Encouragement

"Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you... We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. 

It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating."  Colossians 1:1,9-14

Here, Paul is once again writing to another first century gentile church, which he mentioned on the later part of this letter, should also be read at another church.

Paul writes in his usual style and purpose of both giving words of encouragement and correction, teaching and discipline. These always go together.

It is also important to note that Paul was writing all of this while he himself was suffering, while he was locked up and imprisoned.

Think about it, you may be suffering today to give encouragement to the next person, who in turn hopefully will do the same and pass it on.

All we are going through, good and bad have a definite purpose and Paul says these will spill out to joy. And that joy is for sure not the effect of our present  circumstances but from the one and only person who can really give us joy -- JESUS.

And how do we do it? Thank Him, Praise Him, Worship Him, Share Him. It is not through our own strength that we endure, it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The best is yet to come....