The Third Chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians

The Letter of St. Paul 

to 

the 

Philippians

Chapter 

3

¹ To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 1)

Oh God my Father, listening to the same thing again and again does not hurt at all, for every time my state of mind changes and even the circumstances of my life. This is the case of when I pray every morning. You give me a new vision for the day and a new message to accompany me during that same day. Amen. Thank You, Jesus.


² Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh-⁴ even though I too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more; ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law blameless.




(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 2 to 6)


Oh God my beloved Father, even though we are both flesh and spirit, we are to side with the Spirit, and what is of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit that is of real value, for it is going to save our souls. The body is only a vessel which transports the body to where ever You wish to send us Amen. Even though as in the case of St. Paul he had a lot on which to boast, we are to retain our humility Amen.


⁷ Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.


(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 7)




Oh God my beloved Father, what is of gain in this world such as fame power and popularity along with wealth and other means are a hindrance in the spiritual world because they keep us tied to this material world. I pray oh Jesus, that in time You free us from these weights that are tied to our ankles hindering us from walking in the path of our salvation Amen.


⁸ More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.



(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 8 to 9)




Oh God my beloved Father, what is of the world is of the world and what is of God is of God. I pray that You help me in making the right choices in order to follow in Your footsteps and not according to the ways of the world Amen.




¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 




(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 10 to 11) 




Oh God my Father, I wish that I become more like You and less like me, I would like You to teach me how to learn how to imitate You. I pray that I learn how to use scripture as my point of reference and not human feelings or reasoning Amen.  




¹² Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.





(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 12)




Oh God, my Father, the only remaining goal in my life is to live my life not for myself but for You. I dedicate my life totally to You my God and Father. I pray that You help me live it according to Your holy Will Amen.




¹³ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.



(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 13 to 14) 




Oh god my beloved Father, I beg that You show me Your ways that I may follow You. I am living in a world of darkness am groping here and there to manage my way, my only aim is to follow the true way and ray of light that leads to my salvation. I pray that You teach me to obey Your ways so that Your righteousness will abide in me Amen.



¹⁵ Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.




(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 15 to 16) 




Oh God, I thank You for tolerating us and our conflicting thoughts about the world and at times even of You, however, it is a must that we tolerate such views as long as they do not go against what You have taught us to hold as being the truth Amen. 



¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.



(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 17) 



Let us all have the common aim to imitate You, my God and Father. May this be the common goal that unites us as Christians Amen. Even though this is not an easy goal, if we pray for Your help and if it is according to Your will it will be done. Amen.



¹⁸  For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.



(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 18 to 19) 



Oh God my beloved Father instead of judging such people I pray for them, for it is indeed heartbreaking that there still exists such people. I can only imagine the pain and anger that they may be or may have experienced in order to have such a negative mindset. They must be really hurt. I pray to You on their behalf my God and Father Amen.



²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ H will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.




(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 20 to 21) 



Oh God, my blessed Father, although we are socially citizens of the world, in truth we are also citizens of heaven. We have dual citizenship. I pray that through our choices we choose to conform to what is according to Your will which is that of the Kingdom of Heaven Amen.


Oh, Father in heaven, my blessed and Holy Father, I would like to end this meditation on the third chapter of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians with the following prayer:



Vincent Micallef a citizen of the world and a citizen of heaven. In humility and in truth I proclaim that I believe in You and in Your ability to transform me from a citizen of the world to a citizen of heaven, even if this requires going against my sinful nature. Any of you who have the same aim share your comments and your praises to His Holy Name. Amen 




 


  


 

The second chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians

The Letter of St. Paul 

to 

the 

Philippians

 

Chapter 

2

¹ If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ² make my joy complete; be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 1 to 2)

Oh God may our source of love, joy and encouragement be determined by You and not on that of the world, for that given by the world is limited and according to one's conditions, while Your love, mercy and compassion is unlimited Amen.

³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. and being found in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross.

(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 3 to 8)



Oh God my Father may I be more like You and less like me. May You give me a drop of Your humility love and kindness so that I will always have the same attitude that You Yourself have and never feel superior over others Amen. May I always be humble enough to admit mistakes and on the other hand be grateful for all that You do for me and by me Amen.

⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  ¹¹ and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 9 to 11)





Oh God my Father whenever we feel humbled or made to feel less than others we are not to feel deeply aggravated or concerned, for in order to be raised before You, we need to experience this process of humility, as You yourself had experienced, therefore let us stand our ground and be ready to be enrolled as a student in the school of humility Amen.



¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 12 to 13)



Oh God to obey is not from me, but from You, for in me there is an ongoing conflict between the spirit of obedience and the spirit of disobedience, as is the choice between doing Your will and going against it. I pray that You subdue my rebellious spirit to one of obedience Amen.



¹⁴ Do all things without murmuring and arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. ¹⁶ It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 14 to 16) 



Oh God my Father, many times I find myself in situations where I do not always agree with my superiors, and I fall into the trap of murmuring and grumbling, however during prayer You are helping me realize that this is pride from my side, and that this attitude is not healthy. I pray that You transform me into a humble and obedient being that reflects You in both words and deeds Amen. 



¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you- ¹⁸ and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me. 



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 17 to 18)

Oh God my beloved Father, even though I am not experiencing the hardships that other Christians are experiencings I still can offer sacrifices of time in prayer and fasting on their behalf Amen.  



¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. 


(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 19) 



Oh God my Father, I pray that  I be a source of cheerfullness and hope to others. I  also pray that I be a source of love and cheerfullness to others and not sadness and tears. Moreover I pray that when people see me, they are led to You so that all fame and glory will be given to You alone Amen.



²⁰ I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.


(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 20)



As a social worker entrusted with the welfare of others, I would also like to receive such feedback about myself. I am aware that with Your help I work hard in the interest of my clients, but now I am in a state where I am the one needing help. I feel fed up with life, lonely and depressed. if it was not sinful to take one's life I would consider it as an option to end my misery, but it is not something of my own to decide. I am available my God and Father, if and when You want to help me please do.



²¹ All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 21)



Oh God my beloved Father I pray for all who are active in the Roman Catholic Church and even in other churches that all will be responsible to their calling and focus their interests and energy on doing what You want us to do and not on our personal agendas Amen.



²² But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 22)



Oh God my beloved Father, today I like to pray for those people who have helped me in this blog, either in sending me prayers or even in meditsting on whole chapters and sending them to me by email to edit and publish them. I would also like to pray for Fr Walter a Franciscan and a friend who encouraged me to continue this blog, after I had received an email telling me that I had committed plagiarisim which was false and as a consequence I had to delete eight chapters of the book of Genesis and was going to stop completely. I thank You even for my nephew Neil who created the first blog of the original version.



²³ I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 23 to 24) 



Oh God my Father, even though I thank You for those people who have greatly helped me in this blog in some way or another, I give them back to You, so that You can continue to use them in the plan that You have made both for the present and even for their future Amen.



²⁵ Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and coworker and fellow soldier, your messnger and minister to my need; ²⁶ for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard thst he was ill.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 25 to 26)  



 Oh God my Father as Your Soldier in the great ministry of spreading the message of the Bible both online and offline, I am ready to go wherever You send me. Even I have people whom I have been longing to see and who would also share in both my happiness and in my moments of unhappiness Amen.



²⁷ He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 27)  



Oh God my beloved Father I thank You for the challenging experiences that You permit me to experience, each one is a test, especially those in which I have failed. I thank You for the opportunity of facing the same test with Your blessing until I get the full marks Amen. I pray that You give me an attitude of thanksgiving even for such negative situations Amen.



²⁸ I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verse 28)



Many times oh God my Father, you permit a person or family to be tested not only for their personal good but even for the good of the family, for as in the case of St. Paul, one person effects and is is effected by others. Therefore although the person under test will benefit directly, those in his or her circle will benefit indirectly from the experience of the person in question. I pray that I be of support to others in the relieving of each other's stress and anxiety, however You told us to place our burdens on You and You will give us rest and comfort Amen.


Let all who is weary and feeling anxious and or depressed join me in the following song and prayer called "Cast your burdens on to Jesus" credited to Cecil Christian



Cast your burdens on to Jesus



²⁹ Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, ³⁰ because he came closer to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me. Finally, my brothers and sisters rejoice in the Lord.



(The Second chapter of the first letter of St Paul's Letter to the Philippians verses 29 to 30)




Oh God my Father, blessed are those of us, who have risked their life for Your Name. Blessed are the street preachers who courageously preach to others Your Word and at times are even persecuted for doing so. Blessed are the missionaries who go to far away lands to spread Your Word by both Your Word and even by their way of life. Blessed are catechists and teachers who teach our children the foundation stones on which to build the seed of faith and to help cultivate a healthy spiritual environment for the seed to grow and make fruit Amen.



Oh God my blessed and eternal Father I would like to end this second chapter of the first letter of St. Paul to the Philippians with the following prayer.



Oh God my blessed Father, I pray that You purify us of the ways of the world, so that we can be more like You. May the Bible be the manual of our lives, that gives us instructions of how to live according to Your Ways. I pray for all of those people who preach and live Your Word, such as missionaries and even street preachers and catechists that they continue to be strengthened in Your ways and continue to help others in becoming empowered with the seed of faith Amen. 

Thank You Jesus