Read! Let's say you get an e-mail from one of your close friends you haven't heard from in a while. What do you do? You read it, of course! God wrote several letters to you, have you read them? Don't take out your dusty Bible and read it from cover-to-cover tonight - you'll never be able to grasp the right concept. Read other books, like devotionals, that repeatedly talk about and quote the Bible; then you should read chapters of the Bible dealing with the issue in your devotional. For an amazing reading plan and daily devotionals, try going to 1way2god.net Girls: check out Point of Grace's book "Girls of Grace", which talks about God in every aspect of life, from family and friends, to boys. You can also try the "Faithgirlz!" series, which tells you how to stay close to God as you're growing up. For older teens, there is also the True Colors series by Melody Carlson. They're books that deal with common scenarios in today's society with a great Christian message. Look into them! Guys: check out "Revolution Devotional". A good standard of Bible reading time is ten to twenty minutes a day. No less. You can do more if you want, obviously.
Experience! You can experience the power of God in your life and know the real happiness which is more than just a religious concept, but comes from having the Holy Spirit in your life. Then you can build up your faith by praying in the Holy Spirit.
Fellowship! That word means a lot more than casseroles and fried chicken at church get-togethers. It means conversation. It means praying together. It means talking about what God is doing in your life. It means building up others who feel down. It means no gossiping! If you're a Christian (especially if you go to a public school), you need other Christians to help you out. You need other Christians to give you encouragement and to listen to you. You need advice, too. And you need to give it when you can. A lot of public schools have very few devoted Christians, so the best place to start looking for some Christian friends, is, of course, church. Choose them wisely though, only the ones that look and act like they really are dedicated, not the ones that look like they only come because the youth group goes to Dairy Queen once a month.
Learn! Once you become more devoted to Christ, things should become different. Like Steven Curtis Chapman says, "What about the difference? What about the change? What about forgiveness? What about a life that's showing I'm undergoing a change?" It's time to show a change in your life relating to the opposite gender and keeping your integrity. Guys, read Every Young Man's Battle: Strategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation. Girls, read Every Young Woman's Battle: Guarding Your Mind, Heart, and Body in a Sex-Saturated World.
Live!! Be different in the way that you live life. Be mature and conduct yourself maturely. This doesn't mean that you have to look totally different but it does mean that you shouldn't wear provocative clothing or shirts with pictures or messages that are contrary to a positive message. Listen to good music, and avoid any inappropriate videos. Use your best judgment. The only way to truly live in a Christ-honoring fashion is to know Christ. You will never know him completely, on earth, but throughout life, by praying and reading your Bible, you can know him more. Act the way Jesus did, and that's a life worth living, once you know Christ more than you did at first then you can understand how to live. Think WWJD (what would Jesus do)?
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