In 1 Timothy 3 & 4, Paul reminds Timothy God is a God of order and peace. Paul's heart reflected God's heart - to maintain peace in God's household, the Church of the Living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. Your life is an outward sign of your inward relationship with the Lord. Your life reflects the status of your love and devotion to following Jesus. As you pursue Jesus with all your guts, He gives you all you need to walk in His righteousness. Paul was honest about the struggles Timothy would face. We face those same struggles today. It's up to us to choose to pursue Jesus with every exhale in spite of the growing tensions in the world around us. God doesn't ask for perfection, He asks us to be desperate for Jesus and life a lifestyle of desperation for Jesus. As we continue to pursue Jesus, we will fall more and more in love with Him - and there's nothing He wants more.

(Philemon 4-21)

We are Onesimus in this letter. We are slaves to sin and death. After trusting his life to Jesus and receiving the powerful saving grace of Jesus, Onesimus was changed forever. Much like Paul interceded for Onesimus, Jesus intercedes for us at the Throne of God. God saves us through His powerful grace and grace is love that pays a price. Jesus paid the price. In and through Jesus, we are free from sin. We are free from bondage. We are free to dance in the powerful grace and victory that can only be found in and through Jesus.

In 1 Timothy 1 & 2, Paul remembered his life before Jesus and shared the testimony of the power of Jesus grace and mercies working in his life. Because Paul shared what Jesus had done in his life, others were impacted and transformed for eternity, bringing honor and glory to God. We are all called and commissioned to share the Gospel, testify of the power of Jesus and how He has impacted your life, and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you to people who need to hear it. Speak boldly and confidently about Jesus through the power of His Spirit within you. We need to pray continually, intercede for others, and posture our hearts in an attitude of humble surrender and gratitude before the Lord. We need to know the Word to preach the Word. We need to be intention in our obedience to the Lord. Do all that God places in your heart and calls you to do. In hearts of surrender, obedience leads to an outpouring of peace and joy like nothing this world can offer.

In 2 Thessalonians 1, 2, & 3, we are encouraged to press on in the work of the Lord - don't become idle. We need to stand strong, stand firm, and remain unwavering in faith as we continue to spread the Gospel message of salvation to the world around us. Jesus is radiated and glorified through our lives when we live a lifestyle of surrender and worship before the Lord. Jesus is returning. We are living in the end of the end days. No one knows the exact day or the hours of Jesus' return and if they claim to, they are false teachers and false prophets. Jesus told us to watch for the signs and the times, stay informed, and to be ready in every moment of every day for His return. As we wait, we need to be busy about the Lord's business and walk out the calling He created us for. He will provide everything we need for everything and anything He calls us to. He is faithful. Victory only comes through Jesus and we need to walk in His victory every day no matter what happens in the world around us. We look up, because we know the Lord is faithful.

In 1 Thessalonians 3, 4, & 5, Paul spoke words of encouragement and encouragement is critical. Encouragement brings life to a person's soul. Paul encourages us to live our lives pursuing Jesus and His holiness. As we do, God will grow our faith and sanctify us for His glory and our good too. He encourages us to be ready for Jesus' return. Jesus can return in any moment - like a flash - and we need to live every day knowing that is true. We need to be ready, be awake, be prepared. We don't know when He'll return, but we do know He is returning. We need to stay awake and be serious for Jesus in every moment of every day. God's will for our lives is that we rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks for everything. As we focus on Jesus with all our guts, we will be ready for His return and others will see His light radiate through our lives.

In 1 Thessalonians 1 & 2, Paul encourages us to testify to others with the Holy Spirit's power and passion as we share the truth of Jesus to the world around us. The power of Jesus changes lives now and for all eternity. It's not about you or me or how well we can articulate a message. It's the passionate boldness of sharing the truth of Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. It's the testimony of the power of Jesus working in our own personal lives and sharing that with others. It's the Holy Spirit's presence and power working through us and into the lives of those listening to the amazingly great news of Jesus. It's not fancy words or programs that touches hearts, it's the Holy Spirit. We need to walk forth every day in the power of the Holy Spirit with deep conviction, humility, faith, love, and hope.

In Colossians 3 & 4, Paul reminds us we are loved by Jesus. We are loved by the Creator of the cosmos. We are loved by the one and only true and living God Almighty. We are loved more than we can comprehend. The enemy will try to lie to us and try to get us to believe we are not loved, not worthy, and helpless. The Word of God proves every lie of the enemy is nothing but a lie from the pit of Hell, but we need to know the truth of God's Word so we don't fall for the lies. We need to know that God is kind and gentle, patient and forgiving. We need to know that He is also holy and just and hates sin and evil. We need to repent quickly, and walk forward in the Lord's will. When we do, we will find restoration, redemption, peace and joy. Jesus wants us to know and experience His love personally and walk in the victory He died for us to receive. We are not alone. We are to walk together, arm in arm, and grow together in faith and love as we continue forth proclaiming the truth of Jesus and His salvation offer to the world.

(Colossians 1:15-2:3)

The way we live bears fruit of what we truly believe. God is not human so He cannot lie. We serve a Holy God and that means He cannot sin. Everything God has ever said is absolutely true. If we truly believe God cannot lie and all His promises are true, it should affect how we live our daily lives. God wants us to experience a true and real relationship with Him, fully and wholeheartedly. He wants us to experience His presence like never before and keep falling more and more in love with Him every day.

In Colossians 1 & 2, we are reminded that sometimes in this crazy world we live in, where truth so easily becomes blurred, we need to stop and re-set. We need to refocus and realign our vision back to Jesus. We need to pray continually and go to God's Word to strengthen and grow our faith and the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Jesus created everything. He holds all things together. The cells that hold our bodies together are even shaped like the cross of Jesus. He holds all things together, even the temporary bodies we reside in, because He loves us. We can trust God's superglue for our lives. His love never fails and never lets go. We need to walk forth in every day desperate for Jesus, living out His Word, and pursuing a lifestyle of worship before the Throne of God. The more we walk in the strength of Jesus, rather than our own, the deeper our roots will grow in Him. Storms will come, but they won't blow us over. When we are firmly established in Jesus, we can't be shaken.

In Philippians 3 & 4, Paul testifies of how Jesus has transformed his life. His life goals now consisted of knowing Jesus personally, experiencing the power of the resurrection of Jesus, and partnering with Jesus in the mission of saving souls for eternity - even if it means suffering and death in this temporary world. He stayed laser focused on Jesus through every hardship and victory he experienced because knowing Jesus fully and spreading the truth of Jesus to the world around him was the only thing on his mind or in his heart. He desperately desired nothing more than living out the resurrected power of Jesus every day of his life. Only Jesus brings peace that truly satisfies. You are loved by Jesus, accepted by Jesus, made secure in Jesus, and are significant in Jesus. Paul is a living example for us today of how to live life glorifying Jesus and keeping our eyes fixed on Him - no matter what.