Did you watch the launch of X-factor last Saturday night?  Can you believe that Saturday nights are going to be taken over by it until Christmas!!!

Since Saturday there has been a bit of controversy as it turns out some ‘post-production’ was supposedly used to alter some of the auditions before they were played out on TV.  While programme bosses admitted sound filters were used, they insisted only for the purposes of removing background noise but it has been reported that ’Auto-tune’ was allegedly used to make some of the singers sound better, while some were made to sound worse, all in the name of entertainment!  Do you feel cheated by that?

We have heard this discussion before when certain pop stars claimed to be performing ‘live’ but were in fact just miming to a CD.  Britney Spears even had to take the word ‘live’ off her Australian, ‘Britney Spears Live in Concert’ posters, as she openly admited that she mimed some of the songs.

 So, it turns out that all those ‘perfect’ pop stars aren’t actually that perfect!  Hair extentions, airbrushing and auto-tune all combine to make it appear as if these normal people are super human. 

As you read this, you might be thinking, ‘Oh no, not another blog telling us that it is the inside that counts and that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to the models in magazines.’  Well yes, we are saying those things, but this time we want you to think about who and what you can trust to give you the whole truth.

So pop stars add and take away fake bits of themselves to appear perfect.  ‘Live’ performances are sometimes just someone miming to a CD.  Technology can now ‘auto-tune’ a singer who seems to be audtioning for a TV competition.  The perfect hair in conditioner adverts in magazines and on TV is often made up of hair extentions rather than real hair.  The eyelashes used to advertise the latest mascara are often falsh eyelashes… the list goes on and on…. With all the fakes in the world, what makes us believe that what we read in the Bible is true?

We start by looking at the Bible and what it says about itself.  The Message translates 2 Timothy 3:15-16 as, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed.”

God-breathed!  That means that God was involved in the Bible being put together.  God inspired men to write down these words on paper.  God inspired man to compile the Bible as we know it today.  God breathed life into his Word.  If we don’t trust the Bible, we are not trusting the words that God has given us.  If we don’t trust in the Bible, we are not trusting in our Creator, the God who sacrificed His only son to wipe away all our sins!

There are lots of fake things in the world today, but do not lose faith.  Trust in God’s Word.  Look for answers and guidance in the Bible.  Deuteronomy 31:6  reassures us by saying, “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  This supported at the other end of the Bible when Hebrews 13: 8 tells us, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ 

The Bible = Truth.

Sarah :)