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Reading for Day 25
September 25

Col. 2:16-23
Psalm 21:1-13
Prov. 5:1-6

NOT RULE KEEPING BUT LOVING THE ONE WHO RULES

Colossians speaks to the tendency within us to shift our focus from the living Christ to rules and regulations. We are very prone to develop and impose rules and from there we judge who is spiritual and who is not. We also grow to believe that our source of spiritual strength and growth comes from our ability to keep the rules. The truth is that we grow when we are nourished by Christ.

“For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.”

Getting our nourishment from Christ is about a living relationship.

One area that illustrates this truth for me has been this idea of daily Bible reading and devotion. I can so easily move from an attitude where I am seeking God and wanting to know Him better into a kind of “get the reading done so I can feel good about myself”. Now the discipline of personal devotion is a great thing, but it can loose its power when we shift the focus from seeking God to fulfilling our duty. I guess it all comes down to the heart issue of why we are doing what we do. Now this is not to say that we can violate the clearly established boundaries of righteousness if we don’t feel like doing what is right. We just need to remember that we grow not from rule keeping but from learning to love the one who rules.

Reading for Day 26
September 26

Col. 3:1-17
Psalm 22:1-18
Prov. 5:7-14