FACT or FAKE

By Pastor Eric

Our theme this year for our High School youth ministry comes from Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 

The world, especially social media, is filling our students–and us–with so many half-truths and whole lies. Whether you are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, watching the news, or even reading the newspaper, it’s becoming more and more difficult to decipher what information is “truth” and what information is “fake.” We find ourselves picking sides, being divided, becoming angry, experiencing anxiety, and acting out of character. We create an environment for ourselves that is toxic, keeps us in fear, and leaves us for the wolves. The world throws out its “truth” like a worm on a hook and before we know it, we are hooked on the line.  

As we read through Matthew 3, we see that Jesus was baptized by John. Instead of a celebration in the Great Room with family and some cake, after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into a time of temptation. In Matthew 4, Jesus is face to face with the evil one, hungry and probably tired. Knowing this, the devil says to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus responds, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus didn’t respond with a new and amazing statement, instead he was quoting his Father from Deuteronomy 8. Jesus quotes scripture from the Old Testament two more times as he stands his ground with the deceiver, calling out his lies with the absolute truth, God’s word! 

If Jesus found it vital enough to quote scripture, while he faced the devil……how much more important is it for us to seek his word for the “Truth” in our lives today! After our youth service Sunday night we left the students and leaders with the same question I asked you at the beginning of this post…..What is your Truth and how are you informed today? We, our world, needs a good “renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2). We need to get back to and cling to the very words of God as the truth of our life. God’s Word will cut through the lies, point us in the direction of life, holiness, strength, wisdom, grace, all while revealing to the world who he is! 

God’s Word is “Truth” and it creates all things, sustains all things, holds all things in their place, redeems all things, and it has no equal! 

Fact or Fake……what is your truth?

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” John 17:17

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