Daily Devotion

Voice: Doreen

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Today is Wednesday, 13th of August. Let us pause to gather our scattered thoughts and focus our spirit on His presence.

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Let us humbly confess our sins to Almighty God.

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires
of our own hearts.
We have offended against your holy laws.
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not
to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Spare all those who confess their faults.
Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises
declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

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We read Psalm 34:11-18

Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

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Ezekiel 33:23-29

²³ The word of the Lord came to me: 
²⁴ “Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ 
²⁵ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? 
²⁶ You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land? 
²⁷ Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. 
²⁸ And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. 
²⁹ Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.

This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.

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Learning the Fear of the Lord

Psalm 34:11 says:

“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”

We live in a world that is pragmatic, self-focused, and increasingly blind to the fear of the Lord. This spiritual dullness is not new. In Ezekiel 33:24, we hear of people who claimed their blessings because of their identity and inheritance. “We belong to Abraham!” they said, as if that was all that mattered. Their way of life no longer aligned with the holiness of God—but they still believed they deserved His blessings.

This kind of thinking can quietly slip into the Church as well. “We are blessed in Christ,” we say. “We are CHRISTIANS!” And yes, we are. But it doesn’t mean how we live no longer matters.

If we paraphrase the charges in Ezekiel, it might sound like this today:

• We no longer honour what is sacred, and live without boundaries.
• We love the world and its pleasures more than God.
• We rely on – and even abuse – our powers—our status, legal rights, networks, or talents—and use them to control or manipulate.
• We gratify our desires, especially in areas of love and sexuality, often at the expense of others.

At the heart of it, we want the rights of being God’s children, but not the responsibilities.

But the Word of God warns us: for the wilfully unrepentant, the result is desolation—a cutting off from His presence.

Yet there is hope.

“If my people… will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven…” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The call of Psalm 34 still stands:
Come. Listen. Be taught the fear of the Lord.
Return to the God who loves you and longs to heal you. Reclaim not just your inheritance, but your identity as one who walks in His ways.

We end with the collect of the day:

Almighty Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and bodies 
in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, 
we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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I leave you with this song written by a collective of songwriters from Singapore, with the title, Fear of the Lord. It is sung by Yumin Ooi and released by Awaken Generation Music.

The fear of the Lord is beginning to know
The eminent glory that holds us despite it all
Undone by the wonder & weight of His holiness
Yet I’m pulled in close to my Father’s arms

Chorus:
Let my delight be in the fear of the Lord
Captivate me in reverence and awe

Verse 2:
The fear of the Lord is more precious than gold
Sweeter than honey, You satisfy my soul
You’ve hidden Your Word and Your secrets within my heart
The Holy One a friend, now I can know

Bridge 1:
So I ask for Your wisdom I’ll lean in to listen
And open my heart to receive
To know what is pleasing
And know what is true
That I may see more of You

Bridge 2:
I’ll seek it like silver I’ll search it like treasure
Then I will know what it means
To know You as Father
And know You as Friend
Just like You’ve made it to be

Outro:
For how I could I depart
From the One that gave His all
You are the One my heart longs for
I will live in the fear of the Lord
It’s my delight to know You more

Link to today’s Morning Office

About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.

Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.

For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg