Colossians 4

1 And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don't forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master-God in heaven.

Pray for Open Doors

2 Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude.3 Don't forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I'm locked up in this jail.4 Pray that every time I open my mouth I'll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.

5 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity.6 Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

7 My good friend Tychicus will tell you all about me. He's a trusted minister and companion in the service of the Master.8 I've sent him to you so that you would know how things are with us, and so he could encourage you in your faith.9 And I've sent Onesimus with him. Onesimus is one of you, and has become such a trusted and dear brother! Together they'll bring you up-to-date on everything that has been going on here.

10 Aristarchus, who is in jail here with me, sends greetings; also Mark, cousin of Barnabas (you received a letter regarding him; if he shows up, welcome him);11 and also Jesus, the one they call Justus. These are the only ones left from the old crowd who have stuck with me in working for God's kingdom. Don't think they haven't been a big help!

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. What a trooper he has been! He's been tireless in his prayers for you, praying that you'll stand firm, mature and confident in everything God wants you to do.13 I've watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

14 Luke, good friend and physician, and Demas both send greetings.

15 Say hello to our friends in Laodicea; also to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.

16 After this letter has been read to you, make sure it gets read also in Laodicea. And get the letter that went to Laodicea and have it read to you.

17 And, oh, yes, tell Archippus, "Do your best in the job you received from the Master. Do your very best."

18 I'm signing off in my own handwriting-Paul. Remember to pray for me in this jail. Grace be with you.

1 Thessalonians 1

1 I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God's amazing grace be with you! God's robust peace!

Convictions of Steel

2 Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you're in our prayers3 as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father.4 It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special.

5 When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn't just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.6 and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!-taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.

7 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you?8 The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore-you're the message!9 People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God.10 They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.

1 Thessalonians 2

1 So, friends, it's obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time.2 We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn't slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God's Message to you, defiant of the opposition.

No Hidden Agendas

3 God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message.4 Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval-only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas.5 We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

6 Even though we had some standing as Christ's apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else.7 We weren't aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children.8 We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

9 You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn't have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God's Message to you.10 You saw with your own eyes how discreet and courteous we were among you, with keen sensitivity to you as fellow believers. And God knows we weren't freeloaders!11 You experienced it all firsthand. With each of you we were like a father with his child,12 holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.

13 And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn't pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God's true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers!

14 Friends, do you realize that you followed in the exact footsteps of the churches of God in Judea, those who were the first to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? You got the same bad treatment from your countrymen as they did from theirs, the Jews15 who killed the Master Jesus (to say nothing of the prophets) and followed it up by running us out of town. They make themselves offensive to God and everyone else16 by trying to keep us from telling people who've never heard of our God how to be saved. They've made a career of opposing God, and have gotten mighty good at it. But God is fed up, ready to put an end to it.

17 Do you have any idea how very homesick we became for you, dear friends? Even though it hadn't been that long and it was only our bodies that were separated from you, not our hearts, we tried our very best to get back to see you.18 You can't imagine how much we missed you! I, Paul, tried over and over to get back, but Satan stymied us each time.19 Who do you think we're going to be proud of when our Master Jesus appears if it's not you?20 You're our pride and joy!