Voice: Mylene
Today is Wednesday, 17th September. Let us pause to gather our scattered thoughts and focus our spirit on His presence.
We read the Venite:
1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
8 If only you would hear his voice today: for he comes to judge the earth.
9 He shall judge the world with righteousness: and the peoples with his truth.
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.
Mark 8:34-38
29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Cruciform Life
Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ (Messiah)” (Mark 8:29), is a turning point and a high watermark in this Gospel. Immediately after this declaration, Jesus revealed a truth that must have stunned His disciples: the Messiah must suffer many things, be rejected by the leaders, and finally be killed. For the first time in Mark’s Gospel, He spoke plainly about His death.
And it was at this very moment that Jesus said to His followers: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This is also the first mention of the cross (stauros in Greek) in Mark.
It is significant that Jesus chose this moment—not after a great miracle, but right after speaking of His suffering and death—to tell His disciples what true discipleship means. The stauros would be the mark of the Messiah. Therefore, all who follow Him will also bear the same mark.
“Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”
- To deny ourselves is to release our pride, selfish desires, and greed, surrendering our will to God’s greater will.
- To take up the cross is to embrace the way of shame, sacrifice, and even rejection.
- To follow Him is to walk in His steps, learning His way of love, humility, and service.
We see this lived out in Simon of Cyrene. He denied himself, took up the patibulum (the crossbeam), and followed Jesus on the road to Calvary. In him we glimpse the vocation of every Christian—the call to carry the cross and to live a cruciform life.
Jesus also gave us a reason for this costly obedience: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Our very existence is a gift. Life is given to us—we never asked for it. Yet how we live it is our responsibility. Each of us must decide how to spend the limited years entrusted to us. Will we live for ourselves, or will we live for God?
So pause and consider the day before you. Will you take up your cross and walk in His steps? Will you live today for eternity’s sake?
We pray the Family Collect:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin
against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and
the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
In closing, be blessed by this song, Teresa’s Song (Dare I Go) by Ethel Yap
How does it feel to be completely alone
How does it feel to have no place to call home
To be a wanderer, forever to roam
Dare I go there with You?
What does it mean to walk in Your steps
What does it mean to give all that I have
Utterly stripped down, laid empty and bare
Dare I go there with You?
Dare I go there with You, Lord?
Dare I go there with You?
What does it look like to have nothing else but You
What does it mean to have all my delight be in You
To let Your joy become my clothes and my food
Fill my cup, Lord, to full
Dare I go there with You, Lord?
Dare I go there with You?
To You I plead, that You’ll supply all I need
Dare I go there with You?
Are You calling me to be hungry?
Are You calling me to be poor?
Am I learning each face is just You in disguise
Do I know that when I’m resting in Your love
Your grace is enough
Dare I go there with You, Lord?
Dare I go there with You?
To You I plead, that You’ll supply all I need
Dare I go there with You?
Help me be there with You
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 terrywg@gmail.com
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