Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, Silas,[a] and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give you grace and peace.
The Faith of the Thessalonian Believers
2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 We know, dear brothers and sisters,[b] that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance[c] that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.[d]
8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, the Greek form of the name.
b. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Greek brothers.
c. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Or with the power of the Holy Spirit, so you can have full assurance.
d. 1 Thessalonians 1:7 Macedonia and Achaia were the northern and southern regions of Greece.
5 comments:
Pretty neat story of conversion and faithfulness. The thing that keeps striking me as we read through all this is the amount of time we about how devoted Paul ad the others around him are devoted to prayer. It is something I surely need to work on.
Father I pray that we all learn to take a few minutes from time to time through out the day to stop and pray for each other and our families.
How comforting/encouraging would it be to think that at any point through your day somebody might be saying a prayer for you???
In Christ,
Cas
2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.
Father, thanks for these men and their diligence. Amen.
tba
Every moment of the day, it is the right time...
Thes 1
I also think v2 jumps out at me, and I agree that it would be awesome to know that we're praying for each other throughout the day.
Father, help us to stay disciplined in our prayer life. Thanks for these men in my life and help us to stay focused upon you today.
Amen
crb
pretty cool thought to know others are praying for me. when i read cas comments, it struck me just how awesome it is and how much confidence, strength, and warmth it gives me knowig that you guys, who i really only know via this blog, would care enough to pray for me, someone you hardly know. that is awesome, so thank you.
the other thing which hits me...how amazing is it that these people who paul is writing to accepted christ? and how important it was that they did. it has helped spread the word and is being used 2000 years later. just think, when we demonstrate our love to others, it could have impact for centuries!
Father, bless these brothers in Christ with wisdom, courage, and faith. help them through their trials and allow them to celebrate life in ways which are fruitful for your kingdom!
2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.
Same thing jumped out at me.
Since Paul mentions this at the beginning of all his letters, I imagine he really did it. I don't usually promise to pray, because I am so bad at it.
But, I will take this (fifth reminder) to take that more seriously.
Father, help me to develop the discipline of praying fo rthese gents everyday.
In christ,
Amen
PS I've been reading, just not posting lately. Sorry I have not been emailing "read"
PPS Stuck in Dallas because of winter weather.
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