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Jim Ross
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and
empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to
Christ." (Colossians 2:8 NASB)
"There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends
in death." (Proverbs 16:25 NLT)
If there's one verse in the Bible that I reflect on again and
again, it's the one above from Proverbs. Before I met the Lord
personally some years back, I was doing a great deal of reading of
various kinds of material.........some of it in
Philosophy........some of it on alternative religions.........some
of it on different levels of awareness that one can attain (or so
the authors promised).
At the time I was doing all this, I was convinced I was on to
something........that if I'd only press hard enough, I'd someday
achieve a breakthrough and reach another level of heightened
reality. One author I remember reading assured me that I was on the
path to finding the God within me. Oh, this was all so
enticing........so clear.........so full of purpose.........so
enlightening.
But after years of searching I never found anything of substance
except more paths to be searched..........and I definitely was a
driven person. There was nothing but the anguish of emptiness in all
these efforts. And I realized at some point that I was not a happy
person.
Then I met the Lord one night at the altar of a church. That
night I lost the urge to go seeking the wisdom of men and started on
the road of seeking the wisdom of Jesus Christ. And from the
beginning the whole experience was quite different than I had been
used to.....there was a sense of communion with God that night that
transcended anything I had experienced up to that point........true
communion......where all I could do is fall on my face at that altar
and cry..........tears of joy..........tears of
worship.........tears resulting from coming face-to-face with my
Creator in all His awesome Glory. That night I was baptized into the
family of Jesus Christ. It's newest member.....and was greeted by
the Lord Himself.
I recalled all of that when I read Paul's scripture above. And,
as I've said before, even though I'm a work in progress, I can now
feel my Master's hand touching me when I am walking too far off the
Path He has set for me........and I can feel His Love so close.
My walk through life is no longer lit with the weak light coming
from vain philosophy and "empty deception" of men.
"Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you
follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you
will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12(NLT))
Amen and Amen.
Love in Christ,
Jim
[NOTE: This article was based on a
devotion written by Jim for the
CCI-DEVO
online devotional group. The
CCI-DEVO group
can be found online at:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cci-devo/
.]
Jim Ross is a member of the Board of Counselors of Christian Challenge
that serves with the pastoral staff in providing leadership and
ministry to the local body. He also collaborates in several areas of
ministry, including the website and the worship team. In addition he
is the moderator and a faithful contributor to the
CCI-DEVO
online devotional group. Jim is Director of Training for
Cleco and is happily married to
Doris.
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