As a girl after God’s own heart from an early age, I meant what I said when I gave my life to Jesus upon my salvation.
On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
According to the grace given to you,
will you remain faithful members of Christ’s holy Church
and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world?
I will.
The Holy Spirit work within you,
that being born through water and the Spirit,
you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I made these vows when I was a preteen, but the calling on my life was so strong that even at an early age I set my mind on Christ before I was ever in the big situations that teenagers face. In Christ, walking in victory over sin is possible as a teenager, even though the world will tell you otherwise.
Here are five things I hated hearing from teens and adults alike when I was a teenage follower of Christ.
- I know you’re perfect, but…
This one is the most ironic and unfortunately still thrown at me at least once or twice a year to this day. No, I’m not perfect, nor do I think I am. That’s why I’m a Christian.
I recognized my sin. I can’t get to heaven by being a good girl. I repented of my sin and trusted in Jesus Christ. I got filled with the Holy Spirit, began to love His word and did what is said. And when I messed up, I got back up, looked up, asked for forgiveness and tried not to go that way again.
I follow Jesus because I recognized that following myself was leading to destruction in my life. Far from perfect is who I am. I was a wretch. He snatched me from the fire and saved me from who I would have chosen to be in my flesh.
Girls: When they give you the side eye and throw that back handed compliment your way, you take a moment to reply, “No, I’m not perfect, but Jesus is and if you see anything good in me, all glory goes to Him. I can do no good thing apart from Him. John 15:5 - All of that sheltering is going to make you buck wild when you go to college.
This is a lie from the enemy that adults throw at other adults and teens repeat. There is a difference in sheltering and shepherding. The difference in parenting out of fear vs. out of faith is that by faith you seek the Lord for wisdom on the choices you make for each of your teens, to give them appropriate amounts of freedom for their spiritual maturity. What irked me as a teen was the idea that people didn’t understand I was setting many safe guards for myself because I had the Holy Spirit guiding me.
Girls: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 Obey your parents, of course, but above all else you have to make the choice to guard your hearts from the evil’s of this world and the temptations that will come. Stand firm in your faith, even when you stand alone, and walk in His truth. - You have to prepare for the “real” world.
Being aware of what temptations were coming my way vs. immersing myself and desensitizing myself to culture are two totally different things. We are to be in the world, but not of it. Because there is cussing in movies, music, and tv, doesn’t mean I have to expose myself to it so that I can “be prepared” to hear it at my future job. I heard enough in the hallways of my high school experience to acclimate me to filth the rest of my life.
And like John Mayer sang, “I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world, just a lie you’ve got to rise above.”
Girls: Guess what? In the real world, you get to make the choices for who you get to date, what friends you want in your life, where you work, and what kind of things you expose yourself to. I’ve worked in secular and ministry workplaces as well as for myself and never once have I not been able to do my job because I made biblical choices in my life and you can, too. - You better get used to it, everyone’s doing it.
I made the choice at 14 to abstain from alcohol for life. God made a way for me to go to Ole Miss, known for being a party school. The Summer after graduation an adult gave me the advice that I better get used being around social drinking because everyone was doing it.
I didn’t have the language for it then, but what I know now is I don’t have to get used to anything that makes me feel unsafe or uncomfortable. I graduated from Ole Miss with my values in tact and friends by my side as well as a wonderful college experience sober. - You’re such a legalist and stop judging!
When I would use discernment to distance myself from bad influences or hold another Christian friend accountable for a dangerous path they were on because I loved them, this one would get thrown my way.
Girls: Jesus said, “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
When you are young and impressionable it is important to surround yourself with people who are drawing you nearer to Christ and not pushing you away from Him. It was always a red flag for me when a saw a pattern of behavior from a classmate or friend that I needed to protect my witness and my walk by not getting swept away in rebellion.
I kept my friend circle small and we held each other accountable.
I hope this meets someone where they are today. Remember Christ followers are supposed to be set apart.
We live differently.
We can’t have one foot in the world and one in the church. Follow Jesus and don’t make anyone convince you that you need to bring worldliness with you.
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