1 Thessalonians 2:1-9

1 So, friends, it's obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time.
2 We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn't slow us down. We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God's Message to you, defiant of the opposition.
3 God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message.
4 Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval - only God approval. Since we've been put through that battery of tests, you're guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas.
5 We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.
6 Even though we had some standing as Christ's apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else.
7 We weren't aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children.
8 We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.
9 You remember us in those days, friends, working our fingers to the bone, up half the night, moonlighting so you wouldn't have the burden of supporting us while we proclaimed God's Message to you.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.