Study Scripture:
Philippians 3:9 -
"I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law;
rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us
right with himself depends on faith." (NLT)
Lesson From
Scripture: Noah in Genesis
Noah was a
God-fearing man who lived in a time of great sin and turmoil. People around the
world were worshipping other gods and idols, and sinfulness abounded. God was
so upset with his creation that He considered wiping them off the face of the
Earth completely. However, the prayers of one faithful man saved humanity. Noah
asked God to have mercy on man, and so God asked Noah to build an ark. He
placed representative animals on the ark and allowed Noah and his family to
join them. Then God brought forth a great flood, wiping out all the other
living things. God then promised Noah that He would never again bring a judgment
such as this on humanity.
Life Lessons:
Faithfulness leads
to obedience, and obedience brings about rich blessings from the Lord. Proverbs
28:20 tells us that a faithful man will be richly blessed. Yet being faithful
is not always easy. Temptations abound, and as Christian teens your lives are busy.
It is easy to become distracted by the movies, magazines, telephone calls,
Internet, homework, school activities, and even youth group events.
Yet being faithful
means making conscious choices to follow God. It means standing up when people
disrespect your faith to explain why you're a Christian. It means doing what
you can to become stronger in your faith and evangelize in a way that works for
you. Noah was probably not accepted by his fellow man, because he chose to
follow God rather than commit great sins. Yet, he found the strength to remain
faithful - which is why we are all still here.
God is always
faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him. He is there by our side,
even when we do not seek Him or even notice He is there. He keeps his promises,
and we are called to do the same. Remember, God promised Noah that He would
never again wipe out His people on the earth as He did in the flood. If we
trust in God to be faithful, then He becomes our rock. We can trust in all He has
to offer. We will know that there is no trial too great for us to bear, and
thus become a light to the world around us.
Prayer Focus:
In your prayers
this week focus on how to be more faithful. Ask God what you can do to
demonstrate your faith to others. Also, ask God to help you identify the
temptations in your life that take you away from God rather than closer to Him.
Ask Him to give you the strength to remain faithful, even in the most trying
and difficult moments of your Christian journey.
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