Contentment and peace—is there anyone who doesn’t desire these? Is there anyone who doesn’t understand that these two go hand in hand?

In the last chapter of one of his earliest letters, Paul urges the Thessalonians, who knew hardship, to “rejoice always” (v. 16), “pray without ceasing” (v. 17), “give thanks in all circumstances” (v. 18), and to never “quench the Spirit” (v. 19). He was calling followers of Jesus to live a prayerful life.

The scriptures contain many different images, and some of those images are images of struggle: sports contests, battle, soldiers, and war equipment.

There is much talk about orthodoxy—a word from the Greek meaning “right opinion.”