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Day 16: Romans, part 2

Introduction to Romans, part 2

In the first part of his letter to believers inRome, Paul wrote that Jesus is foreveryone. It didnt matter to God whether aperson was Jewish, like Paul, or non-

Jewish, like many of Pauls friends.

But there was a problem. Long beforeJesus came, God choose the people ofIsraelthat is, the Jewsto be his specialpeople. He made a covenant with themabinding promise that he would be their God,and they would be his people.

So if God was now reaching out toeveryone, did that mean he had forgotten

about Israel? Had he had broken hisspecial promise with them?

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See if you notice how Paul answers thisvery difficult question. Heres a clue: the

answer has something to do with all of usbeing a part of one big family.

Speaking of families, Paul closes his letterwith some advice about how we can livetogether and serve each other as followers

of Jesus.

Scene 1: Pauls sorrow

My heart is full of sorrow. My sadnessnever ends. I am so concerned about mypeople, who are members of my own race.

They are the people of Israel. They havebeen adopted as Gods children. Godsglory belongs to them. So do the

covenants. The founders of our nationbelong to them. Christ comes from theirfamily line.

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Their condition does not mean that Godsword has failed. Not everyone in the family

line of Israel really belongs to Israel. Noteveryone in Abrahams family line is reallyhis child.

In other words, Gods children are not justAbrahams natural children. Instead, they

are the children God promised to him. Theyare the ones considered to be Abrahamschildren.

What should we say then? Is God unfair?Not at all! He said to Moses, I will havemercy on whom I have mercy. I will showlove to those I love.

So it doesnt depend on what we want ordo. It depends on Gods mercy.

One of you will say to me, Then why doesGod still blame us? Who can oppose whathe wants to do?

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But who are you to talk back to God?Scripture says, Can what is made say to

the one who made it, Why did you makeme like this?

Isnt the potter free to make different kindsof pots out of the same lump of clay? Someare for special purposes. Others are for

ordinary use.

What if God chose to show his great anger?What if he chose to make his powerknown? What if he did that to show theriches of his glory to others?

We are those people. He has chosen us.We do not come only from the Jewish race.Many of us are not Jews. God says inHosea, I will call those who are not my

people my people. I will call the one who isnot my loved one my loved one.

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What should we say then? Those whoarent Jews did not look for a way to be

right with God. But they found it by havingfaith.

Israel did look for a law that could makethem right with God. But they didnt find it.Why not? Because they didnt look for it by

faith. They tried to get it by working for it.They tripped over the stone that causespeople to trip and fall.

Brothers and sisters, with all my heart I longfor the people of Israel to be saved. I prayto God for them. I can give witness aboutthem that they really want to serve God. Buthow they are trying to do it is not based onwhat they know.

They didnt know how God makes peopleright with himself. They tried to get rightwith God in their own way. They didnt do itin Gods way. Christ has completed the law.

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So now everyone who believes can be rightwith God.

There is no difference between those whoare Jews and those who are not. The sameLord is Lord of all. He richly blesseseveryone who calls on him. Scripture says,Everyone who calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved.

So here is what I ask. Did God turn his backon his people? Not at all! I myself belong toIsrael.

They didnt trip and fall once and for alltime, did they? Not at all! Because Israelsinned, those who arent Jews can besaved. That will make Israel jealous ofthem.

I am talking to you who are not Jews. I amthe apostle to the non-Jews. So I think the

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work I do for God and others is veryimportant.

I hope somehow to stir up my own peopleto want what you have. Perhaps I can savesome of them.

God does not take back his gifts. He does

not change his mind about those he haschosen.

At one time you did not obey God. But nowyou have received mercy because Israeldid not obey.

In the same way, Israel has not beenobeying God. But now they receive mercybecause of Gods mercy to you. God hasfound everyone guilty of not obeying him.

So now he can have mercy on everyone.

How very rich are Gods wisdom andknowledge!

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All things come from him.All things are directed by him.

All things are for his good.May God be given the glory forever! Amen.

Scene 2: Living as Gods family

Brothers and sisters, God has shown you

his mercy.

Dont live any longer the way this worldlives. Let your way of thinking becompletely changed. Then you will be ableto test what God wants for you. And you willagree that what he wants is right. His planis good and pleasing and perfect.

Dont think of yourself more highly than youshould. Be reasonable when you think

about yourself.

Love must be honest and true. Hate what isevil. Hold on to what is good. Love each

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other deeply. Honor others more thanyourselves. Never let the fire in your heart

go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. Sharewith Gods people who are in need.Welcome others into your homes.

Bless those who hurt you. Bless them, anddo not call down curses on them. Be joyful

with those who are joyful. Be sad with thosewho are sad.

Agree with each other. Dont be proud. Bewilling to be a friend of people who arentconsidered important.

Dont think that you are better than others.Dont pay back evil with evil. Be careful todo what everyone thinks is right. If possible,live in peace with everyone. Do that as

much as you can.

Dont let evil overcome you. Overcome evilby doing good.

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Here are some commandments to thinkabout. Do not commit adultery. Do not

commit murder. Do not steal. Do notwant what belongs to others. These andother commandments are all included inone rule. Heres what it is. Love yourneighbor as you love yourself. Love doesnot harm its neighbor. So love does

everything the law requires.

When you do those things, keep in mind thetimes we are living in. The hour has comefor you to wake up from your sleep. Our fullsalvation is closer now than it was when wefirst believed in Christ.

The dark night of evil is nearly over. Theday of Christs return is almost here. So letus get rid of the works of darkness. Let us

put on the armor of light.

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Accept those whose faith is weak. Dontjudge them where you have differences of

opinion.

We who have strong faith should help theweak with their problems. We should notplease only ourselves.

We should all please our neighbors. Let usdo what is good for them. Let us build themup.

Everything that was written in the past waswritten to teach us. The Scriptures give usstrength to go on. They cheer us up andgive us hope.

Our God is a God who strengthens you andcheers you up. May he help you agree with

each other as you follow Christ Jesus.

Christ has accepted you. So accept oneanother in order to bring praise to God. May

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the God who gives hope fill you with greatjoy. May you have perfect peace as you

trust in him. May the power of the HolySpirit fill you with hope.

Scene 3: Stay together

I am warning you, brothers and sisters, to

watch out for those who try to keep youfrom staying together.

They want to trip you up. They teach youthings opposite to what you have learned.Stay away from them.

People like that are not serving Christ ourLord. They are serving only themselves.With smooth talk and with words they dontmean they fool people who dont know any

better.

Everyone has heard that you obey God. Soyou have filled me with joy. I want you to be

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wise about what is good. And I want you tohave nothing to do with what is evil.

The God who gives peace will soon crushSatan under your feet.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be withyou.

Day 17: Colossians

Introduction to Colossians

Pauls life was quite the adventure. If youremember from the book of Acts (a fewepisodes back), Paul was planning a trip toRome, the most powerful city in the world atthe time. But first, he had to make a stop inJerusalem to drop off a collection for the

poor. Sound familiar? Well, thats becausethis was the same collection he mentionedin his letters to the church in Corinth.

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Unfortunately, Paul had plenty of enemieswaiting for him in Jerusalem. When he

arrived, a citywide riot broke out. Paul wasput in jail; but because he was a Romancitizen, he had the right to appeal his caseto the emperor. And so he was taken toRome, where he spent the next two yearsunder house arrest, waiting for his case to

be heard.

Paul wasnt about to stop working justbecause he was under guard. He continuedwriting letters, encouraging and instructingchurches across the Roman Empire. One ofthese letters was written to the church inColosse.

Paul had never been to Colosse, but one ofhis friends, Epaphras, grew up there and

told Paul all about the believers there. Paulwrote to encourage them in their faith, butalso to warn them not to listen to anyonewho said they had to follow certain rules or

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rituals to be saved. When you have Jesus,Paul said, youve got it all!

As you listen to Pauls letter, you might hearsome familiarand unfamiliarnames.See if you recognize any of the people Paulmentions near the end of his letter.

Theres at least one name you haventheard yet: Onesimus. Remember thisname. Its going to come up very soon inanother one of Pauls letters.

Scene 1: Greetings!

I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am anapostle of Christ Jesus just as Godplanned. Our brother Timothy joins me inwriting.

We are sending this letter to you, ourbrothers and sisters in Colosse. You belongto Christ. You are holy and faithful.

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May God our Father give you grace and

peace.

We always thank God, the Father of ourLord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.We thank him because we have heardabout your faith in Christ Jesus. We have

also heard that you love all of Gods people.

All over the world the good news is bearingfruit and growing. It has been doing thatamong you since the day you heard it.

You learned the good news from Epaphras.He is dear to us. He serves Christ togetherwith us. He also told us about your love thatcomes from the Holy Spirit.

Thats why we have not stopped praying foryou. We have been praying for you sincethe day we heard about you. We have beenasking God to fill you with the knowledge of

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what he wants. We pray that he will giveyou spiritual wisdom and understanding.

We pray that you will lead a life that isworthy of the Lord. We pray that you willplease him in every way. So we want you tobear fruit in every good thing you do. Wewant you to grow to know God better. We

want you to be very strong, in keeping withhis glorious power. We want you to bepatient. Never give up. Be joyful as you givethanks to the Father. He has made you fit toshare with all his people. You will all receivea share in the kingdom of light.

He has saved us from the kingdom ofdarkness. He has brought us into thekingdom of the Son he loves.

Because of what the Son has done, wehave been set free. Because of him, all ofour sins have been forgiven.

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Christ is the exact likeness of God, whocant be seen. He is first, and he is over all

of creation. All things were created by him.He created everything in heaven and onearth. He created everything that can beseen and everything that cant be seen. Hecreated kings, powers, rulers andauthorities. Everything was created by him

and for him. Before anything was created,he was already there. He holds everythingtogether.

And he is the head of the body, which is thechurch. He is the beginning. He is the firstto be raised from the dead. That happenedso that he would be far above everything.God was pleased to have his whole natureliving in Christ. God was pleased to bring allthings back to himself because of what

Christ has done. That includes all things onearth and in heaven. God made peacethrough Christs blood, through his death onthe cross.

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At one time you were separated from God.

You were enemies in your minds becauseof your evil ways. But because Christ died,God has brought you back to himself.Christsdeath has made you holy in Godssight.

So now you dont have any flaw. You arefree from blame.

But you must keep your faith steady andfirm. Dont move away from the hope thatthe good news holds out to you. It is thegood news that you heard. It has beenpreached to every creature under heaven.

I am happy because of what was sufferedfor you. And in my body I fill up my share in

Christs sufferings. I do it for his body,which is the church. I serve the church. Godappointed me to bring all of his word to you.

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That word contains the mystery that hasbeen hidden for many ages. But now it has

been made known to Gods people. Andhere is what it is. Christ is in you. He is yourhope of glory.

We preach about him. With all the wisdomwe have, we warn and teach everyone.

When we bring them to God, we want themto be perfect as people who belong toChrist.

Thats what Im working for. I work hard withall of Christs strength. His strength workspowerfully in me.

Scene 2: A warning

I want you to know how hard I am working

for you. But I dont want anyone to fool youwith fast talk that only sounds good. Youreceived Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep onliving in him. Have your roots in him. Build

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yourselves up in him. Grow strong in whatyou believe, just as you were taught. Be

more thankful than ever before.

Make sure no one captures you. They willtry to capture you by using false reasoningthat has no meaning.

Their ideas depend on human teachings.They also depend on the basic things thepeople of this world believe. They dontdepend on Christ.

Because you belong to Christ, you haveeverything you need. He is the ruler overevery power and authority.

At one time you were dead in your sins. ButGod gave you new life together with Christ.

He forgave us all of our sins.

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So dont let anyone judge you because ofwhat you eat or drink. Dont let anyone

judge you about holy days.

They are only a shadow of the things thatwere going to come. But what is real isfound in Christ.

Some people enjoy pretending they arentproud. They worship angels. But dont letpeople like that hold you back from winningthe prize. They tell you every little thingabout what they have seen. Their minds arenot guided by the Holy Spirit. So they areproud of their useless ideas.

They arent connected to the Head. But thewhole body grows from the Head. Themuscles and tendons hold the body

together. And God causes it to grow.

Scene 3: Living in Christ

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You have been raised up with Christ. Sothink about things that are in heaven. That

is where Christ is. He is sitting at Godsright hand.

You died. Now your life is hidden withChrist in God. Christ is your life. When heappears again, you also will appear with

him in heavens glory.

So put to death anything that belongs toyour earthly nature. Remove from your lifeall evil longings. Stop always wanting moreand more.

You must put away anger, rage, hate andlies. Let no dirty words come out of yourmouths. Dont lie to each other. You havegotten rid of your old way of life and its

habits. You have started living a new life.

Here there is no Greek or Jew. There is nodifference between those who are

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circumcised and those who are not. Thereis no slave or free person. But Christ is

everything. And he is in everything.

You are Gods chosen people. You are holyand dearly loved. So put on tender mercyand kindness as if they were your clothes.Dont be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put

up with each other. Forgive the things youare holding against one another. Forgive,just as the Lord forgave you.

And over all of those good things put onlove. Love holds them all together perfectlyas if they were one.

Let the peace that Christ gives rule in yourhearts. As parts of one body, you wereappointed to live in peace.

And be thankful.

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Let Christs word live in you like a richtreasure. Teach and correct each other

wisely. Sing psalms, hymns and spiritualsongs. Sing with thanks in your hearts toGod. Do everything you say or do in thename of the Lord Jesus. Always givethanks to God the Father through Christ.

Pray for us too. Pray that God will open adoor for our message. Then we can preachthe mystery of Christ.

Because I preached it, I am being held bychains. Pray that I will preach it clearly, as Ishould.

Scene 4: Remember my chains

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me.

He is a dear brother. I am sending him toyou for one reason. I want you to knowwhat is happening here. I want him to cheeryou up and make your hearts strong.

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He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful

and dear brother. He is one of you. Theywill tell you everything that is happeninghere.

Aristarchus is in prison with me. He sendsyou his greetings. So does Mark, the cousin

of Barnabas. You have been givendirections about him.

Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, sendsgreetings. So does Demas.

Give my greetings to the brothers andsisters in Laodicea. Also give my greetingsto Nympha and the church that meets in herhouse.

After this letter has been read to you, sendit on. Be sure that it is also read to thechurch in Laodicea. And be sure that youread the letter from Laodicea.

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I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my ownhand. Remember that I am being held by

chains. May grace be with you.

Day 18: Ephesians, Philemon

Introduction to Ephesians

When Paul wrote his last letterthe one weknow as Colossianshe was a prisoner inRome, awaiting trial before the emperor. Heasked his friends Tychicus and Onesimusto deliver the letter, along with at least twoothers he had written.

One of these is the letter known asEphesians. We dont know for sure who itwas written to, but we do know they wereGentilesnon-Jewish people who had put

their faith in Jesus.

Paul tells them they are Gods people. Itdoesnt matter one bit whether they are

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Jewish or not. God is creating a newworldwide family, where everyone is

welcome, regardless of the color of theirskin, their race, or their background.

And because theyre part of a new family,Paul encourages them to live like one. Payattention to the practical advice he gives.

And see if you notice what powerfulweapons he tells his readers to use in thefight against sin.

Scene 1: To those chosen by God...

I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am anapostle of Christ Jesus just as Godplanned.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus

Christ give you grace and peace.

God chose us to belong to Christ before theworld was created. He chose us to be holy

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and without blame in his eyes. He loved us.So he decided long ago to adopt us as his

children.

We have been set free because of whatChrist has done. Through his blood our sinshave been forgiven. We have been set freebecause Gods grace is so rich. He poured

his grace on us by giving us great wisdomand understanding.

He showed us the mystery of his plan. It willall come about when history has beencompleted. God will then bring together allthings in heaven and on earth under oneruler. The ruler is Christ.

I have heard about your faith in the LordJesus. I have also heard about your love for

all of Gods people. That is why I have notstopped thanking God for you. I alwaysremember you in my prayers.

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You were living in your sins and lawlessways. But in fact you were dead. You used

to live as sinners when you followed theways of this world. You served the one whorules over the spiritual forces of evil. Godwas angry with us and everyone elsebecause of the kind of people we were.

But God loves us deeply. He is full ofmercy. So he gave us new life because ofwhat Christ has done. He gave us life evenwhen we were dead in sin.

Gods grace has saved you because ofyour faith in Christ. Your salvation doesntcome from anything you do.

It is Gods gift. It is not based on anythingyou have done. No one can brag about

earning it.

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God made us. He created us to belong toChrist Jesus. Now we can do good things.

Long ago God prepared them for us to do.

Scene 2: A new family

You who are not Jews by birth, here is whatI want you to remember. Before you

believed in Christ, you were separated fromhim. You were not considered to be citizensof Israel. You were not included in what thecovenants promised. You were withouthope and without God in the world.

At one time you were far away from God.But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Hespilled his blood for you. That has broughtyou near to God.

Christ himself is our peace. He has madeJews and non-Jews into one group ofpeople. He has destroyed the hatred thatwas like a wall between us. Through his

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body on the cross, Christ put an end to thelaw with all its commands and rules. He

wanted to create one new group of peopleout of the two. He wanted to make peacebetween them.

So you are no longer strangers andoutsiders. You are citizens together with

Gods people. You are members of Godsfamily.

Scene 3: Living like a new family

I am a prisoner because of the Lord. So Iam asking you to live a life worthy of whatGod chose you for.

Dont be proud at all. Be completely gentle.Be patient. Put up with one another in love.

There is one body. There is one Spirit. Youwere appointed to one hope when you werechosen. There is one Lord. There is onefaith and one baptism. There is one God

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and Father of all. He is over everything. Heis through everything. He is in everything.

So each of you must get rid of your lying.Speak the truth to your neighbor. We are allparts of one body.

Get rid of all hard feelings, anger and rage.

Stop all fighting and lying. Put away everyform of hatred. Be kind and tender to oneanother. Forgive each other, just as Godforgave you because of what Christ hasdone.

You are the children that God dearly loves.So be just like him. Lead a life of love, justas Christ did. He loved us. He gave himselfup for us.

Speak to each other with psalms, hymnsand spiritual songs. Sing and make musicin your heart to the Lord.

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Always give thanks to God the Father foreverything. Give thanks to him in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Follow the lead of one another because ofyour respect for Christ.

Wives, follow the lead of your husbands as

you follow the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives. Love them justas Christ loved the church.

Children, obey your parents as believers inthe Lord. Obey them because its the rightthing to do.

Fathers, dont make your children angry.Instead, train them and teach them the

ways of the Lord as you raise them.

Slaves, obey your masters here on earth.Respect them and honor them with a heart

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Put on the helmet of salvation. And take thesword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is Gods

word.

At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit.Always keep on praying for all of Godspeople.

Pray also for me. Pray that when I open mymouth, the right words will be given to me.Then I can be bold as I tell the mystery ofthe good news.

Because of the good news, I am being heldby chains as the Lords messenger. So praythat I will be bold as I preach the goodnews.

Tychicus is a dear brother. He will tell you

everything about me. Thats why I amsending him to you. I want you to know howwe are. And I want him to cheer you up.

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May grace be given to everyone who lovesour Lord Jesus Christ with a love that will

never die.

Introduction to Philemon

It seems hard to imagine, but slaveryoneperson owning anotherwas all too

common in Pauls day. If you were a slave,you were someone elses property. Youdidnt have any rights. And if you ran away,you could be hunted down and punished bybrutal slave-catchers.

One of Pauls friends was a runaway slavenamed Onesimus. You might recognize thisname from Pauls letter to the Colossians.Onesimus belonged to a man namedPhilemon, a member of the church in

Colosse. But Onesimus had run away.

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He wound up in Rome, where he met Pauland become a follower of Jesus. Now, Paul

was sending Onesimus back to Colosse.

For Onesimus, going back meant riskingeverything. He was putting himself at themercy of his master, Philemon.

But he wouldnt be going back empty-handed. Paul wrote this letter, urgingPhilemon to welcome Onesimus not as aslave, but as his equal.

Why? Because, as Paul once wrote inanother letter, in Christ there is no slave orfree person. We are all one. We are allmembers of the same family.

We dont know for sure what happened to

Onesimus. What do you think? DidPhilemon take Pauls advice and welcomehis old slave as a brother?

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Scene 1: Not a slave, but a brother

I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am aprisoner because of Christ Jesus. Ourbrother Timothy joins me in writing.

Philemon, we are sending you this letter.You are our dear friend.

May God our Father and the Lord JesusChrist give you grace and peace.

I always thank my God when I rememberyou in my prayers. Thats because I hearabout your faith in the Lord Jesus. I hearabout your love for all of Gods people.

Your love has given me great joy. It hascheered me up. My brother, you have

renewed the hearts of Gods people.

Because of the authority Christ has givenme, I could be bold. I could order you to do

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what you should do anyway. But I make myappeal to you on the basis of our love for

each other.

I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also aprisoner because of Christ Jesus.

I make an appeal to you for my son

Onesimus. He became a son to me while Iwas being held by chains.

Before that, he was useless to you. But nowhe has become useful to you and to me.

Im sending Onesimus back to you. My veryheart goes with him. I would have liked tokeep him with me.

Then he could have taken your place in

helping me while Im being held by chainsbecause of the good news. But I didnt wantto do anything unless you agreed. Any

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Youre about to be put on trial, and youdont know whether youre going to live or

die.

How would you feel? Nervous? Scared?What about joyful?

Its not exactly the first thing that comes to

mind, is it? But joyful is how Pauldescribes himself in his letter thePhilippians. At the time, Paul was beingheld by chains, awaiting trial in Rome. Hedidnt know whether hed be set free orsentenced to die.

Years earlier, Paul had started a church inthe city of Philippi, about 600 miles fromRome. The believers there heard that Paulhad been arrested and sent one of their

members to help take care of him.

The letter youre about to hear, Philippians,is basically a thank-you note. Paul tells the

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church in Philippi how grateful he is for theirsupport. He also encourages them to stand

together, because they, like him, aresuffering hard times.

As you listen, count how many times Paultalks about having joy. And ask yourself:how can you have joy even when times are

tough?

Scene 1: I remember youWe, Paul and Timothy, are writing thisletter. We serve Christ Jesus. We aresending this letter to you, all of Godspeople in Philippi.

May God our Father and the Lord JesusChrist give you grace and peace.

I thank my God every time I remember you.In all my prayers for all of you, I always praywith joy. I am

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happy because you have joined me inspreading the good news.

I am sure that the One who began a goodwork in you will carry it on until it iscompleted. That will be on the day ChristJesus returns.

It is right for me to feel this way about all ofyou. I love you with all my heart. I may beheld by chains, or I may be standing up forthe truth of the good news. Either way, all ofyou share in Gods grace together with me.

I pray that your love will grow more andmore. And let it be based on knowledgeand understanding. Then you will be able toknow what is best. You will be pure andwithout blame until the day Christ returns.

Scene 2: Suffering for Christ

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Brothers and sisters, here is what I wantyou to know. What has happened to me

has really helped to spread the good news.I am being held by chains because of mystand for Christ.

Because I am being held by chains, most ofthe believers in the Lord have become

bolder. They now speak Gods word moreboldly and without fear.

Here is what he has given you to do forChrist. You must not only believe in him.You must also suffer for him.

You are going through the same struggleyou saw me go through. As you haveheard, I am still struggling.

Scene 3: Putting each other first

Are you cheerful because you belong toChrist? Does his love comfort you? Is the

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Holy Spirit your companion? Has Christbeen gentle and loving toward you?

Then make my joy complete by agreeingwith each other. Have the same love. Beone in spirit and purpose.

Dont do anything only to get ahead. Dont

do it because you are proud. Instead, befree of pride. Think of others as better thanyourselves.

None of you should look out just for yourown good. You should also look out for thegood of others.

You should think in the same way ChristJesus does.

In his very nature he was God. But he didnot think that being equal with God wassomething he should hold on to.

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Instead, he made himself nothing. He tookon the very nature of a servant. He was

made in human form.

He appeared as a human being. He camedown to the lowest level. He obeyed Godcompletely, even though it led to his death.In fact, he died on a cross.

So God lifted him up to the highest place.He gave him the name that is above everyname.

When the name of Jesus is spoken,everyones knee will bow to worship him.Every knee in heaven and on earth andunder the earth will bow to worship him.Everyones mouth will say that Jesus Christis Lord. And God the Father will receive the

glory.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, be joyfulbecause you belong to the Lord.

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I want to know Christ better. I want to know

the power that raised him from the dead. Iwant to share in his sufferings. I want tobecome like him by sharing in his death.Then by Gods grace I will rise from thedead.

Brothers and sisters, I dont consider that Ihave taken hold of it yet. But here is theone thing I do. I forget what is behind me. Ipush hard toward what is ahead of me. Imove on toward the goal to win the prize.

God has appointed me to win it. Theheavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.

I have learned the secret of being contentno matter what happens. I am content

whether I am well fed or hungry. I amcontent whether I have more than enoughor not enough. I can do everything by thepower of Christ. He gives me strength.

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But it was good of you to share in mytroubles. And you believers at Philippi know

what happened when I left Macedonia. Notone church helped me in the matter ofgiving and receiving. You were the only onethat did. You did it again and again.

My God will meet all your needs. He will

meet them in keeping with his wonderfulriches that come to you because youbelong to Christ Jesus.

Give glory to our God and Father for everand ever.

Amen.

Introduction to 1 Timothy

After being held prisoner for two years inRome, Paul was set free.

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Now, if Paul were like most people, hewould take it easy for a while. Keep quiet

and stay out of trouble. But Paul had workto do, and he wasnt about to let a littlething like prison get in the way.

One of the churches Paul had started wasin trouble. The church in Ephesus was

drifting away from the truth.

Their leaders were making people follow abunch of religious rituals instead of trustingJesus to save them. And they were allowingall kinds of sinful behavior.

Paul told his friend Timothy (you mightremember him from the book of Acts) tostay in Ephesus and try to bring order to thechurch. In this letter, Paul gives Timothy

advice for choosing good leaders who willstay true to Jesus. He also gives Timothysome instructions to share with the wholechurch.

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Timothy was a young man when he led the

church at Ephesus. So he mightve worriedthat people wouldnt listen to him. Paul hassome important encouragement for him;see if you notice what it is.

Scene 1: Stay put!

Timothy, I am sending you this letter. Youare my true son in the faith.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus ourLord give you grace, mercy and peace.

Stay there in Ephesus. I want you tocommand certain people not to teach thingsthat arent true.

Love is the purpose of my command. Lovecomes from a pure heart. It comes from agood sense of what is right and wrong. Itcomes from faith that is honest and true.

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Scene 2: God wants to show mercy

I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. Hehas given me strength. I thank him that heconsidered me faithful.

I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I

tried to hurt his followers. But God showedme mercy anyway.

Here is a saying that you can trust. ChristJesus came into the world to save sinners.And I am the worst sinner of all. But for thatvery reason, God showed me mercy.

Scene 3: Pray for everyone

My son Timothy, I give you these teachings.

By following them, you can fight the goodfight. Then you will hold on to faith.

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First, I want all of you to pray for everyone.Ask God to bless them. Give thanks for

them.

Pray for kings. Pray for all who are inauthority. Pray that we will live peaceful andquiet lives. And pray that we will be godlyand holy. That is good. It pleases God our

Savior. He wants everyone to be saved. Hewants them to come to know the truth.

There is only one God. And there is onlyone go-between for God and humanbeings. He is the man Christ Jesus. Hegave himself to pay for the sins ofeveryone.

Scene 4: Choosing qualified leaders

Here is a saying you can trust. If anyonewants to be a leader in the church, hewants to do a good work for God andpeople.

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A leader must be free from blame. He must

be faithful to his wife. In anything he does,he must not go too far. He must controlhimself. He must be worthy of respect. Hemust welcome people into his home. Hemust be able to teach. He must not getdrunk. He must not push people around. He

must be gentle. He must not be a personwho likes to argue. He must not lovemoney.

Scene 5: Final instructions

Here is a saying you can trust. We have putour hope in the living God. He is the Saviorof all people. Most of all he is the Savior ofthose who believe.

Command those things. Teach them. Dontlet anyone look down on you because youare young. Set an example for the believersin what you say and in how you live.

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Until I come, spend your time reading

Scripture out loud to one another. Spendyour time preaching and teaching. Dont failto use the gift the Holy Spirit gave you.

Be careful of how you live and what youbelieve. Never give up. Then you will save

yourself and those who hear you.

You gain a lot when you live a godly life.But you must be happy with what you have.We didnt bring anything into the world. Wecant take anything out of it. If we have foodand clothing, we will be happy with that.

Love for money causes all kinds of evil.Some people want to get rich. They havewandered away from the faith. They have

wounded themselves with many sorrows.

But you are a man of God. Run away fromall of those things. Try hard to do what is

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Titus, I am sending you this letter. You are

my true son in the faith we share. May Godthe Father and Christ Jesus our Savior giveyou grace and peace.

I left you on the island of Crete. There weresome things that hadnt been finished. You

needed to sort them out. You also had toappoint elders in every town. I told you howto do it.

An elder must be without blame. He mustbe faithful to his wife. His children must bebelievers. They must not give anyone areason to say that they are wild and dontobey.

A church leader is trusted with Gods work.

Thats why he must be without blame. Hemust not look after only his own interests.He must not get angry easily. He must notget drunk. He must not push people

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around. He must not try to get money bycheating people.

Instead, he must welcome people into hishome. He must love what is good. He mustcontrol his mind and feelings. He must dowhat is right. He must be holy. He mustcontrol what his body longs for.

The message as it has been taught can betrusted. He must hold firmly to it. Then hewill be able to use true teaching to comfortothers and build them up. He will be able toprove that people who oppose it are wrong.

Many people refuse to obey God. All theydo is talk a lot. They try to fool others. Noone does these things more than thecircumcision group.

They must be stopped. They are destroyingentire families. They are teaching things

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they shouldnt. They do it to get money bycheating people.

They claim to know God. But their actionsshow they dont know him. They arent fit todo anything good.

Scene 2: Teaching the truth

No one can question the truth. So teachwhat is true. Then those who oppose youwill be ashamed. Thats because they willhave nothing bad to say about us.

Gods saving grace has appeared to allpeople. It teaches us to say no to godlessways and sinful longings.

We must control ourselves. We must do

what is right. We must lead godly lives intodays world.

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Thats how we should live as we wait for theblessed hope God has given us. We are

waiting for Jesus Christ to appear in all hisglory. He is our great God and Savior.Those are the things you should teach.Cheer people up and give them hope.Correct them with full authority. Dont letanyone look down on you.

Remind Gods people to obey rulers andauthorities. Remind them to be ready to dowhat is good. Tell them not to speak evilthings against anyone. Remind them to livein peace. They must consider the needs ofothers. They must be kind and gentletoward all people.

I will send Artemas or Tychicus to you.Then do your best to come to me at

Nicopolis. Ive decided to spend the winterthere.

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Everyone who is with me sends yougreetings. Greet those who love us in the

faith.

May Gods grace be with you all.

Introduction to 2 Timothy

Things did not go well in Ephesus. Paulhoped that Timothy would be able to stopthose leaders who were drawing peopleaway from Jesus, but things only got worse.They refused to listen, and Timothy wasdiscouraged.

Even worse, Paul had been arrested again.This time, he had little reason to hope hewould get out alive. So he wrote Timothyone last time.

The letter youre about to hear contains thefinal written words of Paul, the man who didmore than anyone else to spread the good

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news about Jesus in the early days of thechurch.

Even though hes facing his own death,Paul uses most of his letter to encourageTimothy. Paul had come to think Timothy ofas his own son. Be strong, he urges.Dont give up!

Even at the end of his life, Paul had noregrets. He had fought the food fight. Hedfinished the race. And even though thingshadnt gone well in Ephesus, Paul hadplanted seeds of faith all over the RomanEmpire.

His legacy lives on to this day.

Scene 1: Dont be ashamed

I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am anapostle of Christ Jesus just as Godplanned.

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Timothy, I am sending you this letter. You

are my dear son. May God the Father andChrist Jesus our Lord give you grace,mercy and peace.

I remember your tears. I long to see you sothat I can be filled with joy.

I remember your honest and true faith. Itwas alive first in your grandmother Lois andin your mother Eunice.And I am certain that it is now alive in youalso. That is why I remind you to help Godsgift grow, just as a small spark grows into afire.

God didnt give us a spirit that makes usweak and fearful. He gave us a spirit that

gives us power and love. It helps us controlourselves. So dont be ashamed to givewitness about our Lord. And dont beashamed of me, his prisoner. Instead, join

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faithful, he will remain faithful. He must betrue to himself.

Run away from the evil things that youngpeople long for. Try hard to do what is right.Have faith, love and peace. Do these thingstogether with those who call on the Lordfrom a pure heart.

Dont have anything to do with arguing. It isdumb and foolish. You know it only leads tofights. Those who serve the Lord must notfight. Instead, they must be kind toeveryone. They must be able to teach.They must not hold anything againstanyone. They must gently teach those whooppose them.

Maybe God will give a change of heart to

those who are against you. That will leadthem to know the truth.

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Maybe they will come to their senses.Maybe they will escape the devils trap.

I give you a command in the sight of Godand Christ Jesus. Preach the word. Beready to serve God in good times and bad.Correct peoples mistakes. Warn them.Cheer them up with words of hope. Be very

patient as you do these things. Teach themcarefully.

The time will come when people wont putup with true teaching. Instead, they will tryto satisfy their own longings. They willgather a large number of teachers aroundthem. The teachers will say what the peoplewant to hear.

But I want you to keep your head no matter

what happens. Dont give up when timesare hard. Work to spread the good news.Do everything God has given you to do.

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I am already being poured out like a drinkoffering. The time has come for me to

leave. I have fought the good fight. I havefinished the race. I have kept the faith. Nowthere is a crown waiting for me. It is given tothose who are right with God. The Lord,who judges fairly, will give it to me on theday he returns. He will not give it only to

me. He will also give it to all those who arelonging for him to return.

Do your best to come to me quickly. GetMark and bring him with you.

The Lord will save me from every evilattack. He will bring me safely to hisheavenly kingdom. Give him glory for everand ever. Amen.

May the Lord be with your spirit. May Godsgrace be with you.

Scene 2: Parting words

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My son, be strong in the grace that is found

in Christ Jesus.

You have heard me teach in front of manywitnesses. Pass on to people you can trustthe things youve heard me say. Then theywill be able to teach others also.

Like a good soldier of Christ Jesus, share inthe hard times with us.

Remember Jesus Christ. He came fromDavids family line. He was raised from thedead. That is my good news. I am sufferingfor it. I have even been put in chains likesomeone who has committed a crime. ButGods word is not held back by chains.