Year: 2022

Does the Truth Matter?

2 Thessalonians 2

Saturday, September 3

This chapter comes with some very big warnings.  From the very beginning of the chapter to the very end, it is full of warnings not to be deceived.  If this was such a big problem 2000 years ago, how much bigger is it now?  We need to heed all of these warnings because just like the Thessalonians, we also have others trying to deceive us in every step of our lives.


 To be able to keep from being deceived, we must first know the truth.  In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, ‘“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”’  According to these verses, the very first thing we need to do to keep ourselves from being deceived is to hold to Jesus’ teaching.  To do this, we need to first know what Jesus taught and to obey it.  When we hold to the teachings of Jesus, we are really his disciples.  Then, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.


In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul writes that the Thessalonians were “saved… through belief in the truth.”  The Thessalonians not only knew the truth, they also believed it.  For this reason, they were saved.  We also can be saved when we know the truth and choose to believe in it.  But, if you choose not to believe in the truth, there are serious consequences.


In verse 13, Paul writes, “[S]o that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”  It is a matter of life or death, whether or not you believe in the truth.  If you believe in the truth, you can be saved and have eternal life in the kingdom.  If you do not believe in the truth, however, you will be condemned and will perish.


Verse 15 says, “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”  Paul has told us what our choices are.  The choice to believe in the truth or to not believe in it.  He urges us, then, to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings.  When we hold fast to the teachings, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.  It’s not a trivial decision!  It is life or death, so choose the truth!

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. How can you be sure you are not being deceived?
  2. How are you following Jesus’ teachings, not the pastor or creeds or traditions, but following Jesus’ teachings?
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Your Reputation Precedes You

2 Thessalonians 1

Friday, September 2

In a small school, the teachers seem to know who most people are, whether it is because of their achievements or their families.  At the beginning of each new school year, they try to figure out if they know you.  However, for them to know who you are, somebody else has had to tell them about you, and whatever they’ve been told is the reputation that you start with, in that class.  It’s great if they had positive things to say about you, but for those who didn’t have great things said about them, it can hurt.


Verse 4 of 2 Thessalonians 1 says, “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.”  Paul is telling the Thessalonians that he tells all the other believers about their great faith.  It is one thing for Paul to go tell the Thessalonians that they are doing really well as they stand firm in their faith, but it is a whole other thing when he goes to tell everyone else about it.


Is your faith so evident that people talk about it with others?  The Thessalonians had faith like that and we should too.  The Thessalonians’ faith was strong enough that the other believers were talking about it among themselves, but what’s even more important is that those who aren’t believers notice our faith.  We need to work to be that light in other people’s lives that they might talk about and wonder about it.


Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  We need to make sure that when we do try to make our faith evident, it isn’t so that we are praised for it.  We need to make sure that God is the one who is getting all the glory for our faith while we try to be a light to others.  When we do this, we will have a reputation that goes before us, just like many students do in a small school, that will bring glory to God.

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Who do you know who is known for a growing faith and love and perseverance in the midst of trials and persecution? Thank God for them. And, like Paul, you can also tell them that you thank God for them.
  2. What do you think your fellow employees or classmates or teachers at church or school would say about you? What do you think your neighbors would say about you? What do you think the cashier would say about you? Are they right? How did you get this reputation?
  3. What is Paul’s main point in the rest of 2 Thessalonians (verses 5-12)?
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Rejoice Always

1 Thessalonians 5

Thursday, September 1, 2022

I have always loved 1 Thessalonians 5:16.  It is a very short verse.  In fact, in Greek, it is the shortest verse with only 2 words that combined have a total of 14 characters, whereas John 11:35 is 3 words with a combined total of 16 characters.  However, this verse has a big message behind those two words.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 is all about joy.  It commands you to have joy and to express it all the time.  This is a command that is repeated throughout many other passages in the Bible, including Philippians 4:4 and Psalm 32:11.  But, how many of us are constantly showing joy?  We all have times in our lives when it is hard to show joy.  For some people it may be the morning when they just woke up.  For others it might be right after finding out bad news.  Whatever it may be, you have had it try to stop you from feeling joy.  But, we need to each make the choice to choose joy.  In choosing joy, you are choosing to focus not on the problems you are momentarily facing, but on the gifts that God has given you.  We need to not choose joy sometimes, but all the time.


However, having joy all the time only partially fulfills what you are being commanded to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:16.  You are supposed to be rejoicing!  Rejoicing is more than just having the feeling of joy.  It is expressing that feeling of joy.  When I think of showing joy, I think of the song “I’ve Got Joy,” which says,


“I’ve got joy down in my heart,
Deep, deep down in my heart!
J-O-Y down in my heart,
Deep deep down in my heart!
Jesus put it there
And nothing can destroy it!
I’ve got joy down in my heart,
Deep, deep down in my heart!”


I love singing this song and it always brings a smile to my face when everyone is doing the motions for it.  But what makes this song even better are the little changes my family has made to the song, which were inspired by our friend Jeff.  Instead of singing the lyrics, “joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart,” we sing, “joy exploding out of his head, deep, deep out of his head.”  We should all have such evident joy that the only way to describe it to others is to say that it is exploding out of your head.  Not only should it be exploding out of our heads sometimes, but it should be exploding out of our heads all the time, as we obey the command to rejoice always.


However, that is not the end to the slight changes my family has made to this song.  Instead of singing the lyrics, “And nothing can destroy it,” we sing, “And nothing can contain it.”  Our joy should not only always be exploding out of our heads, but we shouldn’t let anything stop it from exploding.  Nothing should be allowed to contain our joy inside our heads!  Our joy should always be exploding out!

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. On a scale of 1-10 how well do you choose joy? On the same scale, how well do you express that joy? One more time, on the same scale, how well do you express that joy all of the time?
  2. What do you sometimes allow to steal, destroy or contain your joy?
  3. We know life can be hard. We also know God is good. What blessings from God can you choose to focus on today? (Visit yesterday’s devotion if you need a blessing to start your list.)
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An Even Better Story Coming

1 Thessalonians 4

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

I have always enjoyed reading the Chronicles of Narnia.  As I read them, I love to compare the story to what is written in the Bible.  Of all the books in the series, my favorite is The Last Battle.  I love seeing the old characters, the Pensieves, returning to the series.  1st Thessalonians 4 is describing the time when people come back into the story, just like the Pensieves coming back into the Chronicles of Narnia.


Verse 17 says, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”  Can you imagine being able to see the dead in Christ?  There will be the reunions to loved ones and the meeting of the heroes of faith.  In The Last Battle, those who were still alive at the very end are excited to meet Lord Diggory and Lady Polly because they were in Narnia in the very beginning.  But, even more, they loved meeting their old relatives and friends.


While seeing the dead in Christ will be great, there is an even better promise in verse 17: “We shall always be with the Lord.”  We get to spend eternity with the Lord!  That is a great promise that we can look forward to the fulfillment of.  We know that when the kingdom comes, it will be a life beyond comparison.  A life that none of us will ever be able to even start to imagine.  


The Last Battle ends with these few sentences: “[T]he things that happened after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.  And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.  But for them it was only the beginning of the real story.  All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”


The lives of Peter, Edmund, and Lucy as they were written in the earlier books, with the amazing adventures in the land of Narnia, was nothing to compare with their life in the new Narnia.  They were beginning an even better book which no one on earth will ever read, where life just gets better and better.  We have this to look forward to where we also will have such amazing lives in the kingdom that they will be nothing to compare to this life.  There is an even better story coming that we can’t even begin to fathom!

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions to Discuss and Reflect Upon

  1. What order of events does Paul relate to the Thessalonians in chapter 4 so that they will not be, “uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13) ? Is this the same or different as what you hear at most Christian funerals? Could it be there are many today uninformed about those who sleep in death?
  2. What are you most looking forward to at the time of Jesus’ return? Remembering this, how will it change your day today?
  3. After telling the Thessalonians what they have to look forward to, Paul said to, “Encourage one another with these words” (vs 18). How can you do that today?
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Standing Firm in the Lord

1 Thessalonians 3

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

When reading this chapter, the joy Paul had stood out to me.  Paul faced challenge after challenge, obstacle after obstacle as he worked to spread the gospel, yet he is still full of joy.


Paul starts the chapter by talking about how he feared that the Thessalonians would be led astray by the temptations and afflictions they would face.  He says that for this reason, he asked someone to report on their faith, hoping that all his work there wouldn’t have been in vain.  But when Timothy returned with a report about the Thessalonians, it became clear that they had stood firm in their faith through all the persecution they faced.


In verse 7, Paul writes that he and his companions were comforted by the news that Timothy brought.  The good news about the Thessalonians was so great that it provided comfort in the midst of affliction!  Paul states that they now really live if the Thessalonians stand firm in their faith.  The Thessalonians provided so much joy to the lives of Paul and his companions that it feels like they just started to really live!  In verse 9, Paul asks what thanks they can give to God for all the joy he has about the Thessalonians.  There is so much joy that he doesn’t even know how to put it into words to thank God.  This joy is so overwhelming that he can’t even start to understand how much thanks he needs to give God.


Are you filling others with as much joy as Paul is full of from the Thessalonians?  Are those who taught you the Bible filled with joy from the way it has changed your life?  Paul’s joy came from seeing that he was able to make this impact on the Thessalonians and that they were able to continue standing firm.  We each need to be like the Thessalonians, providing joy to our teachers and others as we continue to walk in the way of the Lord.


Are you filled with joy like Paul?  God has provided each of us with much more than we ever deserved.  None of us deserve salvation, but God offered it to each one of us.  Our lives should be full of joy because of this great gift.  I can’t even begin to thank God enough for everything that He has given me!


Paul’s response to this joy is shown in verse 10.  He says that he and his companions are earnestly praying that they may see the Thessalonians again and continue to strengthen their faith.  He doesn’t claim that his job is now done, as the Thessalonians were able to stand up to opposition.  Instead, he says that he wants to visit to teach them even more, to make them even stronger, lacking nothing in their faith.


What is your response to being filled with joy?  We need to be constantly giving thanks for all that we have been given, night and day praising God.  Are you asking God that you can continue to do the work which He has prepared for you or are you saying that your job is done?  This joy should cause you to want to do even more, spreading the good news to all those around you so that they too might experience this joy.

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. What is the biggest challenge you face in standing firm in the Lord? How can you ask for help from your brothers and sisters in Christ? (If you don’t have a church family yet – make it your first priority to find one!)
  2. Are there brothers and sisters or children in the faith that give you great joy when you see how they are standing firm in the faith even in the midst of trials? Let them know.
  3. Spend an extra ten minutes in prayer today thanking God.
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Even in the Face of Strong Opposition

1 Thessalonians 2

Monday, August 29, 2022

Yesterday, we read about how the Thessalonians turned from their idols to serve the one true God.  However, this caused some problems to arise for them.  Those around them still worshiped the idols and chose to persecute them.  But Paul has advice for them on how to continue to stand firm in their faith in the midst of all this opposition.


At the very beginning of the chapter, in the first two verses, Paul explains that they came to witness to the Thessalonians right after they had faced persecution in Philippi.  Paul says that in Philippi they faced much suffering and mistreatment.  He continues to say that in Thessaloniki they continued to face lots of opposition when they worked to spread the gospel.


Many people would have stopped after facing serious persecution in one city.  Many more would have stopped when they saw the opposition against them in the next city.  But Paul and his companions continued to spread the gospel throughout all these hardships.  By telling the Thessalonians about his problems, Paul encourages them by showing that it is possible, when you have God, to stand firm in the faith and to continue doing God’s will.  We should let this also encourage us because we know that Paul, in the midst of all the troubles of this world, continued to be one of the greatest witnesses to the whole world.


Paul continues by describing their attitudes in sharing the gospel, even while they were faced with persecution.  In verse 7, he describes themselves as “gentle among [them], as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.”  Paul, later in verse 12, explains why they acted in that manner.  He says that it was “so that [the Thessalonians] would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls [them] into His own kingdom and glory.”


In the midst of suffering and persecution, many people would have acted in anger against those who were causing this.  However, by doing this you are more likely to drive people away from God than you would be to bring them to Him.  But, when you act as Paul and his companions did, being gentle in the midst of persecution, you become an imitator of God, showing love to those who are your enemies.  Through this love, people will come to know God and walk in the way that God has called them to walk.


While this letter may have been written to the Thessalonians, it doesn’t apply only to them.  We also need to make sure that we are not letting persecution stop us from doing God’s will.  When we continue to do the work that God has called us to do in the midst of opposition, we need to make sure that we do it in the attitude of love and gentleness.

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. What encouragement do you gain from hearing Paul’s testimony?
  2. Can you think of a time you faced opposition while spreading the gospel? Did it stop you – or did you continue, with God’s help? If you can’t think of a time you were spreading the gospel – how can you start now?
  3. Paul says, “We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NIV). Can you say the same? Are there any areas where you slip into people pleasing mode rather than concentrating on what God wants to see from you? How does this relate to spreading the gospel?
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Dethroning Idols

1 Thessalonians 1

Sunday, August 28, 2022

At FUEL this year, the theme was Battleground.  Throughout the week, we discussed the idols that we each have in our lives, whether they are of entertainment, power, pleasure, or something else.  At the end of the week, we discussed how to dethrone these idols and place God as the ruler of our hearts.


While reading 1 Thessalonians 1, we see that the people from Thessaloniki also had a problem with idols in their lives.  The Thessalonians had worshiped the Greek gods, at a previous point in their lives.  While their idols may not have been the same as the ones we face today, they still caused the separation from God that we experience when we give other things our hearts, instead of giving them to God.


Thankfully, however, the Thessalonians had turned away from their idols to worship God.  They realized that they were giving others the place that God deserves in their hearts.  They came to serve the living and true God, instead of the idols that they had previously worshiped.  We, too, must turn away from the idols we have in our lives and place God on the throne in our hearts.


The best part of this story, in my opinion, is what happened after the Thessalonians turned to serve the true God: their faith sounded forth in every place.  Everyone from Macedonia and Achaia had heard about the believers from Thessaloniki.  They had started to live their lives so similar to the way that Jesus had lived his life that they had become examples to all believers.  The Thessalonians’ faith had gone forth so much that Paul says that he has no need to say anything to those who had heard of their faith.


When you have cast away your idols and placed God on the throne of your heart, you will want to serve God in whatever way you can.  This does not mean that your faith may end up being heard about from the ends of the earth, like the Thessalonians, but it does mean that you will stand out from those in this world.  When God is the king of your heart, you will live a life that is different from those around you.  People all around the world may not hear of your faith, but those around you will notice it and will ask you questions.  The question is: Are you willing to cast away all of your idols and place God on the throne of your heart?

-Kaitlyn Hamilton

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. You might not have a problem worshiping Greek gods, but do you have any modern idols that you have given control of your heart (your love, your affection, your time, your finances, the place that only God deserves)?
  2. What will it look like to give the throne of your heart completely to God? Are you committed to this change? What steps will you take today?
  3. Who do you know that you admire for the way they follow Jesus? How can you be a good example to others in the way that you give God first place and follow Jesus?
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Salty

Colossians 4

Saturday, August 27, 2022

We are commanded to be salty.  WAIT. Salty?  Maybe I should clarify.  We are not talking about salty sailors, that would use coarse language and tell crude jokes.  We are not talking about the 21st century definition of “salty”, meaning bitter or upset from embarrassment.  We are talking in terms of a tasty preservative that not only keeps eternally, but seasons our meats, cheeses, and daily bread.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” – Matthew 5:14

While salt is essential to carry out some of our basic metabolic processes,  in all honesty, I don’t think this is why we crave it.  We desire a dash here and there because it just makes every food a little better. Popcorn pops.  Steak Sizzles.  Chocolates Chimes. Even allegedly flavorless water tastes better with a little salt in it (that’s right those alkaline waters are, you guessed it, salt-enhanced). It is so magnificent that many of us commit a foodie faux pas and reach for salt before we even taste our food.  We can’t resist.  So how does this desire “to make it better” sneak its way into our subconscious?

Well, here’s the science (from a guy that taught a science class one time).  Salt is ionized, so it attracts the water particles and in turn, aromas in the air surrounding your food.  Also, salt stimulates the taste buds, waking them up, so it enhances the taste along your tongue.  Finally, salt even suppresses bitter and sour flavors by dulling their neural transmissions to the brain.  It is in these very ways we, too, can be salty.

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossian 4:5,6

1. Be gracious and attractive.  Christians wear the compassion of Christ when we accept his death on the cross as payment for our sin. We have nothing to boast about except for our Savior. While anyone could be watching us live on any given day, the sense of those on the outside are most heightened when they know they have wronged you, yet you forgive, when you experience great loss yet rejoice, and when you exceed all others but maintain humility, giving glory to God.  In these instances, we are to act to attract.

2. Be shrewd and stimulate discussion. While we may have specific rules or cultural norms at work, school, or the grocery store regarding the proselytization of those who are not like-minded, I truly believe people are far more ready to have conversations regarding their faith than we give them credit for.  What starts as a favor at the well, ends in a testimony about Jesus.  Likewise, when we hear hopelessness, desperation, anger, frustration, trial, it is time for a dash of salt.  “Tell me about faith.” “Is it okay if we pray together?” “Here’s what Jesus said about this.”

3. Suppress the bitter and the sour.  While the first two focus on what’s outside coming in, the bitter and the sour are rolling around on the inside. When we make it our purpose to be the light of Christ, we suppress our own desires to be recognized for our struggle by leaving them at the cross.  We dull our persecution by making it our testimony.  Our sickness and our pain are the platform to share faith. In this world, we will have trouble, but we can take heart! He has overcome it all.  Finally, in those moments when the bitter continues to bleed and the sour continues to seep, it is time for us to consult the Word of God and lean on someone else’s flavoring so we don’t lose our saltiness.

As you walk away from your home and step into the world, hear the coarseness and bemoaning of (the other type of) salty people.  What you may have found most irritating before is the sound of those who are looking for grace, wisdom, and relief from their struggle. Be ready with an answer.  Be ready to reach for the salt, so someone else can share in its eternal life.

-Aaron Winner

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Can you think of a specific time when you failed to “act to attract” or make the most of a salty opportunity with an outsider? Instead, your words, actions, and attitudes (or lack thereof) may have left behind a bad taste.
  2. Looking back, what could you have done differently?
  3. How can you make the most of the next opportunity?
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For the Lord

Colossians 3

Friday, August 26, 2022

My junior and senior years of high school were not the proudest moments as a student.  I failed my math class my junior year and was forced to take a remedial course. My senior year, I failed two more courses; one of them was service learning.  It’s embarrassing to admit as someone who had the tools to be exceptional and as someone who speaks daily into the lives of adolescents, but I was unmotivatable.  I had determined I was going to expend the least amount of effort possible to cross the finish line of high school graduation. However, that didn’t stop one teacher from trying to spur me forward.  My AP Biology Teacher, Mr. Amato, passed back another failed test to me somewhere at the close of winter of my senior year.  As he did so, he looked me in the eyes and said to me “Do everything as it’s for God.”  The statement hit like daggers. It came from a place outside of church in a very public school.  It momentarily pierced my impervious hardened heart towards my school work, and I felt truly ashamed of my effort. I wish I could continue the story and state that I aced my next test, or even, passed the class, but neither happened. However, my labor for the Lord, spurred by these words, has happened in a classroom further down the road.

There are some of us who will get the opportunity to share our faith stories with an audience of hundreds or even thousands. Our account will be spread far and wide of the miracle of Jesus Christ in our life, but our story is best told, not in quantity, but quality.  All of us will first and foremost have a ministry to our family, our friends, and for those we work for and alongside. How well do we listen to instructions? Follow through on our word? And present our absolute best in the work that exists in front of us? We may be more knowledgeable than the CEO, have more experience than our district manager, or could teach the class far better than our professor (quick note: definitely not the case in AP Bio), but who will ever know through our lack of focus, negligible efforts, and lack of compliance?  Whether you are the boss or the bondservant, you work for the gospel of Jesus Christ in your efforts.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. – Colossians 3:22-25

God has placed you where he needs your testimony to shine. We are not ourselves saviors, but we do reflect the light of Jesus Christ when we work like him. It doesn’t mean that we are to be workaholics or slaves to our jobs.  We are to render to Little Caesars what is Little Caesars. Working 9 to 5 means we are on the clock. We don’t cut corners.  We work harder, not to get ahead, but to build the platform on which to share our testimony. Chances are if we don’t like our work, yet love the Lord and see it through completion, it will be noticed.  But what if it isn’t?  Your inheritance isn’t found in your work or your career. The promise of promotion isn’t the driving force behind your labor. There is ministry in the few hours spent at church for the Lord, but equally, or possibly more so, in the 40 hours working for the man.  You will infinitely be repaid for your efforts by the one for whom you slave, Jesus Christ. Be God’s vessel wherever you are. Do it for the Lord.

“ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:16, 17

-Aaron Winner

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Whether you are a student, an employee, a boss and/or a family member, how can you do it today as working for the Lord?
  2. What negative work habits can you work on overcoming so you can be a positive witness to those around you?
  3. What positive role models have you seen in the workplace/school?
2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading PlanDownload

Fine-Sounding Arguments

Colossians 2

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Have you noticed that some of the greatest wisdom on this planet is defining a word by again, using that same word?  Here are some examples: Fair is fair. Business is business. The rules are the rules. A deal is a deal. Love is love.  While each of these sayings have a context and a more nuanced understanding, it tends to oversimplify complex issues that need some mulling over.  We accept these phrases because it makes our logic simpler and dismisses further discussion.  Fine-sounding arguments such as these may not be all they are cracked up to be.

Even worse, an apologist, for any belief under the sun, can use the words of God in the wrong context or without a key understanding and can distort it immensely.   In Matthew 4, Jesus actively combats the words of God taken out of their context.  The world is rapidly filling with empty arguments that lead to the rebranding and normalization of sin.  Like Jesus, it is our responsibility to call it out for what it is. And surely, God did say we will die, in a second death if we buy in, sell out, give up ourselves to these false teachings. Truth is truth.  Here are three ways for your eyes and ears to discern between the eternal wisdom of God or the shallow echoes of hollow human reason.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. – Colossians 2:2-5

Did God really say it?  While I believe that God has inspired wisdom since the Bible was composed, including some of what I hope is wisdom in this blog, you can’t go wrong believing only what is already written from Genesis to Revelation.  Well, God didn’t say anything about social media, phones, or college?  Truth.  But what he did say was how to treat your neighbor, how to spend your time, and how you should work.  These truths found in scripture are living and active.  If we truly feel we are faced with some ethical dilemma that is completely unique to us in our present state, we should pray for wisdom because God gives wisdom generously to all without finding fault.

Who, exactly, does it benefit? Jesus makes an important distinction between behaviors that are motivated by God and those that are motivated by self. Prayer, tithing, and fasting are all wonderful disciplines for every Christian to take up. However, when we do it in public or take God’s glory by making it about ourselves, we are not feeding our relationship with God; we are feeding our ego.  Jesus makes the case that motives and intentions are every bit as important as the action we take. Truth may be on the side. I can eat or drink whatever I wish, but it may cause a stumbling block for another. If I knowingly offer advice that gives me permission to act for my benefit alone, then my words are not heavenly Father’s.

Does it advance the Kingdom of God? When our Savior heals on the Sabbath, he speaks clearly to this measure. Isn’t it right to work for the Lord on the Lord’s day?  To act more like Him?  To worship him in not only words but action?  Choosing to live for God is vastly different than choosing what goes on your plate.  There are some clear lines drawn in the sand. The gate is narrow, and only those who intend to deceive you will widen it.  There are simply behaviors and relationships that God doesn’t give his permission or his blessing.  It doesn’t advance the Kingdom of God to make allowances for habitual, unrepented behavior.  A short-term gain of a warm-body in a seat on Sundays is an eternal loss when sin isn’t confronted.  We accept the whole of God’s moral will or we are rejecting the lot.  This wisdom can burn like a good rubbing alcohol, but it also allows us to heal and be cleansed.

My hope and prayer for the church of today is that we can rid ourselves of these fine-sounding arguments, and make the case for sound, Godly discernment. Wisdom and life stem from Him alone.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:2-7

-Aaron Winner

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Reading Colossians 2 what are some of the dangers Paul is warning the church to avoid? What does he want the church to stay focused on?
  2. Where do you see God’s word and wisdom being distorted by fine-sounding arguments. Pray for wisdom and discernment to see clearly.
  3. What is the end result for those who are led astray and deceived?
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