12 We appealed to you, encouraged you, and pleaded with you to live lives worthy of the God who is calling you into his own kingdom and glory.
13 We also thank God constantly for this: when you accepted God’s word that you heard from us, you welcomed it for what it truly is. Instead of accepting it as a human message, you accepted it as God’s message, and it continues to work in you who are believers.
14 Brothers and sisters, you became imitators of the churches of God in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. This was because you also suffered the same things from your own people as they did from the Jews.
15 They killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out. They don’t please God, and they are hostile to the entire human race
16 when they try to stop us from speaking to the Gentiles so they can be saved. Their sins are constantly pushing the limit. God’s wrath has caught up with them in the end.
17 Brothers and sisters, we were separated from you for a while physically but not in our hearts. We made every effort in our desire to see you again face-to-face.
18 We wanted to come to you—I, Paul, tried over and over again—and Satan stopped us.