Colossians 2:18-23

Every message has been about the cross. Pretty good since it is just about Easter here anyway. And with all the rain looks like we might have some trouble looking for eggs. Hopefully it stays dry next weekend though. Hope you have a good week my friend.

David

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Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. 

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 
These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. 

Colossians 2:18-23

Paul makes a strong warning against all self-made religions. He is fully aware of the self-proclaimed religious leaders who create their own methods of worshiping God; or even go as far as to creating their own gods. Be wary of men who come to you detailing their vision of angels and how the Lord has shown them great signs and wonders to indicate they are really the Messiah. 

Most of the time these false religious spirits are far less then obvious and won’t always sound too bad. Be careful still as darkness masquerades as light. Truth can be sprinkled easily into clever deceit. Even the Church has religious hardships and traditions that have not come from the Lord, but by man who wants to turn shape things into a way that makes sense. True Christian freedom itself my friend, does not make sense.

We worship a God who stepped out of heaven, walked among us as a man, and allowed himself to be tortured to death on a piece of wood. Our Lord was publicly and historically humiliated in order to free us from sin and bondage. Then He rose from the dead and will one day come back and snatch us away from this world to take us to a new kingdom that is not of this world. Seriously, I can understand why Paul calls the cross foolish to the world. But to those who are being saved, it is the glory of God. Truly what an amazing thing the cross is. And it is the standard by which we should judge every idea that we come across. We must know the Word so we can live by the Word.