""Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus Through God's Will, and Timothy,"" poetry

Introduction

Paul contradicts wrong views of false teachers in Colossae who teach that Christians must follow the Mosaic Law. Paul exhorts the Colossian Congregation: "Just as you have accepted Christ Jesus the Lord, go on walking in union with him [and not according to the law of Moses], being rooted and built up in [Christ] and being stabilized in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with thanksgiving."-Colossians 2:6, 7. He helps the Colossians focus on important matters such as love, unity, peace, and gratitude, saying, "Clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union. Also, let the peace of the Christ rule in your hearts, for you were called to that peace in one body. And show yourselves thankful."-Colossians 3:14, 15. As representatives of Jehovah, they should "work...whole-souled as for Jehovah, and not for men." In the last chapter of Colossians, Paul further admonishes: "Go on walking in wisdom toward those on the outside, making the best use of your time. Let your words always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should answer each person."-Colossians 4:5, 6.

An excerpt, chapter one

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible."-Colossians 1:15, 16.

before deep waters
swirled through torrent valleys, wis-
dom outshone suns

The author

Dan Lukiv, published in 19 countries, is a poet, novelist, columnist, short story and article writer, and independent education researcher (hermeneutic phenomenology). As a creative writer, he apprenticed with Canada's Professor Robert Harlow (recipient of the George Woodcock Achievement award for an outstanding literary career), the USA's Paul Bagdon (Spur Award finalist for Best Original Paperback), and England's D. M. Thomas (recipient of the Cheltenham Prize for Literature, Orwell Prize [biography], Los Angeles Fiction Prize, and Cholmondeley award for poetry). He attended The University of British Columbia (creative writing department), the acclaimed Humber School for Writers (poetry writing program), and Writer's Digest University (novel writing program).