HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1451
COL OSSIANS 4
page 1081
19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat
them harshly.
20 Children, always obey your parents, for this
pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate
your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time,
not just when they are watching you. Serve
them sincerely because of your reverent fear of
the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do,
as though you were working for the Lord rather
than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will
give you an inheritance as your reward, and
that the Master you are serving is Christ.* 25 But
if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back
for the wrong you have done. For God has no
favorites.
4
Masters, be just and fair to your slaves.
Remember that you also have a Master—in
heaven.
An Encouragement for Prayer
2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind
and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God
will give us many opportunities to speak about
his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is
why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.
5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.
6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive* so that you will have the right response for
everyone.
Paul’s Final Instructions and Greetings
7 Tychicus will give you a full report about how
I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and
faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s
work. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to
encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a
faithful and beloved brother, one of your own
people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything
that’s happening here.
10 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me,
sends you his greetings, and so does Mark,
Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way.
11 Jesus (the one we call Justus) also sends his
greetings. These are the only Jewish believers
among my co-workers; they are working with
me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a
comfort they have been!
12 Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you
3:24 Or and serve Christ as your Master. 4:6 Greek and
seasoned with salt. 4:15 Greek brothers.
his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you,
asking God to make you strong and perfect,
fully confident that you are following the whole
will of God. 13 I can assure you that he prays hard
for you and also for the believers in Laodicea
and Hierapolis.
14 Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas. 15 Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters* at Laodicea,
and to Nympha and the church that meets in
her house.
16 After you have read this letter, pass it on to
the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too.
And you should read the letter I wrote to them.
17 And say to Archippus, “Be sure to carry out
the ministry the Lord gave you.”
18 Here is my greeting in my own handwriting—Paul.
Remember my chains.
May God’s grace be with you.
• Discipline
C OLOS S I A N S 3:21
Parenting is not easy: Children try our
patience in a seemingly infinite number
of ways! But frustration and anger should
not be the basis for applying discipline.
While a lack of discipline can result in
rebellious, unresponsive children, discipline that is too harsh or frequent
becomes counterproductive. Children will
often respond to such intense discipline
with equal intensity: They either fight
back or give up altogether. The purpose
of parental discipline is to help children
grow, not to hurt or discourage them.
This is vital to children’s development
and to their concept of a loving God.
• Thankfulness
C OLOS S I A N S 4:2
We pray often when we have a need. We
pray often when we want something
from God. But what happens when God
answers our prayer? Do we remember to
pray as often and as fervently, thanking
him for the answered prayer? What
prayers of yours have been answered or
needs provided for lately? Spend some
time thanking God very specifically.