Hear, O Lord, Forgive 18 March Monday of the Second Week in Lent Daniel 9:4-10, 16-19 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 16 O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name. 36
Meditation Consider Daniel s prayer on behalf of his people in exile in Babylon. Having read Jeremiah, Daniel was made aware of the sins of his nation. He responded by repenting and confessing: O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. NKJV We see in his prayer a deep consciousness of the power and presence of sin. He acknowledged without reserve or excuse, the utter sinfulness and felt completely ashamed. He owned the sin of unfaithfulness and rebellion; and he was clear that he and his nation sinned against the Lord. Nonetheless, he said, To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. From the guilt and shame that Daniel felt over his sins, he turned to God as his only hope for salvation. 1 Corinthians 7:10 says, For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. He was assured of God s forgiveness, and he prayed accordingly, Hear, O Lord, and forgive. John the Apostle 800 years later reminded us, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In the history of revival, the confession of sin is paramount, and it leads to the desire for cleansing and holiness. Without a consciousness of our own sin 37
and the sins of our community, there is hardly a need for living a repentant life. Only a truly repentant and forgiven life leads to holiness and revival. Prayer O Lord, against You and You alone have we sinned. We have become too triumphal in our mindset, too complacent in the strength of our beliefs, too comfortable in our wealth and numerical power and too unconscious of our own sinfulness. Forgive us, O Lord, and grant us a greater measure of humility that we may live a repentant life where our creed and conduct come together in holy living. Action Make a list of our own values and compare it with the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) and ask God to forgive us where we have fallen short of God s standard. Then by His grace, keep a short account of our sins, and confess them and seek to live with humility as one forgiven and forgiving. Rev Dr William Wan, JP., PHD. General Secretary Singapore Kindness Movement 38
Walk Your Talk! 19 March Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent Matthew 23:1-12 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Meditation The seat of Moses was a sign of authority for the Jews. The religious leaders of those days took that authority and preached and taught the people, but failed to practise those teachings in their own lives. They were not good examples of their own teachings. The things they did were merely outward acts to create a perception of their importance in the public. Jesus rejected such hypocritical behaviour and urged His disciples to become true servants of God. Jesus discouraged His disciples from desiring places of high position because of the bad reputation of the 39
religious leaders. Jesus invited them to look up to Christ as their only teacher who had set Himself as an example of true leadership. Jesus renewed their understanding of the ministry leadership. These words of our Lord, hold true to His followers of today. To achieve and practise humility was close to Jesus' heart as seen in His teachings in the Gospels. Jesus Himself is the perfect example of humility Son of God, though being in the form of God made himself nothing taking the form of a servant was born in the likeness of men (Phil 2:6,7). He gave up His throne which rightly belonged to Him and became one of us to serve and save us. In a sense, through that one act, Jesus acted out humility even before He began to preach about it. Throughout His life on earth, He set Himself as an example as a humble servant of God to serve men. We have often heard this, Action speaks louder than words. A call that is made when seeing the act displayed is needed more than mere speech. Today, there is no lack of great orators on leadership and servanthood; humility and sacrifice but there are few people who truly display the true character of servantleadership. Jesus invites us to exercise humility always, even more so before we start talking about it. We need to be people who walk the talk! Prayer Dear Lord, teach me Your humility. Let me be an example of Your words so that others may see my actions and long for You. 40
Action Today I will make an intentional effort to serve with humility and sacrifice. Rev James Nagulan President Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference 41
It Shall Not Be So Among You 20 March Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent Matthew 20:17-28 17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day. 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. 22 Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? They said to him, We are able. 23 He said to them, You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Meditation As Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem He told them that He would be betrayed and 42
handed to the religious leaders, who would condemn Him and hand Him to the Roman authority, who had the power to administer the death sentence. He would go through their torturous mocking and flogging, and they would crucify Him, but He would resurrect on the third day. Ironically, none showed any concern about the suffering Jesus had to go through. The mother of James and John, was among some women who followed them to Jerusalem (Mk 15:41), begged Jesus to promise her to give the two highest positions in His Kingdom to her two sons. Jesus humbly replied that assigning of positions is the Father s decision. The mother of James and John did arouse the anger of the other disciples because they too were coveting the highest positions in Jesus Kingdom (Mk 9:33-36; Mt 18:1; Lk 22:24-30). Selwyn Hughes commented, How sad that the disciples were willing to fight over a throne, but not over a towel. Are we like the disciples who were preoccupied with their ambitions and pay no attention to what Jesus was saying to them? In this world people strive for position, which comes with prestige, power, popularity and privileges, but Jesus cautioned, It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant (Mt 20:26). Believers are citizens of a different Kingdom (Phil 3:20). Jesus showed us how leaders of His Kingdom lead by serving others. Servants serve to meet the needs of others, and Jesus did that with His own life to meet our need for salvation! 43
Jesus, our Lord, King and God set Himself as an example for us (Jn 13:13-15), how do we serve others like Him? Prayer Make me a servant humble and meek, Lord let me lift up those who are weak And may my prayer of my heart always be Make me a servant Make me a servant Make me a servant today. ( Make Me A Servant Lyrics by Maranatha Music 1982.) Action Find an act of service, which you can do for one person everyday; and an area of ministry, which you can serve in your church. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Col 3:23-24) Rev Chia Beng Hock Senior Pastor Bethel Assembly of God 44
I the Lord Search the Heart 21 March Thursday of the Second Week in Lent Jeremiah 17:5-10 5 Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. Meditation Jeremiah s powerful proclamation contains the graphic contrast between the cursed man (v 5-6) and the blessed man (v 7-8). The cursed man s heart has turned 45
from the Lord and trusts in man, instead. His end will be like a shrub in the desert with no good future in sight. The blessed man, in contrast, keeps his trust in the Lord, no matter what. In Psalm 1:3, such a person is described like a tree planted by the water, whose outcome will be good despite the heat and the year of drought. Such a blessed man will be like the tree whose leaves continue to be green and whose fruits never cease to appear, despite the difficult external circumstances experienced. The promise here is a flourishing life despite the pain and, indeed, never without the pain! The context and life situation of Jeremiah s proclamation was the turning of the hearts of the people of God, in his day, from trusting God to the foolish trust in powerful men (v 5) and the consequent, reckless pursuit of riches (v 11). Theirs was, but, an attempt to be rich and powerful just like the men whom they so admire, all the time. Jeremiah declared that such powerful people are really nothing before God. It is God who really knows their true hearts (v 9) and it is God who will decide the outcome of every person s life, according to all their actions, in public and in secret (v 10). It is God who will decide, finally, the outcome of the godless, though they be rich and powerful. Jeremiah s message given about five centuries before Christ, still offers a challenge today in money-mad 21 st century urban living. We think we need lots of money in order for us to be somebody or else, we will end up being treated like nobodies. We must also be seen as being on the right side of the people that matter in society. Or else we will be treated like nobodies again. Jeremiah calls us, today, to still look to God and not to people! God will decide the outcome of our lives. Fear the Lord and not godless men and women of power! 46
In reading, praying and reflecting on Jeremiah s proclamation in the season of Lent, the picture of Jesus as the powerless Man in the hands of powerful men come across vividly. Indeed, the Son of Man willingly went to Jerusalem, knowing full well the inevitable outcome of His visit. Yet, He did so, to obey the Father and fulfill all righteousness. This goes against all human wisdom. The Lord Jesus was clear about the Father s purpose for His Life: Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mt 20:28) He was also clear about the inevitable process of pain and confrontation with evil powerful men. Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again. (Mt 20:17-19) His Love for the Father, helped Him not to fear the powerful wicked. His Faith and Hope in the Father s Will, allowed Him to trust God for the final outcome, no matter what. Indeed, in the final outcome, the Lamb of God will be seated upon the Throne. This is our hope in tribulation! Prayer Lord, help us to follow Jesus, not for the sake of gaining what the world has to offer. Help us, instead, to see Jesus as the blessed Man who lived the blessed Life; and may we, then, follow Him, no matter what the cost. Help us, also, to fear You, O God, more than, we fear other people, lest we be like those who turn from You towards the powerful wicked. Forgive us, O God. In Jesus name, amen. 47
Action Read Jeremiah 17:10 together with Psalm 139:23-24, and then, make time to do some heart searching before the Lord, to see if there is any wicked way in us, remembering that the heart is very deceitful. (Jer 17:9) May God lead us in the path of righteousness for His name s sake, all the days of our Life. (Ps 23:3) Rev Malcolm T H Tan O.S.L. Pastor-in-Charge Covenant Community Methodist Church Chaplain-in-Charge Methodist Girl s School Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord... ~Jeremiah 17:7 48
The Word of the Lord Tested Him 22 March Friday of the Second Week in Lent Psalm 105:16-22 16 When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, 17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21 he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, 22 to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom. Meditation We all go through dark patches in life. For some people it might be a passing inconvenience. For others, it might be a recurring nightmare of illness, distress or failure. Most of the time we can handle an occasional misfortune in life, especially so when we have the support of friends and loved ones. For others, the pain and agony which they have to cope with can press them to the edge of faith; sometimes to the verge of giving up. There have been people who have turned their backs on God over the issues of suffering and pain. But there are countless others who have kept their faith in God in spite of pain and persecution. In recent times we have read many stories of Christians being targetted for ill-treatment and others being tortured for their faith, in West Asia 49
and North Africa. Many have lost their family members to the brutality of extremists who have made the lives of Christians miserable. It is usually difficult when a person is going through a rough time, to look beyond what is causing the present and often unpleasant experience. Though difficult, it is precisely in such a time when one is going through the dark spells of life, that it becomes more necessary to place our trust in God to grant us the help and resources required to overcome our struggles, or at least to find meaning in our suffering. Joseph wouldn t have known that although he was sold to be a slave, he would become a saviour in the land of Pharaoh. Not every one of us would have such a dramatic turn of fortunes like Joseph. But the assurance from God s word is captured in what Don Moen said, God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. We shall not tremble in the face of trouble when we can trust God to help us deal with and overcome testing times in our life journey. Prayer Dear Lord, who went through Calvary and suffered the pain of the cross, grant strength to those who struggle, protection for those under persecution. In place of pain, bring relief; turmoil, peace and uncertainty, hope. In the name of Jesus Christ who loves us and gave His life for us, we pray. Amen. 50
Action Befriend someone who is going through a crisis in life. Let God use you to bring cheer and hope to that person who may be in your church or someone in your community. Rev Dr Daniel Koh Kah Soon Pastor, Christalite Methodist Chapel Chairperson, Methodist Welfare Services 51
The Message They Heard Did Not Benefit Them 23 March Saturday of the Second Week in Lent Hebrews 4:1-13 1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, As I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter my rest, although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all his works. 5 And again in this passage he said, They shall not enter my rest. 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, Today, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is 52
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Meditation We treasure, if not idolise, holidays in our modern world. We have built a whole trillion dollar industry based on rest and recreation (R&R). Yet, here is the irony. As we rush from one holiday destination to another, we may be resting physically but not rested in heart. We unwind temporarily, but remain messed up. Hebrews 4 holds out our ultimate and permanent R&R as it promises God s rest. This doctrine of rest began in Genesis 2:1-3 when God rested from his very good work of creation (Gen 1:31) and invited Adam and Eve to enjoy his sabbath. It was sadly forfeited by Adam and Eve s rebellion as they were expelled from God s presence in Eden. The next episode in God s offer of rest is when He invites Israel to rest in the Promised Land of Canaan. This rest is sadly, again, forfeited by the nation s rebellion. Therefore, the rest promised in Psalm 95 quoted here is part of God s unfolding promise which finds its fulfilment in the finished work of Jesus, the second Joshua, who finally secures our place in God s presence in God s land (vv 6-8). In Hebrews, God s rest is spoken of as the heavenly country (11:16), the heavenly Jerusalem (12:22) and the kingdom that cannot be shaken (12:28). This rest is now-but-not yet. It can be entered even now by 53
faith (12:22) yet we are on a faith pilgrimage to the city that is to come (13:14). God s rest is not mere inactivity in this life but glorious inheritance in his kingdom. Here is the punchline though: The promise of entering his rest is conveyed to us in the gospel. Like the Israelites, the writer can say we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did. Our part is to let us be careful (which literally means be fearful ) that none of you be found to have fallen short of it as Moses generation fell short. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts is an important gospel truth. Hearing is not an ear but a heart activity! If this is true, then we must never reject a teachable heart moment from God. Our teachable heart moments can range from a temptation to avoid at our work place to a virtual sin on our phones to confess to. Hebrews warns us of the danger of hardening hearts and a doing a spiritual U-turn on Jesus. The original audience were doing a U-turn by apostasising on Jesus as God s better prophet and priest and foolishly returning to their fake assurances of earthly priests and sacrifices. This segment ends with a reflection on the word of God (vv 12-13). The double-edged sword functions as God s critic. It is better than we accept God s dissecting Word now than face his judgement Word in the future that will forfeit our rest with Him. Prayer Thank You Heavenly Father for giving us true and permanent rest only in Jesus. Save us from all futile 54
efforts to find rest without You. Empower us to hear Your gospel word and find true rest in Jesus alone. Action Let us humbly accept that hearing is a heart activity. Let us not ignore teachable heart moments from God. Rev Christopher Chia Senior Pastor Adam Road Presbyterian Church 55
These Things Took Place as Examples to Us 24 March Third Sunday in Lent 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 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. Meditation Some say, we can learn lessons from history. Yet some also say, the only lesson we can learn from history is that we have never learnt any lessons from history. As we survey history, what these people said seem to 56
be very true. Men never seem to take lessons of the past seriously, and we often repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over again. Paul even tells us that no matter how many "spiritual experiences" a person may have had, he may still stumble greatly over these very experiences. Even if he had passed through the Red Sea, been baptised in the cloud or in the sea, and taken spiritual food and spiritual drink, he may still remain as one with whom God is not pleased, and still fall in the wilderness. Paul also gives us the reason why we still repeat our mistakes: desires for evil, idolatry, sexual immorality, complaints, and putting the Lord to the test. These things are well-known even to those with a cursory knowledge of the Bible. However, from the time of the Israelites in the wilderness to Paul s era, and from then to the present time, have we not been repeating the very same sins again and again? The bondage of sin over us human beings is terrible. Our sin births evil desires in us. These desires make us lose control and do what displeases God, which in turn makes us people with whom God is not pleased, with the end of falling in the wilderness. What is worse is that today, it is no longer surprising to see people with good reputation desiring evil and spiritual leaders committing adultery and fornication. Paul warns us not to be overconfident in thinking that we are standing firm, lest we fall. The reason you have not fallen is because of grace, not your ability. Our only hope is our Lord Jesus. Only by trusting Him can we withstand our trials, and only He will make a way for us when we come to the end of the road. 57
Prayer O faithful Abba God, in this world filled with temptations, may You protect Your children, and enable them to live each day peacefully by holding fast to You. Without Your grace and protection, we would only become people with whom You are not pleased, because we may do things which displease You. You alone are our hope, and only You will make a way for us because You love us; we can only hold fast to You, never turning aside even for a moment. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen. Action Reflect on every day you have gone through have you relied on your own effort, or on the grace of the Lord? Be grateful for God s abundant grace, and ask for forgiveness for your own transgressions. Rt Rev Teo Yew Tiong Presbytery Moderator Senior Minister of Providence Presbyterian Church (Source: Translated from Chinese Lenten Devotions 2019) 58