Beware of Being Spoiled

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Wow, that statement by the Holy spirit sums up years of blogging here. The constant hammering away at what calls itself "christianity" in the world all comes together here. What are the problems with todays "christianity?" There are MANY but Colossians 2:8 does a great job of summing them up:

You are being SPOILED through

1. philosophy
2. vain deceit
3. the traditions of men
4. the rudiments of the world (the basic patterns of this world)

Instead of fashioning the church according to the pure Word of God, men have chosen their own ways patterned after the world, not Jesus. A 3 second glance at "christianity" shows you all the evidence you need. The structure of todays so called christianity is patterned exactly like any business organization you want to look at. The "pastor" is the CEO and everything else flows down below him just like a Fortune 500 company.

Look closely at what calls itself the "church" and compare it to the patterns of this world and see for yourself the remarkable similarities. Look at the "church" and see how deeply they are entrenched in the traditions of men at the expense of the truth of God. Listen closely at how the CEO's (oops I mean "pastors") weave the philosophy of this world into their "sermons." See the not so subtle vain deceit that is evident from the ground up in todays so called churches. They bring you in to "service" you like an automobile going in for an oil change. That's "in your face" vain deceit patterned after this world in every way.

I think I'm starting to catch on to what the Lord's been doing with this course change in my life. What you've been reading here about prayer and consuming the Word of God has everything to do with what's coming in the future. The bible tells us that our God is a shelter and a refuge. He is leading me to walk closer to him day by day through prayer and intake of his Word. We may see some rough patches of life experience before the escape from Jacob's trouble shows up. Yes, we will escape ALL of Jacob's trouble but right up to the point where it begins we may sail some stormy seas, I don't know. The accounts of Noah and Lot lead me to believe that what we see around us today will continue in much the same form right up through the day of the escape. The relevance of spending time with the Lord and being full to overflowing with his Word is that regardless of whether its the escape or stormy life experience that we see next, the answer for both is to be found "in Christ" who IS the Word of God.

I have asked the Lord repeatedly to allow me to go out of this world STRONG. I do not want to be ashamed when He shows up, wishing I had done more or had believed bigger or done things differently. I am praying today, right now to see mighty things from this mighty God we worship. Why should we settle for "just getting by" when we can walk on water with Jesus and see moutains moved before our eyes. I just cannot settle for anything less than seeing something SPECTACULAR from my God before I leave this place. I think that's a personal thing that the Lord has deposited within me, not that I am "special" in any way because we all have worthy missions from the Lord that are widely different and varied according to our walk with him and how he has made us as individuals.

The more we expect of this God we worship, the closer we need to walk with him. If we want to see mountains moved, trees uprooted and planted in the sea, walking on water etc then Jesus has to be more real to us than the world around us. We live by faith not sight. What our faith sees must be more real to us than what our eyes see, THEN buckle your seatbelts and watch what happens. Again, all of this is about our GOD'S GLORY not us as individuals. He will have his glory one way or another..he will have it. We can be part of it, or we can get steam rolled by it, its up to us to choose.

Whatever is going on in your life today, I want to encourage you to forget everything any man has ever taught you and relearn everything solely through the Word of God with the teaching done by the Spirit of God. Forget what I have told you as well, who am I? A nobody. Keep your eyes on the prize..JESUS IS OUR PRIZE here on earth AND in heaven. Blessed be his name.

done for today, grace and peace