One of the questions we often hear at 412teens is this: "How do I know if I really believe?" When someone says, "Just believe and trust in Jesus," what do they mean? What defines "enough" belief? How do you know if you truly trust Jesus? How do you know if you genuinely believe? Or believe how you "should"? Or if your repentance is real? The fear a

A single tradition can mean very different things across religious and spiritual backgrounds. No traditions are more controversial than those surrounding the Christmas season. What we know as "Christmas" today did not have its start in the Bible, although Christians associate biblical meaning to our contemporary Christmas celebrations. While there'

According to the Bible, suicide cannot either grant or take away a person's ability to enter heaven. If an unsaved person dies by suicide, he has done nothing hurry up his trip to hell. But! He did not go there because he died by suicide; he went to hell because he rejected the gift of salvation through Christ.Many believe the lie that a person mig

How should Christians feel about gay marriage? This is a tough question in today's world, isn't it? Yes, God wants us to love everyone, but what if they struggle with sin? Hey, don't forget that YOU struggle with sin. Everyone is in the same boat, friends. We should have love, compassion, and mercy for the LGBTQ community—just like we would for any

The armor of God is described in Ephesians 6:10-17, where Paul breaks down this whole defense that God has given believers against evil in this world. Some of these are pretty straightforward, such as the shield of faith. But when we get to verse 15, there's this line that the NASB translates as "having strapped on your feet the preparation of the

Aliens have been an interesting topic among people for some time. There are people (both Christians and non-Christians) who believe in intelligent, emotional, non-human creatures on other planets, and there are others who don't. While there has never been definite proof of aliens or UFOs, there is still a great number of people asking and exploring

Like many choices we face today, the question of whether or not watching movies is a sin is not a topic directly addressed in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 10:23 says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." Some families are convicted that watching movies are not profitable or edifyin

Yes, all humans truly have free will. We are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and part of this means that we have free will, which is what we call the ability to make choices for ourselves. God did not create human beings to be like programmed machines, blindly following commands with no autonomy. He created us with the ability to choose and m

Should Christians use cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency, like Bitcoin, that's been developing since around 2009. The Bible doesn't mention crypto, of course, but it DOES have a lot to say about finances.The Bible reminds us that "a false balance is an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 11:1). So when considering investing

Whether on social media, the nightly news, or the buzz around school, it seems everyone is talking about drugs. There are any number of competing and often conflicting opinions about drugs and drug use—from strict prohibitionists to those who think unlimited access to any drug at any time for any person should totally be a thing. How can anyone dec

Keeping, telling, or sharing secrets seems to be a normal part of the human existence. From hiding gifts or fun surprises to concealing a painful or highly personal past event to protecting the whereabouts of an important person, handling matters of secrecy is an inevitability as we go through life. The Bible gives us many examples of secret-keepin

In an ideal world, we wouldn't ever have to deal with people who hurt us, but unfortunately, we live in a fallen world full of fallen people (including us!), so pain and hurt is going to happen at some point. We would hope that at least our family or Christian friends would always be an encouragement, but there's no guarantee of that either. No one

When we speak of something or someone being "redeemed," that implies that there was originally a defect or shortcoming that is somehow made up for through the act of redemption. To use a simplified example, a sports team might "redeem" their losing streak by winning in the final, most important game. In the case of Christian redemption, we must fir

Because God knows everything (1 John 3:20)—even the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:29-30)—we can be sure that He knows exactly when, where, and how we will die. The Bible talks about a "book" in Psalm 139:16 that could be a reference to God's knowledge: "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

The Bible tells us that obedience is essential for a Christ follower. Even Jesus was "obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). But how is obedience defined for us? What does it mean to obey? Who should we be obedient to? How do we become obedient? Should we always obey those in authority over us—no matter what?What is obedienc

You may have noticed that if a Christian is reading a fantasy book, it’s very often The Lord of the Rings (or The Chronicles of Narnia). Why do so many Christians like The Lord of the Rings? Is The Lord of the Rings a Christian allegory? Does it have any overtly Christian or spiritual themes? Or is it considered non-Christian fiction?First of all,

"God helps those who help themselves" is probably one of the most quoted phrases that is NOT actually found in the Bible. Sometimes it is referenced as Hezekiah 6:1 (which is not a book of the Bible). Historically, this phrase is usually credited to Ben Franklin (Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757) or Algernon Sydney (Discourses Concerning Government, 1

God created us with a body and soul—with our own mind, will, and emotions. Today, the phrase "mental health" is often used to describe the state of our hearts and minds. While the Bible never uses the term "mental health," it quite often speaks about caring for ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and how the state of our hearts and min

We love all kinds of things, don't we? From our pets to our parents; from movies to music; from boyfriends/girlfriends to favorite restaurants. We say we "love" ice cream, but we may also say "I love you" to a grandparent. We hear the word “love” used in so many ways throughout our lives. But is "love" just a word we say, or do we know love's true

Maybe you once sang about it in Sunday School or have heard it in a sermon: "Put on the full armor of God." We find the phrase "full armor of God" in Ephesians 6:11. Each part of this "full armor" is explained in depth in verses 13-18: "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,