Kidzablaze Devotions

Psalm 126:1-6

1 When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, ``The LORD has done great things for them."

3 The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.

4 Restore our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.

5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

Psalm 56:3-4

3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

4 In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

Hebrews 13:5-6

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ``I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

6 so that we confidently say, ``THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

Hebrews 10:23-25

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ``All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Colossians 1:18-20

18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Ephesians 5:22-30

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Matthew 14:22-32

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

24 But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ``It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.

Luke 5:1-11

1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.

4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ``Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

5 Simon answered and said, ``Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets."

Ephesians 4:29-32

29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Psalm 141:3

Romans 1:28-31

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,

30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

God wants our speech to be pleasing to Him. That leaves no room for idle talk or mean-spirited words, which are far from pleasant; we are to “put aside” such talk (Colossians 3:8).

1 John 4:7-10

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Romans 5:8

Joshua 1:6-8

6 ``Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 ``Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

8 ``This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Psalm 1:2-3

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Matthew 5:38-48

38 ``You have heard that it was said, `AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.'

39 ``But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

40 ``If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.

41 ``Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 ``Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Proverbs 28:26

26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

2 Corinthians 5:7

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight--

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Luke 10:38-42

38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.

40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ``Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me."

41 But the Lord answered and said to her, ``Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;

42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Romans 12:2

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Philippians 4:19

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:23

23 And He was saying to them all, ``If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Romans 12:1

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

James 4:7

7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

The apostle Paul wrote letters urging Christians to pursue godliness instead of the ways of the world. We do that by ... 

• Presenting our body to God. Our total being—mind, will, physical body, personality, and emotions—is to be turned over to our heavenly Father (James 4:7). Submitting ourselves to the Lord requires both a definite decision to give Him control and a daily commitment to remain under His authority. By surrendering to Him, we position ourselves for godly living.

Matthew 26:7-13

7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.

8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, ``Why this waste?

9 ``For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor."

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ``Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.

11 ``For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.

John 8:31-36

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ``If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

33 They answered Him, ``We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, `You will become free'?"

34 Jesus answered them, ``Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

35 ``The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

Luke 4:16-21

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 ``THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

Romans 8:14-17

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ``Abba! Father!"

16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

John 15:15

1 Samuel 16:6-13

6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, ``Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him."

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, ``Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, ``The LORD has not chosen this one either."

9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ``The LORD has not chosen this one either."

10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, ``The LORD has not chosen these."

Matthew 6:20-21

20 ``But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 5:16

16 ``Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

What does it mean to serve God? Many of us have a distorted idea of service—to the point that we overlook opportunities right in front of us. For example, we might think joining the mission field or preaching a sermon is the only way to have a real impact. Those things are important, but the truth is, serving the Lord usually involves what’s happening in our life on a daily basis.

Hebrews 4:16

16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Psalm 46:1

1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Have you ever been in a situation where people reacted negatively towards you? Maybe at this very moment you’re dealing with a difficult home life, work relationship, or situation at school.

The way to handle troubles is on our knees before the Lord. The heavenly Father waits for us to approach His throne through prayer so we can gain His divine perspective and receive instruction on how to proceed. But in our prayer time, a battle often takes place between what we want (avoiding conflict) and what the Lord has planned for us (to move through it in faith).

Revelation 20:11-15

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life,…

1 John 1:8-10

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

13``Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

By forsaking the worldly way, believers choose a narrow path (Matthew 7:13). However, we’re not meant to wander blindly on it. The Holy Spirit is our guide. But have you ever struggled to discern His divine guidance?

John 17:18-21

18 ``As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19 ``For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

20 ``I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Too often, people wrongly believe they have no real purpose in life. But that isn’t what God has planned for His children. So let’s look to Jesus as our example for how to think and live. Scripture clearly shows His coming was no accident and His time was not wasted—He came to accomplish a goal.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 And He has said to me, ``My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong

John 16:33

33 ``These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Paul learned the secret of how to be triumphant: Maintain God’s perspective on the ups and downs of life, and depend on His power. The apostle was firmly convinced that having the person of the Holy Spirit living in him meant that God’s power was available to him.…

Colossians 3:12-13

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

James 1:1-4

1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Do you ever wish you were more patient? Most of us would say yes! But how do we acquire a calm, gentle heart? And what can we do to help strengthen this attribute over time?

Psalm 63:1-8

1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.

4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

God promises that when we face challenging times, He will be with us. He wants to be our teacher and guide, but we must position ourselves to respond to Him. We need to ... 

• Have a longing to follow God’s way. Scripture compares such yearning to a deer panting for water (Psalm 42:1). The same should be true of us each time we wait for God’s direction instead of acting on our own.

• Be willing to be taught by the Lord. When we look to Him for guidance, He will transform our adversities into times of learning. Such was the case with Hannah as she pleaded for a child (1 Samuel 1:1-28; 1 Samuel 2:1-10). It was also true for Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died (John 11:17-27). We need willing spirits if we are to learn what God wants to teach us.

• Yield to His will. Before…

In a blizzard, the familiar disappears because swirling snow obscures our vision. Difficulties in life bring about the same effect in our mind. They create strong emotions that cloud our ability to think. Let’s look at three promises God has given us to help us find our way through trials. 

1. The Lord has committed Himself to instructing us. When we wait on Him, He will give us insight into our situation—since He sees all things, He knows what steps we are to take. We may be surprised at the instruction, though, since His ways are not like our human ones (Isaiah 55:8-9).

2. God has promised to teach us how to apply the truth we’ve received from Him. As we meditate on the Word of God, His Spirit will reveal the wisdom relevant to our problem.

3. The Lord provides guidance as He keeps watch over us. When company is present, a…

It was night.  There were high winds and crashing waves. For the disciples, who were on the sea in a small boat, the situation had become a crisis—and Jesus was not with them. He was on the mountainside praying.

In the storm, perhaps the disciples thought Jesus had forgotten them. But He knew exactly where they were and what they were experiencing. Since Jesus is omniscient, He knows our situation at every moment. No darkness can hide us; no trial can obscure His vision. We are always seen, known, and understood!

Jesus sought out the disciples, and He will do the same for us. At first, however, the Twelve didn’t realize who it was they saw walking on water. Jesus often does not come in the way that we expect. Our ideas of how He works can make us wonder where He might be and blind us to how near…

God wants to be the passion of every believer’s life. If we claim to love the Lord, our connection with Him should have priority over everything else. Yet we often miss the true message of Psalm 37:4 by wrongly assuming the verse means we can get what we want.

In context, that scripture reveals the Lord’s principle for purifying our desires, and it issues a call for devotion to Him. To delight in the Lord means to take pleasure in discovering more about Him and following His will. This leads to the Holy Spirit aligning our heart’s desires with God’s, which always puts us in position to experience His blessings.

When we commit our way to God, we allow our thoughts, goals, and lifestyle to be shaped by His will and the things He loves. In other words, we acknowledge His right to determine whether our longing fits His plan.…

God’s goodness is another attribute of His that’s infinite and unchanging. As a result, everything He does is good. We may look at some difficult aspect of our life and feel that the Lord has not manifested this characteristic to us. However, confusing situations and our limited understanding in no way alter who He is. A circumstance may not be good, but God’s goodness isn’t dependent upon that.

Scripture tells us that God is good to all (Psalm 145:9) and does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11). Sometimes, if we’re being honest, we’d like Him to be more partial with His generosity when people whom we consider bad are doing well in life. However, Jesus said that the Lord “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). We must remember that we as believers don’t deserve the…

God is infinite. It’s hard for us, with our limited human minds, to imagine exactly what that means, but pondering God’s greatness is important. His love is immeasurable. And He is boundless in righteousness, mercy, and justice. Time and space cannot contain Him.

There’s nowhere we can go that is out of His reach. As believers, we are forever connected to the Father because He is eternal. He calls Himself the Alpha and Omega, which means the beginning and the end. When time and space began, He was the one who created it. And when it ends, He will still be there. He is the one “who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8). This was a revolutionary concept for the crowd of Jews to whom Christ announced, “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). They understood that Jesus, in saying He was one with…

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

35 But someone will say, ``How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"

36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;

14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;

Hebrews 10:10-14

10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.

14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified

Acts 13:16-22

16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ``Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

17 ``The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.

18 ``For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

19 ``When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance-- all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.

20 ``After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.