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Thanksgiving for These Believers

^1 (C1)Paul, ^(C2)Silvanus (Silas), and ^(C3)Timothy, To the ^(C4)church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ^(C5)Grace to you and peace inner calm and spiritual well-being from God.

^2 (C1)We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually ^(C2)mentioning you in our prayers;³ recalling unceasingly before ^(C1)our God and Father your ^(C2)work energized by faith, and your service motivated by ^(C3)love and ^(C4)unwavering hope in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^{(VR1)4 (C1)(F1)}Brothers and sisters beloved by God, we know that ^(C2)He has chosen you;⁵ for our ^(C1)good news regarding salvation came to you not only in word, but also ^(C2)in its inherent power and in the Holy Spirit and with ^(C3)great conviction on our part. You know ^(C4)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit.⁶ You became ^(C1)imitators of us and through us of the Lord, ^(C2)after you welcomed our ^(C3)message in a time of great trouble with the ^(C4)joy supplied by the Holy Spirit;⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in ^(F1)(C1)Macedonia and in ^(C2)Achaia.⁸ For ^(C1)the word of the Lord has ^(C2)resounded from you and has echoed like thunder, not only in ^(C3)Macedonia and ^(C4)Achaia, but ^(C5)in every place the news of your great faith in God has spread, so that we never need to say anything about it.⁹ For they themselves report about us, telling what kind of ^(C1)reception we had among you, and how you ^(C2)turned to God ^(C3)from idols to serve ^(C4)the living and true God,¹⁰ and to look forward and confidently ^(C1)wait for the coming of His Son from heaven, whom He ^(C2)raised from the dead—Jesus, who personally ^(C3)rescues us from ^(C4)the coming wrath and draws us to Himself, granting us all the privileges and rewards of a new life with Him.