Transformed – teen devotion – February 3, 2019

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22

Pursue the right thing

God created you to be a sexual being. Of course, you already know that because you’re a teenager. You’re at a time in life when you’re hyper aware of what’s going on with your body and everybody else’s. You no longer see your friends of the opposite sex just as friends but as potential mates. It’s normal. It’s all part of God’s design.

But there’s a problem. That design got messed up when the first male and female, Adam and Eve, decided to go rogue and disobey God. Ever since then, that natural process has been perverted, and humans have taken sexuality out of its original context.

Sex was always meant for the enjoyment of one man and one woman who have made a life-long commitment to each other in marriage. Society doesn’t want you to believe that anymore. Social media, television, and blockbuster movies tell you that sex is for anyone who feels like having it with whomever they feel like having it.

What they don’t tell you about are the dangers of having sex outside of marriage: a guilty conscience toward God, a sexually transmitted disease, an unplanned pregnancy, a broken relationship, and a lot of other unforeseen consequences.

That’s why God says to “flee the evil desires of youth.” That means to run away from anything that would cause you to pursue sex outside of marriage, like watching movies with sex scenes and looking at pornographic images. It means having a conversation with your boyfriend or girlfriend to let them know you are saving yourself for marriage.

But notice that God doesn’t just tell you to flee from these evil desires. He says instead to “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

God isn’t trying to keep you from having fun with this command. He’s trying to keep you safe. That’s why Jesus Christ lived his life pure and holy. He went the way of the cross because he wanted you for himself. He loves you so much! You will find the model for a committed relationship by reading of his love in your Bible and spending time with Christians in your local church, because that’s where you will find this righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

Prayer: Jesus, I want to flee from my evil desires. Give me the strength to do that and replace those desires with your righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Amen.


Teen Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email