3 Devotions for Students - Lesson 4
Devotion 1
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” - 1 Peter 1:3-4
Have you ever taken the time to think about the person who does not believe in God or in a life after this life? Do you wonder what it’s like to live with the thought that this is all there is and to live life with no real purpose or meaning? That is not the life you have in Christ!
Peter tells us our new life in Christ gives us a reason to really live. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you now have a living hope, or as some people translate it, a lively hope. The Spirit of God is lively and active, and that Spirit lives in you right now. No wonder Peter more or less shouted, “Praise be to God!” Not only have you been rescued from a dreadful life to an exciting life, but also you have the promise of heaven from a God who never breaks His promises. Now that is real hope.
Think About This . . .
Devotion 2
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13
Have you ever thought about the origins of some of the words we use every day? Check out these words and how they became part of our English language:
Muscle is from a Latin word that means “little mouse” because people thought muscles actually looked like mice under our skin.
Lunatic comes from the Latin word describing the moon because people believed changes in the moon made folks go crazy.
Jeans got the name from the place in Italy where the pants originated, Genoa.
Have you ever called a dollar “one buck”? Well that would be because during the American frontier days deerskins were used as currency.
(From the web site list25.com)
Now, do you know where our word hope comes from? It actually comes from God! Paul describes God as the God of hope because all hopes originate in Him. Hope is a gift that we receive when we ask Jesus to be our Savior. Notice that not only do we get the gift of overflowing hope, but we also experience joy and peace as we trust in Christ more each day.
Think About This . . .
Devotion 3
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
When the first 3D movies came out (back in the old days), the glasses usually had one red lens and one blue lens. The movie was made where the images overlapped a bit on the screen and that created a three-dimensional effect. Maybe you have been to a 3D movie recently and used the new glasses with the state-of-the-art technology. Take off the glasses and you will see a fuzzy red and blue type movie that will not be enjoyable. You have to wear the glasses.
When you became a believer, God gave you some special glasses, so to speak. According to Paul, you now have the ability to see the eternal and to view the world through the eyes of Jesus. This passage reminds us not to get sidetracked by temporary troubles of life but to instead stay focused on the eternal. That means to use your spiritual glasses to see what God is doing in your life from a heavenly perspective. It will change the way you see yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Think About This . . .
Devotion 1
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” - 1 Peter 1:3-4
Have you ever taken the time to think about the person who does not believe in God or in a life after this life? Do you wonder what it’s like to live with the thought that this is all there is and to live life with no real purpose or meaning? That is not the life you have in Christ!
Peter tells us our new life in Christ gives us a reason to really live. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you now have a living hope, or as some people translate it, a lively hope. The Spirit of God is lively and active, and that Spirit lives in you right now. No wonder Peter more or less shouted, “Praise be to God!” Not only have you been rescued from a dreadful life to an exciting life, but also you have the promise of heaven from a God who never breaks His promises. Now that is real hope.
Think About This . . .
- Spend some time today just meditating on what salvation really means to you. Thank God for saving you and for giving you a chance to live a meaningful life now and forever.
Devotion 2
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13
Have you ever thought about the origins of some of the words we use every day? Check out these words and how they became part of our English language:
Muscle is from a Latin word that means “little mouse” because people thought muscles actually looked like mice under our skin.
Lunatic comes from the Latin word describing the moon because people believed changes in the moon made folks go crazy.
Jeans got the name from the place in Italy where the pants originated, Genoa.
Have you ever called a dollar “one buck”? Well that would be because during the American frontier days deerskins were used as currency.
(From the web site list25.com)
Now, do you know where our word hope comes from? It actually comes from God! Paul describes God as the God of hope because all hopes originate in Him. Hope is a gift that we receive when we ask Jesus to be our Savior. Notice that not only do we get the gift of overflowing hope, but we also experience joy and peace as we trust in Christ more each day.
Think About This . . .
- Thank God today for His wonderful gift of hope. Thank Him that our hopes through Him will always be realized because God never fails or disappoints.
Devotion 3
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
When the first 3D movies came out (back in the old days), the glasses usually had one red lens and one blue lens. The movie was made where the images overlapped a bit on the screen and that created a three-dimensional effect. Maybe you have been to a 3D movie recently and used the new glasses with the state-of-the-art technology. Take off the glasses and you will see a fuzzy red and blue type movie that will not be enjoyable. You have to wear the glasses.
When you became a believer, God gave you some special glasses, so to speak. According to Paul, you now have the ability to see the eternal and to view the world through the eyes of Jesus. This passage reminds us not to get sidetracked by temporary troubles of life but to instead stay focused on the eternal. That means to use your spiritual glasses to see what God is doing in your life from a heavenly perspective. It will change the way you see yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Think About This . . .
- Ask God to help you remember to look at things through your spiritual glasses and stay focused on what is temporary and what is eternal.