Determination

Colossians 2:18 - Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things.

A lot of religious leaders try and make us believe that we have to worship God a certain way.  And that if we don't, we are not connecting with God the way He wants us to.

Paul tells us otherwise.  He tells us that people like this are not connected with Christ (verse 19), and following these man-made rules do not help us conquer our evil desires towards sin (verse 23).  I think Paul is on to something here.

Paul told us in Romans 8:1-2 that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And that since we belong to Him, His power has freed us from the power of sin.  You see, it isn't man-made rules that conquer our evil desires, it is the power of Jesus Christ.  He conquered sin and death when He went to the cross.

People who try to convince us that we can overcome it by worshiping a certain way, are just fooling themselves and taking a lot of people with them.  Jesus died so we can have an intimate personal relationship with God our Father.  When we believe in Him, we are freed.  When we communicate with Him in prayer, we are freed.  When we study His Word to get to know Him better and learn from Him, we are freed.

All it takes is a determination to not let man-made ideas get in our way.  We just need to keep our focus on God, and let Him lead us.  Paul said in Romans 8:14 that all are who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  I am not saying that we should walk away from Church.  Quite the opposite.  We just have to pay attention to what we are being taught at Church.

When we go to a church, if they are not teaching what is in the Bible, then there is a problem.  Any church that teaches that we require an intermediary between us and God, is not teaching what's in the Bible.  We have an intermediary between us and God, and His name is Jesus Christ - the Name above all names.  We don't need someone to tell us that are sins are forgiven when we confess them to God.  The Bible already tells us that are sins are forgiven when we confess them to God.  Jesus died so that our sins would be forgiven when we confess them to God.  He didn't die so that some person could hear our sins and tell that if we do certain things, they will be forgiven.

Am I maintaining my focus on God with determination, or am I letting man-made influences tell me otherwise.  I have been blessed to be a part of church that teaches the Bible, and doesn't try to make things up to add to or take away from it, to serve their purposes.  It's up to me to worship my Lord and Savior the way He wants it - intimate and personal, not the way man does.

Dear Father, thank You so much for saving me.  I know I didn't deserve it, but I know that I have it because You love me, and because You said so.  I pray that I will stay determined to keep my focus on You and Your freedom, and not get sidetracked by the enemy.  I pray for those that don't know You personally, because they have been taught wrong.  My prayer is that they will step away from the man-made religion and develop an open and loving personal relationship with You.  In Jesus' name, Amen!



God Bless!!!