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The Bible helps me make decisions about what's right and wrong. For instance, there was this time during a chemistry test when I caught my best friend, Jim, scanning my paper. I knew he hadn't studied very hard.

"Stop it," I whispered.

"Come on," Jim shot back. "Help me out, man."

The verse that came into my head was Ephesians 4:25: "Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor." As much as I wanted to help Jim, I knew I couldn't.

The next day, we got our tests back. I got a B, Jim got a D. He blamed me for his bad grade and didn't talk to me for days.

It would have been easier if I had just let Jim cheat. At least he wouldn't have gotten mad at me. The teacher probably wouldn't have caught us either, so no one would have known.

But it comes right down to what the Bible teaches about honesty. And God wants me to be honest in everything I do—even when it means making a friend mad.

—Matt, 16

Not long ago, I talked with my boyfriend about why I don't want to have sex before marriage. Since we're both Christians, it's important that we follow what the Bible says about sexual purity. Before we even talked, I'd been thinking about why God wants me to save myself for marriage. Some people think the Bible is ancient and outdated. Since times have changed, they say it's OK for people to have sex before marriage. But I believe God hasn't changed since the beginning of time. He loves me and wants me, his precious child, to have the best—which means he wants me to experience the joy of sex with only my husband.

I pray about my relationship with my boyfriend. I also pray for my future husband. I'm excited to meet the man I'll one day marry. But sometimes I get impatient and waiting seems so hard. Then I'm reminded of what God says in Proverbs 3:5-6: "Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." These verses give me a lot of hope. They also help me stay true to my plan to save myself for marriage.

—Candice, 17

"Grandma died this morning," Mom managed to say through her tears. "She's in heaven now and not in any pain."

Grandma had been in the hospital for two weeks. She had pneumonia and just kept getting worse and worse.

That night I stayed up and cried and cried. Through the wall, I could hear my mom sobbing in her bedroom, too. I wondered how I would survive the night, let alone the rest of my life, without my grandma.

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about Grandma. She wasn't sick anymore and didn't have to stay in a hospital bed hooked up to machines.

"I love you," my grandmother told me in my dream.

I reached out to hug her, and woke up.

She was gone. Again.

The pain I felt when Grandma died hit me all over again. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so lost and alone.

I flipped on my light and reached under my bed for my Bible.

I read Psalm 23. I liked the part that said, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me …."

Then it hit me: I could survive the night and even the rest of my life without my grandmother because God never left her. I know he wouldn't leave me either. The Bible promises me that. And it reminds me that even in the middle of the night, I'm not alone.

—Lauren, 14

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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