16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value. (Colossians 2:16-23; ESV)
Jesus there are pressures all around me to conform to both religion and irreligion. I will likely face the judgment of others because of what I abstain from or what I partake in, what I follow and what I avoid. So, Lord, keep my focus, my hope, and my faith fixed upon you. Let me not fall into the pitfall of justifying sin in my life, but hold fast to you. Let me not fall into the trap of spirituality that is self-glorifying, but may you be glorified in me. Give me true religion, true wisdom, and true devotion, not merely the appearance of them. And in all of my religious observances and devotion, may I worship with humility and glorify you.
Shore Community Church 