reading for: 2 June

Mark 3:20-35

A Spirit-filled person does the will of the Father

• READ

Today’s story begins with Jesus returning home to find a crowd gathering  with demands of him, taking even his time to eat. (v20). The craze was so mind-boggling that Jesus’ own family believed that he had gone nuts and took it upon themselves to set him straight (v21). To make matters worse, Jesus was by the Jewish leadersof being possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons (v22).

In response to the accusation, Jesus told a parable to show that their argument was nonsensical (v23-27). He then made a solemn remark that all sin and blasphemies will be forgiven except blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (v28-29). Thus implying that the scribes were committing such a sin in their asertion (v30). The story ends with Jesus’ family looking for him from among the crowd. But instead of receiving them, Jesus took the opportunity to teach the crowd that whoever does the will of God is his family (v31-35).

Some of us may not be familiar with this particular episode in Jesus’ ministry but most of us would certainly know about the “Unforgivable Sin”. Have you ever wondered if you’ve unknowingly blasphemed against the Holy Spirit and committed the unforgivable sin? You’re not alone. This is one of the most debated and misunderstood sayings of Jesus.

How do we make sense of Jesus’ word? To do this, we must understand of the context of his words. Jesus has barely begun his ministry and was drawing a large following because of the signs and wonders that he was performing. His popularity naturally got the attention of the scribes who could not deny the miracles. However, they didn’t believe that Jesus’ power was from God and that he was the Messiah.

Hence, they attributed the source of Jesus’ power to Satan. In other words, they gave Satan credit for the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was bearing witness to Jesus as the Messiah and his mission to bring about God’s Kingdom through the signs and wonders. Yet the scribes chose to resist the Holy Spirit and to reject Jesus. Jesus called that a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, that’s not where the scene ends. It ends with Jesus redefining both the meaning and the boundary of family. All who are born of the Spirit and who does the will of God is family.

• REFLECT

Have you and I quenched the Spirit? Have we hardened our hearts to his voice? To deny and quench the Spirit is to reject the work of the Spirit in our lives.  Thats why its important we make room for God in our lives. We must not persist in resisting the Spirit because if we keep doing that, we are despising what Christ has done and rejecting the eternal life that God offers. May God help us to live according to the Spirit that we may gain Christ and fulfil the will of our Father in heaven.

reading for: 3 June

Genesis 3:8-15

A Spirit-filled person is empowered for New Life

• READ

  Our reading today focuses on a very specific portion within the story of the fall of man. Verse 8a tells us that the weather was cool that God decided to go for a casual walk in the garden and find out how Adam and Eve are doing. Adam and Eve, however ran straight for cover the moment they heard God approaching instead of approaching him (8b).

  God patiently called out to Adam and asked for his location though it is ironic and almost comical that Adam and Eve thought they could hide from God (v9). Upon hearing God’s call, Adam replied that he was hiding because he was naked and afraid of God’s reaction to his new found nakedness (v10). In response, God demanded to know the one responsible for feeding such knowledge to Adam and if he had ate from the forbidden tree (v11).

  Driven to a corner, Adam makes a last ditch attempt to lessen his guilt by pining it on Eve. Stating that Eve was the woman that God had given to him and implicating God in their transgression. (v12). God then questioned Eve what she had done and she confessed that she had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and had given some of it to Adam but that she did it only because she was deceived by the serpent (v13). With the perpetrator revealed, God proceeded to curse the serpent and anticipate a day where her offspring would defeat the serpent (v14-15).

  Today’s reading shows us that the immediate effect of the fall was shame. When God first made Adam and Eve, they were naked and unashamed (2:25). Right after the fall, they were naked and ashamed (3:7). And as a result of their shame, they could no longer bear to be in God’s presence and had to resort to hiding.

  Since then, God has been working towards removing humanity’s shame so that we can come out of our hiding and have communion with Him again. The offspring that God spoke of has come. His name is Jesus and He has defeated the serpent and removed our shame. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, man is now able to walk with the LORD again through the Spirit. The broken fellowship between God and man has been restored. The day of Pentecost is the beginning of the end. We are in the endgame now.

• REFLECT

  The Church, the body of Christ, the people of God are those who have been given the Holy Spirit. The name of our church is Centre of New Life and truly, all who are born of the Spirit has been given a New Life and is a Centre of New Life.

  How do we live this New Life? We do so by committing ourselves to eating, praying and growing together with a community of believers. And the best place to practice this New Life is in a life group and with the household of God. Individually, we can also practice this New Life by waking up strong, not going to bed wrong and pausing to pray each day.

  Take time today to consider how you can better practice this New Life individually and collectively with your LG. Encourage one another to keep at it and pray for each other.

reading for: 4 June

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

A Spirit-filled person’s life will be marked by suffering

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  This is Paul’s second letter to the Corinth church and one of the key question he addresses is the relationship between suffering and the power of the Spirit. While the church acknowledged Paul’s apostleship, some questioned his life. Paul’s life was filled with so much suffering that it seemed to suggest that he is not “Spirit-filled”.  For how can a Spirit-filled apostle of Jesus be suffering so much?

  Paul begins by clarifying that he’s been given the ministry of the Spirit (3:5-8). There is no doubt about it. Thus, he is not discouraged by the suffering because his affliction is a mark of the ministry of the Spirit (4:1-2). In other words, the resurrection power that had raised Christ from the dead is the same power that has enabled Paul to endure the suffering. Contrary to what some thought, the more Paul suffered, the more it validated his ministry as a ministry of the Spirit and his life as a Spirit-filled life.

  Therefore, the resurrection life of Christ is manifested through suffering (4:7-12). And this resurrection life is a life of the Spirit. A life empowered by the same Spirit that had raised Christ from the dead 2000 years ago. Such is the power that lives within us. Paul proceeds to summarise that since we have the same faith, we along with Paul will be raised together with Christ and be brought into his presence (v13-14), for the glory of God (v15).

  In light of such hope, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to not lose heart because while everything on the outside may be wasting away, everything on the inside is being made new (v16). The weight of our suffering in this present life is light compared to the eternal weight of glory that awaits us in the life to come (v17). We must not stumble over the things that are passing away but hold on to the things that will last forever (v18). Our bodies will be taken down like a tent but we will gain a resurrection body that can never be torn (5:1).

• REFLECT

  The problem of evil and suffering is one of the biggest obstacles in Christianity. Many have walked away because they are not able to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with the picture of a good and loving God. How can a good and loving God allow such evil and suffering? We ought to take heart that the bible did not shy away from this question.

  There is no easy answer to suffering but Paul has provided some ways for us to navigate it. According to Paul, if our present life is all there is then suffering holds no meaning. However, that is not the case. Christ himself suffered and though he did not remove suffering, he has given us His Spirit who makes us more like Christ through our suffering. And we can declare as Paul did that “we are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed (4:8).”

  Our earthly body will perish but our inner being will last forever. One day, we will rise with Christ and we will gain a body that will never die. Until then, let us not lose heart and learn to hold all things, both the good and the bad, in light of eternity.

reading for: 5 June

Psalm 130

A Spirit-filled person waits upon God and holds fast to his Word

• READ

  This week’s psalm is a lament psalm. The psalmist is in despair over his condition and cries out to the LORD for mercy (v1-2). He acknowledges that if the LORD were to keep a record of wrongdoings, no one will stand a chance (v3). Thankfully, the LORD is a God who forgives and that is why he deserves to be revered (v4).

  Hence, he will wait upon the LORD like a watchmen and hold fast to the word of God that gives him hope (v5-6). Finally, he calls upon all of Israel to join him in waiting and in watching for the LORD’s redepemtion (v7-8). The psalmist is confident that the LORD will come through for him and for Israel.

  We don’t need to go far to find brokenness. It is all around us and it is within us. It’s not just the world that is broken, we too are broken. And when we come face to face with brokenness, it is easy to give in to despair. Psalm 130 reminds us that that we need not give in to despair. There is another way. We can cry out to the LORD and ask for mercy.

  God certainly has the right to ignore our pleas and to leave us in despair but he chooses not to hold our iniquities against us.  That is the God we worship. While deliverance is not always immediate, it is assured. We can join the pslamist in waiting upon the LORD and in holding fast to his word. He hears our cries and he will come through. One day, all wrongs will be made right. One day, all of our earthly sorrow will turn into eternal joy.

• REFLECT

  Have you ever felt helpless? When we find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless situation, it is almost impossible not to fall into despair. From a global pandemic that has ravaged nations to war in the Middle East that has shattered the lives of millions of people, the despair we experience may not necessarily be equivalent but it is surely common.

  Are you discouraged? Do you feel like giving up? Have you grown weary of the valleys? As we read from Psalm 130 today, do not give in to despair. Cry out to the LORD and ask for mercy. Wait upon Him and hold fast to his word. God hears our prayer and he will answer them in time. Until then, we must keep watch like the watchmen.

  Listen to  “Come Holy Spirit (Fall Afresh on me)” by Planetshakers. Make it your cry and your prayer today. Only He can make us whole. Only he can give us the strength to keep going. May the Holy Spirit fall afresh on us. May the Lord have mercy on us.

  “Come Holy Spirit
  Fall afresh on me
  Fall me with your power
  Satisfy my need

  Only you can make me whole
  Give me strength to make me grow
  Come Holy Spirit
  Fall afresh on me”