1Now I’m talking to you children. You are joined to our leader, Jesus, so you have to do what your father and mother tell you to do. This is the right way to live.
2You see, God made this law, and then he promised something with it. (This was the first time God did that.) He said, “Always respect your father and your mother.
3If you do that you will be happy, and you will live for a long time on the earth.”
4Now I’m talking to you Fathers. Don’t make your children angry. But instead, as they are growing up, you have to teach them the way God wants them to live, and show them how to live the right way.
5Now I’m talking to you workers, you people that have to work for other people all the time. Your bosses are only people, but no matter, you have to respect them properly, and do whatever they tell you. Work hard for them, like you are working for Jesus Christ.
6Do what they say, and try to make them happy. Don’t only do it when they can see you, but also when they can’t see you. Work happily in your job, like it was Jesus Christ that gave it to you, and then you will be doing what God wants.
7Your bosses are only people, but try to work properly for them, like you are working for Jesus, not working for people.
8Remember this, if you do a good job, Jesus, our leader, will pay you with something good later. He will do this, no matter if you work for nothing, like a prisoner, or if you are free.
9Now I’m talking to bosses. You have to do the same, you have to be good to your workers. Don’t say anything to frighten them. Don’t tell them you want to punish them. Remember that God in heaven is your boss, and he is the boss of your workers too. And he treats everyone the same, no matter whether you are a boss or a worker.
10The last thing that I want to say to you is this. You are joined to our leader, Jesus, and he is very strong, so you have to use his strong power to fight against the devil.
11You know that a soldier puts on special gear to stop the enemy from hitting him? Well, you do that with the special gear that God gives us. Then you will keep strong against the devil and you will not let him trick you. He tries all sorts of clever ways to hit us.
12You see, we are not fighting against people, but we are fighting against a big mob of devils. We are fighting against the bad spirit bosses that we can’t see in this bad world. And we are fighting against the powerful bad spirits that live above the earth too.
13So you have to use all the special gear that God gives you. Then you will be able to stand up to those bad spirits whenever they come at you, and they will not be able to beat you. And at the end of the fight you will still be standing strong.
14So put on that special gear from God, so you can stand up against the devil. This is what that gear is. – You know that a soldier wears a belt, to hold his clothes on tight, so he can move quickly in a fight. Well, just like that, you take notice of what is true, so you can fight better against the devil. – And a soldier wears a steel plate, to stop the enemy from hitting his chest. Well, you have to always do what is right, and this will be like a steel plate for you, to stop the devil from hitting you. –
15And a soldier wears strong boots, so that he can always be ready to fight. Well, you have to remember the good news, that Jesus gets us to be friends with God. Then you will be ready to fight the devil. –
16You know that a soldier always has a shield, to stop the spears that the enemy throws at him. In the same way you have to always trust God. Whenever you do this, it is like you are holding up a shield that stops things that the devil throws at you. They are like burning spears, but if you trust God he will stop them and put them out. –
17And a soldier wears a steel hat, that stops the enemy from hitting his head. Well, you remember that God has saved you. That will be like a steel hat for you, to keep you safe. – And you know the long knife a soldier has, called a sword? He uses it to fight back against his enemy. Well, in the same way, you can use God’s word to fight back against the devil, and his Holy Spirit will help you.
18To do all this you have to pray in the way that God’s spirit leads you. Pray about every problem, and pray in all kinds of ways, and ask God for whatever you need. So always keep on praying for all God’s people.
19And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words to say every time I start to tell people the good news about Jesus. Pray that I will not be afraid to tell them that message properly. God kept it secret for a long time,
20but now he has sent me to tell this good story to everybody. The bosses didn’t like me telling that story, so they put me in jail. I want you to ask God to stop me from being frightened, so that I keep on telling his good story.
21Now I’m sending Tychicus to you to tell you how I’m going, and he will tell you what I’m doing these days. He is my Christian friend that I love, and he is a good worker for God. He will tell you all the news about me, and the news about the others that are here with me. And I also want him to help you feel strong and brave.
23You mob are my good friends. You believe in God, our Father, and you believe in our leader, Jesus Christ. So I’m asking them to be really good to you, and to help you to be happy and quiet inside yourselves, and to love God and other people, and to keep on trusting Jesus.
24I ask God to be very good to everyone that loves our leader, Jesus Christ, for ever. From Paul
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