“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” -Ephesians 6:11
You knew it was wrong so you fought the temptation. You told yourself you’d never fall for it again. You tried to draw your weapon of self-control. And then you caved anyway. And after failing to resist temptation, you felt horribly guilty and went to your Bible and read 1… Read More »Resist Temptation: The Missing Link in 1 Corinthians 10:13
The day I graduated from college, I came out with a Bachelor of Music, an eagerness to hit the real world—and not an ounce of debt. Don’t get me wrong. Like caffeine, cold medicine, and laxatives, student loans can be a blessing when used judiciously. But when you consider the… Read More »Financial Literacy for Christian Teens: How to Avoid Debt in College
Christians don’t like to talk about money. Some don’t want to be told how to handle their money: It’s mine, I’ll do what I want with it. Some think the church should stay out of it: Pastor Jones is always preaching about money. And some look at God as if… Read More »4 Simple Steps to Money Management for Young Christians
Before writing this post, I did some quick research on what experts believe is the percentage of New Year’s resolutions that fail. The overwhelming consensus? Eighty percent. That means 80% of the people who try to make a change in their lives this time of year will fail to succeed—and… Read More »How to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick This Time!
In part one of this post (The Battle Against Lust and How to Kill It), I laid out a strategic battle plan for fighting lust using the first four letters of ANTHEM: (A)voiding triggers, saying (N)o to lustful thoughts, (T)urning your mind toward Christ, and (H)olding tight to him. These… Read More »Desiring God As the Ultimate Source of Pleasure
Lust is not strictly a male problem. I don’t believe it ever was, but more and more women have come forward with their struggles in the battle against lust and the topic is finally being addressed (albeit quietly) within Christian circles. It’s about time. Lust is a powerful, intoxicating, murderous,… Read More »The Battle Against Lust and How to Kill it
Popular culture will tell you to forget it. Abstinence is impossible, so why bother? Everyone is sleeping with everyone else, and surely—surely—you’re the only virgin in your school. After all, everyone knows teens and young adults have little self-control and even less interest in purity. What do you think of… Read More »The Case For Abstinence: This is What Really Matters
Imagine you’re an alien from another planet and, by stroke of good fortune, you land at one of Earth’s many public libraries. You’ve never interacted with humans—particularly teens—before so you walk to the YA section and decide to do a little research. What might the books there lead you to… Read More »Draw Your Weapon: How to Develop Self-Control as a Teen