1 Thessalonians 1–2 | Day 10

1 Thessalonians 1 (NIV 1984)

¹Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
²We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.
³We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁴For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you,
⁵because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
⁶You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of persecution you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
⁷And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
⁸The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
⁹for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 2 (NIV 1984)

¹You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not without results.
²We had previously suffered and been insulted at Philippi, as you know, and yet, with God’s help, we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.
³For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
⁴On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
⁵You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.
⁶We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
⁷Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,
⁸so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
⁹Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
¹¹For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
¹²encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.