Study Desk

I remember that you cried for me. I want very much to see you so that I can be filled with joy.

So don't be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus. And don't be ashamed of me—I am in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God gives us the strength to do that.

A soldier wants to please his commanding officer, so he does not spend any time on activities that are not a part of his duty.

So I patiently accept all these troubles. I do this to help the people God has chosen so that they can have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With this salvation comes glory that never ends.

The Lord wants to use you for special purposes, so make yourself clean from all evil. Then you will be holy, and the Master can use you. You will be ready for any good work.

You must gently teach those who don't agree with you. Maybe God will let them change their hearts so that they can accept the truth.

People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure.

Before God and Jesus Christ, I give you a command. Christ Jesus is the one who will judge all people—those who are living and those who have died. He is coming again to rule in his kingdom. So I give you this command:

When I was in Troas, I left my coat there with Carpus. So when you come, bring it to me. Also, bring my books. The books written on parchment are the ones I need.

Alexander the metalworker caused me so much harm. The Lord will punish him for what he did.

But the Lord stayed with me. The Lord gave me strength so that I could tell the Good News everywhere. He wanted all those who are not Jews to hear that Good News. So I was saved from the lion's mouth.

I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing what still needed to be done. And I also left you there so that you could choose men to be elders in every town.

An elder has the job of taking care of God's work. So people should not be able to say that he lives in a wrong way. He must not be someone who is proud and selfish or who gets angry quickly. He must not drink too much, and he must not be someone who likes to fight. He must not be a man who will do almost anything for money.

The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith,

And your teaching should be clearly right so that you cannot be criticized. Then anyone who is against you will be ashamed. There will not be anything bad they can say about us.

These are the things you should tell people. Encourage them, and when they are wrong, correct them. You have full authority to do this, so don't let anyone think they can ignore you.

We were made right with God by his grace. God saved us so that we could be his children and look forward to receiving life that never ends.

Onesimus was separated from you for a short time. Maybe that happened so that you could have him back forever,

So, my brother, as a follower of the Lord please do this favor for me. It would be such a great encouragement to me as your brother in Christ.

You love what is right and hate what is wrong. So God, your God, has chosen you, giving you more honor and joy than anyone like you."