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“You’re no good for anything.” Have you ever been told this ? “I’m
ugly.”
Have you ever told yourself this? Perhaps you have been even looked at yourself in the mirror and wished that you were someone else? Maybe a famous actor or sports hero ? If you answer yes, you’re in good company. Probably everyone who has ever lived wished that they could change at least one physical feature: their nose, their complexion, their height, weight – something. But beautiful people can be scarred in accident. Some wealthy people are very insecure, always worried about losing their money or their possessions. Jesus, the Son of God , was offered all the riches of the world by Satan if only He would worship Satan. Jesus answered : “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Jesus , also the greatest teacher who ever lived, knows that Satan’s strategy is to keep our focus off God and the importance inward beauty and character. He taught ?His diciples that blessings, true happiness and lasting benefits are the result of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. If we rely on beauty, wealth, possessions, friendships and other outward aspects of our life for our self-worth, we may find temporary fulfillment and happiness. But true, lasting worth can be measured only in spiritual terms. Prayer: Thank you God for creating me in your image , with a body , a soul , and a spirit . I choose to develop friendships that will help me focus on inward beauty of character. Help me to understand your purposes of my life that will bring true and lasting happiness. - Blessed
are the poor in spirit , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
LOVE “I
really love this music”
There is a lot of talk about love. We use the word in different ways. But what is love, really? There is no power greater than love.
Psychologist say that the most basic human need is to be loved. Love
can motivate people to do things for the people that they wouldn’t normally
do. Love can cause young people to do foolish things at times. Love gives
meaning to people who would otherwise have no purpose in life.
The greatest demonstration of love is to give our life for the person we love. What loving father wouldn’t give his life so that his child might live? God loved mankind so much that he sent Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross for our sins so that we might have life. Love is the very essence of God. So when men and women rebel against God by setting up their own value system and rejecting the authority of God, they lose the very source of true love, which is God, Without love, even our religious activities become a lot of meaningless exercises. God’s love, however, is much greater than man’s view of love. While we love those who love us, the Bible tells us that we are to love even our enemies! God’s love is a giving love, and if we want true love in our hearts, we must be willing to give of ourselves. Prayer: Thank you Father God for loving me. I accept the demonstration of love You expressed through Jesus Christ. Change my heart to be more loving of others and help me to show that love to others. The Greatest Commandments is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind , and with your soul. The Second Greatest Commandment is:
Love your neighbor as you do yourself.
“If it feels good do it, right?
Besides, we’re in love.”
SEX
Sex. It’s in the movies, commercial, and the music we listen to. It’s suggested by the way people dress. Sex is here to stay and it is a part of our life. Believe it or not, sex was designed by God. God not only created man and woman different physical for sex, but he also created them different from others forms of animals. Men and women have the ability to think rationally and to feel emotionally. Although sexual relationships result in children, God also intended for sex to be pleasure. Everything that God created has purpose. But everything that God created also had order. God’s design for sex, therefore, needs to be understood in the context of marriage, love and lifetime commitment. Otherwise, the relationship results in confusion, conflict and chaos. Sex that is practiced out of God’s plan often results in unwanted pregnancies, abortion, rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and various tragic diseases, including AIDS. Jesus honored the marriage commitment. His first public miracle was performed at a wedding. Shortly afterward, he met a woman at a well who had led a very promiscuous life. She had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband. Jesus told her that there is an inner thirst that can only be satisfied by the “living water” that comes from God. He explained that seeking to fulfill inner desires with outward pleasures will never truly satisfy. The good news is that Jesus does
not condemn us for our past lifestyle not lived in keeping with God’s purpose.
Those who choose to have sexual relations with their marriage partner for
life will certainly receive lasting joy and pleasure.
Loving Father, I thank you for creating
me with purpose and order. Today I choose to live my sexual life in accordance
with your plans and will keep myself pure until marriage. Keep me from
impure thoughts and temptations and help me to make right choices based
on your word and to not be influenced by what I hear and see in the world
around me.
FRIENDSHIPS “if only
I had a close friend…”
If you were in trouble or facing a difficult situation, who would you talk to about your problem? A teacher, your parents? Most teenagers like to talk to their friends. What is a friend? There are acquaintances, casual friendships, close friendship, and intimate friendships. We all have acquaintances, faces we recognize and people we greet by name. Casual friendships happen through continue contact. Close friendships are developed through sharing of interests and spending time together in certain activities. But intimate friendships are what everyone desires and needs. These are friends that stay with us no matter what. They listen to us and are genuinely interested in what is best for us. They always tell us the truth, even if it hurts sometimes. But that’s okay because they are interested in our well-being. Who are you friends? Are they just acquaintances, or intimate friends? Sometimes our friends may let us down, but there is one thing that is sure. Jesus wants to be your friend and if you accept His friendships, you will never be disappointed. What People See as Important in A friendship: Keeps confidences
89%
Prayer : Lord, I need a friend that I can
count on no matter what. You said in the Bible that you would be our friend
and would never leave us. Would you be that friend that I so desperately
need? Thank you , Jesus, for the assurance of that promise.
KEYS TO SUCCESS “The
one who dies with the most toys wins.”
Many young people find themselves disoriented and confused. Others know that they would like to do with their lives, but don’t know how to get there. Whichever the case maybe, there is a need for orientation and guidance. This can be found through parents, teachers, and close friends that we trust. The Bible is another important source for achieving success in life. Jesus said if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous, all of the things that we need will be provided for us. Too often the standards of success in our world are measured by the education we have attained, the amount of money we have in the bank, by how big a house we live in or how much material possessions we own. It is not wrong to have a good education, a good job and wealth. But in the long run, it is how we treat others and what we do with our education and our money that people will remember long after we’re gone. We can take nothing with us when we die. What will remain is tha good we have done for others in Jesus’ name. True success can only be measured at the end of our lives in spiritual terms. Prayer: God, at the of my life. When I come
face to face with you, I want you to be pleased with my life.
I will study and work hard to be successful in this world. But I realize
that I have use my knowledge and my possessions to help others who are
less fortunate than me. Give me all the help I need, and the wisdom to
manage well all the resources and abilities that I have, and the humility
to treat others the same way I want to be treated.
WISDOM “Sometimes I wonder how I could be so stupid .” If you could magically ask for one thing in life, what would it be? To be rich? To be famous? It’s certainly not wrong to be rich or famous. But there is something that us much more valuable than these things. And that is wisdom . How does someone become wise? It certainly isn’t something we can buy or inherit. Jesus gives us the best teaching we can find on how to become wise. The Bible tells us that as a child He grew in wisdom, and stature, and favor in God and man, He knew the importance of honoring his parents, for putting God first in his life, and of understanding the principles in God’s Word , the Bible. Jesus taught that wisdom comes by building one’s house on a firm foundation. A wise person builds his life on rock, rather that on sand. When troubles come, and undoubtledy, we will all face trials in our lives, our house will stand if it is built on the foundation of God and a relationship with Jesus Christ. As we grow in wisdom, we will learn to make right choices that will have lifelong results. A person does not have to be old to be wise, and being older does not necessarily mean that one is wise. But a young person is wise if he or she always asks for and respects the advice of older people who have more experience. Wisdom is not just knowing with our
minds, but understanding with our hearts. Many of the teaching of Jesus
were hard for the religious leaders of his day to understand , because
they tried to figure everything out with their minds. He taught that
if our hearts are hardened, we will never understand even the most
basic of spiritual truths. If you commit yourself top studying God’s
word, the Bible, and keep your heart open to the message it contains, you
will become wise.
Dear God , I realize how important
it is to be wise. Help me to understand life with a spiritual perspective
and not just with my mind. Thank you .
YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DECISION
Have ever felt that you were all alone , with no one who really understood you ? Would you like to have a good friend who would never leave you , who could help you whenever you needed it ? You can meet a friend like this right now. His name is Jesus. He has written you a “letter” to let you know about Him, about who He is and what He did to try to become you friend. The most personal part of that letter is that book you have in your hands. Jesus wants to be with you all the time, but there is a problem. He cannot stay where there is sin. Every time we lie, cheat, disobey or do other wrong things, we move further from Jesus. We must remember He cannot stay where there is sin. But Jesus loved everyone in the world just as they were, and he keeps loving us the same way today, even though we have sinned. “For God so love the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) In His letter Jesus tells us the best way a person can show his love is to be willing to even die for his friend. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) That’s just what Jesus did for us. But why did He have to die? In order to show us just how much He wanted to be our friend, Jesus decided to take our punishment for us. That way we could be forgiven without having to pay for our own sin. God could treat us just as if we had never sinned, and Jesus His Son could be our friend forever. So do we have to die too? Not for our sins, because Jesus died for them so we wouldn’t have to. And not forever, because Jesus died and resurrected so we could live forever with him. In the letter He says: “ In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you … I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am .” (John 14:2,3) That is what “eternal life” means in His letter. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” (John 3:36) What do we have to do to get rid of our sin so Jesus can be our friend? It’s really easy. First we have to believe that what He wrote us in His letter is true. And then all we have to do is ask Him to do what He said He would do. In the letter it is called “praying.” Some of Jesus’ closest friends once asked Him to teach them how to pray . They had seem Him doing it all the time. So they wanted Him to show them how to pray. He taught them to pray to their heavenly Father and ask Him to forgive their sins. So He taught them to pray: “Our Father in heaven… forgive
us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” (Matthew
6:9, Luke 11:4)
“Heavenly Father, thank you
for sending your Son Jesus to die for my sins. Please forgive me for all
the bad things I’ve ever done.
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