Daily Devotion

Voice: Mylene

Today is Tuesday of Easter Week, 7th of April. Let us be still before His presence.

We say the words of Psalm 147:

147 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
² The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
⁶ The Lord lifts up the humble;
    he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on the lyre!
⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds;
    he prepares rain for the earth;
    he makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹ He gives to the beasts their food,
    and to the young ravens that cry.
¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
¹¹ but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.

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.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

🧭 If It Is This Life Only…

In the past 200 years, human life expectancy has more than doubled—from around 30–40 years to over 70 today.

This has profoundly shaped how we think about life.

As people live longer, they tend to think less about death—and what may come after. Increased wealth and better health have also made life more comfortable and enjoyable.

The quest for God and meaning remains.
But even faith has taken on a stronger present dimension.

We emphasise what the gospel can do for us now.
As we like to sing:

“Jesus is the answer for the world today.”

The relevance of Christ to our present life takes centre stage.
Meanwhile, ideas of heaven and hell can seem distant, even abstract.

This is not wrong in itself.

For if Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, then He must be true now, not only in eternity.

But if this is all we have, it will be a woefully inadequate gospel.

And it will not be biblical.

In Corinthians 15:19, St Paul says:

“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Our faith would be in vain. We would have been living a lie.

Think about this.

Many of us can testify to how good life can be with Christ at the centre:

• You are part of a loving church
• Your family walks in the faith
• You enjoy stability, provision, and even joy

In a place like Singapore, life can be very good. Add Christianity to that—and it may seem almost perfect. “Heaven on earth,” as some might say.

But however good life is, it has an end. As George Bernard Shaw once quipped:

“The statistics on death are quite impressive: one out of one people die.”

Now Scripture makes a startling claim:

Even if your life has been wonderful— if there is nothing beyond death,
you are most to be pitied.

That is how central the resurrection is to our faith.

In other reflections this season, we may consider how the resurrection speaks to those whose lives are marked by suffering and injustice.

But for today, we dwell on this:

👉 If this life is all there is, even if it is wonderful, we are most to be pitied.
👉 But if eternal life in Christ awaits us, we are most to be envied.

In other words: If you think life is good now— you have seen nothing yet!

If we are called to live not only for the present, but for eternity— How will that shape the way you live today? Reflect on this for today.

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We end with the Collect:

Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: 
grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit 
be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem – sung by Anglican Chamber Ensemble.

1 Ye choirs of new Jerusalem,
your sweetest notes employ,
the Paschal victory to hymn
in strains of holy joy.

2 How Judah’s Lion burst his chains,
and crushed the serpent’s head;
and brought with him, from death’s domains,
the long-imprisoned dead.

3 From hell’s devouring jaws the prey
alone our Leader bore;
his ransomed hosts pursue their way
where he hath gone before.

4 Triumphant in his glory now
his sceptre ruleth all,
earth, heaven, and hell before him bow,
and at his footstool fall.

5 While joyful thus his praise we sing,
his mercy we implore,
into his palace bright to bring
and keep us evermore.

6 All glory to the Father be,
all glory to the Son,
all glory, Holy Ghost, to thee,
while endless ages run.

Alleluia! Amen.

Link to today’s Morning Office