Going Beyond Religious A Reflection on Colossians 2:16 3:2 on the Daily Bible Refresh hello my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the Message version Relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable with action steps you can take.

We pray and are done in less than 10 minutes.

It's all brought to you by voiceofgodddaily.com which is the home of your free personal Bible Study Guide, the ABC 123 Bible Study Method.

Please join me in my mission of getting the audible word of God into two millionaires a million people by 2028.

You can help by saving and subscribing to the podcast and tagging your friends.

Here's today's reading from Colossians 2:16 3:2 reading from the Message so don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services or holy days.

All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come.

The Substance of Christ the substance is Christ.

Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions.

They're a lot of hot air.

That's all they are.

They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us.

He is the head, we are the body.

We can grow up healthy in God only when he nourishes us.

So then, if with Christ you put on all that puffed up and childish religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it?

Don't touch this.

Don't taste that.

Don't go near this.

Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?

Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice.

They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and austere.

But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

He is your life.

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection with Christ, act like it.

Pursue the things over which Christ presides.

Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with things right in front of you.

Look up.

Be alert to what is going on around Christ.

That's where the action is.

See things from his perspective.

Well, in this Passage here, friends, Paul really challenges superficial religiosity and really points us towards authentic spiritual life.

Let's.

Let's unpack three points to ponder.

The first is about liberation over religious control.

Paul boldly confronts religious gatekeeping and spiritual manipulation in our contemporary context.

This speaks to freedom from purity, culture, dietary shame and performative holiness.

Progressive faith affirms that divine connection isn't dependent on following precise rules or maintaining specific practices.

The second point is about embodied spirituality.

The text speaks of Christ's breath and blood flowing through us.

This suggests that authentic spirituality is deeply embodied.

This challenges both rigid fundamentalism and disembodied spiritualism.

Our bodies, with all their desires and needs are part of our spiritual journey, not obstacles to it.

The third is about expanding perspective.

Paul calls us to look up and see from Christ's perspective.

In progressive terms, this means moving beyond individual piety to engage with broader justice issues.

Where is divine love at work in movements of social transformation?

How do we participate in the resurrection life through working for collective liberation?

Let's talk about an action step for today.

Identify at least one way where religious performance or spiritual perfectionism has impacted your life.

Maybe it's food shame or body image issues or feeling somehow unworthy of God's love.

And maybe write a letter of liberation to yourself that explicitly releases yourself from that burden.

And then choose some concrete, concrete way to embody that freedom in your life.

We're going to come back and have a have a prayer.

Before we do, I just want to share with you that about our resource that we have available to you.

It is called the ABC123 Bible Study Method and it is there for you to help you with your at home Bible study which you use in coordination with what we do here at the Daily Bible Refresh.

You can pick it up at our website voiceofgoddaily.com absolutely free.

Let's pray.

Oh God.

Divine love goes beyond rules.

When we get caught up in religious performance, remind us that you flow through our imperfect lives like breath, like blood, natural and necessary.

Free us from the voice of shame that says we must earn your presence.

Lift our eyes beyond personal piety and to see what you're really at work doing here in movements of justice, in authentic communities of authentic love, in bodies and souls breaking free.

Help us live resurrection freedom, not just believe in it.

Amen My friend.

I am delighted you chose to join me for today's reading.

The Daily Bible Refresh is completely listener supported.

Your gift goes a long way to getting the audible word of God from a progressive perspective into 2 million years, a million people by 2028.

I would be so grateful if you would go to voiceofgodddaily.com and share your gift of any amount.

Thanks much.

My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your daily Bible refresh.

Please subscribe and tag your friends until tomorrow.

Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.