A Servant Of This Gospel
For in him all the fullness of God was
pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all
things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his
cross.
And you who were once estranged and
hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body
through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable
before him – provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in
the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you
heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul,
became a servant of this gospel.
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings
for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s
afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant
according to God’s commission that was given to me for
you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden
throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To
them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the
glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom
we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we
may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all
the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.
Do you give better than your best?
Actually the only way that can happen is with God working through you. You do
not have to compromise Christian integrity in tough places. God’s mighty power
within us is what makes us effective. God will help you to do better than you
can by yourself, in everything you do.
Boast not in
what you do for Christ,
but in what
Christ does for you.
Our Daily
Bread –