Paul’s Work for God in Thessalonica

2 Brothers and sisters, you know that our visit to you was not a failure. 2You know what happened earlier in the city of Philippi. We suffered, and people treated us badly there. But God gave us the boldness to tell you his good news. We preached to you even though people opposed us strongly.

3The appeal we make is based on truth. It comes from a pure heart. We are not trying to trick you. 4In fact, it is just the opposite. God has accepted us to preach. He has trusted us with the good news. We aren’t trying to please people. We want to please God. He puts our hearts to the test.

5As you know, we never praised you if we didn’t mean it. We didn’t put on a mask to cover up any sinful longing. God is our witness that this is true. 6We were not expecting people to praise us. We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else.

As Christ’s apostles, we could have caused you some expense. 7But we were gentle among you. We were like a mother caring for her little children.