The Third Chapter of the First Letter of St. John

The Third Chapter of the 

First Letter of 

St. John

¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 1)

Oh God my Father if the world rejected You, it will also reject me, for if it did not listen to the Master it will not listen to the servant or slave. However, this does not discourage me as it did not discourage the apostles and disciples who kept on proclaiming Your name up to the last second of their life. I pray oh God that You give me that fighting spirit that is never discouraged but keeps on fighting in the sense of never stopping spreading Your name Amen.



² Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this; when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³ And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 2 to 3)





Oh God my Father this is the third beloved of the morning, and I really appreciate it, for it is best to be loved by You than by the world and its inhabitants. I crave for love at this point in time. I miss the moments when I directly heard Your voice even though I was scared out of my wits. I pray that day by day You continue to reveal Yourself to me my God and Father during these moments of prayer Amen. I thank You my dearly beloved God and Father Amen.



⁴ Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 4 to 5) 



 Oh God my Father we are aware of how pure and just You are, as much as we are aware of our own sins, even though we may not admit this especially in the presence of others. When I pray and meditate on the Bible my God and Father, I realize how good you are and how not good I still am.


 
⁶ No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.



 (The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 6)



Oh God my Father, according to this biblical verse I do not have a relationship with You, which is not completely true, for even though I am a sinner You still want to have fellowship with me Amen.


⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 



 (The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 7 to 8)




Oh God my beloved Father, in truth I consider myself as being a grown up and an adult, however I am still a child in Your eyes. I thank You for accepting me as Your child, who depends on You alone for my care love and well-being Amen.




⁹ Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God



 (The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 9)




Oh God my beloved Father when I was born in the flesh I was born from a material seed that is purely flesh and matter, however, in time You gave me another opportunity to be born of the Spirit. However, these two natures clash within myself and there are times when my behavior is the fruit of the Spirit and at other times my behavior is that of the flesh. I pray that You help me overcome the flesh and subdue it to the Spirit Amen.



¹⁰ The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way; all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters."


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 10) 



Oh God, my beloved Father how great is Your name. Even though I am not fully good in my ways, but You know that at least my intentions are well. Even though I wish to separate from my wife, this is not the fruit of hate but love, so that she would be compelled to work and be free from her online gaming addiction. On the other hand, my daughter would see the model of a working mother instead of a gamer. My two goals would be reached with one intervention. I thank You for such a plan my God and Father Amen. 


¹¹ For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 11)

Oh God, my Father I am aware that if we could not reach this goal of loving each other You would not have ordered us to do so. However since our human nature is as it is, this is not an easy task to accomplish. For to love really and truly as You did means to go against my egotistic nature and be an all giving person to others especially to my wife. However, when that person has hurt me so much it will be only with Your love and grace that I manage to accomplish such a goal, which I feel so weak and cold to do so at the moment. Amen. I feel so decided on starting a new life as a separated person that I do not even feel motivated to love her. I am very sorry my God and Father.



¹² We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 12) 



Oh God my beloved Father, I believe that as humans, we have both the Abel and the Cain inside of us, however, at times we permit Abel to take control while at other times we let Cain take full control. I pray that it is the power of Your Holy Spirit that takes full control and not ourselves Amen. 


¹³ Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 13)


Oh God, my beloved Father, I am getting used to people who hate me because I have this blog and because I spend time in prayer with You. Every time a quarrel takes place, such as that which I had with my wife's father, he insulted me because of my life of prayer, but I am not dismayed for I find my refuge in You and I know how precious these moments of prayer are for me Amen. 


¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 14)


Oh God my beloved Father according to John I am living in a state of death, for I  have no love left for my wife and even for my daughter. I have many hurts that are blocking me from loving them, and this is what makes it more difficult, On the other hand even though I get angry when I think of them if I see somebody hurt them in any way in my presence I would turn a blind eye on them. Therefore in a way I still love them but for my own good, I cannot live under the same roof with them Amen. 


¹⁵ All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 15)


Oh God, my Father, hate is a negative trait. At times I feel so angry at my wife that I say that I hate her, however, it is this hurt that speaks, because I still feel injured by her actions. Moreover, I still feel angry when I see her, I pray to You to help me control my feelings and heal my wounds Amen.


¹⁶ We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 16)



Oh God my beloved Father, at this stage of my life, I have never been tested as to lay down my life for others, I am currently preserving my well being from the onslaughts of others. I pray that if and when I am faced with this test You find me ready for it. 


¹⁷ How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 17)


Oh God, my beloved Father, even though I am still a sinful person struggling every day to overcome my sinful self, I still do my best and go out of my way to help and be of service to others. I thank You and praise Your holy Name for giving such a quality even to a sinful person such as myself Amen.


¹⁸ Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verse 18)


Oh God my blessed Father, it is not good enough to say I love You on valentine's day, only and not meaning it, but for the sake of saying it to the one says I love. It is the action that proves how much one really loves. There is a saying that love hurts and another that says love until its hurt. True love is in giving and not in receiving. May we all aim for this type of love so that we become more like You Amen.


¹⁹ And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will treasure our hearts before him ²⁰ whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 19 to 20)


Oh God my Father, You know that I try to be in the truth and that even though I am still weak in flesh You know that my spirit craves to experience You. I pray that You speak to my heart so that I will remain in Your truth Amen.


²¹ Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²² and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.


(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 21 to 22)


Oh God my Father, my Father still condemns me for the past but appraises me for the present, for now, the quality of my life has improved and I am freer to praise and worship You and to do good to others Amen. Thank You, Jesus.


²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴ All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.



(The Third chapter of the First letter of St. John verses 23 to 24)


Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our beloved Father, the key of all righteousness is love, and this means praying and loving not only those who love us but those who do not show us righteousness love and respect. When we go against the logic of the world we are going in favor of Your logic my God and Father and this is the right direction for us to take Amen.


I would like to end this third chapter of the 'First Letter of St. John' with the following prayer:


Oh God my beloved Father, as You have told us many times, we are children of the light and not of the darkness, we radiate love and goodness and not hatred and darkness. However, as humans we are clothed with both natures. I pray that in time You remove our evilness and continue to clothe us with the weapons of the Holy Spirit Amen









 


 


  

The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John

 

The Second Chapter of the 

First Letter of 

John

 

 

1. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2. and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

(The Second Chapter of the First letter of John verses 1 to 2)

Oh God, my Father there is no greater love than this, that You forgive the whole world of its sins even if they are non-Christians, Catholics or even Muslims. When You said all You meant all. Instead of being a rigid and judgmental God, You are kind and loving, however, this does not mean that we can abuse of this forgiveness of our sins because as much as You love us, You are also merciful and just and therefore cannot turn a blind eye on our shortcomings Amen.




3. Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4. Whoever says, "I have come to know him," but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5. but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him; 6. whoever says, I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked.




(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 3 to 6)




Oh God, my Father the criteria that You chose in order for us to measure if we are in, relationship with You or not are perfect tools, the 'Ten Commandment', for it is true one cannot say that one knows You or even loves You if one does not obey these rules. It is like being a member of a club, if one does not obey the rules of the club, one does not belong there at all.




7. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard.




(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verse 7)




Oh God, my Father this old commandment must be that of loving You and others as our, selves. Although this is an old commandment it is the foundation of all the commandments put together, for if what we do we do out of love and ask ourselves if somebody had to do the same action to us, if we would like it, the answer would confirm our decision whether to do that same action to others or not Amen.




8. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9. Whoever says, "I am in the light," while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. 10. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. 11. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 8 to 11)



Oh God, my Father I am sorry to say that many times I have declared that I hate this person and that, especially those in my inner circles, however on calming down I realise how mistaken I was. Even though I may not be accepting the reality that I am married to a person who feels that I hurt her and has no more love for me, I still have love for her. Forgive me oh God for those moments when I had made such declarations because many times I feel the weight of the cross on my shoulder as being too much to bear and forget that You are supporting me along the way by holding the other side of that same cross Amen.



12. I am writing to you, little children because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. 13. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. 14. I write to you, children, because you know the Father; I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 12 to 14)




Oh God my Father You have something to say to all of us, regardless if we are adults or children or adolescents. You empower us and give us the energy to keep on fighting against the traps of the evil one, whom You already defeated. Satan You are a loser defeated and crushed Amen.



15. Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16. for all that is in the world-the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches comes not from the Father but from the world. 17. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 15 to 17)



Oh God my Father the values of those who love the world are different from those who base their love, hope and faith in You. Those who love the world pray to have more wealth to live a comfortable life and be rich and powerful, while those who love you pray to have more in order to share with others and help others also lead a good life, however, the riches of the second group are based on inheriting heaven more than being controlled by the riches of the world Amen.



18. Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour.


(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verse 18)



Oh God, my Father I would not be surprised if the last hour was actually that close, for during our times 2016 there have been many people who have preached against You and have been trying to spread false philosophy about You and even shooting media that is disgraceful to Your holy Name. I pray oh God my Father that I will be ready for the last hour and be worthy to appear before You for to this day I have much that needs to be corrected in myself, but I know that You are with me and that You are completing the unfinished works that due to my sinful nature I am finding it  very hard to accomplish. thank You Jesus Amen.




19. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verse 19)



Oh God, my Father I am honestly more concerned about those who are still with us and don't believe in You than for those who had the courage to make a decision and not continue to live a life of a hypocrite and live a double life swinging to and fro from one religion to another.




20. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 21. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 20 to 21)




Oh God my Father, I thank You for having anointed me with the power of Your Holy Spirit which is all truth, wisdom, love and faith. I am totally convinced that no evil or negativity can come from You, however, the messages that at times come from some of our brothers and sisters in the faith do not always portray a true image of You. I thank You that You have given me this time of prayer so that I can drink from the pure fountain instead of from the muddy waters Amen.



22. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.




(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 22 to 23)




Amen really and truly oh God my Father, those who believe in the Son and not in the Father is a liar, for one cannot believe in one and not in the other! This also follows for some of us, who believe in You and Jesus but not in Your presence in the Eucharist, or in the Roman Catholic Church that although consists of sinners such as myself and that in the past had done many mistakes on a human level, when it became worldly it is still being led by Your Holy Spirit Amen. Therefore the time comes for all humans especially those who call themselves Christians or Roman Catholics, to ask ourselves the fatal questions.




"Who do we really believe in? Do we really believe in God, or do we believe only in ourselves? Have we become the God's of our lives? Are we being led by our human logic, or is logic helping us to follow and believe in You and Your logic? What meaning has God in our lives, does it make a difference if we believe or not as long as we keep on receiving our paycheque each month?




Oh God, we sincerely are to stop, reflect and pray for enlightenment, for we may be under the impression that we are following You but in truth, we may be following our sinful selves and the logic of our minds Amen.





24. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father, 25. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 24 to 25)



Oh God, my Father I pray that the values that we have accumulated throughout the years of our spiritual journey with You be active in us. May we all be worthy of the promise of eternal life Amen.




26. I write these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. 27. As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him. 28. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.



(The Second Chapter of the First Letter of John verses 26 to 28)





I thank You, God, my Father for Your presence that dwells in me and all humanity. In us, we have written the rule of love and values. You guide us in all that we do, and if we listen to Your voice, we will now if our decisions are right or wrong, good or bad. Amen, I pray that our ears are tuned to the same frequency so that we will have one direct line of communication Amen.



29. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.


(The Second chapter of the First Letter of John verse 29)



Oh God my Father those born of the Holy Spirit act according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit that is when we allow You to act in our lives, but those who act according to the spirit of the world reap the sour fruits of the world that we are all witnessing.


Oh God my Father I would like to end this second  chapter of the first letter of St. John with the following prayer:-





Oh God, my Father I pray that we are always aware of the fact, that one day we will die and leave all our worldly possessions. I pray that we focus more on our spiritual aspects of our lives than our material which means of the world. For the time will come for all and I pray that we will be prepared to appear before You. I thank You for anointing us with Your Holy Spirit, for by means of Your holy presence You guide us in our ways.  I thank You for not leaving us as helpless and abandoned children. Amen

The First Chapter of the first letter of John Chapter 1

 

The First Chapter 

of the 

first letter 

of 

John

 

 

1. We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life 2. this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3. we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.


(The First letter of John Chapter 1 verses 1 to 4)


Oh God, my Father what an experience it must have been for John to be literally an eyewitness living every experience that You shared with the apostles. Throughout every day of my life and even that of others, You are also working wonders and showing yourself to us, even during the events simple or complex that happen during our everyday life. You permit nothing to happen without a precise purpose oh God my Father, even though at the time we may not understand its meaning. However, in time You reveal all to us Amen. As did John and the Apostles, I thank You oh God for this opportunity to share these prayers and reflections with all who have the will and the time to do so. May all benefit even more than myself the insights that You share with me and even more that have been helping me each day of my life in my relationship with You and others Amen. 


 5. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7. but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.


(The First Letter of John Chapter 1 verses 5 to 7)


Oh God my Father, in You there is no falsehood, for You are truth itself. The more You draw me close to You, the more I meditate on the Bible, the more Your light penetrates my darkness like a sharp laser beam in a surgical instrument, that shows me those areas that need healing or correcting. Amen. I thank You oh God my Father for being such a light for me, I pray that You keep on drawing me to You so that finally one day You will cleanse me of all my sins and I will be more like You than like me Amen.


8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.


(The First Letter of John Chapter 1 verses 8 to 9)


Oh God my Father if there is one thing that I surely cannot deny is that I am a sinner and that I am prone to sin. I thank You again and again for giving me the opportunity to seek forgiveness of my sins, with the firm belief that one day I will be healed from such vices Amen.


I would like to end this first chapter of the letter of John with the following prayer:


Oh God, my Father I proclaim myself to be a sinner among sinners, however, I also proclaim that although I am conditioned by my sins I still love both You and others, even if at times I may not show this love by means of my behaviour that is prone to sin. Therefore while in Your presence I pray for more self-control because at times I end up doing, that is not what You or  I want to do instead of acting according to Your will Amen.