The Fourth chapter of the Second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians

    The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter

 of 

                  St. Paul to the Corinthians

¹ Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.

(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 1)

Oh God, I also thank You for giving me this small part in the ministry of spreading Your Word. I pray that You continue to permit me to do so Amen. I pray for Your encouragement Amen.



² We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 2)



Oh God, my Father, You are the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Nothing that comes from You can ever be false or contaminated by the ways of the world. Therefore in order to follow in Your ways, I also need to be firm and just in my ways which are to be according to Your will Amen. I pray that You help me stick to this commitment Amen.



³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 3)



Oh, God my beloved Father and Mary my Mother I offer my prayers to those who are suffering persecution because of their faith in You my parents, especially of their faith in You my God and Father. However unlike previous times, the messages of the gospel can be found in different places both online and offline, however, our brothers and sisters whose lives may be oppressed by torture, and other forms of persecution may not have access to such sources.



Oh God, my Father, I also pray for those who have placed a veil over there heart and soul in order not to be able to believe or make an experience of You. I pray that Your rip away this veil so that Your light can penetrate through to their hearts and minds Amen. 



⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 4)



The false gods of the world, luxury, commodity, finance, the market, media and other forces tend to try and shape our minds by conditioning our thinking, believing and most of all how we behave in our relationship with others and even with You. I pray that You give us new eyeshields or glasses that will blot out the light of the world so that we may focus on what is according to Your will Amen.



⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 5)



Oh God, my beloved Father, may my focus be always that of proclaiming You and not myself. If that were to be it would be a great shame on me, for I am Your servant and I wish to follow in Your ways. 
 

⁶ For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 6)



Oh God my beloved Father, may You change, the darkness of our sins, into the light of Your glory Amen.


⁷ But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 7)



Oh God, my Father, I greatly thank You for the gift of faith which is in the clay vessel of my body and soul, which is so delicate that it is prone to be cracked every time I commit sin. I pray that You handle me with care because I am so delicate my God and Father Amen.


⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken: struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.



(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 8 to 10)



Oh God, my blessed Father, those who believe in You are winners and fighters in Faith and Spirit. Even though crisis may happen in our lives, I am not to despair, for my faith is deeply rooted in You Amen. Please help me to see the positive in every situation Amen.


¹¹ For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.


(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 11)


Oh God, my beloved Father now that You have given me the liberty of worshipping You without conditions, I pray that my life becomes an imitation of You and that when others look at me, they do not see my image, but an image of You Amen.


¹² So death is at work in us, but life in you.




(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 12)



Oh God my beloved Father as sinners in the flesh the seed of sin is always active, however, the grace of the Holy Spirit is also alive and dwelling in us Amen and one is in constant conflict with the other, however, in the end, it is our choice with whom to side Amen.


¹³ But just as we have the same that is in accordance with scripture- " I believed, and so I spoke"-we also believe, and so we speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us into his presence.


(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 13 to 14)


Oh God my beloved Father, this is the logic behind this sharing; 


I believe and I also want to share what I believe with others Amen.


I pray that many others seek to follow in this way so that everybody on earth will receive the Word of God Amen.


¹⁵ Yes everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.


(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 15)


Oh God, my Father, this is also my aim, to bring more and more souls to You, so that many others can make an experience of You and share in Your eternal glory Amen.


¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, ¹⁸ because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.


(The Fourth Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 16 to 18)


Oh God my beloved Father, I thank You for these biblical verses for the message gives me a strong sense of direction in life. I am to follow the eternal and not the material which in time passes away, unlike the eternal which lasts forever Amen. I would like to end this fourth chapter of the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians with these same two verses as my prayer:


Oh God my beloved and eternal Father I pray that You teach us to look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.


Amen

 





 
 




 

 

The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians

The Third Chapter of the Second Letter

 of 

St. Paul to the Corinthians

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; ³ and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

(The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 1 to 3) 

Oh God my Father, I wonder if others were to write You a letter in order to recommend me to You as in applying for a job vacancy what they would write about me. I hope that You would be satisfied and pleased by what You would read about me. Amen. Every day of my life You write on the tablet of my heart by means of the events that You chose to test me with and when I pass You write 'passed' next to that trial, achievement, or tribulation, however when I fail instead of writing fail, You right 'resit' because You always give me a third and fourth chance in order to change my ways. I thank You my, God and Father for being such a considerate, loving and caring examiner Amen.




⁴ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, ⁶ who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

(The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 4 to 6) 






Oh God my Father, I thank You for all the skills that You have given me. I pray that You give me the opportunity of sharing them with others. All the merit is devoted to You for it was through You, that I acquired such skills. Even though the degree is registered on me the competency is totally Yours. Therefore You have given it to me and You also have the authority to take it back again Amen.



⁷ Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside,  ⁸ how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory?

 

 (The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 7 to 8)  




Oh God my beloved Father, the first commandments were written on hard stone, tablets, that in time deteriorate and can be broken, however the second updated commandments that You gave us in the New Testament were written in our hearts and in our spirits to remain there forever. Amen.



 ⁹ For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory!



 (The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verse 9) 




Oh God my beloved Father if we give fame and glory to the people of the world people such as politicians or actors, how much more are we to give to You my God and Father, You who give to us a ministry of love and care instead of manipulation and condemnation. Amen.



¹⁰ Indeed, what once had glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; ¹¹ for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent came in glory! 




 (The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 10 to 11) 



Oh god my beloved Father, what we find written in the Old Testament of the Bible was indeed the fruit of Your glory, however what was revealed to us, in the New Testament was of a greater glory, for in the New Testament, we who were considered as pagans in the Old Testament, were given the opportunity to believe in You by means of the Holy Spirit. Oh God I pray that the life of the future will also be better than my present life Amen.




¹² Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, ¹³ not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside.




 (The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 12 to 14) 




Oh God my beloved Father, as a person who shares the 'Good News' among others who are more worthy of doing so, due to their studies in philosophy and theology, we are to be very careful in not projecting a false image of You. I have heard many  people preaching about You my God and Father, among which some based their teaching on philosophical argument and rationality or on theological sayings than on faith in action. Such teachings left their mark on my brain so much that to this day I am still confused and waiting for You to clear the clouds my God and Father Amen.





¹⁵ Indeed to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; ¹⁶ but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.



(The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 15 to 16) 




Oh God my beloved Father when I address my queries to You they become clearer than ever, however when I keep them to myself I keep on struggling within myself, asking many questions but getting no answers. One of my biggest dilemmas is in what are called "The spirituality of St Francis and those who followed him. Some have risked in saying that he was a spitting image of You, thus calling him by the term 'Alter Cristus'  but  who can ever be like You? The devil was expelled from heaven because he wanted to be like You!. Therefore on the other hand, if St. Francis was a living copy of You, why did the Franciscans not accept and obey his way of life based on absolute poverty, instead of convincing him to write a new rule for them to follow a way of life that was more to  their liking than to his? This is one of many questions that give rise to others, however this is all trivia when compared to my Faith in You Amen.



¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 




(The Third Chapter of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians verses 17 to 18)



Oh God my beloved Father, You have sacrificed Yourself in order for us to obtain our freedom, therefore we are no longer slaves to sin, but free people who have been given the opportunity of living according to Your Ways. In time You will also free us from our sinful nature that we become more like You Amen. During this time if we allow it the process of transformation is taking place and will continue to take place until the entire process is complete. However You have given us the freedom of pressing the 'delete key' in order to stop this process, therefore the decision is totally ours.
Amen. I pray that like everyone You keep on prompting me to make the correct decisions Amen.



Oh God my beloved Father I would like to end this third chapter of the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians with the following prayer.



Oh God my beloved Father, in order to keep on following Your ways, You left us the Bible and also the Roman Catholic Church and even permitted other churches to exist in the course of time. You also gave us the sacrament of Communion and Reconciliation. These are all important tools in order to help the process of our transformation. I pray that You prompt me to use such means well and never think of stopping the transformation process. I pray that in time You make me look more like You Amen. 


Thank You Jesus.