This devotional booklet aims to guide teenagers in understanding the importance of cultivating good character, as emphasised in the Bible, for a purposeful and fulfilling life.
We will delve into two key virtues – discipline and self-respect – that are essential aspects of being a Christ-follower. Each devotional will explore the journeys of various individuals including contemporary people and Bible characters, in their obedience and reverence towards God and the authorities.
Following this, the Bible passage reflections will encourage you to apply these teachings to your daily life. Should you feel the need to converse with God, our prayer section provides prayers for your use, and offers space for personal or group prayers if you’re doing this with a group. Join us in this life-changing exploration of character development and spiritual growth.
DAY01 Self-Control in God’s Strength
Today’s Bible Reading
2 Peter 1:3–10
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. – 2 Peter 1:3
A1972study known as the “marshmallow test” was developed to gauge children’s ability to delay gratification of their desires. The kids were each offered a single marshmallow to enjoy but were told if they could refrain from eating it for ten minutes, they’d be given a second one. About a third of the children were able to hold out for the larger reward. Another third gobbled it up within thirty seconds!
We might struggle to show self-control when offered something we desire, even if we know it would benefit us more in the future to wait. Yet Peter urged us to “add to [our] faith” many important virtues, including self-control (2 Peter 1:5–6). Having laid hold of faith in Jesus, Peter encouraged his readers, and us, to continue to grow in goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, affection, and love “in increasing measure” as evidence of that faith (vv. 5–8).
While these virtues don’t earn us God’s favor nor secure our place in heaven, they demonstrate—to ourselves as well as to all those with whom we interact—our need to exercise self-control as God provides the wisdom and strength to do so. And, best of all, He’s “given us everything we need [to live] a godly life,” one that pleases Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 3).
By: Kirsten Holmberg
Questions:
1. What has God given us, and why has He done so (2 Peter 1:2-4)?
2. List down the Christlike qualities mentioned in 2 Peter 1:5-8. Which of these qualities do you feel you need to develop more of, and how could you discipline yourself to do so?
3. Why should we grow in these Christlike qualities (2 Peter 1:8-10)? Write down two reasons below.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, please grow in me the qualities that reflect You so I might reveal Your goodness to the world around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY02 Lasting Rewards
Today’s Bible Reading
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things. – 1 Timothy 4:8
Ukrainian gymnast Larisa Latynina held the record of 18 Olympic medals. She won them in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics. The 48-year-old record was surpassed when Michael Phelps swam for his 19th gold in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay in the 2012 London Games. “[Latynina] kind of got lost in history,” the publisher of the International Gymnast magazine said. When the Soviet Union broke up, “we had forgotten about her.”
Paul, the apostle, reminds us that sometimes hard work is forgotten. Athletes subject their bodies to great discipline as they train to win perishable medals for their effort (1 Cor. 9:25). But it is not just that the medals are perishable. Over time, people’s memory of those achievements dim and fade. If athletes can sacrifice so much to achieve rewards on the earth, rewards that will eventually be forgotten, how much more effort should followers of Christ exert to gain an imperishable crown? (1 Tim. 4:8).
Athletes’ sacrifice and determination are rewarded with medals, trophies, and money. But even greater, our Father in heaven rewards the discipline of His children (Luke 19:17).
God will never forget our service done out of love for Him who first loved us.
By: C. P. Hia
Questions:
1. How does an athlete prepare himself to run a race well (1 Corinthians 9:25)? How should we prepare ourselves to run the race of faith well?
2. Why does the athlete train so hard? What about us, what motivates us to run the race of faith well (1 Corinthians 9:25)?
3. How does Paul describe the way we should train and discipline ourselves spiritually (1 Corinthians 9:25-27)?
Prayer:
I thank You, Lord, for the opportunities to use the gifts You have given me for Your service today. Help me to do so in obedience, expecting nothing more than Your “well done” as a reward.
Sacrifice for the kingdom is never without reward. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY03
Life Changes
Today’s Bible Reading
Ephesians 4:20–24
Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4:24
Stephen grew up in a rough part of East London and fell into crime by the age of ten. He said, “If everyone’s selling drugs and doing robberies and fraud, then you’re going to get involved. It’s just a way of life.” But when he was twenty, he had a dream that changed him: “I heard God saying, Stephen, you’re going to prison for murder.” This vivid dream served as a warning, and he turned to God and received Jesus as his Savior—and the Holy Spirit transformed his life.
Stephen set up an organization that teaches inner-city kids discipline, morality, and respect through sports. He credits God with the success he has seen as he prays with and trains the kids. “Rebuilding misguided dreams,” he says.
In pursuing God and leaving behind our past, we—like Stephen—follow Paul’s charge to the Ephesians to embrace a new way of life. Although our old self is “corrupted by its deceitful desires,” we can daily seek to “put on the new self” that’s created to be like God (Ephesians 4:22, 24). All believers embrace this continual process as we ask God through His Holy Spirit to make us more like Him.
Stephen said, “Faith was a crucial foundation for me changing my life around.” How has this been true for you?
By: Amy Boucher Pye
Questions:
1. What are two ways Paul describes the old self that we should “put off” (Ephesians 4:20, 22)?
2. What are two ways Paul describes the new life that we should “put on” (Ephesians 4:24)?
3. How can we “put off” the old life and “put on” the new life (Ephesians 4:21, 23)?
Prayer:
Jesus, You’re alive and working in the world and in my life. Help me become more like You day by day as I leave the old self behind. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY04
Practice These Things
Today’s Bible Reading
Philippians 4:1-9
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. - Philippians 4:9
As I helped my son with his math homework, it became apparent he was less than enthusiastic about doing multiple problems related to the same concept. “I’ve got it, Dad!” he insisted, hoping I would let him out of doing all of his assignment. I then gently explained to him that a concept is just a concept until we learn how to work it out in practice.
Paul wrote about practice to his friends in Philippi. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9). He mentions five things: reconciliation—as he urged Euodia and Syntyche to do (vv. 2–3); joy—as he reminded his readers to cultivate (v. 4); gentleness—as he urged them to employ in their relation to the world (v. 5); prayer—as he had modeled for them in person and in writing (vv. 6–7); and focus—as he had shown even in prison (v. 8). Reconciliation, joy, gentleness, prayer, and focus—things we’re called to live out as believers in Jesus. Like any habit, these virtues must be practiced in order to be cultivated.
But the good news of the gospel, as Paul had already told the Philippians, is that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (2:13). We’re never practicing in our own power. God will provide what we need (4:19).
By: Glenn Packiam
Questions:
1. Why did Paul tell Euodia and Syntyche to “be of the same mind in the Lord (Philippians 4:2)? How can we apply this instruction in our lives?
2. Paul gave the Philippians some instructions regarding emotions like joy, gentleness, and peace. Which do you need to work on? How will you do so?
3. What does Paul tell the Philippians to focus their thoughts on (Philippians 4:8)?
Consider a favourite song or movie. Does it meet this criteria?
Prayer:
Jesus, give me the grace to practice Your ways by the power of the Holy Spirit. Empower me to live my life in a way that bears the fruit of the Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY05
Feeding Ourselves
Today’s Bible Reading
Hebrews 5:12–6:2
By this time you ought to be teachers. — Hebrews 5:12
The eaglets were hungry, and Mom and Dad seemed to be ignoring them. The oldest of the three decided to solve his hunger problem by gnawing on a twig. Apparently it wasn’t too tasty, because he soon abandoned it.
What intrigued me about this little drama, which was being broadcast by webcam from a garden, was that a big fish lay just behind the eaglets. But they had not yet learned to feed themselves. They still relied on their parents to tear their food in tiny pieces and feed it to them. Within a few weeks, however, the parents will teach the eaglets how to feed themselves—one of their first survival lessons. If the eaglets don’t learn this skill, they will never be able to survive on their own.
The author of Hebrews spoke of a similar problem in the spiritual realm. Certain people in the church were not growing in spiritual maturity. They had not learned to distinguish between good and bad (Heb. 5:14). Like the eaglet, they hadn’t learned the difference between a twig and a fish. They still needed to be fed by someone else when they should have been feeding not only themselves but others as well (v.12).
While receiving spiritual food from preachers and teachers is good, spiritual growth and survival also depend on knowing how to feed ourselves.
By: Julie Ackerman Link
Questions:
1. In the Bible passage, what do the metaphors of “milk” and “solid food” refer to?
2. How can we prepare ourselves to move on from spiritual “milk” to “solid food”?
3. What are considered “elementary teachings”? Do you need to learn more about them before you’ll be ready for “solid food”?
Prayer:
Jesus, You’ve given me Your Spirit to grow and learn. Please continue to teach me so that I can discern truth from error. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
