Please turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 2 verses 1 through 8.

Paul writes,

for I want you to know how greatly I strive for you and for those at Leodicea and for all who have not seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love to have all the riches of assured

understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery of Christ in whom are hid all

the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I say this in order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech.

For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him

and established in the faith just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit,

according to human tradition, according to the

the elemental spirits of the universe

and not according to Christ.

I'd like you to imagine with me for a moment that you are in a city that is surrounded by an enemy and the intention of this enemy is to break through the city borders and to destroy you.

And you know that there are enemy sympathizers in the city that are in collusion with the enemy and doing everything they can to make it easy for the enemy to break in.

And suppose that there is a song, and when this song comes upon your lips, the enemy cannot tolerate it, but falls back and goes the other direction. If that were the case, wouldn't it be true that you would

do anything you could to learn this song.

You would sing it when you went to bed at night.

You'd sing it when you got up in the morning, you put on a tape recorder,

especially when you walked out among strangers, you'd sing it and hum it.

And as the song seeped down into your subconscious,

and you became very bold with that song, you'd walk right out of town.

...