Choose to Fill Yourself with Christ

Colossians 2:10 tells us, “And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” So, no matter what your barrier is, you have everything you need, and Jesus has the power and authority to remove or help you through and around those barriers. And that's what Jesus wants to do for you. The barriers between you and the real life that you desire can be deep and personal ones that you feel powerless to change. But those barriers are the very ones that Jesus laid his life down for, in order to give you power, to give you fullness, and to lead you into real life. He can, and he will – no matter what the barrier is that standing between you and all of the promises that Jesus has for you. It's not through your effort, and it's not through trying harder that you're going to step into the real life that you're made for. You're going to step into the real life that you're made for when you get on your knees and you humble yourself and say, “Jesus, I know you've already given me this free gift. I know that the battle's already won. I need you to get me through these barriers. I need you to get me through these obstacles so I can step into real life.” And that is the only way that you'll step into the real life he made you for. DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What barriers are you currently facing that are in the way of you experiencing the real life that Jesus has for you? Spend some time in prayer where you ask Jesus to remove these barriers and you declare his victory. 

For some people, it can be really difficult to fully understand that you can't earn the grace of Jesus. We try to fill our lives with rules and the regulations that we think that God wants us to live by, because we think if we do that, we'll make him proud and we'll find that real life that we are looking for. We can fall into the trap of believing that if we check off all the necessary “to-dos” as Christians that we can earn God’s favor and punch our ticket to the life we really want. But you’re never going to find real life by chasing after rules and regulations. The only way you find real life is when you step into the real grace of Jesus.  Paul also challenges false worship in these verses in Colossians 2. Verse 18 states, “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.” It may sound crazy to us that people would worship angels, but yet, we do similar acts all the time. We do it when we see a leader in the church or an influencer on social media, and we think about how perfect they look and how incredible their life is. We can worship people sometimes and let that get in the way of us worshiping Jesus. We just need to be careful and make sure our worship is just centered on Jesus, and nothing or no one else.  DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Have you ever realized that you were following a list of rules and regulations instead of having a real relationship with Jesus? What can you do to break this way of thinking?

Syncretism can be defined as the combination of different forms of belief or practice, or the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms. We see it all the time in our culture, where people will take the principles of Jesus, but then they start adding other things that aren’t based in Scripture from either culture or other religions. An example would be people looking at their horoscope to predict their future, even though they have already entrusted their future to Jesus. In Colossians, Paul is warning the reader that they need to be careful of falling into this trap of adding or combining beliefs that aren’t based in the Bible. We read in Proverbs 30:5-6 that “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Without realizing it, we can sometimes add things to our beliefs that we wish or want to be true, even though they aren’t found in Scripture. Syncretism is not how following the real Jesus looks, and you're never going to find real life if you're not pursuing the real Jesus. The real life that you desire is not going to be found unless you are pursuing only the truths and the teaching that we read in the Bible, no matter what else we try.  DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: When have you, perhaps unintentionally, added or combined other beliefs with what Jesus taught? How can this be damaging to your personal walk with Jesus and your witness to others?

For many of us, it can be easy to look back on your old life before Christ and think that it was easier and less complicated than your life after surrendering to Jesus. It becomes really simple for us to forget all the reasons that your old, worldly life was robbing your soul, and you start to think this journey into real life with Jesus isn’t worth the “trouble”. Maybe, if you went back to your old ways, you believe things would be easier. There are a lot of people that, instead of leaning into this real life that Jesus offer, head back to the empty way of the past. And Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, just urges them not to do this. What Jesus has to offer is so good, but he's going to have to give you the strength that is needed to persevere. He's going to have to get you rooted in him, and you're going to have to get this in your blood. It's not going to be easy. But seriously consider if there is another, better option. Do you really want the empty, fake life of your past? Or do you want to press forward? Paul tells his readers that they are going to have to lean in. They're going to have to have a no-matter-what-it-takes kind of attitude and heart to just say, “I'm not going back to the empty, futureless, hopeless life that I had before I met Jesus.” DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What in your old life sometimes is tempting you to want to go back? What keeps you rooted in your current life with Christ?