Book of Common Prayer

1 I am Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. God wanted me to be an apostle.

² Timothy our brother, and I are writing this letter to God's people, the Christian brothers in the city of Colossae. May the kindness of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.

³ We give thanks to God. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we ask God to bless you, we always thank him for you.

⁴ We have heard that you believe in Christ Jesus and love all of God's people.

⁵ And also, you are looking ahead to what you will have in heaven. You have heard about it already when the good news was told to you.

⁶ That message has reached you. It is doing good and it is spreading everywhere in the world. It is doing the same among you. It began the day you heard and understood God's blessing, which came to you in a clear way.

⁷ Epaphras taught you the truth. He is Christ's servant, as we are also, and we love him. He is a good worker to help you.

⁸ Also, it is he who told us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹ That is why we keep on talking to God about you since the day we heard about you. We ask him that you may know everything he wants you to do. We ask him that you may be very wise and that the Spirit will help you to understand.

¹⁰ We ask him that you will live the way the Lord wants you to live, so that you will please him in everything you do. We ask that you will do everything that is good. We ask that you will see the fruit from what you do. We ask that you will know more and more about God.

¹¹ God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy.

¹² Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light.

¹³ He has set us free from the kingdom where it is dark. And he has put us into the kingdom where his dear Son rules.

¹⁴ Because of his Son, we are set free and the wrong things we have done are forgiven.

⁷ Many of the Pharisee group and the Sadducee group came to him to be baptised. But when he saw them, he said to them, `You family of snakes! Who told you to run away from God's anger that is coming?

⁸ Stop your wrong ways to show that you have turned back to God.

⁹ Do not think you can say to your-selves, "Abraham is our father." I tell you, God can make children for Abraham from these stones.

¹⁰ The axe is ready to cut down the trees. Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire.

¹¹ `I baptise you with water when you stop your wrong ways. But another person is coming after me. He is greater than I am. I am not good enough to take off his shoes. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹² He has a cleaning fan in his hand and will fan his grain very clean. He will put the grain into his storehouse. But he will burn the chaff in the fire that never dies.'