being-a-Christian-thing’ worked out.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The time is now. Right now, you’re laying the foundation for the rest of your life. Who will you be? The person that reaches higher for all that God has for you? Or the person that’s content to skate by, blend in, and lose out? Don’t trade all that God has for you for the passing pleasures of the world! A life without Jesus will be filled with regrets, but a life lived in and through Jesus has NO regrets. It won’t always be easy, but it’s always worth it! Check out God’s promise in Galatians 6:9.
FRIDAY Sometimes it’s just plain hard to hear Jesus over all the “noise” of the world. Satan uses many very attractive things to draw us away from Jesus and even make things that are bad for us (sin, for example) look really, really good. But if we truly do want to live a life committed to Jesus, the question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are there some areas of my life like parents and church, for example, where Jesus is welcome to come into and other areas like school, music, movies, video games, the internet, etc., etc. where He is not.?” Read Romans 12:1-2 and Colossians 3:1-2.
SATURDAY In our spiritual life, just as with our physical lives, we will develop an appetite for the things we “feed” on. If we feed on music and movies with dark, violent themes, bad language, and inappropriate situations, we’ll hunger for more. And these things, whether we think so or not, take root in our minds and affect our actions. We have a choice to make everyday: Will we choose to feed on the trash of the world, or will we choose to “starve those appetites” and feed instead on the things that are true and right. (Check out the full menu in Philippians 4:8!) Sounds hard, I know! But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Sounds restricting, I know! But it’s really the only way we’ll ever be truly free! It’s a choice that we all have to make: Will we be content to call ourselves Christians, giving Jesus pieces of our life as we see fit? Or will we give Him our WHOLE SELVES and let Him “take the wheel”? For inspiration read Romans 6:1-4.