AN EVEN DEEPER ASPECT OF FAITH IN CHRIST
THOUGHTS FOR TEENS is a weekly blog that contains inspirational thoughts of various kinds. It is part of a website called CHRISTIAN TEEN PLACE compiled and designed for younger teens and older kids with various kinds of humor, puzzles, forums, random polls, inspirational stories of famous people, book reviews, Bible studies, devotions and more. The editor of THOUGHTS FOR TEENS, Bob Miller is a former middle school Bible teacher, a former church music director, a former youth minister and a former chaplain. The idea of CHRISTIAN TEEN PLACE and THOUGHTS FOR TEENS came from a middle school religion class at Ascension Academy in Amarillo, TX.
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AN EVEN DEEPER ASPECT OF FAITH IN CHRIST
Having faith in Christ is not a complicated thing. Really it is very simple. Having faith in Christ is like saying, "I put my life and everything about me totally in Your hands, Jesus."
It's like flying on an airplane. You can make plans to go, book your flight and drive to the airport. But until you actually board the plane and are in the air, you are under your own control. When you become airborne, then someone else has control of your life. You are then in the hands of the pilot and the airplane itself.
That's the way you need to be with your faith. You simply turn your life over to Christ and trust Him completely.
It means:
You learn not to worry about the future (both near and distant).
You pray about all the decisions you make on a daily basis.
When challenges and obstacles come into your life, you learn to turn them over to Jesus and quit worrying about them.
You learn to obey His teachings and commands found in His Word.
During World War II a famous author was in trouble with the Nazis. Accordingly, he and his wife fled southward through Germany and into France, hoping to make the Spanish border.
The Gestapo was one step behind them, and capture meant a concentration camp or worse. Traveling by night along deserted back roads and across unfamiliar farmland, they finally achieved their destination.
Spanish officials at the border, however, would not let them cross. Bribes and pleading alike failed they were turned back.
Unwilling to give up, they took lodging for the night in the little town in the Pyrennees called Lourdes. They would try again the next day.
Before retiring for the night, the author took a walk and soon found himself in front of the famous shrine. He paused for a moment, then knelt down and said: "I do not believe in you I must be honest and say so. But my danger is great, and in my extremity, on the chance that you might after all be real, I ask your help. See my wife and me safely across the border."
He paused, tears in his eyes, "Do this," he said, "and when we reach the United States, I will write the story of this place for all the world to read."
Having finished his prayer, he returned to his hotel. A strange feeling of peace had come over him. "We will make it," he told his wife. "I don't know how, but we will make it."
Within a week Franz Werfel and his wife did cross the border, and less than a month later landed in the United States. The first thing he did, once safe in this country, was to write a book, The Song of Bernadette, the story of Lourdes.
Your prayers can be a source of strength, but with faith in Christ, they are very powerful!
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A VERSE TO REMEMBER
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
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WORDS OF WIT AND WISDOM
It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord, to whom I had drawn near in humble and child-like faith, has suffered and died for me, and that He will look on me in love and compassion. - WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Every morning I spend fifteen minutes filling my mind full of God; and so there's no room left for worry thoughts. - HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY
You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God. - UNKNOWN
The world is changing so fast nowadays you couldn't stay wrong all the time even if you tried. - UNKNOWN
Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. - VINCE LOMBARDI
One of the hardest things for any one to do is to fall down on a patch of ice and slush and then get up and praise the Lord.. - UNKNOWN
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JOKES
"I see there's a funeral in town today."
"Yeah."
"Who died?"
"I'm not sure, but I think it's the one in the coffin."
After church on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided I'm going to be a minister when I grow up."
"That's okay with us," the mother said, "but what made you decided to be a minister?"
"Well," the boy replied, "I'll have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell."
"Johnnie," asked the kindergarten teacher, "is the world round?"
"No, ma'am," was the reply.
"It isn't!" exclaimed the teacher. "Then I suppose it's flat?"
"No, ma'am."
"Well," said the teacher with a smile, "if the world isn't round and it isn't flat, then what is it?"
"My dad says it's crooked," said Johnnie matter-of-factly.
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A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT WHAT FAITH IS
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A Different Way to Look at What Faith Is
Faith is not just believing about someone or something. Faith requires action on our part. Once you have asked Jesus Christ into your life, you become a new person, surrender your life to Him and your faith begins to take over.
I think the best example of this that I’ve heard is where you imagine you are driving down the road in your car. As long as you are the driver, you have control of the steering wheel plus all the other controls involved in driving. You have control over where you are going and how you will get where you want to go.
If someone else takes over the driving, then that person has control over the steering wheel plus the other controls. He or she controls where you are going and how you will get there.
When we allow Jesus to take over our lives, we are placing our faith in his guidance and letting Him control our lives.
You say, "How do I let Him control my life?" The answer is basically through three actions.
1. Through regular prayer.
2. Through regular Bible study.
3. Through regular guidance and fellowship from other Christians.
Once you have become a follower of Jesus Christ, these three things are essential for you to be able to put your faith in action.
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A VERSE TO REMEMBER
Hebrews 11:6 So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
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WORDS OF WIT AND WISDOM
I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light. - MARY GARDINER BRAINARD
Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer. - ED COLE
Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway. - MARY C. CROWLEY
The Bible is a compass, pointing you in the right direction. - ANONYMOUS
You do well to believe in God. Satan also believes...and trembles. - JAMES 2:19
I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it. - STANLEY BALDWIN
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - ROMANS 10:9
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THE GOD CONTEST
One day a group of scientists got together and decided that humans had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell God so.
The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you; We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't You just go on and get lost."
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this? Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
"But," God added, "we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"
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WHAT IS FAITH IN CHRIST?
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WHAT IS FAITH IN CHRIST?
There is a simple but great illustration we can use to understand faith.
THE CHAIR
This is something for you to actually do. First find a chair that is near you. Look at it closely. Examine its design. Ask yourself, "Is it structurally sound? Is it adequately engineered? Will its manufacturer’s materials hold me up?"
Actually there are several steps in faith that come into play here. First, you probably picked a chair that you believe will support you. That is the first step which is called belief. The next step was to apply your logic, knowledge and experience to make an informed intellectual decision.
Now sit in the chair. That is really what faith is! While at one point our mind tells us we can believe in the chair, that is only going so far. True living requires that we put our beliefs into action. Just believing in our minds without action is a faith that is hollow and meaningless.
THE POINT
A Christian must not just have faith; he must have faith in Christ. Faith alone is pointless, if the one you trust is unreliable. To live a life of faith means that you live day by day with a constant understanding that Christ is alive, is looking after you, and can be called on to help in any situation.
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A VERSE TO REMEMBER
Mark 9:23(NLT) "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."
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WORDS OF WIT AND WISDOM
Faith is the act of trust by which one being, a sinner, commits himself to another being, a Saviour. - Horace Bushnell
No man's salvation depends on his believing that he believes; but it does depend on his seeing and receiving Jesus Christ as his Saviour. - Marvin Richardson Vincent
If there were no God, there would be no atheists. - G. K. Chesterton (wrap your brain around that one!)
The atheist can't find God for the same reason that a thief can't find a police officer. - Author Unknown
God is not hostile to sinners, but only to unbelievers. - Martin Luther
Christianity founds hospitals and atheists are cured in them, never knowing that they owe their cure to Christ. - William Temple
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WHO KNOWS?
Why isn’t phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the pan?
Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
Why is it that when you transport something by car, it’s called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it’s called cargo?
You know the little indestructible black box that is used on planes? Why can’t they make the whole plane out of the same substance?
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A FAITH THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN
A FAITH THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO HEAVEN
After posting last week's blog, I have decided to write several blogs on the subject of faith. This week's blog is not original with me but it seems like a good place for us to begin when we think about faith.
*In your personal opinion what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven? The Bible says it's a matter of F.A.I.T.H.
F is for FORGIVENESS
We cannot have eternal life and heaven without God's forgiveness. In Him [meaning Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins - Ephesians 17a, NKJV.
A is for AVAILABLE
Forgiveness is available. It is available for all. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life - John 3:16, NKJV.
But Not Automatic. Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven Matthew 7:21a, NKJV.
I is for IMPOSSIBLE
It is impossible for God to allow sin into heaven. First, because of who He is: God is loving and just. His judgment is against sin. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy - James 2:13a, NKJV.
Second, because of who we are: Every person is a sinner. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23, NKJV.
But how can a sinful person enter heaven, when God allows no sin?
T is for TURN
Turn means repent. Turn from something--sin and self. But unless you repent you will all likewise perish - Luke 13:3b, NKJV.
Turn to Someone: trust Christ only. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved - Romans 10:9, NKJV.
H is for HEAVEN
Heaven is eternal life. Here I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly - John 10:10b, NKJV.
Hereafter: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also - John 14:3, NKJV.
How? How can a person have God's forgiveness, heaven and eternal life, and Jesus as personal Savior and Lord? By trusting in Christ and asking Him for forgiveness.
Take the step of faith described by another meaning of FAITH:
Forsaking All I Trust Him.
The first step is to pray for forgiveness and to ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and take control. You can either pray in your own words or use the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and have displeased You in many ways. I believe You died for my sin and only through faith in Your death and resurrection can I be forgiven. I want to turn from my sin and ask You to come into my life as my Savior and Lord. From this day on, I will follow You by living a life that pleases You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen.
After you have received Jesus Christ into your life, tell a Christian friend about the important decision you have made. Follow Christ in believer's baptism and church membership. Grow in faith and enjoy new friends in Christ by becoming a part of His church and attending the Sunday School class a church has just for you. You'll find others who will love and support you.
If you prayed this prayer or would like more information, please contact me at ramiller@suddenlink.net.
*a presentation developed by the Southern Baptist Convention
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A Scripture Verse to Remember
Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his fiath. - Habakkuk 2:4
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Words of Wit and Wisdom
Faith does not struggle; faith lets God do it all. CORRIE TEN BOOM
Faith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; and only faith can do it. JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND
The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. GEORGE MUELLER
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
-I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!
-I don't suffer from stress. I'm a carrier.
-Warning: Dates in the Calendar are closer than they appear.
-A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
-Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
-If "con" is the opposite of "pro," what is the opposite of "progress?"
-A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk I have a work station...
-I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.
-Budget: A method for going broke methodically.
-Shin: A device for finding furniture in the dark.
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Find Bob Miller on the following:
| christianteenplace | twitter | facebook | myspace | humorforteens |
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HOW TO BE STRONG IN YOUR FAITH
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How To Be Strong In Your Faith
Do you find it difficult to act on principles in which you believe or to share your beliefs in certain crowds and situations? Even Christ's own disciples were hesitant at times until they actually saw the risen Lord and, in the case of Thomas, felt the scars in Jesus' hands. Once they had experienced being with Christ after the resurrection they were all so bold in their actions, testimonies and ministries that they were willing to even die for their beliefs. Most of them were martyred for their beliefs.
How far would you go to defend your faith? How far would you go to act on the principles that you believe in? Jesus along with the New Testament writers have indicated that all of us who follow Him should not be fearful or timid about what we believe, and we are to "BE STRONG IN THE LORD." The Holy Spirit within gives us as Christians that power.
There are three ways to gain that strength.
1. We can pray for God to fill us with His Spirit.
2. We can spend time daily in God's Word.
3. We can spend time with other Christians who are strong in faith.
These are simple things we can do that will work, but each requires a strong commitment on our part. If you would like to be stronger in your faith, let me make a suggestion. Write a letter to yourself committing to these three acions. Put it in an envelope and address it as MY COMMITMENT TO GOD. Place it somewhere where you will see it often. Writing it out will actually get you started on the road to a stronger faith.
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A Scripture Verse to Remember
Ephesians 6:10 Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
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Words of Wit and Wisdom
-The world is divided into two classes, those who go ahead and do something and those who sit and inquire, "Why wasn't it done this way?" -unknown
-If you are afraid of criticism, you'll die doing nothing.
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A Joke
Kids Say the Darndest Things...
-The future of "I give" is "I take."
-The parts of speech are lungs and air.
-The inhabitants of Moscow are called Mosquitoes.
-Most of the houses in France are made of plaster of Paris.
-The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 opossums.
-The spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on the top and you sit on the bottom.
-One of the main causes of dust is janitors.
-A scout obeys all to whom obedience is due and respects all duly constipated authorithies
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Find Bob Miller on the following:
| christianteenplace | twitter | facebook | myspace | humorforteens |
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