“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!”  (Colossians 2:10-21)

I have seen this too many times to not point out to you, dear friend, that it will do you good to pay attention to this.  You are not here to please others, but the Lord who made you.  Yes, be sensitive to others, but know that this is for love’s sake and has nothing to do with the law.  You are free, but do what is profitable for your faith.  Smile and love those who promote these things, but live freely.

Lord, grant Your heart to me so that I may live in the freedom You give.  Guide me to see where I need to be sensitive and where I need to simply walk away and do what needs (or should) be done.  In all things, help me to see that it is You alone whom I am to please.  You gave us rules for proper conduct, Lord; help me not to fall prey to any other’s ideas of propriety.  Guide me now and always in what is good, right and salutary.

Lord Jesus, You have given me Your Spirit to lead me every moment in the way I should go.  Let me not fall into the snares of the wicked one who would trap me with a false sense of propriety.  In all things, lead me to be sensitive, but firm, so that I may live life as You would have me.  Guide me today and every day in the way of truth and teach me how to live this life in Your freedom.  Amen.

“[A]nd 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” (Colossians 2:19).

To whom are you attached?  To what do you belong?  How do you function?  Many live for themselves and do not truly consider being a part of any whole.  The Lord offers that we come into Him and He into us so that we may grow in His likeness and be a part of what He is knitting together.  This is the mystery of the church.  This is the gift of life in Christ.  It is life itself.

Lord, the culture I am in accentuates self above all else.  Help me to realize that You are my Creator and that there can be no life worth living apart from You.  Guide me in Your goodness so that I may walk humbly with You, my God, and learn from You how to live this life You have given me.  Show me the way You would have me go and let nothing hinder the walk You have planned for me.

Lord Jesus, You have come that as many as will walk in the light of Your countenance shall find grace and mercy to live into eternal life.  Lead me, O Lord, and guide me along right paths for Your name’s sake.  Guide me, Lord, and let me learn from You how connected I am to You and others.  You are the One who must lead and in You is all hope and the only future worth living.  Amen.

“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” (Colossians 2:18)

What difference does it make that another has an experience that differs from yours?  This world celebrates these things and they are titillated.  And we are too, if we are honest.  But we should move beyond these things to know that our hope is in Christ alone; and whatever experience we have, He deems adequate as a base for spiritual growth.  Do not make a cult of your faith, but live in the freedom He gives you.

Lord, I do see these things around me.  Help me now and always to live into the life You have given me by and in faith.  Guide me in Your goodness so that I would hold fast only to that which is true.  As for those who have differing experiences, let me think nothing of them other than to pray blessings upon them.  As for me, let me always gladly receive the message You send so that I may abide in You.

Lord Jesus, there are many who come selling all kinds of things.  Help me to hold fast to the truth You have delivered once for all.  Keep my focus on the hope You give and know that in You alone is there grace and mercy.  Let me never fall away, nor be led away by those things the world uses to entice.  Help me now and always to abide humbly in You and walk the path upon which You lead me.  Amen. 

“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16).

For those who think that the feasts, festivals, and formal celebrations are pagan rituals, think again: they are a shadow of what is to come.  For those who think that these things are absolutely essential, think again: they are a shadow of what is to come.  Do not look just  at what you prefer, but to the One who makes all things possible.  Be where He has placed you and do what He gives you to do.

Lord, teach me to be content in every situation.  Guide me in Your goodness so that I may learn from You the truth which You have revealed in Your life, death, and resurrection, as well as learn from the Word which You have given me.  Lead me into truth so that I would not think more highly, nor any less of what is happening around and in me.  Show me the truth which You reveal and know Your goodness and mercy.

Lord Jesus, You have come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  You have shown us the way to where we are going, but we are not there yet.  As I live my traditions, Lord, let them be but a reflection of what is coming and never let me think they are You or heaven.  Guide me, Lord, so that I would rejoice in all that You have given me knowing that You are the One who will lead me to where I need to be.  Amen.

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

The ways of this world are opposite to the way of the Lord.  Rulers seek power for themselves, but this is an illusion, for all power and authority have always belonged to the Lord.  Those who are in Him know this and seek to live in accordance with His will.  Those of the world lord it over those under them.  You see this clearly in the Passion when the leaders are nothing compared to the Lord.

Lord, You know what it is to be falsely accused.  You know what it is to have people lie about You.  Teach me to be like You and to be humble in the face of those who are, in public, lying, that they may be shamed by the truth.  You have disarmed me with Your Gospel.  Use Your Gospel through me to disarm others so that we may no longer be at war against You, but serve in Your eternal kingdom.

Lord Jesus, Your kingdom is not of this world.  You have come in order that we may join with You, the One through whom all things have their being.  Lead me into truth so that I may celebrate with You all that You have accomplished.  Guide me to know that in You, through You, and by Your power and authority, I can do all things right and fitting.  Guide me this day to be one who does the Father’s will.  Amen.

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossains 2:13-14).

What Christ has done, in many ways, is beyond our ability to grasp.  He has taken our iniquities upon Himself and through Him we have the forgiveness of sin.  This is not permission to continue in lawlessness, but to recognize that the impossible trap of sin has been lifted so that we may begin the journey of becoming like the One who came to set us free.  Our sins are on the cross and you have been freed.

Lord, teach me that I may not think that I am free to do as I please, but freed from the recompense of sin.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of life which You give in order that I may see that only in and through You is there hope.  Lead me to know that You have come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  Guide me, Lord, now and always in the way of everlasting life.

Lord Jesus, in You is all hope and the true future of eternity.  You have come so that we may, by Your example, learn how to be children of God.  Guide me, O Lord, that I would  always see the example You have given me and live that example.  Help me to do this in, by, and through faith.  Lead me, Lord, and show me how to follow You.  Teach me how to love as You love so that others may know You through me.  Amen.

“And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11).

Cutting away the decay, the cancer and replacing it with the heart of Christ is a description of the Christian life.  God takes away the corruption and makes of us His children.  There are many ways this is said, but only one way this is done and that is through Christ our Savior.  Come then into the salvation Christ has made possible through the cross and know that in Him is all goodness and mercy.

Lord, help me to understand these word pictures so that I may begin to see the reality of what You have done for me from the cross.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life in order that I would be led by You and know that in You alone is all hope.  Whatever needs to be cut away, cut it away.  Whatever needs to be replaced, replace it.  Take me from where I am and bring me to where You know I need to be.

Lord Jesus, You have come so that we may have life and have it abundantly.  Lead me now and always to go through whatever You know I need to go through in order that I may become like You.  Lead me into the eternal life You illuminate through the light which is Your life so that I may walk in the path You set before me.  Guide me this day, Lord Jesus!  Amen.

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:9-10)

All power and authority belong to Jesus.  All means all.  We struggle in this world with the idea of ownership, but the Lord owns what He has made.  But He has set us free.  In that freedom, He seeks to make you complete that You would become a child of God as He, the only begotten, is a Son to the Father.  This is the “in His likeness” of creation.  Be complete by completely submitting to the Lord.

Lord, You know the ways in which I rebel and do not submit to Your authority.  You are the One in whom all things have their being.  In You alone is all hope.  Lead me, O Lord, in order that I may now and always humbly abide in You and You in me.  Guide me along right paths for Your name’s sake.  Keep me always in Your ways so that I may be guided by You along the path of righteousness.

Lead me, Lord Jesus, today and every day.  You know all that I need to do.  You know all that stands in the way.  You know those places in my heart where I need You to remove things and put things in their proper place.  Lead me, Lord, and teach me to follow.  Guide me always according to Your goodness to see, hear, and do what You direct.  Thank You for the call You have given me to follow You.  Amen.

“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).

See to it means that you are to see to it.  No, not everyone has your best interest at heart.  There are those who, for their own reason, will lead you astray.  See to it that you keep your eyes upon Jesus.  He alone is the author and finisher of your faith.  You have heard the Word and you know the truth – Jesus – now do not let anyone take this away from you as has happened to so many in our time.

Lord, there are no special and new gifts which are mine.  I cannot figure out the universe through cryptic understanding.  I am not special, nor different from all others.  I do not have a special anointing of any kind and it does not matter how I feel about anything.  You are God and You have saved me through the cross.  Unite me now and forever with You so that I would not be led astray.

Lord, teach me truth.  Build in me a means of detecting all of the garbage that is spewed in our age.  Do not let me ever be led astray.  Keep me close to You and in the Word You have given me so that I would humbly walk with You always.  Lord, You know what lies before me.  Keep my eyes upon You in order that I would not be led astray by the fancy words of this age during my time in this age.  Amen.

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude” (Colossians 2:6-7).

You are now in relationship.  Relationship in love is never forced, but willingly entered into.  You have received Christ.  What does this mean?  It means that You know He is your Savior and loves you enough to die for you.  He gave up His all for you.  Will you give up your life for Him?  This is the basis of the Christian faith: that in love we would hold onto nothing but Christ.

Lord, guide me to understand the Gospel message You have delivered to the saints.  Help me live into the promise and the discipline of the faith.  Lead me now and always not to live just for myself but in love for others according to Your Word.  You have given me the words of everlasting life; help me to live them.  No matter what it takes, help me learn to live in the discipline You give through faith.

Lord Jesus, You know how difficult it is to navigate in this world.  Lead me, O Lord, in order that I would walk according to Your Word.  You know all that is needed and what lies before me.  Help me always look to You so that I would not be led astray.  Through all that comes, thank You, Lord,  for the gifts of faith and life which You have made possible through Your grace.  In You I have life now and forever.  Amen.