1 Thessalonians 3:7 Cross References - Goodspeed

⁷ I feel encouraged, brothers, about you, in spite of all my distress and trouble, at your faith,

⁴ He convinced some of them, and they joined Paul and Silas, along with a great many devout Greeks and a number of the principal women. ⁵ This offended the Jews and they gathered some unprincipled loafers, formed a mob and started a riot in the town. They attacked Jason's house, to find them and bring them out among the people. ⁶ As they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the town magistrates, shouting, "The men who have made trouble all over the world have come here too, ⁷ and Jason has taken them in. They all disobey the emperor's decrees, and claim that someone else called Jesus is king." ⁸ The crowd and the magistrates were very much excited at hearing this, ⁹ and they put Jason and the others under bonds before they let them go. ¹⁰ The brothers sent Paul and Silas away immediately, in the course of the following night, to Berea. On arriving there they went to the Jewish synagogue.

⁹ For it seems to me, God has exhibited us apostles at the very end of the procession, like the men condemned to die in the arena. For we have become a spectacle to the whole universe, angels as well as men. ¹⁰ We are made fools of, for the sake of Christ, while you are men of sense, through being united with him. We are weak, you are strong. You are distinguished, we are despised. ¹¹ To this day we have gone hungry, thirsty, and ill-clad; we have had rough usage, we have had no home, ¹² we have worked with our hands for a living. When people abuse us, we bless them, when they persecute us, we put up with it, ¹³ when they slander us, we try to conciliate them. We have come to be like the scum of the earth, the dregs of the world, and we are so now.

⁴ He comforts me in all my trouble, so that I can comfort people who are in any trouble with the comfort with which I myself am comforted by God.

⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted me by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but by the comfort you had given him, for he told me how you longed to see me, how sorry you were, and how you took my part, which made me happier still.

¹³ That is why I am so comforted. With all my own comfort, I was still more overjoyed at the gladness of Titus, for his mind has been set at rest by you all.

²³ If they are Christian workers—I am talking like a madman!—I am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death. ²⁴ Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews. ²⁵ I have been beaten three times by the Romans, I have been stoned once, I have been shipwrecked three times, a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; ²⁶ with my frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the heathen, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, ²⁷ through toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often without food, and exposed to cold. ²⁸ And besides everything else, the thing that burdens me every day is my anxiety about all the churches.

⁸ for now I can really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. ⁹ For how can I thank God enough for you, for all the happiness you make me feel in the presence of our God, ¹⁰ But you have closely followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions, my sufferings—the things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured; yet the Lord brought me safely out of them all. ¹² But everyone who wants to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

⁴ It makes me exceedingly happy to find that some of your children are guided by truth, just as we have been commanded to be by the Father.