stand.

well this past weekend was round number two for me in the season of DNOWs. this one, however, was close to home. really though. it was with my home church here in mississippi.

the theme this weekend was "STAND". to stand against culture. to stand on the love that the Lord has for us. and to stand when no one else will.

this particular weekend was odd. i was expecting to simply sit and relax and listen to someone else's perspective and be poured into during small group sessions. we only wanted our college students from church to help out and co-teach, but that's not what the Lord had for me. the guy that was supposed to lead out with my group of boys had something come up and coudnt come. so i was told friday morning (the day of DNOW) that i would be leading. gerald told me that he knew that i wasnt really prepared, but he told me to "do what you do."

so my friday began early. usually i try and sleep in on fridays because i dont have to work. i had planned out my whole day until i had to be at my host home (gerald's house) at 5. well gerald called me at 9 asking me if i could go with him to pick up the rental vans because he couldnt find anyone else to go with him. i of course said yes because i love helping out where i can, but little did i know that this meant that i wouldnt stop moving and working for DNOW until 5:15. i was quite lucky though. after we picked up the vans we drove to the airport to pick up kari jobe. yeah, you read right. i got to help pick her and her band up and take them to lunch. it was great getting to know them. they are such genuine people. that was the start of great blessing to follow.

after we did all that stuff and got the band on to their sound check, i left to go and pack. i arrived at g's house and took a 15 minute break until the kids arrived. i got to hang out with the JV Basketball team (composed of 8th and 9th graders) and be their small group leader for the moments that they were there. we headed to worship around 6:30 and we were all blown away by the freedom we had in the Lord to worship there. ben pirtle, our speaker, shared with us how often times as people we get caught up in the culture around us, and give in to what culture says and not what God says. the passage of scripture he discussed was Daniel 3 (which if you didnt know, that has been my heart the last couple of weeks). we went back to G's house discussed a few things and then they all left. they had to leave because their coach didnt want them staying up all night and not be prepared for the game in the morning. after everyone was gone, i went over to the other jr. high boys house to hang out with them until i got to see my guys again. the rooks, the host home family, welcomed me with open arms. i felt like they had known me for a long time, and truthfully, i felt the same way. i sat down with mr. joe that night and began to talk with him. it felt so natural. so comforting. so right. he asked me later if i like coffee and if i wanted to join him in the morning around 6 to drink coffee and chat. i, without hesitation, accepted the offer. at that moment i knew that the Lord had presented me with the opportunity to be a part of something that i love. discipleship. i have never had a spiritual mentor before. i have had people i look up to spiritually, but i have never had someone want to spend time with me, one on one, and invest in me on a regular basis. so good.

i arrived there just in time to start their small group time. it was interesting to say the least. they were all crazy. my favorite quote from the the night was when caleb, their small group leader, asked "So, what did Ben discuss tonight? That we shouldnt obey who?" we got some blank stares. mr joe interjected with the staement, "It starts with a 'C'...." after a few seconds one of the boys stands up and shouts, "GOD!!!" needless-to-say, the answer was culture, but the fact that he had so much confidence and joy in his answer, it reciprocated and spoke so much joy and confidence to me. after having small group with them and getting to hang out for a few more hours, i finally went to bed at 3am. (now like i said, my day started at 6am for coffee with mr. joe the next morning, and if you count that up and thats only 3 hours of sleep [just wait, it gets better]). we all get moving and head to worship that morning. once again it was so good. we really discussed the sin that weighs us down, the redemption and life we find only in Jesus, and the freedom we now have from being set free from slavery.

we headed to the church for some lunch and games. it went well. it was that point where everyone was showing their tiredness and had not yet gotten that second wind. the Lord really pressed on my spirit during this time though. a friend of mine, luke campbell, asked me to sit down with him and sing. so i did. he played some songs and i sang with him. we swapped singing melody and harmony, and it was just right. it was free. the Lord really laid something on me. i used to help lead worship occasionally when i was in college. and i miss it. so i have decided that i will be bringing a guitar back to school with me to learn how to play. i dont know where this will go, but i trust the Lord.

after we left the church, i headed up to the basketball game to pray over the boys before they played. i know it didnt seem like anything to them, but i felt like they needed to know that i was their to support them (even though i wasnt staying), i cared about them, and that i was praying for them. simple, i know. but it was an act of obedience. to Love people.

i left and went back to the rooks to get ready for worship that night. little did i know that i was getting ready to be completely blown out of the water.

**disclaimer: what you are about to read will never sum up to what actually happened. no human words can describe what the Lord did. but i will attempt to make something of it.

worship began as normal. but it had that feel that the Lord was going to do something amazing. the freedom in worship this night was something that i had really never experienced before. kari has such an amazing gift for singing, but she also has a very sensitive heart as well. while she was singing, she stopped in the middle of one of her songs, and told us that she felt the Lord was speaking to some kids hearts and asked them to come forward if they were ready to follow Christ. wow. that was a big step of obedience. and hand fulls of kids came down to the alter to pray. to either accept Christ for the first time, or say they were tired of a life not lived as it was supposed to. we sang a few more songs and then ben gets on stage. he told kari not to leave. he said that sometimes the Lord moves so much sometimes, that he needs to step out of the way and let God work. honestly, he said that he could never say what the Lord wanted to say, so he let HIM speak. he didnt preach a sermon as planned, he just reminded us all of the Love that God has for us. and because of that Love, we can be healed. we can be restored. we can STAND. and thats what happened. girls came to the alter to pray with the women leaders of the weekend. boys came down to pray with the men to stand against foolishness and become men of God. i got to pray for boys i didnt know, and rejoice with the work the Lord had done (and it was interesting to see all this take place because you would think that in a setting like this that every child would respond--but they didnt. only a few did. thats how i knew in my heart that it was all genuine). so we continue to worship for the next 3 or so hours. yeah it was awesome! i was jumping around and shouting and i actually think i hit someone in the face with my arms cause i was all over the place. but i wasnt the only one. the spirit moved, and His people responded. at the end i leaned over to one of my boys, addison, and i asked him if he had ever experienced anything like this before, and with a huge smiling face he looked up at me and said, "Never." the Lord grabbed his heart that night for sure!

so we leave and i head back to gerald's house because the boys were back from basketball. i walk in and the first question i get asked was, "what happened?" and the only reason they asked that was because they knew by my face that something had happened. so i attempted to explain to them the same things that i just wrote here. it was such a sweet time with the Lord and them. because even though they didnt get to go, they were still blessed from just hearing about all the Lord had done.

after all this we hung out and caused problems until 3am. yeah, once again i only received a few hours of sleep because i awoke at 7 the next morning. fun times. but we all got moving and headed to church. on the way there we see two guys walking down the road, and one of my boys asked me to stop and invite them to church. so i did. and sure enough, one of them came. that was such a testament to the Lord's faithfulness. i acted in faith, and the Lord blessed. i didnt get to catch up with that man later because he was quickly gone, but i do know that he couldnt have left without being changed.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, "However, as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived'--the things God has prepared for those who love him--these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." (NIV)

God did some incredible things this weekend. and my Spirit tells me that God isnt finished with the youth and adults in the jackson, mississippi area. He has great things in store for those that love Him. all we have to do is act in obedience and, of course, love.

do you believe that?

character.

so apparently there has been a resounding theme around me over the past week or so. and if you didnt pick it up already, that theme is character.

character is defined as,

–noun

1.

the aggregate of features and traits that form the individualnature of some person or thing.

2.

one such feature or trait; characteristic.

3.

moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.

4.

qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity: It takescharacter to face up to a bully.

5.

reputation: a stain on one's character.

6.

good repute.

7.

an account of the qualities or peculiarities of a person orthing.

8.

a person, esp. with reference to behavior or personality: asuspicious character.

for me this character is essentially the "stuff" that makes someone up. it is the very essence of who a person is. and you can tell a lot about a person by their character. a lot.

this all started the other day at soccer practice. for those of that do not know, i am the assistant soccer coach at Hillcrest Christian school. we are getting ready for playoffs and we had a very tedious and tactical practice on monday. afterwords we ran, and usually after a round of running i talk to them. ask them questions. and on this particular day i asked them what we did and why we did it. hands down the number one answer was "To build character coach." i honestly laughed at them and told them that they had been playing high school sports way too long. but as much as i wanted to disagree with them, we were building character. team character. and that can be on so many different levels. a team is made up of different people, each with unique abilities that contribute to the success of the team as a whole. coaches and players work individually, yet as a unit. and for us to practice tactical drills such as passing technique, trapping the ball, and small space possession essentially builds team character.

i saw this again on Thursday night at the last regular season basketball game at Hillcrest. Landon (the young man that i am mentoring/discipling) played in the JV boys game, which they ended up winning, but in this particular game, he didnt play so well. really none of them did a phenomenal job, but what made it interesting is that even though Landon didnt have an amazing game and spent most of his time on the bench, he didnt spend it sitting down like the other 8 or so folks with him. he stood and applauded his teammates on as they attemped to work their tails off to win the game. as i thought about that, this simple act spoke so highly of Landon's character. he desired to lift his team up and support them on any level that he possibly could. and i know that this is a direct reflection of the Love that is in Landon's life. his heart belongs to Christ and that is the driving factor surrounding the nature of who Landon is.

as i began to think about all of this character stuff, i was reminded of the word sacrifice. as a team you sacrifice things of your self for the benefit of the team as a whole. that may be time, that may be energy, but all in all it is sacrificed. in Philippians 2:5-8, Paul describes the character if Jesus as follows:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

and not only was He a humble man, He also showed extreme amounts of love, perseverance, meekness, joy, hope, peace, servanthood, and holiness.

and to put into action Ephesians 5:1,

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." (ESV)

i desire to have Christ-like character in my life. i want Him to be the driving force of who i am on a daily basis. i know He has made me to be me, but its only He who makes me holy. i want to be like Him. like my Dad.

what sort of things make you up? what is at the core of who you are?

tears of change.

this past weekend i had the privilege of serving at a DNOW in picayune, ms. this was the second year in a row for participating, and i got to encouter this weekend with the same group of boys.

honestly, i didnt expect what happened to happen. i came in to the weekend knowing these kids, with a feeling that they were comfortable around me and that the Lord would use His word in mighty ways. now you may ask, "Daniel, why is that a bad thing?" well, it's not. but the response that occurred was astronomical compared to what my mind had perceived.

the whole weekend, i just knew that the Lord was going to move. He always does. but i was telling someone that this was all the more sweeter because it dealt with people that i know and love. not in the sense that i love them more than anyone else, it just simply has to do with the fact that i have a relationship, a friendship, with these kids.

so i arrived there in picayune, tired as ever, yet soon to be encountered with no sleep, middle school funk, and eager appetites. most of the guys that were there last year came back once again. it was good to see how much they had grown, but also to see how much the had matured (or lack there of). middle school is a hard age. but that age is where the Lord has placed my heart. so, we begin the night just having fun and hanging out. our bible study this weekend was on the book of Daniel and the Lord really worked on my life as i studied that book the week prior. i learned so much about a story that i had read over and over again, and it was refreshing to get a new perspective on God's word. so we dug into that book, and the gist of it all is that Daniel and the gang (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) did everything as reflection of the love that they had for the Lord. even in the midst of their terrible circumstances. they made the choice to follow the living God, and not the rulers of the earth. God defined who they were, not the world.

as we progressed throughout the weekend, i challenged them to think and meditate about certain things. things they were dealing with. things they may not have thought about before. and you could see in some of their faces that the wheels were turning. we roll into worship on saturday night, and God came in like a wrecking ball. our speaker, Greg Joiner, led us through some acts of worship that i dont think these kids had ever experienced before. we raised our hands, got on our knees and prayed, and even laid prostrate on the floor (if you have never seen 150 kids on there face before the Lord, let me tell you that is an amazing sight to see). and it kind of hit me then, that in my own life, i dont do those things nearly enough. i want to get on my knees and face more. speak to Him more. let Him hear my heart. that's what He desires anyway. in Daniel 6:10, after Daniel refused to worship any other god than the living God, and was accused of this "criminal act" and sentenced to be throne in the lion's den, scripture says, "Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." he got down on his THREE TIMES/DAY. and it says that he had done it before. i think this is a practice worth following. i am learning to embrace it myself. and it is so humbling.

sorry about the side note there. back to the weekend.

we got back to our host home ready to dive in to our last session. now i knew that some were ready for the night (we were to play capture the flag after our session) and they were so distracted. so i felt the Lord just needed me to lay it all out there. i wont go in to any detail, but we were all broken by His word, myself included. we all stepped away from the session and got on our knees and faces and just prayed. some prayed for 5 minutes, others prayed for 45 minutes. then i had the opportunity to pray for each of them individually. some knew what needed to change in their lives and they werent satisfied with anything less than what God had for them. i spent the next hour or so praying for each of them, ending with a shoulder that was covered in the tears of change.

the final challenge of the weekend was to respond daily to the calling placed on all of our lives. to live up to what the gospel has called us to. and i believe God is going to wreck some peoples hearts in the weeks and months to come. i cant wait to see what He is going to do.

so all in all it was a good weekend. a God filled weekend. and i pray for them, and myself, that our hearts will continue to change.

I will leave you with this:

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-19

able.

this morning i was reading in the book of Daniel about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. i have read and heard this story many times over the years, but the Lord really struck me hard with something about this passage today.

prior to the three of these men being thrown into the furnace, they were confronted by King Nebuchadnezzar about their lack of desire to fall and worship his gods. he made a decree in all the province that whenever any music is played that all the people must bow down and worship the false gods of the kingdom. these three refused to do so. in response the king ordered that they be thrown into the furnace (which was heated 7 times hotter than normal). he asked them who would be able to save them from his hand now. their response reads as follows:

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." [Daniel 3:16-18]

they said that God is able. they did not say that God will save them, but rather He is able to save them. meaning: God would make a decision on what would bring Him the most glory. and the three of these men were ok with that. and they spoke with so much confidence. they loved the Lord more than anything and they would be satisfied with His decision regarding their lives. and i believe they understood the concept generations before regarding the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1:21 where he says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." meaning: if i live, it is all for Christ; and if i die, it is all for Christ.

regardless of what happens in my life, i want God to get all the glory. not daniel (as in me, the writer; not Daniel from the Bible). and i think part of the reason that these three men were able to say this is because they were obeying the word of the Lord. they knew what He called them to. and they wanted to uphold that. and thats a direct reflection of the love that each of these men had for Him.

i leave you with these two passages from Philippians:

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27

"that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world," Philippians 2:15

read Daniel 3 simultaneously with these two passages and see the connection that the Lord made. so neat.

what is there to say?

well i feel like i should post, but i dont know what to say. so i wont say anything. ill let God's word do the talking. when you are finished, feel free to leave a comment on what you feel the Lord tells you through this passage.

^{2 Timothy 1-4}

^{Chapter 1}

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dear son:Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving

³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Examples of Disloyalty and Loyalty

¹⁵ You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶ May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷ On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Chapter 2

The Appeal Renewed

¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

Dealing With False Teachers

¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

^{Chapter 3}

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

A Final Charge to Timothy

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

^{Chapter 4}

¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Personal Remarks

⁹ Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. ¹² I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴ Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵ You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹⁹ Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.