reading for: 17 february

Mark 1:9-15

Repenting in the Season of Lent

• READ

Have you ever wondered what kind of movie the Gospels would be if they were adapted into a live-action? I have! I imagine that the Gospel of Matthew would be a historical drama, the Gospel of Luke an epic adventure and the Gospel of John a supernatural biography. Now, you may disagree about these three Gospels but I think you will certainly agree that the Gospel of Mark is a pure action movie.

The Gospel of Mark begins with a prophesy by the prophet Isaiah regarding a messenger (1:1-3) and jumps straight into action with John baptising, proclaiming and preaching in the wilderness (1:4-8). Before we even have time to make sense of the action, Jesus enters the scene and we see him getting baptised by John and is immediately led into the wilderness by the Spirit. Then Jesus promptly begins proclaiming the gospel of God (1:9-15). 

Everything is happening so fast and successively that its easy to miss what Mark is trying to do. By speeding through, he wants us to feel the urgent and immediate need to understand  who Jesus is and what He came to do. Jesus is the beloved son of God and he went through 40 days of preparation in the wilderness so that He may proclaim the Gospel of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel! (1:15)”.

There is no time to waste. Jesus, the son of God, has come and thus, the kingdom of God is at hand. The only appropriate response is to repent and believe immediately!

• REFLECT

  Is repenting and believing a once off event or is it a practice we ought to rehearse daily? I think we all know the answer. We repent of our sins and shortly after, we sin against God. We confess that we believe in God and before we know it, we live as if there is no God. We are prone to wander and to believe in gods. Hence, we need to constantly repent and believe, and do so as quickly as we can. 

  Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, a 40-day journey towards the sorrow of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is to prepare our hearts so that we can wholeheartedly remember the Cross and celebrate the Resurrection. In short, Lent is about the posture of our hearts. Without a proper posture, Good Friday and Easter Sunday will just be another Christian event that we attend. 

  Let us begin the season of Lent with repentance. There is no time for wasteful living. The Kingdom is here and it is among us. We must repent and believe. Are there unrepented sins in our lives? Do we truly believe the Gospel? God relents when his people repents and He will help us in our unbelief. Will you take time today to repent before the Lord and seek His forgiveness? Will you forgive others as you’ve been forgiven and choose to believe again?

reading for: 18 february

Genesis 9:8-17

Reflecting in the Season of Lent

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  Noah’s Ark is one of the most well-known stories in the world. Pastors have preached about it, scholars have debated it and Hollywood have made movies out of it. There’s even a life size replica of the ark! Nonetheless, it is a story worth revisiting every now and then. In fact, each time we witness a rainbow, we should take a pause and remind ourselves of the story behind it and more importantly, remember the God of the story. 

  How did it all happen? It all began when God “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” and God’s heart was so grieved by it that he decided to wipe out all of creation (6:5-7). However, one man had found favour in the eyes of the Lord, a man who was righteous, blameless and who walked with God (6:8-9). His name is Noah. 

  Thus, God revealed to Noah his intentions and guided him to build an ark. Scripture does not tell us how long Noah took to build the ark but what we do know is that Noah was 500 years old when he was first mentioned (5:32) and 600 years old by the time the flood happened (7:6). When it was all over, God echoes the initial instruction and mandate (1:28) that was given to humanity to be “fruitful and multiply” 3 times (8:17; 9:1; 9:7). 

  Finally, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his descendants and all of creation, promising to never again destroy the earth with a flood with the rainbow as a sign of the covenant and declaring that He will remember the promise He has made with every living creature that is on the earth (9:8-17). This is the story behind the beautiful rainbow that we see in the sky and the God of the story.

• REFLECT

  All of us are acquainted with grief. At some point in our lives, we have felt sorrow, misery, anguish, torment and heartache. It is a terrible feeling. Take all of those emotions and multiply it by a hundredfold and we will have an idea of how God felt when he saw all the evil that humanity was involved in. God did not wipe out the earth out of impulse or anger but grief. He was grieved to his heart. 

  All of us have grieved the heart of God with our evil thoughts and deeds. None of us are without guilt. We have spit on his grace and took his mercy for granted. Thankfully, that is not where the story ends. The story ends with hope and gives us a glimpse of God’s heart. His desire has always been for us to be fruitful and multiply. His desire has always been that we would be righteous and blameless and to walk with him. The rainbow is proof of that.

  In this season of Lent, let us take time to examine our lives. Where have we done well and where have we fallen short? May the prayer of David in Psalms 139:23-24 be our prayer:

  “Search me, O God, and know my heart!
      Try me and know my thoughts!
  And see if there be any grievous way in me,
      and lead me in the way everlasting!”

reading for: 19 february

1 Peter 3:18-22 

Fasting in the Season of Lent

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  The key theme of this letter is suffering. Peter wrote to encourage fellow believers to keep their faith in the midst of persecution and to endure suffering (1:6-7; 2:18-20; 3:9, 13-17; 4:1-4, 12-19; 5:9) by giving themselves wholly to God (4:19). And Christ is our example. He himself has suffered and has shown us how to respond to suffering. In the midst of our suffering, we are to honour Christ as holy in our hearts (3:14-15).

  According to Peter, it is better to suffer than to do evil and we must keep Christ at the center of our hearts when we go through suffering, least we dishonour God and forget what Christ has suffered for our sake (3:17-18). Peter then proceeds to remind believers of the days of Noah where the people have failed to obey God and how He patiently waited for them to repent but they never did, so God destroyed the earth by water (3:19-20).

  Nonetheless, even in the midst of destruction, there was grace. God had instructed Noah to build an ark to keep his family safe from the flood. This same grace that had saved 8 persons then is now demonstrated through baptism. As Peter explains, it is not the ark or baptism that saves but the grace of God. Baptism is merely a visual representation of God’s saving grace that is grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ (3:21-22). 
  

• REFLECT

  Jesus suffered for our sake. He gave his life so that we may have life. He rose from the grave so that we may never die. He has ascended and is now seated at the right hand of God. He may no longer walk the earth but He is very much alive and He is coming back again. In the meantime, there will be suffering and we are called to endure and to look to God for salvation. Christ has saved us and he will continue to save us. 

  How then should we live in His absence? When Jesus first began his ministry, people compared him to John the Baptist and one of the things they compared was fasting. The disciples of John fasted just as the Pharisees did. However, Jesus’ disciples did not fast. Hence, the people came to Jesus and questioned him why (Mark 2:18). In response, Jesus remarked that wedding guests feast when the bridegroom is around and fast when he is not (Mark 2:19). Jesus then anticipates that the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away and on that day, people will fast (Mark 2:20).

  The day that Jesus spoke of has come. We live in the days where Jesus, the bridegroom, has been taken away from us. Now is not the time to feast. Now is the time to fast as we long for the great feast at the wedding supper of the Lamb. How often do you and I fast? How much do you and I long for Jesus’ return? In today’s context, fasting is a form of suffering and a much needed discipline to keep us hungry for God and His Kingdom.

  We fast and give up something that has taken a hold of us so that God may lay hold of us. We fast to empty ourselves that we may realise our utter need for God and in our emptying, we practice becoming like Christ and we partake in His suffering. How is the Lord challenging you to fast in this season of Lent? How can we as a LG fast and pray together?

reading for: 20 february

Psalm 25:1-10

Lamenting in the Season of Lent

• READ

  Psalm 25 is a lament psalm. In this psalm, the Psalmist lifts his soul to God, trusting that God will not put him to shame (1-3). He desires to be tutored in the ways of God and seeks the mercy of God for his transgressions (4-7). He praises God for his goodness, love and faithfulness (8-10). He expresses his confidence that friendship and instruction are available to those who fear the Lord (11-14). He looks to God and laments about his situation, asking for deliverance and protection from his afflictions, troubles and foes (15-21). Finally, he calls upon God to redeem all of Israel (22). 

  Over a third of the Psalms are laments (some are for personal grief and others for corporate suffering) and we even have a book in the bible called Lamentations. Lament is a common human experience because pain is a part of life. Lament is the prayer language that God has given to us who are hurting. It teaches us to verbalise our pain to God and helps us to walk with others through their suffering. Life is full of sorrow and learning to lament well will benefit our soul. Many of us may know how to sing to the Lord, praise His name and give Him thanks, but how many of us know how to lament? 

• REFLECT

  Until Jesus returns, lament is a form of prayer that we will be practicing this side of heaven. On that day, there will be no more sorrow, no more pain and no more weeping. The season of Lent is a time to pray and an opportunity to practice lament. In your own time and in your LG gatherings, listen to the song “I Will Arise” by Chris Tomlin and lament to the Lord.

  “There's a peace I've come to know
  Though my heart and flesh may fail
  There's an anchor for my soul
  I can say "It is well"

  Jesus has overcome
  And the grave is overwhelmed
  The victory is won
  He is risen from the dead

  And I will rise when He calls my name
  No more sorrow, no more pain
  I will rise on eagles' wings
  Before my God fall on my knees
  And rise, I will rise

  There's a day that's drawing near
  When this darkness breaks to light
  And the shadows disappear
  And my faith shall be my eyes

  And I hear the voice of many angels sing…worthy is the Lamb

  And I hear the cry of every longing heart…worthy is the Lamb”