1So think about all this, my dear friends, and keep on following our leader, Jesus, and keep on trusting him properly. I love you very much and I really want to see you again. You make me very happy, and it is like you are the prize I get for winning a race.
2Now I just want to talk to Euodia and Syntyche. I ask you 2 ladies very strongly to stop arguing with each other, and to try to think the same way as each other. Remember, you both belong to our leader, Jesus.
3And now I’m talking to my other good friend there. Listen, my friend, you worked hard with me, and you were always true to Jesus. Now I want you to help those 2 women to be friends with each other. They both worked hard to tell people the good news about Jesus. They worked with me and Clement and some other Christians. God wrote all of their names in his special book called theBook of Life, where he writes the name of every person that will live for ever.
4Now I’m talking to all of you Christians. You belong to our leader, Jesus, so always be happy. This is important, so I’m saying it again, “Be happy.”
5Always be easy with people and nice to them so that everyone will all see how good you are. Remember that our leader, Jesus, will come back soon.
6Don’t worry about anything, but pray to God and ask him for everything you need. And always thank God for what he has already done.
7Then God will get you to feel calm and settled. You belong to Jesus Christ, and he will do this to look after your minds, so that you will think properly. Nobody knows how God does this, but he can do it.
8And one more thing, my friends. Keep thinking about the things that are true and honest. Keep thinking about the things that are right and good and lovely. Think about things that everyone reckons are really good. Think about the things that we can thank God for.
9And keep doing the things that I taught you and that you agreed with. Remember the things that I said and the things that I did when I was with you and you do those things too. Then God will be with you and he will get you to feel happy and quiet inside yourselves.
10Now I will tell you how things are going with me here. I’m really happy, thanks to our leader, Jesus. I know you were worried about me here in jail and you wanted to send something to help me, but at first you couldn’t do it. Then you got a chance to send me some things, and this has made me happy. It shows that you are still thinking about me.
11I’m not saying this because I need anything. I have learned to be happy, no matter what happens to me.
12I know what it is like to need things and I know what it is like to have a lot of things. I have learned this secret, to be happy all the time no matter what happens. Sometimes I can eat plenty of food, and sometimes I go hungry. But it doesn’t matter, I can be happy anyway. Sometimes I have everything I need, and sometimes I have nothing. But it doesn’t matter, I can be happy anyway.
13You see, Jesus Christ makes me strong, so I can do all these things.
14And you have been very good to me. I have been getting trouble, but you remembered me and you helped me a lot.
15Do you remember the time when I first came to tell you the good news about Jesus? Then I left your country, called Macedonia, and I went to other people and tell them this story. You know, you were the only Christian church that gave me anything to help me do that.
16And when I was in the town called Thessalonica, you mob kept on sending me money to help me.
17I’m not telling you this to get you to keep on sending me things. But I want you to keep doing good things like that, so that God will be happy about you. He will add those good things to the list of all the good things you have done, and one day he will pay you for it all.
18But right now I have everything I need, and even more than I need. You gave all these things to Epaphroditus to bring to me, and I’m happy to get them. But you didn’t only give them to me. You gave them to God. You gave him the right sort of present, a really nice one, and it has made him very happy.
19You know, God looks after me, and he will look after you too. You belong to Jesus Christ, and God will give you everything you need. He is really rich. He has lots of things, so he can give you anything you need.
20Everyone always has to say that our God is very great. And he is our Father. They have to keep on saying that he is great for ever. This is very true.
21Say hello to all God’s people there that belong to Jesus Christ. The Christians who are with me here say hello to you.
22All of God’s people say hello to you. There are some Christians here that live in the house that belongs to the really big government boss, and they say a special hello to you.
23I pray that our leader, Jesus Christ, will keep on being really good to all of you. From Paul
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