Col 2:6, 7  "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." 

Have you received Christ, accepted Him by grace through faith. Don't play around with what this means. Receiving Him means making your walk and your talk match. Has He become the very root-foundation of what who you are? Is your faith growing and being firmed up daily and does that lead to more and more gratefulness and joy in your heart?

Don't let some new and different philosophy take hold of your desires. There are a lot of con men out there promising everything but delivering nothing. They talk about traditions of people that supposedly found the secrets to prosperity and happiness. Or they have some spiritual power that promises fortune and healing. These are in opposition to Jesus Christ. 

Col 2:8  "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." 

For it is in Jesus Christ, the man, alone that all the fullness of God takes full expression. You have been filled up in Him with His Spirit by receiving Him. His authority and command are final, He has all authority and reigns over all things.

Col 2:9, 10  "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." 

It was in Him that you were set apart, by a change of your heart and mind and direction of life. You put off and put to death your old ways of life. You were raised up by the power that raised Him from the dead, the all powerful strength of God. This was powerfully demonstrated by your response of obedience in baptism.

Col 2:11, 12  "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead."

Do you understand all that God did in Christ? He took you from the grave, cut away all the covering of sin and darkness of your heart. Pouring out mercy and forgiveness, He provided His gracious love to take on the punishment you deserved for trampling upon His commands. His just sentiment was canceled by the death of Christ on the Cross as He took our punishment. All those things that would stand between us and God's presence were nailed to the cross, no longer do they remain on us.

Col 2:13, 14  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." 

In this single death blow Jesus left the ones who claimed rule and authority without any ammunition to claim their right to rule and to place themselves in authority. It is to the shame of all who claim the authority of God that Christ has triumphed and demonstrated His superiority and power.

Col 2:15  "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." 

So if someone calls on mere regulations or rules regarding what you can eat and drink. If they want to control things you can do to celebrate and when you celebrate. These rules and regulations are not the essence, or the substance of what it means to be Godly. It is only Christ, who He is and what he has done that holds substance in relation to being Godly. All of these other things were only a shadow pointing to His coming.

Col 2:16, 17  "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." 

So don't let these traditions, rules, regulations or practices of religion disqualify you from putting all of your hope in God through faith in Christ Jesus. It isn't from giving up everything, disclaiming all possessions, worshiping angelic beings, or paying homage and paying attention to strange visions that bring you to God. You need to hold onto Jesus Christ as the starting place, it is He alone that can fit you for heaven and bring you into a place of developing into who God wants you to become. 
If you really died to all the worldly foolishness and have been placed under the reign of Jesus Christ, don't keep submitting to mans made up regulations. These regulations that say you can't handle, or taste or even be in the vicinity of certain things; these are inconsequential to your standing before God. They ones insisting on these rules and codes seem wise, but they are only there to build up pride in what the person does. Attempts to please God, instead they make God turn away in disgust. They are a religious exercise of foolishness because there is nothing we can do to impress God or win His favor. In addition they have no value in changing the heat to love God's commands and gladly follow after Jesus. They are only outward play acting and have no way of changing our fleshly desires that fight against the Spirit.

Col 2:18-23  "Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"  (referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings?  These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." 

Do you want to know the way to have your heart changed? Do you want to know what is acceptable to God? It is only by looking fully upon the risen Christ as your hope with full faith in Him bringing you into favor with God. He will cause you to set your mind and heart in a new direction. Your focus will change from what you can do, to who Christ is and what He has done. His acceptance before God, seated right next to Him, ruling and reigning, will be your acceptance before God. 


Col 3:1, 2  "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."