Voice: Doreen
Today is Thursday, 15th of January. Whatever you are planning to do today, take a moment to commit your plans to the Lord.
We pray:
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose years never fail and whose mercies are new each returning day:
let the radiance of your Spirit renew our lives,
warming our hearts and giving light to our minds;
that we may pass this year in joyful obedience and firm faith;
through him who is the beginning and the end,
your Son, Christ our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm 24
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah
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.
Genesis 3:1-13
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Where are you?
Here is another rich passage in Genesis that offers many themes for our reflection.
Both Adam and Eve were hiding among the trees of the garden when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in. They were afraid to be seen naked by God.
Imagine young children being afraid to be seen naked by their parents. After all, they were once bathed without shame, fully known and fully safe. God, their Creator, had always seen Adam and Eve exactly as they were.
Before this moment, God’s presence with them was natural, familiar, and unthreatening. God walked with them. Communion with Him was part of the daily rhythm of life.
But now something has changed.
When Adam and Eve hear God approaching, they do not run toward Him—they hide. The presence that once brought joy now produces fear and shame.
When God calls out, “Where are you?”, it is not a question asked out of ignorance. God knows exactly where they are. It is a relational question. It is the voice of a Father seeking His children.
Adam’s reply is telling: “I was afraid… and I hid myself.”
Nakedness, once a sign of innocence and freedom, is now experienced as exposure and vulnerability. The fear is more than bodily shame. It is guilt. It is the awareness of having disobeyed God. It is the loss of innocence.
Can sin simply remain in the past? Can we move on as if nothing has happened? For Adam and Eve, the answer was no. And it is no for us as well. Sin affects us profoundly.
We run.
We hide.
We feel guilt and shame.
And in the presence of holiness, we want to disappear.
Yet if this is our response, there is still hope.
To sin is, tragically, part of the human condition after the Fall. But to sin without fear—without remorse, awareness, or sorrow—is far more dangerous. It is to lose our moral and spiritual sensitivity, to no longer feel the rupture sin causes in our relationship with God.
St Augustine said it well:
“I fear not that I sin, but that when I sin, I fear not.”
The fear of the Lord is not terror, but reverent awareness—the recognition that we stand before a holy and loving God. When that fear disappears, conscience dulls, repentance fades, and sin becomes casual.
Adam’s fear, painful as it was, signaled that something had gone wrong. Fear became the doorway to truth. A heart that no longer fears has lost even that doorway.
So will we keep our hearts open—and broken—before God?
It is often precisely when we want to hide that our Heavenly Father calls out to us:
“Where are you?”
We end with the Lord’s Prayer:
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.
_____
Be blessed by this song, Thank You Jesus for the Blood
I was a wretch, I remember who I was
I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time
Sin separated, the breach was far too wide
But from the far side of the chasm
You held me in Your sight
So You made a way, across the great divide
Left behind, Heaven’s throne, to build it here inside
And there at the cross You paid the debt I owe
Broke my chains, freed my soul, for the first time I had hope
Thank You Jesus, for the blood applied
Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white
Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light
You took my place, laid inside my tomb of sin
You were buried for three days but then You walked right out again
And now death has no sting and life has no end
For I have been transformed by the blood of the Lamb
Thank You Jesus, for the blood applied (thank You, Jesus)
Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white
Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light
There is nothing stronger
Than the wonder working power of the blood, the blood
That calls us sons and daughters
We are ransomed by our Father through the blood, the blood
There is nothing stronger
Oh, the wonder working power of the blood, the blood (it calls us)
That calls us sons and daughters
We are ransomed by our Father through the blood, the blood
Thank You Jesus, for the blood applied
Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white
Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
There to my heart was the blood applied
Glory to His name
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
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