Self-denial and Angels

The pastor said last week that he's getting back to his series on Colossians, that we'll be in chapter two this week. (At least that what I thought I heard!) So, I'm reading, among other things, chapter two of Colossians. And as ever, I'm amazed at God's word. He opens up truth and issues that are so very real today....yet it was written thousands of years ago, by MEN who had no idea what 2008 would hold. How incredible is that? Anyway, I'm reading in my NLT Study Bible, my favorite right now. Yes, it's a translation, not a paraphrase. I'm pretty picky about that. So, I'm reading happily along about how God forgave ALL my sins, how He canceled the very record of the charges against me and how He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities, shaming them publicly by His victory over them on the cross. YES! Go God!! Then I get to this part: "So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality. Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body." Whoa. Wow. Okay, let me break that down a bit for those of you who don't dwell in my brain. There are those in our "Christian culture" who say that there is only ONE version of the Bible. My father is one of those. He says he cannot read the Bible and understand it, yet he won't even contemplate opening the NLT that I gave him, because of some thinking that the KJV is the only one commissioned by God to be written. Dad doesn't know the history of how the Bible got into our bookstores today, and that's okay. At 84, he simply won't hear it, but there are those who are my age and in between that think that the 1611 commission by King James of England is the only version permissible to use. And they are extremely judgmental about those who do not believe the way they do. There are those in our "Christian culture" who think that the Hebrew Sabbath that Jesus celebrated is the ONLY day we're supposed to gather for corporate worship. That meeting on Sunday is somehow breaking God's laws. Some have even posted billboards and websites to proclaim this. They are really judgmental about those who do not agree. There are those in our "Christian culture" who think that we are to deny ourselves certain foods, certain drinks, certain activities (pork, wine, dance, etc). They, too, are very judgmental about those who disagree with them. There are those in our "Christian culture" who will tell us constantly that there are angels watching over us, that our Guardian Angel took care of us -- to the exclusion of our God being mentioned. In my mind, these words, penned by Paul, tell us not to be concerned with the judgment of these folks. While I am grateful that King James opened up the world of the Word for English-speaking souls, taking the interpretation of the scripture out of the exclusive hands of Roman Catholic priests, I don't think it's the end-all!! God has gifted men and women over time with the ability to take the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and translate it into their own language. Now, I would not trust a translation that came from one person. It would be very difficult to not let some of one's own thoughts and ideals creep into the translation. But give me a team of 70 or more people from different denominations, different areas, working together, discussing the best way to say what was originally said and I'm thinking that's not a bad thing, and it's in a language that we speak today. Did anyone ever stop to think that Jesus didn't come to this Earth and walk up to the first person He met and speak the ancient Hebrew that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob spoke? He spoke the Aramaic that was prevalent in the day that He came. He spoke to the people in the language that they could understand! He met the people's need to hear Him in their language. I believe He's still doing that by gifting people with the ability to understand the original texts and speak them in today's words -- not just English, but Hindi, Tamil, Swahili and the deepest tribal languages that were thought lost! There are those who believe Sunday worship is wrong -- I think they miss the boat. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He met at the well that the time would come when it would not matter where God was worshiped, that He would be worshiped by all, in Spirit and in Truth. It's not about the DAY we worship. Well, yeah, sort of it is... we're meant to worship Him every breath, every day. We then gather corporately to celebrate Him. Some do it on Saturdays, some on Sundays, some on Wednesdays, some on Thursday mornings... it's just not about the DAY it's the FACT of worship! (Can you sense the passion here?) I won't get started on the drinking & dancing -- I think God's word is plain on what it speaks to both subjects. The king after God's own heart danced heartily before God and the Savior made wine -- the good stuff -- for a wedding and drank it at His last supper with his disciples. This thing about angels gets to me. There are people who will believe that angels help them, protect them and are there for them, but refuse to believe in the God who made them and the angels. I don't get it. Well, maybe I do. The enemy doesn't want them to believe in Jesus, and I suppose it fits that he would get people to think this way, that angels are harmless little cherubs who make sure we're all just fine. (Ever do a study on these guys? They are not cherubs with rosy cheeks!) Anyway -- the point of this incredibly long post is to say -- these people can't condemn me. Well, they can, and I'm sure they will. But my God says that I'm not to receive that, because those who try this are "not connected to Christ." Jesus was all about accepting and loving people where they are. He wanted the very best for them, and that was the canceling of those sin charges through His death. It wasn't about them having bacon for breakfast and reading a KJV Bible. It was about their hearts learning how badly they need a Savior and then accepting that free gift He gave. This is what we need to be about -- letting people know that they matter! Proving to people that they matter!