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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Vanity of Philosophy Bible Verse :Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 (J. B. Phillips NT) Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men’s ideas of the nature of the world and disregards Christ!" Message:
One of the greatest puzzles of life is how strongly a person will believe that some philosophy or way of life is absolutely and universally correct, simply because it makes sense to him or her. People kill each other by the millions, absolutely convinced about the universal truth of communism, or the right of their race or tribe to dominate, or one of a hundred philosophical or political systems. Our minds and intelligence are so limited, and our viewpoints are so narrow, and yet we are convinced of the infallability of our ideas. And often, we are amazed and infuriated when others disagree.
In this short passage, Paul warns us about becoming captive to ideas. We must, of course, live in the world. Nothing in the Bible forbids us from voting, or believing that democracy or socialism or something else is a better form of government, or that slow drivers should stay to the right or that people should keep their front lawn mowed.
Should we spank our children? Should people eat meat? Put people in jail for smoking pot? We have to answer a lot of questions for ourselves; the Bible does not tell us every detail about how to live our lives. Most people probably would say that they have a philosophy about various aspects of life; but this is not what Paul is talking about when he speaks of a "hollow and deceptive philosophy".
What Paul means is that we must always subordinate ideas to faith. This includes theology, for 90% of it is the work of men's minds. Theology is not inspired, although it may sometimes be illuminated, by the breath of God. Like any other type of philosophy, theological arguments can become bitter, divisive, and even cause of wars. We take the Bible as divine truth. And theology or other commentary may be tremendously helpful, even critical and necessary, for our spiritual growth. But we must always remember that what people say about the Bible is not the Word of God, but ideas created in a human mind based upon it.
And even in our own minds, we must not become captive to our thoughts and opinions, to the point that we ignore some basic commandment that comes from God. For example, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a rule that most Christians would agree is a universal, God-given truth. Yet, how often will we ignore such an actual truth, and hate someone or wish them dead because they hold some 'hollow and deceptive philosophy' that disagrees with our own hollow and deceptive philosophy?
Scripture is the ultimate yardstick against which any idea must be measured. We must learn to examine our thoughts, actions, and personal philosopies against it with blunt honesty; for it is always a temptation to bend what we read in the Bible to our pre-existing conclusions, rather than changing our ideas to match the Scripture.
Meditation : Prayer : Finally, let me go forth in thanks for the victory I have been given through our Lord Jesus Christ. May I be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and always remembering that in the Lord our labor is not in vain.....Amen |
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