Day 73: Colossians 3 - 1 Thessalonians 4
New Testament in 90 days reading for day 73.
Colossians 3
- 1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
- 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
- 5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- 7 When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways.
- 8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
- 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
- 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
- 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- 13 Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
- 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
- 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.
- 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
- 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
- 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.
- 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
- 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
- 23 Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,
- 24 because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- 25 Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Colossians 4
- 1 Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
- 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,
- 3 as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
- 4 Pray that I may declare it clearly, as I should.
- 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- 7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.
- 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.
- 9 With him I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
- 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.
- 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
- 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.
- 13 For I testify about him that he goes to great pains for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
- 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.
- 15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.
- 16 After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
- 17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
- 18 This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
1 Thessalonians 1
- 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
- 2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers
- 3 and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 4 Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,
- 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
- 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
- 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
- 8 For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
- 9 For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
- 10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 2
- 1 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.
- 2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
- 3 For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
- 4 Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
- 5 As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
- 6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
- 7 On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
- 8 We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
- 9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
- 11 For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—
- 12 encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
- 13 And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as the true word of God—the word which is now at work in you who believe.
- 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
- 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- 16 hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
- 17 Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
- 18 For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.
- 19 After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
- 20 You are indeed our glory and our joy.
1 Thessalonians 3
- 1 So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
- 2 We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
- 3 so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
- 4 Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.
- 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and caused our labor to be in vain.
- 6 But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.
- 7 For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.
- 8 For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.
- 9 How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?
- 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking from your faith.
- 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.
- 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- 13 so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.