6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.REFLECTIONSWritten by Sarah Cameron Pretty regularly I receive newsletters from missionary friends sharing the gospel around the world. My inbox buzzes with news incoming from Bolivia, Vanuatu, Japan, rural Australia and elsewhere. Or it might be a WhatsApp message from Miriam Bradshaw, our link missionary in Spain, or video from the Webster’s in Namibia. What a joy and delight to be able to hear news about what God is doing in these places. With communication so easy and quick, it’s hard to imagine what life was like in the first century. I’m guessing that when you sent a letter you weren’t certain it would make it to its destination and didn’t know if other infant churches and new Christians were surviving at all. When news did come through, like in today’s passage, it must have been pretty exciting. Paul had been concerned about how the Thessalonian Christians were going in the face of persecution, and Timothy his co-worker finally returns with good news.  He’s encouraged by three things: their faith and love (v6), their faith (v7) and that they are standing firm in the Lord (v8). Yes, they have faced great persecution and hardship, but through it they have remained steadfast in Jesus. How these Christian brothers and sisters are going has a direct impact in motivating Paul and Timothy to persevere in living for Jesus. What a great encouragement to us today too! These verses remind us to give thanks to God when we hear brothers and sisters around the world are standing firm in their faith in the Lord. It should also remind us to pray they will continue to grow in faith and love. Use their witness to spur you on to live for Jesus too. One practical way you can do this is by signing up on the CMS website to receive prayer updates from our link missionaries if you don’t already. Open Doors is another great organisation who support Christians facing persecution, and you can sign up to receive their prayer updates too. ABOUT THE AUTHORSarah is part of Fairfield 10:30am church.