The First Letter of St. Paul
to the Thessalonians
Chapter 2
¹ You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, ² but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 1 to 2)
Good morning my God and Father. Some might consider my praying on each verse of the Bible as being a total waste of time, However, each time I do so, You give me important messages that I am sure were not the fruit of the mind, but purely coming from You. I thank you for all these fourteen years Amen.
³ For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 3 to 4)
Oh God my Father I pray that we always aim to please You and not people, for those who invest in pleasing the world, will reap that benefits of the world such as fame and riches and promotion that in time will wither away as if had never been while those who invest in You will invest in the eternal. Amen.
⁵ As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; ⁶ nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, ⁷ though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 5 to 7)
Oh God my Father when doing something we are always to be clear regarding our intentions. When others realise that I have been sent in Your name, they will gradually place their trust in us that our intentions are good, however, if not alot of harm can be done to others for they then seek to not believe in people of God anymore. Moreover, when a relationship is broken only God can mend or repair it. During the time of the Apostle Paul, it seems that there were already people who were preaching in Your name in order to earn money from the believers. In such cases, we would be in doubt in relation to who was the genuine person from the person with false intentions. Moreover, those of us who are not firm in their faith may choose to eliminate both the just and the people with crooked intentions.
The world may also offer us messages about You, my God and Father, that are not always genuine. Some people under the power of the evil one may speak half-truths or use other means of persuasions in order to make us believe that You do not exist in our lives and that religion is one big net of deception.
I invite you to click on the following link in order to become of the basic means of persuasion used in everyday life in order to persuade others
Modes of Persuasion
⁸ So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 8)
Oh God my Father may we become more like You than like ourselves. You became a 'Eucharist for us, giving us Your body and Your Holy Spirit. You also gave us Your Mother who has now become our mother. Thank You for being so generous my God and Father Amen.
⁹ You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any you while we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 9)
Oh God my Father during our times we are using the word burden frequently. I wonder what has happened to words such as hospitality and charity. Where asylum seekers are concerned the term burden sharing is frequently being used. Our perception of others when not based on love and Christian values may be viewed as burden as are elderly people who are no longer in a position to provide for themselves. However this is not a true picture of reality, for people such as Asylum Seekers my God and Father do not wish to be a burden on others but wish to start a new life and aim for a better future in the host country that welcomes them or even move on to destinations where they feel loved and welcomed. If we view with a positive perspective such people and their situations we become more hospitable, however if we have a negative perspective we see others as being a burden. The choice is completely ours.
¹⁰ You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 10)
Oh God my Father how I wish to be a worthy witness before You and before others, so that I may reflect Your presence that dwells in me Amen.
¹¹ As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, ¹² urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 11 to 12)
Oh God my beloved Father if the Apostle Paul dealth with his followers in such a caring way, how much more do You care for us, each day of our lives, giving us the needed love care and support Amen.
¹³ We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 13)
Oh God my beloved Father I thank You fpr the gift of Your Word as found in the Bible. I thank You for judging and guiding and loving me by means of it. I also pray that I learn to respect, love and accept is as the Word of God, and not like science books which are the works of humanity Amen.
¹⁴ For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone ¹⁶ by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God's wrath has overtaken them at last.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 14 to 16)
Oh God may I be found worthy of suffering the same experiences as You, so that I may also be worthy of experiencing Your salvation Amen.
¹⁷ As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you-in person, not in heart-we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you-certainly I. Paul wanted to again and again-but Satan blocked our way. ¹⁹ For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? ²⁰ Yes, you are our glory and joy!
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 17 to 20)
Oh God my beloved Father, it is true that when I am in a state of sin, it is as if I am orphaned for You my God and Father. From the moment that I become aware of this gap that is created between us by means of our sins I start feeling that longing to return back to You and change my ways. However I find Satan blocking me every time, stimulating in me those strong desires and will to go back to my old ways and self. However although I feel weak against my enemy, I keep on praying, hoping and trusting in You that when You consider it as being the right time, You deliver me from myself and the situations by which You chose to test me. Amen.
Good morning my God and Father. Some might consider my praying on each verse of the Bible as being a total waste of time, However, each time I do so, You give me important messages that I am sure were not the fruit of the mind, but purely coming from You. I thank you for all these fourteen years Amen.
³ For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, ⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 3 to 4)
Oh God my Father I pray that we always aim to please You and not people, for those who invest in pleasing the world, will reap that benefits of the world such as fame and riches and promotion that in time will wither away as if had never been while those who invest in You will invest in the eternal. Amen.
⁵ As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; ⁶ nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, ⁷ though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 5 to 7)
Oh God my Father when doing something we are always to be clear regarding our intentions. When others realise that I have been sent in Your name, they will gradually place their trust in us that our intentions are good, however, if not alot of harm can be done to others for they then seek to not believe in people of God anymore. Moreover, when a relationship is broken only God can mend or repair it. During the time of the Apostle Paul, it seems that there were already people who were preaching in Your name in order to earn money from the believers. In such cases, we would be in doubt in relation to who was the genuine person from the person with false intentions. Moreover, those of us who are not firm in their faith may choose to eliminate both the just and the people with crooked intentions.
The world may also offer us messages about You, my God and Father, that are not always genuine. Some people under the power of the evil one may speak half-truths or use other means of persuasions in order to make us believe that You do not exist in our lives and that religion is one big net of deception.
I invite you to click on the following link in order to become of the basic means of persuasion used in everyday life in order to persuade others
Modes of Persuasion
⁸ So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 8)
Oh God my Father may we become more like You than like ourselves. You became a 'Eucharist for us, giving us Your body and Your Holy Spirit. You also gave us Your Mother who has now become our mother. Thank You for being so generous my God and Father Amen.
⁹ You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any you while we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 9)
Oh God my Father during our times we are using the word burden frequently. I wonder what has happened to words such as hospitality and charity. Where asylum seekers are concerned the term burden sharing is frequently being used. Our perception of others when not based on love and Christian values may be viewed as burden as are elderly people who are no longer in a position to provide for themselves. However this is not a true picture of reality, for people such as Asylum Seekers my God and Father do not wish to be a burden on others but wish to start a new life and aim for a better future in the host country that welcomes them or even move on to destinations where they feel loved and welcomed. If we view with a positive perspective such people and their situations we become more hospitable, however if we have a negative perspective we see others as being a burden. The choice is completely ours.
¹⁰ You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 10)
Oh God my Father how I wish to be a worthy witness before You and before others, so that I may reflect Your presence that dwells in me Amen.
¹¹ As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, ¹² urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verses 11 to 12)
Oh God my beloved Father if the Apostle Paul dealth with his followers in such a caring way, how much more do You care for us, each day of our lives, giving us the needed love care and support Amen.
¹³ We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 13)
Oh God my beloved Father I thank You fpr the gift of Your Word as found in the Bible. I thank You for judging and guiding and loving me by means of it. I also pray that I learn to respect, love and accept is as the Word of God, and not like science books which are the works of humanity Amen.
¹⁴ For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone ¹⁶ by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God's wrath has overtaken them at last.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 14 to 16)
Oh God may I be found worthy of suffering the same experiences as You, so that I may also be worthy of experiencing Your salvation Amen.
¹⁷ As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you-in person, not in heart-we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you-certainly I. Paul wanted to again and again-but Satan blocked our way. ¹⁹ For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? ²⁰ Yes, you are our glory and joy!
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 17 to 20)
Oh God my beloved Father, it is true that when I am in a state of sin, it is as if I am orphaned for You my God and Father. From the moment that I become aware of this gap that is created between us by means of our sins I start feeling that longing to return back to You and change my ways. However I find Satan blocking me every time, stimulating in me those strong desires and will to go back to my old ways and self. However although I feel weak against my enemy, I keep on praying, hoping and trusting in You that when You consider it as being the right time, You deliver me from myself and the situations by which You chose to test me. Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father, I would like to end this second chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians with the following prayer:
Oh God my beloved Father, many times I end up as being an orphan, for I have no true Father and Mother apart from You. I pray that You continue to protect me from myself. Satan stops at nothing to make me go back to my sinful self, however I know that You are always by my side and together we can claim a victory over this evil spirit Amen. Thank You Jesus.
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