“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit.” – Colossians 2:8
Scripture reading: Psalm 16:1-11 & Colossians 2:8-10
Part of our walking in Christ involves resistance. We must resist being carried away by the foolish philosophies and ideologies of this world. Through the philosophies and ideologies of the world, Satan appeals to our sense of self-righteousness and self-autonomy, and he seeks to allure us away from finding our satisfaction and joy in Christ alone.
Materialism, for example, appeals to one’s desire for instant gratification. Secularism appeals to one’s desire to be free from God’s law. Transgenderism appeals to one’s desire for sexual autonomy and self-autonomy. And lest we be totally naïve, we need to recognize that these ideologies don’t just appeal to people outside of the church, but to people inside the church as well.
These evil “isms” promise us everything – autonomy, freedom and power. But they deliver on nothing. They are empty and deceitful. They are like a Venus Flytrap: as soon as a person comes to embrace them, those promises clamp down on them, making them more miserable than ever before.
But in Christ Jesus there is indeed fullness of joy forevermore. “In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Why then would you ever look to another? Why would you ever think that you need something more?
Suggestions for prayer
Pray that God would help His people resist the empty and deceitful philosophies of this world and to continually rest in the truth of Christ, Who alone can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.
Rev. Bryce De Zwarte is a native of Pella, Iowa and a graduate of Dordt University and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Rev. De Zwarte has been serving as the pastor of the Adoration URC in Vineland, Ontario since April of 2020. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
