²⁸ And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.

The Life that the Lord Has Assigned

¹⁷ However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches.^(A)

¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.^(A)

¹⁸ When they came to him, he said to them:

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,^{(A) 19} serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,^{(B) 21} as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.^{[a](C) 22} And now, as a captive to the Spirit,^[b] I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,^{(D) 23} except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.^{(E) 24} But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.^(F)

²⁵ “And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again.^{(G) 26} Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,^{(H) 27} for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.^{(I) 28} Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God^[c] that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.^{[d](J) 29} I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.^{(K) 30} Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. ³¹ Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears.^{(L) 32} And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.^{(M) 33} I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing.^{(N) 34} You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions.^{(O) 35} In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”^(P)

2 For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you and for those in Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face.