Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Today's Passage - Joshua 1:5

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Joshua:1:5

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The Lord promised Joshua that, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life." How wonderful was such a promise! Why can't enemies stand up? Because Jehovah was with Joshua. While in Egypt, God made Moses courageous in front of the Pharaoh. When Moses proclaimed the plagues from God, God fulfilled them across all Egypt according His own words. When Israelites were walking in the wildness after leaving Egypt, God used pillars of cloud and fire to show His presence. When they came to Red Sea with Egyptian army in pursuit, God made Moses raise his staff and part the Red Sea so that Israelis passed through on the dry ground. When Egyptian army walked on the same ground, they were swept into the sea. When Israelites reached Mt. Sinai, Moses went up the mountain. He was with God alone, receiving Commandments from God. Later, when Israelis was fighting against Amalekites, Moses was praying on the mountain. As long as Moses held up his hands, Joshua would win. Whenever Moses hands were lowered, Joshua would lose. In the wildness, Israelis went up against God many times. They also slandered Moses. Every time, God took Moses' side, showing His presence, and speak out for Moses. Even when Moses was about to die, he walked up Moab and was taken by God. Moses was a person who was close to God. His success was not because of his charismatic leadership skills. More importantly, it is his relationship with God.

How is your relationship with God? The Lord told Joshua, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you." On one hand, it was to remind Joshua that the reason for Moses' power was the power of God. If God made Moses strong, He could also make Joshua strong. On the other hand, it's a reminder to Joshua that God would lead him going forward. The Lord would make a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. As enemies could not stand in front of Moses, neither would they in front of Joshua.

Are you often afraid because of your circumstances? Do you believe that God used Moses and Joshua because they were strong and powerful? In fact, they were all weak. They became strong because of the presence of God. Do not be afraid; pray only for the presence of God. When you come closer to God, God will be close to you.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because your promise is for now, and your command is for now. May God bless us with strong and courageous hearts, like that of Joshua, to be a witness of your glorious beauty in this generation. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Today's Passage - Joshua 1:1-4

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Joshua:1:1-4

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates - all the Hittite country - to the Great Sea on the west.

Israelites were at a critical juncture in their history. God had chosen Joshua, because in that entire historical salvation, God never worked alone. It is God's will to always work with men; not just ordinary men, but men who are willing to be transformed by God. Joshua was not as charismatic as Moses was. During the exodus in the wildness, we didn't see the role Joshua undertook. He merely performed the work that Moses assigned to him loyally and silently. To the Israelis of that time, he was merely a Moses's helper. If one reads Joshua carefully, one will discover that he was in fact not a brave person. Otherwise, God would not have said to him a few times, "Be strong and courageous." No only did God said this to him, Moses said to him, even common Israelis encouraged him such as well.

When God uses a person, it has never been because he was brave, nor because he had talents. The person that God uses is the one who is willing to be shaped by God's hands, and Joshua was such person. When he surrendered himself in God's hands, God made a covenant with him. In verse 3, the Lord said, "I will give you every place where you set your foot" God was with him. More importantly, when Joshua learned to put himself in the hands of God, his relationship with God changed. In verse 9, God was no longer God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, no longer God of Moses, but "the Lord your God."

God is happy to be close to those who are willing to put themselves in the hands of God. From Moses' helper to God's co-worker, Joshua had been transformed during the process. He started seeing the work that God was doing in time of change. He heard the commission that God gave to himself. God said to him, "Now rise up." I didn't mean waiting until the circumstance gets better, his mood gets better, or all problems have been solved, but right now! God's promise is always for the current time, and now is always the time to follow His commands. In our lives, no matter what kind of change or breakthrough we encounter, the timing is always in the hands of God. It's God's will for us to rise up right now, so grasp His promise and bravely move forward!

Pray with Pastor Tong

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Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 29-1

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Joshua:1-1

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide...

No matter which era is it, when people go through a time of major transition, their hearts will be filled with sense of uncertainty, because they don't know what God is going to do and when is He going to do it. When the early church was established, Jesus gathered the disciples and entrusted them with the Great Commission, and then He ascended to heaven. At that time, all disciples just stood there and looked up at the sky; they must have stared up for a long time, otherwise the angels wouldn't have asked them why they just stood there and looked up into the sky. Why were they doing that? Because they felt uncertain, not knowing what the Lord will do with them. Faced with the enormous assignment like the Great Commission, looking at how minuscule they were, they must have been wondering what they could really do.

When God called Joshua, he must have felt the same, because he was also in a time of transition. Joshua 1:1 says that the servant of the Lord Moses was dead. Why did a book filled with messages of victory begin with such a sad statement? Moses was a great leader among the Israelites and God used His hands to perform many signs and wonders. During the forty years that Moses was the leader, the Israelites became accustomed to following Moses. When the Israelites had to cross Red Sea, Moses pointed his staff and the sea parted. When they were hungry, Moses prayed and manna came down from heaven. When they were thirsty, Moses struck a rock and water came out from it. Now that Moses is dead, it was a tremendously sad thing for the Israelites. Deuteronomy chapter 34 says that the Israelites mourned for the death of Moses for thirty days.

God, however, said here that the death of His servant Moses was not to remind Israelites of their misery, but to allow them to move on from the shadow of their past. God has already promised the Israelites that they will have a victorious tomorrow. Moses represented the past experience of the Israelites - How God guided them and provided for all their needs. Past experience and methods are all valuable, but they could also become hindrance to growth, preventing us from further experiencing new blessings from God. We always think that the ways of the past were great, as if God can only work on way, and there are no other ways. Actually, the Bible clearly told us that God we believe in is one who does new things. In Joshua chapter 3, when Israelites were about to enter the land of Canaan, God told them that it was a path that they've never taken before. This doesn't just mean that the path ahead of them was new, but the ways that God guided them and provided for them were also new. May the Lord help us, never just stay in the grace we received in our past. May the Spirit of the Lord once again release us from our experience of the past so that we may enter into God's new work!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you for all the grace that you've given to us, and we thank you for helping us not to be bound by our experience of the past. May the Lord et our spirit free so that we may grow and be renewed in your grace each and every day. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Monday, April 18, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 28-16-20

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Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The Father God in the Trinity is one who sends people. John 3:16 says that "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son," which means that He sent His son to the world. When Jesus was on earth, He repeatedly called Father God "Father who sent me," because Father God is the God who sends. No only that, Jesus is also God who sends. John 20:21 says that "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." The Lord also said in Matthew 28:19 that "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations," so Jesus also sent His disciples into the world. Holy Spirit is also God who sends. In Acts chapter 8, Philip was sent to the desert by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel with the eunuch; In Acts chapter 13, in the church of Antioch, Holy Spirit sent Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel in Europe. Even today, the Holy Spirit is still sending; if it weren't for the missionaries sent by the Holy Spirit to China, you and I won't become Christians today; if it wasn't for the sending of the Holy Spirit, no one will leave everything behind and enter into the wilderness to continue witnessing for the Lord. This God who sends is an all-power and all-sufficient God, but He's willing to work together with those of us who are weak in order to accomplish His eternal plan, isn't that wonderful!

Back in the Old Testament, it took God much effort in order to make way for the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Generation after generation of Israelites, however, disobeyed God, and yet He still guided them with much patience. Finally, Jesus Christ was born in the world in God's timing, which seemed to have brought God's victory. Even the angels and army of heaven were holding their breath and waiting to see how Jesus Christ was going to prepare Himself, work, suffer, and finally die on the cross to loudly proclaim to the world: "It is finished." God's plan of redemption is finished, the authority of the devil has been crushed, and it was time for God's kingdom to expand! All the angels and army of heaven were rejoicing and getting ready to fight for God. Surprisingly, after Jesus resurrected from death, He didn't send any angel or army of heaven, but instead He actually turned to the eleven weak disciples. The Lord entrusted them with the mission for God's Kingdom, and told them that "go make disciples of all nations." The angels and army of heaven must have been wondering - Was that a mistake, Jesus? What if they failed? Thanks to God, for even though we are weak, God still chooses to work with us to accomplish His will!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I thank you because you are a wonderful God. Even though we are weak, you are willing to send us to work with you in order to accomplish your wonderful work. Give us an obedient heart to work with you in our daily life, so that your name will receive the greatest glory in us. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!!

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Sunday, April 17, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 28-9-15

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Matthew 28:9-15

Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

It is so precious that Jesus greeted the disciples when he met them. Peace was what the disciples needed the most at that time, for their hearts were deeply troubled. They were caught off guard by what happened in Jerusalem in the days before. When they still had Jesus, Jesus solved all their problems, but now it seemed like they will have no one to rely on.

Also, their hearts were disappointed. Even though Jesus prophesied about His sufferings and death, the disciples still thought of Jesus' kingdom as one that is on earth. Therefore when the Lord died, their hearts were filled with disappointments, both to the Lord and to themselves. Especially Peter, who thought that he could stand firm for the Lord but ended up denying Him three times. He must be terribly disappointed at himself and wondered if he could ever be used by God again. Besides these, their hearts must be filled with fear, for their future were full of uncertainty. The persecutions from the authorities have caused them to meet only behind closed door. Peace was the message that they needed! When Jesus said "Greetings", it is not just a mere greeting, for He is the Prince of Peace; not only He gives us His peace, He IS peace!

The resurrection of the Lord granted us peace and joy. Human nature is filled with fear due to the lies of the evil one. Many times I heard people saying, "If the Lord manifests Himself among us, we will not be afraid." In fact, those that say so have never experienced the manifestation of the Lord. Every biblical records of human's first response to the manifestation of God is always being terrified. Even the disciples couldn't recognize that it was Jesus walking on the water and thought that He was a ghost, without realizing that it was the work of Jesus. Fear is part of human nature, but the spirit of the Lord is able to touch us and grant us peace in the midst of our fear when He manifests Himself.

Do you have peace in your life? Maybe you are like the disciples, who were troubled, disappointed, and in fear. The Lord wants to touch you with His power of resurrection. After Jesus resurrected from death, He ate and drank with the disciples, which means the power of resurrection can enter into our daily life. Hallelujah, let us receive His resurrected life by faith!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Dear Lord, we give you thanks and praises, for not only you resurrected from death, your resurrected life can enter into our life and bring us peace and joy. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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