Guarding Against Deception

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17 & Colossians 2

Scripture:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Colossians 2:8

Observation:

This is a stern warning to guard against the becoming a captive of satan through men of religion. Satan equips men to trap us with philosophy, deception, traditions, and principles.

Application:

There are three things I see in this passage that will guard me from captivity. First, I need to be in submission to a spiritual leader that gets it. Paul was sitting in prison and still his heart was for the churches associated with him. He was their leader and carried a burden for helping them grow in spirit and truth. There are two parts to this for me. The first is to find the man God has ordained to me my leader. The second is to be willing to submit to the TRUTH God reveals to me through him.

Second, I have to know who I am in Christ. Paul throws that down in great detail in this chapter. Many times I am deceived by my own ignorance. The great thing about ignorance is that it is correctable. I need to bury myself in the Word and know all the things that the scriptures say about what my salvation is and what it is not. It is hard to be deceived when the truth is planted in my heart.

Finally, I need to pursue God's truth on my own. It is tempting at times to get all that I get of God through other people. This is a very dangerous choice on my part. While God desires me to be in submission to my church leaders, He also demands that I be a self-feeder. I need to pursue Christ on my own and allow God to pour into me Himself.

Prayer:

You have called me to be part of a church so that I may be in submission to good spiritual leadership. I ask that I not get stuck in the rut of just hearing a great message, but that I recognize the Biblical authority of my church in my life. As long as truth is spoken, my command is to be in submission.

A part of recognizing the truth is knowing the truth. I pray God that You fill me with the full knowledge of who I am in Christ so that no man will be able to fool me into trusting anything else. Help me to experience the freedom that You have given me and to fully understand how to model my life after Jesus.

It is so easy to become lazy. Good preachers deliver the Word in a manner that feels satisfying and it is easy for them to become my lifeline to You. Fuel my desire to seek after You on my own. Help me to continue growing my ability to be a self-feeder of Your Word. Open the storehouse of Your wisdom and pour into me Your truth. I pray that Your Word continue to come to life to me as I seek Your instruction for my life.