A Teen's Guide To: Knowing Who God IsSmakprov

# Perfect Justice > Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret, whether good or bad. > Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (CEV) When it comes to rules, do you have trouble believing that they are for your good? Do school guidelines seem petty? Parents’ rules feel controlling? While people’s rules may be imperfect, God’s commands are true and right and for our good. He loves us too much to let us be less than our best, which is holy like him. We can count on God judging us with perfect justice because he is perfect. He knows our motivations even better than we do. Nothing is hidden— our actions, thoughts, words, or feelings. We can’t blame others. We can’t find loopholes Human beings are rebellious by nature. We don’t like to be told what to do or face the fact that we are not perfect. It’s not popular to say we are sinners and we can’t fix ourselves on our own. In our failures, our sins, we deserve death. We don’t like to think about this. But thank the Lord for sending Jesus! God put our punishment for sin on him on the cross, and he paid the price we couldn’t pay. Because of Jesus, we can receive mercy from God. When we truly repent, we are promised forgiveness. Through our commitment to follow Christ, and with the Holy Spirit continuing to change us, God’s judgment is not the end for Christians. Jesus is also our saving grace and our help to become more and more like him. In his judgment, he shows us love. ## SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING What do you think it means to be more like Jesus? Meditate upon this question today. Ask him to help you be more like him. As you pray and talk to Jesus about it, doodle your thoughts on some paper or in a journal. ## INSPIRATION > “We must never forget that it wasn’t the Jews that put him on the cross, and it wasn’t the Romans. It was my sins, it was your sins, the sins of this world.” > —Franklin Graham, American evangelist and president of Samaritan’s Purse ## KEEP IT GOING Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today. 1 Chronicles 16:33 Psalm 51:10–12 Matthew 25:41 Romans 5:8–9