Michael Catt - Fireproof Your Life for Teens

Copyright 2015 by Michael Catt

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8487-6

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.83

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE \ TEENAGERS \ FAITH

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations
are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by
Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Also used: New American Standard Bible ( nasb ) the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995; used by permission.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 18 17 16 15

Dedicated to the middle and high school students who were part of the youth ministries when I served at First Baptist Church (Yukon, Oklahoma), First Baptist North Spartanburg (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Roswell Street Baptist Church (Marietta, Georgia), and Sagamore Hill Baptist Church (Fort Worth, Texas).

Thank you for letting me pour into your lives during those formidable years. Praying your faith is still standing up to the fires of life.

Fireproof doesnt mean that the fires
will never come, but that when they do,
youll be able to withstand them.

from the film Fireproof

Introduction

Fireproof Your Life

S everal years ago, I had the privilege of working together with my church to produce a film called Fireproof. The popularity and success of that film surprised us all. However, it also made one thing certain: we as Christians are continually seeking ways to galvanize our faith against the fires of the world around us.

There is arguably no time in your life when your faith is more under fire than your teenage years. But Im here to tell you: as you struggle to find your place in this world, to learn who you are, you can only forge an indestructible identity by remembering Whose you are.

Using Bible-based teachings and practical applications, these next ten chapters will walk you through the process of building an invincible, impenetrable faith. This is not a faith that just shows up on Sunday mornings, but one that reaches deep into your heart and stretches out to encompass every area of your life. From decision-making to relationships to money, I pray that I can show you how a fireproof faith and biblical principles play an integral part in every aspect of your day-to-day life, as well as in shaping your future.

We tend to make life so complicated. Trials and temptations will come, but the solution is simple. For every single situation we are going to face, for every decision we are going to make, the answer is there. And it begins and ends with God.

So, whether youre facing the fires right now or just want to prepare for the inevitable, this book will hand you the tools and protection you need to face the fires of life. But only you can use them.

Dont give up. Dont give in. And dont back down. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in that famous fiery furnace, when we learn to stand with God, we can all be fireproof.

I pray that this book shows you how. And I pray that your life and the lives of those around you grow forever stronger in your faith as you learn to fireproof your life.

Blessings,

Michael Catt

Chapter 1

Standing in the Fire

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1 nasb

W hen a forest fire rages across the mountainside of California, the giant sequoias that have been there for centuries are rarely destroyed. They take their stand. While other less hearty trees are consumed by the sweeping fire, the sequoia has, over hundreds of years, developed multiple layers of bark in preparation for the fire drill.

These giant trees, some of which date back to the time of Christ, survive because of several self-protective elements. For one, some of these trees have bark that is two feet thick . Still, after a fire, a tree can smolder for six to twelve months from the trauma of the flames that lashed at the bark.

When fires rage through our lives, we often find ourselves smoldering. We end up asking God, Why this? or Why me? We can even buy into the lie: If God loved me, He wouldnt have allowed this to happen. But it is wrong to assume that God does not love us, doesnt care, or doesnt know what were going through. The reality is thatregardless of our standing with Godwe all go through fires and times of testing. These trials show what we are made of. They reveal our hearts, our faith, and our level of maturity.

And would you believe that the fires in the sequoia forests even promote new life? When the cone of the sequoia is burned, it dries out, pops open, and disperses its seeds. Each of those little conesabout the size of your pinky fingercontains up to two hundred seeds! The wind carries those seeds and deposits them on the ground as silently as snowflakes. And just as beautifully, new life springs from death; the torment of the flames results in the promise of new life.

A Cultivated Heart

Ironically, however, many of these forests contain no young trees. If fire opens a cone which produces two hundred seeds, and one tree can produce tens of thousands of cones, why isnt there any new growth? Where are all the young sequoia trees?

Unfortunately, over the years, tourists and onlookers have hardened the ground with trampling feet. So if no one cultivates or breaks up the soil, the seeds cannot take root and multiply. The key to the survival of the seeds is the nitrogen-rich soil, produced by layer upon layer of ash left by fires. But if the soil is so hard that even a tiny seed cannot sink in, the life within that seed simply wastes away on top of the hardened ground.

Do you remember Jesus parable that talks about hardened soil? His parable of the sower holds great truths about fireproofing your life. He tells us how we can live a life that withstands the fire and produces new fruit, new life.

Take a look:

Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasnt much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasnt deep. But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. (Matthew 13:38)

In this parable the sower represents Jesus, the seed is the Word, and the soil is our hearts. We would all agree that the sower and the seed are both good, right? But the soilour heartsdetermines the fruit that is produced.

Take a moment to consider Jesus explanation of the parable:

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesnt understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. And the one sown on rocky groundthis is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one sown among the thornsthis is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown on the good groundthis is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. (Matthew 13:1923)