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b'One of my all-time favorite group games is capture the flag. The goal, obviously, is to capture the other team\\u2019s flag. But, if you get tagged in the other team\\u2019s territory, you are captured. You must follow the tagger to jail and wait there until someone from your team comes to rescue you. You have been taken captive!\\nIn the city of Colossae during Paul\\u2019s day, a fierce battle was taking place. This wasn\\u2019t a battle with swords and shields, however. It was a battle over the hearts and minds of the people. Some were seeking to challenge and subvert the gospel and influence the new believers to follow other ways instead of relying on Jesus, who rescued them by His life, death, and resurrection.\\nPaul warns the Colossians against these false teachings by explaining that if they abandon the truths of God\\u2019s Word, they will be taken captive. Paul describes the false teachings as \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d While Jesus is \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153the way, the truth, and the life\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (John 14:6), the enemy is \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153the father of lies\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (John 8:44), who sometimes contradicts the Bible outright and other times twists words to make it seem like the Bible says something that it doesn\\u2019t. Believers are often tempted to listen to these false ideas, but if we forsake biblical truths and replace them with lies, we\\u2019ve been taken captive. Only Jesus gives us freedom by the gospel.\\nAs believers, we are called to carefully consider the big-picture ideas behind what the world teaches and compare them to the gospel. We are constantly bombarded with all kinds of messages about what is right and wrong and how to live a good life. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming trying to discern who to listen to. But once we\\u2019ve put our trust in Jesus\\u2019 life, death, and resurrection, His Holy Spirit is in us, and He helps us sift through every message with the filter of the gospel. When we embrace the truth of God\\u2019s Word, He helps us avoid being captured by the empty and deceiving ideas of the world. \\u2022 Jonathon Fuller\\n\\u2022 What false teachings were the Christians in Colossae encountering (Colossians 2:1-23)?\\n\\u2022 Even if we get sucked into believing something false, God doesn\\u2019t give up on us. As Christians, we\\u2019ve already been rescued by Jesus, and nothing can change our eternal destiny with Him. We can ask God to help us know the truth and rest in knowing that He is faithful to help us.\\nDon\\u2019t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nMatthew 18:11-14; Luke 19:10'