January 4th
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Colossians 2:18-23 NIV
In the above passage, Paul was describing some characteristics of false teachers and their methods of leading people away from the truth. Paul pointed out that false teachers had lost connection with Jesus, the “Head” of the body of Christ, and became puffed up with idle notions in their “unspiritual” minds. Some of their idle notions involved angel worship, false humility, religious regulations, self-imposed worship and harsh treatment of the body.
Today more than ever, Christians have to be wary about the many deceptive doctrines being taught under the guise of Christianity. Such false doctrines are traps that bring people into bondage. The key for avoiding such traps is to stay connected with Jesus, so that we can correctly discern truth and lies. The moment we allow something to come between Jesus and us, we’re opening the door for deception to fill our minds.
Sex addiction is one of the obvious things that causes a rift between us and Jesus. Jesus explained that lusting after a person is the same as having sex with them (Matthew 5:28). When we fill our minds with pornographic images and fantasize about them, we are committing sexual sin. Doing so dulls our conscience and opens the door to all kinds of evil, including homosexuality and other perversions. Things that we used to identify as clearly sinful may start to seem acceptable to us, and before long we’ll be openly defending our sin habit as acceptable.
If you feel that you have strayed from Jesus and are no longer in touch with him, I encourage you to return to him today. The steps to returning to him involve confessing and turning away from the sin you’ve been tolerating in your life, asking Jesus to help you reconnect with him and spending time with him each day (quiet time).
Questions for further thought:
Have you been tolerating a “pet sin” in your life?
How does having a quiet time with God each day help us to be in tune with the Holy Spirit?
How does the Holy Spirit help us identify false doctrine? (John 16:13)
How does being familiar with the Bible help us in recognizing false doctrine? (Hebrews 4:12-13)
How does being plugged in to a good church help us stay connected with Jesus?
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, I confess that I have strayed from you in thought, word and deed. Specifically, I confess my sin of ___________(list as appropriate). I turn from this sin now and commit to living for you. Please help me reconnect with you and set aside time every day to learn your word, sing your praises and pray. Please fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit and empower me to walk the path of righteousness without turning to the right or the left. Thank you Jesus! I love you and worship you now and forever. Amen.”