EASTER • 5

What does it mean to be born of God?

This week’s passage invites us to consider what does being children born of God looks like.

reading for: 5 May

John 15:9-17

Born to love

  • READ

This passage follows the teaching that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches in John 15:1-8. As branches we are to abide in the vine, we are to abide in Jesus. Our passage today continues to expand on what it means to abide in Jesus.

Abiding in Jesus is to abide in the love of Jesus that he has for us. This is a powerful truth as it is, but Jesus does not start with this. He starts off comparing His love for us to the Father’s love for Him. (V9) This shows us that the love that Jesus has for us is deep and powerful, culminating in the laying down of his life. (V13)

Verse 10 tells us that we are to keep the commandments of Jesus and by doing so abide in his love. Verse 12 further explains this by telling us that “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” In other words, those who love one another are the people who obey Jesus. (V12) They are the ones abiding in the love of Jesus. (V10) They are the friends of Jesus. (V14-15) They will bear fruit in their lives. (V16) The passage then ends with a reminder to love one another. (V17)

As people who are born of God, we are to abide in the love that Jesus has for us and love one another. In short, we are the people that are born of God to love. We are to abide in the love of Jesus for us and express out that in our love for one another.

  • REFLECT

    This passage reminds us that abiding in Jesus’ love for us involves loving one another. They are intimately connected and cannot be separated from each other. 

    On the one hand, we need to ask if we are abiding in the love of Jesus for ourselves? On the other hand, are we loving one another in the body of Christ?

    Let’s pray for God to open our hearts to abide in the love of Jesus and to have the strength to love one another in the body of Christ.

reading for: 6 May

Acts 10:44-48

Born by the Spirit

  • READ

    Acts 10 contains the account of the first sharing to a gentile audience. Through a series of divine encounters, Peter preached the gospel to Gentiles who had gathered at Cornelius house. (Acts 10:1-43)

    Our passage for today picks up from verse 44 as Peter was preaching the gospel about Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word as Peter was still preaching. (V44). Amazing the followers of Peter as they saw the Holy Spirit fall on the Gentiles, an uncommon sight. (V45) Plus, they were now speaking in tongues and praising God. (V46) Because of this, Peter felt led not to withhold baptism from them. (V47-48)

    This is an account of the first Gentile converts of Gentiles to the people of God, the first Gentiles to be born of God. They weren’t born of God because of Peter’s initiative. Peter had to be persuaded first by God before he would even preach to them. Plus the Spirit had to step in before Peter even finished and baptised them with the Holy Spirit. In summary, they were born of God by the Spirit and not the will of men.

    The story also shows Peter who was initially reluctant, but after seeing a vision of Christ, agreed to be the vessel of the Spirit. To preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and baptize them into the body of Christ.

  • REFLECT

    Like the Gentiles in this story, we are not born of God because of our pride or our own effort. We are believers who are born of God only because of the work of the Spirit. It is the Spirit who draws us to the word and body of Christ.

    May we praise God for the Spirit’s work in our lives, for his work in allowing us to be born of God.

    Let’s also learn from Peter who though he was initially unwilling, was persuaded by Christ and the Spirit to be a vessel to bring about God’s purposes. All of us are faced with numerous circumstances in our lives where we can choose to be God’s vessel, or choose to resist the leading of Spirit.

    Let’s pray that we will be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and be willing vessels to do the work of God in every area of our life.

reading for: 7 May

1 John 5:1-6

Born to love out of faith in Jesus

  • READ

    In the gospel reading for this week, we saw that people born of God are people that are abiding in the love of Jesus and loving one another. They are those that are born to love in their hearts and deeds. Our passage for today continues to share and reflect on the importance of love.

    The passage starts off with a declaration that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. John immediately pivots to love by telling us that everyone who loves the Father must love whoever has been born of him. We know that we love God and keep his commands whenever we love other children of God. (V1-2) We have seen in John 15:12, that the commandment of Jesus is to love one another. A further point is made that this commandment to love one another is not burdensome. The commandment to love is manageable and possible for us to keep.

    How can we keep the commandment of Jesus? John answers the question by saying that everyone born of God overcomes the world. The victory that overcomes the world is our faith. (V1,4-5) What John is trying to say is that the one who believes in Jesus has been born of God and overcomes the world. In other words, the one who has faith in Jesus has been born of God and now possesses the power to overcome the temptation of the world. Powers that are lobbied against us. The one that believes in Jesus has the strength to overcome the temptations of the world that is causing us to hate one another so that we can love one another.

  • REFLECT

    Do we see the commandment of God to love others as burdensome? Or do we see it as beyond our ability? We may feel powerless to love someone. This passage reminds us that the command to love one another is not burdensome but is achievable. It is achievable not in our own strength but because we believe in Jesus who died and rose again conquering the power of death and sin. We who believe in Jesus are born of God and overcome the world. We have the power to love one another.

    Share in your LG your experience of loving others, especially those that you find burdensome. Pray for each other that we will continue to put our faith in Jesus, because it is only in him that we can love one another.

reading for: 8 May

Psalm 98

Praising God who is the saviour, king and judge

  • READ

    This is a psalm of praise to God. It starts by calling Israel to praise him for what he has done in the past. God has worked salvation for them by delivering them from the power of their enemies. In front of other nations, God has revealed his righteousness, they have seen how God delivered his people from their hands. God has shown forth his faithfulness and love to Israel. (V1-3)

    The psalmist then calls on the entire earth to praise God, to make a joyful noise before God because he is the king and Lord of the earth. The God who demonstrated his power by saving his people Israel from the hands of their enemies is worthy to be praised. (V4-6)

    The psalmist then calls us to praise God because he is the judge that comes in the future to judge the world with righteousness and equity. We are to praise God for he is the judge. (V7-9)

    The New Testament show us that these three traits speak of Jesus. Jesus is the Saviour, King, and Judge. Jesus is the one who saves us from the power of sin and death, he is the one that rules over us. He is the one that will come again to judge the world in righteousness. Thus Jesus is truly worthy of our praise because he is the saviour, king, and judge.

  • REFLECT

    Praise Jesus for he is our saviour who delivered us from the power of sin and death. Praise Jesus for he is our king who leads and guides us. Praise Jesus because he is the judge that will come to judge the world in righteousness.

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