I started my public school education in the 9th grade after attending a private Lutheran school from preschool through 8th grade. Aside from learning academically I also learned extensively about the Bible and Christianity, providing me with a solid foundation as I was stepping into a secular environment for the first time. Through conversations with friends and faculty I realized that each individual in society has a worldview formed by their opinions and biases, also known as people's personal ‘truths’. It's very difficult to change this narrative that is created, but it's also the lens in which we view ourselves, others, experiences, thoughts, and beliefs. When it comes to God's truth and the truth from the Bible, we can take comfort in knowing they are the same! If God is true, that means His Word is also true. John 8:32 says, "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" Believing in Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, is the only way humans are able to get to the Father (John 14:6). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one (the Holy Trinity); therefore, God is also true. Scripture also says "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God wrote His Word to be a guide (Psalm 119:105) for people as they go through life to avoid sin and navigate adversity while growing in faith and hearing the good news of the Gospel. I believe Pastor John Piper states this concept best in his book, Finally Alive: "My feelings are not God. God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God's Word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes - many times - my feelings are out of sync with the truth. When that happens - and it happens every day in some measure - I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of Your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth." This doesn't mean our feelings or opinions are meaningless and don't matter. However, this also doesn't mean they are God and what He says truth is. The sinfulness of our human nature warps our thoughts, feelings, opinions, and behavior constantly as mentioned by Pastor John Piper. When we notice ourselves and others holding on to these truths it's important to examine them, and our hearts, against Scripture to see if they are aligned with God's truth. When we cling to God's truth instead of our own, we experience the freedom Jesus describes in John 8:32, which is freedom from sin and death with the reward of everlasting life to those who believe because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Our culture today may say that everyone's truth is valid and important to who they are, but Christ tells us in Scripture who we really are. We are beloved children of God and have freedom from sin, death, and the power of the devil because Jesus paid our debts by His death. What a relief it is to accept the truth of God and His Word that will never change or fail us!