2You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.G1063G846G80G1492G2257G1529G4314G5209G3754G1096G3756G27562You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.G235G2532G4310G2532G5195G2531G1492G1722G5375G3955G1722G2257G2316G2980G4314G5209G2098G2316G1722G4183G733So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.G1063G2257G3874G3756G1537G4106G3761G1537G167G3777G1722G13884For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.G235G2531G1381G5259G2316G4100G2098G3779G2980G3756G5613G700G444G235G2316G1381G2257G25885Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!G1063G3777G4218G1096G2850G1722G3056G2531G1492G3777G1722G4392G4124G2316G31446As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.G3777G1537G444G2212G1391G3777G575G5216G3777G575G243G1410G1511G1722G922G5613G652G55477As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.G235G1096G2261G1722G3319G5216G5613G5162G302G2282G1438G50438We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too.G3779G2442G5216G2106G3330G5213G3756G2098G2316G3440G235G2532G1438G5590G1360G1096G27G22549Don't you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God's Good News to you.G1063G3421G80G2257G2873G2532G3449G1063G2038G3571G2532G2250G4314G1912G3361G1912G5100G5216G2784G1519G5209G2098G231610You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.G5210G3144G2532G2316G5613G3743G2532G1346G2532G274G1096G5213G410011And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children.G2509G1492G5613G3870G2532G3888G3140G1538G1520G5209G5216G5613G3962G1438G504312We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.G2532G1519G5209G4043G516G2316G2564G5209G1519G1438G932G2532G139113Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn't think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.G5124G1223G2532G2168G2249G2316G89G3754G3880G3056G2316G189G3844G2257G1209G3756G3056G444G235G2531G2076G230G3056G2316G3739G1754G2532G1722G5213G410014And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God's churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.G1063G5210G80G1096G3402G1577G2316G3588G1722G2449G5607G1722G5547G2424G3754G5210G2532G3958G5024G5259G2398G4853G2532G2531G846G5259G245315For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanityG2532G615G2962G2424G2532G2398G4396G2532G1559G2248G2532G700G3361G2316G2532G1727G3956G44416as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.G2967G2248G2980G1484G2443G4982G1519G378G846G266G3842G1161G3709G5348G1909G846G1519G5056
Timothy’s Good Report about the Church
17Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again.G1161G2249G80G642G575G5216G4314G5610G2540G4383G3756G2588G4704G4056G1492G5216G4383G1722G4183G193918We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us.G1352G2309G2064G4314G5209G3303G1473G3972G2532G530G2532G1364G2532G4567G1465G224819After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!G1063G5101G2257G1680G2228G5479G2228G4735G2746G2228G3780G2532G5210G1715G2257G2962G2424G5547G1722G846G395220Yes, you are our pride and joy.G1063G5210G2075G2257G1391G2532G5479