Perspective For a Christian Teen

   My family knows a lot about World War II. It has for a long time been a source of interest for me. One of the most interesting things to me was the zeal with which the American men of that generation fought. The soldiers in World War II rarely ever knew what the big picture was. They fought not because they knew it all, but because they knew what was important. It seems that our culture, including Christians, have forgotten what is really important. Do you realize how important your spiritual life is? It’s like war. If you lose the war, all is lost. But with God on your side, you’ll never, ever lose. You need to be a warrior. How close you are to God determines where you are going to go after you die. And I don’t know about you, but all the stuff I’ve heard about hell…well, it’s scary.

   I myself have only very recently started trying to live my life according to God’s will instead of my own. I’m not perfect at it. I’m not even great at it. (Just ask my family!) You’re not going to become a perfect Christian overnight. The war wasn’t won overnight. You probably won’t be a perfect Christian at any time in your life. But that’s a good thing! Because if we were perfect WE WOULDN’T NEED GOD! God is everything; without Him we would not be.

   I’m going to tell you something. Once you look at yourself and make a decision to change yourself (hopefully with the help of God) Satan is going to step up his attack on you! He hates you. His mission is to get your mind off God. He doesn’t care what you’re thinking about, as long as it’s not God. He’ll do all kinds of things to make you change your mind. He never changes your mind; he can’t. He just encourages you to make the decision. He’ll give you things to worry about so you get stressed out and can’t sleep; he’ll use other people; he’ll find your weakest spot and concentrate all of his firepower right there. So be prepared; it won’t be easy! If you mess it up in this life, you’re out of luck. There’s no second chance. Someday, at the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow. Every human being who has lived or is living or will live will HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS CHRIST AS LORD! Would you not rather do it willingly than be forced to?

   I dare you to pray tonight. Tell God you realize you’re wrong and ask him for help. You know what happened when I did it? I didn’t sleep well and I haven’t slept well since. Satan knows my weak spot. He knows yours, too. I double dare you to pray the next time you feel tempted to do something wrong. I’ll tell you one thing that won’t happen: God won’t do all the work for you. He always demands that you give your best. And you have to want him. If you call him, he’ll come, but he won’t come uninvited. Just ask your parents or someone you know who is a really good Christian. They’ll tell you. Do these things. Turn off your cell phone or the TV. Get off the computer or the couch. Get down on your knees and pray. Be sincere. If you choose the life of a follower of Christ, it won’t be easy. But I encourage you, as a teen, to do hard things. And this is a great place to start.

In Christ,

Em xoxoxo