“You cannot serve both God and money.” “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

I’m sure you’ve heard those before. So what does that mean? What’s the role of money supposed to be?

What do you think? What’s the role of money in your life?

Hello! I’m a member on Real Teen Faith! I just had a question for you all!

I’m about to be dating a girl at my school. We’re both Christians and really involved in our youth group and church. However, she’s a senior, and I am a junior, and she’ll probably be leaving for college next year. How can I know if the relationship will last? And how can I make the most of the time we have together?

Thanks for setting up such a great website for us teens! If you’d like to post my question as a topic on the site, feel free!

-God Bless, Daniel* (more…)

If you entered the randomly chosen commenter contest and didn’t win — stay tuned! We’ll be having contests in the near future, including one that involves being chosen as a staff writer. Our winner for this time is… (more…)

“Hey, I was wondering… does God punish people?” – Josh

*****

Hey Josh,

Way to go with the deep question! You definitely got me thinking. To find out about the nature of God, we have to check out the Bible. And there’s one particular passage that comes to mind that I think will help answer this question.

Most of us know the story of David and Goliath. But the Bible has much more to tell us about David, including the bad choices he made. And he made some really bad choices. In fact, David had a man killed so he could have his wife! (I know it sounds like a soap opera, but I’m not making this stuff up! You can read the whole thing in 2 Samuel 11.) (more…)

If you parent made a mistake that hurt you and they later said they are sorry, would you want to forgive them?

One lucky commentor will win a copy of Making It Real: Whose Faith Is it Anyway?

I need a bible scripture or advice about jealousy and real beauty because I get jealous easily, especially about apearance. Like, I believe that other girls are more beautiful than me. That’s why I look for scriptures about what real beauty is in the eyes of Jesus Christ. I am having a hard time finding one.

Than you very much. =] Alyssa (more…)

Always Near

By Debra Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

You’ve sat in the waiting room more times than you can count, know more doctors than seems fair for someone your age.

You can probably speak more medical lingo than even the most accomplished doctors—and you’ve yet to graduate high school.

You have withstood test after test. Hospital stays become the norm while doctors scratch their heads. Then it’s on to a new drug, a new list of side effects to be alert for.

Friends are few and far between. Most of them are out doing “normal” teenage things while you’re just struggling to get by.

You try to stay strong. But words like faith and hope seem like foreign concepts most days.

You’ve tried praying but the only word you get out is “God…” before you stop because the pain is just too big for words.

You are the chronically ill teenager. . . (more…)

Church? No thanks.
WHY TEENS ARE LEAVING IN DROVES

BY REBECCA GRACE, AFA Journal May 2008

Article Excerpt: Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the doors. Where are all the people?

Seventy percent of the people, 23 to 30 years old, are nowhere to be found in church on a regular basis for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. They become church dropouts, according to a 2007 study from LifeWay Research. (more…)