Bible Reading Plan – Day 360

₁Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God; and whoever loves a father loves his child also. ₂This is how we know that we love God's children: it is by loving God and obeying his commands. ₃For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us, ₄because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith. ₅Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

₆Jesus Christ is the one who came with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death. He came not only with the water, but with both the water and the blood. And the Spirit himself testifies that this is true, because the Spirit is truth. ₇There are three witnesses: ₈the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and all three give the same testimony. ₉We believe human testimony; but God's testimony is much stronger, and he has given this testimony about his Son. ₁₀So all who believe in the Son of God have this testimony in their own hearts; but those who do not believe God have made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed what God has said about his Son. ₁₁The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son. ₁₂Whoever has the Son has this life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

₁₃I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life — you that believe in the Son of God. ₁₄We have courage in God's presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. ₁₅He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him.

₁₆If you see your brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray to God, who will give them life. This applies to those whose sins do not lead to death. But there is sin which leads to death, and I do not say that you should pray to God about that. ₁₇All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which does not lead to death.

₁₈We know that none of God's children keep on sinning, for the Son of God keeps them safe, and the Evil One cannot harm them.

₁₉We know that we belong to God even though the whole world is under the rule of the Evil One.

₂₀We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God — in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.

₂₁My children, keep yourselves safe from false gods!

₁From the Elder —

To the dear Lady and to her children, whom I truly love. And I am not the only one, but all who know the truth love you, ₂because the truth remains in us and will be with us for ever.

₃May God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, give us grace, mercy, and peace; may they be ours in truth and love.

₄How happy I was to find that some of your children live in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ₅And so I ask you, dear Lady: let us all love one another. This is no new command I am writing to you; it is the command which we have had from the beginning. ₆This love I speak of means that we must live in obedience to God's commands. The command, as you have all heard from the beginning, is that you must all live in love.

₇Many deceivers have gone out all over the world, people who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came as a human being. Such a person is a deceiver and the Enemy of Christ. ₈Be on your guard, then, so that you will not lose what we have worked for, but will receive your reward in full.

₉Anyone who does not stay with the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God. Whoever does stay with the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ₁₀So then, if someone comes to you who does not bring this teaching, do not welcome him or her in your homes; do not even say, “Peace be with you.” ₁₁For anyone who wishes them peace becomes their partner in the evil things they do.

₁₂I have so much to tell you, but I would rather not do it with paper and ink; instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you personally, so that we shall be completely happy.

₁₃The children of your dear Sister send you their greetings.

₁From the Elder —

To my dear Gaius, whom I truly love.

₂My dear friend, I pray that everything may go well with you and that you may be in good health — as I know you are well in spirit. ₃I was so happy when some fellow-Christians arrived and told me how faithful you are to the truth — just as you always live in the truth. ₄Nothing makes me happier than to hear that my children live in the truth.

₅My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for your fellow-Christians, even when they are strangers. ₆They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their journey in a way that will please God. ₇For they set out on their journey in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers. ₈We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth.

₉I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say. ₁₀When I come, then, I will call attention to everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive our fellow-Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church!

₁₁My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God.

₁₂Everyone speaks well of Demetrius; truth itself speaks well of him. And we add our testimony, and you know that what we say is true.

₁₃I have so much to tell you, but I do not want to do it with pen and ink. ₁₄I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk personally.

₁₅Peace be with you.

All your friends send greetings. Greet all our friends personally.