Romans 12:2, By Christina V.

Romans 12:2

By Christina V.

            Romans 12 is one of my favorite chapters of the entire Bible. There are several verses in that chapter that are very thought-provoking such as verse 2. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (NKJV)." God does not want us to be a part of this world and the things the world participates in. He wants us to "fix our attention on [Him]" (Romans 12:2 in The Message paraphrase). We always need to put God first.
            This falls in line with the Ten Commandments when it says that God is a jealous. Jealousy is considered a sin and typically looked at in a bad way but when the Bible refers to God as being jealous it is a reminder that He is absolutely important. No other gods are to come before Him. During the time the Ten Commandments were written, people worshipped golden idols along with other gods. It is still practiced today but hardly prevalent in the United States. However, things around us can be considered idols. Our cell phone, boyfriend, iPad, celebrities we like--anything that takes place in your life before God that you spend a bunch of time with. These things aren't necessarily bad but they can be when they "control" your time.
            The Message paraphrase also says in verse 2 that "You'll be changed from the inside out." It is like that familiar old saying: "garbage in, garbage out." The things you do, watch on TV, listen to, people you hang out with--all have an influence on you and how you'll act. If we're cramming ourselves with worldly junk, then we're going to act like we're a part of the world. But if we spend quality time with God and hang out with Christians and be careful about what TV shows we watch and music we list to, an attitude that reflects God will come out. This is what God wants from us. And when we act like a Christian, others around us will see this and our example alone could possibly bring someone to the Lord. Always remember that no matter where you go, others will be watching. Let Matthew 5:16 remind you to "let your light shine before others (TNIV)."

Prayer Every Day, By Christina V.

Prayer Every Day 

By Christina V.

"The effective prayer of a righteous [person] can accomplish much," James 5:16b (NASB).

Prayer is a very important part of being a Christian. It is how we talk to God and is discussed all throughout the Bible.  

"Pray constantly," 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (HCBS).  

"At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly," Psalms 5:3 (HCBS). 

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us," 1 John 5:14 (NKJV). 

These verses are only a small portion of all the verses in the Bible about prayer. In the beginning of 1 Samuel, we read about Hannah praying fervently for a child and God answers and she gives birth to Samuel. In the New Testament, Jesus prays before meals and prays in the Garden of Gethsemane before He is crucified. 

Prayer is a way to praise God. In the book of Psalms there are prayers of rejoicing and thanksgiving and prayers for protection and forgiveness. David spends a huge majority of his life talking to God. 

Jesus gives us a model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, "Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. May Your kingdom come soon, may Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one," (NLT). The New King James Version, among other versions, includes at the closing, "But Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, Amen."  

Take time out of your day to pray, thanking God for His blessings, asking Him to keep you safe, praying for others' needs, and the list can go on and on. Do not get so caught up in your daily life and routine that you forget to spend time in prayer. God does not forget about us and we should not forget about Him either.

Realizing Who You Matter To, By Christina V.

Realizing Who You Matter To  

 By Christina V.

You matter to God. No matter how unworthy you feel, He cares for you so much. He doesn't just care about all the big things. You might just be a regular person with average grades in school, have a boring job at a fast food restaurant, and have nothing exciting going on in your life but God still cares. As Christians, we can truly believe this by just reading His Word. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" Matthew 10:30 KJV. God knows how much hair you have! You were made completely unique, no matter how much you might look like a sibling or even act like they do. There has never been a "you" before in this world and there will never be another one after you die.

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs," Zephaniah 3:17 NLT. My favorite part of that verse is "He will take delight in you with gladness" because it shows us that He is happy He made us. We weren't just an accident when we came into this world. "I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well," Psalm 139:14 HCSB.

We shouldn't let other people discourage us by making us think we're not "good enough." There are lots of people out there who are not positive in the least bit and can wound others by what they say. You should have a Christian attitude and choose to not pay attention to what people like that say. Everything in your life boils down to what matters to God and He wants us to love and honor Him in our daily life.

Even though others bring us down and make us feel bad, we can do it to ourselves too.  Don't have a negative attitude about yourself! I used to be friends with a girl who always complained and pretty much hated herself at the time. Me and some other friends were concerned for her and prayed for her and offered advice. Unfortunately, she continued doing her own thing and kind of just drifted away from us. But through that circumstance I learned that you can't make someone be happy and positive, but instead that person has to decide to get things right in their life with the Lord on their own. You have a choice to rejoice in the life God has given you and be positive, no one else can make you do it. And remember that God will never let you down, no matter how hard life gets.

Men Of God: Part One: God's Promises to Abraham, By Christina

Men Of God: Part One

God's Promises to Abraham
 
By Christina 
 

Abraham (his name was originally Abram but God changed it to Abraham) and his wife Sarah (her original name was Sarai but God changed her name as well) were both elderly and always been unable to have children. In Genesis 17, God spoke to Abraham and told him that if he obeyed Him, He would make him the father of many nations. It meant that he would have many generations following him. Of course, Abraham was confused because Sarah and he were so old and unable to have children that it didn't seem possible. But God promised him a son named Isaac.

A year later, despite her old age, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac. Some time later, God told Abraham to take his only son Isaac and use him as a burnt offering. I'm sure this probably really confused Abraham at the time since God promised Abraham many generations and Isaac was his only child. (He did have another son, Ishmael, but he wasn't Sarah's son…you can read about him in Genesis 16 and Genesis 17:18-25.) However, Abraham obeyed God and prepared Isaac as a sacrifice but God sent an angel to stop him and provided a sheep for the offering instead.

Isaac married and had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Both of them got married and had children as well. Jacob had twelve sons which were called the twelve tribes of Israel who were God's chosen people. God's promise to Abraham became true and the generations eventually led all the way to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.

David: A Man After God's Own Heart

David started off as a nobody. He was a shepherd, which was one of the lowest jobs someone could have. However, he was chosen by God through Samuel to be king. He trusted in God and defeated Goliath, the Philistine giant. This is such a great example of how God can use anyone to do anything for His glory.

David dealt with some challenges in his lifetime. "Whatever (King) Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul's officers alike" 1 Samuel 18:5 NLT. Because he became successful, Saul eventually became so jealous of him, he tried to kill him but God protected him. Later on, David committed adultery with a married woman. The woman's name was Bathsheba and she became pregnant. David had her husband killed so he wouldn't find out about what happened. David married Bathsheba and she gave birth to their son but God allowed the baby to become sick and die. God still used David even though he wasn't perfect.

Putting God First Always by Christina

Putting God First Always

By Christina V.

We live in an extremely fast paced world. For some people, life doesn't seem to ever slow down. There's school, work, church, friends, family, and so many other things that take up all of our free time. Most of you reading this are probably still in high school and might actually have some free time on your hands. Once you're an adult though, that free time is gone. You start working full time. You get married. You have kids. Some women work even though they have kids. With everything going on, it can seem really hard to fit in time for the Lord. But God wants us to make time for Him. He wants us to put Him first in our lives. "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success." Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)

You might wonder how you can make time for Him. Most of us need to get up early so we can get ready for school or work. Try getting up about 15-30 minutes earlier than you normally do and have a devotional time with the Lord. Spend some time in His word and pray. It might seem difficult at first, but you'll get used to it. My day always seems so much harder when I don't fit in my devotional time. That time with the Lord is important so you can get through your day much easier.

If you have trouble understanding parts of the Bible, try picking up a devotional or Bible study book. There's a lot of topics you can study about. They even have some for high school and college age levels. You can also download free podcasts on your iPod of different sermons and Christian conferences.

If you start your day with God, continue the day with Him. When someone upsets you, instead of getting upset at them, take a moment to pray and ask God to help you respond appropriately. When something goes wrong, think of a blessing from the Lord to take your mind off of it. You'll probably end up realizing that it wasn't a big deal anyway. It might be "old school" but in every situation, think "WWJD" or What Would Jesus Do? Would He be responding this way? Would He be acting the way I am?

Some of this may seem very basic, but sometimes we just need reminders like this in life. We're Christians and we need to be good examples to people around us who aren't saved. We also need time with the Lord to help us stay strong in Him every day. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 (NKJV) God is greater than us so He always needs to come first.

God Is Great, By Christina V.

God Is Great

By Christina V.
 

 "Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is healer
Awesome in power
Our God, our God."

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite worship songs right now. That, along with some other things, really made me start thinking about how powerful and mighty God really is. I think sometimes we get so caught up in this crazy world around us that sometimes we just forget. There's so much technology and so many people in high positions, such as the President, that the world seems so huge to us. And yes, compared to us as mere human beings, the world is really huge. But God is so much bigger! His love for us is amazing.

First of all, He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross to save us all from sin. I'll use an example a pastor I heard recently said. It's one thing to take the blame of every single sin you've ever committed. But imagine taking the blame for not only your own sins but the sins of your friends and family. The sins of everyone at your church and school. The sins of everyone in your town. The sins of everyone in your state. And so forth and so on until you've taken on every single sin committed by
every single person in the entire world! That's crazy huge when you think about it. Jesus did that for us. I've been a Christian since I was really young so I've heard over and over again about Jesus dying for us but to hear it that way really made me think about how incredible it is. And then, He rose again three days later! Our Lord is alive today and tomorrow and forever!  "Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is able to save us." Acts 4:12 NCV.

God's greatness can be seen everywhere. He created this world that surrounds us. I recently was up north where some of my family lives and my dad took me and my husband to this place on the side of the road. It was secluded by some trees but as we walked up this steep hill and down a path a little ways, we came to this gorgeous waterfall that was really big at the top but as it descended down, it became smaller and smaller and turned into a brook. It was so cool because it was in the middle of nowhere and most people don't even know it was there. Even though it wasn't as impressive as the Grand Canyon or some other "wonder of the world", it was still something beautiful God created. God's glory can be displayed in the big and small things.

God cares about us so much. "Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store foods in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds." Matthew 6:26 NCV. If God can take care of birds we don't have to worry about Him taking care of us. "The Lord your God is with you; the mighty One will save you. He will rejoice over you. You will rest in His love; He will sing and be joyful about you." Zephaniah 3:17 NCV. The part about Him "rejoicing over you" is really cool to me because it makes me feel special. Granted, I know He's referring to anyone but when I read it, that part seems very personal. God loves everyone but He also personally loves me. I can come to Him anytime for anything and He will always be there no matter what. His love for us will never run out!

Come To God First - No Matter What, By Christina

Come To God First - No Matter What

  

By Christina V.

When you're having a bad day, what do you do? Do you complain? Worry? Get upset? I tend to do all three of those things plus more. For some reason, I just can't seem to remember to take my problems to the Lord. Eventually I do, but not until I've tried everything else. I tend to save the Lord for last. But this isn't the way we should handle things.

Psalm 55:22 The Message says "Pile your troubles on God's shoulders-He'll carry your load, He'll help you out." The people who annoy you and the problems that you have should be taken to the Lord. He'll help you through it. Things may not be going your way, but that's okay! Sometimes there's a reason things happen, even though we don't understand at that moment why. I'll never forget one time I was getting annoyed because a friend of mine was running late, and we had planned to go to church together. After they finally showed up, we rode to the church and on the way there, saw they were cleaning up wreckage from a bad accident that had just happened less than a half mile from the church. If my friend had been on time, we might have been the ones in the accident. I shouldn't have gotten so annoyed but instead just gave it to God and let things happen as they happened.

When things get tough we just need to give it to God before anything else. He will help us get through it. Imagine how much easier and relaxed our lives would be if we just remembered to come to Him for EVERYTHING first. Isaiah 41:10 NCV "So don't worry, because I am with you. Don't be afraid because I am Your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with My right hand that saves you." Letting things worry us and make us afraid only brings us down and takes our focus away from God.

Instead of complaining, worrying, and stressing out, first just remember that God will give us strength to get through the hard times, if we'll just come to Him. He should be our first answer, not our last choice.

New Every Morning, By Christina V.

New Every Morning

By Christina V.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV

This is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. I’d consider it my “life verse”. The Lord really used it a few years ago when I was going through a rough time. No matter what kind of bad things I was going through, there would be new blessings the next day. God promised me that! And guess what? It became true in my life!

I had to come to a point where I had to keep telling myself this, saying this verse and other encouraging ones over and over. I had to have the right attitude. I had to “walk by faith and not by sight” as the Bible speaks about. Yes, bad things may have happened. Yes, I might have felt I couldn’t handle it. But they were all things I got through. God gave me the strength to go through them. The word “consumed” in the book of Lamentations means overwhelmed or devastated. We are never too overwhelmed when God is in our life.

The Message paraphrase says it a little bit differently but it gives you a clear picture of what this passage of scripture is saying. “But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God's loyal love couldn't have run out, His merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!” Every day is a new day filled with new blessings from God! No matter what bad things happen one day, the next day is completely different and we should look forward to that brand new day and the blessings that come with it. I know life can be tough sometimes but we've got to trust God no matter what our situation. He will help us get through it.

In all of our situations, good and bad, we need to give thanks. "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV (emphasis added). When it means everything, it means just that. The good and the bad times. We shouldn't just give thanks when we're having a good day. I know I struggle with this. When things aren't going good for me the last thing I feel like doing is saying thanks to God. But I need to.  And so do you. The attitude of giving thanks no matter what will definitely change your perspective on a lot of things.

In closing, I'd like to include a few other verses about not being overwhelmed in life and about being thankful because when it all comes down to it, we need to come to the Lord in all of our situations in life instead of trying to deal with them on our own.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Matthew 19:26 ESV "But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Philippians 4:13 NKJV "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Psalm 109:30 NLT "But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising Him to everyone."

Colossians 3:17 NLT "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Respecting Your Parents, By Christina V.

Respecting Your Parents

By Christina V.

Now that I am an adult, I look back on my teenage years and cringe. I wasn’t a horrible teenager by any means. I didn’t sneak out late at night, do drugs, or date guys who were way older than me -nothing like that. But I definitely didn’t respect and honor my parents in a godly way. My mom would ask me to do things for her and instead of instantly doing them I’d complain and come up with ways to get out of it. (Philippians 2:14 (NLT) says “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”)  This would make her angry and then my attitude would get worse and it would become a huge ordeal. I wasn’t honoring her like Exodus 20:12 (ESV) says : “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” The word “honor” means “high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank: to be held in honor” (basically, to respect). Synonyms for the word “respect” include consideration, dignity, and reverence. These words usually describe someone very great such as a king or someone else in very high authority. But that’s what the Bible says, your simple, everyday parents are to be revered and treated with dignity. This might seem like a big challenge, especially for those of you who don’t get along with your parents well. When you’re constantly arguing with your parents it causes friction in your family. Romans 12:18 (ESV) says “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” If there’s constant friction, how can there be peace? I came up with a list of some reminders to help you to honor your parents.
1.       When a parent asks you to do something you’d really rather not do, instead of complaining about it, smile and do it. Colossians 3:17a (NCV) “Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord.” If you do something with a negative attitude, you aren’t obeying Jesus. Imagine if Jesus came to you in a human form and asked you to do something. I bet you wouldn’t be complaining then!
2.       If you’re told you’re not allowed to do something even though ALL your friends are doing it, remember that your parents have some sort of good reason why you can’t. Don’t pitch a fit about it. First of all, that’s disrespectful and it also shows them that you’re immature. The mature, Christian way to handle it is to just say okay and deal with it. One piece of advice I have for you is that you won’t be a teenager forever! You won’t have to worry about this much longer.  In just a few short years, you’ll be an adult and your parents won’t be the ones telling you what to do anymore. You’ll be your own decision maker.
3.       If your parents have certain rules, obey them! Ephesians 6:1 (HCSB) “Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord (obey them like you would obey the Lord) because this is right.” This might seem rather simple but sometimes obeying is hard to do. For instance, if you have a curfew, be back by the curfew time. Don’t stay out late with your friends thinking your parents won’t care. It’s not that they want you to be miserable and not have a good time but because they care about you! If you come home an hour past curfew they’re probably worried sick. For all they know, you could have been in an accident or something else bad. Their reasons for their rules are for your own benefit! The Bible is very clear about how disobedience is sin. In Romans 1, there are a few verses talking about sinful and wicked people. Included in the list is “they disobey their parents” right along with murder, hating God, and being heartless. God takes disobeying your parents very seriously.
I understand that not all of you reading this come from a good home. Some of you have divorced parents, no parents, or parents with serious problems. But I believe that when the Bible refers to you obeying your parents, that also means anyone who is in authority over you. For instance, your grandma you live with, your teachers, your friends’ parents, etc. Those people have been placed in your life to help guide you. Like I mentioned earlier, you’ll be making your own decisions as an adult, but for right now you’ll still be relying on them. You can choose not to obey them but there will be serious consequences later in life if you do. The decisions you make right now can affect your future. Just remember, you’re obeying the Lord when you obey your parents. 1 John 5:3a (NLT) “Loving God means keeping His commandments…”

Forgiveness, By Christina V.

Forgiveness

By Christina V.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” Matthew 6:14
The dictionary definition of the word “forgive” is “to grant pardon for or remission of” or “to grant pardon to.” I don’t really like this definition because I believe the ability to forgive goes deeper than that. For example, you get upset at one of your friends over something small they did because you’re having a bad day. She is supposed to give you a ride home later. You talk to her a few hours later and say “Sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean it.” You make the apology even though you’re not over it because you need a ride. If your friendship is on the rocks then you won’t be able to get the ride. This example gives you an idea of how even though you take that step to apologize, you don’t really mean it in your heart. This can be hard sometimes because of our pride. It’s hard for us to admit that we’re wrong because we don’t want to be the “bad guy.” Proverbs 16:5 says “The Lord hates those who are proud. They will surely be punished.” Admitting you’re wrong can take a lot of guts sometimes. It can make us feel inferior, a feeling none of us likes to experience. But in the end, you are doing the right thing by taking that step forward to fix the problem at hand.
Another reason that makes it hard to forgive is that it’s just not the “cool” thing to do. A lot of people don’t consider it a big deal and just move forward with their lives without even thinking about it. But we need to forget about what other people consider what is right and wrong and worry about what God says is right and wrong. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says “We are human but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” We need to base our decisions and choices on what God’s Word says. Sometimes it’s hard to have a Christ-centered mindset but we must stay strong and never give up.
"Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” Hebrews 12:1.
God sent Jesus to live on the earth in the form of man to die on the cross and forgive us of our sins so we might have eternal life with Him. If we can just constantly remember this, it should make it easier to forgive. He has forgiven us of every single sin we have EVER done. When you forgive a friend or family member for something they did wrong, it’s just one thing. That doesn’t even begin to compare what the Lord has done for us. And yet, as humans, it’s a great example for us to forgive one another because it can be a reminder of what Jesus did for us.
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and loving to each other and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

Afraid to spread the Good News? By Christina V.

Afraid to spread the Good News?

By Christina V.

Some of us became Christians when we were much older and some of us have been raised in a Christian home and became a Christian when we were very small. It was the latter for me. I have been in church since I was a baby and got saved at age 7. I continued going to church throughout my teen years and never once thought it was a waste of time or wished I didn't go. I enjoyed going to church and learning about God and taking time to memorize His word. When I was 18, I moved out of state and my family and I were on a search for a new church to attend. I started going to a youth group during the middle of the week with some people I worked with and eventually started going to that church on Sundays as well. My parents weren't on board because they wanted me to continue going to church with them but eventually, they were okay with it and glad I was attending church. Up until then, all of my friends had always been Christians, but I was starting to hang out with non-Christians from work and it was a big change for me. I wasn't used to people cursing and feeling like it was okay to party and drink all the time. I didn't participate in what they were doing but I didn't like being around them because I thought that if I did, I'd start doing the things they were doing. I eventually stopped hanging out with them and got involved with other people who were Christians and was very glad I chose to do that. During all of this, I met this guy who was a strong Christian and yet, hung out with those people and didn't choose to stop. I shouldn't have, but I mentally judged him at the time because I thought what he was doing was wrong. How could someone as strong of a Christian as he was think that was okay? But here I am now, at age 25, and feel like I couldn't have been more wrong. This guy had a completely different mindset than I did. He would hang out with these people, but wouldn't get involved in the things they were doing. He would talk about Jesus and invite them to church. He loved on them like Jesus loves us. Jesus says in Mark 2:17 (HCSB) "….Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn't come to call the righteous, but the sinners." Take a moment and think about scripture passages in the New Testament. Jesus was around sinners all the time. The majority of them that spent time with Him ended up believing in Him and changing their life around. I have no idea if the people this guy hung around ended up getting saved or not. But if anything, this guy helped plant a seed. These people saw something different in this guy than they saw in themselves and other people they hung around. But with me, they probably didn't notice anything different except for the fact that I no longer spent time with them. (Now, I do want to say that, as a Christian, hanging around non-believers can definitely be a bad influence. We need to remain strong in our faith so we aren't tempted to get involved in what they are doing, but rather be an example to them. )

I no longer spend time with only Christians. However, I do struggle with sharing God with non-believers. I'm trying to work on this. I don't hide my faith per say, but I don't call attention to it or try to share it with them. I hope and pray that in the future, I'll be more open with my faith. I know plenty of people, friends AND family, who don't know Jesus. I pray they will all come to know Him. Another friend of mine said something to the effect of "You (non-Christians) may think I'm crazy for believing in God, but if I'm wrong, so be it. If (they're) wrong, they'll burn in hell." Harsh, but true. In the end, when it all comes down to it, Christians will be with Jesus in heaven. Life on earth is such a short time compared to life in heaven. Why are we, as Christians, so afraid to spread the good news? If we're afraid that we'll lose a friend, we need to look at it with a different perspective. You may lose them as a friend on earth, but if there is a chance that they can accept Jesus before it's too late, wouldn’t that be so much better than them not accepting Jesus and going to hell for eternity? The least we can do as Christians is share our faith and pray for them. Then and only then can make that personal choice for themselves. Mark 16:15 (ESV) "And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Naive: A Gift From God, By Christina

Naive: A Gift From God

By Christina M.

When you begin to become a teenager, many changes happen to your body and you begin to mature. You also learn many new things. It's difficult in the ungodliness of this world not to accidentally learn trashy thoughts. In fact, you can't watch just about any movie without hearing a profanity or seeing something that's inappropriate.

When you were little, you wouldn't have known what the bad word was or what they were doing was so wrong. But, because you're older, you understand. You're not so naive anymore.

Often, groups of girls talk about things, and there will be one girl who doesn't understand what they are saying and the other girls will make fun of her and call her a baby. I believe that it's wonderful when there are still naive girls, girls who don't know "everything."

I used to be one of those girls. My parents kept me out of the world and what, for most people, are perfectly normal things and sayings. However, as I got older, I eventually discovered these things for myself. I learned profane words and understood inappropriate conversations.

It wasn't all learned at one time, of course, it was a slow process. But before, there was a sense of innocence, sweetness. I thought the world was all delightful and a wonderful place to be. I've since discovered it's not. If you're still young, treasure those years. Be thankful to God you don't understand vulgar sayings and trash talk.