1THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 3 - CONTEMPORARY ALIGNED VERSION (SPIRITCODE)

1. So when I couldn’t cope with being separated from you for so long, I felt that it was better for me to stay at Athens on my own;

2. So I sent Timothy to you, our dear brother, who serves God alongside of us, in the work of proclaiming the message of a shared life with Jesus. I sent him to firm up your faith and encourage you

3. So that none of you would get brought down in the struggles you are having, for you know that this is all part of God’s invitation to go the distance with him and trust him.

4. You know I meant it when I told you before that we would all come under this kind of pressure, and that could happen at any time

5. It was because of this, that when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I sent Timothy to let me know how strong your faith really was, just in case the tempter had gotten the best of you and undone all the work of God that had been worked into your lives.

6. And now Timothy is back with the good news that your faith and love is as strong as ever, and that you have us always in your thoughts, wanting to see us as much as we want to see you

7. All this encouragement about your strong faith gave us such reassurance in the middle of all the trouble and distress we were going through,

8. So now we feel alive again because you are standing strong in the Lord.

9. We don’t know how to thank God enough for the great joy we have to see you in such a great place in God.

10. We pray all the time and with all our hearts that we might be able to come and visit you. We want to fulfill any unfinished work that might be needed to make your faith whole and complete.

11. We have now committed it to the Father and the Lord Jesus to direct us to you.

12. And we pray that the Lord will cause you to increase in abundant love towards one another and towards all people, just as we have this same love for you.

13. Our goal for you is that God will strengthen your hearts of faith to live lives devoted to him. Our desire is for you to stand innocent before our Father at the return of Our Lord Jesus when he comes with all his saints.