1 My dear brothers and sisters, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you. Continue following the Lord like I have told you.
Be sure that you live in a way that fits the Good News {\cf2\super [11]} of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will hear that you continue strong with the same purpose and work together like a team for the faith (truth) that comes from the Good News.
You offer those people the teaching that gives life. So I can be happy when Christ comes again. I can be happy because my work was not wasted. I ran in the race and won.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. Those people live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give life forever to those people.
like you have already understood some things about us. I hope that you will understand that you can be proud of us, like we will be proud of you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
\{The believers continued to meet together.\} They used their time to learn the teaching of the apostles. {\cf2\super [45]} The believers shared with each other. They ate {\cf2\super [46]} together and prayed together.
Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Don’t let those evil people lead you away by the wrong things they do. Be careful so that you will not fall from your strong \{faith\}.
So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you. We taught you those things in our speaking and in our letter to you.
Epaphras also says hello. He is a servant of Jesus Christ. And he is from your group. He always prays for you. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature (perfect) and have everything that God wants for you.
In those cities Paul and Barnabas made the followers \{of Jesus\} stronger. They helped them to stay in the faith. Paul and Barnabas said, “We must suffer many things on our way into God’s kingdom.”
We pray this so that your hearts will be made strong. Then you will be holy {\cf2\super [11]} and without fault before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy people.