Dating
Jul 17, 2009 Category Error, Girls, Guys, dating, parents
The following post was written by a user of Teens Set Apart. This post may not necessarily reflect the views of T.S.A.
Selena sat in the corner of her bedroom, uncontrollable tears falling from her eyes. Her eye make-up was smeared all across her face, but for once, she didn’t care. She felt like the world had been shut off. It was just her and her loneliness, and there was no one else to turn to anymore. No one else cared about her.
Flashbacks from earlier the day played in her mind. Her boyfriend, the only one that had loved her for the past three years, dumped her for her best friend.
Replaying the scenes over in her mind, Selena reached in her purse and grabbed the pack of cigarettes she had for times of emergency—times like this, when the pain inside of her just wasn’t bearable. ‘No one loves me… the past three years have been wasted. There’s no reason to live anymore. At all…’
Relationships involve too many ups and downs; is better to not get so emotionally attached to someone for no reason at all. It’s wasteful. Wasteful dating. Let’s wait! Wait for the certain guy or girl that God has in store for you. And if you aren’t sure if you’ve found him/her yet—pray about it. God will give you a sign. He’ll show you if that person is meant for you or not. And pray for that person as well. Most importantly, pray for their salvation, their walk with God. You want someone who can lead you closer to God and give you spiritual advice when you need it. Remember, it’s easier for you to get pulled down than to pull someone up!
In High School, so many things may lead us into thinking nobody loves us, that there’s no point in living. When we give into these thoughts, we feel empty inside—whether we realize it or not. There are many things teenagers now use to distract themselves from this lonely feeling, and one of them is dating.
Think about it. Girls especially love to hear when a guy says he loves her, when he puts his arm around her and hugs her and says they’ll be together forever. We can get so emotionally attached to that person, but what we don’t realize is the truth behind it all. Do you really love him/her, or do you just say that so you can hear them say ‘I love you’ back? Do you mean it when you say to your boyfriend or girlfriend that you’ll be with him/her forever? And what if he or she breaks that promise, the promise of ‘forever’? What if they break your heart? All of that is erased, and you feel even more worthless than you did whenever you began the relationship.
Girls: God made us to be really sensitive, emotional, romantic—and face it, we love attention. We love when people tell us they love us, or when someone tells us we’re beautiful. But that’s the problem. We get so worked up into these relationships that we turn to the guy for everything—for him to “love” us, for him to compliment on our appearance.
Let’s take a reality check. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, ask yourself this: Why am I dating him/her? Is it so I can get approval? Attention? Be loved? Cover up the pain?
Listen: You don’t have to turn relationships anymore for all of that! Turn to God! He says he will NEVER leave you, so you don’t have to worry about Him breaking that promise. You can trust him, and he says you are fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)
Now, I’m not saying ditch the whole dating-in-high-school thing, many teenagers do however end up meeting their spouse in high school. Just don’t be a wasteful dater—someone who doesn’t care about meeting their future spouse, but just has to have a boyfriend/girlfriend all the time for the sense of approval. Us Christians don’t need a sense of approval though, that’s the good thing! We have God! And plus, it’s so much more fun to wait! God has someone out there for us, and if we save everything for that one person—our purity, first kiss, and even first dance—those moments will be so much more special with that one person, your future husband/wife. I’d much rather wait.
Tags: bf, boyfriend, dancing, dating, gf, girlfriend, Girls, kissing, romance
An Open Letter to the Youth of the Nation
Jul 12, 2009 Evangelism, teens set apart
The following post was written by a user of Teens Set Apart. This post may not necessarily reflect the views of T.S.A.
I wanted to write a blog to address the youth of this nation. I wanted to tell you something. It might seem harsh, it might seem critical; take from this blog what you wish but understand that what I say is written to encourage you, to motivate you, and it’s to help you grow.
So here it is…
You are not stupid.
I know, it’s not what you thought it would be. I know it’s simple and you might even agree with it…but it’s true. You are not stupid.
Here is another truth…
There are lots of older people in this country who really believe that you are dumb. They believe that you cannot understand complex theology. Really. I am not joking.
These people make a lot of money selling your youth pastors this stuff called curriculum that “dumbs down” the scriptures because the writers believe you are not smart enough to understand it.
These people actually believe that in order to understand the Bible you have to be some sort of genius. They believe that when God wrote the Bible, He wrote it with the intention of solely using them to dumb down the scriptures and spoon feed you nutrition-less masses of junk food.
But you’re smarter than that.
Have you looked at how old the youth were when God used them in the Bible? David, Mary, Jeremiah, Samuel and Joseph were used by God in many advanced ways as teenagers.
God did not make you stupid.
So here is my request to you.
Demand from your youth pastor that he teach you big words like sanctification, regeneration, and justification.
Demand it from him! It’s your right!
Demand to your Youth Pastor that he end the silly little games.
Demand that your youth pastor grows up and acts like he has a leadership role in the Christ’s Church.
Demand that your youth pastor teach you what rebuke means, and then rebuke him for not teaching you earlier!
You’re an intelligent human being, created in the image and likeness of God, created specifically with a brain built to study all the depths and knowledge of God for all your earthly existence and eternity.
So do so.
Open up your Bible. Open up a commentary and educate yourself. Dig deep into the rich and vast knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Start a ministry. Start preaching the Gospel. Do something. Don’t waste your youth. You could die tomorrow and you’re going to be guilty of doing nothing for God all your life because you thought you could wait till you graduated from college.
Other youth your age in other parts of the world are being slaughtered, persecuted all because of their love of Christ. Meanwhile you go to church to meet friends, and play games.
Stop it. You’re not stupid.
Don’t waste your youth and don’t let your youth pastor waste it for you.
Apostate Arminian
Jul 8, 2009 Category Error
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the song “Apostate Arminian” by “Jesus Disciple”. I really like this guy. Jesus Disciple (Jared Duba) is a really friendly, Christian young man. I have been following his songs and have enjoyed listening to them. Besides the song Obamacide, this is my favorite from him. If you would like to learn more about Jared and his new song, please keep reading!
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, Jesus Disciple has decided to release a song he’s written about his personal journey to embracing the Doctrines of Grace and how that grace was the determining factor in his own regeneration. Raised to hold to the beliefs of Arminianism, he thought that he could trust in a decision that he made as a child, but the night God gave him a new heart, he also gave him new eyes to behold the glory of His grace. That night he experienced Jesus’ teaching on the rebirth from John 3, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) If you are not sure what to think about this topic or you’d like to find out more information on the Calvinistic perspective/soteriology, JD recommends that you read Sam Storm’s book “Chosen For Life.”
Check back here on Friday 12:00 AM EST for the download link to the song. It will be available for free.
Tags: evolution, jared dub a, jd, music
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