Oh, my, this has all kinds of implications. This abolishes the Old Testament which the Jewish people are so passionate about that it blinds them from accepting the New Testament, even though God Himself said that it was nullified. When Jesus arrived, He wasn’t what they expected their Messiah to be. It was unthinkable to them that Grace could replace law, and that salvation through Faith was easily attainable, and not seemingly hopeless. Sooooo, they tried to prevent the Gospel from being spread to the Gentiles, many times by violent means. And that’s why the brethren sent Paul out of Thessalonica when the Jewish people began protesting.

          Now, the believers in Thessalonica had become dear to Paul and quite understandably he missed them greatly, having helped them with establishing the church there, not to mention the closeness that a shepherd feels for his flock. He said he felt toward them as a father does for his children. With that in mind, let’s continue now with Paul’s letter.

          When we could no longer bear it (the thought of leaving them alone in the early stages of their Faith), we thought it was a good idea to stay in Athens (Paul and Silas) and sent Timothy our brother, and minister of God, and our co-worker in the Gospel of Christ to establish you and to encourage you concerning your Faith, that no man should be weakened by these troubles because you know that we are chosen for this. Because truly, when we were with you, we told you before that we would suffer tribulation, just as it so happened, as you know.

          For this reason, when I could no longer bear it, I sent Timothy to find out if your Faith was still strong, in case by some way the tempter had tempted you, and our work was all for nothing. But now Timothy returned and brought us good news of your Faith and Love and that you always think of us, wishing to see us as we do you. So, brethren, we were relieved about you in all our suffering and trouble, by your Faith, and now we are sustained if you stand firm in the Lord.

          For what thanks can we give to God again for you, for all the gladness we enjoy because of you, before our God night and day, praying hard that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your Faith?

          Now, may God Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, bring us to you, and the Lord make you to grow and abound in Love for one another and toward all men, just as we do toward you, that in the end, He may find your hearts unblameable in holiness before God our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

          There’s a really important message in this chapter for new Christians as well as those who have been believers for some time. We were appointed for affliction. That means, it’s inevitable, that you’re gonna suffer trials. When you become a Christian, you’re signing up for it. Well, who would want to do that, you may be asking yourself. Well, when you think of someone enlisting in the military to defend their country, you think of it as honorable, what about your enlistment as a Christian soldier? When the time for battle comes around, you can’t let the tempter win. That’s when you arm yourself by remembering and living by the Word. These letters that Paul wrote are in your Bible because you ARE going to need them at one time or another. They are your ammunition. They are your weaponry. Paul is our mentor, just as he was for the Thessalonians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Corinthians, and all the others that he spoke the Good News to. When you read these epistles, take them personally, because they are written to you.