Share Your Faith at School

 

Ready to see lives changed at your school? Are you willing to do what it takes to show your peers the path to Truth?

It’s not an easy fight, but it’s worth the sacrifice. If you really want to make a difference, do it. Take a bold step today. Then take another bold step tomorrow never back down. That’s what it takes to live a life of no regrets.

 

There is limitless potential right in front of you; you just need to take advantage of it. Now is the time to step forward. Here are just a few ideas and principles you can apply to make the most of the opportunities you have right now.

 

Live it
The first step to reaching your school with the gospel is simple: live it. Live the life God has called you to.

 

People are looking for hypocrites. They’re skeptical, and they won’t hesitate to attack or criticize you when they see the opportunity. Just look at all the gossip and backstabbing that happens in high schools already, even among friends.

 

When you radically live what you say you believe, people will listen to you, but they will stop listening if what you say doesn’t line up with the rest of your life. The most important thing you could do is live the life you preach. The best way to find out if you’re “living it” or not is to ask your close friends what they see. Ask if there is anything you can do to live a more authentic Christian walk.

 

Be creative
If you’re serious about telling people about Jesus, you’ll look for opportunities. Get creative with it! You have conversations every day that can turn into amazing spiritual discussions if you’re willing to work for it. Keep your head up and look for them.

 

It’s actually quite simple. Here’s just one idea: When you’re talking about what you’re doing this weekend, ask your friends if they go to church, why or why not, and where they go. Then, when you’re talking about what you did last weekend, mention that you went to church, and talk about what happened there. Before you know it, you have the opportunity to ask what they believe and tell them about your faith. See how easy that is?

 

Be bold
You can be extremely creative, but if you aren’t bold, you’ll never say a thing. When you get a chance, grab it. Never let an opportunity pass you by.

 

Some opportunities are a little more obvious than others. For instance, when someone experiences a death in the family or goes through other major life changes, they will be much more open to talking about spiritual things. It’s topics like, “Is God really out there?” and “What happens when you die?” that you need to watch for. Jump on these moments by asking other people questions and sharing your own opinion.

 

Take Action
Reaching your school is an incredible task, and you were never meant to do it on your own. Are their other students that have a passion for God and are ready to make a difference? Start meeting with them and figure out ways you can work together and be a support to one another.

 

If your school doesn’t already have a Christian club or Bible study that meets regularly, why not start one? (Check out GoCampus.org and the Student’s Bill of Rights for great resources and information on starting a Christian club at school.) Or, start meeting with your youth group to pray for your school.

 

You could also talk to teachers and administrators and find out which of them are praying for the school. One student felt like he was the only one in his high school that had a passion to tell others about Jesus. It wasn’t until he was a senior that he finally looked around and found several teachers, administrators, and even a janitor who had been praying for years that God would send students to the school with a passion to reach other students and realized that he was an answer to their prayers!

 

You have what it takes to reach your school for the Lord. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” (Romans 8:11, NLT)

 

Live it, be bold, be creative, and take action. Then, you will be amazed at what God does through your life.

Official LOGO BridgeBuilder Newsletter

Men…Here are the facts

1. We all love to look at nude women.
2. We have all looked at nude women.
3. We all know where we can find pictures of nude women.

The question is what are you going to do about the facts. We can simply accept the facts and give into our flesh, or we can live a life of integrity and avoid the pitfalls and traps of Internet pornography. This is every man’s battle.

Fact #1
Women are beautiful because that’s the way God made them. We are naturally attracted to them. If you’re not, then there is probably another website out there that can help you with that problem. But for all those that are attracted to women, we need to put into perspective women’s beauty. Our flesh seeks to distort and destroy God’s ultimate plan for relationships between men and women. He did not create women for us to be able to click onto a poorly designed and cheesy website and look at them naked. He did not craft the woman’s body so we could pay $3.95 a month to look at naughty pictures. There is so much more to God’s plan.

You need to understand that attraction is from God’s heart, but lust is from ours.

Fact #2
Ok men…are you still going to sit there and say that you have never looked. We can’t believe how many men still discuss this issue as “other men’s problems.” It kind of goes like this….”well my friend Jeff… I know he used to have a problem with this.” Can’t we all just agree that we looked and we want to look some more?”

Fact #3
Here is the clincher. We have established the fact that we like to look. And now finally, there is the truth that we know where to find more pictures. That in a nutshell is the problem. What are we going to do about it? Put safeguards in your life right now!! Don’t have it be a secret any longer. Get real and stop messing around with your integrity and your future. Get some accountability partners and start talking openly and honestly about these issues. The facts speak for themselves. Now as men it is time for us to rise to the occasion and be the leaders that God has called us to be.

Porn is a lie. Porn tries to tell you what sex should feel like, sound like, and look like. Porn is simply fantasy designed to do one thing- keep you inclusive to yourself. Porn will destroy the relationships around you, as you pull away because of your dirty little secret. As you consume porn, it becomes your life, and you will eventually lose your choice to the addiction. Stop now.   Do it for yourself. Do it for your wife. Do it for you kids. Do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Carl’s Story

I am a young adult and attended the debate on porn with you and Ron Jeremy. The one thing I left with, feeling it even before that night, is that porn desensitizes you. What you fantasize about during a “session” and what actually goes on in the bedroom with your partner are two completely separate things.

I tried to get my girlfriend to go along with some role-play stuff, but it was very awkward for both of us. Every time we had sex though, I had to close my eyes and pretend there was another situation that was going on and that other fantasy, no matter what it was always brought me to orgasm – just being with her never worked.

Eventually it got to the point where I couldn’t even keep it up for her without putting porn on or some heavy-duty fantasizing/imagination. Porn has really messed up my sex life, and it hascost me a relationship, since we broke up 2 weeks ago.

I just wanted to say thank you for saying something I have only been thinking for the past month or 2. It has shed some light on some of my problems and it is something I am going to work on to change. I’d rather reach orgasm with whomever I am with, rather than someone I make up in my imagination.

Thanks,

Carl

NEXT STEPS

COME CLEAN:

Proverbs 28:13 “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” The first thing to do is get the monkey off your back. Get face-to-face with God, let Him know you are ready for change and tell another human being.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. Find a friend, pastor, anonymous group, counselor, or leader at church, and open your mouth and get the secret out.

WORK IT OUT:

James 1:4 “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” You will have to work this thing out. It might mean you join a local group like Life Ministries or another anonymous group. Nationally there are a number of 12-step programs devoted to sex and pornography addictions and countless other Christian programs. It may mean you check yourself into a rehab or do an online recovery group. You may pray and fall flat in front of God, but you must persevere and not give up your work in recovery.

GET ACCOUNTABLE:

Galatians 6, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin; you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The one thing that will put your porn problem in place will be face-to-face accountability. You must keep your behavior in check with a close friend or accountability partner. This does not mean a random stranger or an anonymous person in cyber space. We are talking about someone within your immediate circle. This person will help you get through the hard times and celebrate the good times. It must be face-to-face and often.

BridgeBuilders is the official newsletter of christian churches in Bacoor

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