1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 (NRSV)
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. Verse 10You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. Verse 11As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, Verse 12urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Verse 13We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.
Devotion
There probably is someone out there who has come to faith solely on the basis of reading the Bible. It may even happen to someone reading a Bible stolen from someone else's luggage. But more often people like us came to faith as a result of someone's witness, perhaps a parent or family member, a pastor or Sunday School teacher, or a friend. Many of us are Christians because our parents had us baptized as infants. In these days of mass media, it may happen through the preaching of a TV evangelist or via a book someone has written. In any case, like Paul's hearers, we owe a great debt to someone. No monetary reward can ever repay it. We became children of God through someone's activity bringing us to Word of God.
Prayer
Lord, bless those who have faithfully brought your Word to us. Amen.