Daily Devotional – October 11

Christian Truth

A recent study of beliefs in Iceland revealed that there was not a single individual under the age of 25 who believed in creation! In America, two-thirds of all church-going young people leave the church once they leave for college. Our young people are being taken captive by the “empty philosophies of this world.” How do we stop this loss of the next generation? A study on the brushing of teeth may give us some insight.

In a controlled study, one group of young people was told why brushing their teeth was good for them. A second group was given the same information but also warned that false reports would try to convince them that teeth-brushing was harmful to their teeth and told how to refute such lies. Then both groups were exposed to the misinformation. The results were stunning. Those that were told ONLY the benefit of brushing were far less likely to consistently brush than those who were both warned that they would be lied to about the dangers of brushing and told how to refute this misinformation.

Christians need to understand the implications of this simple study. For our young people to hold onto their faith and not be taken captive, they need to hear both the why the Bible is true AND to be warned about the lies the enemy will say about it. Young people need to understand the Christian worldview as well as the lies from other worldviews that attack Christian truth - such as Evolutionism, Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Communism, and Islam. All are widespread and rapidly increasing “empty philosophies” that are prevalent in our culture today.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,

~ Colossians 2:8a

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.