5 THINGS CHRISTIAN TEENAGERS NEED TO KNOW

you will have to let go of some friendships

Yes, I know it sounds tough to do but if you want to grow your relationship with God you will have to let go of some friends. You're probably wondering why; When you come into Christ or become born again, you ask God to renew your life (Mathew 9:16-17) and remove the things or people holding you back from growing in Christ. If you're still unsure about whether it is time to let that friendship go or not, here are five signs it is time to end that connection:

1. your friends don't respect your relationship with God, they keep on teasing you about it and making you feel uncomfortable about your journey with Christ.

2. they keep on persuading or leading you into sin.

3. your values don't align with their values

4. the holy spirit has been convicting you about breaking off the

5. they don't have a relationship with

I know it'll be hard for most of you to end some friendships, especially if you have known that person for a very long time or if you have a very deep connection with them, but one day you're going to have to choose whether to keep them in your life or to grow your relationship with God. Now this doesn't mean you have to break off all contact with them. You could use that friendship as a way of ministering to them. Be the first Jesus in their lives and teach them about Jesus, you might never know how God could transform their lives.

you will have to learn how to enjoy alone time (isolation)

I know this may sound creepy or like I'm trying to encourage you to be a loner, but if you're going to want to become intimate and grow closer to God you're going to have to make some time for yourself and God and if you're going to want to hear God you're going to have to shut out the background noises. You can do this by eg. minimizing the time you go out with your friends and replacing it with sitting alone quietly in your room reading his word and talking to him. You could also set specific times or times in the day when you will spend time alone with God (Mathew 6:6). There are also going to be times when God will want to talk to you or show you something, and sometimes in order to get your attention, he might isolate you or separate you from your friends and all other distractions.

you will face rebukes and rejection

It may sound scary but, it's true, there are some people who are not happy with the path you have chosen and the Devil may use them to hold you back and make your walk with God challenging. However, this shouldn't hold you back from sharing the gospel and doing the Lord's work. Remember in John 16:33 where Jesus is encouraging us that although we may face tribulation in the world we should not worry for he has already overcome the world. Therefore we shouldn't be afraid or feel discouraged when people reject us or threaten us for we have been promised victory in the end. They may not understand what you may be doing now but later on, they will, God will eventually open their eyes as well.

you will face temptation

One of the biggest lies I have been told is that once you're born again you will never face temptation, but that is not true, even Jesus Christ, the perfect one, was tempted by the devil but he didn't give in to the temptation (Mathew 4:1-11). Now because we are imperfect beings we may sometimes give in to temptation but that doesn't mean you will have to stay down and allow the guilt to eat you up. Pray for forgiveness and repent of your sins. Don't allow the enemy to lie to you and make you think that God hates you or will never forgive you for your sins. Secondly don't take God's grace for granted and keep on giving into temptation just because you know that he will forgive you. whenever you feel tempted to give into sin, pray to God for strength and ask him to help you resist the devil.

your life won't be as normal as the other kids

Sometimes we may wonder why our path is different from other peoples' paths. but we must understand that God has called us to a greater purpose. when I was in high school I always wondered why I couldn't do certain things that were regarded as normal for teens to do without feeling convicted. when I came to Christ later on and learned about God's word, it was all clear to me. I knew that as a child of God I couldn't live like the other kids and that was okay. Remember that Jesus tells us to walk into the light if we are to follow him (John 8:12) you may feel left out by everyone but remember, you are not living for the world, you're living for God

CONCLUSION

Being a Christian these days is challenging, especially as a teenager but we shouldn't be discouraged because at the end of the race, we will get our trophy.

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