Voice: Kae Chee
Today is Tuesday, 18th of November. Let us gather our scattered thoughts and be still in His presence.
May Christ, the true, the only light
banish all darkness from our hearts and minds.
Psalms 36
Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
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.
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Building wisely
In Jesus’ parable, the two men shared the same noble desire: to build a home. A house is one of life’s basic needs. In our society, owning a home is often called the Singaporean dream. We may not construct it with our own hands, yet much of our lives revolve around it.
Stretching the metaphor further, whether we realise it or not, we are always building something. It is something we will live for, live with, or live in. There is simply no escaping the fact that every one of us is a builder.
We can assume that both men in the parable used similar materials and designs. If one had built with bricks and the other with straw, the point would have shifted entirely. We can also assume that both houses faced the same harsh conditions—torrential rain, violent winds, and rising floods.
The outcome, however, could not have been more different. One house stood firm, while the other collapsed, and “great was the fall of it.” We can almost hear the creaking timbers before it suddenly gave way.
What made the difference? It was not the effort, nor the skill, nor the materials. It was the foundation. One was built on rock; the other on sand. That alone distinguished the wise builder from the foolish one. And Jesus brings us to the central point: to be wise, we must not only hear His words but do them. Wisdom is found in obedience. Hearing and knowing alone will not make us wise—we must act upon what we have heard.
This parable forms a fitting conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, which began in chapter five. We may read the whole sermon in just a few minutes, yet it holds a lifetime’s worth of material for us to live out. In different seasons of our lives as builders, we will be given opportunities to practice what we have heard.
And in those moments, will we stand firm or will we fall? Will we grow wise… or otherwise?
As always, we need His grace to carry us through. So we pray that He would “forgive our foolish ways” and bring us back to the path of the wise.
We end with the Collect of the Day:
Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant that we, having this hope,
may purify ourselves even as he is pure;
that when he shall appear in power and great glory
we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Be blessed by this hymn, Dear Father and Lord of Mankind
1 Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
in purer lives Thy service find,
in deeper rev’rence, praise.
2 In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
3 O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!
4 Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of Thy peace.
5 Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!
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 terrywong@anglican.org.sg
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