When we have done something successfully before, we might be confident to do it again.  But when the job, journey, relationship or study course is new, how do we know that we will be able to carry on to the end? That uncertainty is magnified when we have previously had trouble or failure.  Paul suffered persecution and was writing from prison to new believers who were also facing opposition (Philippians 1:29).  None of them knew what each day would bring.  Would they let their Lord down?

Sentimental feelings and nice emotions can be described as love, but they are neither the essence of love nor its purpose.  True love only works when it is rooted in a full and clear understanding of the facts and is devoted to building others up in the truth (1 John 3:1-3).  Without knowing what is true, the power of love will become misdirected and fail to achieve its objective.  And this is especially necessary when it comes to loving somebody as special as God.

It is strange that some of God's people can pretend to love while practising hate, and even stranger that God might use them.  Paul's imprisonment in Rome had opened a whole new debate about Jesus.  Not only did it provide the church with new opportunities in personal witnessing, but Christians who were gifted to speak publicly found a new platform before an eager audience.  Although some identified themselves with the Apostle Paul and spoke out in support of him, others appeared to forget their spiritual family roots: they tried to compete against Paul, who experienced a bizarre hatred fro

Persecution brings a mixture of thoughts about the future.  Suffering's worst fear is that everything will be lost at death, and its worst delusion is that nothing in life is worthwhile anymore.  The Apostle Paul robustly contradicts both.