Standing @ My Locker... - "Don't Give In!"

Hey everyone! So its a Monday and your first day back at school for the week. Everyone is complaining about how they don't want to be there, and how tired they are. Do you give in and do the same thing? Follow the example that they are giving you?

I know that I have done this. Sometimes you just think... "Well everyone else is thinking the same thing!" But the truth is, we ARE NOT like everybody else. We are supposed to be the example for them to follow not the opposite of that. How will they see us as any different from them if we are talking and acting the same as they are.

I know this can get very hard. Especially when you hang out with those friends of yours that are not Christians. But, in all honesty, that is the best time to shine the light for Jesus. If you act the way that we are supposed to as Christians, then your friends will notice that there is something different about you. And in some cases they might realize that they want that one thing that is making you so much happier than anyone else.

I was sitting at my church on Sunday night, listening to the message that was being given. We were going through the book of James. As we walked through the different parts of the book, some things would just hit me and I would realize that I needed to make a stronger stand to not give in to what everyone else wants me to act like at school.

First off, trials. Not one person could tell me that in school, they have never faced a trial! They are all around and there is no getting around that. But, the thing is how will we face those trials? Our reaction to these trials will show when other people are around. They will be looking for the way that we will react. So, we can't drop our guard. We have to live out the things that we say that we believe.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." ~James 1:2-3~

Right in those verses it tells us how to answer to the testing of our faith. We need to still show joy through trial. Don't get angry and lose it. That is a natural reaction to a trial, but you have to keep your cool. Ask yourself, "What would I do if Jesus was standing right next to me", the truth is, He really is next to you, He is everywhere, all the time!

The other thing that I want to address is the way that we speak at school and anywhere really. We can't say one thing and do another. If we say that we have faith in Jesus Christ, then we have to live it. People won't even consider Jesus as an option if we don't seem any different than they do. If we aren't living a different life style then the nonbelievers, then there is a problem.

Before you say anything, think "If I was at church with my church family right now, would I even consider saying that?" If the answer is no, then don't say it at school either! If something can't be said at church, then it shouldn't be said ANYWHERE! We cannot be praising God on Sunday morning, and then turning around Monday morning at school and spreading gossip about other people. That is not anyway to live out the life God wants you to live.

" With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be" ~ James 2:9-10 ~

So, the next time you walk into school, consider these two things before you act or speak. Always think about what God would want you to do first, not what everyone else wants you to do. And always remember...

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." ~James 2: 26~

Abbie :)