29 Sep, 2009
Survey Says...
A new "60 Minutes"-Vanity Fair Poll was released Sunday.
More than a third consider Twitter a fad that will likely fade.
Nearly half of the respondents chose Wal-Mart as the institution that best symbolizes America today.
A politician taking bribes is considered by far the greater sin (chosen by 37 percent of the respondents) when stacked against extramarital affairs (just 2 percent).
President Barack Obama has set a time table for a troop pullout in Iraq by 2011. But one-third of poll respondents predicted he won't be setting a time table for removing troops from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, 31 percent said he would time it to the beginning of the next presidential campaign, and 25 percent chose "in about a year."
Obama was edged out by George Clooney (24 percent to 26 percent) among respondents choosing "which man they would most like to trade places with for a week," followed by Tom Brady and Bruce Springsteen.
The poll is based on a random sample of 1,097 respondents nationwide. It was conducted by phone between Aug. 27 and 31 by CBS News.
(To view the full article by FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer 9/27/09, go to news.yahoo.com)
Ephesians 4:14-15 [NLT]
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
John 18:37 [NIV]
Jesus answered, "...In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
II Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Psalm 119:30 [NIV]
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.
What does God's Story have to say about popular opinion vs. Truth?
People have all kinds of opinions...on everything from what should be done in Iraq to which sin is worse for politicians. I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions. The problem comes when we start mistaking opinion for Truth.
You will hear people say, "I believe there are many roads to heaven." You will also hear, "God is a loving and forgiving God so I think He will accept me and my boyfriend living together." You might even hear, "What's right for you might not be right for me...and I think we should be cool with that."
The problem with each of those statements is that they are all opinions! They all include "I think" or "I believe". They aren't based on Truth which can only be found in God's Word.
In Ephesians 4 we see Paul urging Christ-followers to be grounded in the Bible so they don't end up buying into whatever the latest teaching might be. Christians today are falling victim to all kinds of popular opinions about what's right and wrong. In a recent survey, George Barna found that a scant 9 percent of "born-again" Americans hold a biblical worldview, and that only 27 percent of self-identified Christians even believe Satan exists!
The reason that this has happened is because we spend more time listening to the opinions of today than we do studying the Truth from God's Word. He calls us to be "workmen who are approved and correctly handle the Word of Truth".
How can I make Truth more a part of my life than the opinions that I hear?
- It all starts by knowing the truth! If you aren't in the Word on a daily basis, you risk being "tricked with lies that are clever and sound like truth". Start with 5 minutes a day. If you are already there, move it up to 10 minutes a day...or how about 30? The more Truth you have in your life, the more you will recognize the lies that are out there.
- If you don't know where to start or how to read your Bible...talk to someone who does! They would be glad to help you.
Connecting today's story, God's story and my story with my friend's story
- Start listening with a careful ear. When someone uses the phrase "well, what I think..." or "what I believe...", see how the rest of the statement lines up with Truth from God's Word. This will keep you from buying into ways of thinking that just aren't true.
- When a friend states what they believe...especially about spiritual matters...ask them what they are basing that on. They often don't have any valid source or foundation for their belief. They are probably just repeating what someone else has told them. You, however, can offer the ultimate source of truth for why you believe what you believe! Then they will be able to see the Truth that can set them free!
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