Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Colossians 2:6-23 (ESV)
Alive in Christ
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Let No One Disqualify You
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
What does the phrase rooted and built up mean to you?
Lord, sometimes I over-complicate things. That includes my faith. There are so many things that I feel need to be done to be spiritually mature. I have lists of things that others do, shows they watch, or books they read that I aspire to. I put pressure on myself to keep doing more until it bogs me down. All I need is You. I don’t need to add anything for You to love me more. I need to live out what I already have in You; forgiveness, grace, salvation, love, faithfulness, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Let me build the foundation of my life on You, Your Word and trust in You so that the Spirit is firmly planted and grows roots so deep in my heart and soul that it can never be uplifted in any storm. When You grow in me, I will grow in You. When You died, You died for me. When You rose, I rose with You. Help me to understand and think about the amazing victory of Jesus on the cross. You have done it all, I don’t need to add anything. Thank you that you set me free from sin and death. Help me to stand firm on Your foundation and continue to grow and mature in Your Spirit by taking the time to love You and others, not as a to-do list but as an outpouring of Your Spirit firmly planted in me. Amen