Voice: Terry
Today is Friday, the 27th of March. We are now a weekend away from the start of Holy Week.
The Opening Sentence:
Turn your face from my sins, and blot out all my misdeeds.
PSALM 51:9
The appointed psalm for today is Psalm 126.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.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.
Hebrews 13:1-16
1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Let Brotherly Love Continue
I understand this verse perhaps more personally than most.
I had a very close relationship with my brother, Clement. He was instrumental in sharing the gospel with me when we were teenagers. Later, he himself became a pastor. We shared much in common—faith, calling, and life. When he passed away, something of that bond remained deeply within me.
Reflecting on verses 2 and 3, I realise that as brothers, hospitality and care came naturally to us. We stood by each other in times of need.
We helped one another in practical ways.
And yet, none of it was transactional. I never asked, “What do I gain from this?” I never acted out of obligation or fear of offence.
It was simply natural, sincere, and genuine.
This helps me understand what Scripture means when it says: “Let brotherly love continue.”
The word here speaks of family love—a love that is natural and unforced.
It is the kind of love that most will experience within their own families.
And this connects with what Epistle to the Romans 12:9 says:
“Let love be sincere.”
The word Paul uses (anupokritos) means without hypocrisy or pretending.
For true love is not a performance, a strategy or self-serving.
It is genuine, from the heart. Just as wine must be pressed from the grapes to be real, so love must come from deep within the heart to be sincere.
And this leaves us with a question: What about our brothers and sisters in Christ?
They may not share our blood, but Scripture calls us to share this same kind of love. “Let brotherly love continue” is not just a command. It is an invitation to love those in the church as family and to relate to one another without pretence. We are not in it to gain anything. We simply love and accept one another as Christ has accepted us.
🌿 Thought for Lent
Is there someone whom you are struggling to accept or love, let alone to love him or her like your own sibling? Ask the Lord for strength.
We pray the Collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
We end with this hymn, Love Incarnate by Stuart Townsend
With a prayer You fed the hungry,
With a cry You stilled the storm;
With a look You had compassion
On the desperate and forlorn.
With a touch You healed the leper,
With a shout You raised the dead;
With a word expelled the demons,
With a blessing broke the bread.
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Captivate this heart of mine,
Till all I do
Speaks of You.
As a sheep before the shearer
You were silent in Your pain;
You endured humiliation
At the hands of those You’d made.
And as hell unleashed its fury
You were lifted on a tree,
Crying ‘Father God, forgive them,
Place their punishment on me.’
I will feed the poor and hungry,
I will stand up for the truth;
I will take my cross and follow
To the corners of the earth.
And I ask that You so fill me
With Your peace, Your power, Your breath,
That I never love my life so much
To shrink from facing death.Stuart Townend
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Daily Devotion 
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