SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 28 February

john 3:1-17

jesus is worthy of our trust

• READ

  The reading for today comes from the Gospel of John and it is the story of Jesus’s encounter with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a pharisee and as such was a ruler of the Jews. He was not a nobody who came to Jesus but was one of the most influential Jews of his day. As a pharisee, he was well versed with the law and was a teacher of Israel. Thus, it was noticeable that Nicodemus would want to come to Jesus to be taught.

  What did Jesus teach Nicodemus? Jesus started his teaching with the need to be born again.

  John 3:3–8 (ESV)

  3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

  Jesus states that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus is puzzled for surely one cannot enter into his mother’s womb and be born again. Nicodemus assumes that Jesus is talking about a physical birth but that is not the birth that Jesus is talking about. The Greek word for “born again” is “anothen” which can also be translated from above. However, Nicodemus only hears ‘born again’. The point that Jesus is making is that to see the kingdom of God, one must be born from above. So to be born of water and the Spirit is to be born from the waters of baptism and born of the work of the Holy Spirit. In short, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, that he is to leave the darkness and to come into the light (v. 19). What does it mean to live either in darkness or in light? Those who live in the darkness and hate the light do so because their evil deeds will be exposed (v. 20). To come into the light—to be born from above—is to do “what is true” (v. 21), to follow the one who is himself “the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6).

  Nicodemus still puzzled asks the question, “How can these things be?” Jesus chides him for his lack of understanding and belief but proceeds to teach him. Jesus responds to Nicodemus can be summed up succinctly as an invitation to believe in Jesus.  

  John 3:13–17 (ESV)

  13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

  Jesus refers Nicodemus to the story of the bronze serpent to make the point that as the people of Israel in the wilderness believed in the bronze serpent lifted up on the pole and consequently was healed and lived. Jesus is the Son of Man who will be lifted up on the cross that whoever in him may have eternal life. To believe in Jesus is to not perish but to have eternal life. Belief in Jesus is the means of salvation for all.

  In short, Jesus’s message to Nicodemus is that if he entrusts himself to Jesus and follows him, he will be born from above and he will see and enter the kingdom of God.

• REFLECT

  Who do we believe in? Do we believe in Jesus, or do we believe in ourselves? Or perhaps we place our trust in the stock market or in our education? Do we believe in our friends or the need for success? There are many things in this world that we believe in.

  Reflect on who you entrust yourself to. Is Jesus is worthy of your trust and belief? In this season of lent, pray and ask Jesus for strength to hear his words and believe and trust in him.

reading for: Wednesday Night, 1 march

Genesis 12:1-4A

JESUS IS WORTHY OF MY FOLLOWING

• READ

  Genesis 12:1-4 is a hugely popular and important passage. Genesis 1,2 starts with the creation of the world and humanity as the crown jewel of God’s creation. Humanity is created in the image of God and to dwell in the presence of God. Genesis 3 tells us that humanity disobeyed God and fell into sin. The outcome was that they were chased out of the garden and the image of God was marred. Genesis 4 to 11 contains more and more ways in which humanity continued to disobey God and fall into greater and greater levels of sin.

  Genesis 12 contains God’s answer to the problem. It contains an account of the call of Abram who will later be called Abraham.

  Genesis 12:1–4 (ESV)

  1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

  The Lord first commanded Abram to go from his country to the land that the Lord would show him. The Lord told Abram that the He would made him into a great nation, and bless him and make his name great. Not only that, those who blessed Abram would be blessed but those who dishonoured Abram would be cursed. In Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. All this would happen for Abram if he obeyed and trusted the Lord. And that was exactly what Abram did when he took Sarai and his nephew Lot and went as the Lord commanded, leaving his country and family before all the blessings would arrive as promised. But if he had remained in his country and refused to obey, he would not receive the promised blessing. Looking ahead in the story, we can see that Abraham was tested numerous times as to whether he would continue to obey, trust and follow the Lord or whether he would disobey. Yet, for all his obedience, Abram did not receive many of this blessings in his lifetime, but despite this, his faith in God never waned.

  Hebrews 11:8–13 (ESV)

  8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

  Hebrews 11 sees Abraham as a hero of faith who obeyed God, looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

• REFLECT

  Abraham is a hero of faith because he trusted in the Lord. He was willing to obey the Lord to leave his country and go to a place that the Lord did not even tell him where. He was willing to trust in the Lord’s timing even if it meant that at his death he did not receive the fullness of what he was promised.

  For Abraham, the Lord was worthy of his following. He sought throughout his life to pursue and follow the Lord. How about you? Is the Lord worthy of your obedience and following him?

  In this season of lent, pray that we learn to hear and discern the voice of the Lord and to obey and follow him.

reading for: Thursday Night, 2 mARCH

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Jesus is worthy of my belief

• READ

  In Romans 4, Paul use the story of Abraham to make a point about believing in Jesus. Let us look at how Paul makes use of story of Abraham. Paul starts with a question in verse 1, “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?” He proceeds to answer the question in the verses that follow.

  Romans 4:2–5 (ESV)

  2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

  Paul speaks about Abraham believing God and this belief was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham was not justified by works, for if he was the blessings of God will not be a gift but a wage. Paul proceeds in verse 6-7 to quote from Psalm 32 which portrays David as speaking of the blessing to whom God forgives and blesses.

  Paul then proceeds to speak of Abraham as the Father of both the uncircumcised and the circumcised making the point that the key point is not circumcision or no circumcision but faith and belief in God.

  Romans 4:13–17 (ESV)

  13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

  Abraham’s promise by God to be heir of the world was not through the law but through faith.  Paul’s point in the whole chapter is clear that it is not by works that Abraham is justified but it is by faith.

• REFLECT

  What does the story of Abraham teach us? Perhaps the story of Abraham shows us a hero that lives by faith. Abraham has various challenges in his life that he had to stand strong in his faith before the Lord.  Let us stand firm in the Lord and continue to trust the Lord.

  Paul also reminds us that it is not by works that Abraham was justified for if it was by works then the blessings would be a wage and not a gift. Paul is reminding us that we are only who we are as children of God by faith and not by works. It is not by our good works that we are justified. Let us praise God that we are only who we are by his grace! Let us continue to do good works not in order to earn his blessings but because this is who we are as children of God!

reading for: Friday Night, 3 MARCH

PSALM 121

Jesus is worthy of my praise

• READ

  This psalm is a song of praise to God. It portrays God as the one who is our keeper and help. He is the one that keeps us from evil so that the sun shall not strike us by day nor the moon by night. He is the one that protects our going out and coming in forever.

  Psalm 121:1–8 (ESV)

  1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

  The psalmist sees God as the one who keeps him but what situation is the psalmist in. Is he in a bad place or a good place. From verses 1 and 2, it shows us that the psalmist is lifting his eyes to the hills, and asking from where his help comes from. The psalmist recognises that his help comes from the Lord. It is likely that the psalmist was in a place that he recognised that he needed God’s help.  The psalmist clearly trusted God and knew that God would not abandon him but be the one who keeps him.

• REFLECT

  Are you in a tough place this week? Perhaps it has been a challenging week for some of us. May we recognise that we need God’s help to be the one that keeps us. Pray the words of this psalm as a prayer to God. Or perhaps we are in a good place this week, then may we also pray this psalm as a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord that he is the one that watches over us.