Okay, finally, here it comes: …THE RULES. Are you thinking, “I knew this GRACE talk was too good to be true. There had to be rules to follow, things to do, much to prove ourselves worthy of this relationship with the Creator of the Universe?” Here it is, it even says so in my Bible, “Rules for Christian Living.” That is the heading above these verses in my Bible. Breathe deep, and let’s look closely.For the purists, it would be good to remember that headings are not part of the original Scripture. They are simply man’s attempt to sectionalize the Bible for reading purposes, much like the chapter numbers and verses numbers. (Notice this week’s devotion has only one verse of chapter 4. That verse is part of the same thought or paragraph of the balance of the verses from chapter 3.)Foundationally we need to remember that Scripture is to be read as a whole, in its context, and most importantly, by listening to the voice of God, the Creator of the Universe and our personal Creator. It is the Holy Spirit of God speaking directly to us. It is a personal book. It is a book that is to be absorbed, not dissected to the finest detail. It is a message personally written to each of us by a personal God.So let’s inspect one of the verses (at the risk of too much dissecting) in the midst of these “rules”. An oft quoted verse is verse 23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” A heavy emphasis has at times been placed on the word “work” and the surrounding verses, outlining actions and activities. If we instead focus on the phrase “with all your heart” and focus on the book of Colossians as a whole, the Bible as a whole, the current chapter and its preceding chapter, we will remember that our hearts are to be dead to the flesh and alive with Christ. Once again we see the SAME message that flows from a heart fully occupied by CHRIST. Today let your life be a life of Christ in action and you at rest in the Father’s precious will for your life.