Dear Student of the Word,
I am off to Kenya in a few minutes, so I thought I would send you the third study from Colossians. I know the holidays are busy times, but I hope not too busy for you to do some Bible study! We study this week the statements that Paul made concerning the supremacy of Christ over every religious doctrine and practice. This week I wrote:
When I was a pastor, I saw that a funeral always served to put things in perspective. It was then that we saw exactly how meaningless much to which we attached meaning really had. Do you think there our denominations will mean anything in the presence of Jesus? Does He have a ledger that shows how much money you gave you to your church? Will He have a ribbon to give you to reward you for what you wore or didn’t wear, what you watched or didn’t watch, what you attended or didn’t attend?
You will be judged on one thing and one thing only: whether or not your name is in the book of life. And you get your name in the book of life by putting your faith and hope in Jesus! There is no other way to gain eternal life but by faith in Him. If you want to dress a certain way, or not wear jewelry, or not eat meat on a certain day, that’s fine. Just know that you will do those things because you want to and not because they have any spiritual value in and of themselves.
v. 23 – I have read that Muslim women must dress modestly, yet that does not constrain lust in Muslim men! While this has the sound of wisdom – “women must dress modestly” – it does nothing to deal with heart issues of sensual indulgence. Praying three or five times a day facing east sounds spiritual, but one can have hate in his or her heart while doing so, whether a so-called Christian or Muslim. A pilgrimage to a holy site sounds like a spiritual thing to do, but it is meaningless since that site will pass away.
There are Hindus who walk through the streets, beating themselves with sticks and whips to subdue the flesh. This has the semblance of humility, but it is false humility. I went to a South American city and saw where people climbed up a long hillside on their knees to worship at an idol-filled church and there are many who make it their lifelong dream to do that, and some who do it every year. There are some who participate in Lenten fasts and special services. Yet all of it – that’s right, all of it – is foolishness and contributes nothing to the worship of God, nor does it lead the practitioners to Christ.
Can you think of any other such practices that you have observed, perhaps even in your own church? In your own culture? What is your response to those practices? Do you participate? Why or why not?
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, First Timothy, and Matthew's and Mark's gospels on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.
Plus my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished Faith Files.
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SPECIAL HELP: I am off to Kenya next week to work
with an organization who cannot afford to pay my way. Any financial
assistance you can give me as I go would be greatly appreciated. You
may contribute using PayPal through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Thank you.
FAITH FILES eBOOK: As I announced two weeks ago, my latest book, The Faith Files, is now available as an ebook that you can download. What's more, the service allows you to pay in Canadian dollars, US dollars, UK pounds, Australian dollars and, get this, Indian rupees! Just go to the ebook website, enter your payment information and download the book. You can then print it or have it on your computer for your devotional pleasure.
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