My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. – Proverbs 1:10 (NIV)
How do you live as a Christian in a world full of sin and not get swayed by the pull of all the sin around you?
That’s a really good question. And sometimes, not giving in to peer pressure can be really difficult. You can feel lonely not following the way of others, and sometimes even wonder if it’s truly worth it. And while those feelings are natural, I want to encourage you, that standing up and not giving in to peer pressure is worth it.
You’ll never regret standing up to peer pressure. But you very well might regret giving in to it.
One of the best ways to stand firm during times of peer pressure is to remind yourself of your relationship with Jesus. Realize that He’s the one you’re living your life to please, and really when it comes down to it, it’s His opinion you should care about most.
So today, don’t give up your stand. Stay strong in your faith in your beliefs and know that your relationship with God is the most important thing there is. Keep loving Him and He will help you in your journey.
Walking through the classroom door, I could only imagine what I might be getting myself into. Secular college, I’d heard, would be a spiritual battlefield like none I’d experienced before. Would my faith survive?
As the semester unfolded, I constantly heard messages which contradicted God’s word—like the idea that humans evolved from apelike ancestors over millions of years. This idea lies at the heart of a worldview—a system of thinking about everything in the world—known as secular humanism. A quote from one of my professors summed up this worldview by claiming, “God did not create people; people created God.”
Although I realized these ideas were false, hearing them taught as fact every day wore on me. What helped me survive with my biblical beliefs intact? The answer comes down to three personal foundations that God had helped me prepare as a teenager:
Spiritual foundations: Keeping a close personal walk with God.
Intellectual foundations: Being able to logically defend biblical beliefs and answer messages that oppose God’s Word.
Interpersonal foundations: Staying surrounded by strong Christian community, including godly family, friends, church, and older mentors.
After I graduated, I backpacked 360° around the world asking other Christian students about their university experiences. These conversations revealed that, although Christian students face diverse challenges worldwide, the solutions for overcoming those challenges look incredibly similar. They all trace back to having those three foundations I’d needed as a student.
What are some of the top practical steps that Christian young people can take to develop these foundations? Answering this for all three foundations will take a couple more articles. But for now, let’s start with Spiritual Foundations.
Walking with God
No student can keep their faith during university unless they have their own faith to begin with. The point isn’t for us to masquerade behind our families’ faith, but to cultivate vibrant personal relationships with God that color our moment-to-moment lives. As a result, we ground our identities in this relationship with Jesus rather than in anything temporary.
During my own teen years, nothing kindled my desire to pursue God this way more than reading missionary biographies. Stories of ordinary people who witnessed God’s extraordinary faithfulness made me want to know God like that myself, and to approach every aspect of life—even schoolwork and summer jobs—as part of a greater mission with Jesus. With this mindset, I could view challenges in university as opportunities to draw closer to God by giving him my concerns (1 Peter 5:7).
How to Build Spiritual Foundations
If spiritual foundations involve walking closely with God, how can we build those foundations now—and keep them strong throughout university? Here are three ways:
Pray
Talking to our heavenly Father is one of the best ways to draw close to God and impact our world. A vibrant prayer life includes not only setting apart daily time to meet with God, but also practicing an ongoing attitude of prayer by transforming whatever we’re doing, thinking, and feeling into opportunities to pray throughout the day.
Worship
After hearing a tough lecture full of unbiblical messages in college, I remember heading outside to detox my mind by listening to worship. Playing instrumental worship while we work, taking study breaks to sing or listen to worship, and checking the songs in our heads throughout the day are all great ways to stay “in tune” with our Creator.
Soak in Scripture
Reading God’s Word every day, memorizing verses, and even listening to audio Bibles while going about our day helps us stay filled with Scripture. This, in turn, equips us to spot lies, counter temptation, and live the lives for which we were created.
Along the way, we can keep our foundations strong by prioritizing daily time with God, being aware of little compromises which could hinder our relationship with God, and drawing biblical boundaries ahead of time—before we face pressure to compromise our convictions.
Pursuing God
Ultimately, building strong spiritual foundations prepares us not only to thrive as Christians in college but also to live the life we were created for: a life of relationship with God. Then, whichever doors God leads us through—whether into a college classroom or out to the world beyond—we’ll be confident that we’re going there with our Creator.
Patricia Engler is a Christian apologetics speaker, writer, and Youth Outreach Coordinator for Answers in Genesis. After 12 years of homeschool and a B.Sc. degree, she backpacked 360°around the world documenting how Christian students keep their faith at university. The top takeaways from this research are available in Patricia’s book, Prepare to Thrive: A Survival Guide for Christian Students. You can follow her stories and get connected through Facebook, Instagram, and AnswersinGenesis.org.
Many people in our world doubt the validity of the Bible. And it can be easy for us as Christians to pick up on those attitudes. We can wonder, can we really trust it either?
And the answer would be yes! The Bible is very trustworthy. There are many reasons to believe the Bible.
Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. – Romans 3:2 (NIV)
One of the main reasons is that the Bible tells us that it’s the very words of God. So when we read the Bible, we can trust it because it’s God speaking to us and leading us.
Reason #2 – The Bible Is God Speaking to Us
So don’t believe the lie that the Bible doesn’t matter or doesn’t still speak to you today. It’s God’s word and it’s powerful and applies to your life.
In our world today, there are many people who mock the Bible. They will spout off all the reasons why it can’t be trusted, and maybe even ask you to give some reasons why you believe or trust it. And if you’re like me, you might not be really sure why you should trust the Bible.
Maybe you know that your parents like it, and you’ve read some of it, and you feel encouraged by it. But what are some reasons why you should believe the Bible, in the middle of a world that seems to be very hostile to it?
Reason #1 – The Bible is Honest.
In the Bible verse below, we see the historical ancestry of Jesus. It starts at Adam and goes through all the people that were in the ancestry of Jesus.
Now if I was to write my ancestry, I would have put only the really great things my ancestors did. You know, like if I had one that created a new invention or one that did something really amazing.
But look at what today’s verse says.
and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife – Matthew 1:6 (NIV)
Here it is, telling us the failure of King David and spells out that David had Uriah’s killed so he could marry Uriah’s wife.
The Bible doesn’t try to hide anything. It tells it like it is. Why is that a good thing? Because when the Bible talks about other things like salvation, we know that it is telling it like it is there as well.
So when people question your belief in the Bible, one of the great reasons why you should stand up and say it’s a good book is that it’s honest and that it tells the truth in every area that it deals with.
keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. – Hebrews 12:2 (HCSB)
You might be poor or you could be rich. You might have two parents at your home, you might have one. It’s so easy in whatever circumstances you’re in to become unhappy. You might wish that things were different at home. Often, we can let our circumstances dictate our happiness. When you base your happiness on circumstances you’ll always be disappointed.
Today’s Truth: When you base your happiness on your circumstances, you’ll always be disappointed.
True happiness comes when you choose to put your attention on eternal things. For example, you choose to focus on giving to others or telling others about Jesus. When you do those things, you’ll experience lasting peace. So today, instead of focusing on what you don’t have, choose to focus on what you do. Remind yourself of how good God has been to you. Jesus went to the cross so you didn’t have to. He took on all the sin of the entire human race. Jesus took our shame, guilt, and punishment for all time.
When we spend our energy focused on who Jesus is and what He has done for us, it’s a lot harder to be disappointed with our lives. Sure, circumstances may come and go. Certain things may not always go the way you want them to. But when our focus is on Jesus, we can rise above our circumstances and find peace in Him.
And He who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will He change His mind, for He is not human that He should change His mind. – 1 Samuel 15:29 (NLT)
The great thing about God is how faithful He is. He’s not a person that would change His mind. He doesn’t all of the sudden decide that He doesn’t like someone or something. He doesn’t change His mind based on trends or fashions. He’s steady, steadfast and unchanging.
Unlike people who will let you down, bail on you, or change their mind, God will always be there for you. And His love for you will always be constant. This should cause you to be really excited.
You can live a life of peace and comfort when you begin to realize how trustworthy God is. As you realize that He will always be there for you, that He’ll never let go or let you down, you can find comfort in even the worst situations. You can also know that God loves you in an amazing way and that will never change. God thinks you’re amazing. So take some time to think about the faithfulness of God and realize how awesome it is to serve such a great God.
We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them. – 1 John 4:16 (GW)
The first part of today’s Bible verse talks about both knowing and believing. It’s easy to know in your head that God loves you and never take it any deeper. You can know that God loves you, but not really have that fact change your life. It’s when you begin to believe God’s love for you, that God’s love can begin to change your life.
When you believe that God loves you, it changes your outlook and perspective on life. You don’t have to run around feeling sad. Believing God’s love empowers you to take life’s challenges head on. You know that with God on your side you can face anything that comes your way.
So today, remember that God loves you. And really spend sometime thinking about that fact until you begin to really believe it. When you believe it, that’s when the power of God is unlocked in your life.
Many times, we can think that you’re pretty good, and certainly better than a lot of the students that go to your church group. Maybe you avoid the big sins and do a pretty good job of remembering to read our Bible a few times a week and pray. And because of all the good things you do and based on comparison with others, you realize that you’re doing really good sin-wise. And it can cause us to think that we’re better than others.
But here’s the thing. Even if you do the right things, it’s all just external. You, just like the worst sinner need Jesus. There is no amount of good, no amount of praying that will gain heaven.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 (NLT)
Jesus is the way to God. There is no other way. And when you are around people in your life that have sin and issues, don’t forget that just like you, they too need Jesus.
So instead of comparing and thinking you’re better than the others, take some time to realize that without Jesus, you’d be just as lost as they are. Then treat those people with the love of Jesus. Ask God how you can help them draw closer to Jesus and come into a closer relationship with Him too.
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” – Luke 6:38 (NLT)
Have you noticed that if you want something to happen in life you’ve got to do something about it? For example, if you want to get a good grade in math, you’ve got to turn in your homework and study. If you want to do well at sports, you’ve got to work out and practice with your team. If you want something to happen in life, you’ve got to do something about it.
Today’s Bible verse is very similar. If you want to get God involved in your finances, one important way to do that is to begin to give. As you give you find that you’ve got even more to give.
No matter how much money you have or make, it’s always good to make giving a priority in your life. Even if you only have a little bit, you still have something that you can give. It might be giving time volunteering at your church, or simply giving off the little bit of money you do have.
The great thing is that as you give, it helps you too. You feel better as you give to others. It’s also nice to see how God will come through for you as you trust Him with your finances.
Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens a friend’s character. – Proverbs 27:17 (ISV)
Friendships are an awesome part of life. There’s nothing better than laughing with a good friend and having those really deep conversations with them. The friendships you have can be a source of fun and joy. However, friendships can be a lot more than just staying up late talking or laughing until you cry.
Friendships can challenge you. They can help shape your character and make you better. Today’s Bible verse talks about how a friend can sharpen another friend’s character. That’s what a great friendship can do, it can sharpen your character.
In school, I had a friend who challenged me daily in my walk with God. This friend pushed me to read more of the Bible and her character helped inspire me to work on weak areas in my own life. Friendships like these shouldn’t be taken for granted. These friendships have been placed in your life for your enjoyment and to challenge you to become the person God has called you to be.
