1 John 2 - GNTD & MB

Addictions come in many shapes and forms, whether it’s lust, alcohol, substances, gambling, gaming, or even excessive use of your mobile phone and social media. There is professional help to get as well as counselling from your priest or pastor.

Also, read the Bible and lay your addiction before God in prayer. Here are some passages from the Word of God to reflect upon.

James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

We all have weaknesses within us that can make us fall and lead to an addiction. Acknowledging this, and admitting that you struggle with addiction is an important step to be free from it.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Addictions don’t come from God, but from the world and our desires, lusts and pride. We can rely on God wanting us to be free from any addiction.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

You may feel that you can’t break your addiction. But the Bible tells us that God can. God will provide the way of escape. Turn to God, turn from your addiction. Let God fill you with his presence.

1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

Addiction is many times when something takes control over you. Those things that are not helpful in your life and dominate your thoughts and desires you may need to cut out of your life.

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Addictions come from this world and not from God. In the end, addictions replace God as the number one in our lives. It’s not just about addictions, but also about our souls.

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Lay your struggles before God. Ask for God’s protection and deliverance.

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

This is the promise of Jesus Christ, that when he sets us free, it is real freedom.

This article is not intended as a replacement for medical or therapeutic help or treatment for addiction, but a complement and inspiration to those who battle addiction.

Christ Our Helper

1 I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 2 And Christ himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone.

3 If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say that we know him, but do not obey his commands, we are liars and there is no truth in us. 5 But if we obey his word, we are the ones whose love for God has really been made perfect. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: 6 if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did.

The New Command

7 My dear friends, this command I am writing you is not new; it is the old command, the one you have had from the very beginning. The old command is the message you have already heard. 8 However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining.

9 If we say that we are in the light, yet hate others, we are in the darkness to this very hour. 10 If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else to sin. 11 But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.

12 I write to you, my children, because your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ. 13 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you have defeated the Evil One.

14 I write to you, my children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One.

7 Bible Verses to Overcome Addiction

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

15 Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father. 16 Everything that belongs to the world—what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of—none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world. 17 The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.

The Enemy of Christ

18 My children, the end is near! You were told that the Enemy of Christ would come; and now many enemies of Christ have already appeared, and so we know that the end is near. 19 These people really did not belong to our fellowship, and that is why they left us; if they had belonged to our fellowship, they would have stayed with us. But they left so that it might be clear that none of them really belonged to us.

20 But you have had the Holy Spirit poured out on you by Christ, and so all of you know the truth. 21 I write you, then, not because you do not know the truth; instead, it is because you do know it, and you also know that no lie ever comes from the truth.

22 Who, then, is the liar? It is those who say that Jesus is not the Messiah. Such people are the Enemy of Christ—they reject both the Father and the Son. 23 For those who reject the Son reject also the Father; those who accept the Son have the Father also.

24 Be sure, then, to keep in your hearts the message you heard from the beginning. If you keep that message, then you will always live in union with the Son and the Father. 25 And this is what Christ himself promised to give us—eternal life.

26 I am writing this to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.

28 Yes, my children, remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes. 29 You know that Christ is righteous; you should know, then, that everyone who does what is right is God's child.

Kristo Opa'ba Amaro

1 Ma ta ono egyi ämiri, ŋgwai maro, ukyi mìye takozi 'da; oko ondro 'diaza ka takozi oye, ama 'diaza be se ka Täpi eji vo amaro ya, Yesu Kristo, se ni taŋgye'ba yi. 2 Ago Kristo andivona se nda si e'be ama te takozii amaro ta, ago ko toto amaro ayani, oko takozii 'dicini ro kpa.

3 Ondro mà ota Lu ro orona, anjioko ndi endaro mä̀ni nda ndi. 4 Ondro 'diaza ka ata ekye mäni nda ndi, oko koro ota ndaro kote, 'di nonye ono orivoya kowe'ba yi ago taŋgye i'do nda ya. 5 Oko nda se kabe ata ndaro orona orivoya 'dise ŋgalu ndaro Lu ri a'bate a'done ŋgye endaro owo. Ta ono si mä̀nina ndi endaro anjioko ama orivoya rumora be Lu be: 6 nda se kabe ata ekye nda ka ori rumora ya Lu be beṛo orine ŋgye oso Yesu Kristo koyebe ronye.

Ota To'di

7 Bereazii maro se mulube ono, ota mabe egyina ämiri ono ko to'di yi, anya orivoya ota uku yi, se nyà'dote ṛo sina ni etovoya, ota uku ni orivoya lazo se nyèrite nja owo. 8 Caoko, ota se yau mabe egyina ämiri ono orivoya to'di yi, tana taŋgye anyaro andrete Kristo ya ago kpa ami ya. Tana vouni kate ugu lävu ago ŋgaeyi endaro eyivote nja.

9 Nda se kabe ata ekye yi orivoya ŋgaeyi ya, oko yana osoro ädrupi ndaro lomvo, orivoya vouni ya gile yauono. 10 Nda se kabe ädrupi ndaro lu ka ori ŋgaeyi ya, ago ta'doro ta aza i'do nda ya azi o'bane takozi oyene. 11 Oko nda se yana osoro ädrupii ndaro lomvo orivoya vouni ya ago ka aba vouni yasi ago ni vose nda kabe ugu oyi kigye ko, tana vouni 'ba nda te miako.

12 Ma taegyi ämiri ŋgwai maro, tana e'be ami te ta takozii amiro rota ta Kristo rosi. 13 Ma taegyi ämiri, täpii, tana mìni nda se a'dote ni etovoya te. Ma taegyi ämiri màno to'di, tana mìpe nda se koziro ono te ṛe. Ma taegyi ämiri, ŋgwai maro, tana mìni Täpi ndi.

14 Ma taegyi ämiri, täpii, tana mìni nda se ka'dobe ni etovoya te. Ma taegyi ämiri màno to'di, tana ami orivoya mbara ro, ata Lu ro ka ori ami ya, ago mìpe nda se koziro te ṛe.

15 Nyùlu 'bädri ko ndi ŋgase cini 'bädri robe. Ondro nyà 'bädri lu, nyùlu Täpi ko. 16 Ŋgacini se 'bädri ro ni ole cini undiro lomvo ro se lidri kabe ondrena ago kolebe owo, ago ŋgacini 'bädri ono ya se lidri orivoya driuŋgyi amba be tana ro aza alo ŋga kwoi ro ikyi ko ni Täpi resi; vona cini ka ikyi ni 'bädri yasi. 17 'Bädri ono ndi ŋgase cini kigye se lidri kabe lemena be kate lävu, oko nda se kabe ole Lu ro oyena orina ndi äduako.

Kyila'baazi Kristo ro

18 Ŋgwai maro, tu äduro te ti! Ititate ämiri se ekye kyila'baazi Kristo ro ikyina 'da ago yauono kyila'baazii amba Kristo ro ka'darute ṛo nja, ago mä̀ni ndi tu äduro te ti! 19 Lidri kwoi ṛo endaro ko ni rumora amaro ro, tana ànya e'beyi ama te, aba ànya ka'do yi gwo amaro, ànya riyite ama be, oko ànya foyite ago a'doyite ṛo ŋbelero anjioko ṛo endaro ànya i'do amaro.

20 Oko ami te orivoya Tori Alokado se edate ämidri Kristo si ono be, ago ta'doro vo amiro cini mìni taŋgye te. 21 Ka'do inye, ma taegyi ämiri, ko tana mìni taŋgye ko, oko, tana mìni ṛote ago mìni kpate anjioko kowe efo kote ni taŋgye yasi.

22 Ka'do inye, a'di ni kowe'ba yi ya? Anjioko ni 'dise kabe ata ekye Yesu ko Mesiya owo 'do owo. 'Di inye 'do orivoya kyila'baazi Kristo ro, nda ga Täpi ndi Ŋgwa be te riti zo. 23 Tana nda se kabe Ŋgwa ogazo ka kpa Täpi ogazo; nda se kabe Ŋgwa uru kpa orivoya Täpi be.

24 Ka'do inye mì'ba tase nyèribe ni etovoya ono kori ami ya. Ondro ka'do nyä̀ti tase ana te, 'dooko mìrina 'da ondoalo rumora ya Ŋgwa ndi Täpi be be. 25 Ago ono ni orivoya ŋgase Kristo andivo ko'ba tana be ozone ämäri owo, ni adri äduako.

26 Ma ta ono egyi ämiri ta ànya se kayibe ojo ami odone rota. 27 Oko ämiri ono, Kristo eda Tori ndaro te ämidri. Oso Tori ndaro kabe ori ami ya ronye, mìlena 'diaza ko ami embane. Tana tori ndaro kani ami emba ta ŋgacini rota, ago tase nda kabe embana orivoya endaro, ko kowero. Ka'do inye, mìro ŋgaemba Tori ro, ago mìri rumora ya Kristo be.

28 Owo, ŋgwai maro, mìri rumora ya nda be, tana ondro nda kefote oko mà'do robe agoago amba be ago mà'dona ko driupi ro ruda'done ni ndäri Tuse nda kabe ikyi ana si. 29 Mìnite Kristo ni taŋgye'ba yi; beṛo ämiri unine anjioko 'dicini se kabe tase ŋgye oye orivoya ni ŋgwa Lu ro.