SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 21 February

Matthew 4:1-11

Trust His Love

• READ

  Today’s reading takes us to the temptation of Jesus – a story that is familiar to most of us. We remember what happened. Right after Jesus’ baptism and the affirmation of the Father that He is the beloved Son, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where he fasted for forty days. And in the wilderness where Jesus was alone, tired and hungry, and therefore, in his most vulnerable state – the devil comes to test him:

  1) “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

  2) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”

  3) “All these I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

  Essentially, the devil was trying to sow doubts and turn Jesus against God – Does He really love you? Does He actually care about your life? Are you sure you can trust Him? Jesus’ response demonstrated that he rested in the Father’s love and trusted His words. We know that to be true because each time Jesus was tempted, he referenced what was written and revealed by the Father:

  1) “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

  2) “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

  3) “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

• REFLECT

  The devil was looking for a gap that he could exploit in Jesus’ life. All the devil needed was an opening that he could use to cast doubts about God’s love, but he failed because Jesus left no room in his relationship with the Father for the devil to enter.

  What about you? What are some gaps in your life that the devil is exploiting to sow doubts that are leading to sin and disobedience? Prayerfully consider where the enemy has gained a foothold. Shore up your defences against the breaches. Turn back to God. He loves you.

reading for: Wednesday Night, 22 FEBRUARY

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Trust His Word

• READ

  Our text tonight begins in the garden of Eden where the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is located (Gen 2:9). After forming man from the ground and breathing life into him, the LORD God had placed the man in the garden to work it and to keep it (v7, 15). The man was permitted to eat of every tree of the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v16-17).

  All was well and good and beautiful. Eden was heaven on earth. What more can a man ask for? The answer should have been nothing. The story should have ended with God and man living together happily ever after, except that it didn’t. That’s not how it ends. In fact, the story has only just begun. It appears that a man could ask for more than paradise.

  In the midst of eternal bliss, the serpent approaches the woman in the garden and sows the first seed of doubt – “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (v1). We see how cunning the serpent is. Though God had made it clear that every tree of the garden can be eaten of except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent has succeeded in causing the woman to doubt His words (v3). The woman is no longer sure about what exactly did God say. She recalls something about a tree in the middle of the garden and something about dying if she were to touch or eat it.

  With that, the serpent goes in for the kill – “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (v4-5).” All of a sudden, of all the trees in the garden that the woman was permitted to eat of, she only had eyes for the tree that she was forbidden to eat of (v6). The serpent has succeeded in baiting the woman to doubt the words of God. And she proceeded to eat of the tree, gave some to the man and both of their eyes were opened (v7).

• REFLECT

  The serpent is as cunning today as he was in the garden of Eden. And the bait remains the same – “Did God actually say?”. Therefore, unless you and I know the Word of God, we will fall prey to the same tactic over and over again. The serpent will always – 1) approach us with an innocent question of what God has said (to sow seeds of doubt regarding His Word) and 2) present the “tree” both as something worth pursuing and as something that God himself approves and wants us to have (to distort what is ‘good’).

  And if we are honest, we will admit that we are easily deceived by the serpent’s half-truths and even without it, we effortlessly deceive ourselves too. But we have not been left defenseless. The Word of God has been revealed in Christ, recorded in Scripture and is witnessed to by the Spirit today. In other words, the Word of God is alive and can be known.

  1) Do you know the Word of God? (There is no shortcut to knowing the Word. We must spend time with Jesus and take time to read and study the Scripture.)

  2) Do you trust His Word? (The only way to grow in our trust is to obey it. When we obey and walk according to His Word, we will taste and see that His Word is trustworthy.)

reading for: Thursday Night, 23 february

Romans 5:12-19

Trust His Work

• READ

  Paul’s letter to the Romans is known to be the fullest expression of his theology. It was written many years after Paul’s first encounter on the road to Damascus. Hence, by the time he wrote this letter, he had gained a much deeper understanding and a much richer appreciation of the Gospel.

  We have spent the last two nights reading two different account of temptations. In the first reading, we read of the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness and how He overcame it. And in the second reading, we read of the temptations of the woman in the garden and how she succumb to it.

  In our third reading tonight, the lectionary takes us to Romans 5:12-19, where Paul makes both an implicit reference to the two stories and an explicit contrast on the aftermath of Jesus’ success and Adam’s failure in the temptations. Paul begins by stating the dire consequences of Adam’s failure:

   “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned – for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” (v12-14).

  In short, sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience and his sin brought death upon all men who came after him. However, not all is gloom and doom. There is still a hint of hope. The fall of Adam anticipates the rise of another who was to come. In the next five verses, Paul goes on to expound on the work of Christ and how He made right what Adam made wrong. It is quite a mouthful of words but let’s read it in full:

  “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (v15-19).

  In a nutshell, death in Adam and life in Christ. The work of Adam has condemned us all as a sinner, but the work of Christ has justified us all as a saint. Redemption is available.

• REFLECT

  It is finished. The last enemy has been defeated. Only two options remain – will you trust the work of Christ and seek life OR rely on yourself and consequentially choose death?

reading for: Friday Night, 24 february

PSALM 32

Trust His Mercy

• READ

  There is no doubt that Psalm 32 is a psalm about forgiveness. After taking us on a journey of temptation, sin, disobedience and Jesus’ triumph over death, the lectionary reading ends on the note of forgiveness – Blessed are those who are forgiven and whose sins have been forgotten (v1-2).

  Let’s face it. We don’t like to talk about sin. Especially our own sins. When was the last time you confided in someone and confessed your sins? It is a hard thing to do. It is uncomfortable. We feel ashamed. It is not easy to accept the truth about ourselves. It is disturbing to come to terms with our own darkness and brokenness. And it is unsettling to acknowledge that we have fallen short and have sinned against God and our neighbour. We would much rather talk about everything else under the sun than confessing our sins.

  However, according to the Psalmist, not confessing our sins is a terrible alternative. If we keep quiet, we inevitably allow sin to fester and infect our whole being. The psalmist describes it with images of physical depletion – “my bones wasted away…my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” (v3-4). In other words, sin will suck the life out of us if we remain silent. It is cancerous and it will kill us.

  The Psalmist proposes that the cure to this “cancer” is confession. Covering up, keeping quiet and pretending it doesn’t exist will not aid our condition. We must confront and confess our sins (v5). And in that act, we find ourselves in the arms of a loving, kind and merciful God (v6). God is eager to forgive, to deliver and to heal.

  Hence, the Psalmist pleads with us to seek the LORD. He is a safe refuge and a hiding place (v7). In him, there is neither shame nor condemnation. Confession is the way to go and we must not be like a stubborn mule who insists on going his own way (v8-9). The mercy of God can be trusted and there is much joy in confessing and receiving forgiveness (v10-11).

  Blessed are those who are forgiven! Happy are those whose sins are forgotten!

• REFLECT

  Acknowledging that we are not all that God intends us to be, not all that we present ourselves to be, that we have indeed fallen short and that we too have nailed Jesus to the cross is both humbling and encouraging.

  It is humbling to accept who we truly are yet encouraging to know that in Christ, we have been forgiven and that our sins will no longer be counted against us. We are born again. We are a new creation in Christ. There is new life. Things don’t have to be the way it is. It can be better. We can get better. We can be better. We can do better.

  Jesus once asked a crowd who was ready to stone a woman to death – “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7). The crowd was silent and everyone walked away. Why? Because no one is without sin! All of us have sinned against God and fallen short of His glory (Rom 3:23). Jesus then approached the woman and said to her “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on, sin no more.” (John 8:11).

  There is much forgiveness and healing to be found in confession. It is liberating to know that our sins are covered and our shame is lifted. It is comforting to know that God and our friends know exactly who we are.

  Many of our hearts are heavy because of the weight of our sins. As we enter into the season of Lent, will you begin by confiding in and confessing to a trusted friend? And may the lyrics of this song remind you and I that our sins may be many but His mercy is more! The unfailing love, unending grace and unceasing mercy of our Lord can be trusted!

  “What love could remember no wrongs we have done;

  Omniscient, all-knowing, He counts not their sum.

  Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore;

  Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.

   

  Praise the Lord!

  His mercy is more.

  Stronger than darkness; new every morn;

  Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.

   

  What patience would wait as we constantly roam;

  What Father, so tender, is calling us home.

  He welcomes, the weakest, the vilest, the poor;

  Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.

   

  What riches of kindness He lavished on us;

  His blood was the payment, His life was the cost.

  We stood ‘neath a debt we could never afford;

  Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more.”