September 30, 2013 

READ: Genesis 3:1-10 

Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds (Colossians 3:9).


The Invention of Lying was a 2009 comedy set in an imagined world where mankind knows nothing about what it means to tell a lie. In the tale, an unsuccessful screenwriter, Mark Bellison, is the person who invents lying. He tells the first lie (about how much money he has in the bank) to a bank clerk. Then he tells his frightened, dying mother the ‘ultimate’ lie: “There is a heaven.” She dies happy, but the rest of the world is stunned by his lie. The movie ends with Mark happily married—with a son who has acquired his ability to lie.


The alternative world of Mark Bellison is a lie. Mark did not invent lying. He’s not the first person to do it. Jesus made it clear that lying is the devil’s invention. He’s the father of lies and “has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Satan spun the first lies when he contradicted God (“You won’t die!”) and deceived Eve to believe that God was a liar (“Did God really say?”) (Genesis 3:1,4).


After that time, mankind became “children of . . . the devil” and chronic, persistent liars (John 8:44). Adam and Eve lied to God to evade responsibility (Genesis 3:11-13). Cain lied to God about his brother (4:9). Abraham told a half-truth about his relationship with Sarah—twice (12:13, 20:2). Sarah lied to God (18:15). Isaac lied, denying that Rebecca was his wife (26:7). And we’re just halfway through Genesis! Lying was and is a part of human nature.


Heaven, however, is not a lie. It’s a place of eternal peace (John 14:1-4), while hell will provide unending torment (Revelation 20:10-15). All unrepentant sinners (liars included) will realise that “their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulphur” (Revelation 21:8). That’s definitely not a lie! (Numbers 23:19). —K.T. Sim


› Luke 24:13-43

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September 29, 2013 

READ: John 20:19-23 

As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you (v.21).


Brother Colm O’Connell, an Irish priest, went to Kenya in 1976 to volunteer for one year as a teacher at St. Patrick’s school. Thirty-six years later he’s still there, and has established an internationally acclaimed running programme. The school has provided 5 Olympic champions and 25 world champions, most recently David Rudisha in the 800 metres at the London Olympics. Each St. Patrick’s runner enters the field knowing they have been sent like the ones before them.


After the resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them into the world in the same way that the Father had sent Him into the world (John 20:21). But how was Jesus sent into the world? Mark 10 recounts Jesus telling His disciples that He was sent “not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). God came . . . to give. To give Himself entirely and at great cost.


Let this end any questions about the extent of God’s love. When you wonder if God has abandoned you, look to the cross where Jesus hung as hell sought to devour Him. When you wonder if God rejects us, look to the cross where Jesus endured rejection and prayed with a suffering heart while gasping for air: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). If you wonder if God has any desire to gather up your grief, your death and make something beautiful of it, look to the resurrection where Jesus triumphed over death in order to flood you with life.


And let this also tell us plainly how we, as Jesus’ followers, are to live in our world. We’re to give ourselves, entirely, in the name of the One who has already given everything. We are sent—just as Jesus was sent. —Winn Collier


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September 28, 2013 

READ: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us and by our sincere love (v.6).


While dining with friends at a restaurant in Uganda, my 9 year old son and I requested refills of our iced tea. Because friends own the restaurant and it’s a relaxed environment, when I saw our waiter was busy serving others, I picked up our glasses and started towards the kitchen. That’s when my son, Wasswa, quietly said to me, “Mummy, it’s OK if it takes them a little while to bring us our tea. Please be patient.”


Wasswa was sitting at the ‘kids’ table and I was at the ‘adults’ table. So upon returning to my seat, I told my friends what Wasswa had said. We marvelled at my son’s example and discussed how much we could learn from him.


The apostle Paul wrote that “we prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us and by our sincere love” (2 Corinthians 6:6). Time and time again I’m exposed to believers, including my son, who display more patience than I do. Their example speaks volumes. But I still tend to wonder, “How long should we wait for something before we take action?”


In the case of our tea, after waiting an additional 20 minutes for the server to return to our table, my son lightly tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Mummy, I think it’s okay to go [to the kitchen] now.” Wasswa’s effort to be discreet and not draw attention to the slow service prompted me to enter the kitchen with a kind and understanding attitude instead of an angry and entitled one.


Webster’s Dictionary states that patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.” Today, let’s call on the Holy Spirit to help us exercise patience more readily. —Roxanne Robbins


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September 27, 2013 

READ: Nahum 1:1-15 

The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished (v.3).


An English media personality was highly honoured when he was alive. At his funeral someone said that, “His story was an epic of giving. Giving of time, giving of talent, giving of treasure. [He] can face eternal life with confidence.” But then the police launched a criminal investigation into more than 300 allegations of child sexual abuse and rape by the deceased.

If proven guilty, no one will be able to hold the deceased accountable for his misdeeds. He’s dead. Does that seem unfair? The prophet Nahum helps us deal with this issue, revealing a God who is both just and merciful:


• “The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage” (Nahum 1:2). God is jealous for His glory and for those He loves. It’s impossible to violate the glory and honour of God and those He loves and not face His wrath.


• “The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished” (v.3). God is long-suffering. He stays His anger with mercy. But we must never confuse His patience with impotence. Nahum gives us a portrait of His almighty power in verses 3-6. God is not only just; He also has the power to execute justice.


• “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him” (v.7). Jonathan Edwards reminds us that we’re all sinners in the hands of an angry God. He said, “Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come.” Only those who have taken refuge in Christ will be able to face eternal life with confidence.


All of us must one day stand before God. Are you ready? —Poh Fang Chia


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