Life Rooted In Christ – Colossians 2.6-8

6 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. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ (Colossians 2.6-8).[1]

    In 1986 Sybil and I got married, some people did not think it was a good idea, others were excited for us, and yet others had no opinion. However, it did not matter what they all thought or did, we still got married, we loved each other, we believed God was calling us together and it was the right thing to do. We had no idea how life would turn out, where we would go or any of the ups and down that would come. What we did know was we were married and we would be together through it all, working, striving, trying to figure out what we needed to do each and every day. Thirty-Four years later we are still in love, working, striving, trying to figure it out, but this we know we are continuing down the path God has given to us.
    This is what Paul is trying to get across to us in verse six (6), “just as you have received Christ Jesus”, remember how it was, remember back to the day when Christ came into your life? When Christ became your Lord and Savior? How did you feel? What did you do for Him, are you still doing those things and having those feelings as you are still His child? Paul reminds us we are to “continue to live our lives in Him” (vs. 6).
    We cannot go backwards, which we have a tendency to do. We like to say we have Jesus Christ in our life, how He is in there, but He is not really in charge. He is not really leading or guiding us in any way, we are just doing and living however we choose. This is not the life God intended for His children when He sent His Son into the world to set it free.
    Understand, you must be rooted in Jesus Christ. Some of the reasons we do not stay faithful to the things God has called us to is, we are not rooted in Him. And sometimes it is because we are not sure how to stay rooted in Christ. There are at least three things we must do if we want to maintain a powerful relationship with Christ, or we might say to stay rooted in Christ:

1. We have to spend time in His Word. If we will not spend time in His Word how will we ever know what He wants for our lives? We cannot rely on the pastor, deacon, or Sunday School teachers to tell us. They can give us great understanding and guidance, but we must be in His Word, hearing from Him for ourselves. In the book of Acts we find a great example of this with the Berean’s. “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore, many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men (Acts 17.10-12).[2] Notice, they received the Word, they examined the Word for themselves, and then they believed. Becoming rooted in Christ requires us to examine His Word for ourselves.
   
2. We must spend time alone in prayer with our Heavenly Father. Again, if we will not take time to communicate with Him how can we expect to have any kind of meaningful relationship with Him, let alone a deep rooted one. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have at our disposal, we can pray for both small and great things, and ask God to intervene in activities in our lives or all the way around the world. You never have to leave your home, car, work, school, bus, playground, or wherever you are to send a prayer to God for anything. You just need to be connected to Him, ready to pray, and willing to communicate with your Heavenly Father, as He is ready to communicate with you (I Thessalonians 5.16-18).
   
3. We must gather with other believers to worship our Lord and Savior (Hebrews 10.24-25). But we also need to come together so we can share what God is doing in and though our lives. Yes, we have ups and downs, sorrows and joys and these need to be shared, to help us move through live with less burden and more partners in excitement (Job 30.25; Romans 12.15; Hebrews 13.3).

    By being rooted in Christ our faith will be strengthened and we will find our lives will be filled with more joy and thankfulness. When Jesus Christ is in control our outlook on life changes, things look very different and when things happen, we are more apt to take them to God first than to react in other ways.
     If we are not rooted in God then the influences of the world have a greater effect on our lives. We will allow kinds of things to affect our decision-making process, we will allow the devil to influence us, we will allow our friends to cause us to make bad decisions. In other words, we will no longer be relying on Christ in our life, but the world and all its corruptness to guide us each day (Judges 17.6, 21.25; Romans 1.18-32; I Timothy 4.3-4; II Timothy 3.1-9).
 
Application

1. Think back to when you asked Jesus Christ into your life. How did you feel? What did you do? Who did you tell? How are you doing today? Do you still have the same feeling and attitude? What has changed? Please explain.
2. How rooted are you in Jesus Christ? After looking over the three (3) important things mentioned in the devotional and the scriptures, which areas do you believe you need improvement in? How would you make improvement in this/these area(s)? Please explain.
3. Being rooted in Christ is very important as it helps us stay away from false teachings and divisive things. Do you think at anytime you were ever drawn away from the truth of the Word of God to something false? Please explain and explain how God brought you back to the truth.

 
Prayer
 
    Our Great and Awesome God in Heaven, Lord over all the Universe. I come to You today seeking Your guidance and grace to help me find my desire, will and drive that I first had when You first entered my life. Lord renew Your Spirit within me, give me a fire to share Your Word, and help me to be rooted in Your truth, in Your ways, and in Your understanding. Lord it is only in You that I can ever stay on course and not be led astray. Help me with my focus, help me spend time in Your Word, in prayer with You and in fellowship with other like-minded believers. Lord You know what I need, and I want You working in and through my life each and every day. All this I pray in Your Son Jesus Christ’s Dear Name, Amen.

[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Col 2:6–8). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ac 17:10–12). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.