True Maturity
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God… Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:2 MSG)
If you’ve seen the movie “Grease,” then you probably remember Sandy—the quiet girl who’s made fun of by her friends for being a “goody-goody.” Eventually she decides to grow up and asks her friends to help her to become more like them. When this is accomplished, she feels accepted by her peers and is suddenly viewed as cool. Unfortunately, she didn’t grow up. She just stooped even lower.
Being mature doesn’t mean getting a car for your 15th birthday, having a baby at sixteen, or even being able to carry on a mature conversation with an adult. Romans 12:2 states that true maturity is developed when we are able to stay close to God. It isn’t based on popularity or knowledge … only wisdom.
This scripture also says to “fix your attention on God… unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to it’s level of immaturity.” Doing this won’t be easy. You will have to fight hard against the high school lifestyle, which may result in rejection from your friends. But so what? Wouldn’t you rather please God and allow him to bless you eternally than try to earn worldly acceptance from your so-called friends?
So would I.
TESSA HALL
Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.
Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
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Another Love Dare
I’d like you to understand when I say, “God is our God.” Of course he is. Even Satan knows that.
But just knowing this truth isn’t all that being a Christian is about. Mark 8:34 says:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (NIV)
Let’s say there’s a guy that loves you more than you could know, and constantly tells you, but you keep ignoring him because you’re “too busy.” What if he wrote this long love letter that explained how much he cares for you? Not only that, but this letter contains all the answers that you’ll ever need to know in life, including promises for your future.
Why would you ignore this special kind of friendship? In order to follow God we need an intimate relationship with him. Part of that is to find who you are in him. Why would you want this dear friend to only be a small part of your life? Follow him and he will become your everything if you allow him!
I dare you to get to know the friend that loves you no matter how awful you treat him. I dare you to read the love letter that is scratched and dusty, hidden and ignored in the back of your bookshelf. God wrote it to you thousands of years before you were born. Turn your Sunday religion into a true, eternal relationship.
TESSA HALL
Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.
Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
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The “Body” of Christ
You have legs to walk; eyes to see; ears to hear, and a nose to smell. If it weren’t for these body parts, which contain a specific assignment, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish certain jobs.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NCV) says:
“If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them… Those parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor… Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.”
God has given each of us a gift to help build his kingdom. You have talented hands to write, but those same hands may not be skilled to paint. These talents were chosen by our Creator for each of us specifically!
We are called to glorify God and help others by using the talents he has given us. It doesn’t work well to go outside of your calling. Why would you want to use a body part for something other than the function it was given?
Think of how much stronger the body of Christ would be if each of us did the assignment that God has given us. Let’s all work together by using our gifts as we allow God to teach, heal, and reach others—one gift at a time.
TESSA HALL
Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.
Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
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Relish Your Youth
“You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But also know that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9 MSG)
Your cell phone explodes with text messages on the latest gossip. The girl in math class got in trouble with the cops last weekend. Your ex-best friend’s boyfriend dumps her the day before prom. Sound familiar? You’ve probably found it pretty difficult to stay true to Christ through all of this drama, peer pressure, and insecurities.
H
owever, this is a valuable time our lives. Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG) says to “make the most of your youth” and pursue your dreams—not get so caught up in the teenage lifestyle that we forget who we belong to and the reason that we were put on this earth. Think about it, what we do now influences who we will become the rest of our lives!
I challenge you to be different from other teenagers. Use the desires that God has placed on your heart. Don’t wait until after college to go after your dreams. But make sure that you don’t ignore the last sentence of this scripture: “You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
The teenage life will fade away; what we do for Christ will last forever.
TESSA HALL
Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.
Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
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We Were Made To Worship
Notice the title says “We Were Made to Worship.”
Not “We Were Made To Worship God.”
We were made to worship, period. The way you live fills in the blank. Each of us was born with a desire inside of us to give something or someone praise. Unfortunately, many of us fill this desire by worshiping things other than the One who created us. John 4:23-24 explains:
“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit… that’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship… those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves…” (MSG)
It’s what you say, the way you act, and your love that reflects what’s in your heart—and your heart reflects who or what you live for.
If you’re a teenager, then you’ve probably caught yourself drooling over another teen of the opposite sex and craving to give into peer pressure. Or maybe you’ve caught yourself raising your hands at a concert or a football game.
We live for what we love.
Are there any desires in your heart you’ve subconsciously put before your Heavenly Father? If so, ask him to remove those and replace them with the desire to worship him only.
“The secret things in their hearts will be made known. So they will bow down and worship God…” (John 4:23-24 MSG)
You were made by God. You were made for God. But are you living for him?
TESSA HALL
Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.
Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
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