Hello from Paul, Silas, Timothy
1From: Paul, Silas, [1] and Timothy.To: The Thessalonian church, the people of God the Father and the people of our leader, Jesus the Messiah. Peace to you. Kindness [2] as well.
We’re So Thankful for You
2We never stop thanking God for all of you folks. We never stop praying for you, either. 3When we talk to God our Father, we remember how you put your faith to work. It’s a labor of love. And it all starts with your unshakable hope, which our leader, Jesus the Messiah, gave to you. 4Without a doubt we know that God loves you and he chose you.5We know it because the good news we brought to you wasn’t just a windbag full of words. We backed those words with power. The Holy Spirit convinced you that we were telling the truth. You saw what kind of men we are and the concern we have for you. 6By the time we left, you were already imitating us and our leader, Jesus. You believed what we taught you. And you lived like it, with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. You did all of this in spite of your troubles.
7Let me tell you this, you have become a wonderful example for all the believers around you, in Macedonia and Achaia. [3] 8You have managed to shout out God’s message all over the place, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia. Everyone seems to know about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them. 9In fact, these people even talk about how well you treated us when we came to your town, and how you stopped worshiping idols and started worshiping the true God, who’s very much alive. 10These folks say they’ve heard you’re waiting for God’s Son in heaven to come back. They tell us he’s the Son whom God raised from the dead, and the one who will save us from the punishment that’s coming.
