KEEP WALKING IN A SACRED WAY
1My sacred family members, I have more I want to say to you. You are walking in a way that makes Creator’s heart glad, the way we taught you to walk. Now our firm counsel to you from our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is that you must keep walking more and more in this way. 2For the instructions we gave you came from Creator Sets Free (Jesus) our Honored Chief himself.
3Our Creator wants you to walk in a sacred way, keeping yourself free from sexual impurity. 4He wants each of you to control your own body in a sacred manner with honor and respect, 5not with uncontrolled desire, like the people from the Outside Nations who do not know the Great Spirit. 6No one should abuse a sacred family member in this manner, for our Honored Chief will punish those who do, just as we have already solemnly warned you. 7For our Creator has not called us to walk in impurity but in a sacred manner. 8So the one who turns away from this instruction is not turning away from a human being, but from Creator himself, who has given his Holy Spirit to you.
LOVING EACH OTHER
9There is no need for us to instruct you about the love we share as sacred family members. Creator himself has taught you how to love each other. 10It is clear that you show love to all the sacred family throughout Land of Tall People (Macedonia). So then, my sacred family members, keep loving like this more and more. 11Make it your aim to live a quiet and peaceful life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, just as we have instructed. 12By walking in this good way, you will win the respect of outsiders and not have to look to others for your needs.
ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE DIED
13Now, my sacred family members, we want you to understand what will happen to those who have walked on so that you will not be filled with sorrow like the others who have no hope. 14We believe that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) died and rose again. We can be just as sure that the Great Spirit will, along with him, bring back to life those who when they died were trusting in him.
15What we are telling you comes from the words of our Honored Chief. We who remain alive until his coming will not come face to face with him ahead of the ones who have walked on. 16For our Honored Chief himself will come down from the spirit-world above with a war cry. The voice of the chief spirit-messenger will join with him, and the eagle bone whistle will sound.3 First, the ones who died trusting in the Chosen One will rise. 17Then, together with them, we who have remained alive will be taken up into the clouds to meet our Honored Chief in the air. Then we will always be with him. 18Use these words to lift up each other’s hearts.
THE DAY OF OUR HONORED CHIEF
1Now, my sacred family members, we have no need to write to you about the times and seasons that have been set in place by our Creator. 2For you know very well that the day of our Honored Chief will come without warning like a thief in the night. 3At a time when people are saying, “Peace and safety,” sudden destruction will come down on their heads, like the pains of birth that come upon a woman with child, and there will be no way to escape.
4-5But that day should not catch you off guard like a thief in the night. For you, my sacred family members, are children of the light. You belong to the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6So let us not fall asleep as others do. Instead, we should stay sober and alert. 7For it is during the night that people sleep or get drunk. 8But since we are children of the day, let us walk in sobriety and put on faith and love as a breastplate, and for a headdress let us put on the hope of being set free and made whole.
9For the Great Spirit has not chosen us as targets for his great anger, but as targets for his great love. He will set us free and make us whole through our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 10He died for us so that we might live together with him, whether we remain alive until he comes or have died and walked on. 11So encourage each other and help each other grow strong, just as you are already doing.
WISE COUNSEL AND LAST WORDS
12So, my sacred family members, we have something to ask of you. Honor the spiritual leaders who work hard among you. For they watch over you and give you wise and firm counsel as they serve our Honored Chief. 13Treat them with great respect and love for the work they do, and be at peace with each other.
14Now, my sacred family members, we call on you to give firm and wise counsel to those whose hands do nothing. Comfort those whose hearts are on the ground. Help the ones who are weak, and be patient with everyone. 15Make sure no one gives back to anyone evil for evil. Instead, seek to walk in a good way with each other and with all people.
16Dance for joy at all times! 17Never stop sending up prayers. 18Give thanks to the Great Spirit in all things, for this is what he wants from you as you dance in step with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 19Do not put out the fire of the Holy Spirit. 20Do not look down on or turn away from words spoken as prophecies, 21but think deeply about what is said and hold firmly to what is good. 22Make sure to turn away from all kinds of evil.
PRAYERS AND BLESSINGS
23Now may the Giver of Peace, Creator himself, make you holy in every way. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept pure and without blame at the coming of our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 24The one who called you is faithful, and he will do it.
25My sacred family members, keep sending up prayers for us, 26and greet all the members of the sacred family with a holy kiss. 27Give me your solemn promise that you will read this letter to all of them. 28May the gift of great kindness from Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One be with you all.
Aho! May it be so!
SECOND LETTER FROM SMALL MAN TO THE SACRED FAMILY IN VILLAGE OF FALSE VICTORY
2 THESSALONIANS
GREETINGS
1From Small Man (Paul), Forest Walker (Silvanus), and He Gives Honor (Timothy).
To the sacred family that gathers in village of False Victory (Thessalonica) who belong to our Father the Great Spirit and to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 2We greet you with the gift of great kindness and peace that comes from our Father the Great Spirit and from our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
GIVING THANKS FOR YOU
3My sacred family members, it is only right and good that we are always giving thanks to Creator for you. We give thanks for the way your trust in him and your love for each other keeps growing stronger day by day. 4We tell the other Sacred Families of Creator about you, bragging about the way you keep trusting even when the path you walk is full of pain and trouble from others.
CREATOR WILL HONOR YOU
5-6Creator will honor you as you walk his good road even when it means suffering. This shows that it is right for Creator to punish those who have made you suffer. 7It is also right that he will bring comfort to all of us who share in these troubles. This will happen when our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) is revealed from the spirit-world above along with all his powerful spirit-messengers.
In flaming fire 8he will punish the ones who refuse to see who Creator truly is, and those who do not respect and follow the good story of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus). 9They will come to a bad end and to a punishment that will last beyond the end of all days. They will be removed far away from the beauty and power that shines from the face of our Honored Chief. 10This will happen on the day he comes to be honored by all his holy people and to be looked on in amazement by all who have trusted in him. This includes you, because you trusted the truth we told you.
SENDING UP PRAYERS
11This is the reason we never stop sending our voice to the Great Spirit for you. We pray that our Creator will give you what you need to walk with honor on the path he has chosen for you. We pray that, as you trust in his power, he will fulfill every desire you have to walk in a good way. 12We also pray that you will show the beauty that is in the name of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and that his beauty will be seen in you. He will do this by the gift of Creator’s great kindness that comes through our
Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
THE DAY OF OUR HONORED CHIEF
1My sacred family members, we have something to say to you about the time when our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, will appear and we will all be gathered around him. 2Do not be suddenly shaken in your mind or troubled if you hear that the day of our Honored Chief has already arrived. It does not matter whether you hear it by a prophecy or a spoken word or by a written message that someone says came from us.
BEFORE THAT DAY COMES
3Do not be fooled by anyone. Before that day comes, there must first be an uprising —a turning away from Creator. Then the man who respects no law will be revealed, the son whose father is destruction. 4He will speak out against and consider himself to be greater than all the so-called powerful spirit-beings and all that is seen as sacred or holy. He will even set himself up in Creator’s sacred lodge and represent himself as the Great Spirit. 5Have you forgotten that when I was still with you I told you about these things?
MORE ABOUT THE LAWLESS ONE
6You know what it is that now holds him back until it is time for him to be revealed. 7For the mysterious power of the lawless one is already at work in secret. The lawless one is ready and waiting to be revealed, but not until the one who holds him back steps out of the way. 8Then the mask will come off and the lawless one will be revealed. And when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) our Honored Chief comes, he will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and put an end to him with the light that shines from his face.
9This lawless one will come performing all kinds of misleading signs and wonders, but the one who gives him this power is Accuser (Satan) the evil trickster. 10He will use his trickster ways to lead people down a path to a bad end. They will follow him because they did not love the truth that would rescue them and set them free. 11Because they did not love the truth, the Great Spirit will give them over to the full power of this lie, so they will believe it. 12In this way, all who did not trust the truth but instead found joy in wrongdoing will come to the bad end they deserve.
STAND STRONG AND HOLD ON FIRMLY
13My sacred family members loved by our Honored Chief, we owe thanks to the Great Spirit for you. He has chosen you to be first among those he will set free and make whole, as you trust in the truth through his Spirit who makes you holy. 14Creator used our telling of the good story to call you to himself so that you would share in the honor that shines from the face of our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One.
15So then, my sacred family members, stand strong and hold firmly to the traditions we taught you, either by voice or by letter. 16We are loved by our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, and by our Father the Great Spirit. It is through the gift of his great kindness that he has given us good hope and comfort that will never fade away. 17We pray that he will now lift up your hearts and strengthen you in all the good things you do or say.
MORE PRAYER IS NEEDED
1Now, my sacred family members, I have some final things to write to you. Would you send up prayers for us asking that the message of our Honored Chief will run like the wind and be given honor in the same way it has among you? 2Pray that we will be rescued from bad-hearted and evil men—for not all follow our spiritual ways.1 3But our Honored Chief is trustworthy. He will set your feet on solid ground and protect you from the evil one.
4The trust we have in our Honored Chief makes us feel sure that you will keep following all the instructions we gave you. 5So we pray that he will guide your hearts into the path of Creator’s love and help you walk in the steady steps of the Chosen One.
FOLLOW THE TRADITIONS WE GAVE YOU
6So, my sacred family members, as we represent our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, we instruct you to keep away from any sacred family member who walks in a bad way and fails to follow the traditions we gave you. 7For you all know that you should walk in our footsteps. We walked in a good way when we were with you. 8We did not expect people to feed us for free. Instead, we wore ourselves out working hard night and day so we would not be a burden to anyone.
9We had the right not to work, but we wanted to set a good example for you to follow. 10Do you remember when we were still with you, we gave you the instruction, “The ones who will not work should not be fed”? 11We say this because we hear that there are some among you who are walking in a bad way. They do nothing but put their noses into the business of others.
12So, representing our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, we speak firmly to those who walk in this way, “Settle down, go to work, and quietly earn your own food.”
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
13But to the rest of you, my sacred family members, do not let your hearts fall to the ground as you keep walking in a good way. 14Take note of any among you who do not follow these instructions. Have nothing to do with them, so they will feel the shame of their ways. 15Do not see them as enemies, but give them this firm and wise counsel as members of the sacred family.
FINAL WORDS
16Now may our Honored Chief of peace give his peace to you at all times and in every way. May our Honored Chief be with you all.
17I, Small Man (Paul), write this final greeting with my own hand. Take note of how I sign my letters. This way you will know the letter is from me.
18May the gift of great kindness that comes from our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, be with you all.
Aho! May it be so!
FIRST LETTER FROM SMALL MAN TO HE GIVES HONOR
1 TIMOTHY
GREETINGS
1From Small Man (Paul), a message bearer of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. I was instructed to be a message bearer by the Great Spirit himself, our Sacred Deliverer, and by Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, our hope.
2To He Gives Honor (Timothy), my true spiritual son. I greet you with the gift of great kindness, mercy, and peace that comes from our Father the Great Spirit and from Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, our Honored Chief.
SMALL MAN’S WISE COUNSEL BEGINS
3When I left to travel to Land of Tall People (Macedonia), I urged you to remain at Village of Desire (Ephesus) to instruct certain people not to teach things that are not true 4and to turn away from stories with no meaning and from long ancestral histories. These things only cause arguments and confuse people instead of helping them to trust in the good road of the Great Spirit.
5My aim in telling you these things is that you would walk the path of love with a pure heart, being true to what you trust in and honest to who you are deep inside. 6For there are some who have wandered from this good path and turned aside to nothing but worthless talk. 7They want to be seen as teachers of our tribal law,1 but they do not understand the words they speak or the things they so boldly teach.
USING THE LAW IN THE RIGHT WAY
8We know that the law is good if it is used in the right way. 9For we understand that the law was not made for those who walk in a good way. The law was made for outlaws, rebels, and those who follow their bad hearts and have no respect for what is spiritual. It was made for the unholy ones who walk in worthless ways, and for the ones who kill their own fathers or mothers and take the lives of others. 10The law was made for men who sell their bodies for sex or abuse the sacred gift of sex with each other, for slave traders, forked-tongue talkers, those who tell lies about their fellow human beings, and for anything else that goes against the kind of teaching 11found in the good story that shows the beauty of the Blessed One, our Creator. This is the teaching that was entrusted to me.
SMALL MAN TELLS ABOUT HIMSELF
12I give thanks to the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) our Honored Chief, for the strength he gives me to walk out this sacred task. 13He chose me even though I used to speak evil against him. I even hunted down and attacked his followers. But he took pity on me because I did not know what I was doing and did not yet believe wh
o he was.
14The gift of Creator’s great kindness overflowed to me along with the trust and love found in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. 15Here is a saying that you can be sure of: Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One came into this world to set bad-hearted people free from their broken ways—and I am the worst one of all. 16But I was shown mercy so that in me Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One could show that he does not give up on even the worst bad-hearted person. In this way, I became an example of his patience that never runs dry for the ones who would put their trust in him for the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.
HONORING OUR GREAT CHIEF
17So let us honor the Great Chief of all the ages, the one whom death has no power over, who cannot be seen with human eyes. He is the only true and Great Spirit. All honor and shining-greatness belong to him to the time beyond the end of all days. Aho! May it be so!
First Nations Version Page 64
