Why is it that when I was 7 I smoked because my dad did it?

I think you are telling me that because your dad smoked, you also tried it. If that is the case, I’ll bet you did it because you wanted to see what your dad was up to. It’s absolutely normal for a boy to want to be like his dad and do things his dad does. I did that too when I was a boy.

Now you are wiser than when you were 7, and you know that smoking is bad for you. I know that a lot of parents, and even kids, smoke – but no one really argues that its good for you, right?

You know what’s so very cool??? You are old enough now to make your own choices about stuff like this. In my opinion, there is enough difficult and painful and bad stuff in life so that I don’t also have to make a choice that hurts me. If I know that smoking is bad, then I don’t need to try again.

My dad smoked for most of his adult life, I tried it a little bit when I was younger too – I hated it. Now my dad has cancer. Maybe the cancer is not even from smoking, it doesn’t matter – I know I don’t want to smoke.

What about you? What’s your choice?

I hope this note helps you. I have a lot of faith in you, and a lot of love for you. I have really enjoyed these two years in TRACK with you. I hope that you will make good choices in the future. You will have many chances to make good or bad choices. If you ever have more questions like this, or you just need to sit and talk with me, just let me know. Even after you are out of TRACK, you are welcome to ask me any question you have.

What happens to a baby that dies at birth? Do they go to Heaven or Hell, because they never sinned?

Babies that die at birth go to Heaven. Babies that die before they are born go to Heaven too. Even small children who cannot understand the concept of sin and salvation go to Heaven if they die unexpectedly.

There is a point, though, where we do hold individuals accountable for their sins, but that is usually later as they grow older. Hebrew Tradition usually celebrated this age of accountability with a Bar Mitzvah.

How come God loves the ones who sins?

It is because our God is a loving God. He has what's known as "agape" love for us...in fact, there really isn't an English translation for it...except to say that it is an unconditional love for us. He loves us completely and unconditionally.

We are His creation and we are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139). What God hates is sin. We often say, "Hate the sin but love the sinner." Well, that's the way God is. God knows that we can never measure up to the level of perfection that Christ demonstrated. That's why He sent Jesus to us; to carry the weight of that sin. That doesn't mean there aren't consequences for sin. Think about it this way...your mom and dad love you unconditionally but they still discipline you when you do something wrong. It doesn't mean they don't love you; they are simply angry at the act of what you did. Your Heavenly Father is the same way.

Why did God send Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan?

That is an awesome question! If you read the very first line of the Book of Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse 1, it says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

So, just by this verse alone, we learn two things: 1, God (the Spirit) was involved in this plan and 2, He allowed Jesus to be tempted. And you’re saying, “Okay…but why???”

God sent Jesus to show us how to resist the devil. Remember, Jesus is God so, if He wanted, He could have made Satan disappear with just a thought. But, instead (and this is the part I love), He responded to Satan as a human to set the example for the rest of us humans. He showed us through His actions how to resist temptation!

And, if you were listening real close you heard how Jesus set the example for us. Do you recall? He accessed God’s strength. He used the passages from the Bible to give Him the strength He needed to resist Satan’s temptations. He turned to God’s Word. He did that to show us that if we can access God’s strength through prayer or knowing God’s Word and trusting in God’s Word that we can also resist temptation. Because, guess what? We can’t do it alone. And Jesus was showing that He couldn’t do it alone as a man.

Remember 1 Corinthians 10:13? It said, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But, when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” That is a promise from God to you. God knows we can’t do it alone. Jesus knew it and that’s why He showed us how to resist temptation by turning to God and by turning away from Satan and to keep walking away from him.

So, that’s why God sent Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan. It was to demonstrate to us how we can beat Satan by turning to God and by turning away from the temptation of the devil. Remember Philippians 4:13…”I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

What is the difference between Christians and Mormons?

I have done a lot of reading and research on the differences of Christianity and Mormonism. I have also spoken with a number of Mormons who have come to my door, and I know many kids (some in our class) who have some Mormon faith in their background.

I have discovered there are many differences. These differences are very important because they involve what we believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, and heaven. Below is a comparison of some of the differences. I hope this chart helps you.

Christianity
The Bible is God’s Word (2 Tim 3:16).

Mormonism
The Bible is not the final word of God.

Christianity
God is Spirit and the one and only God (Is. 43:10).

Mormonism
The Father has a body of flesh and bones. There are many gods. Humans can eventually become a god.

Christianity
Jesus is both man and God (John 1:1, 14) and God’s only son (John 3:16).

Mormonism
Jesus is created by the father (a separate being) and is a spirit brother to Lucifer (the devil).

Christianity
Salvation is a free gift provided by God’s grace for all who believe in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross (Rom. 3:22-24).

Mormonism
Salvation comes from faith, good works & meeting church requirements.

Christianity
Those who put their trust in Jesus will spend eternity in heaven with God
(John 14:1-4).

Mormonism
Most of mankind will enter one of three levels of heaven. The highest level is reserved for Mormons.

Here are three of the websites I looked at that I thought were helpful, you might want to look at them with your mom and dad. They provide a lot of information.

Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (This is the Mormon / Latter Day Saints Page): http://www.carm.org/mormon.htm.

Mormon Research Ministry (This site challenges the claims of Mormons): http://www.mrm.org/.

Mormon Info.org (This site really digs deep into your question about the differences): http://www.mormoninfo.org/.


I know this is a lot of information, so start with the chart I made you, and then have some discussions with your mom and dad. If you really start digging deeper, keep asking questions!!

How could Jesus live without organs after He died?

Wow. That is a great question.

The Bible doesn’t say whether or not Jesus had organs. We can assume that He did because He hadn’t ascended (risen) to Heaven yet. We do know that Jesus had the scars from being crucified and from being stabbed because Thomas, one of the disciples, touched them (John 20:24-29). So, that kind of implies to me that he hadn’t changed physically. The more important thing, though, isn’t whether or not He had organs or not but that he had been resurrected. Wouldn’t a better question be, “How could Jesus live after He died?

Jesus is the only person that has conquered death (a few others, including Lazarus, did too but only because Jesus commanded it). So, how did Jesus do it? It’s because it was all part of God’s unstoppable plan. God has the power over life and death and He resurrected Jesus on the third day to because God knew we needed a Savior to save us from our sins.

Do you want to know something even wilder? God told us all of that was going to happen in the Old Testament! There were prophets in the Old Testament telling of Jesus 700 years before He was born!!! Amazing, isn’t it?

Why do people like being obnoxious?

hmmm…I can’t give you a biblical answer but I will give you an intriguing answer, one that may cause you to think or reflect. Let me ask you this: Is there such a thing as an “obnoxious meter”? I mean is there a device that actually measures behavior and then starts going off when a person crosses a certain point and becomes obnoxious?

Well, we both know the answer, right? …there isn’t. So, at what point does someone’s behavior become obnoxious?

What you may see as obnoxious, I may see as funny. What I may see as obnoxious, you may see as inquisitive. You see, I don’t think people purposely go out to be obnoxious. I think they are trying to be funny or have things they want to say or that they just want to be heard. Sometimes they are hurting inside and just want attention.

I’ve looked through the entire Bible and I can’t find one passage where Jesus said, “Wow! That guy is obnoxious and is really getting on my nerves!!!” Jesus loved and accepted everybody as they were…just the same way He loves and accepts us. We are so lucky that He extends us that grace and mercy because I’m fairly certain at some time in my life, I was obnoxious!